Beautiful Troutsdale.......

The Yorkshire Wolds near Langtoft.

Troutsdale Valley.

Hilla Green,Troutsdale.

A full day out today,visiting the stunning Troutsdale valley area in North Yorkshire,saw me enjoying a superb raptor fest along with a supporting cast of area specialities.Top of the list and really the bird i had hoped to see today,was a single Honey Buzzard watched soaring over the valley,before disappearing behind the raptor viewpoint.This sadly was the only sighting of the day,so was very welcome,with less birds present this year in the area.On the other hand,the other 'Special' raptor gave much better views,with me seeing at least 4 Goshawk,with one showing close enough for me to see the yellow eye and facial markings,superb stuff!.One bird was also seen mobbing a Common Buzzard,giving superb views and one was seen perched atop a Sitka Spruce.Other birds of prey seen included 2 Common Buzzard,2 Kestrel and a single Sparrowhawk.After watching all these superb predators i decided to walk back to the car and look along the river Derwent at Hilla Green.The highlights here included cracking views of a Dipper,watched curtseying along the river bank and also heard calling with that superb,mettalic 'Zink zink' call,a super bird and 1 Kingfisher zooming along the river and a couple of lovely Grey Wag's catching insects along the bankside.On the small Ox-bow at Hilla,was a single female Mandarin Duck,with one large duckling,the first time i have seen them here with young and in the riverside trees a couple of 'Pitchooing' Marsh Tit and 2 Nuthatch.All day Siskins had been passing overhead and i also saw a total of 36 Crossbills heading towards Wykeham in flocks of 18,14 and 4.So all these superb birds,coupled with stunning scenery,made for a great day out.