Beckett Park woodland stroll

At lunchtime I took a circuitous stroll through Beckett Park woodland past the Victorian Monument to follow the track left and down through the wood. The shaded area was chilly, silent & still. The path curved round and the woodland brightened & became marginally warmer & the woodland floor began to peep through the snow and ice. Here appeared a veritable cornucopia of birdy delights... Seven Long Tail Tits danced around on overhead branches and they were accompanied by two Nuthatch scratching away at tree trunks. A noisy Jay perched high above & I spotted two more nearby. A Great Spotted Woodpecker flew into view, metres away from where we'd seen it a few weeks ago, its bold markings standing out in the sunlight. Suddenly a couple of metres ahead of me 6 Redwing flew through the wood in succession, their red flanks & underwings clearly visible. In turn they scattered a handful of Blackbirds feeding in the thawing undergrowth. A few steps ahead Blue Tits, Robin & Wrens were all making the most of newly bare earth. One of those occasions where I wish I'd taken my camera...

Beckett Park woodland

If I give myself a few extra minutes on a morning I can fit in a quick wander around Beckett Park woodland before getting into work. On the south-eastward facing edge of the woodland the sun had just started to stream through the trees

Weardley New Year's Day sightings

On New Year's Day, mid afternoon we drove out to Weardley, near Harewood. With the temperature a chilly 2 degrees & getting colder, the pathways were still icy & as a result we didn't wander far but still managed a few good sightings.

The Red Kites we're around in decent numbers & today we counted ten just in this area. This Red Kite was perched on a treetop surveying the area. Its tagged bird, the tag looks orange which I think means the bird was released in 2005.

In the nearby field a flock of sheep were getting stuck into mini-mountains of mangelwurzel & the field attracted a number of birds. Lapwing, Fieldfare, Jackdaws, Wood Pigeon, Blackbird, Great Tit and Robin hopped through the hedgerow. We noticed a flock of about 10 smaller birds feeding on the ground, I'm struggling to identify them so any suggestions would be appreciated.

Ive included this pic to give an idea of scale, two birds are just about visible to the left of the rear leg of the sheep.

A female Kestrel settled on a nearby telegraph pole.

On joining the Ebor Way footpath we realised that what we'd initially assumed to be one of the many Red Kites lacked the forked tail & had a far heavier appearance & it turned out to be a Buzzard, I didn't manage a pic but it was a good reminder to pay attention.

St Mary's Island

I'm up in the North East visiting my parents for a few days & this morning we popped out to St Mary's Island where the weather was crisp, the sky clear & the tide was steadily approaching the causeway. Down by the water's edge Turnstone, Sanderlings, Dunlin, Knot, Rock Pipit, Redshank, Oystercatcher, Cormorant & Golden Plover.

Here's a few pics of Turnstone, Rock Pipit & Redshank.

Kirkstall Christmas sightings

'On Christmas Day in the morning', well more like early afternoon we wandered down along a stretch of the Kirkstall Valley along the Goitside walk that starts near Morrisons. 'And what was in those ships all three?' No ships today, but as we stood overlooking the goit that runs underneath Bridge Road metres away from the busy crossroad with the A65 we spotted a Kingfisher heading towards us, underneath the bridge & off downstream. Its the first Kingfisher we've seen in Kirkstall & it was fantastic to see it so near to home.

Then we headed downstream, from the bridge at Redcote Lane we spotted 5 overwintering Goosander, two pairs and one single male. Perhaps two of these birds were the pair we saw a couple of weeks ago upstream near the Abbey. Although not a great shot of the bird (bottom left) I do like a context shot now & again so here you get to see Kirkstall/Burley in the background (well it is Christmas). A Grey Heron flew overhead whilst we watched the Goosander.


Between Redcote Bridge & the canal 6 Redwing settled in the treetops, slightly too far away for a decent pic.

Throughout the walk Jay x 1, Blue Tit x 10, Great Tit x 7, Long Tailed Tit x 6 Blackbird x 9, Chaffinch x 3, Magpie x 10, Robin x 6, Moor Hen x 7, Mallard x 12 & squirrels scampered across the frozen canal.