Redcar Tarn

Monday 7th October p.m.
 A cloudy morning but things brightened up this afternoon for a trip up to Redcar Tarn,
where the temperature was up to 16.5°C in the sunny spells.Present were growing numbers of
Gulls & Mallards with a record count of 13 Goosanders. There were two Grey Herons one was
on the island the other near the footpath on an old Coots nest.This bird moved around a bit at one
point being mobbed by BH Gulls as it flew away with a fish.
c100 - BH Gulls
9 - Canadas
4 - Common Gulls
8 - Coot
13 - Goosander
2 - Grey Heron
18 - Lapwing
2 - LBB Gull
c100 - Mallard
6 - Muscovy Ducks
3 - Pied Wagtail
4 - Tufted Duck
plus other common species.

Grey Heron

Heron on the move

BH Gull

Common Gull

Goosander

LBB Gull

Thirteen Goosanders among the BH Gulls

Canadas

Redcar Tarn

Yeadon Tarn

Sunday 6th October a.m.
 The morning started well when my dad was taking the dog for a walk at first light, he saw a
Dipper in the village.This was where the road goes over the beck near the Fleece Pub,the bird
was in the water & when my dad looked over it moved to some stones at the side of the bank
giving a good view only meters away.
 As we set off to Yeadon Tarn we saw a Kestrel on top of a telegraph pole at the edge of the
village.On arrival at Yeadon Tarn the sun was shining with a temperature of 8.5°C,it was still low
&made looking across the water difficult.Canadas,Mallards,Moorhen,Coots,Mute Swan,Tufted
Duck & a G.C.Grebe were all present. Just before we left a Cormorant flew in & landed on the water.
 On our way home as we went across Hawksworth Moor we saw a Red Kite, we found a place to
park to try & get some record snaps & a Kestrel appeared in the field at the side of us.

Tufted Duck

Moorhen

Mallard

Canadas

Red Kite

Kestrel

Yeadon Tarn

Dipper Delight

Saturday 5th October a.m.
 After our earlier visit to Leeshaw we decided to head for Keighley & check out the River
Worth near Damems.There was some sunshine but still cloudy with a temperature of 12°C,
we soon saw our hoped for bird a Dipper in the River. This was quickly followed by a second
& third bird, with one likely to be a juvenile.They were moving along the River but we did
manage to get some snaps when we found some cover close to the water.Many though were
in poor light under the canopy of the trees, but some were in decent light.We also had the bonus
of a Grey Wagtail rounding off a good morning.

Dipper

Grey Wagtail

Dipper in the fast flowing River Worth after recent heavy rain

Two of the three Dippers seen

Harden Moor

Saturday 5th October a.m.
 A decent start to the day with some sunny interval as we drove the short distance up to Harden
Moor with a temperature of 10.5°C.One of the first birds we saw was a GSW flying over with
its distinctive red rump,other common species seen were Blue Tit,Great Tit,Robin,Dunnock,
Goldfinch & Mipit. We also saw a Mistle Thrush fly over Rattling as it went, it was good to see
a couple of Willow Warblers who were very active with plenty Elder,Black & Hawthorn berries
to chose from.
 We paid a quick visit to Leeshaw with the highlights Being 3 Goosander,58 Lapwing &
3 Cormorants.We moved on to another location ,report to follow.

Robin

Blue Tit

Great Tit

Meadow Pipit

Dunnock

Leeshaw Lapwings,Goosander & BH Gulls

 

Bearded Tits at Leighton Moss

From Sunday 29th September
 We moved onto the main reserve area & headed towards the public hide, as you walk
along the track through the Reedbed there is a clearing.Here where the Reedbed has been
cut there are a couple of grit trays to attract birds which need to eat the grit to help them digest
the Reed seeds.On all our previous visits these little birds have eluded us but on Sunday our
luck was in as we saw six Bearded Tits come to the trays.They are great little birds who only
live in Reedbed areas, the male with his droopy moustache & the less flamboyant females were
a joy to see at last.They are also a great subject for taking snaps, here are a few of those we took.

Who's watching who

The male with his droopy moustache

The less flamboyant female

male & female together

Great little birds