Good birdwatching/nature walks around south yorks

[monzaman 324]

The one i do at this time of year is rother valley,pit house west,woodhouse washlands,treeton dyke,catcliffe flash finishing off at orgreave lakes.

Rother valley can turn up the odd whooper swan/diver/rare duck.

Pit house west look out for water rail/cettis warbler /woodcock and if your lucky bittern going to roost.

Woodhouse washlands snipe and jack snipe also at dawn or dusk look out for barn owl.

treeton dyke same as rother valley,

catcliffe flash can turn up a variety of ducks and the odd rariety,

finally orgreave lakes which is getting better as the years go by.The gull roost here can turn up some suprises and as the winter deepens the numbers are vast.Over the years these lakes have had a large number of rarieties turn up,it is well watched by birdwatchers because of this.Last year there was a number of short eared owls who spent a good month roosting and hunting here(what a sight).I never thought that within two miles of my house i would be able to watch goldeneye,golden plover,goosander,snipe,

whooper swan in the winter,hobby,avocet,oystercatcher,redshank etc in the summer.

To get the best out of this walk it should be done in a different order according to the time of year to increase your chances of seeing more species.

[Bruno 10]

Old moor at Dearn Valley is well worth a visit

 

http://www.rspb.org.uk/discoverandenjoynature/seenature/reserves/guide/d/dearne-oldmoor/

[Heathside83 10]

Another vote for Old Moor- a good day out.

[monzaman 324]

Old moor at Dearn Valley is well worth a visit

 

http://www.rspb.org.uk/discoverandenjoynature/seenature/reserves/guide/d/dearne-oldmoor/

 

Been going there since the early 70's.In those days it was a YNT reserve known simply as Wath ings nature reserve.The wath pit was still open then, so although it was a good nature reserve,it was also dirty and noisy in places:hihi:

The local birdwatching lads there were a good bunch who showed a little sheffield scrote (me ) what birds were what.They helped me alot in my early years of bird identification.Since the RSPB took over and the pit shut,the reserve has grown massively and is now known nationally for the number of birds it attracts.

The valley from orgreave lakes through woodhouse down to pit house west reminds me a lot of wath ings in the early days so fingers crossed it could also be an important reserve one day.

[bream71 10]

Hi does anybody know if you can still see marsh harriers at blacktoft sands and the best time of year to see them.thanks.

[Temuchin 13]

Hi does anybody know if you can still see marsh harriers at blacktoft sands and the best time of year to see them.thanks.

 

It would appear so, according to this...

[monzaman 324]

now is a good time to visit pit house west and follow the river down to orgreave lakes(while snow is still on ground) because it makes it easier to pick out snipe,jack snipe,water rail and at dusk chance of woodcock.

 

---------- Post added 09-01-2015 at 21:33 ----------

 

If any one is interested,at orgreave lakes there is a snow bunting feeding with skylarks ,it has been there for a few days now.Pretty rare winter visitor to the sheffield region and a nice bird to look at.

[Les Duke 10]

I so a kingfisher last week on the river Don between hillsborough and Ougtibridge. and there are regular sightings of herons along this stretch of river.