Fairburn Ings

As usual my blog has been neglected with life taking over and blogging heading way down to the bottom of the to do list. 

So i'm making an effort and throwing up a few posts covering some nature reserve visits over the year. Maybe.......just maybe this might just get me posting a bit more regularly!

First up is Fairburn Ings back in early February, we didn't stay that long, it was so cold but as always it's a joy to wander around.

There were plenty of birds on the feeders and we even managed to catch a couple of Kingfishers through the screen.

At the lake the Black Headed Gulls were out in full force along with a few ducks.

From there we headed home to warm up!

St Aidan's Nature Reserve

I paid a visit to the newly opened RSPB reserve at the weekend. What a beautiful place it is, we spent a lot longer there than we planned and still didn't walk around it all. The wide pathways make it easy to get around and there is definitely plenty to see!

It's full of nesting Black Headed Gulls and I saw chicks for the first time, spotty little things, nothing like the adults!

Here's a list of the birds we saw for anyone interested in visiting.

Great Crested Grebe
Black Necked Grebe
Mute Swan
Greylag Goose
Shelduck
Canada Goose
Gadwall
Tufted Duck
Pochard
Moorhen
Coot
Avocet
Reed Bunting
Lapwing
Swift
Meadow Pipit
Sedge Warbler
Whitethroat
Crow
House Sparrow

We heard lots of noise from the Bitterns but they proved elusive this time, just another reason to go back though. 

Lastly this huge machine - a Walking Dragline - sits on the reserve, it's an impressive sight and we were told is a possible breeding ground for Kestrels and Little Owls.