Fairburn and St Aidan's

A bit of a damp day visiting the Aire Valley reserves on Sunday. We started off at Lin Dike and spotted a pair of Stonechats in the grass not far from the hide. It's the first time i've seen them here. Also by the hide a Little Egret, Teal and a couple of Swans.

We sat in the hide a while and saw Teal, Mallard, Shelduck, Swans, Canada Geese, Black-headed Gulls and the Little Egret as it flew off from the side.

Onto Fairburn then where we saw my daughters favourite teacher from primary school that she hadn't seen in a few years so that was a nice start to the walk! There were plenty of birds around the feeders - Bullfinch, Greenfinch, Chaffinch, Tree Sparrows, Dunnock, Various Tits and Pheasants too.

We walked around the Coal Tips trail and the sheep around there seemed very interested in us!

In the big hole we saw Herring, Black-headed and Common Gulls, a few Lapwing and Mallards too.

Stopping at the Kingfisher screen on the way back as there seemed to be a bit of excitement from those gathered there. A Kingfisher was flying between a couple of trees a way down the stream, just a bit distant for the camera but there's no mistaking those stunning colours.

We couldn't leave without a walk to the lake to feed the birds there, plenty of Mallard, Swans, Tufted Ducks and Gulls. The Swans were quite bolshy chasing each other and anything in their way really.

By the time we got to St Aidan's it was wet and windy but we've never let that stop us and after a chat with the lovely staff in the visitor centre we headed out to look for Goldeneye, Pintails and possibly a Great White Egret. 

We did see Goldeneye, if you squint a bit and get out the magnifying glass you can see three in the photo below!

We didn't see Pintails or any type of Egret though. To be fair we could well have had the Pintails in view but at times the wind/rain combined made for difficult viewing both with and without binoculars, my camera stayed hidden away in my coat for a lot of the walk.

Coots and Black-headed Gulls

Pochard

Great Crested Grebe

Cormorants, BH Gulls and Lapwings

The Lapwings and a number of Teal were spooked by something whilst we were stood by Astley Lake, you don't realise just how many there are until they are filling the sky above you, amazing to watch!

This Swan was completely unfazed by the panicking Lapwings

On the walk back to visitor centre we saw a Kestrel hunting over the hillside.

By this point we were a little cold, wet, certainly windswept and covered in an orange coloured mud from the footpaths, my daughter had a blast jumping through the puddles and getting filthy, we loved every single bit of it!

Golden Acre, Adel Dam & a Dip

Saturday morning was spent walking around the park and dam. We were harassed a little by a Muscovy Duck by the lake that seemed intent on untying my husbands shoelaces!

The birds on the lake were on form as usual, the noise from them was a little overwhelming, they were expecting food of course.

We stopped at the little clearing where the birds and squirrels are fed, it was a little quiet but there were Jay, Nuthatch and various Tits around in the trees. We spoke to a chap there who was a regular at the dam and had a chat about the birds around the area. 

At Adel Dam we sat and watched the feeders a while from the first hide - GS Woodpecker, Tits, Squirrels, Chaffinch, Mallards and Robins. Overhead a Red Kite flew past.

Elsewhere it was quiet no sign of any Mandarin or Kingfisher. A few Teal were in the distance on the main lake.

It was a pretty miserable day and we took time to have a cuppa in the cafe before heading out. We were on a Hawfinch hunt now and headed across to Ilkley using the scenic route, hoping for Curlews in the fields but there was nothing. 

Hawfinch have been seen on and off at Ilkley cemetery for a while and today of course they were off!! We spoke to a guy who saw one earlier in the day and also saw the guy from Adel Dam but as far as I know they weren't seen again that day. Still we had a wonder around and saw quite few Goldcrest in the trees. It was raining a little and we decided to call it a day!

Around the Patch

It's been a mixed bag of weather and birds this past couple of weeks, we've had snow, ice, winds, torrential rain and then finally an increase of temperature to 8°C. Not that warm but it certainly seems a big difference when you're walking to work! 

I've picked up another couple of patch ticks for the year - Nuthatch and Jay - it's already getting to the point where now i'm waiting on the warblers and those random flyovers to boost the list. I had a flock of 7 waders fly over the house in semi darkness when I was putting bird food out the other morning but I had no chance of identifying them which was a little frustrating. 

I'm finally seeing the garden in daylight during the week......just.......i'm so glad the days are getting longer. Still the birds are singing loudly in the dark by 6.30 every morning now and when I do get chance to garden watch the feeders are busy nearly all day. Blue Tits, Blackbirds and Robins are the most regular. A Goldcrest followed the Blue Tits in the other day and made a poor attempt at going for the feeder, I couldn't focus the camera quickly enough before it was gone but it was the first time i've seen one do that. 

I've spent a bit of time walking through the woods and seen Woodpigeons and Magpies nesting or attempting to already. No sign of the Kingfisher of course!

Chaffinch

I've seen a few Goldcrest around 

It's the RSPB Big Garden Birdwatch this weekend, no doubt all the birds will disappear for the duration............