A real weird day weather wise at Fly Flatts with skies as black as night on arrival, some of the darkest clouds I,ve ever seen bringing torrential rain showers with thunder and lightening but bird able between the showers on a light >ENE breeze. As I was leaving late morning a massive white bank of fog crept over the Nab ending up blanking out the horizon 360 degrees like a huge circle and leaving the reservoir clear in the centre.
The afternoon was calm with the wind turned S>2 with rolling fog patches with one moment clear and the next fog.
My first sighting of the morning was 11 ducks by the north shore but unidentifiable in the dark conditions but one further out in the water stood out as a female Wigeon.
Needing to get along the west bank to check them out I started to walk up the south shore wondering about the weather as the rain was just starting and I didnt want to get on the west bank looking at the frightening sky. Suddenly a flash and a clap of thunder decided the problem for me as I made a dash back to the car. With the dogs in the back I stood under the tailgate out of the rain but had to jump in the car as the rain came down in sheets cutting visibility to a few yards.
Within 15 minutes it had passed over so a dash to the east bank just in time to see the ducks lift off and fly over the water. There were 10 Teal and one Wigeon, the latter heading off >W and the Teal landing on the south shore, still present late afternoon but back across to the north shore.
The Tufted ducks were still on the water but down to 6 whilst at least 5 Wheatear were present around the shores. Very little moving but Mipits started coming over well after the last heavy downpour.
Vis Mig
3 Reed Bunting.......................>W
3 Swallow..............................>S
88 Mipits...............................>SE
9 Herring gull.......................>SW
21 LBB gull.........................>SW
1f Wigeon............................>W after leaving the water.
Present
10 Teal
6 Tufted duck
4 LBB gull
11 Canadas
2 Barnacle geese
5 Mallard
5 Wheatear
BS