Grey and Yellow

Off to Sawley today - Deborah was taking her mum to a hospital appointment. Waiting for her return to do my driving stint I whiled away a couple of hours, as usual, by the River Trent. The water levels were considerably lower than our last visit but it was a tad chillier.

At one point. in a partially flooded field, I noticed a number of pied wagtails flitting about the water edge. Getting closer I saw this Grey Wagtail amongst them. Identifying Grey from Yellow Wagtails can be tricky - some Greys can have more yellow than some Yellows.

Mine is definitely a Grey as the Yellows are summer visitors - in the summer if I see a wagtail that is not a Pied Wagtail if it's near water I call it a Grey, otherwise I call it Yellow. Whilst this method has it's flaws it spares the agonies of indecision!  An English Robin is included in the extras as I was pleased with the shot - far easier to identify as well!

Ratcliffe Power Station was online again (see extras) - even when it isn't working the cooling towers dominate the landscape dramatically. Some say that it generates it's own micro-climate, often making the surrounding area slightly milder than it might otherwise be. I wouldn't have wanted it colder than it was today!