May the 4th be with you!

N.B. All photos taken on May 3rd.

May 3rd began badly. Five reported dotterel on Pendle tempted me to get up very early for my annual pilgrimage climb up the big hill. Conditions were by any standard very, in every way. Let me explain. Very windy, very cold, very dark and very cloudy, very miserable and very quiet. I saw skylarks

Skylark

and meadow pipits, a pair of wheatear, a red grouse and no trace of any dotterel. Others were up there looking. None of us could find them. After a couple of hours and feeling very cold I went down much more quickly than I went up! So, to make something of the day I decided to walk the Strid again from Cavendish Pavilion this time as far as the aqueduct bridge and back. Main hope would be for wood warbler. I don't think I'll write much more other than to say it was all wonderful. The female pied flycatcher performed for me. The nuthatches seemed tame. Just look at the photos and enjoy!

Mandarin This pair were on a fast little stream running into the Wharfe.

Mandarin Pheasant

The pheasant and nuthatches seem to congregate around the stone shelter half way along the walk. Various visitors leave seed here.

Nuthatch Nuthatch Grey Wagtail

The grey wagtail was seen on the river far below.

A selection of pied flycatcher photos...

Pied Flycatcher Pied Flycatcher

Pied Flycatcher Pied Flycatcher Pied Flycatcher ...and a male to finish.

Pied Flycatcher Finally I did hear what I hoped to hear, about half-way up the slope from the river to the stone shelter near some large holly bushes, my friend phylloscopus sibilatrix...Wood Warbler Wood Warbler Wood Warbler

Wood Warbler

Wood Warbler Wood Warbler

Wood Warbler Wood Warbler Dipper Dipper

Sorry dippers! I nearly left you out!

207

May the 4th!

N.B. Photos not taken today, I'm afraid.

Sitting having my breakfast the pager announced a potential lifer, a black-winged pratincole at Burton Mere Wetlands better known to me as Inner Marsh Farm on the Wirral in Cheshire. Grabbing scope and bins and lunch I set off. I never saw the bird as it had already left. However all was not lost as within minutes of my arrival at the old reserve I had seen several whitethroats and a great white egret!Whitethroat I then went to the new reserve centre where I heard the news about the 'prat', saw yellow wagtails, house martins, swallows, blackwits, dunlin and the great white again.

Great White Egret

I was told the spoonbill would be down at Parkgate so off I went. There were lots of little egrets but the spoonbill wasn't in view although a birder told me where it had gone down.

Little Egret It soon came up! The same birder told me there were sandpipers at Donkey Stand Flash [great name!] and he told me where that was.

I spotted what for a moment I thought might be a common sandpiper but when a swallow landed on the mud beside it and I saw this bird's yellow legs and lack of white shoulder wedge I realised this was probably a Temminck's stint. I went back to the car to get my bird guide to double check. Convinced I reported the bird to the new reserve staff and set off home. I was relieved when it came on the pager confirming my id and even more pleased when it was again reported this morning [5th May] at the same location.

211. Four ticks in a day!