A gloomy & cold morning, lighted up a little bit by the discovery of the 1st Avocet of year on East Holm. In actual fact, it is our earliest sighting (being joined by a second bird in the afternoon). Perhaps spring is coming, despite the sleet & cold in the early morning.

Sunday, The year's 1st Avocets were on East Holm, along with 2 Curlews, A Bittern in the Village lake reeds from the Turret hide, In the North field, 2 Eygptian geese, with a pair of Stonechats in the Maize field nearby, The drake Goldeneye was on West Holm, with the female on Crossland's lake,

A pair of Stonechats by the Dragonfly ponds this morning. 3 (pair, plus 1 male) were seen elsewhere today, so maybe they are on the move back to their breeding grounds (usually they have gone by the end of the month) The single male points to the loss of a female (this happened last years as well)

Saturday, Monday's White-fronted goose family re-appeared in Cell 'C', The 5 Whooper swans again roosted on the Silt pond, departing west, A roosting Great white egret spent most of the morning on East Holm, Up 5 (3 males & a female) Stonechats were present (Cell 'B' & the Dragonfly ponds),

Despite the wet & overcast weather, the Crossland's lake Goldeneye pair came closer to the West path viewpoint than they normally do. Still think that they are last year's East Holm pair that have returned. They tend not be a close pair (unlike the other ducks), with often some distance between them

Friday, A White-fronted goose flew over south west in the morning, The Goldeneye pair on Crossland's lake, along with a pair of Eygptian geese that later flew off north, A Bittern was seen in the Village lake reeds from the Turret hide, 2 Otters were seen in the western part of the Village lake,

Thursday, 5 Whooper swans roosted on the Silt pond & fed in the West End fields, 18 Oystercatchers were counted today, with the Goldeneye pair, plus 2 Eygptian geese on Crossland's lake, A Bittern was seen in the Village lake from the Turret hide, Also seen, Barn owl (2 in the New workings)

How many Starlings can the top of the Dryham lane Ash tree hold? As well as how many actually left?

Wednesday, (very wet in the morning!) The Goldeneye pair were still on Crossland's lake, 2 Snipe were seen on Cell 'A', A Treecreeper was on the East Path, Bittern in the Village lake reeds from the Turret hide, plus an Otter seen in the western part of the Village lake

Tuesday, The 5 roosting Whooper swans on the Silt pond, flew off early to the west, 2 Eygptian geese were on east Holm early, with the Goldeneye pair still on Crossland's lake, 18 Oystercatchers on East/West Holm, , 40+ Redshanks in Cell 'A', with a Green sandpiper in front of the Dennis Wood hide,

White-fronted Geese, 2 adults and a juvenile on banking between Main and Reedbed Lakes viewed from Reedbed Hide. (9/2/26). @northcavewet.bsky.social

Little grebe, coming very close to the South hide this morning. In winter plumage at this moment, although it cannot be to longer before the brighter summer colours come thro'

Monday, 2 adult & a juvenile White-fronted geese were feeding on the south side of the Reed-bed in the early afternoon, The 5 Whooper swans, again roosted, being seen in a field west of the New workings, 2 Barn owls were hunting in the early evening, 2 Common cranes flew west over the reserve

A day late for #nationalsnowdropday @northcavewet.bsky.social, but who’s calendar watching 🙂 Elsewhere: Bittern, Stonechats & overhead Common Crane ✅😀

Sunday, 5 Whooper swans again roosted on the Silt pond, with a Great white egret roosting by the Far lake (departing south), In the mid-morning, 15 White-fronted geese flew south, with a further 4 plus about 100 Pink-footed geese south in the early afternoon, 10 Redpolls were by the Viewing platform

A rare sight this morning, a Goldcrest that stayed still enough (over 10 minutes) to be able to take some pictures for once!

A pair of Goldeneyes have been on Crossland's lake for the last week. Not always easy to see (particularly the female), the drake does look a striking bird, usually in the middle of the lake. This morning, he came closer to the hide for once

Saturday, 5 Whooper swans on the Silt pond, leaving west, 6 White-fronted geese flew east, with skeins off 33 & about 100 Pink-footed geese west & north, The Goldeneye pair were on Crossland's lake & 2 Bitterns below the Turret hide, About 50 Golden plovers over in small groups, Dunlin on East Holm

Any views on this Shelduck hybrid appreciated. Seen at North Cave Wetlands 7/2/26. Only noticed later that both it and the Common Shelduck were ringed.

Female Great spotted woodpecker (has been on the reserve the whole winter), showing her gripping method as she hangs onto the side of a post

Friday, 7 Dunlins were on East Holm this morning, A Barn owl was hunting by the Viewing platform & Maize field in the early morning, The Goldeneye pair were still on Crossland's lake, 7 Oystercatchers were present, as well as 40 Pochards counted in the reserve, Also seen was Red kite

Thursday, The roosting Great white egret flew south east over Dryham lane, In the early morning, 5 Whooper swans flew west, as did 2 Eygptian geese at Crossland's lake, also here the pair of Goldeneyes, About 30 Pink-footed geese flew south, Also seen was Barn owl (Viewing platform & Maize field)

Wednesday, On Crossland's lake the Goldeneye pair were joined by 2 drakes & 2 redhead Smew in the late afternoon, A Green sandpiper & Golden plover were in the New workings, The Bittern was sen in the Village lake reeds from the Turret hide, The Otter was seen in the Village lake

Smew, these 4 birds, 2 drakes, and 2 red-heads, constitutes the largest flock ever recorded at North Cave Wetlands. It is almost 30 years since the last and only previous male was recorded on the reserve when it was present with 2 red-heads from 18/2/1996 to 25/2/1996 @northcavewet.bsky.social

