Cambridge Holiday day 3: Fowlmere RSPB

For today my family were going to Duxford air museum. Having seen the pheasant yesterday and th weather being windy today I did not fancy going back for that, and all the other nature reserves that I wanted to go to is that I could not get to by public transport. There was an RSPB reserve near to Duxford and so that seemed like the best option.

It was a small reserve and I did not fancy spending all day there, even less so when birds were at a premium that would make soil hill proud. There were odd bits though having spent all day there so I gathered up around 25 species by the end of the day.

The first two hides had no birds in at all… but the third hide had a little bit more to offer, including Graylag Geese in good numbers, a few Canada Geese and a couple of Mute Swans. 3 Reed Buntings made an appearance too. The reedbeds were alive with the squealing of water rails but I did not see any.

-Graylag Goose

There was a Barn Owl box there which I could see a pale blob inside, presumably an owl, but could not make it out properly first time. Having said that, the second time round the bird had moved and now its face was clear through the hole, clearly making out that it was indeed a Barn Owl, happily dozing away.

-Barn Owl

I spent most of the rest of the time waiting for a Water Rail to appear from the reeds in one of the hides. I got a singing Chiff-Chaff and Teal added to my list. The real highlight of the afternoon was a Muntjac Deer that strolled along the hedge as I left the hide. I got a fantastic view of it and it did not even flinch when I got the camera out. However, I had it on auto-focus so failed to get it through the vegetation, and in the meantime it saw me and bolted, which I was a little gutted about for the missed opportunity but it was still a fantastic view.

-Muntjac Deer

That was about it though. It was nice, but most were species I could easily see at home, so it did feel a little like a day wasted. However, news broke in the afternoon that the Pheasant was now to fed with seed from tomorrow onwards, so I guess that’s tomorrows plans sorted…

Species List:

Fowlmere RSPB: Graylag Goose, Canada Goose, Mute Swan, Mallard, Teal, Barn Owl, Little Grebe, Carrion Crow, Magpie, Common Snipe, Long-Tailed Tit, Great Tit, Blackbird, Robin, Wren, Woodpigeon, Moorhen, Coot, Chaffinch, Common Gull, Reed Bunting, Sparrowhawk, Chiffchaff, Muntjac Deer, Goldfinch, Dunnock,

Cambridge Holiday day 2: Lidlington for the last Lady A

So our first full day in Cambridge I decided to tackle the Lady Amherst’s Pheasant to try and see it before the species goes extinct in the Western Palearctic. I’m sure my family were thrilled when I arose at half 5 in the morning to set myself up and then be on my way.

I had worked it out, so I had a 50 min walk into Cambridge itself, followed by an 80 min coach journey to Bedford, followed by a train to the village where the bird was supposedly residing. I did not know if I would see the bird, or how long it would take. I envisaged that I may have to spend most of my holiday given the patchy nature of sightings but since time was running out I really wanted to see it before it died.

I arrived on site for 9.00 and recognised it immediately from the photos I had seen of the site. I then set up for my long, lonely watch. At around quarter past 9 I was joined by another 3 birders which helped pass the time and give another 3 pairs of eyes for the watch.

At 25 past 9 the unthinkable happened. The bird put in an appearance. On the back of the ridge that we were looking down the birds head appeared, clearly showing the large white on the back of the head. It moved to show the red on the rump but the tail remained obscured. It did not last long as the bird quickly moved away down the far side of the ridge, running away from us. It was probably spooked by our rapid reactions to its presence, but it all happened so quickly that there was not much we could do.

It all happened much too quickly for a photo, but we knew we had seen it and so cued the celebrations. I was thrilled, but of the 4 of us present only 2 of us had picked it up, so I felt a little disappointed for the other guys, especially since one was my age and it would have been a lifer for all of them.

We continued to wait but there was no sight or sound. We had great views of Long-Tailed Tit and Blue Tit but there was little else besides a large group of 7 Squirrels feeding in the area on the path. A Green Woodpecker flew overhead which was a yeartick for me and a great opportunity to get my bogey bird out of the way.

It took 2 hours before the LAP showed itself again. I caught a glimpse of its head clearly coming over the ridge and responded by quickly going for the camera. As soon as I got to the satchel on my shoulder I realised I had made a mistake as the bird had strolled very quickly across the gap. I could only watch as the bird strutted across the top of the ridge before re-entering the scrub. Its profile was distinct and I got a good view of the tail feathers. Sadly I could not get my hands back quick enough for the bins but I could see enough without them. It was a much better view second time than the first and really got to grips with the remaining plumage features.

