Fly Flatts in tip top condition. pm.

                                           Distant buzzard

                                   1 of 3 Short Eared Owl

                       Taken at distance ,last light

   600mm    f 6.3  exp 640   iso 4000 then up to 8000
                                                           as light went.

               Massive Herring gull movement >SW

            Count of 243 overhead with several distant bird missed

                                  Skies full of big gulls.

1430 hrs and back to a much improved Fly Flatts. The wind had dropped significantly down to
NW>5 but soon turned and dropping down to W>3 with hazy visibility to the west and a behind the cloud sunset.
                    A full walk of the west bank found no passerines though much of my time was taken up gull watching with a mega move of Herring Gulls all >SW along with a few LBBs.
The Herrings were on 2 levels, the upper level very high and hardly visible to the naked eye, whilst the lower level remained mid height with none coming down to investigate the water. The gulls were obviously on a mission and not interesting in stopping off.
                   No Pinks on the move tonight and scanning across the western ridge only produced 4 Kestrels in the air together along with a distant Buzzard.
                    With the sun down and daylight coming to an end I was treat to a final finale with first a single Short Eared Owl then joined by two more with all 3 hunting together over the moor. As one point they flew up above Slade and over the road with several cars stopping and jumping out with mobiles trying to get photos. Eventually the 3 headed off together towards Oxenhope.
A pleasing finish to a pleasing one and a half hours watch.
BS

Bright and breezy Fly Flatts a.m.

                                           Wild water

                                            White Horses

Fly Flatts first light this morning was just below the cloud base with the wind turbines hidden and odd clouds of mist drifting across the water.. The snag this morning was the wind which was blasting across the water at NW>7 near gale at 35 mph stirring up the water with a deep swell and waves crashing over the banking.  A walk on the west bank had to be aborted with the wind threatening to take me off my feet and the dogs getting lashed with their ears flapping.
                                             Most of the watch was then spent sky watching from the shelter of the tailgate stood behind the car.
A single Wigeon was the highlight of the morning which attempted to land on the waves but then thought against it heading off >NE. 3 Raven were up over the Nab briefly along with a Buzzard whilst several Mallard flew up from Dean Head to settle on the east banking. Plenty BH gulls about this morning obviously not stressed by the wind but otherwise quiet skies.
BS

Fly Flatts comes back to life.

    Skein of 94 Pink Footed Geese following the western ridge

                                 Before banking off over the north of the water

                                  Then heading off NE past the Nab.

             Now well out over the Aire Valley.

An afternoon of thick fog and drizzle but with signs of it clearing late afternoon I shot off up to Fly Flatts with thoughts of re locating this mornings Snow Bunting.
                                                                          The mist was patchy like clouds of smoke moving around on a moderate NW>5 making it clear one minute and foggy the next. Part way through the watch the sky cleared making conditions half decent.
                                                                          A thorough search of the west bank failed to re locate the Snow Bunting and otherwise things were very quiet, that was until I was coming back off the west bank and a scan to the SW located a skein of Pink Footed Geese following the western ridge northwards. As they got opposite the north end of the reservoir they suddenly veered over the water and headed off NE past the Nab disappearing into the distance over the Aire Valley.
                                                        After a few bad days at Fly Flatts it all came together today with my 2nd Snow Bunting this morning and Pinkies this afternoon. All I need now is something decent on the water.
NOTE... 1 of the geese had a white neck collar, see comments.!!!
BS

A 2nd Snow Bunting for Fly Flatts.

Just to prove the sun does sometimes rise at Fly Flatts
                 It lasted about 15 minutes!

0830 hrs and first light at Fly Flatts with a bright sunrise that only lasted 15 minutes before dark clouds took over with a cold W>4 at 6 degrees but feeling like minus 2. As I was leaving fog and drizzle were piling over from the west.
                                          The water was void of wildfowl and the skies quiet with just 2 Kestrel, 1 Raven and 2 Carrion Crow whilst a single Reed Bunting was showing interest in the seed.
                                           A pleasant surprise as I got half way along the west banking when a Snow Bunting took off from the waters edge and skimmed low over the track about 20 yards in front of me dropping down the steep bank to my left before disappearing down by the stream. A good search around the area failed to re locate it though access is limited by the stream. It may have gone onto the edge of the moor but unless it kept very low, which is not the norm for Snow Bunts, I,m sure its still in the area, Watch this space.
BS

Ringby Top.

