Back to Fly Flatts

 

                                    1 cy Herring gull. showing 'oak leaf ' and 

                                  ' anchor ' pattern on coverts.

                                 Showing light 'window' on inner coverts.

    A clear but dark morning at Fly Flatts with a sunny start for the first 15 minutes before very dark clouds rolled over on a light S>3 at 5 degrees and dampness in the air followed by rain at 0930 hrs.

          Just a single 1cy Herring gull on one of the remaining islands along with 2 LBB over >SW and 3 Black Headed on the water.

         A small group of Woodpig stragglers headed >SW whilst a squadron of Starling headed >NW in migration mode, their probable destination being Blackpool pier which hosts thousands of wintering birds.

         Nothing on the water other than the usual Mallards whilst 2 Mipits and 3 Kestrel were in the air.

Unusual to get a group of 12 Carrion Crow over, high and >SE just as I was tackling up.

          On the way the Delvers roost of Collared doves had got to 15 on the wires.

          A report from Redcar Tarn today of a single Shoveler on the water as well as the usual Norwegian ringed Black  Headed gull + usual sp. (DK). Thanks for that Dev and Helen.

BS. 

Plot Neet. Doe Park.

 

                                 Plenty small gulls

                                   Several Pied Wagtails

                                Dunnock

                                    Good number of Canada Geese

                                Alive with passerines      Blackbirds

                                    Mistle Thrush

                                    Fieldfare

                                    All distant photos in the drizzle

                                      Lots of Bullfinch

                                    Redwing and Bullfinch

                                Female and male Bullfinch

                                    Greenfinch, becoming a rarity

                 A wet and windy morning with a moderate S>3 bringing drizzle and very dark clouds at 8 degrees.                                                                                                                                                                     A visit to Doe Park found nothing special on the water with 83 Canada, several Mallard and around 150 small gulls with only 3 LBBs present. A search through the Black Headed failed to turn up a Med gull.                                                                                                                                                                    Just a Sparrowhawk and Buzzard in the sky so turned my attention to the bushes which were alive with small passerines all busy feeding and moving around the bushes and small trees. Good numbers of Bullfinch, Greenfinch, Goldfinch and Chaffinch as well as Reed Bunting and Goldcrests.                     On the thrush scene there were double figures of Mistle Thrush, Blackbird, Redwing and Fieldfare as well as 12 Pied Wagtail on the reservoir side but no white among them.                                              A very entertaining morning, plus a lady dog walker said there was a bird stood by the water the other day just like a Heron but completely bright white which has got to have been an Egret sp.                            The nearby Thornton fields had plenty gulls but mostly small and nothing outstanding. Just 8 Herring and about 15 LBBs.                                                                                                                                    Its like world war 3 at the moment up here so Im trying to type this with 2 shivering dogs on my knee.                                                                                                                                                                 BS

Fly Flatts / Mixenden

 

FLY FLATTS            BH gulls on the water

                                  Mud now covered leaving rocky shore at the south end.

                                  Jetty now half afloat.

                           The white post at the centre of the pic was on dry land 2 weeks ago.

                                 Just 2 Canadas present.

MXENDEN            2 cy Herring gull

                                  A Buzzard flushed from the west bank trees

                                Single Cormorant over high and >NW

                                    1cy LBB gull

An icy cold start to the day at Fly Flatts with ice on the top road and a heavy ground frost at 2 degrees.

A bright clear blue sky and sunshine on a cold NW>3 inc 4 mid morn.

                   Much livelier than yesterday with several BH gulls on the water as well as 2 Canadas, 4 Greylag and several Mallard. 

A group of 18 Woodpigeons went >NW along with several Starling whilst 3 Stonechat, 4 Mipit, 2 Reed Bunting and 8 Goldfinch were present.

                 A Buzzard and a Kestrel were to the SW of the water.

                            Mid afternoon and a visit to Mixenden was better than expected with a single Herring gull, 4 LBB gull and around 40 small gulls whilst a Cormorant and 5 Redwing headed >NW.

