Potteric Carr

Photo by Johnson Cameraface

Spent a few hours at Potteric Carr Nature Reserve today and were lucky enough to spot a Merlin circling overhead but not lucky enough to get a glimpse of the Bittern that we could hear very close by.

Another new bird spotted though was the Gadwall.

Despite a lack of new birds spotted though it was a fantastic location and a great day out for a nature walk.

Shawnna

Spotted locally...

The weather has been keeping us mostly indoors that last few weeks, so our bird spotting days have been low key with local walks and watching our bird feeders.

We added Fieldfare to our list a few weeks ago when driving up our road we saw a small flock overhead in the trees.

Song Thrush and Mistle Thrush were visiting the feeders during the worst of the weather, fabulously at the same time so it was easy to spot the difference!

And today's walk at Fountains Abbey resulted in 3 new birds for us bringing our tally to 88 birds each. Spotted were a Goosander, Sparrowhawk and Redwing.  We also saw several Gold Crest and Great Tits along with about a million Crows.


Shawnna

Nosterfield Local Nature Reserve

Another bitterly cold morning as we made our first trip to Nosterfield and walked to each hide to check out the views over the ponds.

Definitely need a scope here!  All the birds were well on the other side of the ponds.  The hides are fantastic though and we'll be back soon.

One new bird spotted despite not having a scope to hand and that was the Ruff.


Shawnna

Fowl Weather

The plan today was meant to be an outing to the Saltholme RSPB site.

We had to be in Darlington first thing anyway.  But the weather in the area made it a rather risky trip on the roads with snow already causing problems on the roads first thing, so we opted instead for our more local stop at Staveley and we were rewarded with two more ducks to add to our now growing list!

Goldeneye and Scaup were our new birds with lots of Teal, Wigeon and Tufted Ducks also present.  We also got a much better sighting of the Short-eared Owl thanks to our brand new binoculars.


Shawnna

Sunny Scarborough

Enjoyed a beautiful day out to the coast today with glorious sunshine all day.  Bird watching was a little less successful than anticipated but wasn't hard for us to add 6 new birds to our list. 

We made two stops at Burton Riggs but it was pretty quiet.  Canada and Greylag geese, Wigeon, Mallards, Tufted Ducks along with a few Black Headed gulls were about all that was there.  Possibly some sort of Plover but we didn't get a good look.  And on the 2nd stop we noticed a White-Fronted Goose in with the Greylags.

At Scarborough Meir we were treated to a Red-Crested Pochard, a Mandarin and a few Pintails.  There was a great collection of birds here today, all hanging about to get a free meal.

On the coast we saw mainly Herring and Black Headed gulls, but a few Redshanks, Dunlin, Curlew, Oystercatchers, Grey Heron, and a large number of Wigeon on the water.

 Shawnna

RSPB bird count 2013

This year's bird count went well with lots of activity first thing in the morning as the birds flocked in for the bird food I'd just put out.  With bad weather all week, just like with last year's count in our garden, we had more than the usual numbers.  I say garden but really it's just a rooftop deck with a good hedge and tree cover close by.

Spotted were, 5 Chaffinch, 6 Blue Tits, 6 House Sparrows, 2 Great Tits, 1 Coal Tit, 8 Blackbirds (we've had up to 12 at a time this year), 2 Robins, 3 Starling, 2 Collared Doves, 1 Wood Pigeon, 1 Nuthatch and 1 Marsh Tit.

We haven't seen Long-tailed Tits for a few weeks, and unlike the last two years our Gold Crest visitor has only been seen sporadically. Missing this year as well are the Pied Wagtail and Grey Wagtail which frequented our deck very regularly.

Shawnna

Wrens

I don't have a good enough camera to capture these little guys very well, but it's always a pleasure to spot them hopping about!

Shawnna

Blackbirds

Bird watching from the warmth and comfort of the house today!

Woke up to no less than 10 blackbirds on the rooftop deck, squabbling over whose territory it was but otherwise waiting patiently for more food to be put out.

We have a regular flock of house sparrows, quite a few blue tits, great tits, coal tits and marsh tits, at least 2 robins, a pair of collared doves, a couple wood pigeons and 1 lone starling.


Shawnna

Askham Bog

Our first trip to Askham Bog on a lovely sunny but cold morning.  The Robins were the first to greet us and judging by the welcome of the various tits they were expecting us to provide some food!

The bog was quite wet so we mostly stuck to the boardwalk.  Lots of Blue Tits, Great Tits, Robins, Marsh Tits and Dunnock.  Venturing off the boardwalk near the entrance we also spotted a pair of Bull Finches and several Gold Finches.  We also spotted a couple birds that we couldn't identify so we'll have to come back and spend more time!

Shawnna

Rooks

A walk from home late this afternoon revealed:
3 Buzzards circling
a flock of Bramblings which was new for our list
a delightful spotting of Bull Finches
a large flock of Greylags honking past overhead
and of course the usual din of Crows and Rooks as the sun headed down.


Shawnna

Old Cote Moor

A quiet and misty hike today from Kettlewell over Old Cote Moor into Arncliffe.

Saw a dozen or so Red Grouse on the tops, a female Great Spotted Woodpecker in the woods on the way down and along the river from Arncliffe 2 Dippers and 2 Treecreepers.

Along with lots of pheasants where we stopped for lunch!

Shawnna

Sparrows

Tree Sparrows and House Sparrows

Staveley Nature Reserve

Reed Bunting

Our first trip to the Staveley Nature Reserve today, so close to home and never even knew it was there!

What a brilliant place and a lovely morning out.

Birds sighted included:
a large flock of Lapwings
a Peregrine harassing a common Buzzard
a Barn Owl
Mallards, Coots and Wigeons on the water
Water Rail
and the usual suspects at the feeders including a first sighting for us of the Reed Bunting

Hi-light though was the otter swimming along the bank!

Shawnna

Robins