With the mist still hanging around and Fly Flatts still in the clouds I got away from the dreaded western ridge and tried Ringby Top for a change.
                                                                     Visibility up there was hazy but good enough to keep a 360 degree watch going, the target sky birds being Pink Footed Geese, and ground birds, Snow Bunting and Shore Lark, unfortunately none of which appeared though later in the day reports started coming in , right on the edge of darkness ,of Pinkies on the move both over Norland >W and around 100 over Boothtown with a skein heading >NE after dark. The latter report thanks to Gary of the Angela and Gary team.
                                  The habitat up there is poor now with all the ploughed fields overgrown into grazing land and only the Snow Bunting field remains untouched.All I could muster was 2 Skylark, 2 Reed Bunting, a Stonechat in the quarry plus a single Mistle Thrush.
Otherwise it was down to the usual big numbers of small gulls and corvids although around 10 Herring gulls went over >SW.
                                 Hopefully tomorrow will see a continuation of the Trans Pennine Pinks on the move, that is of course if a miracle happens overnight and the fog has disappeared by morning.
BS

Depressville.

I set off with a spring in my step this morning when normally I would have been back at work . The sky was clear with blue patches showing as light broke over Queensbury but on arrival at Fly Flatts all was dashed. The wind turbines were in fog as well as the moor but there was visibility over the water, that was until I,d got geared up and the dogs harnessed to find the fog rolling in thick and fast taking it down to 30 yards visibility.
                                                        Ready to be satisfied on checking the west bank for the 5th day running matters got worse with the water board arriving and driving on the full length of the west bank then parking up there doing his morning checks. Expecting anything on there to be flushed I loaded up the car and headed for Cold Edge Dams.
                                                        Cold Edge was murky but with horizontal visibility though after a quick check through the Canada geese ( 126 ) and a look on Leadbeater dam, which held
1f Goldeneye, 2 f Tufted and 1 f Goosander, as well as the usual Mallards and small gulls, the fog followed me from Fly Flatts and once again it was lights out.
                                                        Whilst loading up the car a few Goldcrests were flitting about in the conifers.
                    Maybe I should have retired after the fog season , whenever that is ???
BS

Getting below the cloud base, Mixenden Reservoir.

                                                Female Goosander out in the mist

                                                   as well as Moorhen.

                                              Plenty small gulls

                                     Black Headeds off to roost

1400 hrs and shopping done at Sainsburys where the Rowan trees in the car park were alive with mainly Redwings along with several Blackbirds and Thrushes.
                                                      Still dense fog on the tops so down to Mixenden reservoir to get below the cloud base where it was misty and dark with a light W>4.
                                                    First bird was a female Goldeneye which flushed as I peered over the banking flying to the centre of the water into the mist not to be re located as I walked the perimeter .
The water was livelier than my last visit with Mallards and a female Goosander along with a good supply of gulls moving from the east bank to the water each time they were flushed by dog walkers.
                                                   As the small gulls started to leave towards their roost at Thornton Moor several more came over from the south with a few Lapwings mixed in with them. All the big gulls left south with several more Herring and LBB flying over from the north east.
                                                  A small flock of Chaffinch dropped into the plantation along with around 70 Woodpigeons whilst 2 Moorhen skulked under the west bank tree line.

1 f Goldeneye
1 f Goosander
2 Moorhen
7 Mallard
5 Lapwing......................>N
3 Herring gull present then ................>S  plus another 9 fly overs.
5 Lesser Black Backed present then..,>S plus another 7 fly overs
16 Common gull
c 100 Black Headed
12 Chaffinch
c 70 Woodpigeons.
BS

Boxing Day Bash surprise, Fly Flatts.