Fortunately the other 2 guys saw it this time, but the man who had seen it initially missed it this time. Either way, it was great that we had all seen it, even though its appearances added up to less than 10 seconds in total. That was that for the rest of my stay. The 3 other gentlemen left and I was joined by a host of new birders that totalled 7 by the time I left at 3 o’clock, bringing my hours spent up to 6 watching the woodland.

The only remaining sign I got was when it called 3 times at 2.00 but it was further down the bank and did not sound like it would be returning to the ridge any time soon. Also given that the wind had picked up and that it was supposed to rain, and that there was more of a crowd now I decided to call it quits. I was a very happy bloke though, that’s for sure. Having got to grips with my target species at the first time of asking when I thought I would be spending days looking for it. Result!

I headed back and made it back to Cambridge for 6, just in time to crash exhausted in the caravan and enjoying a well-earned victory dinner. I spent 6 hours at the site and saw the bird for less than 10 seconds, but the anticipation made the time fly by, and the bird itself made the trip worthwhile. First lifer of the holiday; the last tickable Lady Amherst’s Pheasant in the UK, a bird possibly as old as I am!

Species List:

Lidlingham: Blackbird, Dunnock, Lady Amherst’s Pheasant, Green Woodpecker, Common Pheasant, Long-Tailed Tit, Great Tit, Blue Tit, Jackdaw, Common Buzzard, Rook, Carrion Crow, Mistle Thrush

Cambridge Holiday day 1: Travelling

We set off down to Cambridge on the Sunday for our Easter family holiday, but traffic was pretty horrific and we did not arrive until 14.00 having set off at 10.30 in the morning. Along the drive down we did see a couple of Red Kites, which was fantastic, as they usually are.
Once we arrived on site we had only a few hours of light left so decided to look at the local nature reserves. First on the list was a small quarry just down from the caravan site, but there was pretty much nothing going on there, the highlight being a small squad of Long-Tailed Tits, but that was about it.
Next we decided to go and have a look at a few lakes that were on the OS map to see if they were up to much. They were further away but we got a few more birds for our travels. There were a couple of Chiffchaffs singing along the edges of the lake and one of them we got a pretty decent view of. There were good numbers of Great-Crested Grebes, as well as a couple of Tufted Ducks. The real highlight though was a large family of Mallard, with around 10 ducklings, my first of the year and very early too I would have thought.

Species List:
Travelling Down: Rook, Red Kite, Common Buzzard, Jackdaw, Carrion Crow, Magpie, Woodpigeon, Pheasant,
Cherry Hinton: Long-Tailed Tit, Mallard, Blue Tit, Jackdaw, Rook, Woodpigeon, Robin, Blackbird, Mallard, Great-Crested Grebe, Tufted Duck, Moorhen, Pied Wagtail, Chiffchaff

Burnsal Bridge

Family day out as is standard for a Wednesday when I am home. Usual business of a walk in the Dales and today's destination was Burnsal Bridge. On the way over I picked out 2 partridges but could not get enough on them as we drove by to confidently give them a species. I also spotted a dead barn owl which was a very sorry sight.

As we pulled up there were plenty of Oystercatchers, 14 in total, as well as 2 Grey Wagtails and a Pied Wagtail vigorously attacking its reflection in a car mirror. I grabbed a couple of shots of this as it is interesting behavior.

-Pied Wagtail

Along the walk we picked up 3 Dippers, multiple Grey Wagtails, a couple of Goosanders and an array of woodland species such as Goldcrest and Long-Tailed Tit. The highlight, as it were, was a pair of Red-Legged Partridges on the far bank high up. Its the first partridges I can defiantly put a species on that I have seen this year so will go down as a yeartick, and the first time I have seen the species on this site.

-Red-Legged Partridge 

There was also some more plastic fantastic with a pair of Mandarin feeding on the near bank. We were able to get reasonably close too, though more to the female than the spectacular male.

-Mandarin

It was another lovely walk at the site with the full compliment of usual suspects, though the RLP was a massive and unexpected bonus. Also picked up Common Buzzard on the way back which was another addition to the species list for the day.

