Long trek for a little more!

Well, the weather never stays good for long in Cumbria, so I went back down south for more of the same – before the rain returned. I was certainly more successful this time despite dipping on the Green-winged Teal at Fell End NR again. (There were plenty of Eurasian Teal to sift through, however.)

A single Hawfinch (female?) showed well but only very briefly (c. 10 seconds!) at Sizergh and was probably the highlight of the day, the Ring-necked Duck popped up in front of the Causeway Hide at Leighton Moss, and there were plenty of other photo opportunities when it came to commoner wildfowl, especially Gadwall, Tufted Duck and Cormorant. The Marsh Harriers at Leighton Moss were out in force, and the booming of the Bitterns was incessant, but the ever-present ‘RND’ was a constant distraction. The two highlights were definitely the yank duck and the Hawfinch, and I was pleased to get photos of both, the former in good light. With the latter, my new AI software came into its own and saved an otherwise mediocre portfolio of shots in very bad light.