The grass is riz!

I wonder where the birdies is! They're nearly all here...

April 22nd - Saltholme

I started bright and early at Dorman's Pool, hoping for some warblers. As I got out of the car I could immediately hear a gropper reeling, and, given my hearing loss, that meant very close indeed. Soon spotted in thick vegetation across the road from the little car park. Tried everything to get clear views... Common whitethroat in same area Path down to the hide held linnets and sedge warblers - annual treat to get close to the sedgies!

Linnet posing as moustached warbler!!

Sedge warblers

On to Saltholme proper. Walked down to Saltholme hide and met two birds on posts! Meadow pipit first.

Then a super looking wheatear.

Last photo from that trip: a greylag!

I was lucky to be shown a little stint on the causeway late afternoon but it was a tricky scope job to pick it up. Thanks to local birders!

April 24th - Scaling Dam

Hoping most of all for a cuckoo, I spent a very pleasant few hours in the hide chatting to Teesside birders. I'll begin with a greenshank that was in front of the hide. A white wagtail wasn't co-operative! The pair of common sandpipers were a bit more inclined to pose. Some of you may know I call extremely distant views of a bird ''cuckoo' shots. Well here's one... Meadow pipit [I guess] having a go and probably with good reason!

April 26th - Saltholme and Bishop Middleham

Spent the morning in Phil Stead hide waiting for this bird to wake up! There were other things to keep me interested...

Black headed gull looking smart in excellent light A shelduck too Teal

A group of black-tailed godwits were out on the water feeding. Three lesser black-backed gulls came in.

They clearly made the godwits very nervous. You'll get some idea from these shots... The gulls eventually left. A heron preened and posed.

Throughout all of this the pair of garganey [brief view of female to follow] slept on in the sunshine. I went to buy some sunflower hearts for our garden birds. I went back. Eventually the garganeys stirred. The pictures show I'll never get this close to a garganey again!

I left for Castle Lake, Bishop Middleham in increasing drizzle. Yellow wagtails promised but I couldn't find any. However prime target did show: wood sandpiper.

Today, April 28th: Lin Dike

Up early hoping for a female bufflehead. Seen a few times eventually very far end of Spoonbill Flash. No photos but did see Egyptian geese and my first common terns of the year. Here's the terns. 182 UK 2019