weekend

 not really been anywhere recently so deicided on a trip leighton moss which was the first place i ever visited when i started birding way back november 1985, very little change apart from the path from the center to the causeway 

first went to causeway sunny but windy and no bearded tits but a nice great egret from lower hide, 2 little egrets flew over as did 3 buzzards and 2 ravens 

upto 7 cettis warblers singing always a great sound

but 3 otters were a great sight on veiw for ages best of all was a marsh tit calling in the same place as my first decades ago 

then on to the main reserve..........it was a bit quiet not many wildfowl but some nice pintails and shoveler 2 juv female marsh harriers were playing in the wind, 4 water rails calling and a bearded tit called briefly 

then on to hest bank to try for the turtle dove something ive not seen for years, never a easy bird up north but looking back in my notes i use to see them at quite a few places in east yorkshire mainly blacktoft and spurn though have found 3 in calderdale in the 90's

this one was very tame feeding along the footpath by the car park and quite a few birders present shows how much the turtle dove has declined 

turtle dove

hest bank

teal 

leighton moss

called at redcar tarn on the way back but very few large gulls around, but always worth visiting 

after an evening of beer and music the morning saw us wake to rain and wind and by 930 we were off to st aidens............colette wants to see a bittern! having been astounded by the calling bird last year 

so arriving around 1030 we headed to astley lake only to miss it by 2 minutes!!! we headed over to where it had landed on lemonroyd, now colette has very sharp eyes and suddenley after 10 minutes said "whats this?" and indeed it was the bittern flying over to the western reed bed 

bittern

st aidens 

a very nice sight which we also saw 3 great egrets 1 little egret 4 red kites heard more cettis warblers and another water rail called