Well, the blue skies and sunshine had gone this morning,as hoped for, but replaced by a bank of thick fog only clearing about 30 minutes from knocking off time and even then leaving a low cloud base on a NE>3 at 8 degrees.
A walk around the perimeter to check the shore just turned up the usual waders plus the male Ringed Plover still protecting the chicks which are due to fledge within 12 days now, but they are keeping them well hidden so don,t know if all 3 are still present or not.
A pair of Dunlin are now breeding out on the moor and possibly 3 pair of Common Sandpiper. The only new arrivals were a pair of Tufted duck which dropped in out of the fog whilst Swallows and Swifts were over the water in good numbers. Snipe were active with 3 present.
Hopefully June will provide better than May which has got to have been my worst May on record at Fly Flatts with poor counts of limited species of wader. May is usually my best month up here for wader numbers but high water and a combination of wrong weather conditions kept birds to a minimum.
The best of a poor job were :-
Wheatear peaked at 17 inc 2 Greenland and a poss intergrade
Common Sandpiper peaked at 12
Dunlin peaked at 9
Redshank peaked at 12
Oystercatcher peaked at 5
Ringed Plover peaked at 7 with 3 chicks bred.
Only decent waterfowl 3 Shelduck plus a few Teal.
See what June can provide.
BS