A nice day out

It was a nice day today so me and Mark thought we’d try for some Raptors down Troutsdale, unfortunately they weren’t playing ball and although several Buzzards and Kestrels eventually got up there was no sign of any Goshawks, not while we were there anyway, we dropped into Scarborough and got some Fulmars along Marine Drive but it was so busy we didn’t hang around for the Peregrines we checked out the Med Gulls at Holbeck instead, two of the adults are starting to acquire their black hoods now. It was Filey Dams next where a winter plumaged Slavonian Grebe has been hanging around over the last few days, out of sight at first it eventually came reasonably close, we then decided to forsake the coast particularly as we had heard that yesterdays Great Northern Diver had returned to Tophill, it was showing well on D Reservoir, it was then straight on to the LDV starting at Bubwith Bridge where there was a good numbers of Golden Plover, Dunlin, Ruff etc, a large flock of Swans were out by Derwent Cottage Farm but distant then it was round to Thorganby where some White Fronted Geese had been reported this morning but there was not much of anything there this afternoon, we spent the last bit of the afternoon at Ellerton but a single Pinkfoot with the Greylags was about it, a Barn Owl was seen by Hagg Bridge on the way home.

the sun creeping into the valley

single Pinkfoot

sunset over Ellerton Ings