Many thanks to the staff at Fairburn for making us very welcome on 11th July. It was only our third visit to the Reserve, as we're from Essex. Luckily, the weather was kind and we saw two kingfishers (see photo gallery - two pics of ONE of them), plus a Redstart family (see juvenile in photo gallery). There were many other birds too, of course, but these were our 'highlights' of the day.
Thanks also to the wonderful lady who makes the 'lemon drizzle cake' for the cafe! It is by far the most delicious lemon cake I've ever tasted :)
As a postscript to above, I have just added a pic of a juvenile Thrush to the Fairburn gallery. Can someone please ID it for me as being Mistle or Song species? It would be hugely appreciated. Many thanks. Can't wait to come to Fairburn Ings again. We always get such a warm welcome :)
Hi Kingfisher Fan, thanks for such a raving review of the reserve - and the lemon cake! We're so pleased your trip all the way from Essex was worth it.
I asked some of my colleagues to take a look at the photo of the juvenile thrush, it is very hard to be sure, but we think it is a song thrush.
We hope you can visit the reserve again soon, but you may need to let us know if you are planning to visit so we can make sure we get some lemon drizzle cake in.
Thank you, Beki
Hi Beki
Thanks for the consensus on the bird ID! This is the best thrush photo we've ever taken.
:)
Yup, definitely a Song Thrush albeit a bit scruffy (wear and tear). The buff breast and brown upperparts with neater spotting all point that way> Mistle tend to be greyer above with a whiter breast and of course are bigger :) Glad you enjoyed your trip to Yorkshire