Great morning, grim afternoon

            Way out to the east of me,  c 100 Pinks

                 Pics taken with Canon 60 x bridge.

A grey morning but the sky was alive with birds. After a poor start Whoopers started the ball rolling reported by HC at Oxenhope with around 19 Swans through followed by skein after skein of Pink Footed geese all east and south east with one skein numbering around 600 birds, see Trektellen for their report. The geese were passing the garage but far to the east and out of sight to me blocked by houses with just a couple of skeins picked out slightly nearer and higher. An amazing morning and many thanks to HC for taking the trouble to keep constantly ringing me when the skeins were coming, not an easy task when you,re watching for the birds, counting them and phoning at the same time.
An afternoon free so with Whoopers on the move first job was to check for left behinds on local waters so a quick check on Raggalds Flood, Ogden, Mixenden and Cold Edge Dams but no Swans to be found. On then to Fly Flatts with deteriorating weather coming in over the moor driven with a WSW>4 bringing drizzle and poor visibility beyond the west ridge.
                                                                       All birding venues can be quiet but when Fly Flatts is quiet it goes one step further and is very very quiet as it was today.
With 2 hours to spend up there I walked the length of the water to the NW corner and back finding nothing on the water, on the banking or in the sky. Constant scanning of the moor produced the same.
                                                                     Back at the SE corner and still an empty camera and note pad I trekked down to, and beyond, the feeding station then in desperation along the moorland track towards Castle Carr thinking there must be an odd Snow Bunting dropped down from the big move this morning but dream on, it didnt happen.
                                                                    1530 hrs and by now the fog was rolling in and the drizzle increased into soaking mode so me and 2 wet dogs decided to call it a do.
Unbelievably, 2 hours intense searching produced 1 Kestrel, 1 distant Raven and a dozen Red Grouse
Driving home, once we got down off the hill to Wainstalls, the weather was much brighter and dry.
Oh well, there,s always the good times to remember and maybe next visit.......................who knows.
BS