Last Thursday, 4th January was my first opportunity to excercise my trigger finger  in the new year but where to go?

I fancied the Canvasback at Abberton but that had relocated to an area where photography appeared to be difficult if not impossible - not worth the trip.

Norfolk was another possibility but reports showed nothing to get excited about. In any event, due to the very heavy rains in the previous few days, flooding was another hurdle.

So I decided to go to Frampton Marsh to see if the long-staying Lesser Yellowlegs was still there. Arriving, I was surprised to see that half the car park was flooded, as was the surrounding wetland. In fact, the usual wildfowl was paddling right next to the car park like this Shoveler.

Not too distant, there was a bank of earth showing above the flood and the Lesser Yellowlegs was feeding up and down this - not good for the sun but decent shots were possible, although with the close shady bank as a backdrop - not ideal.

It then disappeared so I moved on but nothing was really within camera range on the reserve except for this female Goldeneye, feeding outside Reedbed Hide.

Just after lunch, the weather changed rather suddenly. Heavy clouds rolled in from the south/west so it was time to make an earlier than expected departure for home.