A clearer morning but on arrival at Fly Flatts early morn, when I got out to unlock the gate, the wind was blasting from the SW with heavy drizzle and low dark clouds meaning no chance of moving birds so back in the car and on to Leeshaw reservoir.
Much better conditions here with full cloud on a SW>4 and just light drizzle throughout at 10 degrees.
Full active skies at this location and it soon became apparent that it was going to be a Redwing morning with flocks of up to 100 piling over from the north heading mainly >SW with just a few >SE. A good cross over situation with squadrons of Starlings heading >NW and Redwings >SW.
A good all round movement ,at some point getting overwhelming , but amazing to see. A few less gulls today whilst yesterdays 10 Wigeon were still on the water but keeping to the shelter of the western end of the reservoir.
Mid afternoon and back to Fly Flatts to check the water and see if I could re locate yesterdays probable Rock Pipit but on arrival, with a near gale force W>6 blowing, the hardy windsurfers were out in force on the water so I set out to check the conduit. That was until I got a text from MP who had just located yet another Med gull in the Thornton fields.
I could now scrat about in the conduit for a Pipit or head to Thornton, no contest.
On arrival at Thornton the gulls were very flighty and the field where Mark found the gull was empty.
After 1 hours search of all the fields and checking through hundreds of Black Headed gulls I had to settle for a dip and head home. Next was a phone call from Mark saying, you guessed it, the gull was back in the original field.
My tea quickly gulped down it was a race back to Thornton where around 100 gulls were in the field and after a few minutes searching I located a cracking 1st winter Med gull. As I was watching and photographing the bird Mark appeared and said that his gull was an adult so another search of the field produced a second Med gull, this being Marks bird so a bonus with two for the price of one.
Thanks once again to Hawkeye Mark Pearson for finding the first bird and giving me a shout.
I,ve had that many Mediterranean gulls this year that I can now spell it without using word speller.
Leeshaw Reservoir
1025 Redwing....................>SW and >SE
3 Song Thrush....................>NW
3 Greenfinch......................>W
12 Chaffinch......................>W
19 Lapwing........................>W
66 Starling..........................>NW
43 Woodpigs......................>NW
8 Alba Wagtail...................>W
10 Wigeon........................>on water
c 150 BH gull
49 LBB gull
18 Common gull
17 Canada geese
2 Cormorant
+ usual sp
Thornton Fields
1 1st winter Med gull
1 ad Med gull
+ usual gulls, very few big gulls.
BS