March 17th +2

I was up at 05:30 for a Barn owl session but by 06:30 there was 100% cloud cover and no sign of  a respite so I decided on a walk around the patch before starting surveys; no sign of the Firecrest on Waters' Edge but the Mealy Redpoll was showing again and at the Pasture Road entrance a wheezing female Brambling was number 115 for the year; I had heard a brief Brambling like note in the same spot the previous day so it was good to get confirmation; the sailing pit was covered in diving duck but the first sh*t machine walker flushed several birds including amazingly the first-summer drake Velvet Scoter which flew to the other end of the pit and had a bathe before returning to the Humber so 116 for the year and two hard to get species in as many days but still no Sand Martin, probably not surprising given that today felt as cold as any day in the winter with the freezing north-easterly