A cooler morning thanks to a moderate E>4 with near full sun at 9 degrees.
An awkward morning at Fly Flatts with several fire units, pumps and hoses down the track and in the SE corner. Miles of hose reels had been connected from the moorland blaze area, right along Cold Edge Road from the wind farm and down the track to the reservoir where water was being pumped out and transferred to the fire. At least it will take the water down a bit more as the pumps had been going all night. The blaze was well under control now with just smouldering but I was told the peat is still burning under the surface giving risk to it starting up again.
With all the activity at the south end I was restricted to the compound area and east shore, which I now have access to with the water level low.
A walk on to the peninsular then a good but difficult scope of the mud on the north shore. With the temperature already rising there was an excessive amount of heat shimmer on the muddy shore and the more I zoomed in, from 20x to 60x, the worse it got.
The mud was very active with 6 Dunlin, 6 Redshank and 4 Common Sandpiper whilst out on the NW spit I came across a female Ruff. Though very blurry and shimmery I could pick out the white around the base of the bill, making it an adult female, and looking at the plumage it could quite possibly have been the same bird that I had on the 2nd - 4th of May though I have not seen it since then with plenty serious scoping. It dropped down into on of the ruts in the mud, not to be re-located.
The long staying pair of Tufted were on the water along with 4 LBB gull, and a few Swallows were overhead.
Another sunny, hot day tomorrow with a slightly stronger NE with a start temp of 12 degrees.
BS