Bright and breezy this morning at Fly Flatts with a moderate S>5 gusting strong 6 with 90% cloud at 10 degrees. Due to the strong wind the afternoons sailing session had to be cancelled but ideal reservoir watching conditions.
The Ringed Plover chick is on its second day now and very active with the adult birds frantically keeping all other birds at distance. The second egg is still in the scrape and appears to have been abandoned now having failed to hatch.
Dunlins were enjoying the wind being very active flying around the shoreline with at least 15 present and all being kept well away from the Plover chick even though I doubt that they would be a threat to it.
Most Redshank young have now fledged and left the area as well as most adults with numbers well down now as well as Curlew with possibly only a couple left. Common Sandpipers have had a poor breeding season with very few pairs and only a couple of chicks seen whereas I usually have up to around 10 pairs at this site and several juvs.
The Oystercatcher pair were on the entrance track with their 2 offspring which have not yet fledged but should be flying anytime now whilst a single Snipe flew over the top field, a species that is well down in numbers this year for some reason.
Swifts were everywhere , some very high with others low over the water and moving in no specific direction.
A calmer,wetter day forecast for tomorrow.
BS