Hidden Mandarin and Sneaky Fox

A lovely sunny day encouraged me to head towards the coast and I decided to have a quick visit to Filey Dams. Driving through the Wolds I was enjoying the combination of blue sky and bright yellow oilseed rape fields. It was not to stay like this though. As I neared the coast I could see that a sea fret was covering the coastline. I had a few things to do first and by the time I arrived at Filey Dams the fog was beginning to lift.

A birder who was just leaving told me a Mandarin duck could be seen in the reeds and directed me towards the right hand hide. On route I saw this Wood pigeon

and this Cuckoo flower

Following the instructions I had been given I did manage to catch a glimpse of the Mandarin but it was well hidden and it was only afterwards looking at my photos that I saw part of it between the reeds. If I had not been told it was there or what it was I would have been non the wiser. It was on the far side well away from the hide and as I had forgotten my binoculars I had to rely on my camera lens.
This area did though have a Little grebe who was a little more willing to appear in the open even though it was nearly as far away as the Mandarin which can just be seen to the left and slightly above the grebe (it is only given away by the tiny part of it you can see being darker brown than the foliage).





Moving to the other side of the hide there was not much about close up other than this Mute swan





I decided to move to the other hide



The sun was continuing to break through the fog.





I watched some Tufted ducks who came close to the hide







Taking my eye from the camera viewfinder for a moment I was surprised to see a Fox out in the open moving along thin strip of land directly in front of the hide. It seemed to be totally ignored by all the other wildlife until it ran close to some pigeons.

With the sighting of a tiny part of a Mandarin duck and a good view of a Fox in the open it had turned out to be an exciting visit.