Unusual Peregrine behaviour, Fly Flatts.

 

                                        1 of 3 Kestrel

                                Juv Peregrine over the water

                                Target bird, juv Carrion Crow.

                                    The dive, talons ready

                                Looking like in for the kill ?

                                Bottled out at the last minute.

                                    Did'nt know what to do next

                                Only attempted to attack when the Crow tried to fly off.

                                    Thinking of a new plan.

                                    Given up on the idea.

                                Finally seen off by the adult Crow

                                    1 of 3 Common Sandpipers

Another windy morning with a moderate to strong W>4 gusting 5 and light drizzle showers at Fly Flatts

 with near full dark cloud causing silhouetting at 12 degrees.

     The highlight of the morning was seeing a juvenile Peregrine low over the water and scattering a family of Carrion Crows with 2 adults and 3 juvs. The Pere locked onto one of the juvs getting very near to taking it out of the sky when the Crow landed on the west bank, either in desperation or knowing it would be safer on the deck.

   The Peregrine stooped down towards the Crow with talons outstretched but suddenly back peddled and landed right at the side of the Crow. The 2 birds just stood there like they were thinking " what do we do now" and every time the Crow tried to take off the Pere did the same.

    Finally the adult Crow made the decider and saw off the Peregrine. Looks like that juv Pere has a lot to learn as yet.

   Otherwise, 3 Common Sandpipers and at least 1 juv were the only waders, with 38 LBB, 14 Black Headed and 2 Herring gulls on the north shore. Just the usual geese on the water along with the Tufted duck family. 

   Alive with small passerines with Goldfinch, Meadow Pipits, Pied Wagtails, mainly juvs, plus 6 Reed Bunting and a surprise Willow Warbler in the lagoon tree, whilst Swallows and Swifts were over the water.

   A nice find for NK with a drake Common Scoter on the water at Ogden which is doing about as good as anywhere for Scoters this summer. A call at 1530 hrs from a dog walker at Ogden telling me the Scoter was still present.

   Very sad news just been announced of the death of Bill Oddie, a great birder and conservationist.

A dry day expected for tomorrow and slightly warmer starting off at 16 degrees on a light to moderate SW but showing early morning hill fog.

BS

If you don't like gulls, go no further. Ogden.

 

                                    Just 4 Herring gulls, argenteus.

                                    Around 150 LBB gulls

                                    2 CY Herring showing dark eye.

                                    Single Common gull.

As promised, a very wet and windy morning with fog on the tops. Ogden was below the cloud base with just some mist patches but heavy drizzle and rain throughout on a W>3 at 14 degrees.

    Decent gull weather with a good count of around 150 LBB, 4 Herring, several Black Headed and a single Common gull. The gulls were very mobile moving from the water to the west, east and north bank so very hard to keep up with though no sign of the Yellow Legged Herring this morning.

   The 10 Canadas and a single Gt Crested Grebe were still present as well as a Cormorant and the usual Mallards and 3 Herons. Seemed like good Tern weather this morning but not to be. Terns are very hard to come by in my area with no sightings last year.

    My last Arctic Tern was Leeshaw July 2024 and my last Arctic at Ogden was Sept 2013. My last Common Tern was at Leeshaw, July 2024 and before that just odd single sightings a year, mostly Fly Flatts. The Sandwich Tern I got on a buoy at Fly Flatts was way back in March 2018.

      The highlight for me today was as I opened the curtails this morning a juv Willow Warbler was flitting about in the front garden, obviously on dispersion, but a very rare visitor for here.

   A drier day for tomorrow with a low chance of showers on a light to moderate westerly starting off at 13 degrees.

BS

    

   

    

Gulling at Ogden.

 

                                    Around 50 LBB gulls

                                Effects of light. Centre gull looks dark mantle

                                    Different position, standard Herring.

                                    Plenty Black Headed

                                    West Bank

                                Yellow Legged Herring gull, centre.

                                Had 2 different birds, this is one of the same.

                                    Gt Crested Grebe still present.

With a howling WNW > 5 gusting 6 it was pointless heading for the tops so down to Ogden for some gull watching where it was sheltered from the wind  apart from the promenade with near full sun at 

14 degrees.

