A half decent morning at last with the sun being replaced with full cloud and mist. Heavy drizzle soon cleared leaving it damp conditions on a light SSE>2 at 14 degrees.
Much more pleasant today with the heat control turned down so easier walking the west bank. Black Headed gulls were the bird of the day with good numbers over and several on the water and in the fields coinciding with a big move over Manchester yesterday recorded by Simon Johnson, ex B.O,G, man and a brilliant birder now residing in the Manchester area and reporting on Trektellen.
A very low species count today, the only waders being 1 Common Sandpiper and juv, whilst the long staying Ringed Plover pair that lost their first brood have finally produced a second brood of 2 chicks , now 4 days old and looking very vulnerable in an exposed area.
The eggs are incubated for nearly 4 weeks by both male and female but strangely I have seen both birds every day since they arrived, mostly together or at separate ends of the water. I have kept a record of this to confirm if they bred . Maybe with the hot weather the eggs could be left longer although the pattern was the same when they bred in March?
Hopefully this brood will have a happier ending than the last but they have nearly 4 weeks now to keep their heads down before fledging.
Fly Flatts
2 Ringed Plover + 2 chicks
1 Common Sand + 1 juv
19 LBB gull.....>SE
171 BH gull.....>SE
+ usual sp.
BS