Another drizzly early morn at Leeshaw with full cloud on a light NE>2 at 10 degrees.
Very little attention paid to the reservoir this morning as a flock of small passerines were very active around the fences and hedges with a mix of Goldfinch, Linnet, Meadow Pipit, Reed Buntings and pleasingly, 3 juv Stonechat and a Whinchat. The group were very mobile, settling only briefly in one spot before moving on to the next, making it impossible to get the Whinchat on camera, apart from one shot, as the vegetation is high so the birds kept disappearing from sight.
This group kept me going most of the watch in case any other species were mixed in with them so I'm hoping I did'nt miss anything going through over the water.
Otherwise, the same as yesterday with 2 Oystercatcher, 1 Curlew, 1 Little Owl, 1 Common Sandpiper and all 3 hirundine species plus the usuals.
With an obvious move going on I extended my afternoon dog walk to Ogden to check out passerine alley which was rather quiet but proved interesting. Only 2 LBB and 7 Black Headed gulls present so I concentrated on the well overgrown area of passerine alley.
A pair of Blackcap were present along with a single Goldcrest, Chiffchaff and several Tits when a Flycatcher gave me brief views as it darted around in the dark wood, hence the naff photos with the camera wide open.
The bird had a very white breast, hardly showing any speckling and very dark primaries with a white flash on the wing, both being distinguishing features of Pied, though no other white markings visible so I think I,ll have to settle for Spotted Flycatcher. It was in the same spot that I had 4 together Aug 2016.
All in all, a good days birding.
Similar weather tomorrow, which I won't complain about, with a light >ENE, cloudy with a chance of some rain.
BS