Species List:
Burnsal Bridge: Pied Wagtail, Grey Wagtail, Oystercatcher, Woodpigeon, Jackdaw, Mallard, Black-Headed Gull, Rook, Common Gull, Chaffinch, Goldcrest, Blue Tit, Great Tit, Dipper, Long-Tailed Tit, Goldfinch, Wren, Robin, Blackbird, Song Thrush, Lapwing, Mandarin, Red-Legged Partridge, Pheasant, Goosander, Collard Dove, Magpie, Nuthatch, House Sparrow, Starling, Curlew, Mistle Thrush, Herring Gull, Lesser Black-Backed Gull,

Undisclosed location

Went out today to hopefully see my first ever lesser spotted woodpecker but alas in the 2 hours I spent searching I caught no sight or sound. Hopefully as the year progresses they will be easier to track down. Having said that there was plenty of other stuff to keep me going.

The highlight was yearticking Woodcock, as a bird came flying through the trees right at me before turning back into the woods where I lost it. Not going to lie, that was very unexpected and more than made up for the lack of lessers. A host of other nice woodland birds could also be seen on the site, including Chiffchaff (Including one singing), Goldcrest, Long-Tailed Tit, Bullfinch, Nuthatch and Jay. And Great Spotted Woodpeckers were in very healthy supply, with at least 4 individuals on the site but possibly more.

-Great Spotted Woodpecker

There were also plenty of common garden birds, such as a dearth of Wrens. None woodland birds included around 30 Redwings and a flyover Grey Heron. There were also so unusually tawny Grey Squirrels which were quite striking in their own right.

Species List:

Undisclosed Site: Jay, Woodcock, Chiffchaff, Long-Tailed Tit, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Goldcrest, Sparrowhawk, Chaffinch, Mallard, Goldfinch, Common Gull, Blackbird, Robin, Blue Tit, Great Tit, Jackdaw, Woodpigeon, Carrion Crow, Magpie, Song Thrush, Mistle Thrush, Wren, Coal Tit, Collard Dove, Nuthatch, Starling, Grey Heron, Redwing, Bullfinch,

Mixenden Reser and Mooching over the Moors

Its been a crazy days birding for me. It all started this morning with strings of texts about Whooper Swans coming through in droves. With that in mind I decided to set up at my bedroom window, before church, to see if I could pick any up. It did not take long before I had a flock of around 150 birds. Thrilled with this Year and Garden tick it got even better as they began to descend and looked like they landed on Mixenden Reservoir.

-Whooper Swans

I put the news out that it looked like they had gone down on Mixenden. I did not have to wait long before this was confirmed, but church meant I was unable to get up for a while, so I had to pray that they would stick. There were 239 at count, which was a massive total for Calderdale.

We raced back after church, I grabbed my gear and then off we went to the reser. Even as we drove along the top we could see the swans all down on the reser in the valley. As we pulled up my dad threw me out and I briskly walked down to get a look. I got to spend a fantastic hour with the birds. I set up under some trees on the far bank and waited. The birds went to and fro and came really very close to me as I sat there. I managed to get some reasonable shots as well as some truly fantastic views. The swans were very vocal, constantly calling, a sound I am really not familiar with on Calderdale reservoirs.

-Whooper Swans

After an hour watching the birds I decided to head off onto the moors to see what was about up there. On my up I spotted a Kestrel and multiple Curlews. My first stop was Cold Edge Dams, where I stumbled across a solitary late Fieldfare, 2 Redshank, 2 Oystercatcher and an array of usual moorland Species.

-Fieldfare

I then carried on to a site I knew about last year to see if its delightful residents were still present and indeed they were, looking lovely up against a wall. They were much closer to the road than last year so I was able to improve on last years shots. I was even able to show them to some walkers coming past. Smashing birds of real character, one of my favorites.

-Little Owl

After a bit I headed along the path to the moors to head back home and hopefully scope the swans from Soil Hill. On the way back it was very quiet, only a single snipe and plenty of Red Grouse flushed. It was also nice to see Oliver Crawford up there, great to see him again after so long, nice to catch up.

On the way down to Ogden I spotted a small group of 13 Swans flying north, but then found out these must have been the last of the Mixenden lot as it was around that time they chose to depart. I wandered along the the dam at Ogden and picked out the Barnacle Goose (presumable feral) among the canadas.

-Barnacle Goose

And that was that really, it was very late afternoon/early evening and most things had quietened down. I did flush a Pheasant on Soil Hill but apart from that it was as bleak as usual. But it was a fantastic days birding, and so nice to be back out at all the local sites, especially when you can get fantastic birds like these.

