A 1st for Fly Flatts, Yeti.

    0800 hrs at Fly Fly Flatts in thick fog and a Yeti by the shore

  So cold up there Yetis are out fishing.

                                                Fog gone, Yeti still present

                                          A good catch

                                                   In his canoe

                                        The full story.

                                               1 of 2 Redshank

                                          LBBs on egg watch

                                        4 Greylag present

                                        1 of 3 Wheatear

                                              Herring gulls >W

0800 hrs at Fly Flatts in thick fog , drizzle and 1 deg soon clearing and temp up to 3 degrees on a light NW>3 making it a pleasant watch.
                                                            A bit of a surprise to get a Yeti type figure appear out of the fog
then stand at the edge of the water fishing with a rod and net before setting his Kayak up in the waters edge. The story was it was students making a film about survival in the Arctic, and Fly Flatts fitted the bill well with the same weather conditions. I had to hang about on the west bank till they had done otherwise they would have to explain on the film why a Llaso Apso dog was barking in the middle of the Arctic, it was,nt Ollies fault, hes never seen a Yeti before.
                                                             Bird wise was steady away throughout the watch with the 3 Wheatear still present as well as 2 Redshank and 2 Oystercatchers.
                                                        Sky wise 8 Herring gulls headed >W and another Heron >SE.
A Reed Bunting was back in the area and the water held 3 Barnacles, 4 Greylag and the usual Canadas and Mallard.
                                No sign of the Mixenden Shelduck viewing from the top of Whitegate unless it was squat under the east bank. The Tufteds were still present.
BS

Fly Flatts, the good day continues.

                       DJSs 6 Tufted on Mixenden

                                     Along with 1 Shelduck

    Pictures taken from the top of Whitegate half a mile away.

            Shelduck on the banking.  Out of range pics courtesy Big Bertha.

                                      Fly Flatts. 2 male Wheatear

                                   Few LBB gulls moving through >NE

                                         1 of 4 Kestrel

                                 Single Buzzard over Cold Edge Rd.

Arrived at Fly Flatts at 1445 hrs in a hail storm followed by snow which soon passed over leaving 40% cloud cover with blue sky and sunshine but still the icy cold W>5.
                                                     As with this mornings watch things were still buzzing, the birds at Fly Flatts love the westerlies. Checking below the west bank found 2m and 1f Wheatear, the female sticking to the edge of the moor and very flighty whilst the males were feeding near the feeding station with a pair of Mallard nearby sampling the Nyjer seed.
                                                   A Merlin shot fast and low over the Flat moor lifting up 15 Goldies and several Lapwings whilst 4 Kestrels were in the air together.  No continuation of this mornings Herring gull bonanza with just 9 LBB gulls >NE.
As I got to the top gate when I was leaving a Buzzard appeared over the road making me grab the camera and launch myself out of the car just in time for a few snaps.
                                                   An excellent day at Fly Flatts plus the bonus of DJSs Mixenden Shelduck as I passed there on the way to Fly.
Snow forecast for tomorrow so anything could happen.
BS

Worse the weather, better the birds Fly Flatts a.m.

     This droopy winged bird in the mist flashed signs of
Osprey till it turned out to be a Heron .

                                   Herring gulls galore

     139 Herring gulls over the water

                                 Swarms of Golden Plover

                                             Getting a bit busy down here.

A terrible morning on arrival with banks of mist sweeping through on a W>5 carrying heavy drizzle over the moor in a temp of 3 degrees improving slightly mid watch with brighter skies.
                                                            The first sighting was a pale droopy winged bird up in the mist which got the adrenaline going with thoughts of Osprey until it came into better view showing as a Heron very high and >NE.
                                           Just time to check the west bank, drawing a blank, before Bentleys and YW moved in for more survey work. Back on sky watch all seemed quiet until suddenly the sky was full of Herring gulls which appeared over the east bank before circling the water and away >NE.
This is the highest count of Herring gulls in one group I have ever had at Fly with a count of 139.
                                        Next up were two large flocks of Goldies over the wind turbines staying airborne around 15 minutes with 112 birds in total plus several more grounded on the Flat moor.
One of those mornings when I,d to drag myself away when it was time up.
BS

Back to Fly Flatts, p.m. and Whinchat arrival update.

Late afternoon at Fly Flatts with the wind turned slightly and decreased to SSE>3 and a rise in temperature 8 degrees which felt better than this mornings 2 degrees and colder with the wind chill factor.
         A poor start to April with a very quiet watch this p.m. with nothing below the west bank other than Mipits and very little in the sky other than 2 Kestrel, 1 Raven, 4 Curlew and a first year Herring gull >SE.
        The usual 2 LBB gulls were still on egg watch whilst just Canadas and Mallards were on the water. More back up this p.m. with DJS scoping from the top road.

With regards to the Whinchat seen at Fly Flatts 28th March 2019, BS and later AC, despite gasps of it being too early as one has never been recorded before 19th April it appears that its not unique for that date and not the earliest seen in the area.
                                                           After a search through Bradfords annual reports there as been 4 reported from previous years on and around that date plus one seen over 2 weeks earlier. All these reports will be birds going through our area on passage.

Whinchats reported were :-
  29th March 1989.......Barden
  1st April 1995............Paul Clough
  28th March 1996.......Whetstone Gate
  11th March 2002........Trough Lane, Oxenhope
  29th March.2005........Rombalds Moor
  28th March 2019........Fly Flatts

The very early report from Trough Lane, which is a hot spot for first returning Wheatear , was observed from close range for several minutes by one of B.O.G.s top knotch birders, Rod Proctor.
All info courtesy of Bradford Ornithological Groups annual reports.
BS
                                               
                                                   
                                                   

Up in the Arctic, Fly Flatts.

             Good to get some backup with H.C. ( Compo)
                Scoping from the top road.

         Good aerial displays from the Golden Plover.

                                  A second group by the wind farm.

0800 hrs at Fly Flatts in an icy cold SE>5 decreasing to SE>4 at 2 degrees with a 100% cloud cover sky but a few lower clouds which the birds kept disappearing into.
                                                   No sign of movement but something going on all the time by the local birds. An eye watering walk on the west bank found nothing passerine wise other than plenty Mipits and 1 Wren down in the Chat area.
                                                   1 hours sky watch back at the south bank found Golden Plovers very active with firstly a small group of 4 from Fill Belly Flat followed by a group of 19 which kept mobile most of the watch. A second group of 15 were flying around the wind turbine area.
Across on the west moor a Buzzard was being mobbed by 3 Crows as it flew low to the ground disappearing down the valley. A Snipe flushed from near my feet as I was talking to Howard on the phone and 2 more were airborne but very high.
Otherwise it was down to the usual Lapwings, Curlews, Canadas etc plus 2 Redshank on the peninsular.
If HC got anything else after I left I,ll put it on the tea time report.
BS