A bright morning with some sun and blue sky, that was until I got past the Withins to find black ice on the road with a temperature of 1 degree and fog patches.
Down at the water the fog was mainly confined to the moor leaving the reservoir clear and some overhead visibility with the reservoir now fully thawed out.
A walk along the west bank produced nothing bird wise as the fog started rolling in and within 15 minutes the whole area was blanked out. After that it was a case of the fog clearing partially only to be blanked out again by another blanket of fog.
In a desperate last attempt of finding bird life I checked around the boat compound but once again finding nothing so the 2 hours up there ended up producing me 2 Red Grouse. What a depressing place Fly Flatts can be in the winter months with so far no winter wildfowl on the water and just the one Snow Bunting.
BS
WEST YORKSHIRE BIRDING. BRIAN SUMNER. I am based at Queensbury and bird a patch within a 10 mile range of home incorporating 16 stretches of water, several plantations, a belt of woodland, stretches of river and canal and good areas of moorland. I specialize in upland birds, reservoir and sky watching. My local patch is Fly Flatts reservoir. Any reports can be sent by text or call to 07771 705024 or see profile for e mail address. All images on this blog are copyright.(2025).