Lister Park

Sunday 30th July a.m.
After some early morning rain it slowly brightened up and by the time I pulled up in the car at Lister Park the temperature was 13°C.I headed for the Lake where there were c125 Canadas on the grass, just two Greylags with them, BH Gulls,LBB Gulls,Coot ,Moorhen,Mallards and Tufted Ducks.It was good to see four female Tufteds with broods of small chicks of 3,3,3 and 2 all zipping about and diving for food.There was an element of danger for them with a Grey Heron nearby which flew off as I walked past it.A couple of Grey Wagtails were on the path and as I walked alongside the stream higher in the Park I saw a Dipper.Others seen in the garden/woodland area were Nuthatch,LT Tit and Willow Warbler which I think was a first for me at Lister Park.
Nigel.

Nuthatch

Grey Heron

BH Gull Juv

Grey Wagtail

LBB Gull

LBB Gull Juv

LT Tit

Moorhen

female Tufted Duck

Tufted Duck with chicks

Tufted Duck chick

Diving for food

Willow Warbler

Canadas

Lister Park 30/7/2017

Leeshaw and Leeming Reservoirs

Saturday 29th July a.m.
A bright morning with a temperature of 13°C as I arrived at Leeshaw a strong wind was blowing.A good count of eight Oystercatchers and c100 Starlings were in the field above the track.A quiet visit with other birds seen Little Owl,Lapwing,Mallard,Rook,Mipit,Cormorant and LBB Gull.
 I moved on to Leeming Reservoir where the water was low exposing plenty of shoreline, just two Tufted Ducks on the water but a couple of Common Sandpipers in the mud kept the interest going. Walking round there were eight Willow Warblers counted along with Pied and Grey Wagtail, LBB Gull,House Martin and Swallow.
Nigel.

Oystercatcher

Common Sandpiper

Willow Warbler

Pied Wagtail

Leeming Reservoir 29/7/2017

Harden Moor

Sunday 23rd July a.m.
A sunny morning with a temperature of 13°C as I arrived on Harden Moor with expectations of a good morning.It proved to be hard work though with birds making brief appearances before disappearing back into the well overgrown shrubs and trees. Fortunately a good number of Whitethroats were around some of them juveniles and they kept me occupied in various spots as did a good number of butterflies flitting around.Other birds seen were Willow Warbler,Blackbird, Little Owl, Oystercatcher,Garden Warbler,Sand Martin,Swallow,Swift,Mistle Thrush and Robin.
Nigel.

Blackbird

Whitethroat

Little Owls

Large Skipper

Red Admiral

Small Tortoiseshell

Small White

Redcar Tarn

Saturday 22nd July a.m.
A poor morning with heavy rain, I decided to go up to Redcar Tarn where you can still see birds from the car without getting soaked, the temperature was 13°C.When I pulled up I could see a dozen LBB Gulls, 20 BH Gulls and the Lapwing flock building to c100 birds.After a while the rain subsided given me chance to have a walk round adding Linnet,House Martin,Swallow,Swift,Mallard,Canadas, Coot,Moorhen,Oystercatcher,Snipe and Tufted Duck.I saw a bird fly in to the edge of the Tarn and on closer inspection could see it was a Grey Wagtail, a site first for me making for a reasonable session.
Nigel.

Lapwing

Lapwing flock

BH Gull Juv

Coot Juv

Mallard with chick

LBB Gull

Grey Wagtail

Redcar Tarn 22/7/2017