Red-tailed Shrike, Bempton

 

What a fantastic bird !  Couldn't get last night due to a short baby sitting session, which I wouldn't swap for the world !  So, went to bed with fingers crossed and we were not disappointed. Bempton here we come !  The shrike hadn't been seen for a while so we passed the time with the Yorkshire lads, putting the world to rights. A few folk started to drift off, a bit despondent. An hour passed, and more, still no sign. So a decision was made by the crowd to slowly walk up the lane and bingo......it flew straight across right infront of us. We couldn't have asked for better views. It did appear to be wounded as you can see on the pics and this did give it some trouble as it constantly preened around it. 

A brilliant bird with a good, friendly crowd. Home for tea then the whole family is going to see the beautiful baby, Araya. A lovely day xx

Wood Sandpiper, RSPB Blacktoft Sands

 

A lovely couple of hours in Marshland Hide

Caspian Tern, Slaynes Lane

 

A Sunday morning visit to Slaynes Lane for us, only half an hour from home. There was just one caspian tern, snoozing on the mud, occasionally lifting up and settling back down again. A nice friendly crowd to pass the morning with but we didn't get a close up fly by and the wind was blustery to say the least. It did lift up and start to feed but by this time the heat haze had built. But an excellent morning was had by all. Home for a very late breakfast ! 

Green Woodpecker

 

Our local green woodpecker out feeding on the grass, digging deep for ants and juicy morsels to feed the chicks. Will go back here in a week as they usually bring their chicks here to feed aswell. 

Bee-eaters, Trimingham, Norfolk

 

A very long, but very enjoyable day in Norfolk. Sutton Bridge was down to one lane for maintenance with a good half hour tailback in both directions......could see the diesel needle going down as we did constant stop start....not good with these prices ! Found the quarry straight away and the organisation from the RSPB was spot on as always. Easy to park and 100 yards to walk and with 7 bee-eaters flying around, what more could you ask for. They didn't come that close if I am honest. Apparently they had been flying over their heads but once the viewing area was opened and the crowds built up, they had stopped doing this. But no complaints, we had excellent views. A definite nest hole had been excavated and another one was under construction, so fingers crossed. They did disappear for long periods, obviously feeding, but always returned chirping away !  A brilliant day. Saving up again for diesel for another trip !😀 The quarry isn't a working quarry as you would imagine, but used more as storage. A couple of builders vans/trailers drove down with bricks etc. You can see the pics above. 

Little Owls

We have quite a few pairs of Little Owls near to our house. A short drive out a few nights ago and we soon saw one of our regular pairs with a chick. We watched them for a while before taking a slow drive home where we saw another one of our regular little owls along with a passing barn owl. Not a bad hour as we watched a stunning sunset.