A field trip in the middle of December is always a gamble, and this one narrowly escaped storm Darragh – the weather was relatively mild, windless and dry.
19 of us – a record – met at the Ripon City Golf Club car park and set off on one of Colin’s mystery tours….
First stop was Little Studley nature reserve, so conveniently close to the road for viewing the pool. Our quarry, the Water Rail, soon appeared and views of it and a second bird got better and better as we watched. The teal were particularly beautiful mirrored in the perfectly smooth surface of the pond, showing off their bright colours.
Next we visited the back gate of Fountains Abbey where the old trees are known to attract Hawfinches. There were only a few flitting about in the tops of the trees, but with the help of Colin’s telescope we all got a look.
A bird crop near Grewelthorpe was our next call. We didn’t quite believe Colin’s claim of the huge number of finches – until we arrived and saw clouds of birds covering the hedges and trees at the top of the field and frequently flying up as massive flocks, almost like murmurating starlings. Colin was able to distinguish the different species, even from this distance, but we then walked up the field as far as we dared go without scaring the birds, and watched with amazement the enormous number of Bramblings, Linnets, Greenfinches and Chaffinches on the skyline. Every twig of every bush and tree held a bird, until they all surged upwards, whirled around and resettled over and over again. The fodder-radish plant which was attracting them was drying and rotting on the ground, gradually releasing seeds which would probably last them most of the winter.
After a brief visit to Nosterfield Nature Reserve it was time to head back to the Golf Club for lunch.
Finally, after overindulging at lunch, we had a short trip to Ripon City Wetlands to see the starlings come into roost; a relatively modest murmuration but impressive nonetheless. A perfect end to a wonderfully diverse day.
Many thanks to Colin, for his remarkable knowledge and cheerfully humorous leadership!
Muff Upsall
