Geltsdale and the North Pennines spring into life ... at last ...

 It was very welcome news when we were told that we could resume survey work under the auspices of the BTO and RSPB ... both these bodies had closed down monitoring ... so how nice to be doing WeBS counts and raptor monitoring once again and feeling that travelling anywhere at all for these purposes was legitimate ... 

This post is the first for 2021 that relates to observations outside of what can be seen from my house ... Ritson Graham ( The Border Naturalist ) famously said that there is no such thing as spring in the North Pennines ... well, he should have been here this week listening to Skylarks singing in the sunshine at 450m on Byers Pike ...

Golden Plovers were still in quite large flocks on the middle ground ... circling round and round ...

... and giving lovely views as they passed overhead time and again ...

Lapwings very clearly on territory on the lower parts of the fells and performing their extravagant displays ...

On Stagsike Meadow RSPB Geltsdale the fence posts were once again occupied by singing birds ... this fine male Reed Bunting unperturbed by passers-by ...

Goldeneys were still on Tindale Tarn in fair numbers while other duck species were now becoming scarce ... 

... and a pair of Common Gulls looked poised to claim a nest site ...