It Had to be Done!

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It Had to be Done!

My digicoped image

We arrived at Sizergh Castle at 7:00am for a photo shoot for the National Trust with my mentor Rob and a photographer, Paul. We met Rob, for the first time, a year ago, when we were seeking a Hawfinch tick at Sizergh. He helped us then and has been my mentor since.
 

We parked on the left side of the car park and walked to the veranda of the café where the Hawfinches regularly show from March to the beginning of May. We waited for a bit before spotting a Hawfinch in a tree, followed by four more (two males and two females) on the ground feeding, on the seed behind a mound, at the back of the car park. Then, the photographer named Paul arrived and started taking some pictures of me and Rob, while we watched the Hawfinches. We then went birding to a nearby wetland and saw some Little Grebes as well as a mixed flock of Gadwall, Wigeon and Mallard. After the photographer, Paul, took some more photos, we ended up going back to the car park and said our goodbyes and set off for the three hour journey to Oliver's Mount in Scarborough for the Alpine Swifts.

My phone image of one

We arrived at Oliver's Mount at 2:00pm and walked into the field where someone said the Alpine Swifts were showing. As soon as we got to the field, an Alpine Swift flew right above us, followed by another. They were really hard to get a record shot of, since they were so annoyingly fast, so we only managed to get a photo with the phone. We were however able to get good views of their white body and throat for such a long time, it was really enjoyable watching these beautiful swifts. We then headed off to RSPB Bempton Cliffs to greet the return of the seabirds.


We arrived at RSPB Bempton Cliffs and immediately saw a Barn Owl from the Owl Viewpoint. We walked on the nature trail where we saw a recordable Barn Owl and a flock of Linnets.

My image through Cannon Camera

We went to the cliffs where we saw plenty of Razorbills, Gannets & Kittiwakes with a few Fulmars, Shags, Guillemots and Puffins. We then walked down to where we knew a pair of Puffins nested quite close off the cliff edge and and got some great shots. We finally walked back to the visitor centre, as it turned dark and called it a day!

Overall, a brilliant day with 1 lifer (Alpine Swift)!



Location: 40 Deepdale Ave, Scarborough YO11 2UF, UK

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