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Thursday, September 28, 2023

Chats galore, Fly Flatts.

                                    Good fall of Stonechat




                                Not only me watching the Chats
                                    Sparrowhawk.

                                        Stonechats and Mipits


                                    Single Wheatear

                                    Whinchat, Mipit, Stonechat

A very wet and windy start to the morning with rain turning to drizzle but clearing by 0800 hrs with a moderate SW>4 dropping to SW>2 before getting up again to SW>3 at 11 degrees. Full cloud throughout giving very dark conditions.
         As expected, this morning was all ground work after a very wet and windy night with near empty skies other than half a dozen LBB gulls >SW plus the usual corvids, Kestrel etc plus a Sparrowhawk that landed briefly near the grounded migrants but was soon seen off by the local Crow family.
       Just 4 Canadas on the water but a good overnight fall of migrants with several Meadow Pipits plus 12 Stonechat, 3 Whinchat, 1 Wheatear and 4 Reed Bunting.
       The Chat flock was very mobile moving around the area and keeping well at distance which made photos hard work and poor quality in the dull light.
The 3 Whinchats were very elusive sticking nearby the Stonechats but mostly dropping down into the reeds. This has been my best year for Whinchat with 10 separate birds during Aug/Sept all at Fly Flatts.
    A brighter day tomorrow with a moderate westerly.
BS