A bit of year ticking on a crisp clear day

Out with Mark and Paz and we started the day down at Rufford CP where the Hawfinch’s have been showing recently, at least four duly obliged this morning but up at the top of the trees as usual, it was a lovely crisp, clear morning and we stayed around a while hoping we might also see Lesser Spotted Woodpecker, we didn’t but there was a good selection of other woodland species to be had. Late morning we headed off for Calder Park to year tick the Blyth’s Pipit, it has been showing really well for the last week or more and this afternoon was no exception, although it disappeared into the long grass at times it regularly returned to the banking offering stonking views, we finished off at Pugney’s for the Gull roost, not many large Gulls in this evening but two Yellow Legged and a Caspian were found amongst them, a good day.

high up as usual

staking out the bank, first bird to arrive was a Mipit

perched in the Willows first

before dropping back onto the bank

hiding in a tree after a close encounter with a Kestrel