TMR / Permit holders only, 1500-1730hrs.
Ideal conditions with grey skies and dark clouds with a WNW>5 and slight drizzle.
With reports via DJS of Black Terns moving through and conditions as they were it was only a matter of time before something kicked off which it soon did.
I was only half way through my first sausage roll when I heard a Greenshank call so tossing the tea to one side I scanned the skies picking up a Greenshank heading in from the north which landed half way down the reservoir before flying down into the NW corner across the water from me.
By the time Id taken a few record snaps 2 more Greenshank flew over calling loudly and disappeared through the Causeway Foot Col and down the Calder Valley.
Within 10 minutes a second Greenshank landed further down the reservoir on the cobbles with another 2 overhead and through the col.
Around 100 Lapwings were over the south end of the reservoir after being put up by something whilst 4 large black silhouetted birds flying >N over the water turned out to be Cormorants, these also had been reported in numbers in Calderdale.
Thirty minutes lying in wet heather waiting for the Greenshank to make its way towards me just gave me the 2 top photos before it turned and waded back the other way.
The 2 ground birds were still there when I left.
All in all a magical 2 hours although I never did get time to finish my tea off.
6 Greenshank
c100 Lapwing
4 Cormorant
70+ LBBs
5 Common gull
c150 Black Headed gulls
+ usual sp.
BS