Fly Flatts a.m. SE>2 at 9 degrees with 80% cloud and some sun. Good visibility after overnight fog and torrential rain. Light rain showers then a torrential cloudburst by 1000 hrs.
By late afternoon the wind had increased SE>3 with showers dying out and mainly sunny.
An active morning with about 20 photos taken before I,d even parked up, with a Greenland Wheatear near the top gate then a Snipe lower down which meant wet feet to start with standing in the bog for a decent photo position.
The morning continued to go well with a Grey Wagtail and pair of Tufted duck, both uncommon at this site whilst waders were down to the usual species.
Ravens were noisy over the Nab and 2 Black Headed gulls on the water were unusual.
The afternoon brought mixed feelings about what to do, as Sunday can be busy at Fly Flatts with walkers plus boats out on the water as well as blue skies and sunshine but with a SE wind blowing and rain showers it had to be Fly Flatts for another dabble at Tern watch.
The area was alive with Swallows flying around the compound whilst 1 LBB gull was on the water. A check of the west bank produced the usual waders and then, back in the boatyard a scan of the buoys on the water found a gull type flying around number 6 buoy right at the north end of the water. I expected this to be one of this mornings BH gulls but then as it landed on the buoy alarm bells rang. Two Common Terns circled the far NW corner then came over the water at speed and high away >SE. I was hoping for a return but they kept going in the direction of Ogden though keeping high.
Its been 2 years since my last Common Tern sighting , which was here at Fly Flatts, with countless hours of weather checking and sky watching, and today it finally happened , on a day I didnt really expect Terns with the clear blue skies, but its always a wind with an east in it that seems to produced Terns in this area.
By no means a good area for Terns and its embarrassing to say it was 2013 when I had my last Arctic Tern sighting which was at Ogden. 2018 produced a Sandwich Tern here but none since.
An interesting text conversation with grapevine member Harry C today who is making Oats Royd his local patch. He spoke to the late landowner John Steeles wife and she produced an annual report that I,d written in 1997, A Year at Oats Royd. John took the book around all the local schools and arranged visits to try get young ones interested in nature.
When I did that report there were hardly any trees down there but the newly built ponds were very productive, unfortunately now spoilt with the angling club that rent them. The report was done in the days before computers and big lens cameras had got into birding use but an enjoyable project spending most of my free time down there for over 2 years.
Good luck to Harry on his new venture.
Fly Flatts
2 Ringed Plover
9 Common Sandpiper
2 Oyks
4 Snipe
3 Raven
1 Pr Tufted
1 Grey Wagtail
4 Wheatear
1 Greenland Wheatear
2 Herring gull
1 LBB gull
2 BH gull
2 Common Tern
2 Barnacle geese
sev Swallows
+ usual sp.