Leeshaw

Saturday May 11th a.m.
 A dull cloudy start to the day with some light drizzle & strong wind on arrival at Leeshaw
Reservoir the temperature was 5.5°C. Canadas could be seen in the top field & Lapwings
were in the surrounding fields some were displaying. A pair of Pied Wagtails briefly appeared
by the muck pile along with a Mipit, Curlew were calling some as they moved around others
were feeding in the fields.A Cormorant circled above the reservoir then briefly landed on top
of the tower before going to the top edge of the water.The shoreline is still going down even with
the recent rain, a couple of Oystercatchers were feeding here along with more Lapwings. As we
walked along the track at the side of the reservoir a Redshank flew from a field & landed on a
distant wall, this was quickly followed by a Common Sandpiper, our first of the year.It was only
briefly on the wall before dropping down in the field to feed,just out of camera range, we later saw
it go just under the dam wall.One of the Oystercatchers began making a din as some large Gulls
appeared, it tried to chase them off but they didn't seem too bothered.The Little Owl was in its usual
spot on a boundary wall & Swallows were feeding low over the water.
   The highlight of the morning was when we spotted two bird heading towards the reservoir from over Haworth Moor, we watched them approach & soon realized it was a pair of Shelduck. They flew
past the dam & seemed to veer off towards Fly Flatts, so we thought just a flyover tick for them.
A few minutes later we headed back towards the the top end of the reservoir and spotted the
pair of Shelduck on the shoreline. This meant we were able to get a few record shots of them,then they
took off circled the reservoir & landed on the water, wow even better shots of them although they
were still some distance away. A great start to the morning & although  very cold with the wind blowing
we moved on to Leeming Reservoir,report to follow.

Little Owl

Pied Wagtail

Shelduck on shoreline at the top end of the reservoir

male Shelduck

female Shelduck

Shelduck pair on the water

Shelduck at Leeshaw Reservoir

Greylags looking at the visiting Shelduck