Red-Throated Diver at Watergrove Reservoir in Rochdale

 

This long-staying seabird gave me the runaround for five hours and never once came close, preferring to stay way out in the middle where the water is deepest. It's funny how the bird always seems closer on the other side of a lake or reservoir, but when you get there it's either just as far away or it's disappeared altogether. That's what happened here. Indeed it went missing somewhere for an hour or so around lunchtime before I finally relocated it.

This was my second visit to Watergrove to get a rare Greater Manchester Life Tick and I was so glad to see it because on my first visit it wasn't here, having flown over to Hollingworth Lake a few miles away. And to my annoyance when I got home it was reported back here on Watergrove Reservoir only an hour later.

Although I've year listed a few times in the past, I only keep two lists nowadays: My UK Life list which is approaching 300 birds and my Greater Manchester Life List which is nearly 200 birds. There's a notional virtual club called the GM 200 Club which I hope to be a member of in the near future, so you can see why it was important that I went for this one. 

I have three aims when I go out on a trip like this: 

1) To see the bird visually

2) To get a record shot

3) To get a decent photo

Well, two out of three ain't bad.

LEO the Long-eared Owl

I've finally got a decent Long-eared Owl photo after many attempts at trying. They're such secretive birds burying themselves deep in prickly bushes (often Hawthorn) and only surfacing on rare occasions. This bird was about 40 yards away in the shade and I had to stand on tiptoe overlooking a bramble hedge to see it. So, all things considered, they're not bad shots really.

I had to do quite a lot of work on this one as there were several branches going across its face and eyes.