Golden Moment!

Yesterday evening news popped up of a Golden Oriole in Thirsk which is only about half an hour away so  as you probably expected we were soon ready to go!

We got a little lost at first but thankfully we found the fishing lakes where it had apparently been spotted. A few Yellow Wagtails on the way in was a very nice bonus. We started walking towards the lakes on where it had been seen by and it came to our luck that we saw it straight away! It briefly flew across one side of the lake and then back again, it allowed us to have a very nice look through the bins at it and all the colours stood out very nicely. Afterwards we had a little walk round to see if we could see it in the trees but all we saw was a nice pair of Blackcaps. A big group of birders had now gathered and soon enough we spotted it quite distantly flying above the trees on the far side of the lake but unfortunately this view was very brief and the Oriole was gone quickly. While waiting it was amazing to see the amount of Swallows which were picking of insects off the water, it was great to watch! About 10 minutes later someone spotted it going over the lake fairly close to where we were standing so I quickly fired of a couple of shots and I managed to get a few decent record shots showing some distinctive features.

Golden Oriole

 

Afterwards we headed off after a very enjoyable day out. It has always been bird I have always wanted to see and it is one I will always remember!

LITTLE BITTERN!!!!

Early Saturday morning we had a visit to RSPB Oldmoor in hope of seeing the cracking Male Little Bittern which had been seen on site in the past couple of days. This is one bird I have always wanted to see so I was really determined to see it.

We arrived at about half seven and with news of it still there we had high hopes. Once we arrived in the hide there was a big problem, mist. Most of the reedbeds were covered in it and it made things difficult to see. While waiting a pair of Kingfishers were very nice to watch which also landed right in front of the hide! Plus Reed Buntings and Reed Warblers also kept us entertained. Plus a Great Crested Grebe kept on catching very big fish which I was surprised to see it get it down!

Kingfisher

 

Reed Bunting

Reed Warbler

Great Crested Grebes

 

There was a couple of times when the Little Bittern was called out by people in the hide but unfortunately with all the mist it was hard to get the bins on it so we missed it! At one point I just about almost clocked it but more or less as soon as I lifted my bins, someone shouted it has gone down behind the hide! Typical it just looked like it wasn't going to be my day today but thankfully late morning the mist just about cleared and someone said "going left" and thankfully I managed to spot it! It did a great flew through over the pond and into the reeds in the corner next to the Bittern Bus Stop! It was great, I got to see all the features and how amazing the bird it is! Definitly one of the best birds I have seen this year. I was so pleased!!! It was also great to see the massive distinctive white patch on its wings.

 

Little Bittern

 

After that we had news of a Black Necked Grebe from the Family hide and an American Wigeon from Wath Ings so that was our next destination. From the Family hide we managed to spot the Grebe but unfortunately it was very distant. We didn't see the American Wigeon as apparently it had gone to sleep under a tree and wasn't viewable at all but to be honest we weren't bothered as we had such an enjoyable time!