Fog, Fog, Fog, No end to it. Ogden a.m. / Fly Flatts p.m. ( no public access )

                          10 Teal in to land at Ogden

                   As always, keeping their distance.

                                           Dipper down in the sluice gate area. Ogden

       Unusual to get a Cormorant over Fly Flatts.

Again dense fog at Fly Flatts so another visit to Ogden which I thought was pushing my luck on a Sunday morning but it turned out surprisingly quiet until 0930 hrs when cars started piling in.
                                                 Conditions were slightly misty but dry with a NW>4 blowing soon clearing the skies making good visibility. Vig mig was reasonably busy with a good variety of species
but no Pinks over and still no Redwing or Fieldfare.
                                                 First surprise was 10 Teal coming in to land on the water staying throughout but keeping a good distance away making photos hard in the dark conditions, meanwhile 2 Shelduck nearly gave me the slip coming over the water high and fast before disappearing over the plantation >E towards Soil Hill.
Otherwise it was normal migration stuff plus the Dipper and Kingfisher down in the sluice gate area.
                                                 Fly Flatts late p.m. was almost unworkable with bank after bank of mist, torrential rain and horizontal drizzle blasting across from the NW making it difficult to view the water with the rain hitting you face on. A 10 minute dry period gave me chance to scan round and check the shorelines and water whilst a very muddy walk on the south shore to the SW corner failed to find any of yesterdays Wheatear. Annoying, once again, as soon as I got away from the top of the hill there were blue clear skies. I think after this season, with so many wasted journeys up there, I,ll be looking for somewhere more east to get me away from that dreaded western ridge which produces all the mist and fog.
                             Last week a top official from Yorkshire Water visited Fly Flatts to check on the work up there on an exceptionally bad day and he remarked that he had never been to such an awful
God forsaken place in all his life.
Another forecast of rain and fog for tomorrow , Tuesday and Wednesday but hopefully they,ll be wrong.

Ogden Vis Mig
13 Starling..............................>NW
9 Swallow..............................>S
6 House Martin.....................>S
14 Chaffinch.........................>W
4 Raven................................>NW
2 Shelduck...........................>E
16 Mipits.............................>S
25 Woodpigs.......................>SE

Present
10 Teal
11 BH gull
4 Common gull
1 Dipper
1 Kingfisher

Fly Flatts, present
35 Canadas
18 Mallard
6 Tufted
1 Cormorant...............>NE
BS

More fog, back to Leeshaw a.m. / Fly Flatts p.m.

                  At least 6 Wheatear still at Fly Flatts.

Again a morning of thick fog on the tops so back to Leeshaw which was murky but just below the sky line. Eventually blue sky showed to the west and south but the north and east remained in the clouds. Despite this, movement was active throughout but unfortunately I had to leave just before the Redwing invasion started. All results for the mornings watch on Trektellen headed Fly Flatts.
                                                       Fly Flatts in the afternoon was poor although the fog had gone leaving good visibility but near empty skies, water and shore line so I went below the west bank looking for Ring Ouzel which seems to be another bird that has deserted Fly Flatts.
Best I could do was at least 6 Northern Wheatear by the feeding station and edge of the moor.
BS

Keeping below the fog, Leeshaw a.m. / Fly Flatts p.m. ( no public access)

    Nearly another Whooper false call when this white
       Greylag appeared through the mist at Leeshaw.

                                  Leeshaw Canadas and Greylags

And another foggy day with dense fog at Fly Flatts, with Leeshaw just below the cloud base, just on the day we didnt need it with Redwings piling through the area making some good counts on Trektellen but the best I could get was contact calls overhead in the low cloud with birds moving >NW. Had it been clear the Oxenhope watch point and myself would have had some record counts.
                                                                Otherwise things were quiet except for wildfowl in the fields with 96 Canadas, 51 Greylag, and 18 Mallard. Vis mig was just down to maritime stuff with gulls and Cormorants.
                   Fly Flatts late afternoon was very wet and misty with about 30 minutes of clear periods in between showers and mist.

