Yesterday evening I went for a walk along the beck at Caldbeck with my eldest two daughters whilst Kath was running. The carpark was busy with Chaffinches, Goldfinches, Blackbirds, Willow Warblers, Chiffchaffs and a stunning Spotted Flycatcher.
Along the beck we had some brief but nice views of a busy White-throated Dipper. Even though the light was terrible, I did manage to take a photo, not my best, but identifiable at least!
There were a couple of Pied Wagtails feeding on the rocks in the beck which were fantastic to see, but the undoubted highlight was a Grey Wagtail. I have seen this species on most recent visits to Caldbeck, but they were always very skittish and I’d never managed to photograph them. Today however things were a lot better. This Grey Wagtail was unusually confiding and allowed me to snap some reasonable pictures whilst it fed on insects and spent time preening it’s amazing plumage.
As can be seen by the images above the Grey Wagtail with it’s bright yellow breast, belly, rump and under-tail is not the dull looking bird that it’s name would suggest. A truly stunning bird, it is definitely up there with my favourites!
