We stop at Staines Reservoir on the way, as it turns out we should not of bothered as all we got was cold, a few Tuffed Ducks, Goldeneye, Great crested Grebe, but no year tick, so we move off to try for the target bird at the other reservoir.
We pay for a permit & park the car, then up the steps for a view over the water.
The bird has been reported by one fellow, but nobody else had seen it.
After a couple of hours still no sign of the bird, so we go for a warming cuppa in the nice cafe on site, the place is now full of birders all round the Reservoir.
Still no sign of the target, but a pair of Peregrines are on a structure in the middle of the water, a Long-tailed Duck is spotted with the Tuffed.
We have been here for a few hours now & we think it is time to go home, but a fellow birder tells us a Slavonian Grebe is right down the far end of the reservoir,so Jimmy & myself make the decision to go looking for it, Brian stays behind as he has already had a sight of it.
It's a long, long walk, in the end it's worth the walk as Jimmy gets it in the scope, I only get quick views of the Duck as it keeps diving, but it's a view.
Walking back now as it's been a long time to keep Brian waiting, as we go a couple of birds drop down on the side of the water in front of us, at first we think it's only Pied Wagtail as we had been seeing them all along the edge, but no it's 2 Buff- belled Pipits.
As we get on to them we hear Brian's voice behind us , he had followed them down from the top end of the Reservoir.
That is good as we all get a really good view of the 2 birds before they fly off over the fields.
Time to walk back now, as we go maybe a couple of hundred birders are heading down to try for a view, I don't think they will see them at the moment, I hope the birds come back for every body to see them today as they all put in a long shift on a really cold day.
On the way home we see 3 Red Kites, Jimmy was the only one of us who needed them for a year tick so good for him.
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