2cy Goshawk

following on the raptor front had a look for Goshawks today and managed to see this 2cy bird plus a Raven, both mythical birds in Lincolnshire for the first 35 years of my birding life,  complemented later in the day by a juvenile female Hen Harrier  

Lincs Ravens

still find it strange when I come across Ravens in Lincs after so many decades of birding without even a suggestion of one -- 4 cavorting and vocalising today

Ravens over the forest January

suddenly we take Ravens for granted in North Lincs but it is pertinent to recall that the species is a very recent addition to the local avifauna; one at Donna Nook in 1980 was the first for decades and there were no more until the late 1990's -- to put things in perspective I twitched my first birds for my Lincs list near Grantham on November 8th 2003 -- Raven became my 332nd species in Lincs -- thats a lot of rare birds before Raven -- heard this pair approaching today as I was photographing a flock of Crossbills and as the sun was full out they flew right over my head about 40 feet up -- amazing morning

Raven

the ubiquitous bird of Iceland

Oyc and Raven

not many birds like Ravens

Raven 2 Mallard 0

watched this pair of Ravens quartering the coastal fields when they suddenly dropped into some rough grass and a pair of Mallards flew up -- each reappeared with an egg and then they returned to clean up the clutch on four more visits -- always seems amazing how they appear so gentle carrying an egg in that monster bill without ever breaking it in flight

Mount Robson Park

beautiful spot and not enough time to explore it -- Varied Thrush feeding young in the river valley woodlands, one of several singing Dusky Flycatchers here, another new bird, but the stars of the site were the Rufous Hummingbirds -- a cracking male was defending the feeder against other males but allowing females to feed -- in 2014 I couldn't understand why we didn't see any males on Vancouver Island in late June - July but I should have read the books -- when males have mated and the females are sitting the males depart early and head back south to Mexico leaving the females to rear the young -- Ravens feeding in the car park was novel

croaking Raven

just about to leave this evening when this Raven passed by the view point

Far Ings Raven

composite of the Thursday evening fly-by

Hoodies and Raven

Hooded Crow a once regular local bird particularly in late March and April is now a mega rarity -- plenty in the far north still

Ravens

not an easy species to get well exposed images of -- no good relying on AV mode its strictly manual exposure with these beasts -- but what a difference sunshine makes on a winter day