A good morning to be out at Fly Flatts with dead calm conditions at 3 degrees and 90% cloud. The reservoir was like a mill pond and very difficult to check around the edges with strong reflections.
Unfortunately all the Fly Flatts birds have been put on Tier 3 + a full lock down and they are all self isolating leaving the area bird less.
A walk along the full length of the west bank to the NW corner plus a scan of the water and constant sky watching for a 2 hour period got me a single LBB gull over high and >NE.
Not a solitary bird otherwise apart from a few Red Grouse calling.
As I was tackling up at 1015 hrs 4 Reed Buntings dropped into the small tree in the boat yard which was just enough to stop me from throwing my bins in the reservoir.
Its amazing that there are thousands of gulls just over the east ridge at TMR and thousands of gulls just over the west ridge at Leeshaw whilst Fly Flatts in the centre is like no mans land.
September to March is always hit and miss at Fly Flatts so you just have to take the bad with the good, although a bit more good would be better.
Mid afternoon and the plan was to head to TMR for a bit of gull watching but after a 10 minute wait at temporary lights near the Raggalds and another two sets further on I diverted on Roper Lane and ended up on Ringby Top again.
Conditions up there were good with a very light E>2, bright skies and good visibility with a bank of fog to the far east, possibly over the North sea.
Hard work this afternoon scratting a few birds together with even low numbers of Corvids and gulls. The majority of small gulls were Commons with a few LBBs over the west ridge.
No Lapwings today but a good count of Meadow Pipits with a single Skylark amongst them but all very mobile dropping down into the long grass.
A bit of rain on a light easterly tomorrow which may liven things up a bit as long as the fog stays where it is to the east.
FLY FLATTS
1 LBB......>NE
4 Reed Bunting.
RINGBY TOP
2 Stonechat
1 Wren
1 Robin
16 Mipit
1 Skylark
c40 Small gulls, 75% Commons
8 LBBs
+ usual sp.
BS