Pleasant conditions at Leeshaw this morning with full cloud and some early light rain on a light SW>3 dropping to SW>2 by 0900 hrs with a temperature of 17 degrees but feeling cooler in the breeze. By
0930hrs the breeze had dropped to calm and the temperature risen to 20 degrees.
A good show of gulls this morning with LBBs on the north bank and in the goose field, which has been newly mown, whilst a steady flow >W of LBBs throughout the watch with a lower count of Black Headed. Only a couple of Herring gulls were present. Nothing in the Dog and Gun field today.
Plenty small passerines around with Goldfinch, Linnet and Meadow Pipit whilst 5 Willow Warblers were very mobile. Once again the sky was full of the 3 hirundine species whilst a single Dipper was down in the beck. A distant Curlew called and several Lapwings are still present around the fields but the water remained empty, other than 2 female Goosander and the usual Canadas, Greylags and Mallards.
Oystercatchers were very noisy and mobile, not liking a Heron on the SW banking. At one point, the whole shebang of birds lifted up. I scanned the sky for a raptor but found nothing until a Sparrowhawk launched itself out of a nearby tree and flew straight over my head, climbing high over the water.
Another sunshine and cloud forecast for morning but cooler on a moderate WSW wind.
BS