After an exiting morning a trip to Fly Flatts and Cold Edge Dams late afternoon was a damp squid with dark clouds, a strengthened SE>5 and snow showers with no continuation of this mornings pinkie movement .
This mornings events started as I was half way along the west bank at Fly Flatts when a text from JL reporting Pinkies WNW over Bradshaw. I quickly grapevined the message with just time to get the camera up on its sticks and the settings something near before I heard them approaching from the SE. The skein came overhead very high >NW but less than a third the size of Johns skein which either split and some passed me behind the east ridge or this was another skein altogether but either way, it was thanks again to the grapevine system giving me more time to get set up ready and to warn other birders that they were on the move.
Next it was the turn of DF reporting big skeins over Ringstone but none of these came into view at Fly Flatts obviously veering west behind the western ridge and out of sight to me in the hazy visibility.
Another text from JL as I arrived home with a skein over Ogden and a phone call from blog watcher Danny at Wibsey with a skein heading >W towards Queensbury but probably passing to the North of me.
SUMMARY
JL 183 WNW over Bradshaw 0914 hrs
JL 98 WNW over Ogden 1055 hrs
BS 49 NW over Fly Flatts 0940 hrs
DF c400 N over Ringstone 1021 hrs
DF c200 NW over Ringstone 1039 hrs
DF c600 W over Ringstone 1052 hrs also AT and RR.
DF et@ c60 c250 c40 W over Ringstone 1055 hrs
DF et @ c120 W over Ringstone 1102 hrs
Danny 1 Skein W over Wibsey 1113 hrs
DF, NCD, AC, AM, 28 over Gorple late afternoon.
So quite a day for Pinks and a good team effort from all observers . The worst part was getting the grapevine messages out to 48 members each time as being at Fly Flatts the signal is poor and slow and the only way you can send them from the west bank is to face SE and hold the phone up in the air as high as you can. By the time I,d got one set of messages out another had come in but a great system keeping everyone in touch.
Thats 1670 Pink Footed Geese past Ringstone this morning and a total of
just over 2000 geese. WOW
Thanks to all involved.
BS