   A much lower count of gulls from my last visit with around 50 LBB, 5 Herring and several Black Headed. After 4 attempts at the west bank, due to a lot of disturbance flushing the gulls onto the water, I managed to pin down a Yellow Legged Herring gull, michahellis, which came in briefly to the west bank but very soon left towards Mixenden.

    Other than that, the highlight for me was a Jay over the promenade and dropping down into trees by the sluice gate. This was my first of the year which is a species I was beginning to think was extinct in my area along with Green Woodpecker as Ogden used to be alive with both species and now I'm down to one sighting of each a year.

    The Gt Crested Grebe was still present on the water along with 10 Canada geese  and a good count of Mallards plus several juvs near to fledging, which by some miracle have survived the Herons and Crows.

    Looking wet and windy for tomorrow with rain forecast on a moderate to strong westerly with probable hill fog, starting off at 14 degrees and peaking at 17 degrees.

BS

    

A cold and windy Fly Flatts.

 

                                    4 Common Sandpipers present

                                    4 ad Pied Wags and around 10 juvs

                                    Juv Black Headed gulls

A cold and windy morning at Fly Flatts with a moderate W>4 gusting 5 at 12 degrees with full cloud but good visibility.

   A difficult watch this morning through a wind blown scope when checking the north shore. Around 150 LBB gulls were in the NW corner and a single Herring gull which I though must have been a Yellow Legged, but after a lot of wobbly scope work with the added hazard of heat shimmer, it just turned out to be an argenteus.

    A Raven was over the Nab whilst 6 Black Headed gulls were flying around the shoreline. Lots of Swallows and Swifts, and again, up to 4 Sand Martins among them. Still waiting for that special wader with just the usual 4 Common Sandpipers with well hidden juv or juvs.

   Otherwise, just the usual species and much too windy this morning to be productive.

Cloudy sunshine for morning then a cloudy afternoon with chance of showers on a moderate to strong westerly blowing at 25 m.p.h. A starting temp of 14 degrees peaking at 18 degrees.

BS

Fly Flatts shaping up.

 

                                Well hidden distant Buzzard.

                                    6 Kestrel up together

                                    Single Common Sandpiper guarding juv.

                                    1f 4 Tufted ducklings.

                                    Pale phase Buzard.

                                Record shot only Female Common Scoter.

                                Distant north end surrounded in shimmer.

                                    1 of 6 Stonechat.

Another morning of acceptable weather at Fly Flatts with near full cloud and pockets of sun on a light W>3 at 15 degrees.

     One of those good mornings where everything fell into place with the only problem being a mass of heat shimmer around the shoreline and even over the water with me deleting 80 of the 130 photos taken. A photographer once put a question on the blog of world famous Florida bird Photographer Arthur Morris asking what could be done about heat shimmer . Arthurs answer was, if there is heat shimmer present the only answer is put your camera in its bag and go home.

    First off this morning 6 very noisy LBB gulls were over the top field swooping down at something in the broken walls. After a lot of scanning I found the culprit, a Buzzard perched at the bottom of a broken wall, reluctant to move.

   Very lively in the air with 6 Kestrels up together, presumably a family party, whilst the sky was once again filled with Swifts and Swallows wit several LBB and Black Headed gulls moving around.

  The very pale phase Buzzard was perched on a distant fence post before heading off over 'Tatty Pie Hill'. Very quiet on the wader scene with just a single Common Sandpiper and a fleeting glimpse of the juv. Due to the shore being empty I walked the west bank to check the bracken for Whinchat which usually appear at this time of year. Luckily it turned out to be a good move finding 1 Willow Warbler, 4 Stonechat and a single Wheatear but all at distance on the fence line below the banking.

     A last scan of the water from the south bank before I left produced a very distant and distorted female Common Scoter at the north end of the water and then on the way up the track another 2 Stonechat were moving along the fence posts.

   Passing the Nolstar field a Grey Partridge walked across the road in front of me followed by 2 young chicks. A good end to a good morning.

    More cloudy sunshine for tomorrow on a light to moderate westerly starting off at 13 degrees and peaking at 19 degrees.

BS