Welcome Back

Looking at the forecast Thursday night I decided to have an early start Friday. I arrived at NDC at 9 to a surprisingly full car park? I gathered my stuff and made my way to the GS Hide. Sure enough it was full. Jono Leadley was present with a York group. We had a brief chat mentioning the recent RTD at Castle Howard and improved access arrangements before they moved on.

I settled in my spot and was extremely pleased to see...Swans...

A Glorious Sight!

Always a landmark moment to see the return of this Iconic Species to my Patch.

Their Site Loyalty is Special. Over the next hour or so I was treated to the marvellous spectacle of extended Whooper Swan action. Birds arrived from the North...

...and leaving to the South...

 

Massive bonus to get the flight views!!!

It proved to be quite a Raptor Fest during my 4 hour stint. A couple of Red Kites were active over the River and one came closer on occasions...

The "pale" Buzzard finally made an appearance...

...as did the young Fox...

It was in view on and off for a good hour and gave great views form different spots around the reserve...

Eventually it attracted the attention of a cc Marsh Harrier...

...then 2...

One Bird paid a closer visit...

Another Buzzard joined the Party...

The Star turn was the return of the Whooper Swans. NEVER to be taken for granted. The fact that they return to the LDV every Year and have done so since time immemorial is testament to their loyalty. May it continue to be so...

Water

Arriving...and lots of it!

Busy Weekend just passed as my Family helped me celebrate my Birthday. Paid a couple of visits to Duff where there is standing water now, which will remain. Far more on Bubwith Ings but that will fluctuate with the rainfall. The Wildfowl haven't moved in yet...but they will. We did see some distant groups disturbed by shooting over the adjacent Farmland. A Barn Owl was an unfortunate consequence as were 4 Pintail. All safe.

The 2 Great White Egrets are still about and show well on occasions. Haydn and I had 2 Water Rails showing briefly on the scrape. The striking Marsh Harrier is still present but there was no sign of the pale Buzzard. 

In the Village there is a Shorelark and 7 Snow Buntings along the Cliff to the North. I set off this morning but it was a tad greasy so "discretion was the better part of valour" on this occasion! I'll try again later...

Recently

Putting my Castle Howard Twitch to one side I made  a couple of visits to NDC. Last Wednesday I had a couple of hours with Haydn before he left for 10 days in Morocco. Just after he departed this pair showed up. This is my first sighting of 2 Great White Egrets...anywhere! On my Patch made it even more special!

One Bird made its way down the River to give much better views...

The lingering Water Rail finally showed up long enough for a pic...

Yesterday Louise had a Dental Appointment in York so I pinched a lift and had an afternoon "sesh"...

Cold but clear and little wind, it was good to be out in the fresh air. Water has finally made it onto the Carrs through the ditches and the River can now be seen. There's plenty on Bubwith Ings also. After around an hour I caught sight of an GWE flying up River from Bubwith...

It landed on the far Bank...

After a short while it continued North.

The seemingly resident pale Buzzard appeared and showed well in the afternoon sunshine...

It hunted the area for a good while as the sun dropped...

It was still present at Dusk...

I also had a brief view of a Peregrine, my first since the Spring. Ala no Owls unfortunately but a very enjoyable afternoon.

The forecast for today wasn't great and it turned out to be accurate. However I managed to get out for an hour before the rain arrived. Yesterday there were large numbers of Fieldfare on Snakey. Of course this morning I couldn't find any! I decided to have a run down the Southern end, as I was passing Rysome Rd I decided on a whim to check the bushes around the Bunker. Glad I did, as there were c200 Birds feasting on the berries...

Fresh in from Scandinavia, I never tire of seeing them arrive...

The rain came and I went for a trim. Love a Thrush. The day was a wash out so it was back to Oman planning...

York Area RTD - 243

There's nothing like a potential Tick to get the old boy fired up!

9.04 N.Yorks Red-throated Diver Castle Howard at Great Lake

I've been Birding the York Area...on and off...since I moved to Wilberfoss in 1987. I didn't consciously keep a List as I didn't know such things existed back then! As I accumulated Species over the Years I started to "add things up". My Yorkshire List being another late starter.

So, here we are in 2025...and I'm still counting/chasing!

Obviously aware of Sunday traffic I made my way steadily through Hull (no problem) and towards the dreaded A64.It didn't disappoint but thankfully most of the traffic was York bound enabling me to reach the Great Lake smoothly around 11.30. I asked a staff member if it was OK to park in the Caravan Site which thankfully it was and I made my way the short distance to the the Lakeside path...

As you can see it was dull but still which was going to help. I made my way steadily down the path which was more overgrown than I remember it. There were a few Goosanders present which were nice to see as they don't come my way very often. More scanning but no Diver. The path bent to the left and the Lake was partially obscured by a couple of small clumps of reeds. As I passed them and looked further down the Lake I saw a probable candidate briefly before it disappeared beneath. It popped up some 30 seconds later...

This Site is prime for this Species being a large Lake with plenty of fish! Almost certainly brought down by the recent storm, (another Bird is at the nearby Southfield Reservoir) it was a long overdue addition. I saw a Great Northern here way back in November 1991. 

The Bird was fishing reasonably close to the path but by the time I made my way along it had retreated  to the centre of the Lake...

I decided to wait a while and it paid off when the Bird eventually came closer...

As I made my way back to my car it appeared again briefly giving me a final view...

I enjoy re-visiting these Sites as they bring back many memories from the past. Twitching Birds gives me an excuse to do so...

Easy Birding

I continued my enforced "home watch" this morning with a couple of Hours and thoroughly enjoyed it! I took up my vantage point in the back Bedroom and watched for a couple of hours through the double glazing. The male Blackcap continues to enjoy the Bramleys...

Decent at 20yds

...and was joined by a few Blackbirds. Eventually a couple of Redwing and Fieldfare turned up...

Further afield 6 Tree Sparrows fed in the Paddock...

My Pallas's never turned up BUT I wasn't disappointed as I wasn't expecting it!