A new year has started and a great way to kick off 2023 was a visit to some local sites close to Pickering. First call was Bransdale …. so I drove up to meet my birding mate Graham ……. and as I drove up I got a message from Graham…. He had just had a male Hen Harrier fly over the road in front of him !!! What a way to start to the day …. but obviously I missed it!! Even though I was only a short distance away, needless to say by the time I got there … unfortunately there was no sign of the harrier!! But what a cracking bird to get. Not long afterwards a Merlin came blasting through. What was going on – to get two rare raptor species in the space of half an hour on the North York Moors!! It is a crying shame that we don’t get more sightings of these iconic raptors. But I’m afraid that unlawful shooting, baiting, trapping and just general disturbance aimed specifically at raptors goes on in these vast areas somewhat unhindered. And there is the irony because these birds of prey need large areas in which to hunt and breed safely but it is very difficult for the personnel involved in wildlife protection to get evidence against the people who wish these wonderful birds harm and bring the people responsible to face the courts. On a happier note we also recorded two other species of raptors before our visit to Bransdale was over ; namely Sparrowhawk and Common Buzzard.
Our next site we visited was Castle Howard. The main lake at Castle Howard is always a good bet in the winter months for good numbers of waterfowl. Previously to our visit a Ring- necked Duck had been recorded on the main lake and the long staying Ferruginous Duck was also on occasions giving good views too. So it was fingers crossed on the way there. We needn’t have worried … sometimes in Birding it just flows like a Rolex!! The Ring-necked Duck was seen quite quickly as there were a good number of people looking for it. The bird itself was a male and showed really well … other wildfowl that we recorded included – Mallard, Gadwall, Teal, Pochard, Tufted Duck, Golden eye, Wigeon, Mandarin, Goosander, Mute Swan and as we headed back the Ferruginous Duck had been spotted down at the far end of the lake… as they say when your luck is in … What a great start to the year !!
