Bridlington - Stormy Seas

I thought it was supposed to be Spring, but today definitely felt like the middle of Winter.  A strong wind made for impressive waves at Bridlington;

Wouldn't fancy venturing out in a fishing boat ....

After being sandblasted near the beach, I headed for the harbour

Barnacle Goose at the harbour

Turnstone and Dunlin

Dunlin

Gull

At least the beach isn't overcrowded

Tophill Low Nature Reserve

A cold but sunny day, which was enhanced by the array of birds I saw on my latest visit to the reserve.  It was nice to hear the small birds chirping within North Marsh woods.

I had seen the Little Egret on the Tophill Low blog, so wanted to try and see it for myself, and I wasn't to be disappointed - although it was a bit too far away for a good photo.

Little Egret

Little Egret in flight

This Heron paid a short visit to Hempholme meadow, but he was soon off again

Great Crested Grebe on O res - I also saw Tufted Duck and Wigeon

This lovely Barn Owl flew towards me as I headed towards Watton Burrows

Goldeneye on D res, also Goosander

Goosander - Female

Goosander - Male

Long Tail Tit - always tricky to photograph as they move too quick!

Blue Tit checking out the nest box

Willow Tit

Gadwall stretching it's wings on North Lagoon

North Cave Wetlands

I had a few hours to spare so decided on a trip to North Cave Wetlands to see what had changed since my last visit during a particularly hard frost. This time there were quite a lot of different species and in particular it was great to see a female Smew, a first for me.

There were plenty of Shelduck, the most I have seen together in one group

A pair of Great Crested Grebes were showing plenty of interest in each other

A female Smew all on her own!

Kestrel perched waiting and watching for lunch

Lapwing in a field next to the reserve all busily feeding

Teal with the colours showing up great in the sunshine

Redshank

It was nice to see a Sparrowhawk hunting in the distance

I even got a distant viewing of a Barn Owl sitting it out waiting for dusk, shame it wasn't a bit closer though

Reed Bunting

View towards turret hide

Snipe

Greylag just coming in to land

Red Kite

A short stop on my way home proved successful with a superb sighting of a Red Kite hunting in the fields along the roadside.

Red Kite

Lambs

Bolton Abbey

I apologise for a lack of blog posts as I've been away for a few days and have had very little time to catch up!

We headed to the Yorkshire Dales for the weekend and visited Bolton Abbey.  The weather was appalling - it rained all day, so taking any photographs proved tricky.  Nevertheless, we got kitted up in our waterproofs and had a good walk.  I attempted crossing the river by the stepping stones, but turned back after half a dozen stones as they were too slippery and the river was getting deeper - didn't fancy falling in and taking an early bath! 

The river Wharfe runs through the estate and is perfect conditions for Dippers and Grey Wagtails.

Dipper

Goosander

Mallard

I will have to revisit on a brighter day .....