Soil Hill birding; updates from the week 12th - 17th September

Sadly this was Lias last week on the Hill, as she returns the tropical climes of Brazil. And it was quite the send off as the first real autumn days rolled in this week, with a cold northerly wind and single figure temperatures, combined with glorious blue skies. In addition there was the steady transition of birdlife as the first winter migrants began to arrive, seeing off the final summer visitors. 

• The 14^th was a warm day once the early morning fog cleared, and it seemed promising for raptors but we were limited to six Common Buzzards. That was until we descended from the Hill and were walking back along Bradshaw Lane when we spotted a raptor high up that was immediately something different. Although distant, the photos showed it was a nice Marsh Harrier. It cruised slowly NW, taking it over the Soil Hill area, making it my second of the year.

As the autumn has progressed the number of migrants has continued to drop off with this week maintaining that course. Many of the summer warblers have now moved on, with just the last few hanging on. Not long before the thrushes arrive to keep things lively!    

• Almost certainly the last Spotted Flycatcher was actively feeding at the bottom of the North Slope on the morning of the 13^th, the last warm morning before the colder northerly winds set in. Its been a phenomenal autumn for this species here, with this individual bringing to the total up to seven in 2022! 

• Another species that has almost certainly run its course is Whinchat, with a single on Taylor Lane on the 14^th likely to be the last of the year. If this is the last of the year, it rounds off a truly phenomenal autumn with a total estimate of 16 different individuals.

• One species that has certainly increased in abundance this week is Stonechat. The first of the autumn appeared on the 13^th, when we were able to find four different individuals. Then we had birds on two other dates, although just singles. A single Wheatear was enjoying the horse paddocks from the 12^th until the 15^th, when it was joined by a second individual before they both departed. 

• A single Tree Pipit was heard flying south on the 13^th in a good passage of Meadow Pipits, in which 118 were counted in an hour, and an estimated 300 flew south in total. 

• This week there was just two Willow Warbler sightings, both on the 14^th and both on Ned Hill Track. In start contrast, Chiffchaff was seen on every single day, although the cold winds certainly contributed to numbers dropping off at the end of the week. The best count was seven on the 15^th, and six on the 12^th.

• Remarkably we were able to find three Common Whitethroat on the 13^th, but the only other record was one calling at the top of the North Slope on the 15^th. In the past the species has lingered on Soil Hill until the end of September, but there is no evidence that this year will have such a lingering individual, as we have searched hard for the last individuals. There was also a male Blackcap at the bottom of the North Slope on the 13^th, the only sighting of the week. 

• Small flurries of Hirundines kept moving during the week, but there was no sustained movement worth counting. There were House Martins on two dates, the 13^th and 15^th when groups of eight and 13 respectively flew south. On the 13^th there was a reasonable movement of Barn Swallow, with an estimated 50 individuals, and again the 15^th was the only other date of note with an estimated 35 heading south. Two Sand Martin again on the 13^th probably see the species out for what has been a very poor year for them on Soil Hill.

• This week Goldcrest returned to the Hill with individuals recorded on almost every single day, in a variety of locations. The highest count was still only three on the 13^th and 14^th, but it is good to at least hear these teeny birds on almost every visit.  

• On the livelier days there was finally an appearance of Siskin this year, with small groups recorded on the 13^th, 14^th and 15^th flying across the Hill calling. Having had none in the spring, it was good to finally get some, especially since the autumn seems quite slow for finches so far.

•  The only Jay this week was a pair that flew south together on the 13^th, which as you’ve probably gathered at this point was the liveliest day for movement of all species this week.

In addition to the usual passage and summer migrants that have been slowly filtering through, there has been a burst of wildfowl activity on the Hill this week. Although the species involved have not been super unusual, it still represents a good start to the autumn and a sure indicator that the season is progressing rapidly. 

• The highlight of the week has been the first skeins of wintering Pink-footed Geese returning from Iceland. Although nationally there had been numerous sightings in the preceding days, the first flock over Soil Hill did not occur until the 15^th when a skein of 177 flew southeast over Halifax, the largest flock of the week. On the 16^th there were 328 individuals that flew over in five skeins, and on the 17^th 359 headed southeast in eight skeins. 

• Another goose species appearing in numbers this week was Greylag Goose. I was informed that this increase in records is due to the feral English population moving to Scotland to moult during the summer before returning, and that Icelandic birds don't arrive until November. Interesting stuff anyway. Individuals were seen on four dates this week, heading in all different directions, with the largest group being 11 heading west on the 14^th and 9 going the same direction on the 17^th. 

