Ossett :: 08 April 2023

I'd arrived home from Scotland at 10.45pm and had arranged to meet up with Kevin Heath (@kev07713) to go birding at 06.00am the following morning - fortunately it was Kevin's turn to drive. We met and agreed that we would go to Ossett, just outside Wakefield to see if we could see the two (black-crowned) night herons that had been showing there the previous day. Kev had tried to see this species with our friend Dylan (@DPDNature) the weekend before, but dipped - the bird had already moved to London and they had been left watching an empty bush for hours. By 07.00am there was a report that the bird was showing and we only stopped briefy to grab breakfast before pulling up in a small car park within a stones-throw of the river.

We crossed the bridge and made our way along the bank, scaling the water inlet pipe blocking the path - some people would struggle with this. Lucky we are both athletes 😂.

We approached the birders already in place and could see one of the birds from a distance - already better views than we could have hoped for - high in a tree. The second bird was deeper in a bush but still pretty visible.

We watched as various hirundines fed in the distance, including Kev's first house martin of the year. A kingfisher flew across the water, it's nest on tthe bank almost in front of the watching birders. Both herons eventually flew or dropped into better views and entertained the assembled crowd - so privilged to be afforded these views. We were eventually joined by Nick and Anne Truby (@old_caley) - they'd previously seen four of this species but these views surpassed any they'd had before. We watched and watched some more but there was only so much of a good time you can take.

A mink appeared behind a fishing heron and we all held our breathe as to whether it may attack - it appeared further up the bank and flushed out a moorhen - phew. It passed and appeared at distance further upstream.

We left and parted with Nick and Anne, stopping to chat to a chap (Alan Wrightson @WrightsonAlan) who recognised Kev, and knew his sister and her partner Dean. We decided that we'd stop at Shawell on the way home as I had never been there, seeing large numbers of corvids, many of them ravens. We saw a pair of Egypian geese with eight fledglings, my first common sandpiper of the year, a green sandpiper, lapwings, red kites, buzzards and a handful of chiffchaff.

We packed up earlier than usual and were home late afternoon with a couple of year ticks and amazed by the views we'd been given by the night herons - a truely memorable day.

Year List:  188.