Fairburn Ings

We spent Saturday afternoon at the Ings, it's our first visit in a while. For a change we started at the Lin Dyke area - we've never been here before as we've always run out of time. On the walk down to the hide we saw plenty of Speckled Wood and Meadow Heath butterflies.

We also saw plenty of these - which I think are Blue Damselflies but I'm definitely no expert so if anyone knows otherwise feel free to let me know.

From the hide we saw plenty out on the mud and water - juvenile Pied Wagtails, Ringed Plovers, Dunlin, (I had to check id's on Birdforum for some of these so thank you for the help there!), Lawing, Mute Swans, Coots, Moorhens, Mallards and a Kestrel hovering overhead.

Outside the hide we had a quick glimpse of a Whitethroat before if flew off into the scrub. So far a good day - three new birds for me - hitting and passing the 100 mark in the space of half an hour! A Common Tern flew over head making a lot of noise along with several Black Headed Gulls.

Walking as far as the bridge we saw Cormorants, a juvenile Great Crested Grebe and so many Coots the place was over run with them today! Up to the main car park by the visitor centre I saw a couple of Linnets.

There were quite a few juvenile birds around on the reserve feeders - Chaffinch, Greenfinch, Goldfinch, Blue & Great Tits, Robins and Tree Sparrows.

The plants were covered in Ladybirds, which the little one loved (though she did get her first ever nettle sting whilst looking at them - no doubt causing every bird in a three mile radius to disappear at her wailing!).

She also spotted this spider hanging under the fencing, looked quite spooky against the sky.

At the pickup hide I saw another new bird for me - a Common Sandpiper

It was pretty quiet here though - a lone rabbit, Moorhens, a Heron and a Woodpigeon that walked into the water for a bath!

The water levels all round the reserve were pretty low and it really showed as we fed the birds from the viewing platform. The swans dipped their heads in the water to get the seed and their heads came up black from the mud.

A few last shots from the day.