It's leap year so of course...

...there were frogs about today. Couldn't really see what was going on in the writhing mass of frog-spawn laying but there is a legsticking out from it!

Three Curlews at Gaddings Dam were the first of the year for me

A Little Owl was calling just outside Mankinholes and 6 Moorhen were scuttling around the field by Lee Dam.

All this and a Great Spotted Woodpecker drumming on a metal pylon - the day was complete.

Strait Hey and Cromwell Bottom

Had a couple of walks today, over Strait Hey and down the Pennine Way this morning then around Cromwell Bottom this afternoon. The day was misty and drizzley with a breeze blowing the wet stuff onto my glasses so not too perfect but still good to be out.

Strait Hey
Green Woodpecker
Treecreeper
Fieldfare - 14
Jay - 2 at Callis Wood
Grey Wagtail - Callis Bridge
Pied Wagtail - 6 at Eastwood WTW
Goosander - 2 males and a female on Rochdale Canal at Eastwood

Cromwell Bottom
Bullfinch - male and female
Long-tailed Tit - about 8
Lesser Redpoll - 5 (no Mealy though)
Moorhen - on the canal
Goosander - 3 pairs on River Calder
Black-headed Gull - over 50 on Ski Lake
Common Gull - at least 4 on the Ski Lake
Great Spotted Woodpecker drumming

Common Gull at Hornsea

The tide was coming in but I hadn't really noticed as I was trying to get as close as possible to get a photo of a Common Gull on the beach. I got a pretty good photo and the boots got a good soaking too.

Goldeneye at Ogden Water

A fine drake Goldeneye gave good views at Ogden yesterday afternoon:

Young Grey Seal on Hornsea Beach

As I was walking on the cliff tops this afternoon I saw an object in the water that looked like a seal. As I got nearer I could see that it was indeed a seal and a guy was quite close to it taking photos. I set off to walk down to the sea front and onto the beach to have a closer look.

Several people were bending down taking pictures of the seal as I walked along the beach but as I approached it was obviously nervy and didn't hang around very long before it ambled off into the surf and into the sea. This was the closest I have ever been to a wild seal - what a great experience!

I think it was a Grey Seal judging by the nostrils which form a V shape with a wide septum rather than being almost parallel or a W shape with a narrow septum on Common Seal.

Lee Dam

A walk past Lee Dam and up to Gaddings this afternoon gave up a pair of Teal on the edge of the ice at Lee Dam and a Raven overhead, nothing at Gaddings and a Mistle Thrush singing its head off at The Top Brink.

Hornsea to Skipsea

Walked on the beach to Skipsea today then back along the road/paths. Plenty of Dunlin, Redshank, Sanderling and Turnstone to keep my attention, plus a Grey Plover and 2 Knot. These were all on the tide line and when I got to Skipsea there were 5 Golden Plover up on the cliff top.

Id unknown

Hornsea on Friday 3 Feb:
2 Sanderling
11 Dunlin
3 Redshank
usual GBB, BH, Herring and Common Gulls

Also this unknown bird that looks to be a plover of some kind. The bird is in the top left of the picture here and a further cropped image is below that.