1500 hrs at Fly Flatts in atrocious conditions with a strong NW>6 and very heavy horizontal rain . Bad weather for humans but ideal for birds.
A quick dog walk to the SW corner and back before the worst of the rain appeared then down to some serious sky watching in what seemed like perfect moving conditions.
The weather was so bad I had to move from my usual watch point on the south shore and position the car in the boat yard in the shelter of the club house so I could stand behind the tailgate, dry and out of the worst of the wind which meant I was viewing south, southeast and south west with no visibility north due to the club house and the driving rain.
The skies were amazingly busy despite the conditions with Kestrels, Curlews and Lapwings moving around. The Golden Plover flock blasted off briefly with just 33 birds but they quickly dropped back onto the moor.
A Buzzard appeared over the moor and ventured across the Slade moor getting mobbed with Goldies which did,nt seem to bother it at all. Suddenly it plunged from the sky like a Peregrine dropping to the ground and coming away with a tuft of grass, obviously a near miss.
Unfortunately this is where I broke the first rule of vis migging, Don,t get distracted by watching local birds, isn,t that right Comp.
As the Buzzard moved on and I came away from the camera I glanced to my right over the water just in time to see a gull skimming very low over the high waves heading >NE. A look through the bins produced a cracking adult Kittiwake in summer plumage showing a pure white head and small yellow bill. Its wings and mantle were pure light grey with black wing tips.
By the time I,d looked at it through the bins it passed the corner of the club house out of sight so grabbing the camera off the tripod I put my head round the corner only to get a face full of rain and no sign of the bird.
The next 15 minutes were spent scanning the water in the hopes that it had come down but nothing found although the waves were very high and white horses were rolling across meaning that it would have been difficult to pick out had it been there, especially trying to look into the weather.
On the plus side I got 2 Kittiwakes last year at Fly Flatts on 2 consecutive days, the 22nd and 23rd of March but on the down side the wind has to go back to the SW tomorrow but I,ll be up there scanning the skies.
BS