Dog grooming day so after dropping Ollie and Pippa off at Pellon Lane I was left with 2 hours to kill before picking them up so where better to spend them than Fly Flatts.
Ideal conditions with 80 % cloud cover and a cold W>5 inc W>6 with good visibility.
One of those days when you arrive to see nothing on the water, no birds present in the area and empty skies so its starting off with an empty canvas and a search for birds.
Whilst walking along the west banking and scanning the moor it soon became apparent that Meadow Pipits were coming through >S in good numbers all low below the skyline, this in turn created a couple of distant appearances of a Peregrine which flew through them half heartily.
Looking across at the east banking I was surprised to see the return of the 2 Barnacle geese in with 4 Canadas, these Barnies have been absent from local waters for the last couple of months now.
With still no local action I realized that I would have to scan a greater distance if I was going to get anything at all so I set up the tripod and camera in the SW corner and concentrated on the western fringe way across on the horizon. This did the trick as I firstly picked up 2 Buzzard very high and slowly drifting >SE. This was soon followed by another 3 together then 2 singles all on the same flight path but starting to veer more >S.
Slighter nearer and lower 5 single Kestrels headed the same direction but faster in migration mode whilst 4 Swallows were very high and >S. As the 7th and last Buzzard came over it was mobbed by 2 Raven which eventually gave up and headed towards Hebden Bridge.
Plenty scoping to the far distant west failed to produce any Pinkies on the move.
So a start with nothing made an interesting 2 hours even though I was working an area probably over 5 miles away but thanks to Big Bertha a few record shots were produced.
Just 9 BHGs on the Raggalds Flood on the way back and the water already starting to recede.
What looked like the start of a big push of Woodpigeons this morning soon fizzled out leaving just a few Mipits over >S whilst HC was also experiencing Woodpigs as well as 1 skein of Pinks over the Aire valley. When I text him this afternoon about the Buzzards he informed me that he had 6 over Oxenhope this morning all >S as well as his 2nd Hobby this season.
Hope everyone has a good birdie weekend.
BS