season withdrawal symptoms.
What a strange and wonderful place Fly Flatts is. A day of blue skies and sunshine but not on my patch. 1500 hrs and Fly Flatts was shrouded in low cloud with visibility just across the water and thick fog banks heading across the moor carried by a brisk W>4.
Just time to check the water before shut down with visibility down to a few yards. I carried on the west bank with always the chance of a grounded Lark/ Bunting species brought down with the fog, it was a late afternoon in similar conditions many years ago when a Shorelark appeared halfway along the track.
Walking back towards the south shore a small patch of blue sky appeared and suddenly the fog was gone and the sun beginning to show as it dropped below the western ridge and then as I got back to the car and was tackling up the fog was back thicker than ever.
Bird wise things were quiet with the low cloud base so nothing visible in the sky other than a single Kestrel whilst the water held a few Mallard, the main of the group still down on Dean Head.
Up to 4 Stonechat were down by the feeding station as I topped up the Nyjer, one male staying on a post for its photo taken but as I reached for the camera it suddenly dropped down into the reeds about 2 seconds before a Peregrine steamed over the fence post missing the bird by inches. Another 2 Stonechats were on by the boathouse gates and a single male was near the top gate.
Driving home in the thick fog but by the time I,d got past the Withins all was clear with just the thick fog bank hanging over Fly Flatts.
BS