Species List:

Mixenden Reservoir: Whooper Swan, Canada Goose, Goldeneye, Great Crested Grebe, Mallard, Lesser Black-Backed Gull, Black-Headed Gull, Carrion Crow, Kestrel, Robin,

Cold Edge Dams: Little Grebe, Redshank, Fieldfare, Oystercatcher, Curlew, Lapwing, Pheasant, Carrion Crow, Skylark, Meadow Pipit, Canada Goose, Mallard,

Moors: Little Owl, Grey Wagtail, Red Grouse, Common Snipe, Skylark, Meadow Pipit, Lapwing, Curlew, Mallard, Herring Gull, Golden Plover,

Ogden Water LNR: Whooper Swans, Canada Goose, Barnacle Goose, Mallard, Lesser Black-Backed Gull, Common Gull, Black-Headed Gull, Great Tit, 

Soil Hill: Meadow Pipit, Skylark, Pheasant, Starling, Carrion Crow, 

Soil Hill

A fairly standard return to the patch, highlighted by a lack of birds. Its so nice to be back booting around Soil Hill, though the breeze meant I did not stay up there long, and I don't think I would have missed much birdwise, the highlight being a Curlew in one of the fields next to the track.

I did however see my first frogspawn of the year. I have not seen any in Sheffield though clearly they have been busy here for some time as there was tonnes of the stuff in all the pools. Now we just have to hope that the pools don't dry out like they have done in the past.

-Frogspawn

Species List:

Soil Hill: Starling, Curlew, Mallard, Meadow Pipit, Skylark, Lapwing, Carrion Crow, Jackdaw, Woodpigeon, Feral Pigeon

Orgreave Lakes

I headed down to Orgreave for the last time before Easter to see what was about and to view the Eclipse. It started really sunny, ideal for the phenomenon, but it grew increasingly cloudy as I headed to the site on the bus until it was almost blanket cloud and no sign of the sun.

The birds were nothing out of the ordinary. I spotted the usual wildfowl and the gulls were the same as they had been on Wednesday. A Little Ringed Plover flew from the top of the hill but that was all I saw of it and there were no other waders to speak of.

There was a break in the cloud at around 9.00 when I had bumped into another couple of birders. We got the fainest views of it starting but the clouds moved back over before I had chance to get a photo. Fortunately the cloud broke in the one spot where the eclipse was taking place for the main event for around 20 mins, just in that one spot. This allowed us some great views and the cloud cover meant that we could look right at it with no fear of harming out eyes. I managed some good shots, some even with birds (Woodpigeons) flying across them. Not a bad mornings outing.

-Solar Eclipse

The first two wheatears had apparently returned but I did not have time to go to that section of the site and get back for lectures so I sadly left them for the time being, but I was thrilled to have seen the eclipse so well, especially given how grim it looked. Not bad... Not bad at all!

Species List:

Orgreave Lakes: Linnet, Skylark, Meadow Pipit, Reed Bunting, Teal, Wigeon, Oystercatcher, Woodpigeon, Feral Pigeon, Black-Headed Gull, Herring Gull, Coot, Moorhen, Lesser Black-Backed Gull, Reed Bunting, Magpie, Little Ringed Plover, 

Orgreave Lakes

Its been about a week since my last trip to Orgreave and how things have changed in that time. Granted I did make it for my earliest ever time at the site, half 8, but immediately I was greeted by a chorus of birdsong from Dunnocks, Blackbirds, Song Thrush, Skylarks and my first Chiff-Chaff of the year. It was very impressive.
A walk round the small lake produced some goodies. 2 Redshank, a Ringed Plover and 4 Linnet, as well as the usual suspects on the lake and the island; Oystercatcher, Lapwing, Teal, Wigeon etc, though there were far fewer pochards than before.
As I viewed the larger lake 2 Little Ringed Plovers flew over me, yeartick! I followed them onto the mound behind me, but one dropped while the other continued flying around for a good 5 mins before it too dropped. It was distant but even so, once they dropped they were almost invisible and after a quick view through the bins I failed to find them again.

-Little Ringed Plover

I continued round the large lake. Sadly no unusual gulls, but there was a pair of Goldeneye and 5 Goosander to add to the diversity of wildfowl. There were no wheatears around but I there were some Golden Plover on the plains. They were hard to pick up as they were not in one mass as they usually are. I tried to digiscope them but my efforts leave a lot to be desired.

