Foggy Henlow Grange 11/03/2016

The football posts at the far end of the pitch had been swallowed up by the fog and visibility did not improve on my wander round this morning. Several species are now in song, including Redwing and Treecreeper, which made life a bit easier as I saw relatively little!

The Poppy Hill fishing lakes were shrouded in fog making it difficult to discern the surface of the lake giving the impression that some of the ducks were floating in air. A few species swam close enough to the bank to allow me to see them, including Greylag Geese, mainly in quarrelsome pairs and a Great Crested Grebe. The Tufted Duck flock was tucked into the north-eastern corner and was accompanied by a pair of Goldeneye, which was a pleasant surprise (my first for the patch was only last autumn).

The fields to the east of the ponds were eerily quiet with no birds singing although there were plenty of calls to identify Reed Bunting, Yellow Hammer and Corn Bunting plus some of the other regulars. In contrast to recent days no Skylarks were singing. The rookery seemed busy, not that I could see it, judging from the calls coming from that direction.

I have decided to go all out for the MB (or should that be President's) photography award this year and here is my first offering. Given the conditions I'm actually quite chuffed the bird is even in the frame!