It was another sunny day and so I decided to go out birding again, this time choosing WkWT Brandon Marsh - it has been ages since I was last there.
I arrived to find the car park rammed and only just squeezed in to the overflow - people after me would have to park in the coach park or down the lane. I didn't stop as I went through the Visitor Centre and followed my usual circuit. With the heavy frost overnight the ground was solid and so slipping on mud wasn't the issue, it was the ice.
After Grebe Pool, New Hares Covert and Swallow Pool, I stopped at the Wright Hide. I could see many gadwall, some teal, lots of black-headed gull but no sign of the great white egret. I'd need to go round to the 
East Marsh Pool hide to get a different viewpoint.
As I headed from the hide I spotted some birds in the treetops and in a likely feeding spot for redpoll. Mostly goldfinch and blue/great tits. Looking from the other side though I picked out one bird which was a more likely candidate - hidden by branches at first, it eventually showed and yes it was a redpoll. Little smile.
Got round to the EMP hide and easily picked out the great white egret. I watched it for a while and then scanned around picking out juvenile common and herring gulls. There were also two shelduck. The water was partly frozen so there was little chance of anything feeding near to shore. A muntjac deer was seen feeding on the opposite bank.
I dropped into the hides beyond but didn't add anything of note.
Sightings today (36) included: black-headed gull, blackbird, blue tit, buzzard, carrion crow, chaffinch, coal tit, common gull, coot, cormorant, dunnock, gadwall, goldfinch, great tit, great white egret, grey heron, herring gull, kestrel, lesser redpoll, long-tailed tit, magpie, mallard, moorhen, mute swan, pied wagtail, reed bunting, robin, rook, shelduck, shoveler, stock dove, teal, tufted duck, wigeon, woodpigeon and wren.
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