Redcar and Wykeham 2

A couple of evening trips this week the first being Tuesday when me and Mark met up with Darren and Mike from Leeds and went up to Redcar for the Black Scoter, it was in with a small flock of Common Scoters and although it  took several scans initially to find it, once you got your eye in it became relatively easy to pick out, we timed it just as the tide was coming in and as it did so did the Scoter flock so we ended up with some pretty good scope views but it was always too distant for photography, I took a rather distant record shot anyway. A good Yorkshire tick although its technically Cleveland, the old boundaries still count for the list.

On Wednesday me, Mark, Paz and Pete Watson went on the annual Nightjar pilgrimage up to Wykeham Forest, arrived in good time with the others hoping for a late up Turtle Dove but no luck there, a Buzzard was seen to go to roost and there were some interesting Moths on show, as the light began to fade several Woodcocks put on a good show then some churring started to right of the track and we got our first views of a distant pair of Nightjars flying around, another pair soon became active to the left of the track and ended up putting on a great show for us flying over our heads and regularly landing on trees close to the track, a really good evening.

a pair of mating Gold Swifts

Clouded Border

roding Woodcocks

and the stars of the night