Swillington Ings

Thursday 19th April a.m.
A sunny start with a temperature of 13°C as I arrived early morning by the time I left the temperature was up at 22°C.It was good to hear both Chiffchaff and Willow Warbler on my way to Astley Lake where there were large numbers of BH Gulls as there were on the rest of the reserve.Here also were Gadwall, Tufteds, Mute Swans, Cormorants and at least three returning Common Terns.
 As I continued round the reserve there were no signs of Sedge or Reed Warblers but I saw and heard at least a twelve Reed Buntings.The main causeway through the main Lake was covered by water, which I saw someone negotiate carefully with their wellies on.Here I saw a pair of Shelduck along with the other birds already mentioned, on the ridge and furrow area there were Lapwings,Greylags and a couple of Mipits. Further along I saw a couple of Pochards which were close enough for some decent pictures, a commotion nearby drew my attention.Black-headed Gulls were mobbing a bird, my first thought was were is the rapter, but no this large bird flew low and disappeared in to the reeds.I could only think Bittern! as I set my camera to speed shots and took some hasty pictures which later turned out okay confirming my first bittern sighting.
 I headed back stopping off at Astley Lake where I joined someone taking pictures of a confiding Common Tern on a nearby post,only flying off when a couple of dogs went into the water.I chatted with this birder who asked if I'd seen the Garganey, I said no and he showed me where it was.This brought me my second lifer of the morning and my thanks go to the fellow birder, then a hot walk back to the car and home.
Nigel.

Common Tern

Bittern

Bittern going into the Reed bed not to be seen again.

Garganey

Pochard

Gadwall

Shelduck

singing Reed Bunting

Bittern chased by one of several BH Gulls, Swillington Ings 19/4/2018

Morning Tour

Wednesday 18th April a.m.
 A cloudy morning with a temperature of 14°C slowly warming up through the morning with some sunshine starting to appear late morning.
Harden Moor
I started off well seeing two Little Owls in one of their usual spots, then where I saw one last year a male Wheatear. There were eight Sand Martins and I had a count of five Willow Warblers.

Wheatear

Willow Warbler

Redcar Tarn
An unusual site of a Buzzard flying over here,Skylarks were up singing, a Redshank made an appearance as did Oystercatcher,Curlew and Lapwing.

Buzzard

Curlew

St Ives
My final stop of the morning where at the Coppice Pond there were three Mute Swans(Red 673Y), a Little Grebe and Coots with the first chicks I've seen this year.A Chiffchaff was in full voice and I spotted a Willow Warbler which was also singing.Others included GSW,Robin,Bullfinch,Tufted Duck and Moorhen.
Nigel.

Little Grebe

Mute Swans

Willow Warbler

Coot with chicks

Robin

St Ives, Coppice Pond 18/4/2018

Garden Visitors

Tuesday 17th April p.m.
A dull afternoon with drizzle and a temperature of 13°C, I had a check through the window seeing a bird on the feeder in the garden, Siskin which was joined by a second bird.I haven't seen these for a while in the garden but decided to try and get a picture of them, I grabbed the camera and ran upstairs getting a couple of pictures through the window.A Bullfinch then came to the feeder soon joined by a Goldfinch, then another bird chased the Bullfinch off and went on to the feeder, my first thought was male Chaffinch, but no it was a Brambling, Wow! This is my first sighting of one in Cullingworth and to get a garden tick too, the pictures are poor through the window and gloom and don't do this smart bird justice but are a great record for me.To finish this ten minutes off in the garden a Grey Heron flew overhead.
Nigel.

Brambling

Bullfinch

Siskin

Grey Heron

Leeming Reservoir

Saturday 14th April a.m.
The cloudy cover was still present when I arrived at Leeming Reservoir although the temperature had gone up a notch to 8°C.The first bird I saw was a Grey Wagtail which went down the overflow so no chance of a picture there.On the water were eleven Canadas and Mallards but as I waded through the mud I soon heard the singing of Willow Warblers I saw at least three.A Cormorant was laid down on the tower then overhead a Sparrowhawk appeared in the distance with a Kestrel nearby.Several other common species were seen including Chaffinch,Goldfinch and Greenfinch.
Nigel.

Cormorant

Willow Warbler

Chaffinch

Kestrel

Sparrowhawk

Leeming Reservoir 14/4/2018

Leeshaw Reservoir

Saturday 14th April a.m.
A dull cloudy morning with a temperature of 7°C, the reservoir held Canadas,Cormorants and Mallards.The surrounding fields had Curlew,Lapwing,Oystercatcher and Pied Wagtail.The highlight of the visit was to see a Little Owl back in its usual position.The Golden Plover field had 102 birds with a Reed Bunting nearby.
Nigel.

Little Owl

Oystercatcher

Pied Wagtail

Cormorant

Lapwing

Golden Plover