A visit today to my favourite area in North Yorkshire,Wykeham Forest and it's environs resulted in a superb day's birding,albeit a pretty wintry one.The following is what i encountered during my day.
The drive up through the Yorkshire Wolds was nice and quiet,a tad frosty,but nice all the same and a lovely Barn Owl hunting along the roadside verges just outside the village of Foxholes was a good start.
I eventually arrived at destination number one for the day,the raptor viewpoint at Wykeham Forest.
After getting the required clothing on for this frosty start to the day and because it was early,i decided to have an explore along the plantation opposite the car park.This paid divedends,with my first Willow Warbler of the year,singing away from its icy perch.I thought to myself,'I bet it wishes it was still in warmer climes',but these are tough little birds and breed throughout Scandinavia,so it will be in their DNA.
A little further on and another singing male Willow Warbler was located and as i scanned the fields a superb male Goshawk was watched as it mobbed and chased two Carrion Crows,a great sight to watch!.
As i walked back to the car, i heard the distinct and sadly rare these days,song of a male Willow Tit and sure enough i saw him,before he quickly disappeared towards the car park.a great sighting and my first of the year.
So began the watch from the viewpoint,after the short walk from the car park and at first the weather looked good,albeit with little wind,so not ideal for diplaying Accipters.
Eventually i saw one male Goshawk,get up out of his forest home and begin to soar around,giving some nice scope views,just great to watch these powerfull birds again.
Other species seen around and from the viewpoint included,incredibly,2 singing male Willow Tit,no doubt one being the earlier bird,but to have 2 of these precious birds,was great for the area.
A singing male Marsh Tit,Treecreeper,half a dozen Siskin,3 Common Buzzard and a couple of Crossbill added to the list of species seen,but then the weather set in and it snowed for about 45 minutes.I decided enough was enough and drove around to Troutsdale.
A different route today up and through Snainton,due to a landslip along my usual route through Everley and Hackness,saw a different perspective on this lovely little valley.
Notable sightings around Hilla Green included another singing male Willow Warbler,Dipper,Grey Wagtail,4 drake Mandarin Duck and 4 singing male Chiffchaff.
With it still only being lunchtime,i decided then to visit Wykeham Lakes,a site i hadn't visited before.
It seems to be going to be a mixture of water sports and a mini country park,perhaps a little too manicured and disturbed for any proper birding when it will be completed.But on my visit,the nice sight of 100+ Sand Martin and 35 Swallows,sort of had signs of summer about it.
Despite the weather and amongst the Hirundine flock,i managed to pick out my first House Martin of the year,so another added bonus to the days sightings.
Other birds seen included Chiffchaff,5 Goldeneye and a single Barnacle Goose.
The final place i visited before travelling home,was another personal fave,the lovely Forge Valley.
I have been visiting this fantastic wooded valley along the banks of the River Derwent since i was a small child and today's visit was enjoyable as always.
Best sightings went to a singing male Blackcap,2 Chiffs,a pair of Mandarin and 2 Grey Wagtail,but it was the commoner woodland species,which i gained the best views of which included Marsh Tit,Nuthatch and Treecreeper.
I will no doubt be back here in the warmer months to look for Beautiful Demoiselle as i do annually.
So another great day today,despite the icy weather,but what a great area this is for birding!.
Hilla Green,Home To Dippers,Grey Wagtail & Mandarin Ducks. 
Troutsdale Valley.
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| Fantastic Views Across Troutsdale And Beyond From The Raptor Viewpoint at Wykeham Forest. |
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