Fly Flatts 1430-1545 hrs. Cool S >4. light rain showers. Very dark skies.
Got to play out early today catching a bit more daylight although the dark skies didnt make it feel that way with poor visibility across onto the east bank with all the mud wet and shining making it hard to pick out anything and the whole area in silhouette.
A scan across to the east bank got a count of 71 Mallard and the Golden Plover flock has grown to 37 which I missed at the first scan with the mirror like background but on the second scan I started finding them scattered all along the mud.
No sign of the Dunlin but it could quite easily have been there and not seen in the conditions.
The usual Kestrel was present and a few Red Grouse but otherwise there was nothing with empty water and not a single bird in the air, not even a gull or corvid in what seemed to be good conditions, I really can,t work out what makes these birds tick.
I,ve stepped up the Nyjer seed now hoping to attract Snow Buntings or Shorelark in 3 seperate feeding areas, hopefully it will do better than it has with Twite which have been absent now for 5 years despite continuous feeding.
On a more positive note , a large flock of around 150 Fieldfare were flying around and in the trees tops as I set off from home by the side of Foxhill School at the top of Harp Lane and an earlier report of several winter thrushes feeding on the Hawthorn berries down in Queensbury old railway station from blog watcher Carolyn.
BS