With the usual low cloud, that has been present over a month now, along with the very high water level, all thoughts of waders and Vis Mig have had to be abandoned this autumn. Hopes now are on anything special on fly-through, wildfowl on the water and small passerines in the bushes or the 2 Willow trees.
A low cloud base again this morning with full dark cloud on a SW>4 at 9 degrees and constant light drizzle throughout.
An early panic to start the morning with a distant diver scoped at the far end of the water peering through the drizzle. With a head full of , could be, special Grebes and Divers, I started to head for the west back when suddenly the obliging bird came flying over to the south of the reservoir where it was much nearer and in camera range. It turned out to be a juvenile Gt Crested Grebe which is an excellent bird for Fly Flatts but disappointingly not one on my hope for list.
The second surprise of the morning was as I was walking the south bank when, what I thought was a Blackbird, flew ahead of me and went into the lagoon tree. A bit of a shock when I picked up the bins to see its pale silvery wings, female Ring Ouzel. As I got nearer the tree it flew out of the back and continued low over the Flat Moor. This is the first autumn Ring Ouzel I,ve had for a couple of years though I used to get them regular up to the end of October at both Fly Flatts and Soil Hill.
Very little otherwise with 4 Swallow, 1 Raven, 1 Kestrel and 5 LBB gulls >NE. Only the one Stonechat today and no blogging Mipits.
BS.