Wot no birds!

Proof - as if it was needed - that upland birding during the winter months can be really quite depressing....that's unless there's a Red Kite or a passing White -tailed Eagle overhead. A Short - eared Owl would have been nice but I only ever once saw one up here a few years ago, and incidentally only ever once saw a Hen Harrier here too.

The choice of day turned out to be a bad one as for most of the time at any altitude there was quite a heavy fog and whilst I was anywhere beyond half way to the summit of Clougha it never lifted, below this the visibility was clear and quite good but the visit produced nothing with any accuracy and it took me three hours to find my first Stonechat near Ottergear Bridge and I only found one more as I approached the car park five hours after I had arrived there at ten o'clock this morning....Still, it has to be done.

I had decided today I would note EVERY bird I saw up here, in the end it didn't take much ink to do that. I saw at least 12 Red Grouse, 2 Raven, 3 Robin, 2 Wren, a single Chaffinch and a Kestrel, a Grey Heron was by the small reservoir with 6 Mallard on there also. From Rigg Lane I noted 2 Brown Hare.

The pic was taken from the boardwalk looking at the bog - but certainly not today - a place to find small numbers of Small Pearl - bordered Fritillary in late May - June.