I made an early start this morning to one of my favourite sites in Yorkshire. Hilla Green is a small settlement at the start of Troutsdale, and this particular site fringes the banks of the River Derwent in its upper reaches. Public footpaths allow access to one bank of the river, which is home to Dippers, Kingfishers and Grey Wagtails. Arriving around 7-30a.m, the area was quiet, still and misty. A first view of the river showed the Dippers were already out! More light was needed for photos and, having travelled for an hour I thought a coffee would be a good idea. The temperature was only 2C as well! Within half an hour, a pair of Grey Wagtails had passed through and a Kingfisher too. The Dippers were busy collecting nest material which was encouraging to see. One of the Dippers perched up and sang to its mate repeatedly, in a beautiful pose which I hadn't seen before. It wasn't long before a very unwelcome visitor made its way along the river bank - a Mink! Adjacent to the river is an ox-bow lake surrounded by trees. A number of Mandarin duck have been visiting this water for years, they invariably see you first and are easily flushed. I stayed a while at Hilla Green, watching Treecreeper, Mistle Thrush and a nice few Song Thrushes. I was waiting for the temperature to rise and a bit of wind, before going to the raptor viewpoint in Wykeham Forest. On top of the forest, the air had cleared and the view was stunning this morning. The first raptors seen were Common Buzzards and in all, eight gathered together and spiralled higher, before moving off West. Two Sparrowhawks appeared next and shortly after, the first Goshawk appeared. It was distant, but was watched performing its display - climbing and diving a couple of times. Another Goshawk appeared later but again, was a long, long way off.
On the way home, a short stop was made at the feeding station in Forge Valley. An excellent place for Nuthatch and Marsh Tit. Comments are closed.
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