The Freezing Carrland......

As Trace was at work today,i decided to brave the biting easterly wind and head down the carrs again.Today i decided to do something a little different and walk up to Saxby Bridge.After parking up in my usual parking spot beside the soak drain and getting umpteen layers on i then began to scan the floods again as on my last visit.By the time i had reached the river,it was apparent that the wildfowl were in slightly different numbers to my last visit and included not 1 drake Pintail,but now 2 drakes and a duck.These birds,as i have mentioned before really are stunning!.Other wildfowl seen on the floods included at least 551 Wigeon,111 Mallard,24 Gadwall,266 Teal,10 Shoveler,28 Shelduck and 15 Mute Swan,with 100 plus Lapwing,5 Redshank and 11 Dunlin representing the wading birds.Raptors were again in fairly good numbers with at least 9 Common Buzzard seen along with a couple of male Kestrel and a 2nd calendar year male Marsh Harrier which flew north along the valley toward the humber.Passerines were again few and far between,the highlight being a single male Stonechat sallying for insects along the river bank near Saxby bridge,my first of the year.A few signs of spring could still be seen and heard despite the freezing weather and included displaying Lapwings,singing Skylarks and a drumming male Great-spotted Woodpecker.A couple of mammal sightings today included 2 Brown Hare and 2 Roe Deer watched on the opposite bank of the Ancholme in Appleby Carrs.A decent few hours out despite the freezing temperature.