Gull day at Fly Flatts (no public access)

                  147 big gulls present, 90% Herring.

              Nothing stands out as unusual

                                        Common Sandpiper

                                        Oystercatchers

   This is what the gulls have their eye on, Lapwing chicks

                                       Looking very vulnerable out on the mud

                                        Ringed Plover

                                                                Dunlin

With only one bite of the cherry due to lock down I have to decide between morning or afternoon but as the last two mornings were foggy it was,nt a problem . Today I was going to wait till the afternoon when rain was forecast which livens the waders up but a last minute decision got me up there in the morning hoping to catch the gulls before they left, usually by mid morning.
                                                       The weather was partly cloudy and clear with a moderate S>5 which kept all the waders at distance across on the island in the shelter of the winds.
A good move gull wise with 147 out on the peninsular , these being around 90% Herrings all scanned through with hopes of something special although with the distance and wind blowing scoping was very difficult.
                     Scanning the mud I came across a pair of very agitated Lapwing with 4 chicks out in the open not 50 yards from the gulls, not the best place for them to be.
                   The pair of Blackbirds that were in the boatyard whilst the Ring Ouzels were present are both busy collecting food to take back to their young whilst a single Wheatear was very flighty near the ponds.
              No Goldies in the Nolstar field but they dont seem to arrive in the field until after midday.
It looked good for Swift today ahead of the weather front but will have to wait for an early May bird now. On previous years I,ve usually had one on 30/4 or 1/5.

Fly Flatts
Lapwing with 4 chicks
147 big gulls, 90% Herring
1 Redshank
1 Common Sandpiper
2 Oystercatcher
2 Ringed Plover
5 Dunlin
1 Wheatear
1 pr Blackbirds feeding young
+ usual sp.
Stay safe.
BS

In amongst the waders, Fly Flatts. (no public access)

                                       Ringed plover

                                          Common Sandpiper

                            Very wet Ringed Plover

                                                   Dunlin

                                             Grub up

A very wet afternoon at Fly Flatts with dark clouds on a SE>4 and heavy rain throughout making it feel like the Fly Flatts I,m used to and what seemed like ideal conditions for something special passing over but this never happened.
                                                     A check at the NE corner just produced 1 Herring gull and several Canadas though scoping was difficult in the heavy rain. Its going to be hard work this year finding single waders with acres of mud , several hidden areas with gulleys and hollows , plus the shoreline is now a scope- able distance away.
                                                   Luckily today all the activity was near the SE corner where the ponds are filling up nicely with todays rain. A Common Sandpiper was down the entrance track with 2 more in the boat compound and a further 2 on the south shore.
                                               Dunlins and Ringed Plover were around the ponds whilst 2 Curlew and 3 Redshank were on the island. The waders love the rain and were all out probing the mud whereas when its dry and warm they seldom move, squat down with their heads in their wings.
                                             A check on the Nolstar Dotterel field produced 22 Golden Plover which is encouraging for visiting Dotterel over the next couple of weeks.

Fly Flatts
4 Ringed Plover
11 Dunlin
3 Redshank
4 Common Sandpiper
2 Curlew
2 Greylag

Nolstar
22 Golden Plover

Stay safe, B.S.
                                                 

Back home to Fly Flatts. No public access.

                                 Male Ringed Plover

                                      Female Ringed Plover

                                  Herring gulls on egg watch

                                           9 Dunlin present

Fly Flatts p.m.  Cool E>4 with full cloud and showers throughout.
                                                           Within keeping of the revised local exercise rules provided by the National Police Chiefs Council ( NPCC) I headed back to , as AC put it, where I belong, at Fly Flatts after a 5 week absence. A nice welcome from the Bentley workers up there, from a distance, and even the weather made me feel at home with some heavy rain showers, the first rain I,ve seen in weeks.
          The whole area was buzzing with waders, gulls and wildfowl with plenty nesting going on from the Lapwings and Canada geese. Curlews were quiet meaning that they too are in the nesting period.
          The SE ponds are nearly dried up but still held Ringed Plover and Dunlin whilst the island held Oystercatchers , Redshank and Common Sandpiper but with the amount of shoreline these 3 species were very distant, apart from one Common Sandpiper that was very mobile around the boatyard.
           Several Canadas were present though a much lower count that previous years, probably due to the small amount of water, and only 1 Greylag showing along with 2 pair of Mallard. I,m hoping the Mallards move on to breed after last years disaster of 2 pair only managing to raise 1 young between them out of 18 ducklings, thanks to the gulls.
            A group of Herring gulls were in the NE bay but moved off >SW late afternoon whilst there was no sign of the long staying Ring Ouzel.

Fly Flatts
9 Dunlin
5 Common Sandpiper
2 Oyks
6 Redshank
4 Ringed Plover
2 Curlew
1 Greylag
1m Pied Wagtail
12 Herring gull
+ usual sp.
Stay safe, B.S.