Cracking Cragside

Thursday took us to Cragside where I was lucky enough to get 2 ticks. Down by the stream running below the house I got my first glimpse of a Dipper. While it was feeding and swimming amongst the rocks we stood quiet just watching this lovely little bird. Couldn't get a clear picture of the white breast as it was frantically trying to get some lunch, So that was tick number 1. As we walked around the grounds bird song was all around us and it was delightful. Robins and Blackbirds were spotted darting to and fro and during the estate drive we spotted Chaffinch. We stopped at the Blackburn car park and started a circular walk and was delighted to see a Buzzard soaring high over the site of Blackburn Lake, tick number 2. It was around for only a short time but the distinctive pale underside confirmed my theory of the bird to be a Buzzard after consulting my bird guide. What a day this was turning out to be. I was surprised at the lack of ducks and birds at Nelly's Moss north and south lakes where there was a couple of Golden Eyes and thats about it. It was a lovely day and we plan on returning during the summer. I will try and be quicker at updating my blog as I'm a couple of days behind, but it's the holidays and I'm on a wind down.