Christine's walking & birds blog

The snow has gone, and with it the stillness. There was some sunshine today as we walked on the edge of tawny moors and it remained dry, despite the threatening look of a dark cloud which was soon dispersed by the very strong westerly wind.

Two male black grouse rose suddenly from the side of the track, giving great views as they whirred off up the slope and took refuge among the trees. Two golden eagles were present, quartering the hillside and the ridge.

This one seems to have a full crop, although in another poor shot the bulge under its upper chest seems more like a soft loose lump of (mostly white) feathering.

We lost them for a while, and then Greger pointed out that one eagle had soared up to a great height and was being mobbed by two ravens. As we walked back to the car I looked back to see a smaller raptor hovering - probably a kestrel, although I couldn't be sure. But a pair of buzzards spotted along the road gave me a third new species for the year.