A few hardy early morning risers were at Newgate Bank Top to hear the dawn chorus, except there wasn’t much of a chorus probably because of the low temperature and the cold grey morning. Also the mainly coniferous and birch woodland maybe didn’t encourage a wide spread of songsters. However as usual robins, wrens and blackbirds were well to the fore, but of migrants there were plenty of singing willow warblers, but only a single blackcap and chiffchaff.

To see if we could widen the bird list we wandered east climbing through the woodland to the edge of Rievaulx Moor. We continued to add some common species, plus a bonus cuckoo, and after patiently scanning the moor we eventually added what we expected to see and hear – red grouse, curlew, peewit and golden plover and stonechat, but not a meadow pipit.

We then returned to the cars for much appreciated coffee, Madeira cake, flapjacks and chocolate brownies, and a brief farewell sighting of a barn owl as we drove away.

Bird List

Blackbird, Wren, Robin, Tawny Owl, Song Thrush, Blackcap, Chiffchaff, Dunnock, Willow Warbler, Chaffinch, Blue Tit, Coal Tit, Long Tailed Tit, Mistle Thrush, Wood Pigeon, Canada Goose, Greylag Goose, Cuckoo, Buzzard, Curlew, Peewit, Red Grouse, Golden Plover, Stonechat, Skylark, Siskin, Greater Spotted Woodpecker, Barn Owl.