• This week saw the first Goosander of the autumn, with a flock of seven heading distantly south on the 15^th, before a closer individual flew northeast on the 16^th.  

• Shockingly I have not seen Eurasian Teal on Soil Hill since October 2019, so it was pleasing to have three individuals on the NK Pond on the 15^th this week. They spent their time resting on the small shoreline that has appeared where they preened and were pestered by the local Moorhens.   

  The best of the rest was pretty limited this week. The standout was probably a Collared Dove that flew north over Taylor Lane on the 17^th, my first the 31^st August and only the third this year. The Grey Partridge were seen on the 12th and the 14^th with a male and two females sitting out nicely on the latter date.

  Remarkably the Curlew remained throughout the week, heard every day between the 13^th and the 16^th but never seen. Presumably feeding in one of the more distant livestock fields, but certainly not feeding quietly. There were just two dates for Common Snipe this week, with a single on the 15^th and a couple on the 17^th.

  The only notable other passerine sighting was a group of four Bullfinch that dropped in to the bushes at the top of the North Slope on the 15^th.

  And as a final note, there was another notable sighting this week when a Herring Gull with a darvic ring was in the reservoir field. Frustratingly the grass was just a little two long to get the full code, although I was able to get some of it. I sent it off to PC to see what he suggested, and he thought it could be a York bird and to maybe pass it to them. This is still on my to do list, but its unlikely it will lead anywhere. 

-Marsh Harrier

-Stonechat

-Spotted Flycatcher

-Eurasian Teal

-Goosander

-Greylag Geese

-Pink-footed Geese

-Herring Gull with darvic ring

-Lesser Black-backed Gull

-Collared Dove

-Dunnock

Species List:

Soil Hill: Greylag Goose, Pink-footed Goose, Canada Goose, Mallard, Eurasian Teal, Goosander, Grey Partridge, Common Pheasant, Red-legged Partridge, Feral Pigeon, Stock Dove, Common Wood Pigeon, Eurasian Collared Dove, Common Moorhen, Eurasian Curlew, Common Snipe, Black-headed Gull, Common Gull, European Herring Gull, Lesser Black-backed Gull, Great Cormorant, Grey Heron, Western Marsh Harrier, Eurasian Sparrowhawk, Common Buzzard, Western Barn Owl, Little Owl, Common Kestrel, Peregrine Falcon, Eurasian Jay, Eurasian Magpie, Western Jackdaw, Rook, Carrion Crow, Northern Raven, Coal Tit, Eurasian Blue Tit, Great Tit, Eurasian Skylark, Sand Martin, Barn Swallow, Common House Martin, Willow Warbler, Common Chiffchaff, Eurasian Blackcap, Common Whitethroat, Goldcrest, Eurasian Wren, Common Starling, Mistle Thrush, Common Blackbird, Spotted Flycatcher, European Robin, Whinchat, European Stonechat, Northern Wheatear, Dunnock, House Sparrow, Grey Wagtail, Pied Wagtail, Meadow Pipit, Tree Pipit, Common Chaffinch, Eurasian Bullfinch, Common Linnet, European Goldfinch, Eurasian Siskin, Common Reed Bunting, 

 

Orgreave Lakes

Another chance to go out and do some birding at long last. I thought I might get a couple of patch ticks when 20 mins before I arrived Mark tweeted that he had a a SEO and a couple of YLG. Sadly I connected with neither, despite searching through the gulls desperately. A juvenile gull had me for a moment, as it appeared to have a pale rump. Sadly in photos though it was not a clear rump, and the bird was just a Herring Gull. There were a few adult Herring Gulls but they were distinctly pale and it was possible to rule out YLG without even seeing the legs themselves. There were quite a large number of Lesser Black-backed Gulls, the majority of which were adults.

-Lesser Black-backed Gull

Other birds on site of note included an impressive number of Redwings feeding on the berries at the south side of the site. There was a massive flock of around 50-100 Linnet with a couple of Goldfinch feeding on the thistles. I though I had heard twite, and saw the birds calling but they only called once and I could get nothing more on it, and as such I do not intend to make anything of it, whatever they were.

