Up with the chat

Despite a desperate urge to stay in bed, fell out of it at 6am in order to get up to the north of the area. Following some really helpful directions from a mate, I walked into a beautiful birdsong-filled woodland not long after 7am. After a short distance, I heard the distinctive refrain of a Redstart, which I located singing from near the top of a pine. A smart bird and my first in the York area.



No sign of any Wood Warblers, though it is a little early, with just one or wo migrants reported in the south of the country so far. Plenty of other stuff noted, including Willow and Marsh Tits, Nuthatch, Treecreeper, Siskin and Blackcap. Later, stopped in at Castle Howard lake, where there was c40 Tufties, 4 Pochard and a Barnacle Goose.

Wood Anemones

Great Spotted Woodpecker, blinking apparently

Redstart, fresh in from Africa.