Buzzard

 I was in the hide at Lamesley the other day but most of the birds that were there were on the large pond to the right of the hide and too far away for pictures. I did not see much until I got my eye on a Buzzard sitting in a tree straight opposite the hide however, if you know the hide at Lamesley you will know how far the trees that the Buzzard was sitting in are away from the hide. These images are big crops but I liked the way things panned out.

This Buzzard was sitting in a tree a canny distance from the hide. It got its eye on something

And flew down to investigate. It was there for a short while eating something

Then flew back into the same tree.

It sat for a while

Then was joined by another Buzzard.

They both just sat there watching

Then the second one flew down from the tree. Unfortunately, I did not see where it landed

But it came up with a worm.

It flew back to another tree

Landed

And ate the worm.

While it digested the worm it was still on the lookout.

It took off and flew down to the field

Once again I did not see where it landed but this time it did not come up with anything. Both birds flew off after this and I did not see them again.

Causey Wood

 I went looking for Dipper the other day in Causey Woods and was lucky enough to find two hopefully they will be pairing up soon. I probably went at the wrong time of day (morning) because for all it was blue sky and sunny the burn is in a valley and was still in the shade so I had to use a high ISO. Next time I go it will be in the afternoon when the sun is a bit higher.

One of two Dipper seen.

The second Dipper.

I only saw one Grey Wagtail this time.

However, there were quite a few Wren foraging along the banks of the burn.

The Graveyard

 A short but pleasant walk around our local graveyard the other day produced a few birds including a Kestrel which landed on a nearby fence post and a small flock of Redwing. I have concluded, the way my knees are, that short but pleasant walks are the way forward.

This female Kestrel, out hunting, landed on a nearby fence post.

However the male was a little further away.

A Redwing from a small flock that were feeding in the graveyard.

Mistle Thrush. This one was chasing everything away from the berries.

There were a couple of Wren flitting about the gravestones this is one of them.

This is the other one.

Spring is nearly here or so this singing Robin thinks.

Male Yellowhammer. There was a small flock of these bonny birds in the trees in a nearby field.

I had heard…

 …the Barn Owl at Cresswell was showing well and as I had not been up in that area for a while, I thought I would have a look up the other day and see it for myself. I saw it briefly just before sunrise and just before it went back into its barn, oh well I suppose I might have better luck next time. I did hang around for the rest of the morning so here are some of the other things I saw both at Cresswell and at Druridge Pools.

A distant Born Owl sitting on a gate post.

Pintail.

Curlew.

Redshank.

Balancing act by a Coot.

Little Egret.

Greylag Goose.

A distant Buzzard in the early morning light.

Shelduck taking off.

Shoveler.

Lapwings.

Pink-footed Goose.

A flyby of Pink Feet.

A couple of Crows eating what looks like a goose. With what is happening now with bird flue I find this slightly worrying.