Barnetby-Le-Wold Parish.....Sunday 19th April 2015.

After yesterdays Male Rouzel at Messingham,i decided to walk down to the quarries on the outskirts of the village this morning in the hope of finding another,or possibly more as there are some superb areas for them to feed in.
 I started by parking in my usual spot along Queens Road and began by heading along Marsh Lane,checking the first horse paddock which had nothing in it but the local Blackies...buggar.
 As i neared the first of the ponds,that familiar scratchy song of a Whitethroat had me enjoying some superb views of my 'First' of the year as he sang from his little patch of nettles....the old country name of 'Nettle Creeper' is very apt.A further two males were seen further along my walk.
 On the first pond a pair of Little Grebes chased each other and a Canada Goose sat on it's nest,when out of the corner of my eye a ghostly white shape...a stunning Barn Owl.I never got close enough to get a sharp shot of this beautiful bird,but it was great to see one down here and i couldn't recall seeing one before at the quarries,so a patch tick.
 As i arrived at the rear of the fishing ponds,it was apparent there was quite a bit of activity as always,with at least 10 Swallow,6 Sand Martin and another first for the year in the form of 3 House Martins.It was really great to watch them all wheeling around together hawking for insects,spring is definitely here now.Also on the pond,2 pairs of Great-crested Grebe were watched in that distinct,head shaking display and a Grey Heron passed over head.
 After looking over the fishing ponds i decided in usual fashion to walk down the edge of the quarry and back up the hillside.There was quite a lot of activity on the water filled quarry which included 25 Gadwall,6 Teal,2 pairs of Oystercatcher and a female Goldeneye.
 I carried on walking and all of a sudden i heard the call i had been wanting to hear all morning and quickly replicated the 'tack tack tack' as a Ring Ouzel shot from the hedge i was walking along...bingo!.It was watched as it seemed to fly for miles into the village to the original area of horse paddocks i had looked at earlier.It certainly wasn't an adult male as it had a subdued neck gorget and was fairly brown.This is the 'First' record of the species for myself of this lovely species down here,so i was well chuffed to say the least.
 A little further along the edge of a ploughed field,the distinct white rump of a Wheatear,saw a flighty female showing at distance and she obviously didn't want her picture taking,as she flew again into the middle of the field...woman eh!.
 As i got half way up the hillside a commotion of noise was heard in the nearby hedgerow,with a Robin,Blackbird and a Blackcap all mobbing something.

 The culprit was soon discovered as a lovely Little Owl flew from it's perch.I was pleased to see they are still in the area and are always great birds to see and have recorded them on quite a few occasions in the past.
 The final stretch of path towards St.Barnabas church resulted in not one,but two more Ring Ouzels added to the day list on the area i had hoped to see them,the first a female type flew from the hedge adjacent to the paddocks and flew into the churchyard,the second bird an adult male was watched feeding on the paddocks themselves at fairly long range,but i took a few record shots all the same.I was really pleased with these Rouzel sightings as it proved the area is certainly attractive to them in an influx situation like the current one.
 Spring certainly seems productive in this cracking little area as i have now found Male Black Redstart,Male Redstart,a singing Male Firecrest and now the Ring Ouzels,I'm certainly going to have to keep a close eye on it.
 A very productive 4 hours today and only five minutes from home. 

Distant record shot of the Male Ring Ouzel.

Distant record shot of the Male Ring Ouzel.