The end of winter and the beginning of spring

Hi folks and welcome to another update on my wildlife encounters and sightings, each viewing of my blog is appreciated and as always I am open to answering questions on topics I have raised.

Following my last blog I was contacted by an osprey hide owner with regard to the accuracy of what I stated, he was polite but dismissive until I quoted the openly available facts that were the basis of my comments. Further proof from a respected wildlife trust resulted in him "blocking" me, so much for constructive conversation!

One place has a pond approx 36 x 17 metres stocked with over 2,000 rainbow trout...draw your own conclusions....

Anyway lets crack on with some wildlife, a little nature reserve near home has a stable population of linnets, wonderful little birds...

Teal are seen there regularly too...

Carrion crows with unusual white wing patches...

The juvenile male hen harrier continued to show well at another location...

I love dunnocks and this one showed in beautiful light...

Lapwings are back on my moors...

A nuthatch in the woods nearby...

As you can see I have been covering plenty of habitats and if asked to name my favourite I would have to say.....all of them! This area offers moorland, riverbanks, canal towpaths and some superb woodlands. All of them have brought me some very treasured sightings over the years so each are treated with due respect.

This time of year is close to the start of my peregrine watchpoint volunteering, we called up for a look at Malham Cove and found a peregrine on sentry duty what a great start to the season!

The viewpoint, co-funded by the RSPB and Yorkshire Dales National Park opens on the 1st April and is manned from Saturday to Wednesday with powerful telescopes to help visitors see the birds. Lots of other wonderful wildlife to be seen around the area including green woodpeckers, house martin, redstart, spotted flycatchers and stoats and weasels...

RSPB Leighton Moss is a favourite of ours, good habitat and always something to see...including an otter with a catch, a bit distant but super to see

And a wonderful view of the secretive bittern

Nuthatches abound there too!

Back in my local woods I found a siskin...

We love the east coast, particularly RSPB Bempton Cliffs, a stop off along the way brought a stunning binocular and scope view of a goshawk, too far away for my camera but a treasured sighting nonetheless.

A crossbill was more confiding :-)

Scarborough Harbour provided a great northern diver!

First sighting at Bempton was short eared owl, what a day!

We saw kittiwake, fulmar, razorbill and guillemot and loads of gannets too, more on them plus puffins later in the year.

A bonus on the day...a lovely if lethal weasel!

Regular readers will know of my love of dippers, they are just fascinating as they dive into fast currents searching for food. Now they are paired up, tidying nest sites and preparing to breed again...

Taking a rest occasionally though, but always alert...

The great spotted woodpeckers have been showing well in my local woodland areas, female and male respectively....

In amongst some chaffinches I found a brambling, they will soon be departing along with the waxwings, redwings and fieldfares that have graced our shores in winter. The great season of spring migration is upon us with many favourite birds back or on their way.

 My first wheatear of the year...

And finally...a lesson in patience, the most vital skill in a wildlife photographers kit. My raptor watchpoint has yielded some super sightings of the UK's smallest bird of prey, the merlin. Last year a female perched on a wall not too far away, great but catching one in flight? A couple of days ago all the patience paid off....

I can only try to direct people and photographers to the rewards of patience, after all people have the options there before them. I can only say that this way has no detrimental effects on the wildlife we all love...busy days ahead the first osprey flying through my area has been spotted :-)

Many thanks to all who read the blog, comments are much appreciated but will only appear after coming to me for moderation.

Late October and early November - Local and Reserves

The kind and sunny weather continues and almost every day offers an opportunity to get out and appreciate the bright skies and the wonderful autumnal trees.

 

Although summer is usually enjoyable it can be frustrating for watching wildlife and particularly attempting to photograph creatures which are hidden in heavy foliage, joyous though the sound of singing birds can be!

 

Now as the leaves fall things are more visible, a short local walk brought me a few good sightings.

 

This lovely female blackbird was feasting on the plentiful berries

 

 

A feisty little wren chattered away

 

While I enjoyed a coffee from my flask a great tit arrived on a nearby fence

 

and a sweet robin sang in the now almost bare bushes

 

This season brings in some lovely visitors from northern climes, redwings arrive in sociable flocks and feed on fruit and berries, when stocks of these are depleted they will look for insects and worms in the fields.

 

I spotted a small group feasting on the canalside berries and moved slowly and carefully within range for a reasonably close photograph...

 

Visits to RSPB Leighton Moss are never disappointing, making the trip the day after Autumnwatch had been broadcasting from there was a considered risk. Larger numbers of visitors was a distinct probability but we reckoned an early start would see us with at least some quiet time.

 

Although there were larger numbers than usual we still had a very enjoyable day, fortunate timing enabled us to be within yards of a hide when the only shower of the day, and a heavy one too, arrived without warning!

 

Fly agaric fungi

 

Sightings were a little slow early on but never one to waste leisure time I practised my flight shots on the plentiful and active mallards...

 

Things soon improved and we spotted a gadwall...

 

...and we were treated to a marsh harrier fly past

 

The robins at Leighton Moss almost beg to have their photographs taken!

 

Visitors often scatter feed seed on convenient tree boughs by the paths to encourage birds into view, this particular place attracts a good variety of birds.

 

Nuthatch

Coal tit

Marsh tit

and another nuthatch displaying its multi seed capacity bill

 

A lovely treecreeper was spotted nearby

 

The lively breeze ruffled the feathers of this robin

 

Large numbers of teal are also arriving from the north, very small ducks with lovely feathering.

 

The resident red deer began to appear from the reedbeds...

 

 

 

 

And to end a lovely day another marsh harrier appearance...

 

Another favourite place is Rodley Nature Reserve near Leeds, although small in area in attracts plenty of species and is a lovely peaceful area to visit.

 

Our first sighting in the garden hide was a male reed bunting..

 

 

A female bullfinch visited the feed table

 

While the female reed bunting tidied up in the grass underneath

 

We followed a small flock of birds and with some patient work we were able to get near enough for a close shot of a linnet...

 

Under one of the many feed stations the grass was rustling, we stood for a while and we rewarded with a close look at a cute little vole.

 

The dry summer has been kind to voles and mice and populations are high, this is good news for them and for the birds like owls which heavily rely on them as a food source.

 

On our way home we called by a site well known for red kite, they were evident but all the ones we spotted were directly into the low sun of late afternoon. Disappointment disappeared as a large and beautifully marked buzzard flew directly and close overhead!

 

 

A great privilege to see a lovely bird so close up.

 

Many thanks to all who read, don't forget if you do add a comment they come to me first for moderation.