The day dawned windy and rain was forecast for the afternoon but an almost full minibus left Bradford with hopes that we might be lucky and have a productive day. We were not disappointed as by the time the rain came 15 minutes before we were due to depart we had recorded 47 bird species.
Willow Tit The plan for the day, to walk on the new riverside path between Lin Dyke hide and the visitor centre, was abandoned due to the muddy state of the path and we took the minibus to Lin Dyke instead and spent an hour there where we found a few curlews in amongst different ducks and geese and got a mesmerisingly fleeting glimpse of a pintail but could not find any long-eared owls - reports of their presence this season have not yet been convincing. We returned to the visitor centre for an alfresco lunch and then the party split up; David walking round the whole reserve, some staying close to the visitor centre and some going as far as the village bay hide where we were able to find another pintail sheltering from the wind. Redwings came and went throughout our visit and kingfisher, goldeneye, green woodpecker, grey partridge (spotted in a field just before the reserve), red-legged partridge and willow tit were perhaps the other highlights of the day. Everyone was under some shelter when we had a very heavy downpour just before we left but the weather cleared and we had a lovely pink sky over the Pennines at sunset as we headed happily back to Bradford.
Willow Tit The plan for the day, to walk on the new riverside path between Lin Dyke hide and the visitor centre, was abandoned due to the muddy state of the path and we took the minibus to Lin Dyke instead and spent an hour there where we found a few curlews in amongst different ducks and geese and got a mesmerisingly fleeting glimpse of a pintail but could not find any long-eared owls - reports of their presence this season have not yet been convincing. We returned to the visitor centre for an alfresco lunch and then the party split up; David walking round the whole reserve, some staying close to the visitor centre and some going as far as the village bay hide where we were able to find another pintail sheltering from the wind. Redwings came and went throughout our visit and kingfisher, goldeneye, green woodpecker, grey partridge (spotted in a field just before the reserve), red-legged partridge and willow tit were perhaps the other highlights of the day. Everyone was under some shelter when we had a very heavy downpour just before we left but the weather cleared and we had a lovely pink sky over the Pennines at sunset as we headed happily back to Bradford.Stuart