Species List:
Orgreave Lakes: Blackbird, Black-headed Gull, House Sparrow, Carrion Crow, Kestrel, Woodpigeon, Lapwing, Skylark, Goldfinch, Magpie, Long-tailed Tit, Canada Goose, Greenfinch, Redwing, Jackdaw, Pochard, Mallard, Grey Heron, Graylag Goose, Coot, Gadwall, Wigeon, Starling, Feral Pigeon, Tufted Duck, Meadow Pipit, Common Gull, Linnet, Teal, Mute Swan, Jay, Lesser Black-backed Gull, Shoveler, Herring Gull,

Lake District

Since the weather was so nice as of late we decided to go into the Lake District for the day as a family. We started by going for a drink at the cafe at the Osprey Watchpoint at Bassenthwaite lake. The Osprey was very, very distant and nothing like the other views I have had this year, but it was nice to see one settled down. Also on site there was Gary the Biking Birder, who it was nice to see again after Spurn.

-Osprey

Post Osprey watching we headed onto a small village overlooking Bassenthwaite to grab a bite to eat. It sort of clouded over while we were there but was still unpleasantly hot. Here there were good numbers of Siskin flying around and calling, and a Lake District tick for me when a Red Kite came soaring over.

-Red Kite

Post lunch we headed out on a rowing boat on Derwent Water as per usual. It had really clouded over now but the wind had dropped a little making things a little easier. Out on the lake it was a case of the usual suspects still being around. Numbers of the probably feral Barnacle Goose population seemed to have dropped but it is possible they were within the trees on the islands in molt. We still saw around 10 individuals either flying around or lurking on the shoreline.

-Barnacle Goose

Also in molt were the Mergansers, or that's what I would presume since all those we saw today were brown birds, with no males seen at all. Its the first time I have taken my 500 lens to the lake district so I was able to try and take some nice photos of the Mergs. I got decent shots of one that was sat on the bank, and they were great to see as usual.

-Red Breasted Merganser

There had been a change in the dynamics of the bird fauna since last time I was here. This time there was a massive roost of Lesser Black-Backed Gulls on one of the island, and a few nests with developing chicks. I have never seen this many before and I have been here at this time of year previously, so the reason for this gathering is beyond me. There we well over 100 birds roosted on the island, whilst others we blogging about the lake. 

-Lesser Black-Backed Gulls

New to my Derwent Water list, as it were, was a Common Sandpiper that was on the shoreline of one of the islands. Its a patch tick for me, but I could not get a good photo as the boat kept rocking and the Sandpiper dipping in and out of the rocks. I did manage a solitary record shot which says more than enough.

-Common Sandpiper

After the boat ride we went for a walk around the side of the lake. It was getting dusky and the sun was now quite obscured, rain had started to fall and the Midges had come out in force. There were good numbers of commoner birds. The woodland area looked ideal habitat for lesser pecker but I saw none, only Great Spotted Woodpecker, of which there was an adult and a juvenile. The best bird of the walk was a nice Spotted Flycatcher that was in one of the more open areas of the woodland.

-Spotted Flycatcher

It was a lovely day out, only the heat was the downside but we can't complain given it will soon be back to the British summer we all know and don't love.

Species List:
Bassenthwaite Osprey Watchpoint: Osprey, Siskin, Grey Heron, Lapwing, Oystercatcher, Stock Dove, Carrion Crow, Red-Breasted Merganser, Common Buzzard, Mute Swan, Carrion Crow, Jackdaw, Lesser Black-Backed Gull, Black-Headed Gull, Canada Goose, Graylag Goose, Mallard, Robin, Tufted Duck, Chiffchaff, Chaffinch, Woodpigeon,
Derwent Water: Barnacle Goose, Canada Goose, Graylag Goose, Red-Breasted Merganser, Common Sandpiper, Lesser Black-Backed Gull, Herring Gull, Oystercatcher, Black-Headed Gull, Pied Wagtail, Siskin, Woodpigeon, Great-Spotted Woodpecker, Coal Tit, Blackcap, Spotted Flycatcher, Jackdaw, Magpie, Mute Swan, Chaffinch, Blue Tit, Nuthatch,

Spurn Day 23

The game has changed. At 2.00 this morning I decided to investigate a lone oystercatcher calling. I knew there would be nothing of it, but figured it probably best checking. But there, at the far end of the pond was something shining in the torchlight. Initially I thought it must just be a can or something, but then it began to move. I therefore, moved closer to it in order to get a better view. Whatever it was it decided to clear off without a trace, no sign of it round the corner. Of course it was the long elusive fox, but why had only one Oyk been calling, and why, when I reached the site, was there still a Ringed Plover (Capable of flight) chilling on the shoreline? And where had the fox gone, it can’t have run that fast?

