Another bitterly cold day on the peninsular but quite pleasant if you are properly dressed for it. Driving past Cockles Bridge I could see many Lapwing and Golden Plover wheeling around after being flushed by a Common Buzzard.
First stop was the ARC where a gorgeous lone Goldfinch was feeding on the Teasels by the track to Hanson. A turn around the Willow Trail was disappointing with the only bird being seen was a Blackbird. A very quick look from Hanson due to the icy blast blowing straight into my face through the open shutter, saw that the lake was quite extensively frozen with just a few wildfowl to be seen on the far side. Walking back along the track to the car 2 Song Thrushes dropped into the ditch and Water Rail squealed.
At Boulderwall several Tree Sparrows were around the feeders with a few Great and blue Tits. In the farm fields 100s of Coot and Wigeon feeding around the frozen Cook's Pool also more Lapwing and Golden Plover and 4 Curlew there. Driving down the track several Blackbirds and a Song Thrush flushed from the side and a Marsh Harrier flew over. 

Long-tailed Tit by the New Excavations

As I parked at the visitor centre 6 Pintail flew over, from Dennis's Hide the usual wildfowl sheltering under the far bank, on the islands a few Great Black-backed Gulls and plenty of Cormorants. By the New Excavations a party of Long-tailed Tits were feeding in the lee of the Sallows where a couple of Common Snipe flushed. As I made my way to Dengemarsh more Common Snipe flushed as they did all around the reserve. 

Golden Plover at Hookers

I met GP and wandered around the back of Hookers where a Golden Plover was feeding by the track ignoring us in its search for food. Coming back to the viewing ramp a Bittern made a brief flight, as we reached the top of the ramp a Fox snatched a Canada Goose off the ice and dragged flapping into a small patch of reeds. The killing process took quite a while as we could see the Goose occasionally flapping. Thinking the Fox would drag its kill into the cover of the main reed bed we watched and waited, only for it dash across the ice leaving its kill which I'm sure would feed it for least a couple of days, hopefully it will come back and get it before the ice melts. 

A drake and duck Smew were seen from Christmas Dell and 2 Great White Egrets were on Burrowes. 

Fox from the ramp leaving its kill in the reeds

 Common Snipe from Dengemarsh

Some of the 1,000s of Gull at The Patch this afternoon

This afternoon at The Patch the regular Glaucous Gull was in the beach roost among the 1,000s of Black-headed gulls and Herring Gulls, a Yellow-legged Gull was roosting on the portacabins, at least 5 Mediterranean Gulls were over the boil and in the roost, offshore a few Gannets could be seen battling the gale.

Yellow-legged Gull on the portacabin behind The Patch