A very, VERY cold Farmoor

Nipped in again to Farmoor Res late yesterday afternoon, after having lunch with Ems in Oxford. Despite what I expected it was dead still and not an ounce of wind. BUT and it was a big but, bloody freeezing! Had seen no reports of either the Diver or Phalarope for a few days but all the same brought along Em's SLR in the hope the Phalarope was still knocking around. Sadly no Phalarope. However as we walked along the shoreline by the sailing club, what pops up no more than 20 feet offshore but the Great Northern Diver! Took me by suprise a tad! It was diving quite frequently and would be underwater for long periods, but still showed pretty bloody well when it was up. Eventually he drifted of into the centre of F2 and my hands were turning blue so off home we went. Rattled off a few shots of the bird (below):

Great Northern Diver
Farmoor Resevoir 29.01.12