Fairburn Ings

On Tuesday a much needed walk was had at Fairburn, It was a frosty morning but sunny and quite lovely.

We spent a quite a bit of time watching the birds on the feeders around the reserve. The water itself from the Pickup hide was quiet, we could see Herons and Cormorants in the distance in the trees though.

Reed Bunting

 Chaffinch

 Blue Tit

 Great Spotted Woodpecker

 Robin

 Greenfinch

 Long-tailed Tit

 Dunnock

Willow Tit

The highlight of the morning was watching a Water Rail fishing right in front of the Kingfisher screen (I believe it's still there now), all the fish have piled up in the water in front of the screen for some reason and it's perfect for the Rail.

There was a moment when a Kingfisher landed further down in the trees but it was straight off again, too quick for anything other than a very blurry photo with a blue dot in the middle!

A stop for tea and flapjack and onto Lin Dyke. A Heron was hiding in the reeds across the road from the car park.The cattle were very noisy this morning, I don't think i've ever heard so much noise from them.

We saw a several birds including Teal, Moorhens, Little Egret, Shelduck, Canada Geese and quite a few Blackbirds in the hedgerows.

We only went as far as the hide, which looked like it had been used for a party, cans of beer and vodka bottles had been thrown into the water :( who does that?! It was quiet out on the water here too.

Fairburn Ings

I made a Sunday morning visit to Fairburn in hope of spotting a Cuckoo, which would be a first for me, i've only ever heard them calling before.

It was fairly quiet when we got there and all the feeders around the garden and hide were pretty much deserted.

As we walked the path near the dipping pond it got a little busier with a Blackcap pair flying around the trees, Tree Sparrows, Willow Tits, Blue and Great Tits too. A Coot is nesting out on the pond.

No luck at the Kingfisher screen although there was a Wren nest in the branches overhanging the water. Overlooking the Big Hole, we could see Herons and Cormorants flying overhead with Tufted Duck, BH Gulls, Swans and Coots down on the water.

Walking on to the Coal Tips trail brought up a Kestral, Skylarks and Chiffchaffs.

We decided to walk around to the left which proved to be the best idea we'd had as after a few minutes I spotted something in one of the trees down the embankment, a closer look with the binoculars, only a Cuckoo!! It flew from tree to tree and was really out of my camera range but even the blurriest of shots you can see what it is. A second Cuckoo was a little further along again down the embankment, this one flew ahead of us and we could see and hear it along the path towards Lin Dyke. One very happy me!

The reeds were full of Reed and Sedge Warblers along with Reed Buntings, I only got the briefest of glimpses but the song was constant. Looking down at the nesting Cormorants and Herons is always quite a sight.

A couple of the Warbler photos I managed.

A little further along a guy (thank you!) pointed out a Roe Deer hiding in the trees at the bottom of the hill, it was very well camouflaged until it moved then we got a lovely view of it looking at us!

We always end up spending more time here than we expect to, which of course isn't a complaint, the time spent watching and waiting to see what appears is always worth it.