More pics from Leighton Moss

     Just thought I'd put on a few more pics from Sunday as
     I can't get out and about during the week anymore with
     work and the dark closing in, though I did see a Peregrine
     attacking Starlings over the Bradford Park Avenue football
     ground today at about 2 O'clock.

   

Leighton Moss Trip

   Decided to make the trip to Leighton Moss on Sunday
   despite being full of man flu and getting up late so had
   to rush about to get to the coach on time, the day was
   going from bad to worse as I witnessed a dead Badger
   at the side of the road on the Elland bypass which was
   sad and put on a downer for a while, anyway I managed
   to catch the coach and off we went.

   It was quiet on the water at the Eric Morecambe hide but
   I got my first sight of a Great White Egret even though it
   was far off in the distance and a Brambling made an
   appearance in a field along side the mud track along with,
   Greenfinch, Goldfinch, Chaffinch, Reed Buntings and some
   Twite but no Yellowhammer which I was hoping to spot as
   it had been reported up there, 3 Little Egret and 3 Snipe and
   11 Curlew were also seen in the vicinity.

   I then took the long walk up to Leighton Moss itself and saw
   2 Jay flyover and Greylag Geese but no sign of the Buzzards
   or Marsh Harriers that I usually get to see, once inside the reserve
   Coal, Blue and Marsh Tits were at the feeder along with Greenfinch
   Chaffinch and a couple of Pheasant, I then proceeded to go to the
   Bearded Tit feeding trays and on the way spotted a Treecreeper in
   the first tree I passed, at the feeding trays was a bloke who'd also
   come on the same coach called David a nice fella and said he hadn't
   seen a Bearded Tit for 35 years and that was also only a fleeting
  glimpse so I stood and waited with him for a while and low and
  behold we heard some calling and 2 mins later a male showed itself
  about 20 yards away from the trays and then the female popped up
  as well, I got a fews shots of the female but the male was more
  elusive even though they were only an arms length away its nigh
  on impossible getting a clean shot through the reeds, but they were
  great to see and made the journey worth while and David was over
  the moon, lighting was poor for great pics but it was still a joy getting
  at least a few pics of them.

  Time was running out fast so we went across to the furthest hide and
  was told an Otter had just been seen but I didn't get the joy, but I did
  get to see my first Starling murmuration which was amazing to watch.
  On the way home we got stuck in traffic what seemed like forever,
  instead of 1h 30m it took us 3 hours but got to talking to a nice bloke called
  Peter who as it happened lived just down the road from me so I gave him
  a lift home and nattered about the days events.

                                          GWE is on the left, looked great through a scope

Dartford Warbler Dash

   
     Got a message last night of a Dartmouth Warbler being seen
     at St Aidans ( rspb )  i.e Swillington Ings , I thought to myself
     Ive got to have a go at seeing this cracking bird so off I went
     at 7.30 this morning in high hopes, first bird I spotted was a
     Kestrel that looked beautiful in the sunrise then after another
     500 yards of walking I came across a few birders who were all
     on the lookout for the elusive bird but the strong cold winds was
     keeping all the birds hunkered down in the long grass, so it was
     a long waiting game for everybody and a few said that it may
     have been scared off by over keen birders yesterday who wanted
     to get as close as they could, nothing else about at all for a few
     hours until the sun rose a bit and then a Wren and a few Reed
     Buntings started to brave the cold so I was hoping the Dartford
     might think the same but no, it must have been tucked up thinking
     of warmer places to be. ( couldn't blame it ) it was freezing.

    I bumped into my mate Chris T and we decided to have a walk
    around the reserve because we were beginning to seize up, Heron,
    Gadwall, Coot, GC Grebe, Little Grebe, Skylark, Stonechat,
    Moorhen, Meadow Pipit, Greylags, Cormorant, Lapwing, Mute
    Swan, Tufted Duck, Goldeneye, Kestrel, Red Kite, Canada's,
    Pied Wagtail, Reed Buntings and a few unid'd but guess what
    no Dartford bloody Warbler, I then went for a coffee to take out
    which I put on the dashboard of the car which I forgot about until
    I set off OOPS it went all over the place, camera, binoculars, gloves,
    and hat all wet through so with steam coming out of my ears I set off
    to Fairburn Ings where I decided to lose my vapour cig blower grrrrrr.

   I didn't stay long as it was packed with families, Tree Sparrow and
   the regular finches and tits were seen and a few Pheasant and a Little
   Egret was by a lake on the roadside, my garden had Bullfinch, Robin,
   Greenfinch, Goldfinch, Collared Dove, Starling and Chaffinch.
      I did stand still for 2 minutes silence at 11 o'clock.
 

 

Struggle of a Day

     Today I took a walk down Shibden Valley and nearly had a
     heart attack in the process, I started on the Jesmond Hill track
     but it was eerily quiet apart from a few Great Tits flitting about
     the small trees, as I got further along the track the light faded
     badly so trying to get decent pics was gonna be a struggle, 2
     Blackbirds and 8 flighty Redwing were the next birds I spotted,
     It was a shame that they were so flighty as I was hoping for a
     decent pic of them but it wasn't to be, I then set off towards the
     Shibden Mill Inn and not a bird seen or heard for a good ten
     minutes.

     I was talking to a walker who told me to go over a stile and
     follow the path to Lee lane, well I must of picked the wrong stile
     as the one I took got me lost and stuck in fields surrounded by
     barbed wire, anyway I decided to stick it out and climb over
     the wire and up the hill that got steeper and steeper, after a few
     falls and attacks by brambles, thorns and barbed wire I finally
     got to the top of Mt Everest and even though I was struggling
     for breath I still managed a few swear words but not a pic of
     anything during my struggles although I did see 2 Bullfinch,
     8 Long Tailed Tits and a few Blackbirds and plenty of Wood
     Pigeon.

     With my Breath back I set off along Hag Lane where a Tawny
     Owl flew from a tree down into the valley, as I scoured the area with
     my Binoculars there were a pair of eyes staring at me, no not the
     Owls but a beautiful Roe Deer which stared at me for 5 mins and
     then carried on eating the grass, a bit further along the track up
     popped a Little Owl on a fence post, what a little beauty but a bit
     far away for a decent shot and the light was too low so had to have
     my ISO on the camera too high.

    Garden had Goldfinch, Robin, Wren, Crows mobbing something
    in the distance and a Kestrel hunting in the back field, so the day
    was a bit quieter and eventful than I expected, but at least it got
    me out of the house for a few hours.