Leeshaw

Saturday 10th August a.m.
 A cloudy morning with a temperature of 11.5°C, the first birds we saw were c30 Swallows
on the overhead wires.The surrounding fields were full of Lapwings,Carrion Crows & Jackdaws,
with Greylags & Canadas in the top field, some of these later moved to the water.A Grey Heron
flew from the top end  of the reservoir & there were a couple of Curlew on the far shoreline.Above
us were a mixture of Swallows,Sand Martins ,House Martins & a couple of Swift.
  We moved from here & headed up the road towards Penniston Hill making use of a small car
park & taking the public footpath which was sign posted to Bronte Waterfalls.There were plenty
Meadow Pipits in the fields & some on the overhead wires.Also on the wire was a different bird
with a yellowish colouring,we thought possibly a Yellowhammer but we were not quick enough to
get a snap so will have to let that one go.We did get a snap of one of two Reed Buntings in a nearby
tree. Further along the track as we approached Drop Farm we saw a Kestrel hunting over the moor,
then a second was on a wall to our left, this then took off & landed on top of a girder supporting some
overhead wires.The path then split & we headed for Oxenhope Stoop, this led us back towards
Leeshaw Reservoir & gave us a view from the opposite side to where we usually are.After a fairly
long walk we also got a view of the top end of the reservoir, a farmer walked among his sheep which
put three Snipe up which circled round before heading to ground some distance away.Three Curlew
came off the more & headed towards the reservoir.We also got a distant view of three Oystercatchers
before setting off back along the path. Further along a dog moved towards some sheep who moved
into the heather causing nine Red Grouse to take flight.

Kestrel

Reed Bunting

Greylags

Leeshaw Reservoir

Yorkshire East Coast

Friday 9th August
 We've been away on holiday to the East coast of Yorkshire this week having a welcome
break with the bonus of some good weather.There are some good seaside towns along the
east coast & we spent some time at Whitby,Scarborough,Filey & Bridlington. We saw some
good scenery & of course took some snaps, the main birds seen were Herring Gulls,Kitiwakes
& Turnstones. We also visited Filey Dams where we saw some good birds which I'll do a
seprate report on later.
Whitby
 A scenic spot with a great harbour,the old ruined Abbey lies on top of the overlooking hill &
Whitby is famous as the birth place of Captain Cook.Plenty Herring Gulls & just the one
Turnstone foraging amongst the seaweed.

Herring Gull Juv

Herring Gull

Turnstone

Whitby

Scarborough
 Again plenty herring Gulls & on the cliffs a colony of Kittiwakes.

Herring Gull

Kittiwake

Scarborough

Filey
 A small town with the headlang or Filey Brigg being the main spot on the coast for birds, again there
were plenty Herring Gulls,Kittiwakes on the cliffs of the north side of the headland. Oystercatchers
were feeding atthe bottom of the cliff & Cormorants were at the end of the headland.

Filey

Bridlington
Herring Gulls in abundance again, they are big birds when you see them up close especially when
they try to nick your chips. I also counted 15 Turnstones feeding in the mud of the harbour.

Turnstone

Five Turnstones

Bridlington

 

St.Ives

Sunday 4th Aug a.m.
 A bright start to the day with some cloud around & a temperature of 15.5°C.Just a quick
walk round the Coppice Pond at St Ives this morning with the usual Canadas,Mallards,Coot
& Moorhen present.A group of six juvenile Blue Tits was about the only others seen.The hide
was disappointing with no bird food  & so no birds.

Canada

St Ives Coppice Pond

Leeshaw Reservoir

Saturday 3rd August a.m.
 A good start to the morning with sunshine & a temperature of 18°C although there was a
strong wind blowing up at Leeshaw on our arrival. Canadas were in the top field with Greylags
spread between surrounding fields & the water. There were well over 100 Lapwings which were
feeding with some Starlings. The two Grey Herons were on patrol on the banking and a couple of
Curlews were at the far side of the reservoir, one briefly landed in the field with the Lapwings giving
a chance of a snap. Oystercatchers were around in good numbers some of which posed well for
some snaps. Swallows were overhead & several Swift were still around before they depart any time
now South.The highlight of the morning though was when we saw a Common Tern flying over the
reservoir doing a couple of laps before landing near some Lapwings & BH Gulls. A first for us at
Leeshaw and although some distance away a pleasure to see this little bird.
35 - Canada
1 - Common Tern
2 - Curlew
2 - Grey Heron
10 - Greylag
160 - Lapwing
8 - Oystercatcher
4 - Pied Wagtail
9 - Swallow
7 - Swift
plus other usual species

