Foggy start

I was out by 07:45 only to find fairly thick fog, making it hard to see anything, I wandered around rather pointlessly for 45 minutes and gave up.

Back with the family later and all the fog was long gone, at Tern scrape, 18 Teal was an increase, 9 Shoveler and lots of Gadwall, then above the heads of 2 of the 3 Snipe appeared a Sedge Warbler, I think this is only my 2nd ever October one?

On the way back to the car park a Coal Tit called some way off, putting us on 82 for the month already and 1 more than 2006, begging the question what on earth were we doing in 2006 to get such a low score, when we have hit 82 in the first 4 days  this year?

This was a low month by any standards, as the chart reveals;

93 in 2010 & 12
92 in 2012
91 in 2011
90 in 2009
89 in 2014
88 in 2013
87 in 2007
82 in 2015
81 in 2006

So we should be hoping for around 89/90, unless we have a scorching month and pass 93, we shall see, but if we get Common & Green Sandpiper, a Dunlin, a late Greenshank, or Black-tailed Godwit and search the reeds thoroughly for Reed Warbler and hedgerows for late Whitethroat and maybe stumble across a Firecrest, then perhaps a Merlin and of course another Bittern, getting bankers like Fieldfare and Goldeneye would palce us in good stead.....easier said than done, but all these are highly possible and more besides.