A few days away with Mrs R staying at Whitby in North Yorkshire,proved a stellar decision regarding the weather and birds,the following is what we saw.
Day One
After hearing the evening before that an adult Lesser-grey Shrike had been found near the Abbey at Whitby,followed by gripping news that the birders watching the Shrike,were then treated to a flock of 11 Bee Eaters dropping in on wires near the Shrike,had me obviously green with envy.
So after enjoying our trip on the North Yorkshire Moors railway,we made our way over to Whitby to see if the Shrike was still present on it's favoured hedgerows.
Sure enough after eventually working out where the bird was,along with John and Beverley Beaumont,we began watching my 3rd and Tracey's 1st Lesser-grey Shrike.It was an absolute cracker,with its black bandit mask and lovely salmon-pink wash to the underparts.I managed to get some reasonable video through the scope as well which was very pleasing for us both.This was as i mentioned before my 3rd sighting of the species,with the 2 other birds being both juveniles,the first at Rudston in September 1989 and the second at Spurn in September/October 2005.
After gaining our fill of the lovely Shrike we wandered back to the car casually chatting with John and Beverley,when i saw a guy waving.It couldn't be could it? and it bloody well was,the Bee-Eaters had returned!!!.
We quickly made our way along a well placed public footpath to be treated to some absolutely stunning views of these gorgeous 'Rainbow Birds' as they zoomed about catching several Bees and Wasps and at least 4 of the birds had paired up and were watched mating as well.
We just watched in awe of these lovely visitors and after watching them for at least an hour,we went and checked in at the hotel,very happy at our brilliant encounter with both rarities.
Day Two
Today we planned to walk between Whitby and Robin Hoods Bay along the Cleveland Way,a section we hadn't covered before.
So after a lovely brekkie at the hotel we were off and enjoying the sunshine,with a lovely light breeze just to cool things slightly.
This section of the Cleveland Way is just fantastic and has by far the best scenery we have experienced so far along this long distance path,with some amazing cliff top scenery and also about half way along the route is a well situated cafe which sells some lovely cakes and refreshing drinks.
Some lovely views of seabirds were enjoyed along the way,with a couple of small Kittiwake colony's and at least 30-40 pairs of Fulmars dotted along the route.
I managed to find a lovely Black-spotted Longhorn Beetle also as we walked near Ness Point.
We eventually reached Robin Hoods Bay and enjoyed some well earned lunch before catching the bus back to Whitby.
Day Three
Sadly it was time to head home today,but all was not lost as we parked up at Goathland and visited the waterfall Mallayan Spout and walked along the River Esk up to Beck Hole and back to Goathland in a loop.
This stretch of river and its associated pathways are an absolute joy with a profusion of wildflowers and birds.
Today was no exception with us seeing and hearing a cracking male Pied Flycatcher,a great record for here,2 Spotted Flycatcher,2 Roe Deer and flowers including Ramsons,Bugle,Dog Violet,Wood Anemone and Wood Sorrel.
After our lovely walk,it was time to head home after a superb couple of days away and im already looking forward to Northumberland in August.
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| Huge Fog Bank Over The Sea. |
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| Cross Dedicated To The Ancient Poet Caedmon,In St.Mary's Churchyard. |
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| Saltwick Nab. |
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| Whitestone Point And Whitby Fog Station. |
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| Black-spotted Longhorn,Ness Point. |
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| Ness Point. |
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| Bay Ness. |
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| Goathland Scenery. |
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| The River Esk,Goathland. |
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| Mallayan Spout,Goathland. |
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| Common Footman Caterpillar,Goathland. |
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| Beck Hole. |
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