Grey skies turned to blue and so I was tempted out in the afternoon. Hopes of photographing the kingfisher in some decent light were looking more likely. In true Bolton style however, as soon as I arrived the park was plunged into the shadow of a huge grey cloud through which the sun was struggling to shine. A casual scan of the lake turned up Mute swans (of which there are always plenty of non breeding birds) Canada geese, coots, Mallards and still plenty of Tufted ducks. The tufted ducks are great as they will often come in as close as the mallards and give some beautiful photographic opportunities. Today though the wind was whistling off the water , creating harsh ripples and very little colour. I had been hoping to see some goosander that have been around for a few weeks but sadly they seem to have moved on now.

Around the edges of the lake I could hear the greenfinches singing but other than at the feeding station small bird activity was low. A pair of pied wagtails were calling and feeding on the grass and crows were being chased by gulls in the hope that they would steal their find.Once around the lake was very uninspiring so I sat in the sun and watched the gulls. A few of the black headed gulls were beginning to change into their breeding plumage, with black feathers half developed on their heads. Sometimes it is nice to just relax and watch as so much is missed when trying to find something more “interesting to look at” Finally the sun had come out and my plan to photograph the gulls feeding in the puddles had become more difficult. Their feathers were shining out making them very difficult to expose properly. Attempts to compensate on moderate apertures failed as the sun was just too bright so I closed my aperture right down to f13 which lets in a lot less light and started again. This time the exposure was easier to control and I achieved some very pleasing moody photographs. (shown) Today there was no Kingfisher, no goosanders and very little to inspire me at all but the sun was very pleasant and it was just good to be out.