BTO bird survey - late winter

We take part in the BTO annual bird survey which involves surveying a 4km sq local patch 4 times a year. This year our patch is to the north east of Gunnerside, taking in Barf End, Blades and alot of moorland. You have to visit the area 4 times a year and record what you see. In the spring and summer they also want details of any breeding activity. Winter up there is always going to be a little challenging to find anything much of interest, but anyway we gave it a bash on saturday morning. Predictably the results were not that impressive! Nevertheless it was good to find good numbers of lapwing already up there, about 6 golden plover (already in breeding plumage) and one solitary curlew! Otherwise there were plenty of grouse and not much else. We had heard reports of some twite up there but sadly they proved elusive. Hopefully when we come to survey in spring things will be little more busy with the moorland breeders arriving - fingers crossed!

At last the snow has gone!

Spent the weekend in Lake District brushing up on our winter walking skills, had great fun on Hellvelyn and Old Man Coniston with crampons and ice axe.
Returned on Monday evening to find a snow free Gunnerside and the first signs of spring with daffs begins to poke through and and the first sprouts on our purple sprouting brocolli!!! Enough of winter bring on springtime!!

Goshawk, owl and goose!

Had day off work today and after a morning full of chores I left Leeds at 1pm and headed cross country to Gunnerside. Arrived Nosterfield (near Masham) at about 2pm. Started at the main reserve hide but there was very little of interest around, lots of grey lags, coot, teal and wigeon and a solitary egyptian goose. After half an hour i moved to the quarry hide. There wasn't too much around so I scanned the gulls for anything of interest, two immature great blackbacks and plenty of black heads. As I was looking through scope something flashed in front of it and I heard a screech and a crash. Looking up I very quickly picked up a bundle of feathers about 10 metres in front of the hide. Closer inspection revealed a superb goshawk with a lapwing in its talons! I don't often get to see these beautiful birds but boy are they stunners. Piercing yellow eyes and that vivid eye stripe, really give them an evil look!! I was able to watch him for about 5 mins before he pulled the unfortunate lapwing under a poorly placed lifebouy which obscured my view - fantastic!!!
Fortunately my bird day was still not quite finished because as i came out of Reeth on my way up dale to Gunnerside there was a great Little Owl sitting on the ridge of a barn in the sunshine just up above the swing bridge. Swaledale is a really good place for these little beauties and I never tire of seeing them. Fab few hours!!!

Swinnergill walk

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Two old birds playing in the snow!

Quite sensibly any self respecting feathered friend has departed the moorland tops and flown to sunnier climes. So we left bins at home and headed for the hill tops around Gunnerside to play in the snow. Our Sat route (10 miles) took up near Lady Mary Hut (top end Gunnerside Gill)and on Sun we went Keld way via Swinnergill (12 miles). If I get time later I will add maps for both walks. Both days were quite fantastic walks in snow at least a foot deep and in many places drifts 8 to 10 feet deep, which made the going really hard but the beer at the end all the more deserved! Over the two days of walking we met only 6 people and had the hills essentially to ourselves. In 5 years we have certainly never seen so much snow and locals are hard pressed to recollect snow like this in the last 25 years. I suspect we will be finding patches remaining in sheltered northern gullies well in April and even May. In the garden the bird table has been chaotic with up to 8 blue tits, perhaps as many as 12 blackbirds, loads of chaffinch, goldfinch and sparrows, 3/4 robins, dunnock, greenfinch, GS woodpecker, collared doves, jackdaws, coal tit, great tit and pheasant all paying regular visits. For some reason we are still missing the siskin and redpolls from last year. On the Sunday walk the only bird highlight was the first Swale kingfisher of the year about 1/2 mile up from Ivelet bridge.
PS First drummimg GS Woodpecker heard in village today.

Gunnerside Thwaite walk

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Decided to take a trip to Caerlaverock WWT on Sat. Surprisingly just under two hours away from Gunnerside. Like everywhere there was a bitter SE wind blowing all day but we still managed to find a pretty good range of birds. The highlight of the day being a merlin at very close quarters (see very poor photo taken with my snippy snappy compact). We were sitting in a hide when a wren started to alarm call very frantically, we looked to the left and there barely 5 metres away was a merlin trying to chase the wren through the brambles. I've seen them trying to mipits and the like in flight, but this seemed unusual behaviour and quite frankly pretty futile as well! Other raptors included good views of hunting peregrine and sparrowhawk. Wildfowl of course were there in big numbers, about 10,000 barnacle geese, many canada (apparently 1 cackling but i'll be jiggered if i can tell it apart) several hundred whoopers and mutes and good array of ducks. There also seemed to be a very healthy population sparrows and buntings and it was great to see a flock of 22+ yellowhammers. Waders were a bit thin on the ground but we did pick up 4/5 black tailed godwits, a few snipe and plenty of redshanks. After spending 4 hours at the reserve we headed back the scenic route along the coast hoping to pick up some other geese and waders. In terms of geese the best on offer was a lonesome pink foot in a field close to the reserve but at Cummertrees, in a rather rough sea, we got some great views of a scaup, which made up for a rather unsatisfactory sighting a few weeks ago in Northumberland. Finally, on the way back we managed to pick up a group of 7 male black grouse on the way down from Tan Hill to Keld. They should soon be leking, if not now, and I must make an effort to get up early and try and watch that.

Sunday, back at Gunnerside we did a 8/9 mile walk up dale, via Oxnop Gill, across Crow Trees and on past Muker to Thwaite, all the time keeping to the southern side of the valley. To be quite honest it was so cold and windy that no decerning bird would be seen dead out, so our sightings were pretty minimal, plenty of jackdaws, a pair of nuthatches and alonesome kestrel, after that I think I gave up!! The final bird of the day was a fine male goosander at Rowleth as I drove past on my way back to Leeds.

Finally, I know I bill this as a Gunnerside site, however I just have to record my fab sighting of this afternoon in Leeds. Like many others today I left work early to avoid the worst of the snow (which as I type is shovelling it down at the moment). At 4pm I was reading the latest paper on Adult Care Services Inspection, when out of the corner of my eye I saw a flock of birds fly up just beyond the bottom of the garden. Starlings I thought, but something made me get my bins and check them out. Starlings my ****, 150 plus waxwing!!!! I quickly threw a jacket on and legged it to the tree they were all sitting in. The pity was that it was snowing and poor visibility for any photos. Well chuffed I wandered back home for a warming brew, but as i was putting the key in the door I heard the tell tail chattering of the waxwing, this time at the bottom of my garden, I think 150 of them well and truely makes that a bird in the garden tick!!!!