Easter Break - Monday

Easter Monday - The Wheatears arrive

Hollingworth Lake Area

A late start to the day for one reason or another, but a cracking day unfolded.

A bike ride today (not far I hasten to add) from the Hollingworth Lake area through Rakeswood and along the Pennine Bridleway towards a different Ogden reservoir. We managed to a good climb up the fell on the bridleway but with the heat, the incline, the age of the old legs, de da, de da, de da, we stopped before reaching the reservoir.

A chance meeting with Ian a local birder was a nice surprise. He mentioned that the area was good for Ring Ouzel and he was on a Wheatear hunt but he had not been lucky on either count.

On the way back we stopped to allow a hiker (a gentleman older than us and going quicker than we can - mind you he was over seven feet tall) to come past. We were having a good old chinwag with him when I noticed a brightly coloured bird on a wall - a Male Wheatear - all conversation ceased while I dug out the camera and got a few decent shots and a second Wheatear soon appeared ( possibly a female) and I managed a few pics of her also.

We then heard a Raven call but failed to locate the bird and there were a pair of Kestrel one on a nearby wall and the second in the grass beneath making ‘crying’ noises.

A good number of Meadow Pipit were soaring into the air to float, leaf like, down to earth again.

A Dipper flew downstream as we made our way cautiously down the steep bridleway.

We just had to celebrate our first Wheatear moment, and so we headed off to join the many revellers in the Wine Press Inn, by the Lake side, sitting in the warm sunshine.

A decent salad and a bottle of plonk later we headed to our digs on our tricycles.