A free day today saw me setting off to one of my favourite local destinations,for a full day's birding,the following is what i saw.
I started as usual,by parking at the North Linc's Council car park,had a quick bite to eat and packed the gear for the long walk from Crowle and then onto Thorne Moors.
It was a tad cool first thing,so i had quite a few layers on to begin with and i walked west along the path from the car park heading for the bailey bridge onto Thorne Moors.
Along this first section a mixture of the commoner species and a few niceties included a drumming Great-spotted Woodpecker,4 singing male Chiffchaff,a lovely Common Buzzard and a flock of 17 north bound Fieldfare,chacked as they fed in a horse paddock.
A little further along and a patch of colour seen from the corner of my eye revealed a smart male Stonechat,quickly followed by his mate and i watched as they hunted from several perches and then a little further along near the new boardwalk another pair,so 2 pairs of Stonechat was a decent start to the day.
I walked on and eventually made it to the bailey bridge and i crossed into the home county.
A quick stop here for a drink and to take the first layer off saw me hearing the familiar nasal song of a male Brambling and i quickly found him in the top of a Silver Birch eating the newly sprouting buds.
As i got too near he flew and joined a further flock of 10 other birds,with at least 3 males wheezing away,such lovely birds at any time of year,but they are particularly striking in their lovely summer plumage.
I carried on,walking along side Will Pitts Scrape,to the sound of Chiffchaff's,Chaffinch,Wren's and Robins and i stopped to have a quick scan of the lake.
Nothing too exciting on here,apart from a flock of 20 Tufties,more Chiff's in the waterside Willow's and a chorus of Common Frog's nearby.
After shedding another layer i walked down the side of Will Pitts Wood,to the very precious sound of a singing male Willow Tit.These lovely little birds are still hanging on here in the wet woodland and long may it continue.
As i walked past the pumping station alongside the Warping Drain,a sudden blast of Cetti's song saw me seeing the culprit briefly and a little further along another as i turned to walk along Goole Moor Tram.
By now it was getting properly warm and i was down to my T shirt and Waistcoat and trousers obviously....those ticks!.
I then managed to find an Orange Underwing perched on some grass stems so i set the scope up and phonescoped it and took some video.
To put this into context i have never managed to get any video,let alone a decent photo of one,so i was pretty chuffed to say the least.
I carried on along Goole Moor Tram,seeing my first Dark-edged Bee Flies of the year,Small Tort's,another pair of Stonechat and i flushed 2 stunning Woodcock from the edge of the path.
After what seemed like ages,i eventually made it to the Limestone Road(I had forgotton how long Goole Moor Tram was) and began to head along the Paraffin Cuttings.
I just could not believe i had seen no one up to now,with cracking day's weather too,it was just bliss.
As i walked along the cuttings,first 1 pair,then 2 pairs and then a 3rd pair of Stonechat were seen,with the male of the final pair even singing.It was just lovely to watch these beautiful little Chats as they went about their business.
I then found another Orange Underwing,this time walking about on the ground,giving incredible views and i just crouched down and filmed it with my phone.It looked to be taking salt or minerals from the road,something i have never seen this species do before,an interesting piece of behaviour.
After heading along the Limestone Road and finally reaching Blue Bridge,i made a welcome stop at the picnic table for a sit down,some food and a drink.
Sat here in glorious sunshine daydreaming about what i was going to find on the local patch tomorrow,suddenly had me jumping into action as a Cetti's Warbler blasted away that song and on one of the pools nearby 8 gorgeous adult Whooper Swan fed and loafed....what a fantastic day i was having.
The remainder of the visit along the Limestone Road and back onto Crowle saw my first Green-tiger Beetles of the year being seen,a couple of Peacock Butterflies and a lovely male Brimstone really did make it feel like spring.
Another handfull of Chiffchaff's before i crossed back onto Crowle Moor,made it 33 singing males for the day,with 29 of them being on Thorne.
Well what a fantastic day today,in beautiful weather,made for another brilliant visit to this brilliant area for birds and wildlife....and i only scratch the surface of what can be seen here.
The Map Of The NNR At Crowle. 
Goole Moor Tram. .jpg)
The Paraffin Cuttings.
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