Very dull and hazy at Fly Flatts a.m. with a very light SW>2 at 7 degrees. Rain by 0930 hrs.
The birding at Fly Flatts was as dull as the weather this morning with just the usual Curlews, Canadas, Ringed Plovers etc plus the addition of 2 Greylags on the water and several more new arrived Meadow Pipits. The 2 Redshank were still present but sticking to the north shore.
A mid afternoon check of Ogden was a very wet affair with heavy rain throughout after the first 15 minutes of arrival. The sky was very dark making it very difficult to see into the waterside trees as I walked around the circumference of the water.
First birds were 3 Herring gull and 2 Oystercatchers on the overflow tower with just a low count of small gulls on the water as well as 3 Canada geese and the usual Mallards.
The west bank was quiet apart from several Robins and Dunnocks but once I had located the tit flock at the north end, things livened up somewhat.
The flock comprised of several Goldcrest, Blue, Great and Long Tailed tits, 2 Treecreepers and 4 Chiffchaff, one of which was very vocal.
On to the east bank where Passerine Alley held 7 Chaffinch, where the count would be up in the thirties now if the water was low enough to expose their favourite weeds, whilst another single Chiffchaff was in the Willows. Up in the top wood a Gt Spotted Woodpecker was knocking 7 bells out of a tree trunk but remained unseen.
So a very wet do but nice to see the birds building up. Poor ranger Chris was trying to repair a leaking roof on the community building but soon got rained off.
BS