A cold wintry day

Out with Mark today and we decided on a trip to North Lincs, it was a very cold day with a fair amount of snow still on the ground, we started at Far Ings which was largely frozen but a couple of ice free areas held a good selection of wildfowl including a female Red Crested Pochard but no Smew, we also had a Bittern fly across the main lake although it soon disappeared back into the reeds. We then headed to Worlaby Carrs hoping the Short Eared Owls might be out early, they weren’t, just a couple of Kestrels and a Buzzard in the very bleak conditions, we gave it a bit of time then early afternoon decided to head off to Blacktoft for the Raptor roost. We called in at Ashby Ville Lake on the outskirts of Scunthorpe en route on the offchance the recent Great Northern Diver might be still present, again there was a good selection of birds on an ice free patch but it would seem the Diver was long gone, a very frozen Blacktoft was very quiet but the roost produced a Barn Owl, several Marsh and a male Hen Harrier.

Snipe on the ice, Far Ings

a bleak and owlless Worlaby Carrs

Blacktoft roost