Black-throated Thrush

Black-throated Thrush

Black Redstart

A trip over towards Newholm near Whitby today to try and locate the Black-throated Thrush, the roads over the moors were Ok and the side road down to the village were clear, (thanks to Col for driving us), the bird was fairly easily located in a residents front garden and the locals were very friendly. Excellent views were had of the bird (hope it manages to escape the clutches of the many cats in the village!!). From here we headed to Lockwood beck which was devoid of birdlife with the exception of a couple of Goldcrests which had managed to survive the Arctic conditions. We then headed to South Gare where we managed to see Snow Bunting, Skylark, Black Redstart and a Red-throated Diver, down the road at Coatham we saw a female Smew. Over the Transporter Bridge to North Gare where Twite and Stock Dove were there in big numbers......................then home to thaw out ............an excellent day.

Feed the Birds

Rook


Jackdaw

Starling

Although the weather might be nice to look at it must be awful for the poor birds and animals who can't find any food due to the ground being totally covered with the deep snow and the water being frozen. There have been reports on the Teesmouth Bird Club website (http://www.teesmouthbc.com/ - sightings) of skylarks sitting in the middle of roads and verges hardly able to fly away from oncoming traffic. Yesterday I fed the birds as usual and decided to clear a patch on grass in the centre of the close and put out some feed there to try to attract birds that don't usually come into the garden. It took a day but as the thaw continued there were rooks, jackdaws and the odd starling feeding on that seed today.

A New Year

Great Northern Diver

Tree Sparrow

Red Breasted Merganser

Hartlepool Marina

Kestrel

Meadow Pipit

Not going too far afield due to the weather so our trip to the Lakes was put on hold again due to the A66 being closed! A few photos taken over the past couple of days from around North Gare and Hartlepool Marina. It was a lovely day today and Sylvia was well annoyed at having to go back to school and not being able to go and enjoy the sun and snow.

Last of the Year

Lapwing
Redshank

Had a run around on my own today to try and get some last pictures for the year but as the weather looked a bit dodgy over the hills I decided to stay near the coast. Went down to North Gare but it was really cold and windy. The thaw had begun so there were a few waders on Seaton Common but only the usual Redshank, Curlew and lapwing.

Wishing everyone who reads our blog a Happy and Prosperous New Year.

North Yorkshire in the snow.

Nuthatch

Siskin

Had a run out to North Yorkshire today, went to Northallerton then on up to the Visitor Centre at Sutton Bank to see what was about their feeding stations. Unfortunately they were very quiet with only the usual Chaffinch, Great and Blue Tits and Coal and Willow Tit seen there. We then went on to Helmsley to look around the Walled Garden Area. There we saw a large flock of Long Tailed Tit with Blue Tit, 7 Siskin, 2 G.S. Woodpecker, 2 Bullfinch, 1 Greenfinch and a Nuthatch making the most of the sunshine. Although we did not see anything out of the ordinary we had a lovely day out.

Winter Wonderland

Roseberry Topping in the distance
Long Tailed Tit
Golden Plover and Lapwing

Yellowhammer

Went for a walk and a coffee at Saltholme today, everything was frozen solid, the fox was hunting on the ice and a Mute Swan came skidding in. It was a lovely afternoon but unfortunately the tracks to the hides were closed due to ice but they did allow you to walk up to the centre over it!

Chilling out in the Winters Sun

Taking a rest
Having a feed

In flight

Getting a warm

Chilling out

Just had a drink

Swainby Church

Having got up late we had a run across to Swainby to see if there was much snow. It was a lovely day so we had a walk along the river. There were plenty of Redwings feeding on the holly berries but no sign of the Dipper. On the way back through Hilton village we spotted this snowman taking a rest, friendly chap.

Snow at last!

Snow Bunting

Well it's been a long time since we last posted on the blog - not much about lately and a lack of luck on our behalf has meant that haven't had any new pic's. Today we decided to go to South Gare and managed to find a flock of about 40 Snow Buntings on the beach, unfortunately the light was very poor (misty) so the photo's not as good as I would have liked but you can't have everything. Fingers crossed for some further sightings soon.