Black necked grebes

Well, that was a wonderful start to our weekend. 
Stopped off at a relatively new RSPB site called St Aidan's on the way to York, and were delighted to be able to not only see, but to photograph a pair of black necked grebes. There are only around 50 breeding pairs in the UK, a quarter of them being at St Aidan's. They were super little birds, but kept themselves well hidden for most of the time. 
We also saw a pair of bearded tits - a first for me - but they were far too quick to get a shot of them. And on the way back to the visitor centre, another first for me - a female wheatear (in extras). 
After a sandwich lunch we went to Fairburn Ings down the road, another RSPB site, where we heard both the cuckoo calling and the bittern booming. Was hoping to see my first green woodpecker, but not this time - you can't have it all I guess! 
So after more than 18,000 steps and 6 hours out in the sunshine we were both shattered and had a short nap before a wonderful dinner at the hotel. 

So please forgive me if I don't do any commenting tonight. I will try and catch up during the next few days if I can.