-Golden Plover

Other species on the walk included 2 Grey Wagtails and Long-Tailed Tits, plus more chiff-chaffs singing but I was unable to pick one out. That was until I was in the park before getting the bus and I managed to see one flitting in the undergrowth. Initially I struggled to get the camera on them but after that I did manage to get some decent shots of my first Chiff-Chaff of the year. Very exciting that's for certain.

-Chiff Chaff

So a lovely mornings walk and some great species to go along with them, setting me right up for Easter!

Species List:

Orgreave Lakes: Reed Bunting, Chiff-Chaff, Long-Tailed Tit, Graylag Goose, Canada Goose, Redshank, Ringed Plover, Linnet, Goldeneye, Herring Gull, Oystercatcher, Little Ringed Plover, Grey Wagtail, Golden Plover, Goosander, Kestrel, Mistle Thrush, Blue Tit, Great Tit, Tufted Duck, Mallard, Wigeon, Gadwall, Mute Swan, Teal, Pied Wagtail, Skylark, Meadow Pipit, Lapwing, Cormorant, Carrion Crow, Magpie, Woodpigeon, Feral Pigeon,

Teeside

March has been a quiet month. I have not made it out birding as much as I should but I decided try for something before I left Sheffield for Easter. My options were limited but there were a few pieces in the NE around Saltholme so I decided to head up there for GW teal, bean goose and the probably feral snow goose.

I made my way up and arrived on site for 9.00, just as it started to rain. I knew it was supposed to be light rain, but this was not light rain by anyone's definition. The issue was compounded by some mug who sped through a puddle right next to me... not how I had hoped to start the da.

I walked along the road past the fields where the geese were meant to be. About half way down I did pick up the geese, and there was a clear white bird in them and I could not get enough on it to be sure that this was the Snow Goose. As sods law dictates, all the geese then proceeded to fly off, probably because I had no cover being a pedestrian.

Now with no geese and dripping wet I carried on to Saltholme to Dormans pool for the GW teal. As I passed the RSPB reserve I had a scan through the fields and spotted a white goose. After a while of thinking I had refound the Snow goose I finally got a good enough view to confirm that this was just a feral goose. On the plus side I did year-tick Little Egret.

As I arrived at Dormans Pools the day took another turn for the worse as news came in that the Bean Goose was in the fields, where I had been. Fancy that! However, already on site I began trying to find 'the top carpark' from where the teal was visable. After getting lost round the pond I did finally find the car park but there was no teal, only a tonne load of coots. I decided to set up and wait but after an hour there was no sign of it, and things were not looking good. I did however yeartick Pintail, including a number of drake's which I have not seen for a long time, and Kittiwake, with one on the pond with the larger gulls.

Thats when my luck turned. Another birder, Tim from Bedfordshire, turned up in his car to look for the teal. After 15mins we decided that this was futile but he then offered me a lift back to the geese, as he had already been and confirmed both species were there. He drove me back and I finally got to get my scope on the flock. The Snow Goose was there and it stood out a mile. And despite having being hidden for most of the morning according to Tim the Bean Goose raised its head and then went for a walk, so I finally got to tick that.

I was impressed with how striking the bill was one the Taiga Bean Goose, and how big it was compared to the pink-feet. It was distant but through the scope the views were exceptional. It was a really smart bird to see and great to finally connect with one. Sadly it was a little distant and I could not get any great photos, only record shots. The Snow Goose was even further away but since its probably feral that's less of an issue.

-Taiga Bean Goose

-Snow Goose

Finally having got something to put me in a good mood, Tim then said he was driving up to Seaton Common for the Glaucous Gulls there and said he would take me. Having been in that area before and knew my way round I said that would be great and so we headed off to find the gulls.

The gulls were in the fields and on the tip, flying between. We had a scan but could not pick out either of the 2 glaucs that were meant to be there. However, as I raised my bins I saw a large pale gull flying towards the tip but by the time I got Tim on it the bird was out of sight.

I set up the scope and began to sift through the gulls on the tip and it was not long before I had picked out the prize. There it was, a beast of a glauc, patrolling the tip, looking for rubbish to massacre. Its only my second time seeing the species and was an excellent bonus for the day. After watching it at a distance for some time I tried to get some record shots but failed badly. Fortunately it decided to fly back to the gulls in the field and though it took a while it did finally sit out in a position where I would get some record shots. The conditions were not great again, but the bird was super as it attacked a plant. Also year-ticked Whimbrel while we were there with a bird that was actually pretty close.

