Beautiful Rosedale,Sunday 2nd April 2023.

A good forecast today saw Tracey,myself and Clara heading to Rosedale in the lovely North Yorkshire Moors National Park to complete a circular walk taking in the lovely views of the valley and it's industrial past of Iron Stone Mining.

Our journey started off cloudy at first,but by the time we reached Malton it was wall to wall sunshine.

A couple of lovely bird species were seen on the journey up and included a lovely Red Kite near South Dalton and a pair of gorgeous Barn Owls hunting around Cropton village.

We finally arrived at our destination and after a bit of initial confusion as to which route we were taking,we found the start of the walk and we were off.

After the overnight rain the paths were a tad muddy in places,but the stunning views of the valley certainly distracted us away from this minor detail.

After completing approximately half the walk we arrived at Dale Head Farm,which had a fantastic tea rooms and we stopped for a very welcome cuppa and cake.

This tea rooms has probably the best views I've ever had from one.

After our refreshment stop we were back walking again,along a pretty steep hill,but once at the top we were walking along the old railway line.

This section of the walk was an interesting one as we looked at the old ruins from the iron stone mining that took place in the area from as early as the Roman era,but then was ran on a commercial scale until 1929.

The iron stone was taken by rail to steel works in Teeside,Tyneside and County Durham and this rail section stretched for 12 miles across the moors to connect with the main line.

The ruins make for an interesting scene in the moorland landscape and certainly adds character to the area.

This area was pretty good for one of our summer visiting migrant birds,Wheatear,with 10 birds being seen,of which 6 were singing and displaying males and 4 females,comprising 4 pairs.

The birds gave lovely views and it was really great to here the males singing away.

Eventually we made it back into Rosedale and enjoyed some well earned lunch at the superb Graze On The Green.

On the way home we stopped for a short while at Egton Bridge,but sadly some of the stepping stones have been washed away.

Well what a brilliant day today and we will certainly be coming back in drier conditions under foot next time,to enjoy this fantastic area.

The Church of St.Mary & St.Lawrence,Rosedale.

The Ruin Of Rosedale Priory.

The Lovely Little Hamlet Of Thorgill.

Superb Views Along The Valley.

Ruins From The Iron Stone Mining Industry.

Ruins Of The Iron Kilns.

Lovely Gorse Adding A Welcome Splash Of Colour In The Sunshine.

Egton Bridge.

Local Patching Update,March 11th,19th And 25th 2023.......

Three visits to the local patch covered here,with some spring migrants arriving at last and a cracker of a day on the 25th,the following is what i saw.

 Saturday 11th March

A fairly steady visit today,with a few winter visitors still hanging on,the best of which were 27 Russian White-fronted Geese still visiting the Winter's area.

Other sighting's around here and on the marshes included 245 Wigeon,5 Pochard on Winter's,2 Ruff and 2 Oystercatcher.

A flock of 35 Redwing were along Skitter Road still,no doubt feeding up before heading north or east.

Sunday 19th March

A really pleasant visit today in some warm weather for a change saw a good movement of Buzzards,with 16 birds being observed.This consisted of a mix of local and passage birds,the locals soon seeing off the intruders,with much calling and displaying.just great to see.

The continued efforts watching the sky today,paid divedends as my first Merlin for the patch year was seen as it bombed after a Starling flock on the marshes.

Potentially the rarest sighting of the day went to another Falcon,as a stunning white morph Gyr Falcon was seen being hounded by a Carrion Crow flock along the old railway at East Halton village.

This was most definitely one of the escaped birds from a mass escape a few weeks ago in Derbyshire.

Back to more credible visitors and there were still 20 Russian White-fronts in the Winter's area today,stopping off for a drink and bathing session on the main lake.

Its been really great to have these lovely Geese around all winter.

Other notables during the day included 8 singing male Chiffchaff,male Stonechat,1 Water Pipit and a big count of 76 Carrion Crow.

Saturday 25th March

Today was a pretty wet visit to the patch,but what a day bird wise!.

First goodie seen was a male Wheatear feeding on the grassland on the marshes and it certainly brightened the visit,what a great bird these lovely Chats are,this site being particularly good for them.

Continual scanning of the Humber and Winter's certainly paid off today despite the shower's as in a dry spell,i picked up  a huge bird approaching from the east,in the bins it looked like a Crane or Stork,i got my scope on it and imagine my disbelief when it WAS a White Stork i was watching!!!!.

I watched as it flew in off the Humber,with a couple of flaps of those huge wings,it then looked like it was gliding in to land between East Halton village and Killingholme Haven,but after much subsequent searching afterwards it sadly drew a blank.

This is the first record for the patch and also a Lincolnshire tick for myself.

It was interesting to note,that a Dutch ringed bird was seen this evening on the Cam Washes in Cambridgeshire,so could well have been the same bird.

While looking for the Stork i picked up a distant small wader which looked like a LRP,sure enough as it got closer my first Little-ringed Plover of the year flew past me calling as it passed by,just fantastic to see these lovely waders returning.

Some decent passage along the Humber flood-bank today included only small numbers compared to other sites,but included 35 Linnet,24 Chaffinch,44 Meadow Pipt,7 Pied Wagtail,my first White Wagtail of the year and also 3 Siskin which were new for the year also.

Final goodie of the visit was a spanking adult Spoonbill feeding on the marshes briefly before it was flushed by a moron on an off-road bike,another great edition to the days birding and year list,just a shame it hadn't stayed longer.

