Fly Flatts failure.

A disappointing visit to Fly Flatts late afternoon even though conditions looked good with 100 % cloud cover on a light WNW>3.
                                                   With boat club activities going on in the compound on the east side and off lead dogs taking over the west side I came away and parked on the top road at the north end and walked down the northern track. Unfortunately the bottom of the track was waterlogged after the last few days and although I had my boots on the dogs did,nt so not wanting to bath them when I got home I aborted and headed back to the car.
                                                                    No sign of waders down on the east shore line and not a wildfowl in sight. The best I could do was a few LBB gulls >SW , several blogging Mipits and the usual Kestrels. I,d more birds yesterday in the horrendous conditions than today.
                                                                  Sky watching from the top road was like being parked on the hard shoulder of the M62 with a constant flow of traffic so after 30 minutes I decided to write the day off and call it a do. Hopefully I,ll have better results in the morning.
                                                             A bit of a check around on the way home provided 3 Wheatear and around 50 blogging Mipits at Old Guy Road , 1 of the Whinchat juvs briefly in the mast area and the Lapwing flock built to 38 in the Shelf Moor trailer park along with 14 Common gulls and 3 Pied Wagtails. More reports of the Ring Necked Parakeet are still coming in from round that area but so far it has managed to avoid me.
BS

Fly Flatts in horrendous conditions.

                                                       up to 12 blogging Wheatear

                                                 Rough waters

          Water already near to the floating jetty.

              Water on Wednesday, water miles away from jetty.

On a day like today reservoirs need checking so 1500 hrs I headed for Fly Flatts though conditions were grim but hopes of a dry period. Driving up Cold Edge Road was unbelievable with the wind blowing and lashing horizontal rain I was down to 5 mph at one point with very limited visibility.
                                                  I parked up in the boat compound with some shelter from the gale force W>8 and managed 20 minutes walk in between showers with just the wind to contend with.
A search round with the bins found several blogging Mipits on the shore along with around 12 Wheatear darting around and seeming oblivious to the conditions. Nothing on the water  or in the sky and impossible to scope the east shore with the wind now increasing and more dark clouds piling over but no waders obvious through the bins.
                                                   I started to watch from the back of the car until all hell seemed to break loose with blasting horizontal rain and hailstones with the wind now touching 42 mph with deafening noise as it whistled through the boat masts. At this point it was getting slightly frightening making be decide I should,nt be here , especially when the wind started whipping up the water from the reservoir  and blasting it across the compound.
                                                    At that point I headed out of there leaving the worst conditions I,m ever  likely to see although it was an experience to see just how fierce Fly Flatts can be. A real soaking unlocking and unlocking the barriers and gates and even then the hardy Mipits and Wheatears were out in the open dodging around on the shoreline.
                                                  Already the water level is raising fast with  water pouring in from the north and south inlets and if the water valves are closed water should be up to the floating jetty by after the weekend with the islands out in the middle already gone.
                                                 After all these severe conditions it could make an interesting weekend.
weather permitting.
A lady customer at work today who does a lot of serious walking remarked, when I mentioned the bad weather, " Theres no bad weather, just bad clothes" , an interesting thought.
BS

Match abandoned. Fly Flatts.

Rain I don,t mind, torrential rain I can contend with but torrential rain and fog is something else so after a committee meeting with me and the dogs it was voted unanimously to abandon this afternoons visit to Fly Flatts. In fact it was a struggle to even get the dogs to go out in the garden.
                                                     Vis mig over Foxhill this morning was reasonably quiet with a steady flow of Mipits >SW along with a few Swallows whilst 6 Alba Wagtails and 4 Chaffinch headed >W.

Meanwhile, to ease the doldrums heres a few of the special birds to visit Fly Flatts so far this year. :-

                                            Greenland Wheatear

                                     Drake Pintail in eclipse

                                             juv Ringed Plover

                                                          juv Ruff

                                          Regular visits of Ringed Plover

                                      Plenty Dunlin throughout

                                           Stonechat, a rare bird this year

                                      5 juv Shelduck

                                           Grey Plover

        12 Ringed Plovers present at one point.

                                        Distant juv Greenshank

                                                Peregrine

                                            Several Snipe

                                        drake Common Scoter

                                           Turnstone

      A good season for juv Common Sandpiper

                                         Marsh Harrier

  Remember Swifts ? now they,re gone.

          Another 4 drake Common Scoter followed by a single female

 A poor year for Grouse but fortunately no shoots yet this season

            juv Common Sandpiper, 18 adults present late spring

             Another rare sighting this year, Golden Plover

                                              Sanderling

 Remember little yellow Mallard, only saw him one day ?

                                 Around 8 pair of Curlews bred

               A second Sanderling visit

                                           Redshank

 Buzzard and Short Eared Owl battle for air supremacy

                                    5 Pair of breeding Reed Bunting

                                       A spring Cuckoo

                     Another scarce passerine this year, Whinchat

                                      Cherry on the cake, Red Kite

                         Along with Osprey in Spring.
                         Still waiting for an autumn bird.

                               A real rarity. Sandwich Tern

                                       Whooper Swan

                                           Shelduck

                                                    Raven

                                                         A visit from 8 Whooper Swans

And still over 3 months to go.
BS