Saturday 24th March 2012, Stainburn Forest & Swinsty Reservoir

The fog was slow to clear here in Yorkshire, it was almost lunch time when we set off. The Washburn valley is somewhere we intend to explore further and it was to here that we headed, first for a forest walk then a circuit of a picturesque reservoir.

Stainburn Forest seems popular with cyclists judging by the wheel marks in the still damp paths and tracks, birdsong was plentiful and we had glimpses of many of the tit and finch families. Reaching a clearing we had a short break and were rewarded by a good sighting and photograph of a tree pipit.

Resuming our walk we were now on the perimeter of the woodland, curlew and lapwing were calling from the adjacent fields, the sun was shining...perfect!

A roe deer bolted from the trees, visible for just a couple of seconds and no chance of a photograph...apart from a hoof print.

Time to move on now, we will visit the forest again.

Swinsty Reservoir along with its neighbours Fewston and Thruscross are easy walks on mainly good paths, parking is provided free by Yorkshire Water and they can be a little busy due to their proximity to the conurbations of Harrogate and Leeds.

We parked up at Swinsty and our first sighting awaited us, the motionless hunched figure in the shallows...a heron? No, an angler!!

The waters were peaceful and calm and the walk was steady, plenty of people out enjoying the sunshine.

We listened to the melodious tunes from the birds, again opportunities for photographs were scarce until we spotted a little bird perched in a treetop. A chiffchaff, beautiful song and a beautiful little bird too.

Enjoying a coffee from our thermos when we got back to the car, we had a colourful chaffinch to visit us, he was busy picking up the scraps and crumbs that others had left.

A visit to the waters edge yielded photo's of a canada goose and a muscovy duck to complete a lovely day out.

This is a great area for outdoor stuff, give it a try if you are in the area.