Sit and Wait

Despite the sou'westerly winds and milder temperatures, a morning walk around the long river loop and back through Thrintoft Ings turned up no new arrivals. However, it was nice to consolidate a few birds I'd only managed distant or brief views of this year; wheatear, common sandpiper and shelduck all gave themselves up, but the gloom meant any photos were put straight into the Recycle Bin.

The afternoon promised better weather, so I packed the kids up and headed for Cod Beck at Osmotherley for a nice, family walk. Siskin were obvious all over the site, and tree pipit, hobby and cuckoo were also noted. That's four birds I've not connected with on my home patch! Fingers crossed.

On returning home, the sun was shining so I headed up to the very North of the patch to explore the riverine woods and church. It was disappointingly quiet and I resigned to not finding anything of note. Instead, I unpacked my hide and sat by the river with the sun behind me, hoping for a chance encounter with kingfisher.

Sitting and waiting can be rewarding but more often than not, it turns up nothing. Today was a good day; a pair of goosander approached from downstream...

...the quiet was broken by a very agitated, piping sandpiper and his mate...

...before finally, a juvenile grey heron landed so close, that all I could fit in the frame of my camera was his untidy head!