Yorkshire delights

March 10th

Tiggy took me to Wykeham lakes where I saw a drake scoter on the sailing lake and some crossbills in the forest. Scoter Crossbill Crossbill Crossbill Dippers were in Troutsdale.

Dipper Dipper Dipper

I headed for Scarborough to see the Mediterranean gulls - larus melanocephalus - which of course means black-headed gull! Here's a few... Mediterranean Gull Mediterranean Gull Mediterranean Gull Mediterranean Gull Mediterranean Gull The great northern diver was still amputating frogs' legs in the harbour before swallowing the rest in one gulp... Great Northern Diver Great Northern Diver

March 13th

I went to Bempton resolved to walk however far I had to to see a corn bunting. Now much of my photography is pretty spontaneous - I like it that way which is why I prefer hand-held still although from time to time I wonder about a big steady tripod...

On this occasion I found the cornbunts in a field about half a mile south-east of Staple Newk.

Brief digression for fulmar and gannets from Staple Newk...

Gannet Gannets Fulmar Fulmar There were just a few puffins about.

Puffin & Guillemots Back to the buntings. The birds were feeding on dry material in the south east corner of a large field. I tried to approach following a Defra conservation public footpath [never been on one of those before!] but the birds disappeared into the field. There was one solitary bush which I sort of hid behind for an hour or so. Eventually the birds returned to their favoured spot. Corn Bunting Corn Bunting Corn Bunting Corn Bunting Walking back I was entertained by a group of bold jackdaws. Jackdaw Jackdaw Jackdaw

On the way home I called at the vast Burdale Quarry to look for a little owl. No sign but saw this: hope you can make it out! Puffin

March 15th

Barry and I headed into West Yorkshire to Wintersett looking initially for an elusive firecrest. It remained elusive! Here are the substitutes: long-tailed tit and chiffchaff. Long-tailed Tit Long-tailed Tit Chiffchaff Chiffchaff Saw my first butterfly of the season there too - a comma and a short while later while driving we saw a male brimstone storming along the roadside.

Female comma hutchinsonii I believe but I'm no expert. Comma Two encounters with long-tailed ducks that day: one at Calder Wetlands and the other, more distantly on Lemonroyd Lake. We also saw the black-necked grebes and 3 water pipits at the filter beds. Here's the Calder Wetlands bird. Long-tailed Duck Long-tailed Duck Long-tailed Duck

170 UK 2017