Fly Flatts at 1445 hrs was very windy, WSW>6 with 70 % cloud cover and short spells of sunshine .
Too windy to tackle the west bank so a 30 minute walk about and then to the back of the car for 1 hours sky watching. Really hard work today with one of the busiest days I,ve had for a long time with birds in the sky on every scan though nearly all very distant.
I could have done with a 3 man watch today covering the 360 degrees as birds were moving fast in the wind soon dropping below the sky line whilst other high birds were lost in the scud clouds.
Hardly time to mess with the camera today keeping tabs on what was moving and when I found a bird in the bins and transferred to the camera, which was up on the tripod ready, the bird had gone.
A good supply of raptors with 2 of the Buzzards being moving birds heading very high and >NW whilst a small group of Golden Plover also headed >NW . The Flat moor Goldies lifted up briefly spooked by a Raven but dropped almost immediately back down with a count of around 80.
On the way back, around 100 Starling and a few Lapwing were in the usual cattle grid field and the same amount in the Nolstar field.
It seemed the birds today were frantically feeding or moving in the lee of tonights storm force gales promised.
3 Buzzard............resident
2 Buzzard............>NW
1 Peregrine
3 Kestrel
1 Short Eared Owl
3 Raven
15 Golden Plover.........>NW
c 80 Golden Plover
27 Lapwing
5 Greylag................>SW
2 Redshank.............>NE
c 100 Starling
+ Curlews and Canadas returned after snow
BS