At 3.00 the same thing happened, only this time I remembered to check for tracks. After some searching I found one fresh paw print from a fox. But again, there were few birds calling and no obvious sign of distress from anything…

Besides that the shift passed without incident, though obviously the fox is a pretty big incident. There were not many birds around in the morning, probably because I had scared them all off. The walk back also produced nothing of any real note.

At 11 my slumber was broken by the reports that a clouded yellow was on beacon lane. Oh, how nearly I made it out of bed, but not quite and the next thing I know it was 2.00 in the afternoon. For the day I decided to head along the coast, to beacon lane, round to Kilnsea wetlands and then back down Canalside. It was dead, very dead indeed. Along Beacon Lane I got a few butterflies but nothing much. I recorded Speckled Wood, which is my first time here, and a few Wall Brown and a Painted Lady in full colour. Nothing out of the ordinary though.

-Speckled Wood

-Wall Brown

Along the walk to Kilnsea I had a bit more luck, with Avocet on one of the small ponds, also a Ruddy Darter along the path, but it was still very quiet. Not as quiet as actually on the wetlands. Below I have included a photo with all the birds on the wetlands in…

-Juv Lesser Black-Backed Gull

As if it needs stating, not much time was spent in there. I continued round to Canalside where there was little again. On the estuary I picked up Whimbrel, Black-Headed Gull and Dunlin, the latter being in small numbers as the tide was well, well out.

I returned to the warren having not really got much at all. Shopping and dinner followed but after that I headed up to the Seawatch hide to see what was about. It was a decent showing, but very on and off. There was decent passage of Sandwich and Common Terns, as well as a few far out Arctic Skuas, 2 of which were mobbing a Sandwich Tern. There was also Gannet movement out to sea, so a little more to get excited about. A weather front had moved in and so the Seawatching quickly dried up, the air becoming very humid with the odd rain shower. 

As a consequence the ponds were very quiet, and there was little on the way there. The cloud cover also made it feel very dark, meaning none of the waders could be identified, though there were obviously some dunlin and the Oyks out there.

The Daily Oystercatcher

This morning our Oyks spent most of their time calling at me as I checked relentlessly for the fox. It caused the young to frequently fly though, which they are getting good at now, and is pleasing to see. At one point the adult took them down onto the beach in order to try and get them away from me, but I came back round the beach in order to prevent disturbance to other birds, so that did not work too well.

In the evening it was too murky to really get them, but they could be seen snoozing on their little Crab Pot island. Snoozing that is until I disturbed them with my checking. Its going to be a long night for them I feel.

Species List:

Beacon Ponds: Little Egret, Mute Swan, Dunlin, Oystercatcher, Ringed Plover, Black-Headed Gull, Sanderling, Fox, Migrant Hawker

Walk: Avocet, Mute Swan, Mallard, Linnet, Herring Gull, Pied Wagtail, Black-Headed Gull, Sandwich Tern, Blackbird, House Sparrow, House Martin, Dunlin, Whimbrel, Snipe, Great Tit, Goldfinch, Wall Brown, Meadow Brown, Speckled Wood, Gatekeeper, Common Blue, Large White, Painted Lady, Red Admiral, Ruddy Darter, Migrant Hawker, Emperor Dragonfly

Seawatching: Gannet, Sandwich Tern, Common Tern, Arctic Skua, Common Gull, Linnet, Swallow, Grey Seal,

Anglers CP

So in order to try to gain extra species in my quest for 100 today I headed to Anglers CP, for the first time properly since before I was with my family and without any proper kit. It has its great reputation and as such I was optimistic of pulling up a few species today, as well as spotting some other great stuff.

The site was great, I arrived at half 10 to Wigeon, Tufted Duck and Goldeneye on the lake and Black Headed Gulls in the sky. I had a wander down to the hide and watched from there for a while. There was stuff about; Lapwing, Redshank, Common Snipe, Gadwall and Shoveler. The snipe were giving especially good views as they probed along the shoreline.

After spending a while there I decided to head towards Wintersett Reservoir to see if there was anything on there. On the way I passed the feeding station which had good numbers of tree sparrow among other more regular garden birds.

On Wintersett there was not a lot. There were other birders there too and they also commented on how quiet it was. There were Great Crested Grebe, Coots and Black-Headed Gulls, but the highlight was a lovely male Reed Bunting that flew across the front of us.

