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

Grey morning at Staveley

Woke to a rather dismal day today with plans to try our new little scope over at Staveley Nature Reserve.  With low expectations we were delighted to add 3 new birds to our ever growing list, now at a very modest 74!

Spotted were a Short-eared Owl thanks to a kind stranger who helped us see this well hidden sleepy fellow, 2 Siskin visiting the feeders and a small flock of Yellowhammer.

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