Foggy Far Ings

An early morning trip to Far Ings with Robert Jaques. There was thick fog, over the Humber Bridge the visibility was really poor, but there were some views to be had out of the hides at Far Ings. Gadwall, Coots and Great Crested Grebes fed in front of the hide. Shortly after arriving a Cetti's warbler announced its presence with a loud, staccato call from the reed beds close to the hide. Another one replied shortly after from the other side of Ness Pit. Despite the proximity of the song, and us looking intently at the reeds, the cetti's remained invisible (at least five individuals sung around the reserve). While we watched, a Migrant Hawker flew for a few seconds and quickly settled on the reeds, this was the only invertebrate seen in the trip.
 We walked to Target Lake, where we briefly glimpsed a Kingfisher hovering over the water in search of fish before it disappeared from sight. A Little Egret landed then on the shore of the island and started circling it. It caught a little fish and spent quite a while handling it, spitting it on to the water and picking it again. A few photos revealed that it was a Three-spined Stickleback, its pelvic and dorsal spines erect, which the egret obviously couldn't easily swallow. After a little more handling, the fish was finally dispatched. The egret got another stickleback and the same lenghth process was repeated (You can watch a short clip, here).
 We carried on and stopped on the high hide at the N side of Ness Pit. Other than a cormorant on the water, the place was quiet and deserted. Then there were some 'pings' in the distance and a flock of Bearded Tits flew low over the reed bed and landed relatively close to the hide.

A couple of drake Gadwall preening on the shore.

Spider web heavy with dew

Little Egret handling stickleback.

More spider webs on the fog.