Another trip to St Aidans

Dragline Excavator used for open cast mining is the first thing

you will see when you arrive in the carpark at St Aidans.

Early this morning and the Sun is trying to break through the

Clouds

The first sighting of the day a Bearded Tit

Great Crested Grebe

Is it going to rain, thankfully no.

A lovely Kestral looking for its breakfast

Tufted Ducks

A nice couple of shovelers

Carrion Crow

A Sudden Invasion of Geese

And a dunnock on the way home

  • What a lovely day of bird sightings and weather you had ILR, always special to see the Beardies, the elegant G.C.Grebes and Kestrel in flight and including the Dunnock which is an underestimated and often ignored little bird which doesn't get much credit, often referred to as a little brown job. I've not been to St. Aidans so another place heading up the to visit list !

  • Lovely photos ILR, you can't beat an early morning wander, particularly if its dry and sunny.

    I'm somewhat surprised the drag line open mine excavator hasn't been turned into a museum piece, they were some pieces of earth moving kit in their day.

  • Thanks Hazel, I am lucky it takes around twenty minutes from where i live to get there. I was determined to get there early and make the most of the sunny weather although when i arrived it looked like rain, once the clouds cleared it was a lovely day. I ended up staying for four hours and when i was leaving the reserve i saw a red kite and as i was pulling out of the main entrance i saw what looked like a bullfinch in a tree but no photo's of the red kite or bullfinch as i was driving at the time.
  • Thanks Mike your right a sunny day makes a world of difference, With regard to the drag line open mine excavator
    it is all fenced off to the general public and its a haven for Kestrals, rabbits, and little owls are often photographed between the sleepers within the fenceline.
  • i love robins said:
    Thanks Mike your right a sunny day makes a world of difference, With regard to the drag line open mine excavator


    it is all fenced off to the general public and its a haven for Kestrals, rabbits, and little owls are often photographed between the sleepers within the fenceline.

    It could be too dangerous for the public to wander around today, after years of neglect, our loss (or perhaps not), natures gain.

  • Back out again so soon ILR..certainly looked a decent day for it...ain't them bearded tits just adorable! Well done with your birds in flight aswell.
    Thanks for sharing ;-)

  • Hi Linda hope your well, yes it was only the second time I had seen the bearded tits and they were playing hide and seek in the reeds so it was nice to get another photo of them. Do you still get foxes in your garden ?
  • All good thanks ILR...lucky you to see them again thanks and lucky me for getting to see your pics of them. Yes foxes are still around but not sunbathing and sitting in garden like last year but then there has been no big freeze yet this year!
  • That’s good to hear Linda, I hope to get out again next week and maybe another reserve ?
  • Mike, Oddball,the walking digger, has its own web pages and friends group. I remember it working at Swillington, the original open cast mine on the site, before the River Aire started to leak into the pit. We often called in when coming back from RSPB Fairburn Ings. The area is riddled with mine subsidence from the past coal mines