1530 hrs at Fly Flatts had very dark skies on a warm S>4 with specs of rain.
At least 4 Wheatears were present at the south end whilst a Curlew was calling loudly from the west bank. As I walked on the banking 2 more young Curlews dropped down briefly on the banking top before flying a circuit then gaining height and heading off >W.
Several Swallows were moving >SW whilst a Merlin flew over fast heading towards Slade.
By the time I,d got some seed down the rain was coming down heavy so back to the car and a drive on to the north end to check out the Chat situation along Nab Water Lane where HC had relocated the flock this morning.
On arrival the rain had eased so I got tackled up ready for a photo shoot but no birds. After around 15 minutes scanning I began seeing odd birds flitting in and out of the reeds but 50 yards towards the reservoir from yesterdays location and much further across the moor in a deep culvert.
With a lot of patience and weird looks from passing motorists the Stonechats slowly started to move back to their original position but remained very flighty whilst a single Whinchat remained way out on the fringe of the moor beyond reasonable camera range. This is a situation where I need the Canon 600 mm lens with 2x converter but at £15,000 I,ll stick with record shots.
Birds present
1 Wren
1 Raven
2 Kestrel
c30 Red Grouse
c40 Canadas
1 Merlin
Vis Mig
3 Curlew......................blogging then >W
sev Swallows...............>SW
6 Wheatear..................blogging
1 Whinchat.................blogging
6 Stonechat.................blogging
Thanks to HC for keeping me in touch with the situation this morning.
BS