                         A walk along the west bank produced 5 Siskin in the Alders but very high up and flighty and a surprise to get a Buzzard in the waterside trees which flew as soon as I saw it and by the time I found a clearing it was well on its way after doing a circuit of the water then off towards Slaughter Gap.

                    Still plenty shore for the gulls with just a Pied and Grey Wagtail present.

Fly Flatts bart birds ? Ogden.

 

OGDEN                    Very few gulls present

                                   Just 4 Herring gulls

                                   2 of 4 ad Herring.

                                  2 cy Herring gull

                                 Common and LBB

                                  ad Herring

Excellent conditions at Fly Flatts this morning with a light SW>2 at 5 degrees with blue sky to the west and cloud to the east with periods of sunshine.

                 Although conditions were good for me the birds thought differently with a typical November quiet morning for Fly Flatts. On arrival at 0730 hrs 4 LBB gulls flew over >SW along with a single Raven whilst 27 Mallard were on the water. From then on, 0800 - 1000 hrs not another bird of any description was seen either on the water, in the sky or on the deck, which is very near a record breaker for me and totally unbelievable.

              As soon as I dropped down a mile on the way home birds were everywhere with around 100 BH gull and 7 Grey Partridge in the Nolstar field and several gulls and a Buzzard overhead. Apart from unexpected guests dropping in Fly Flatts will remain quiet now until mid February when things start to liven up. 

             With hopes of saving the day I attacked Ogden mid afternoon with target bird Brambling or something special on the water, neither of which transpired.

            The usual gulls were on the west shore, which will soon be under water, whilst several small tit flocks were foraging in the fallen leaves on the track with Great, Blue and Coal but no signs of Goldcrest plus so far I have,nt seen a Nuthatch yet this year.

             Just 1 flock of Chaffinch today of about 30 with several Goldfinch in with them though I didnt have time to check the east bank, but still no Brambling.

             Several Woodpigs still moving >SW over Foxhill this morning as I left home.

BS

                    

A breezy Fly Flatts

 A cold and windy morn at Fly Flatts with a moderate SW>4 increasing as the morning went on getting to near gale SW>7 as I was packing up. Some breaks in the cloud let the sun through briefly but a cold 5 degrees.

            A scattering of Woodpigeons >SW and several small squadrons of Starlings >NW were all that were to be seen migration wise other than a small group of 5 Meadow Pipits >S.

        A few more gulls present today with 8 LBBs, 5 Commons, 2 Herring and 14 Black Headed, some on the water and some on the remaining strip of shore at the NW corner. The bad news was 3 Peregrines on the tip of the W bank in the NW corner, 2 on the bank and a third in the air swooping half heartedly at the gulls on the water but not making much of an impression.

       The usual 2 Kestrels and 2 Ravens were over the Nab but anything else keeping down out of the wind.

Looks like a calm bright morning tomorrow.

BS

A reet wet do at Ogden.

 

                        Plenty feeding Chaffinch

A real wet and windy morning with very heavy rain showers on a moderate SW>4 at 10 degrees.

                                Far too wet and windy for Fly Flatts with a very low cloud base so headed for Leeshaw reservoir. That was until I got to the road closed for repairs sign near Oxenhope so turned around and ended up at Ogden.

                           Conditions here were very poor with dark low clouds and heavy showers coming across from the west though sheltered from the worst of the wind.

                          Very few gulls this morning with only a single Herring, 8 LBBs and around 40 small gulls with nothing on the water other than the usual Mallards.

                         Chaffinch numbers are building well with around 50 birds split into two groups all ground feeding but still no Brambling present ,but only a matter of time. Several Reed Buntings were in with the Chaffinch as well as Blue, Great,Coal and Long Tailed Tit plus plenty Blackbird, Fieldfare and Redwing moving around the tree tops.

                      Buzzard, Sparrowhawk and Kestrel were overhead but very little sky movement today with just a handful of Woodpigs.

BS