Tuesday, In the early morning, there were 5 brief Whooper swans on the Silt pond, along with the Great crested grebe, A Barn owl was hunting the North & West paths in the early morning, The pair of Goldeneyes were on Crossland's lake & 17 Curlews on East Holm, An Otter was seen on the Village lake

Interesting today was the flock of 35 Golden plovers that lifted up from East Holm & circled the spot several times, almost lading once, before flying off south east. Getting to be a rare bird on the reserve recently usually as a fly over bird in the distance. Nice to see them closer for once

Monday, There were 2 Ringed plovers & a flock of 35 Golden plovers (they later flew south east) on East Holm, 2 drake Pintails & 40 Redshanks were in Cell 'A', The Goldeneye pair were still on Crossland's lake, 2 Bitterns were seen in the Village lake reeds from the Turret hide

A chill east wind on #WorldWetlandsDay @northcavewet.bsky.social - male Goat Willow suitably dressed in fur. Elsewhere: Bullfinches and Ringed Plover

Afternoon @northcavewet.bsky.social 50 Species Always feel privileged to see a Bittern Other highlights 3 Stonechats 1M 2F Black-tailed godwit SpHawk Buzzards Siskins Reed buntings Goldeneye Song thrush Pochard Shelduck Redshank Pr Bullfinchs 100s Lapwings

They have been back for a week, our noisy summer visitors the Oystercatchers, never a quiet moment with them (and they haven't started piping yet)

Sunday, The Goldeneye pair were still on Crossland's lake, 4 Golden plovers south over West Holm, with 10 later settling down on East Holm, 3 Oystercatchers present, with the Cell 'A' Black-tailed godwit in amongst the sleeping Redshanks, The year's 1st Great crested grebe was on the Silt pond,

North Cave Wetlands this afternoon - one of the Bitterns playing 'now you see me now you don't' @northcavewet.bsky.social #ukbirding #yorkshirebirding

Another great Starling murmuration today @northcavewet.bsky.social @ukstarlings.bsky.social #ukbirding

The North Cave Wetlands Starlings going into roost through the thermal @northcavewet.bsky.social

Yearlist to end January 2026 at North Cave Wetlands stands at 99 species. @northcavewet.bsky.social

Not many Fieldfares around the reserve now (since all the berries have been eaten), so it was a pleasure to see 8, in one of the bare 'Sheep' fields, with a few Starlings acting as thrushes should do.

Saturday, 3 Cranes flew south east over the reserve in the mid-afternoon, Early morning about 200 Pink-footed geese flew north, A pair of Goldeneyes were on Crossland's lake, On East Holm, there was a Black-tailed godwit with the Lapwings, plus 3 Oystercatchers & a Green sandpiper (New workings),

My first visit of the year. And what a lovely day for it! Didn’t get to see a Bittern, or Plovers, or Sandpipers! But it was nice to see so many Silkens, Greenfinch and Goldfinch. Lucky to see the Godwit! Was hoping for a Green Woodpecker, but had to settle for a GS one!Thanks for continued updates!

Friday, A Pink-footed goose flew east, with the Goldeneye pair being seen on Crossland's lake & East Holm, 3 Oystercatchers & a Golden plover were on & a Green sandpiper over East Holm, with the Black-tailed godwit on Cell 'A', Marsh harrier was seen, as well as 70+ Siskins along Dryham lane

With the rising water levels in Cell 'A', has come the return of the wintering Black-tailed godwits, with a single on Sunday & 2 from yesterday. Not always the easiest of birds to spot here, I expect numbers to rise a little more & look to see them as they start their moult in 2 months or so

Thursday, A Common crane roosted on East Holm, leaving north at 07:35, Also here drake Goldeneye, One of the Bitterns was in the 'Bittern' Cut, 2 Black-tailed godwits flew south over Cell 'A', with one in Cell 'A', Also 3 Tree sparrows (Dryham farm), 5 Whooper swans (flying west, early morning)

As expected, yesterday's storm had dislodged many seeds to the ground, providing feeding opportunities for the 60+ Siskins along the West path & low down in the bushes

This morning Crossland's lake was graced by a brief pair of Whooper swans. Normally we don't see them until March when the return migration to Iceland begins, After exploring the lake, they flew off south east probably to the fens

Wednesday, This morning, a brief pair of Whooper swans (flew off south east) & Eygptian goose on Crossland's lake, The Black-tailed godwit was again on Cell 'A', with Oystercatchers on West Holm & the Silt pond & a Green sandpiper in the New workings, The Stonechat pair were about the North path,

Siskins showing well. About 80 on the reserve at present, that have split into 2 flocks, one in the East & the other the West path, with both groups roosting near the Carp lake. With the strong winds expected tomorrow, expect a lot of Siskins on the ground feeding on the downed seeds on Wednesday

Monday, A Bittern was again in the 'Bittern' Cut seen from the Turret hide, 2 Green sandpipers were seen in the New workings, Black-tailed godwit in Cell 'A', Goldeneye pair & 32 Curlews on East Holm & Stonechat pair in the Maize field, About 60,000 Starlings roosted, mainly on Cell 'A' & 'B'.

Spring is beginning to force through @northcavewet.bsky.social. Not long now!

North Cave Wetlands this morning. I think it has "Bittern" off more than it can chew! @northcavebirds.bsky.social @northcavewet.bsky.social

Sunday, The first Oystercatcher on Crossland's causeway, a Black-tailed godwit in Cell 'A', 4 Green sandpipers (New workings) & 5 Curlews (Village lake), Eygptian goose on West Holm, pair of Goldeneyes & a fly over female Goosander on East Holm, About 80,000 Starlings roosted in Cells 'B' & 'C'.

Only a small flock of Curlews about the reserve at the moment, with their favourite resting place being the Village lake. Always a pleasure to see & watch these fascinating birds