0830 hrs at Fly Flatts once again in thick fog but decent conditions otherwise with a light W>3 and dry. 
Again no visibility over the water or skyward so once again a check along the south and west bank which brought a pleasant surprise. Half way on the banking a Curlew gave one sharp call before lifting off from the waters edge about 30 yards in front of me appearing through the fog low over head quickly disappearing back into the fog >SW. This bird was in nearly the same spot as a Greenshank I got up there 9/12/2007 but to be fair I,ve had Curlew in the past over the hill at Leeshaw Reservoir both December and January and several over winter in lowland fields, one of the biggest roosts nearby being Otley.
                                                 Its possible the bird had been disturbed from the west where a Boxing day shoot was taking place beyond the western ridge, possibly Walshaw/ Gorple area with plenty guns blasting throughout.
                                      Otherwise just 1 Reed Bunting near the seed and some BH gulls calling from the water but unseen in the fog whilst a single Mistle Thrush flew from the single tree by the Lagoon.
BS

Christmas Day Bash, Fly Flatts.

                   Not so Merry Christmas at Fly Flatts  West Bank

                                            NW corner

                                    Looking out to sea, North Bank

                                                    SW corner.

With the dogs nattered being out of their usual routine and me strutting about in the house like a caged bear Lynda was happy smooching about with her Christmas things so it was a Christmas dash to Fly Flatts.
                  The fog was still thick up there but pleasant to get out in a light W>3 with some dampness in the air but not drastic. Its an amazing feeling up there in the fog with complete silence and solitude, which suits me down to the ground, something that HC will understand after standing on Sentry Hill on Vis Mig watch in the same conditions.
                   With no visibility over the water or in the air it was a matter of checking the south and west banks and feeding areas for Larks and Buntings.
                    The first feeding area held 2 Reed Buntings whilst the second feeding area held 4, all carefully checked for Lap Bunts but no joy there. On near the NW corner another feeding area held another 2 Reed Buntings giving me a total of 8 along the banking. The south bank feeding area held nothing as usual so may disregard this one as it,s only ever produced a single Skylark in the spring.
                   A Short Eared Owl appeared below me on the west bank but quickly about turned back to the moor after seeing some nutter peering through the fog at it.
Otherwise it was down to 2 Herring gulls low overhead moving >S plus the usual calls of Red Grouse and Pheasants.
                Its all over now bart shouting so back to normal tomorrow in hope of a fog clear morning, which looking out tonight is a lot to ask.   Hope you,ve all enjoyed your day.
BS

Match Abandonded.

No tea time session today with a house full of daughters and husbands plus 4 granddaughters all under 6 years old. The silence was deafening when they had gone, but great to get them all together .
                                                     The rest of Christmas is quiet now so may even get out tomorrow for a quick look round then Boxing Day we class as back to normal.

Which just leaves me to wish everyone who watches my blog
                                   A VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS AND HAPPY HEALTHY NEW YEAR.
 Hopefully I,ll be able to keep you interested through 2019 with a little help from the birds.

                              ALL THE BEST FROM BRIAN AND BIG BERTHA.

Christmas Eve Bash. Fly Flatts.

            Early start, Bombers Moon was lighting up the water.

                                          Here comes the daylight

                                        Hardy Stonechat saving the morning.

With an east wind blowing I checked for an Eastern
Stonechat but unfortunately this is one of ours with
white wing bar and dark rump.

Fly Flatts .  0800 hrs - 1000 hrs. Blue sky and sunshine, light E>2  Minus 1 degree.
                                                                A real icy drive to Fly Flatts just before first light not getting properly daylight until 0830 hrs.
Herring gulls were the first and only sky movers this morning with several >SW  just as daybreak started to show with quiet skies the rest of the watch . The geese I expected over never materialized.
                                                                    The water was like a mill pond but held nothing other than 3 Black Headed gulls. A single Kestrel was over the moor along with a few Red Grouse and Pheasants, the latter seeming to outnumber the Grouse this year .
The only passerines were a Reed Bunting near the lagoon and a single Stonechat part way up the track towards the top gate.
BS