An icy cold Fly Flatts.

 

FLY FLATTS                    Last of the shore. SE corner

                                        The Nab

MIXENDEN                    Single juv Whooper still present.

                                Viewed from the top of Whitegate.

                                Few gulls on the shore

An icy cold Fly Flatts this morning with frost and ice at 2 degrees on a moderate W>4. Some blue sky and sunshine until after 0900 hrs then full cloud over from the west.

    Nothing special this morning but a few more birds than I expected in the cold and windy conditions up there. Good visibility but very little in the sky with a single Buzzard, 2 LBB, 2 Herring and a Common gull plus a few, first light,Woodpigs >S.

    The water held 6 Canada geese and 1 Greylag whilst a single Meadow Pipit, Grey Wagtail and Pied Wagtail were present along with 1 Stonechat but everything very flighty in the cold wind.

     A check of Mixenden, whilst passing, from the top of Whitegate, found the single juv Whooper Swan still present, which is possibly one left behind from the recent family that were on the water.

Also a few small gulls on the west bank. 

    A bright sunny day forecast for tomorrow at 8 degrees with a moderate westerly after overnight gales.

BS

    

Teal clear out at Ogden.

 

Queensbury sunrise from Soil Hill.                                                

                                    2 Wigeon still present

                                        Battling Mallards

                                        Very few Teal left.

                                    Still 6 Tufted.

A nice bright and sunny morning at Ogden on a very cold NW>4 at 4 degrees and feeling colder with the wind chill.

    A count of 37 Canadas were on the water but soon left towards Mixenden leaving 6 Tufted, 1 Goosander, 2 Wigeon and a much lower count of Teal with around 12 left, some of these being very flighty. Still a record count of Mallard enjoying the waterside weeds before the rapidly rising water level covers them. YW ranger told me they are trying to get the level up quickly with water gushing in at the north end and very little being released at the south end valve, just enough to keep the stream flowing.

    Very little in the waterside trees with just a few Tit species and ,again, no sign of the Chaffinch flock.

Nice to bump into, and have a catch up, with Queensbury birder, Denise Shields who was photographing the Teal. Denise had just had a Brambling in her garden, which is 'par for the course' for her each winter. Denise found the Yellow Browed Warbler at Ogden back in 29/9/2012 so we just need her to find a Firecrest this winter.

   More Woodpigs heading >S first light this morning and drying up by 0815 hrs. Woodpigs and Starling are the last species in numbers to move, other than wildfowl, denoting nearing the end of a very poor visible migration period.

    A cloudy morning tomorrow with rain expected after midday on a light westerly after overnight strong winds at 3 degrees. Clocks back tonight so a bit lighter for any early birders in the morning.

BS

Getting a liking for Ogden.

 

                                    Mallard and Teal

                                    2 Wigeon present

                                            Teal

                                           Wigeon

                                    Several Blackbirds on berries.

A real mish mash of weather this morning at Ogden with sunshine and showers, one minute sunny the next, heavy drizzle on a moderate and cold W>4 at  6 degrees. Visibility was good.

     Once again the Teal count was up, now reaching at least 38, both on the water and around the weed beds on the shore. The 2 Wigeon were still present along with the 6 Tufted and a single Goosander, whilst 12 Black Headed, 2 LBB and 4 Herring were present. The long staying Red Lagged Partridge was still in the waterside weeds.

    Very little in the waterside trees other than several Blackbirds taking the berries but no sign of the Chaffinch flock and I,ve yet to see my first autumn Redwing and Fieldfare.

    A big move of Woodpigs >S this morning between 0700-0830 hrs.

Forecasting strong NW winds tomorrow at 4 degrees but bright and sunny.

BS

Redcar Tarn, Keighley.

 

                                    Single Little Grebe

                                Not many big gulls, mainly LBB

                                    Herring

                                    1 of 8 Tufted

                                    Plenty to search through

                                Drake Goosander in moult

                                    5 Shoveler present

                                        Single Pintail

A very dark wet morning with heavy rain on a moderate NW>3 at 7 degrees. On arrival at the tarn the rain stopped but very dark for the first hour with everything in silhouette. 

      The water was heaving with Canada geese before they moved off to a distant field leaving several small gulls with a low count of LBBs and half a dozen Herring, with the majority of the big gulls being 1CYs. A good search through failed to find a Med gull in among the Black Headed. A flock of around 50 Lapwing were in the pond field though the pond has dried up. This is the first time I,ve ever seen it dry which is a shame as it attracted plenty wildfowl at close quarters making it ideal for photos.

     The water held 8 Tufted duck whilst the highlight was 5 Shoveler and a single Pintail along with a Little Grebe and a drake Goosander.

   Otherwise it was down to the usual Mallard, Coot, Moorhen, Cormorant and Heron. I had hoped to walk on to the Brambling trees but the road was closed and fenced off for repairs.

Looking like sunshine and showers tomorrow on a moderate westerly.

BS