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.

Rivers, woods and moorland - my favourite habitats

I tend to have a routine at this time of the year, checks on on early nesting birds like dippers to see the delightful youngsters, the woodland migrants like pied flycatchers before the foliage becomes too heavy to see them and the moors just because that habitat was the beginning and will be a constant in my love of wildlife.

There are several options for all these and Rombalds Moor, of which Ilkley Moor is a component, proved reliable again for a female wheatear...

The river Wharfe is the best I know for dippers and I had great fun watching an adult trying to tempt a youngster to eat a fish. Whether the size was putting the young one off I don't know but it steadfastly refused to take it!

Caddis flies were eagerly accepted though!

A short walk further down river takes me into the woods and a shelter where visitors scatter seed to attract birds. The seeds also attract voles and mice which appear from gaps in the walls, first what I think is a short tailed vole then the big eyes and ears of a wood mouse.

Pied flycatchers migrate between here and Africa each year, nesting and breeding here before leaving in Autumn. The fact that they return to the same nest site each year is not only amazing but makes you wonder at the instincts that guides birds like these, part of my love of nature is the way they are influenced by factors we do not fully comprehend.

My RSPB duties at Malham have resumed, shots of the peregrines from the watchpoint are difficult and usually long range!

More on these beauties later!!!

While on duty at Malham I spotted a bird rarely seen nowadays. People often say they have seen yellow wagtails when what they have seen is the grey which does have a lot of yellow, I had to double check myself when I spotted this!

Not a great angle but a notable sighting.

The call of a cuckoo is a sign of spring, a message from a friend of one appearing really close is a sign of me throwing gear into the car and driving as soon as I can to the location! A male and apparently one keen to have his photograph taken, a remarkable experience.

At peregrine watch I get breaks and I usually look round the base of the Cove to see what is around, I got really lucky with a wren....

A walk on the moors to our secret ring ouzel site paid dividends with a good sighting of the male...

I spent a couple of hours just enjoying the warmth of the sun by the river Wharfe but had to appreciate the beauty of a kingfisher landing nearby with a catch to take back to the nest...

And finally the peregrines...two chicks this year. We went up as visitors so we could get up on the top and try to get some closer shots...super afternoon, my favourite birds so the emotional tie is strong and so good to see more young birds being raised successfully...

I am often asked why I like the predatory birds so much...having given the matter some thought I can only conclude that their care and love for their youngsters is exemplary, I have witnessed extreme tenderness and they train and prepare the chicks for the hard life they will face. The territory they rule is guarded fiercely and as the world's fastest animal when you see a hint of the speed they can get to, I just love them!

Cheers to all who read the blog, please don't forget if you comment they come to me first for moderation.

Have a great summer everyone!