decisions decisions

Sunday gave me the headache of a 1st trip to Skelton and hope to get Shelduck & Grey Partridge, or try Tempsy for Woodcock & Nuthatch.
As the dogs needed walking, I chose Temple Newsam, and despite the heavy, saturated ground, the car park on Bullerthorpe was chocker!
Woodcock seems to have been beaten out of the woods and was not present again, so as it's been 2 years since I had one in these woods (they've been recorded in the last month there) I've flung in the towel there.
Luckily, a 10 minute stint at the feeders got me the Nuthatch I now craved.
More intetesting for me though, was I still hadn't had treecreeper in the woods, which had always been so abundant for me. I suppose the oxbow bird was a blessing!
Drop the dogs home & headed to the hide showed a few faces but very little on show.
A walk around Water Haigh Park for a probable crossbill earlier on was fruitless but did give me gen on another woodcock side I hope to exploit next weekend.
A circuit back to the hide in the wind & rain may have added nothing, but back at the hide there were 9 grey partridge on the hillside, so it was an excellent weekend all in all, getting me to 86 species. Delighted!