The heat is on, Leeshaw reservoir.

 

                                House Martins gathering food

                                    Bit of inviting shore

                                Single Herring gull over

                                    1 of 4 juv Pied Wagtails

                                    Single Black Headed gull

                                    3 Oystercatchers present

A hot watch at Leeshaw which started off reasonable with a brisk W>3 which soon turned to a S>2 with full sun and clear blue skies on a temperature of 18 degrees. Luckily, the life threatening heatwave only lasted 2 hour and the rest of the day has been cloudy.

       As expected, the still, hot conditions kept the birds inactive so a steady morning but enough to keep the interest going, just!

     House Martins were busy collecting food for their young and several Swallows were in the air along with a small flock of Linnets. A Chaffinch and Mistle Thrush were unusual at this site at this time of year, but the raptors I was expecting in the conditions never materialized.

     The water held the usual large count of Greylags, with a lesser number of Canadas with all but a few goslings now fledged. A female Goosander was present but waders were poor with just 3 Oystercatchers and a chick, 5 Curlew and the usual Lapwings, most of which are this years birds.

     Gull count was down with 5 LBBs present and a few over >W very high whilst a single Herring and Black Headed flew over the water but did'nt stay.

        Very calm and warm tomorrow with always some east in the breeze but showing visibility as good. One forecast puts a cloudy afternoon whilst another predicts rain from midday so its wait and see.

BS

       

      

Not the best of mornings, Fly Flatts.

 Thick fog and heavy drizzle cleared by 0745 hrs to leave full cloud but a low cloud base covering the turbine tops. A light WSW>3 at 9 degrees.

       After a good watch yesterday morning, this morning was just the opposite with the water failing to drop at all and most of the waders gone. Just 4 Common Sandpiper and 1 juv left with no sign of the Ringed Plovers for 2 days now and the Redshanks moved on leaving 2 pair of Curlew and about 6 Lapwing.

      Plenty Swifts overhead again and the Raven family of 5 were over the moor whilst a single Golden Plover flew >W and that was it, other than the usual species, so by 0915 hrs it was up stumps with boredom setting in. 

     On the way back I walked down the top half of Slaughter Gap which was bird-less.

Not looking good on the weather front for morning with full sun, a light SW and 18 degrees by 0800 hrs, not the sort of weather that I'd order.

BS

    

A good morning at Fly Flatt

 

                                    1 pair Tufted

                                    1 of 6 Common Sandpiper

                                    3 together

                                Sparrowhawk checking out Common Scoter

                                    Single drake Common Scoter

                                    Skies full of Swifts

                                    Juv Common Sandpiper

                                        Not far off fledging

                                    Mega count of Swifts.

A bad start to the morning with fog then mist and heavy drizzle at Fly Flatts but clearing by 0715 hrs

to leave a breezy W>4 at 9 degrees with broken cloud and some sunshine.

    A walk the full length of the west bank proved fruitful finding a single drake Common Scoter at the north end of the water which I could easily have missed scoping from the south end due to the height of the waves. Scoters never fail to appear at this site in June so it was no real surprise to find one.

    A busy sky this morning with a mega number of Swifts throughout all slowly drifting >S whilst 12 LBB and 2 Herring gull headed >SW. Raptors were up in the wind with 3 Kestrel, 1 Buzzard, 1 Sparrowhawk and a very fast moving brown Peregrine(juv).

    Waders were thin on the ground with 3 Common Sandpiper, plus a unfledged juv, along with 1 Oystercatcher, 2 Curlew and 3 Lapwing whilst 3 Golden Plover flew over very high and fast >N.

    Same forecast for tomorrow  but visibility looking not up to scratch.

I spend a lot of time out and about looking through the gulls and came up with no specials so far this year other than Yellow Legged Herring. Ironically, last night I checked the RNLI lifeboat launches and found Ilfracombe lifeboat had a call out. Going onto their station live webcam to see the boat a Caspian gull was on a lamppost by the lifeboat station. Some poor pics below taken off the computer.

 

                                    Pale yellow legs

                                    Massive bill

                                Small bullet hole eye.

    They may be common down there in Devon but I've never been so don't know.

BS

Another visit to Leeshaw and a Red Kite for Queensbury.

 

                                    Few more LBB gulls early morn.

                                Another very quick and distant Cuckoo sighting.

                                    Curlew in to land

                            Crowded shore, Heron, Oyk and Greylags.

                                    Single female Goosander

                                    9 Cormorant >W

A bright sunny morning with 30% cloud on a SW>3 at 12 degrees. Luckily the wind kept the temperature down.

    Cormorants on the move were the main feature with 9 heading high and >W whilst 24 LBB gulls were heading in the same direction, some dropping onto the water briefly. A single female Goosander was also on the water before heading off for TMR.

     A Dipper down in the beck was carrying food to its young whilst I managed another very brief and distant view of the calling Cuckoo, managing a record shot, thanks to the killer fast auto focus of the Canon 7d Mk 2.

     Several Swallows, Swifts and House Martins were in the air along with 2 Kestrel and the usual species.

     After an afternoon visit to Denholme garden centre we were driving back up the hill from the Keelham traffic lights when I made a sudden stop, making Lynda think we had broken down. The reason being, a large raptor caught my eye at the bottom of the north slope, Soil Hill. A beautiful Red Kite quartered the lower field then flew low over the wall towards us being mobbed by a Crow. It flew across the front of the car and over Keelham farm shop east, presumably back towards Harewood.

     How frustrating to get such crippling views of a Red Kite when I've no camera with me! Lynda could'nt understand why the Kite allowed the crow to chase it off when it was 3 times bigger than the crow!

    A similar weather system for tomorrow with a light WSW  but only showing moderate visibility for some reason?

BS

Another dabble at Leeshaw

 

                                Very distant Cuckoo sighting.

                                    18 LBBs present

                                    2 noisy fighter jets over

                            LBBs in with young Greylags

                                    Single Herring gull

A summer like morning at Leeshaw with 40% cloud and sunshine at 12 degrees on a light WNW breeze.

    After hearing the Cuckoo at Leeshaw for a couple of weeks now I finally got a distant sighting of it ,briefly on wires, before taking flight. Gulls were a little better with 18 LBBs and a single Herring but no Black Headed today.

   A little more shore exposed but only holding Lapwings, Oystercatchers and a Redshank but if the dry spell continues there will soon be enough to temp something down. No Common Scoter as yet at either this site or Fly Flatts but should be imminent any time now, June being the peak time for this area.

    Nothing special on the water but a good year for breeding Greylags, both here and Fly Flatts, whilst a single Cormorant was on the water plus a few Mallard.

   Several Lapwings in the fields along with Stock Doves and a few remaining Curlew.

Another dry day and light WSW tomorrow, and the next few day show high pressure so hopefully a drop in reservoir water levels.

BS