One fine day: from Wykeham to Blacktoft

The idea was - and, of course ideas often play tricks on us when we try to fulfil them - to start by seeing honey buzzard and/or goshawk at the raptor watchpoint at Wykeham Forest. I was there for 8am and I was the third person to get there. By 11am we had seen one common buzzard, 3 turtle doves, a fair number of crossbills, a willow warbler and a siskin. Conditions seemed perfect but no sightings were reported that day. I left at about 11am and set off south.

Driving along the back road from Brompton by Sawdon to the A64 at Sherburn I spotted 3 baby birds at the side of the road by Brompton Ings. No farm buildings nearby. What are they? They all had the same white marking.

Black Pheasant chick Some kind of chicken? If anyone knows please tell!!

Having thought of going to North Cave to photograph dragonflies I changed my mind and called at North Cliffe Wood - a place I had often thought of exploring.

I set off little realising I was about to be bitten by lots of hungry little insects. My hands and arms, in particular for some reason my elbows, are now covered in large stinging lumps almost 24 hours later!

I enoyed the wood. For a while there was little to see and all was very quiet.

A number of speckled wood butterflies flitted in the sunlit glades.

Speckled Wood Some of the foxgloves were taller then me - at least six feet tall.

Further into the wood where the trees seem larger and much older there are many bat boxes marked EYBG [East Yorkshire Bat Group I presume] and I came across a colony of honey [?] bees in a crack in an old tree.

It took me longerr than anticipated to complete my walk all the way round the reserve. As well as the wood there is an area of old heathland. I saw the following birds: blackcap, willow warbler, chaffinch, great tit, blue tit, long tailed tit and I heard the more fluted tones of garden warbler too. I'm fairly sure of this but without seeing the bird I can never be absolutely sure. I stood still listening for a long time hoping for a glimpse. The best views were of the bird moving rapidly from one tree to another but not remaining in view when it landed.

And so I set off for my final destination to Blacktoft Sands. Hoping as ever for a view of bearded tit. A couple of possible sightings but nothing definite. A hobby flew rapidly past Singleton hide.

Down at Marshland recently fledged black-headed gulls were on flying practice. The kind of bird no-one pays attention to.

A marsh harrier was lurking nearby and the gulls were mobbing it cautiously.

Marsh Harrier

Black-headed Gull Black-headed Gull

On the walk back a whitethroat was singing. I suddenly felt I was being watched. I glanced right.

Sedge Warbler An army helicopter came over quite low. The photo shows how the camera can 'kill' the movement of a helicopter whilst the tiniest movements of a bird are much harder to freeze.

When I looked back at the reedbed the sedge warbler hadn't moved.

Sedge Warbler Sedge Warbler 237 UK; 114 Yorkshire