Oats Royd just produced a pair of very mobile Blackcaps which refused to keep still for 2 seconds so hence another empty camera. After a frustrating hour down there I managed a few Willow Warblers and Chiffchaffs but nothing in the camera, I really am going to have to knock this woodland birding on the head.
Sky watching east from Blind Lane produced around 30 Swallows, some moving >N whilst others were feeding very high up but otherwise no gulls or Buzzards up in the milky still skies.
A ray of sunshine came from a report from the young lady ornithologist Kim who I met last year whilst she was doing a bird survey at Fly Flatts for her employers Bentleys before the work started on the reservoir. Kims job is to to check the welfare of the birds before and whilst any work is ongoing.
She reported several pairs of Common Sandpiper, Dunlin, Redshank, Ringed Plover, Lapwing and Curlew as well as Wheatear, Tufted ducks, Pied Wagtails and several Herring gulls which always appear on chick/egg watch. Canada Geese are also now in the middle of breeding.
Kim is monitoring the nesting situation before the reservoir is allowed to be filled again now that Bentleys have almost completed the work in the reservoir basin.
A big thank you to Kim for all she is doing up there and for kindly keeping me informed whilst I am stuck here on lock down, which hopefully won,t be for long now .
I,ve put together a few images from this time last year of some of the species that Kim has reported.
Oats Royd
1 pr Blackcaps
Willow Warblers/Chiffchaffs
+ usual sp.
Blind Lane
c 30 Swallows
Keep safe, BS