hardcastle craggs

went there this morning with a tip-off from matt bell that i might see a pied flycatcher. it was a lovely walk and saw lots of things. when we got to the mill my mum stayed for a coffee and i carried on the point where Matt said i should look. i got there eventually and sood on the path waiting. then i moved into the bushes. i waited whilst watching the ants when a chaffinch came and sat on a nearby branch. just then a weird call rang out and less than 30 seconds later there it was-a stunning male pied flycatcher, my first. hooray

what a gem


included becuase i am particularlly proud off it.


grey wagtail. got filthy takeing this photo-FAIL

it was well worth the wait

also there were plenty of grey wagtails

2 herons having a noise duel flying inbetween the trees

1 breif kingfisher view-i waited but it didnt come back

fish, moths and red damselflies also there

robins and wrens

thanks for the tip-off matt

EGP

was there yesterday morning in the pouring rain
a reed or sedge warbler calling by the first pool. hidden in the reeds so no positive identification available sorry
also 1 whitethroat
2 greater spotted woodpecker including 1 juvenile
1 green woodpecker
chiffchaff calling
usual suspects

the last 2 days of the east coast holiday

on the last 2 days we did nothing bird related so i shall leave you with some cute ducklings which we saw on the way to whitby. on the last day we visted sealife-scarbourogh. it really was a great holiday

east coast holiday day 3 monday part 2

went for a walk on the river derwent today to kill the afternoon. normally i would get a new bird every holiday but as you can imagine it gets harder everytime. with bempton my chances this time were looking slim. but low and behold ahs we neared the end of our walk a redstart sat sat on a pole at the opposite side off a feild talk about luck.

gorgeouse baby great tit

wonderful redstart

baby great tit

chiffchaff

also robin, wren and chaffinch

east coast holiday day 3 monday part 1

today we spent the morning at bempron. it was a bright sunny day and the gannets white plumage glowed through the camera.

a lovely female linnet. there was a very timid pair

a whitethroat. a not very good record shot

a tree sparrow

bridled guillemot

kittywake

the gannets

overall today we saw:

whitethroat

tree sparrows

linnet

skylark

puffins

herring gull

guillemot

swallows

razorbill

swifts

fulmar

shaffinch

gannet

pied wagtail

kittywake

blackbird

jackdaw

rook

carrion crow

black headed gull-no joke

pheasant

east coast holiday day 2 sunday

went to flamborough head today-nothing unusual there as per usual but plent of interesting stuff. when we arrived it was early in the morning and as we walked down the many steps we saw whitethroats, goldfinches and linnets aswell as house martins. when we arrived at the bottom ther were house martins everywhere aswell as kittywakes. as the tide went out we explored further and came across yet more kittywakes and some guillemots and razorbills too. my brother went rockpooling and caught a blenny and a squat lobster and, most incredibly, a lumpsucker. it was quite amazing but my brother kept bragging about how it was going to be the bast thing on the holiday, but as, if you read on, will find out-it was not.

over lunch we were joined by a bold and hyperactive wagtail. i put out some crumbs and it almost came to feed off my hand-but diddnt. my dad said that it must have a nest nearby but i said i could go and find it because it would be hidden up a cliff and-as far as icould see was not in an accecable place from the ground, due to the riseing tide. howver when my dad said that he thought he had seen a seals head chaseing seagulls i explored through the caves to get closer to the seal. i had not seen a seal yet this year so it was pretty cool. but whats even more amazing is when i turned around from the stretch off rock i was on (i had trainers, not sandels, so couldnt get my feet wet) to see my dad and brother coming i saw the wagtail returing and going into a cave above my nest. i then heard frantic cheaping so inadvertantly found the nest after all.

east coast holiday day 1 saturday

we arrived at the campsite at 7.00pm so this wasnt really a day. it was surrounded by a forestry commision forest so that evening we went for a walk. it was twighlight and as we walked about we saw chiffchaffs and later bats too. we also spotted a roe deer. my dad thought it was a stump because as i clapped and yelled it just stood there. however when the camera flash went off it spooked and ran away barking.

tree sparrow- there was a nest on the campsite in a birdbox

beautiful pictures off the surrounding farmland

werewolves do exist-record shot!!

actually its the roe deer photo i explained about earlier but you would never guess

i wonder if the farmer gets bad reception

i also found a blue tit nest it a really tiny crack in the farmers garage wall. it was really interesting watching the parents fly in and out.

we also saw a kestrel whilst driving down

the gannets at bempton

need i say more

week ago at bempton

notice the bridaled guillemot on the far right hand side

the best photo of the day

fighting is dissaproved off in a school environment

ahhhhh-a theif get away you pest

spring is here

a record show of tree sparrows

kittywakes colecting mud for their nests. got quite a good view which this photo dosnt really show

herring gulls devouring my fish and chips-how very dare they

not at bempton cliffs but at country park above filey brigg in the pouring rain

also seen were:

pied wagtail

greenfinch

rook

starling

great tit

pheasant