to the moor all day.
A bright sunny morning at Leeshaw with a light SW>3 at 4 degrees.
Once again the whole area was buzzing with the sound of spring on the uplands and Lapwings and Curlews now seeing off gulls and corvids from the fields.
A group of 11 Herrings were on the water before moving off >W along with a pair of Teal and 2 Pink Footed geese in with the Greylags. A Heron flew over the water mobbed by gulls which were also mobbing a pair of Goosander.
A check on Lower Laithe found the Whoopers gone.
By late afternoon at Fly Flatts the wind had turned SE>2 with the sun showing through the clouds and some very big black clouds moving over throwing everything into silhouette which made it difficult picking birds out with everything in black and white.
Suddenly today Fly Flatts had burst back to life with Mallards and Canadas on the water plus the return of the 2 Barnacles whilst the muddy shoreline and islands held Lapwings, gulls and a single Oystercatcher. Looking across the bay to the island was like being on the Lune estuary with a mass of noisy birds.
The Ringed Plover was away from it all down on the shoreline and difficult to see on the bright shining mud. Every time I took my bins off it to get it in the camera I,d lost it again.
Greylags were on the move throughout the afternoon very high and west in several skeins all disappearing over the west ridge and into Lancashire. An amazing afternoon up there.
Leeshaw
18 Oystercatchers
9 Curlew
1 pr Teal
1 pr Goosander
2 Pink Footed Geese
sev Canada and Greylag
11 Herring gull
c 150 Lapwing
1 Heron
+ usual sp.
Fly Flatts
2 Barnacle geese
45 Canada geese
38 Lapwing
1 Oystercatcher
1 Ringed Plover
sev Mallard
139 Greylag........................>W
BS