Dapper American

A tough weekend emotionally, as my Grandma passed away yesterday morning while I was out birding at Allerthorpe. My Grandma always asked me what I'd seen when I'd been out birding, and delighted in telling me what she had seen on her garden feeders. It has been a few years since we'd chatted about such things as dementia had set in, but I will treasure those memories.

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At Allerthorpe Common, Emanuela and me failed to find Friday's Lesser Spotted Woodpecker, but it was nice to hear birds reacting to the lengthening days and singing their hearts out, including Song Thrush and Great Tit. I carried on to Wheldrake Ings for a quick look, before heading home. A Peregrine was cruising about and the four Tundra Bean Geese dropped in just after I had left, so I u-turned and scoped them from the bridge.

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Today, I wasn't planning to go birding, but a tweet from Lee Johnson to say he'd found a drake Green-winged Teal in front of Tower Hide lured me out. Good to see some birding mates in the hide, and shortly Duncan picked up the teal, mooching about with it's Euro cousins. It was quite flirty with a female Teal, with quite a bit of display noted. A lovely bird as ever. Nice one Lee!

Green-winged Teal. There had been a large influx of ducks since yesterday, perhaps from elsewhere in the valley, or maybe from further afield such as the Humber. There has been a GWT at Blacktoft Sands on the Humber, perhaps this bird.