Tuesday, November 06, 2007

Ogden/Fly Flats



New bird for me at Fly Flats this afternoon (thanks for the tip off John!) A Dipper in the cut by the bridge near the sailing club. It flew off toward the Withens around 2 pm.

5 Goldeneye on the res'r and one Twite at the feeding station. Bitterly cold wind there this afternoon but good to share seeing the Twite and Goldeneye with Bill who I havn't seen since we saw the Shorelark at Soil Hill - last December.

BTO Atlas work in the Tetrad west of Ogden Res'r this morning. One hour was a bit of a push to cover the various habitats (woodland/upland pasture/moorland/windfarm area/golf course and bog! However the BTO have an option for a further hour (separate count) so I made good use of that. I mention bog because I went through the area from Withens Road to Ogden golf course - very wet but rewarding with 5 Reed Buntings there!

Even more rewarding were 2 Woodcock - one flushed on the golf course by a golfer who was thrashing about in the rough, looking for his ball - nice one as it flew right across the golf course towards Cold Edge (I dont think the golfer even noticed it!)! and the other flushed in Skirden Clough/Ogden plantataon - they don't half go with a rush when disturbed.

I am still coming to terms working the Tetrads out and how to record as the fieldwork instructions. I would encourage everyone to get involved. If you dont fancy Tetrad timed counts then there is an option to send into the BTO records from wherever you are. If you are not sure then www.birdatlas.net tells you all you need to know - its running from Nov 2007 till 2011.

2 comments:

BSUMNER said...

Dipper would be a new bird for me at Fly Flatts Dave. I always check that area carefully as it looks like the perfect spot for a wader although Ive never had one there other than Common Sand.

Bill Halling said...

Thanks for the photo of the Twite feeding station - I found the site and David with hsi telescope trained on a Twite all in one go. Bill