Firstly apologies !
It's been a fabulous time at Blacktoft over the last week and we've been brilliantly busy. Assistant Warden Stuart discovered an absolutely gorgeous White Tailed Lapwing early Thursday morning last week and it's still showing really well. Well done Stu amazing work. He'll definitely be dining out on this anecdote for many years to come!
This is the first time it's been recorded in Yorkshire and only the 8th time in the UK - so you can imagine how busy we were that first day. Visitors from around the country descended rapidly as soon as the news spread. Even though there was limited room in the hide at times it was great to see our amazingly dedicated team of volunteers step up to the mark meeting and greeting people and of course car park and crowd control. It was even better to see our visitors being so considerate to one another too!
White Tailed Lapwing at Townend hide (taken the morning it arrived)
Whilst the W.T. lapwing is around we'll be opening the reserve at 8am until dusk to allow as many people as possible to take in this spectacular specimen.
Of course it's not the only bird on the reserve!
A supporting cast of other waders have been around too:-
Little Stint (sadly escaped my lens this morning)
Spotted redshank
Redshank
Greenshank
Green sandpiper
Ruff
Black tailed godwit
Water Rail
Dunlin
Other amazing birds include
Marsh harrier
Bearded tits
Hobby
Peregrine falcon
Garganey
Pintail
Just at the moment time is short so sorry for being brief here, but before I dash back to the reserve a special mention to one of our stalwart volunteer supporters - Pat Crofton has been volunteering for 16 years with us! Pat is not only one of our most dedicated volunteers she also brilliantly knowledgeable and it continues to be a privilege to spend time alongside her. And she's a lovely lady too.
Congratulations Pat and a heart felt thank you from all the team here at Blacktoft.