One of the highs of Local Patch watching is finding returning birds year after year; this way you can build a real detailed idea of natural patterns as the seasons come and go. Another big thrill is finding new birds you can add to your list for the local area. Both of these events occurred this week. This is what makes local patch watching so rewarding. Last weekend was cold with blustery Northern winds, but it was dry and sunny so no excuse for being indoors!!! So I headed down to one of my favourite spots – on the carrs south of Pickering. It was great to see a very confiding Mistle Thrush usually they are quite skittish, but making use of some available cover the bird came quite close and I was very pleased to get some reasonable shots, rather than distant specks. As I was heading back to my car, a bird flew up from a nearby manure heap and landed on some nearby telegraph wires. I immediately put my bins on the bird; a Northern Wheatear!!!! Wheatears do pass through our local patch , but it was a first for me !! I was a very happy chappy!!!
This last week, my birding companion Alf and I have been specifically looking for Spring migrants and we have been really lucky with birds such as Whitethroat and Cuckoo….. but our main target was Yellow Wagtail. So on Wednesday we made Yellow Wagtail our priority target. Firstly we had a look at some flooded fields near Eden Camp just outside Malton – no luck despite an intense search. So we switched our focus of attention to Low Marishes again an area with lots of pasture fields – and on our second stop we checked a pasture field which was being grazed by some sheep and recently born lambs.After the second sweep I spotted a Dandelion with legs ; a pristine male Yellow Wagtail!!! What a stunning bird. After walking parallel to the grazing field along a footpath, we spotted four more birds; two females and two males again both in pristine condition. What a result!!
And yesterday 29th April, whilst out walking there were a small number of Orange Tip butterflies enjoying the warm afternoon sun in a sheltered hedge area.What a great end to a great month.
