Buying plants at Five Flags garden centre started the afternoon well with a nice group of House Martins over Denholme Gate, my first this year.
1500 hrs and driving up to Fly Flatts past Nolstar a group of birds caught my eye with several Lapwings, Curlews and Mipits mobbing a long winged raptor in the middle of them. Alarm bells rang seeing it was,nt a Buzzard so with thoughts of Osprey or Marsh Harrier I jammed on the brakes, threw myself out of the car and grabbing Big Bertha started firing away not sure what I was on . As soon as I got the settings something near, there it was, a Red Kite.
No chance of getting sharp photos in a howling south wind with the camera hand held and within 2 minutes it was all over with the Kite drifting south towards Mount Tabor, talk about right place at right time although it would have been better if I had been at Fly Flatts with the camera on the tripod.
Fly Flatts was very windy with a S>6 blowing at 25.8 m.p.h. with 100% cloud cover and specs of rain. Most of the watch was spent staring skyward waiting for the Kite to retrace its steps but, as always, that failed to happen.
Otherwise it was down to a count of 11 Common Sandpipers, 5 male Pied Wagtails, 3 Redshank plus the usual upland species. Only 1 Wheatear present and still no Swift. Its either going to be a bad year for Wheatear or they,ve gone straight through to their northern breeding grounds.
BS.