We've spent some enjoyable time walking in two areas of Northern England - the Upper Tees and the northern part of the Lake District. Good friends of ours, kindly let us have their static home at Barnard Castle, which was to be one of our bases for this 'not exclusively birding' break. Birding was not left out by any means, but you cannot fail to spend time on the scenery of Upper Teesdale and the Lakes. It was also the ideal holiday for Ellie the dog, who unfortunately doesn't accompany us to the Algarve! Barnard Castle is a most attractive town, with many of its buildings, old and new, constructed from local stone. The River Tees runs along the bottom of the town and is very picturesque, with weirs and falls, as it twists and turns. The photo above, would strike any birder as classic Dipper country and I was not disappointed here. Dipper busy feeding directly under the falls. This location was close to our friends' static and the wooded river banks held Great Spotted Woodpecker, Siskins, Willow Warbler, Chiffchaff, Grey Wagtails, 2 flyover Crossbills and this Spotted Flycatcher. One day, we took a drive through Weardale and turned left onto the moor below Chapelfell Top. At one point, we met two German birders who had a distant Red Grouse in their 'scope. I was grateful for a quick look and was able to find them a summer plumaged Golden Plover in its breeding grounds. They looked at me with some disbelief when I said they could probably see Black Grouse as well, and advised them to travel on, to Langdon Beck. They were in luck, five in all but a fair way off! It's been three years since I've had Black Grouse on 'the list' so it was good to see them again. Our next stay took us to Appleby-in-Westmorland, home of the famous Appleby horse fair. The Settle to Carlisle Railway runs through Appleby and a ride to Settle would provide some more stunning scenery. We made our way up to the station, which looked like a very well done, model railway layout! It would also provide Ellie with her first train ride! The journey to Settle was indeed impressive, including the Ribblehead Viaduct and we spent the afternoon there, before returning to Appleby. The River Ribble at Settle. Footbridge and signalbox at Settle station. Close to where we stayed at Appleby was Rutter Falls, an idyllic spot with an old mill and a ford through the stream. This was Dipper country again and it wasn't long before they made an appearance. Climbing the waterfall. It was here that I came across my first young Dipper, lacking the brown belly of the adult and having an altogether scaly appearance. After a while, both adult Dippers showed together, on top of the waterfall. Sharing the same stretch of water were a pair of Grey Wagtails and again, they had produced young. Young Grey Wagtail. This is just a small part of what we saw in good weather, as we made our way to Ullswater and spent time in the Lake District. Ullswater.
Interesting birds are still passing through Spurn and yesterday was no exception, with Red-footed Falcon and Bee-eater. I was hoping to connect with something good today although it was a murky morning with mist rolling in from the sea at times. It was lunch-time before the sun broke through. A chilly grey start didn't stop this Wren from singing loudly in Kilnsea. A female Red-backed Shrike seen first near the Warren, spent the day near Southfield Farm where it showed well, across the sheep field. While watching the Shrike, a late Short-eared Owl flew over the Triangle area for a while. A Golden Oriole flew up the coast first thing and was reported again later, in Beacon Lane. Despite some searching, it seemed to disappear over the riverside and was not seen again. 2 Spotted Flycatchers were in the canal bushes and at least 2 Cuckoos were seen flying around the canal zone. Once the sun came out, yesterday's Bee-eater showed around the Warren. It gave magnificent views, in flight and perching on wires and in various bushes for most of the afternoon.
I made another visit today, purely to photograph one of two pairs of Grebes which have successfully reared young. The results are not as good as I'd hoped, due to distance more than anything. Two of the young Grebes were feeding successfully on, or just under the surface and the adult occasionally brought a small fish. One of the young was being carried along, but would lean over to dabble on the water. A great sight to witness as the young grow up.
On what has been a wild and windy day, I couldn't find a much better bird than to call in on the Great White Egret at North Duffield.
It has been present for a few days now and, although distant, I got some record shots and was thoroughly pleased to see a Great White not too far from home. |
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