Hardcastle Crags and Crimsworth Dean

We started off with a look across Mixenden Reservoir at the 8 Whooper Swans that probably dropped in this morning and reported thanks to DW and BS. They stayed till at least late afternoon so they could still be there in the morning. Suspect they will be off tonight as it is a clear night for them to move. Let's see.

A good walk around this afternoon and very dry underfoot - we seemed to cover a lot of ground. Fantastic weather, not a bit like we expect in February !
Loads of Curlew and Lapwings in the upland areas with at least 80 Curlew and  maybe 150+ Lapwings. Great to see, though I guess most of them will be moving further north in the coming weeks with a few staying to breed in our area.
4 Pied Wagtails in immaculate condition at Walshaw and carefully checked.
A few Kestrels about and Sparrowhawks in the crags
Plenty Nuthatches calling but the woodlands were pretty quiet apart from 2 Tawny Owls singing briefly, as they do in the day sometimes.