Vis Mig
7 Cormorant ....................>W
10 Herring gull................>SW
2 LBB gull......................>SW

Present at Leeshaw
96 Canadas
51 Greylag
18 Mallard

Present at Fly Flatts
6 Tufted duck
8 Canadas
BS

                                                   

When is a Whooper Swan not a Whooper Swan, answer, when its a Mute!!!

            Out in the open this morning, the bird I thought to
be a Whooper yesterday is a juv Mute.

                                   In with 8 Greylags today.

  Apart from the curve on the bill the pronounced wing
markings are a feature where on a Whooper they are
                          very faint.

                                    Also the leg ring gave it away
This is a common local swan ring.  Y 271.

                                   Black Headed gulls piling through.

               A cracking Lesser Black Backed ( intermedius)

                                      The same swan at Ogden this p.m.

Fly Flatts 0800 hrs, Full cloud cover on a SE>3 at 6 degrees with a white ground frost but good visibility and nice light clouds.
                                                A strange game this ere birding, yesterday afternoon near time up I was watching the skies which were perfect for Whooper Swan and then as I was packing up a final scan found a swan way over in the NW corner. Whooper swan was my immediate thought with no doubt so after a few record distant shots it was time to go. At home I put the photos on my blog and that was the end of it.
Back to Fly Flatts this morning and the bird was still present but nearer to the south shore and well in camera range among 8 Greylags. Even then I did,nt twig but seeing the slight curved black bill and face marking at the base of the bill I started getting the doubts. The bird set off and flew SW towards Stoodley Pike as if it was leaving but then turned and came back to the water. It was then that I saw the strong wing markings and I realised it was a Mute Swan though still not completely convinced as I,ve had plenty Whoopers up there but never in my 53 years of birding Fly Flatts have I had a Mute.
                                                    Looking through records tonight at home neither the book
Vertebrate Fauna of the Halifax Parish, by HSS or The Birds of Halifax by NCD have any records for Mute Swan at Fly Flatts.
                                      The bird took off a second time heading NE over the Nab and out of sight before returning again 15 minutes later as if it was lost.
Late afternoon I got a grapevine text of someone reporting a swan at Ogden but didnt know if it was a Whooper or Mute so I checked it out on my way to Fly Flatts.
                                       On arrival at Ogden I met Nick Small ( director of Country File ) who I bump into several times and who keeps me informed of local sightings, along with the lady from the info centre who were stood near the swan in the duck feeding corner. It looked like the same juv Mute swan I had seen earlier and when tempted out of the water with some duck seed its revealed its leg ring Y271.
                      Back at Fly Flatts I got in touch with Judy Hogg (Swan Rescue) and gave her the details to which she said Shibden Park had a juv gone missing, then a few minutes later she came back to me confirming that the swan was a recently rung bird from Shibden Park. She also confirmed that the odd ball swan at the park was indeed a Polish as sussed out by MC and AC earlier in the year.
                                                    Quite a story that and proof that you never jump to conclusions in birding without checking it out first. In my defence no one picked it out on last night blog and in the end a Mute is a much better find than a Whooper being a new species for Fly Flatts
                                              Thanks to Nick Small and the info centre lady for their help and once again a big thank you to Judy Hogg for her immediate information about the swan. Hopefully it will find its way back to its family.
                                                Visible Migration was surprisingly quiet in the decent conditions and again no waders although we are now at the peak time for Grey Plover, watch this space.

Vis Mig
14 Mipits.................................>S
72 BH gull..............................>SE
31 Woodpigs..........................>SE
4 Reed Bunting.....................>W
7 Swallow.............................>S

Present
8 Greylag
14 Canada
1 juv Mute Swan
4 LBB gull inc 1 intermedius
1 Peregrine
2 Kestrel
BS

Geese and Swan day, Fly Flatts,(no public access)

     3 Skeins of Pinks through, 18, 53, 46,  Total 117.

           Unusual to get Common gull here.