Today was pretty damn good and certainly worth putting up with the rain showers with  5 species new for the year and a patch lifer to boot.it's what local patching is all about,roll on my next visit.

Dawn At Winter's On The 11th March.

A Phone-scoped Shot Of A Lovely Fox From The 19th March.

Skitter Road,19th March.

Blackthorn Blossum,19th March.

Skitter Pools,19th March.

Incoming Storm On The Marshes,25th March.

Ladybower Reservoir,Derwent Dam & The Great Ridge,Sunday 26th March 2023.

A brilliant day out today with Tracey and Clara visiting a few places in the Peak District.

We started proceedings at a pretty cold Ladybower Dam so we could show Clara the amazing sink holes and thankfully they were in pretty decent flow.

This is a very popular place for visitors,so the early start certainly paid off and we pretty much had the place to ourselves which was great.

A quick drive up the road to Fairholmes and we took Clara to her second place for another sight and sound off her bucket list,seeing the superb Derwent Dam in full flow.

When the reservoir is full,it overflows over the dam wall and is great to see,although not as impressive as the sink holes.

The final place we visited was Castleton and we walked a circular starting just outside Castleton village walking up to Mam Tor,then up to Hollins Cross and back on ourselves to the summit of Mam Tor and then back to Castleton village for some well earned food.

This area really is a favourite of mine and despite the cloud i enjoyed the walk immensely.

A few nice birds were seen during the day and included 24 Whooper Swans heading north and a couple of lovely Ravens at Mam Tor.

The following are a selection of photos from this brilliant day out.

Lord's Seat

Trace & Clara At The Summit Of Mam Tor.

Rushup Edge And Lord's Seat.

The Great Ridge,Back Tor,Lose Hill And Win Hill.

Mam Tor.

Mam Tor

Back Tor & Lose Hill.

The Gang At Derwent Dam.

Derwent Dam.

Ladybower Dam Sink Holes.

North Lincolnshire,Saturday 18th March 2023.

A couple of free days again this weekend,saw me heading to a few sites in the north of the county today to enjoy some birding and hopefully a few animals and insects as well with the warmer weather of late.

I had agreed to meet up with Dave today and we started off by visiting a lovely site to show Dave his first ever Woodlarks.

After heading onto the site,it wasn't long before we enjoyed superb views on the ground and above us of several Woodlarks,including three males which proceeded to chase each other.

It was brilliant to be enjoying their lovely melancholy songs again,it really does take some beating in my opinion.

When we had enjoyed our fill of these beautiful heathland songsters,we travelled over to Messingham Sand Quarries for the remainder of the day,which proved a good decision.

As we began to walk around the reserve,i managed to find a few insects in the form of Seven-spot and Pine Ladybirds and several Bumble Bees of two species,White and Buff-tailed.

As we walked passed the old dipping platform area,we came across the first of at least 20 Common Toads,as several males jostled to mate with a poor female,which was unfortunately getting smothered in a mating ball by at least 5 males.

We spent a good portion of our visit between the Duck and Wader hides and saw some nice birds to be fair which included a lovely flock of 12 Brambling,a female Marsh Harrier,a single Avocet,Green Sandpiper and then a flock of at least 10 Sand Martin,my first proper summer migrants of the year.

Plenty of scans through the breeding Black-headed Gulls,revealed no surprises unfortunately.

By now it was lunch time and Dave headed home,while i drove around to look at the sheep fields and new workings area.

This proved a good decision,as i was scanning the opposing woodland,i heard a Raven calling and one dropped in on the fields at the side of the new workings,it was later joined by another bird,so are most probably a young inexperienced pair,as most adults are sitting on eggs by now.

Shortly after enjoying the Ravens a lovely Peregrine flew by and gave some nice views.

Other bits around here included 12 Common Buzzard,a single Pink-footed Goose and 5 Egyptian Geese.

I finished the day on a respectable 74 species and this along with all the other sightings made for another great visit to the area.

Phone-scoped Black-headed Gulls,Messingham Sand Quarries LWTR.

Phone-scoped Cormorants,Messingham Sand Quarries LWTR.

Male Common Toad,Messingham Sand Quarries LWTR.

Heathland Landscape.

Wykeham Forest,Sunday 12th March 2023.

A extra free day due to Mrs R being at work today,saw me heading north to one of my fave areas in the country to search for our beautiful big Accipter,Goshawk.

The journey up through the Wolds was a bit worrying as the weather wasn't great and as i arrived at Wykeham it was thick fog/low cloud.

Thankfully it wasn't long before it began to clear.pheeww!.

After about 20 minutes i was on to my first Gos,as a big 2nd calendar year female flew along the forest edge opposite,giving some decent views.

As the weather improved further,the first of at least 12 Common Buzzards began to fly,finding a thermal to ride and putting on a nice display.

At one point 6 birds were up together,with much calling and displaying/sparring,really great to watch.

In between looking for raptors a few other distractions included several Crossbills which 'Chipped' overhead as they passed by and 40+ Siskin,in several flocks which included a couple of singing and displaying males,with their bat like display flights.

More scanning of the valley and forest ensued and the fantastic sight of 3 Gos up together included an adult male which was semi displaying and 2 females.

As i have said in the past,these birds are just awesome to watch,such powerfull birds and a real privilege to see.

After enjoying some good views of my target species for the day,headed back south and home as it began to rain.

What A Stunning View.