Wild and wet at Fly Flatts.

 

                                   At least 3 Little Ringed Plovers

                                    Single Oystercatcher

                                    2 Common Sandpiper

                                    Several LBB gulls over >NE

                                    Swarms of Starlings.

Another of those wet and windy mornings with sunshine and showers on a moderate WSW>5 at 8 degrees. Hard work for the camera settings with one minute bright sunshine and the next minute as black as night and everything going into silhouette.

    Lively enough given the conditions with at least 3 Little Ringed Plover along with the usual Common Sandpipers, Redshank and Oystercatcher as well as Curlew and Lapwing.

   The sky was full of Swifts whilst several Lesser Black Backed gulls headed >NE and 4 Kestrel were up together along the west bank.

    Reed Bunting and Stonechat were busy feeding young and several juv Pied Wagtails were around the compound area. The top fields are alive with swarms of juv and adult Starlings.

     Just for a change tomorrow its going to be,....you guessed it, wet and windy, with sunshine and showers on a moderate SW at 8 degrees.

BS

    

Ogden reservoir.

 

                                    Several Herring gulls through

                                as well as Lesser Black Backed

                                Grey Wagtails taking food to the nest.

After a night and early morn of torrential rain Ogden remained mainly dry with just odd showers of light drizzle with full cloud on a moderate W>4 at 10 degrees.

    Nothing to get excited about this morning but with the law of averages somethings bound to turn up soon! Plenty LBB and Herring gulls moving through >NE with some dropping off onto the water briefly before moving on. The drake Tufted duck is still present whilst 4 Heron were on the west shore.

    The 2 Grey Wagtails were busy taking food back to the nest sight and the waterside trees just had the usual species with a rise in the number of Blackbirds, both male and female.

    More rain tomorrow with some sunshine and showers on a moderate sou'westerly at 10 degrees. The amount of rain expected this week, up to Friday, will scupper the chance of new waders at Fly Flatts with the water level already rising.

BS

    

Fly Flatts.

 

                                Greylag goslings growing well

                                4 standard, 2 white off the mixed pair.

                                Juv Pied Wags out of the nest now.

                                    Common Sandpiper

                                Little Ringed Plover and Common Sandpiper

                                    Alive with Swifts.

                            Distant Red Kite mobbed with Lapwings and Starlings

A dark and drizzly start to the morning with a moderate SW>4-5 at 10 degrees with slight breaks of sun by 0915 hrs.

    A busy morning at Fly Flatts, especially in the sky, with 3 Buzzards up at once over the Nab whilst a Red Kite, moving >S beyond the wind turbines, was heavily mobbed by Lapwings and Starlings. The sky was buzzing with Swifts feeding over the water as well as a few Swallows whilst several LBB gulls headed >NE.

    Wader wise it was down to the long staying Redshanks, Common Sandpipers, Little Ringed Plovers and Oystercatchers as well as Lapwings and Curlews. All these species, apart from LRP, have several families of chicks now and several Greylag goslings are very near fledging and ready for flight shortly.

Unfortunately, Ringed Plover and Dunlin seem to have gone without breeding this year.

    The 2 pair of breeding Pied Wagtails have young leaving the nest now and the Stonechats will soon be taking flight.

  Looking like a washout in the morning with a promise of heavy rain on a moderate SW at 10 degrees improving after midday.

BS

    

     

A wet circuit of Ogden.

 

                                Heron photos or nowt this morning.

A miserably wet morning with thick fog on the tops courtesy of a moderate SE>3 at 8 degrees. Ogden was just below the low cloud base with a mix of rain and drizzle throughout.

     An extremely quiet session with plenty of the usual woodland calls but very few sightings other than a Gt Spotted Woodpecker  which flew over the tree canopy and 3 very vocal Song Thrush.

    The water just held 2 Lesser Black Backed gulls and 3 Herring gull but no sign of yesterdays Little Grebe.

    Yet another cloudy showery day tomorrow with a moderate SW at 12 degrees.

BS

Back to Ogden and a new visitor.

 

                                New in, Little Grebe

                                    Single Moorhen

                                    Tufted duck patiently waiting.

A drier morning with just a couple of showers on a moderate W>4 at 10 degrees with full cloud but short breaks of sunshine.

    A new visitor on the water today with a Little Grebe feeding well under the edges whilst a Moorhen was moving down the water under the opposite bank. Just a single LBB gull present.

     Otherwise the usual Herons, drake Tufted duck and the woodland species, the latter being more heard than seen.

    A wet and windy forecast for tomorrow with a moderate SE at 12 degrees. Showing 60% to 90 % chance of rain with possibly thunder mid afternoon.

BS

   

Just a dog walk, Ogden.

 

                                    Small amount of shore, East bank

                                        West bank

                                    Passerine Alley

                                        East bank shoreline

                                    Parakeet pond.

                                A protest, probably in vain.

                                    Heron, west shore

                                    A 2nd Heron

                                        Drake Tufted, female probably sitting.

                                    Several vocal Chaffinch

A terrible morning at Ogden both weather wise and bird wise with a mix of heavy showers and drizzle throughout the watch on a moderate WSW>4 with full low cloud at 10 degrees.

    Plenty bird song from Chiffchaff, Willow Warbler, Blackcap and Chaffinch, as well as the usual common woodland species, but Chaffinch were about the only species showing themselves whilst the other species kept to the shelter of the deep foliage.

     The drake Tufted is still hanging around like an expectant father whilst the female is probably on eggs. Just 2 Mallard ducklings to be found which is probably due to the 2, and sometimes 3, Heron on the bank as well as several Crows. I'm expecting Great or Little Egret at this site anytime as conditions are ideal but nothing so far.

    Just 3 Lesser Black Backed gulls present and now starting to use the exposed shore on the east bank, as long as all the rain does'nt raise the water level too much. Plenty shore now showing at both the east and west banks though Ogden has never been known for being a wader habitat due to it being surrounded with trees. Clifford Lees from Halifax Scientific Society used to tell us, back in the 60s, that  water surrounded by trees made waders suspect that they were dropping down into a trap.

   Over the years I've had a few surprises with Greenshank, Green Sandpiper, Redshank and more common, Oystercatcher, Curlew and Common Sandpiper, plus NK had Black Tailed Godwits on the east shore a few years ago, so its always worth giving the shoreline a scan .

      More sunshine and showers for tomorrow on a moderate westerly kicking off at 8 degrees.

BS