Peering through the fog at Dunlins.
With 2 bad afternoons at Fly Flatts the weather was reversed today with a bad morning and a decent afternoon. Driving up there early morning it was drizzly and dull but when I got as far as the Withins
I hit thick fog which remained throughout.It was just possible to see the near shoreline but nothing beyond so a good dog walk then back to the car where the fog did,nt look like moving and the rain was now lashing down, hence an early finish with the only highlight being a Short Eared Owl sat on a fence post by the top gate on arrival which drifted off over towards the wind farm.
A full day of drizzle and low cloud luckily moved on by the late afternoon watch leaving it clear with 90% cloud cover and a very warm W>4.
Strangely the wader scene was very quiet with everything at the south end and pools, which are now well topped up with the rain, and a scope from on at the NW corner failed to find a single wader on the east and north shoreline.
Back at the south end only 14 Dunlin were present along with 4 Common Sandpipers, 2 Redshank and a single Ringed Plover. Possibly everything was down resting in the NE pools and gullies rather than moved on which is unlikely. Though the Dunlin will probably move I would,nt expect the Common Sands and Redshank to go anywhere till the end of the season.
Big gulls were back after a 2 day absence with 149 birds, 75% LBB and 25% Herring whilst a Short Eared Owl was around the Nab area. Back at the top gate 2 noise Ravens came over heading towards the Nab. A nice quiet drive home again for the second day with the top road being shut down beyond the reservoir to Oxenhope for repairs, that road is like the M62 at tea times usually.
BS