Tim picked out the second glauc too, though we never saw them together, which would have been a sight to behold. I was well pleased with my record shots, for all they were, just a pity the bird did not come closer. Either way, I was so pleased to have seen a real bonus species for the day. Thanks again to Tim from Bedfordshire, you made my day a whole lot better!

-Glaucous Gull

The gulls all went up as a Helicopter came over and put them all back onto the tip. Tim left to go try for the shore lark at Hartlepool. I decided to go to the beach and wander up to the train station. Along the beach I failed to find anything major, but did get a nice Red-Throated Diver and a large flock of Wigeon on the sea which I though was very odd. There were not many waders, Only Oystercatchers and there were no seaducks at all.

After that I made it to the train, spent another 2 hours in Darlington station and then made it home for 11. The only other bird of note was as I left the dunes back to Seaton Carew I heard a parakeet flying overhead and picket it out in the sky. Sadly though it was blue so an obvious escape whatever the species.

Species List:

Saltholme RSPB: Little Egret, Canada Goose, Teal, Wigeon, Shoveler, Cormorant, Herring Gull, Great Black-Backed Gull, Lesser Black-Backed Gull, Black-Headed Gull, Graylag Goose, Mallard, Song Thrush, Lapwing, Redshank,

Dormans Pool: Pintail, Kittiwake, Robin, Dunnock, Coot, Teal, Great-Crested Grebe, Mallard, Gadwall, Graylag Goose, Herring Gull, Lesser Black-Backed Gull, Greater Black-Backed Gull, Redshank, Linnet, Meadow Pipit, 

Cowpen Bewley: Bean Goose, Pink-Footed Goose, Canada Goose, Graylag Goose, Snow Goose, Blackbird, Song Thrush, 

Seaton Common: Glaucous Gull, Whimbrel, Little Egret, Common Snipe, Red-Throated Diver, Wigeon, Teal, Herring Gull, Kittiwake, Common Gull, Black-Headed Gull, Lesser Black-Backed Gull, Great Black-Backed Gull, Meadow Pipit, Linnet

Botanical Gardens

Its been a while since I last posted, partly due to my being busy, and partly because most of my birding has been at Orgreave and there has been little different to report. However, there has been a few bits and pieces and this was a pretty exciting day.

For out Tutor we had to go and feed the squirrels in the Botanical gardens, hard work right? Of course the squirrels there are super tame and they came running right up to us as soon as we threw out the peanuts, so I was able to get some decent shots of the squirrels up close, though the light was a bit of an issue.

-Grey Squirrel

But it was not just the squirrels getting in on the act, as we had several very tame pigeons running round us. One of which was so keen it flew up and landed on my hand to get the peanuts before they had been thrown down. That was pretty crazy, though it was just a feral pigeon.

The real star was a Jay that came and flew down. Had I my longer lens it would have been the dream, but with only my shorter lens I could not really get any good shots that the proximity of the bird deserved. It was very close though, for a Jay, not as close as the pigeons. It then settled above our heads for a bit before moving on. A fantastic view of a fantastic bird.

-Jay

Species List:

Sheffield Botanical Gardens: Jay, Feral Pigeon, Woodpigeon, Magpie, Nuthatch, Carrion Crow, Robin, Dunnock, Mistle Thrush, Song Thrush, Blackbird, Grey Squirrel

Kelk Beck - Dipping the Dipper

Finally made a move for the Black-Bellied Dipper near Bridlington, but sadly I waited four hours in sub 5 degree temperatures to a no show. It has not been reported today though, so it would seem it chose to move to a different part of the river.

On the birds that were there, there was very little outside of the ordinary, but there is nothing wrong with that, as there were some nice buzzards overhead, as well as smashing views of Yellowhammer and Redwing. 

-Common Buzzard

It was also nice to see Jeff Cox on site, a former Halifax birder now residing on the east coast. Its always nice to see birders from home whilst on my travels, don't worry Jeff, the dipper did not show after you left.

Species List:

Kelk Beck: Yellowhammer, Tree Sparrow, Common Buzzard, Moorhen, Sparrowhawk, Lapwing, Rook, Carrion Crow, Jackdaw, Greenfinch, Goldfinch, Wren, Chaffinch, Redwing, Stock Dove, Kestrel, Blackbird, Mallard, Dunnock, House Sparrow, Woodpigeon, Blue Tit, Great Tit, Grey Heron, Black-Headed Gull, Herring Gull, Pied Wagtail,