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Tuesday, February 19, 2019

Fly Flatts p.m.

              Short Eared Owl appeared just as I was leaving.















                                        1 of 2 distant Stonechat.

Arrived at Fly Flatts at 1445 hrs just in time for another good soaking as a bank of heavy drizzle and mist ploughed across the moor on a light wind that had gone back to SW>4.
Luckily it soon passed over leaving it decent for the rest of the watch.
                                                Very much the same as this morning with Canadas, Mallard and Raven plus a Peregrine fast over the moor and 2 Skylark on the seed.
                                                  1600 hrs and time to tackle up at the end of another quiet watch but after I,d put the camera in the car and dropped the legs of the tripod a Short Eared Owl appeared quartering the edge of the moor. Panic stations, with no time to set up the tripod I grabbed the camera and did the best I could hand held with the owl keeping moving from one area to another. As it moved to the north end I drove up the track to find 2 Stonechat on the edge of the moor so grabbing the camera again I tried a few shots but they were too distant and mobile.
                                               A poor watch until the last 15 minutes which made up for it all and a really pleasant day to be up there despite one good soaking.
BS