With Lynda out with the daughter it left me with parole for the afternoon so Fly Flatts here we come.
On the way I could see a good number of geese in the fields at Cold Edge Dams so a quick divert to check them out with hopes of the wandering Brent goose sighted at Oxenhope. Just 105 Canadas and 8 Greylag in the field whilst a quick look at Leadbeater Dam just produced 1 female Tufted and a few Mallard with no signs of the Red Crested Pochard unless it was on Haigh Cote which is unlikely.
Fly Flatts was mild at 7 degrees with a very light SW>3 increasing near the end of the watch. Visibility was poor with very hazy sunshine blanking out the moors to the west with banks of fog threatening a shut down creeping in from the east which fortunately held off until 1515 hrs although straight above me the sky was blue and clear.
Despite the pleasing conditions birding was poor with just 3 Black Headed gulls on the water and no Mallards or Teal present. Several Red Grouse and Pheasants were vocal over the moor with 2 Kestrels up over the Nab.
Even with more time for an intensive search around the feeding areas and west banking for Snow Bunting it failed to produce with just 2 Reed Buntings and a single Meadow Pipit found.
A scan through the bins way across the water to the NE track area a large looking raptor sat on a fence post refusing to fly. Unable to id it through the bins I set up Big Bertha to try for a way out of range shot which she achieved and zooming the image in found it to be a very dark backed Short Eared Owl.
Back at the car on the south bank the fog was now rolling in but I could see the SEO quartering the fields to the north so I drove on the top road and parked up hoping it would appear out of the fog and near enough for me to see, which luckily it did.
After a couple of brief sightings and some very iffy shots it dropped down into the grass and re appeared with a vole so the owl and me both set off home with a smile on our faces.
BS