                        Peregrine on the north shore.

                                 Distant juv Mute Swan.

   

                  Kept to the far side of the water.

                          A good stretch

Unbelievable that 2 days could be so different with yesterdays rain and today with cloudless skies and sunshine throughout on a cold NW>4 at only 4 degrees with a heavy ground frost.
                                                               Pink Footed Geese were moving well making it look like a mega Pinkie move to come but this fizzled out mid morning with no more skeins throughout the day.
                                                          Skies were otherwise quiet, as they usually are in blue, clear conditions, with just a few Mipits and Swallows heading south whilst 3 Common gulls >W was unusual for this site. This afternoon I managed to get on the west bank with no work going on over there so it was good to be able to walk the full length of the banking even though there was very little about. Two Buzzards were very high and >SW above the western ridge and 8 Tufted were back on the water as well as 3 Wheatear on the banking.
                                                      The last 30 minutes were spent by the car sky watching with nothing showing so I started to tackle up ready to knock off for another day. A last scan over the water found what I thought was one of the 3 Canadas present but not just looking right so an unload of the scope and tripod to reveille a juv Mute Swan that had just dropped in un noticed.
                                                   Dogs and tackle back out of the car and a dash along the east bank to get opposite the bird which had settled way across in the NW corner where I had been stood 30 minutes ago. Very distant shots across the water .

Vis Mig
117 Pink Footed Goose....................117.  3 skeins of 18, 46, 53 >S and >SE
47 Mipits...................................>S
21  Swallow..............................>S
3 Common gull........................>W
2 Buzzard................................>SW

Present
8 Tufted duck
3 Canadas
1 Peregrine
3 Wheatear
1 Mute Swan, juv.
BS

More rain, more fog, more wet clothes. Mixenden and Fly Flatts.

   Fly Flatts Alba Wagtail which I suspected as a white but was put
  off with the flanks was still present but distant today.

         A bit of controversy  over the White/Pied Wag which I thought white but
put off with the grey flanks. See comments by CK and MC
                           or anyone else want to join in.

Thick fog and torrential rain sent me just around Foxhill with the dogs this morning which was adequate to get me my first soaking of the day. Just as I,d got dried off a call from DJS with 3 Terns feeding at Mixenden reservoir but viewing at distance so he was going home to tackle up and get back up there.
                      Thinking possible Arctic I jumped in the car and headed straight there. The weather was atrocious with a strong NE>5 blowing sheets of rain straight across the water and hitting you face on.
Nothing showing over the water so I walked the length of the very boggy west bank to check they had.nt come down by the overflow but no signs of the birds.
                      I flushed 4 Moorhen along the waters edge along with a pair of Tufted whilst several Swallows and House Martins were skimming over the water feeding. A group of 16 Black Headed gulls came in and landed on the east shore but the Terns remained a dip.
                      Back at the SW corner a very soggy looking DJS was trying to shelter behind his scope but giving it up we both headed back to the cars. A good shout Dave which could have turned out good, all part of the fun of birding even if it doesnt seem so at the time.
                      As if that was,nt enough, late afternoon I headed up to Fly Flatts where the fog had cleared but equally as bad conditions although they did clear slightly after I,d got my hat trick soaking. Ironically DJS had the same idea, reading the perfect conditions for Terns or maritime birds , and got up there just after I,d left.
                                                     Yesterdays possible White Wagtail was still present but keeping over in the inaccessible SW corner along with 2 Northern Wheatear but no signs of yesterdays Greenland.
The water, which is rising rapidly daily, held 5 Tufted and 3 Mallard with 5 Herring gulls on the North shore before heading off >SW . Swallows were skimming the water heading south with a few Mipits overhead heading in the same direction.
Highlight of the afternoon was a tight group of 15 Golden Plover over >NE.
Djs picked up the Black Redstart as he passed the farm, see Calderbirds for todays reports from Dave.
BS