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Recent sightings

• 23 April 2012

  late April

  First grasshopper warblers have been heard today (23rd)! Lapwing, stonechat, grey wagtail and snipe nests have all been found over the last few days.

  Posted by ian ryding

• 3 April 2012

  March / early April

  Rain at last!

  Recent sightings include short eared owls displaying, ring ouzels (first on 23rd) and wheatears(first 19th). Ravens with young, peregrines and merlins both on territory. Dippers and grey wagtails both on eggs. Stonechats singing around the visitor centre and lapwings beginning to sit on the meadow. Adder and common lizzards both seen basking in the spring sunshine.

  Posted by ian ryding

• 17 February 2012

  February 'smews flash'

  Exciting ‘smews’ this week as two have been sighted on Tindale Tarn. First spotted on the 12^th Feb our sightings coincide nicely with a national influx of Smew.

  With the onset of cold weather the stunning pair will have migrated away from their breeding grounds in Finland or Russia. Hopefully they will remain on the reserve for a month or two, before making the return journey.It’s best to view the smart little ducks from the screen. The stunning male is easy to spot due to his brilliant black and white plumage. The female has more subtle white cheeks, and looks similar to a small female Goldeneye.

  There has been a large passage of lapwing this week as birds begin to move inland following the winter. There are around 80 on the meadow today which is a good sign that spring is on the way. Five curlew passed over yesterday (16th) and we should start to see a few birds stopping off next week.

  Other recent sightings include,

  Black grouse, Goldeneye, Goosander 14 on 14/02, Pintail. At least two different white stoats have been seen not too far from the visitor centre.

  Posted by ian ryding

• 21 November 2011

  November sightings

  Following the huge passage of geese a few weeks ago, small numbers of whooper swans have been calling at Tindale Tarn from time to time on passage from Iceland (11 this morning, 21/11). A group of four female common scoters, usually found on the coast spent a day on the tarn (15/11). A single black redstart was spotted on the track between Stagsike and Howgill (see photos). Hen harrier, buzzard, kestrel, short-eared owl and merlin are all still present. 50 golden plover were seen at the top of Cold Fell last week, which should be at the coast by now!

  Posted by ian ryding

• 14 October 2011

  White-tailed eagle

  A routine patrol to look for black grouse and check cattle proved to be a reserve highlight yesterday as a white-tailed sea eagle cruised low above my head in the direction of Tindale Tarn. Fifteen minutes later I located the bird again sitting on a fencepost being mobbed by a buzzard, which looked small in comparison. We scrambled together some telescopes to get good views before the giant dropped behind a stone wall out of view. Re-emerging 30 minutes later it swooped down across the tarn and landed on the eastern bank where it had a drink and a bath in the shallows. Two people walking a dog disturbed the bird, which took off, gained height and circled high into the cloud, pursued all the time by jackdaws. The bird re-emerged from the clouds at 13:25 and drifted in a Westerly direction flying high above us. It was lost heading West towards the Solway at 13:40.

  It was fantastic to see Britain's largest bird of prey spend 2 hours feeding and preening by the tarn. The bird was only the 3rd white-tailed eagle seen in Cumbria since 1932. It was an untagged sub-adult bird with just a couple of bright white feathers in the centre of its tail. 

  Other sightings include 7 whooper swans on the tarn (12th Oct) and large numbers of both fieldfares and redwings. 3 barnacle geese have been hanging around the meadow by the visitor centre all week.

   

  Posted by ian ryding

• 7 October 2011

  Early October sightings

  Over 1000 barnacle geese and 165 pink-footed geese have passed through so far today (5pm, 7/10/11), on their descent towards the Solway. A few barnacle geese have landed on the tarn and in the fields, exhausted after travelling on the wing from Spitsbergen. It's been a fine day and a privilege to see a part of this huge migration set against the backdrop of the Northern Pennines.

  Other sightings today include crossbills, sparrowhawk and female black grouse above the visitor centre.

  Posted by ian ryding

• 16 September 2011

  September sightings

  Recent notable sightings include more ospreys on passage, a kingfisher on Tindale Tarn and good numbers of pink feet geese passing above. A first for the reserve was on Tues 13th September when two gannets were spotted, with a sub-adult bird resting for a moment with the mute swans on the tarn. The birds were blown inland during the stormy weather. A marsh harrier was seen hunting on the hill side last Friday (9th).

  Posted by ian ryding

• 19 August 2011

  August sightings

  Following a week of osprey activity at the tarn there have been no further sightings this week (15th-20th). A single black grouse was lekking most of yesterday (18th), and could be heard from the visitor centre. It was a young male with quite a bit of brown on his upper wings. I saw four ring ouzels feeding on late bilberry around the Black Burn, fattening up prior to migration. Red legged partridge sightings have become more frequent this week as released birds begin to spread from a neighbouring estate.

  Heather is in full bloom at the moment and the moorland is looking wonderful.

  There's a mixed exhibition of local artists currently running at the visitor centre.

  Posted by ian ryding

• 22 July 2011

  Mid July

  The vast amount of rain last week caused a large landslip on the Woodland Trail, which is now temporarily closed. The good news is that a new island has naturally formed in front of the tarn viewing screen, and provided it stays put it should appeal to certain birds next breeding season.

  Recent wildlife activity includes 54 redpoll near to Howgill Cottages, stonechat and whinchat fledglings on the Stagsike Trail and lots of singing grasshopper warblers.Two new species of moth for the reserve this week, lunar hornet and hummingbird hawk moth.

  Posted by ian ryding