After that I headed back to the hide for lunch. There were some other guys there too, and while we were all watching the snipe one commented on a jack snipe flying in. I spent a good few hours examining the snipe, a group of around 10, throughout the day, and I can safely say there was no jack snipe in that group. If there was one there it was very well hidden, which of course they have the potential to do.

There was smashing views of a Kestrel though, as it hunted right outside the hide. It had been loitering round all morning but now it was very close and really easy to photograph.

-Kestrel

-Snipe

After a stay in the hide I decided to head off back to the top. On the way I still failed to spot any year ticks, though I did spot a Common Buzzard and juvenile Herring Gulls overhead. It was when I saw the buzzard that I decided to stay a little longer, as the weather was picking up and I thought I should give the site a bit more time.

I decided to watch the farmland for a bit, but only managed Lapwing, Carrion Crow and Magpie for my effort. I did though, to my frustration, hear a green woodpecker. Having not seen one yet this year I could have badly done with that be it failed to show up, only mocking me from over the hills.

I decided to head back to the hide to give it another shot. On the way I spotted a Comma Butterfly resting on a sapling. This is probably the earliest I have ever recorded this species, and it added to the Peacock butterfly that I had seen earlier in the day, bringing my butterfly species list up to 2 for the day.

Back in the hide little had changed. There were more Canada Geese around, and more Oystercatchers too. There were also 2 Lesser Black-Backed Gulls on the rocks, another nice addition to my day list. In my time I decided to watch the snipe for a while, since I love snipe and was still not convinced about the apparent jack snipe earlier.

-Snipe, along with Shoveler and Canada Geese

It was while I was watching the snipe that I heard a tremendous racket from the Black-Headed Gulls and looked up to see that the Lesser Black-Backed's had taken off. But one of the LBBG's was not quite what it seemed, for when I saw it now in this new light it was clear that it was in fact a Yellow-Legged Gull.

I had heard rumour that there was one loitering around the site for a while, but since I had not found it or any other large gull for the morning I figured it must be old news, since it has not been on bird guides for a while. However here it was in front of me, and all the characters seemed right, paler, yellow legs. The only thing that made me doubt what seemed pretty obvious was the fact that it was so close to the LBBG, as in they were calling in sync, preening each other and even passing each other sticks. That is not normal between species. However, from what I have gathered from my research it seems that these 2 birds seem to like each other, so that seems to settle it then that I have indeed found my only second ever Yellow Legged Gull

Of course the first time I saw this bird it was at Burnsal Bridge and the sheep scared it away before I had properly checked it out. That was also the at a time before I knew of the existence of Caspian Gulls, so really that was a very dubious record, so to catch up with this confiding individual, and manage to get some record shots at the same time was very pleasing.

-LBBG and Yellow Legged Gull

-Yellow Legged Gull

If I had decided to leave I would never have seen this bird, so I was pleased I stayed. It was nice to finally catch up with one again, and made for an outstanding day.

So, crunch time. I only managed one tick today, meaning I have to muster 4 in 2 days. Its do-able, but we will have to see how it goes. The matter of the green woodpecker is very frustrating but we will get over it. Now all that needs to be said is what a great day I had at Anglers.

Species List: Robin, Long-Tailed Tit, Wigeon, Gadwall, Common Teal, Mallard, Tufted Duck, Moorhen, Coot, Canada Goose, Mute Swan, Starling, Jackdaw, Goldeneye, Woodpigeon, Redshank, Lapwing, Oystercatcher, Common Snipe, Black-Headed Gull, Cormorant, Great Crested Grebe, Grey Heron, Magpie, Meadow Pipit, Kestrel, Carrion Crow, Blue Tit, Chaffinch, Reed Bunting, Shoveler, Lesser Black-Backed Gull, Tree Sparrow, Blackbird, Common Buzzard, Herring Gull, Bullfinch, Yellow Legged Gull, Greenfinch

Rother Valley CP with SUBS

So today I decided to go on the Sheffield University Birdwatching Society (SUBS) trip to Rother Valley Country Park on the far side of Sheffield. The weather was not great and it set in during the afternoon, however, it was a really good day with plenty of stuff. I am informed 34 species were recorded, the full list to follow soon. 

The highlights were without doubt Redshank, Buzzard and numerous wigeon which were grazing the side of the lake. There were also great views of great Crested Grebe, Tufted Duck and Lesser Black Backed gull, which were perched on a drum in the lake.

