in heat shimmer.
Distant Yellow Legged Herring gull, again in heat shimmer.
Bright yellow legs
juv Pied Wagtail
A clear morning with 50% cloud and sun on a cool NW>3 increasing NW>$ by late afternoon.
This morning felt like the floodgates had just opened for visible migration with a real taste of movement.
A Yellow Wagtail started the ball rolling which would have been missed but for it calling as I had my head in the scope so just managed to get the bins onto it as it headed >SW closely followed by 6 Alba Wagtails.
Meadow Pipits showed the first signs of moving, other than a few previously ground hopping, with a small group of 18 in their usual early move direction of >W.
Swifts and Swallows headed >SW whilst 4 Willow Warblers were blogging in the boatyard tree along with 2 juv Goldfinch.
After trying to get the camera onto the Willow Warblers this morning I did a last scope of the north shore to find 2 juv Shelduck had suddenly appeared in the area I had been stood by 30 minutes earlier.
A quick out of range , heat distorted shot then started off to dash along the east bank when suddenly they lifted off and away west after only staying down around 10 minutes at the most. I thought the Peregrine must have flushed them but the gulls never moved so it must have been just a quick water stop.
An afternoon check on the gulls produced 16 LBBs and 1 Yellow Legged Herring gull but again no chance of half decent photos with the shoreline shimmering away in the sun and the distance they were at.
The sky looked good for Osprey today as another slipped through the net with 1 SW over Rotherham this morning making about 6 that have slipped past us so far.
A better looking forecast for tomorrow with cloud and a S turning SW light wind but still high temperatures of 18 degrees.
Visible Migration
1 Yellow Wagtail..........>SW
6 Alba Wagtail.............>SW
37 Swallow..................>SW
6 Swift........................>SW
18 Mipits.....................>W
4 Willow Warblers......blogging
1 YL Herring gull.......blogging
2 juv Shelduck...........blogging
Present
16 LBB gull
2 juv Pied Wagtail
2 juv Goldfinch
BS