An icy cold Fly Flatts this morning at minus 3 degrees at 0800 hrs getting up to 1 degree by 1000 hrs with a moderate SE>4 and full sun but some hazy low cloud.
By 0900 hrs I,d walked the length of the west bank with very little to show other than a few Grouse and the Ringed Plover pair at distance.
Just as I was beginning to get bored birder Carolyn sent a text from the other side of the hill to say that a group of Whoopers were over Ogden heading west towards Thornton Moor.
These birds had to have my name on them and a scan over the Nab located them to the north of the water heading west. I lifted the camera just as they disappeared into clouds making me think, that,s the end of them but they became very noise and sounded to have changed direction and heading my way.
Suddenly, to my amazement, they appeared out of the cloud and dropped down onto the water settling for the rest of the day. If they had,nt landed on the water I would have missed them but for Carolyns call so thanks again Carolyn, keep em coming.
With little time in the afternoon and thinking there was a possibility of some straggler Whoopers dropping onto the water I gave Ogden a coat of looking at but nothing on the water other than a handful of small gulls and the usual Mallards.
The west bank just provided a few Long Tailed Tits and Goldcrest and still no tit flocks or Siskin, plus the water is too high so no chance of Chaffinch / Brambling with their favourite weeds being under water.
Best of a bad lot was the Kingfisher down in the depths of the sluice gate which was catching fish every dive.
No Whoopers on Mixenden again today, this is usually a March hotspot for them.
BS