Moor or Wood? Ask the Doc.

Saturday was another day of sunshine and an early start with Doc. It's difficult not to stop for the Short-eared Owls and this was one of many seen through the day on the moors.

It's good to see the migrant bird numbers building up at last. One of my favourites is the Whinchat - an absolute stunner!

The Hen Harriers are feeding young at the moment so regular visits to pass food to the female will keep the males occupied.

The Whinchat just kept singing.

A change of location and a Snipe was watched displaying before settling into some damp scrub. On closer inspection a young Snipe was found crouching in the undergrowth.

Another session with the SE owls produced a few flight shots but nothing as close as this Skylark...

...and the calves.

Monday was spent checking out the woods with Doc again- a real treat. It's not that often that I get into the Oak woods so I was pretty keen to pick up the specialities. It was a bit of a late start but a Redstart singing was encouraging. It took another hour to hear it again but nothing to show except a Treecreeper, a few Willow Warbler and some Lesser Redpoll.

A quick break for lunch and a different bit of wood paid off instantly. A male Redstart singing came into view briefly before it moved on and a female appeared in the same area, just look at that tail!

A bit of patience and the bird was close enough for a decent shot.

I could hear the 'piu piu piu' call of a Wood Warbler not too far away but I wasn't close enough to hear the cascading trill. A slow wander towards the where the singing was coming from and all of a sudden there was the bird giving the cascading trill from a low branch. It's an awesome sight as the whole bird quivers as it sings.

It was flitting from branch to branch, feeding in one spot and then singing in another - totally awesome!!

I'd seen a couple of Spotted Flycatcher flitting about but there was not much chance of a photograph. A bit of a look round and a Spotty Fly was seen doing it's thing. Once again a bit of patience and the bird was perched out in the open.