Struggled all day.

Did a local tour yesterday in the sunshine but struggled all day not only with finding some birds to point the camera at but also with the bitterly cold wind that seemed to follow me round all day.I'm sure the wind had got some needles and razor blades in it because it penetrated all the layers I was wearing very quickly and quite soon penetrated my thermals.

Went to Brandon Marsh first and had a very poor day.The place was as quiet as I'd ever seen it with no birds to see let alone get some shots of.I ended up in the Carlton hide where luckily for me there were several friends filling up the seats but unfortunately no birds at all.There must have been £100,000 of camera kit in the hide with nothing to use it on.How sad is that.

The cold beat me after well over an hour in the hide and to prevent frostbite getting too bad  I retreated to the cafe for some warming tea.Luckily for me my waitress friend was on duty and a chat with her soon cheered me up.

After some tea I headed over to Marsh Lane where unlike some times at Brandon Marsh there are always lots of Ducks,Geese and Gull on view.

Tried for the Bittern on the reed bed pool but had no luck.From the Oak hide there were a few Common Snipe in the marsh and a Peregrine showed up but perched in a distant tree in Sidden wood.Best spot was a Pink Footed Goose but it was on the far bank too far for decent shots.

On the car park pool there was a lone Shellduck first I'd seen for ages.The female Goosander was again present but stayed on the far bank.The Little Egret was also present again but did not come close this time.

The wind beat me again and I headed home not long after 2.00 PM. A lot of effort,loads of miles,no decent birds or shots and bitterly cold all day.Not one of my better days but you can't win every time.