Yes, I'm still here and out birding when I'm not planting vegetables! [I know it's been a while!!]

The trouble is not that I've not seen any birds but they all seem just too far away to photograph properly...

For instance I spent a fair while at Staveley recently to see a pair of garganey. They were a long way away. The woodsand was so far away I couldn't see it! [May 8th]

However, that rather mucks up the chronology, so...let's start at the very beginning...

Heatwave warning!

If, like me, you are in your advancing years and are folically challenged you really should consider wearing a hat!

April 2nd: Little ringed plover at Scaling Dam and a yellowhammer at Cowpen Bewley.

The yellowhammer was extremely nervous and didn't want to be seen!

April 9th: Tophill Low

Blue tit, shelduck and very late brambling at the feeders

April 14th: North Cave

Blackcap and Egyptian geese

April15th: Bempton Cliffs

Wild garlic

Chiffchaff

Razorbill

May 12th: Blackhall Rocks and Saltholme

Linnet and avocet

May 17th: Blacktoft 

Spoonbill

May 31st: North Duffield and North Cave

Banded demoiselle in the car park at North Duffield

Painted lady. Many of these attractive butterflies this year including in my garden

June 11th: Blacktoft

I was very lucky to see a marsh harrier come really close at Reedling Hide. Great views and nice photos. 

Gadwalls in flight

Barn owl

June 16th: Bempton

Puffin and razorbill with chick; all quiet at Tophill Low. Pied wagtail on reservoir wall

Tree egret!

July 1st: Blacktoft

A too distant green sandpiper and sleeping spotted redshanks

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From Townend Causeway to Wharfedale and on to Station Road!

March 5th: Afternoon jaunt to Blacktoft Sands.

All quiet on the Eastern Front so I mooched along to Reedling hide.

I was chatting to Carl and mentioned that I hadn't seen a snipe yet this year. A voice from the other end of the hide said 'They're in front of you!' Craning my neck upwards to peer over the grass I began to make out bits of snipe bodies on the water's edge.

At Marshland hide a marsh harrier was sitting on the edge of the reeds with a claw holding fast to some prey.

March 7th: A walk to Lowther Lake.

I think I took a long way round to get there! I asked a few locals but they all said they knew the area well but didn't know the names of the lakes! So they couldn't help. A large fence seemed to stop me going where I wanted to go. When I got there I found it was extremely muddy just where I wanted to get to a fisherman's landing pier which had a great but distant view of the red-crested pochard. 

Back at Oddball a group of people staring through the fencing alerted me to the probable presence of a little owl. Rather well hidden in the thicket.

March 10th: North Duffield

Whooper swans on the flood far side of the river.

March 17th: Saltholme

A long walk to the viewing platform to hopefully see a long-eared owl. Also coltsfoot and kestrel.

March 20th: Saltholme electricity substation pool followed by Cowpen Bewley bird feeder station

Ruddy shelduck and Egyptian geese x5 all rather distant! Good job I had my scope in the boot.

Back at Saltholme proper a great white egret was pretending to be invisible.

Cowpen Bewley birds

My favourite picture of this posting, I think.

A chiffchaff was also seen. Then on the Headland I saw a kittiwake on its nest on an old and sad looking building opposite the Fisherman's Arms on Southgate.

March 22nd Goole and Filey

I pulled over onto the grass verge as I left Old Goole travelling east towards Blacktoft. Soon the two lingering waxwings were spotted and it was obvious quite a few birders wanted to get waxwing onto their year lists. Good to see David Armitage who wished me Happy New Year! It's never too late!

Turning into Wharfedale as I entered Filey I drove down to the little car park at Filey Dams. No sign of garganey at Filey Dams but good to bump into Mark [an old Nunthorpian like me] and his wife. Med gull on the water, tree sparrows galore.

March 31st: Swillington Ings

I parked in Station Road and crossed the railway line to enter the reserve. At the crossroads I immediately saw a huddle of birders and 3 black necked grebes. Later up by Oddball I also saw a little owl - my second encounter this year but I was still delighted to see this little fellow on the wood stack.

On the way home there must have been up to 8 cattle egrets showing from the roadside at Fairburn Ings, Lyn Dike end.

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Change will come...each day is a little bit longer...

February 7th and 8th

 I found my way to Waterloo Lake in Roundhay Park, Leeds. Apparently the Iceland gull had just flown off and returned later that day long after I had departed. But the persistent birder went back again the next day - earlier this time but it had just flown off! Again! 

I resolved to wait and be ready.

I took some photos...

A very angry Canada goose was attacking the other geese.

Meanwhile the Iceland gull was reported from up on a nearby hillside. So off they all went up the muddy hill struggling with their tripods and cameras. I decided to stay where I was. I can only assume that the assembled host [of gulls] didn't like to see the encroaching army of old campaigners attempting to take Soldier's Field [as the hillside is named] and along with the rest of the gang the Iceland gull duly came and landed on the lake in front of me and another lazy birder who had stayed put. And so smug. 

En route homewards I stopped near Fairburn Ings to se if any cattle egrets were about. Here's a quartet of them with their guard close by.

Valentine's Day. A trip to Kildale where I nearly ran over a red grouse. I then headed to Lockwood Beck where I didn't see my main target [marsh tit] but a treecreeper showed nicely. 

February 16th: an afternoon jaunt to Blacktoft. Very quiet and cold. Lots of ducks, 3 winter-drab little grebes, a couple of greylags. 

White-fronted geese flew over the reserve.

February 18th: Lockwood Beck  

Bouncing siskin plus female siskin, yet another treecreeper and a collection of long-tailed tit portraits.

I also visited Nosterfield and Sutton Bank that day. Highlight was marsh tits at Sutton Bank feeders.

South Gare February 21st

I went hoping to see snow buntings. Walking towards the area I had been told to check when, not having gone very far from the steps down onto the sand, I realised the snow buntings were scuttling towards me. All I had to do was stand still and watch. Eventually two birders came over.

'Well done,' one said. 'You've found them at last!' I smiled. In truth they had found me.

Spurn February 22nd. Few photos taken that day as everything was a long way out on the mud. The Brent geese were a long way off and most of them had their back end pointing my way!

A redshank in strong sunshine from the Crown and Anchor.

February 25th: Wykeham Raptor Watchpoint, Forge Valley and Bempton. Seven year ticks in the day - pretty good I thought.

Last year my birding was severely curtailed so when I got to the raptor watchpoint I was stunned to see how much things had changed. It was as if I had never been there before...

Goshawks were seen but distantly through my scope. Forge valley had nuthatches plus the usual birds including more marsh tits. Bempton produced gannets, razorbills, guillemots, linnets and skylarks. Here's a few of Bempton's best. [Unfortunately the shorties were in shortie supply that day].

March 2nd: Hartlepool. 

Reed bunting and long-tailed tits at Cowpen Bewley.

Ring-necked parakeets at Ward Jackson Park.

Probable early bumble bee bombus pratorum at Haverton Gate, Saltholme. Followed by a pair of pintail from Salthome Pools hide.

Finally for this posting a walk round Fairburn where I saw relatively little [certainly no spoonbills] but two buzzards overhead in the sunshine were nice to see.

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