-Lesser Black Backed Gull

We had lunch at the Wake-boarding center, which was quiet bird-wise but there was a Lapwing on one of the Jetties and a pied wagtail flitting around for a little while.

-Pied Wagtail

I even managed a year tick today, and not a species I had considered as a possibility. At the feeding station there were multiple Mute Swans, Graylag Geese, Canada Geese and Mallards when while we were having a group photo I spotted a Shelduck feeding among the mallards. It was incredibly bold, not seeming to care how close we were, which was very close, but it allowed us great views and was possibly the most unusual bird that we recorded today. It was also my 81st year tick, hence my little cheer of celebration when I spotted it. The fact that it was in full plumage only added to it.

-Shelduck 

So that was that, a really nice day spent out and about with plenty of great birds to show for it.

norfolk holiday-a boat trip on the broads (day 2(part 1))

Went to go on a boat trip today with my uncle Nick and his girlfriend Sophie. They had come down to the broads for the bank holiday weekend and, since we were in the area, asked if we would like to come and spend a day on the boat they were renting out. initially we were unsure if we would be able to but luckily it turned out that we. My dad said that this would be the day that we went to the broads-so if I was going to see a swallowtail, it would be today. The day didn't start too well as we got lost and we were a little late to Horning, where we were meeting, but once we got there everything went smoothly. the boat was Not large but comfortably had room for 6 of us. The weather was mainly cloudy with a few bright spots. All around Horning there were lots off baby geese and ducks which were quite cute and made great photo opportunities. We Decided that we would take a trip to Ranworth broad to go and try and see some swallowtails, only getting there would be a little more interesting.

When we set off, the river was quite busy but it soon filtered out. My uncle offered my brother the wheel and so we set off. My first surprise off the day was a lovely Egyptian goose sleeping in one of the riverside gardens. I took a few pictures, in case there was a lack of them up river, but I shouldn't have worried.

as we traveled further up river the wildlife got more and more interesting. Most interesting were the grebes which would dive about 5m ahead of us and then pop up right along side the boat. Most of these popping ups took me by surprise so I didn't really get any photos


as we passed a reed bed we saw reed warbler and marsh harrier and along the river we saw coots and moorhens really close.

It was a really enjoyable trip. As we pulled in the broad parallel to Ranworth broad for parking the wildlife got even better. a common tern started flying alongside the boat, plus there was an increase in the number of grey herons

The terns got really close and I managed to get some great shots. I could boldly say that I have only ever got closer to terns on the Farne islands where they nest (and attack). But best of all were the number off herons. About 5 herons were flying round and some came really close, allowing you to really appreciate the size of the birds.

As we moored near the visitor center one of the herons was sat on the docking. I was sat on the bow of the boat whilst they moored up the boat swung round and the bird didn't even flinch. It was so bold, it just stood there posing for the camera

we moored and set off towards Ranworth Broad. I had hoped for a better day that this weather wise, in case the swallowtails didn't come out. sadly they didn't and they remained elusive for the moment. What was at the broad was a sedge warbler, more egyptian geese, more grebes with a chick and some intimate grebe life moments with the adult feeding the chick on its back. plus 2 more terns and a chiffchaff, pochard, sand martins and swifts. It was great to see all the wetland species but the evident lack of swallowtails was really bugging me.

as we walked back to the moorings we found that a large family of egyptian geese and swum quite close to the hull and were offering some great photos. These were the egyptian geese shots that I had been waiting for. Even the chicks were showing quite well.

we decided to pull into the center of the lake to have lunch and as we did so I decided to go and sit up front because I had noticed that the bold heron was still there. Once again he showed no interest in our presence. In fact he was quite bored with us, as the shot below shows him yawning on our departure...

When we arrived at a suitable space on the center of the pond the terns came even closer and offered some great photo opportunities as they kept diving. Unfortunately the photos that I took were not great but you make like them.

As we ate our lunch a heron flew over the boat and gave us a great photo opportunity. You can now really get a great view of heron

also near the boat there was a lone male tufted duck which was even tamer than those at bakewell. I was not keen to take a photo off this bird but in the end I took one and turned out to be a good decision.

plenty of action around see the photos below

(a lesser black backed gull)

on the way back we didn't really see anything of interest because the river was really busy with boats. The only thing different was a breif view of a kingfisher which was really nice to see.