Hello there, I'm a bit late with the sightings from yesterday but no matter, there's lots to report from a full book.
I'll start with a couple of photos of a male bearded tit which were taken at the reedbed screen yesterday. They were taken by Mary Wilde and as you can see, she got a very good view indeed of this most gorgeous bird.
Thanks for sharing your lovely photos with us Mary, it's not often that we get such a good view of a beardie!
Bittern news from yesterday is of a bittern in the wildlife ponds, one seen flying over the reedbeds and also booming!
Staying in the reedbeds there were sightings/hearings of 3 Cetti's warbler and 3 bearded tit as well as great crested grebe, little grebe, kingfisher and 2 little egret.
Next to the Wader Scrape and yesterday from here, there came sightings of one black tailed godwit, 2 green sandpiper, 4 little egret, teal and oystercatcher.
From Wath Ings there were sightings of: goosander, green woodpecker, 6 goldeneye,3 little egret, 4 shovelor and 4 oystercatcher, maybe the same group as per the Wader Scrape.
There was a lovely curlew on the field pools yesterday, hopefully giving visitors a treat with its evocative call which (to me at least) is a definite sound of spring!
The current usual suspects were seen in the bird garden yesterday and yesterday, they also included a yellowhammer.
I was out and about yesterday, not too far away from Old Moor, and found a lovely patch of flowering blackthorn. It was literally humming! Taking a closer look, I was delighted to see that it was full of bees and hoverflies busily feeding.
Finally from the book from yesterday at Old Moor are sightings of a med gull on the Mere, 14 herring gull on the Mere, 29 whoopers flying over, barnacle goose and pink footed goose at Wombwell Ings, primroses and daffodils are out on the path into Old Moor and comfrey is out in the bird garden.
The weather today is not great and continues that way for the next few days. Tomorrow, Easter Sunday, seems dry at the moment so keep your fingers crossed. Tomorrow is also the start of our summer opening hours which means that the reserve will be open until 8pm (VC shuts at 5pm). This will continue until the autumn.
A reminder that dogs are not allowed onto the reserve at any time and please make sure you are out of the reserve in time as it will be locked promptly at 8pm.
News in so far from today (Sat) is from the Barnsley Birders - 2 booming bitterns, 1 green sandpiper, 8 oystercatcher, 8 goldeneye, 2 med gull, 2 Cetti's Warbler, 1 bearded Tit , 12 chiffchaff and 15 water rail with several of them singing.
That's it, have a lovely Easter weekend and the next blog will be from Andrew.