Year List update - 15th April 2023

 Over the last week or so I've had a few trips to catch up with a few more "year ticks", taking this year's total to 132.

The first trip was to the moors just above Sheffield to try and catch up with Ring Ouzel and Wheatear. Unfortunately, my first visit blew a blank, as there was a very heavy mist/fog on arrival! I did, however, manage to see several Red Grouse (126).

The next trip, to Ossett in West Yorkshire was a proper "twitch" to see 2 Black-crowned Night Herons (128) that had appeared on the river there. 1 was seen, initially perched up in a tree, but then feeding- very nice! A Kingfisher (127) was also seen, along with half a dozen Sand Martins, a single Swallow, and my first Orange Tip butterflies of the year (2 males).

Black-crowned Night Heron

My next "tick" was a single House Martin (129) that I saw at Linacre yesterday morning. This morning, Jayne and I had a return visit to the moorlands, where, despite some more mist (!), we managed to spot a hunting Short-eared Owl (130), a couple of Ring Ouzels ( male and female - 131) and a couple of Wheatears (male and female - 132).

Wheatear