Oystercatcher

Common Tern

Common Tern with Lapwings

Curlew

Grey Herons

Got a good view of this Oystercatcher

These five Oystercatchers stayed together

Grey Herons with Lapwings overhead

Redcar Tarn

Sunday 28th July a.m.
 After a night of heavy rain we set off a little later than usual to Redcar Tarn where the
temperature was 15.5°C with a blustery wind blowing.We came with the hope of seeing
the Med Gull which has been reported here over the last week but despite our efforts we
did not manage to find it.Still all the usual birds were present in good numbers, there was
an Oystercatcher among the Mallards on the island. A Curlew appeared from somewhere
& did a lap of the Tarn before flying off towards the SW.

BH Gull Juv

Common Gull

Coot,Common Gull & BH Gull Juv

Oystercatcher & Mallards

Canada

Redcar Tarn

  

Leeshaw & Leeming

Saturday 27th July a.m.
Leeshaw Reservoir
 A warm sunny start to the day as we arrived at Leeshaw with a temperature of 15°C. The first
bird of note was the Little Owl which was much more active than usual moving from the road
side wall to a nearby post as we went past.This gave us a great opportunity for a closer snap,
which off course we took full advantage of.There was nothing on the water until two groups of
Greylags flew from the direction of Penistone Hill landing on the water. There were Canadas in
the surrounding fields some of which moved to the water during our visit.The usual Meadow Pipits
& Swallows were flitting around but only the one Mallard was seen which flew off over the dam.
Lapwings were in the surrounding fields with some at the waters edge as was the case with
Oystercatchers. Also there were two Grey Herons basking in the sun on the shoreline,we also
spotted three Common Sandpipers on the mud at the edge of the water.Whilst we were watching
these we were pleased when two Snipe appeared from the grass giving us a good view of them as
they flew away into the distance,a first for us at this site.

Little Owl

Grey Heron

Grey Heron & Common Sandpiper

Oystercatcher

Not so Little Owl

Leeshaw

Leeming Reservoir
 The temperature had risen to 18.5°C when we arrived at Leeming, but there was now a lot more
cloud around.We walked along the narrow road which runs alongside the dam wall stopping to look
down at the stream which starts at the bottom of the reservoir overflow.We were rewarding by seeing
a Dipper, we walked to the corner of the dam where we saw a couple of flighty Grey Wagtails.The
level of the water is well down now with plenty of shoreline, the only wader though was a distant
Oystercatcher on the opposite bank which was being watched by a cat.On the water there were
Mallards & BH Gulls, it was quiet along the path as we walked round the reservoir with just a couple
of Willow Warblers seen.
  We took the path which leads to some woodland & to one of the streams which feeds the reservoir
 all was still quiet. This path leads above the reservoir & then back down to the corner of the dam.
As we walked along here we saw another Willow Warbler then a short distance further on we stopped
and listened to a reeling Grasshopper Warbler. We listened for a few minutes but could not get a
sighting of the bird which would be nice, we're starting to get an ear for the reeling now which begs the question, how many have we missed before?
 We caught site of a distant Kestrel and there were a good number of Swallows overhead, back at the corner of the dam there were Pied & Grey Wagtails.

Willow Warbler

Kestrel

Pied Wagtail

Leeming Reservoir

Plenty Shoreline at Leeming

Redcar Tarn

Sunday 21st July a.m.
 A wet start to the day with persistent drizzle,which meant we set off a bit later up to Redcar
Tarn where there were some breaks from the drizzle with a temperature of 14°C.The usual birds
were present with the addition of a flock of 22 Greylags. The LBB Gulls are hanging around with
a count of 15 birds.There were 4 Lapwings on the island with a flyover of another 21, a couple
of Pied Wags were feeding around the edge of the Tarn.

LBB Gull

Lapwing

Pied Wagtail

Greylags & BH Gulls

Greylags