Watch The Birdie! - Update

We've been bird watching for just about six weeks now so it's time for an update! We've learned many things about birds in this last six weeks. There have been many ups and downs!

It's really hard to identify birds when you only see them briefly. And you will only see them briefly as they flit about chirping loudly. We've heard so many birds on walks but haven't seen them enough to identify even half of them. My first visitor to the garden was a classic LBJ (Little Brown Job). I've no idea what it is. Sally got a visitor to her feeder too but only saw it's brown arse sticking out. Haha :D

My LBJ

Sally's LBJ

You'd think that if you put up bird feeders that birds would come. Not always true. The only bird I've seen on my fancy bird feeder is a stupid big pigeon that comes and is probably scaring away the tiny cute birds.

Binoculars are your best friend. I've got a lot of use out my binocs so far. Staring at seagulls at Redcar. I saw a Herring Gull and sadly an uncountable European Herring Gull too (it's not in the book).

I had a good trip to Staveley Nature reserve and saw some great birds. A Little Egret, Grey Heron, Cormorant and Avocet. All good point scores. Their hides are great for spotting birds in comfort.

Sal's been making use of her commute to work spotting birds along the way. She even managed to spot a female Moorhen and it's chicks close to where she works. A difficult spot because the female looks nothing like the distictive male moorhen.

Sally is quite determined to spot a family of Peregrines that nest on York Minster. They've been spotted a lot by other people and she found out they even have their own Twitter page with sighting updates. We hung out for a while in the gardens nearby hoping for a spot but they've been elusive so far.

I do generally feel more knowledgable about birds now. I was out walking with Leigh last week and I was able to point out a Pied Wagtail strutting about on the grass nearby wagging it's tail. I felt like a proper parent right then.

We've had a lot of walks near rivers and lakes recently. I find myself sructinising the ducks for any different kinds of ducks but no luck yet. Just your regular Mallards everywhere!

How magestic!

 

 

Some expectant ducks at Swinsty reservoir.

So far we've enjoyed bird watching. It's difficult but satisfying when you spot something and realise you know what it is. It takes a lot of detective work to identify a bird, plenty of page-turning in your bird book and sometimes a bit of googling too. Then still you're not certain half the time.

Sal and I have realised that this is going to be a longer project than we realised. But we've made a start!

Harrogate Cheap Eats: Nutrition Joe's

Nutrition Joe's is a cafe adjoining the Gambaru gym on Station Parade in Harrogate. Their focus is on good food cooked healthily and their menu shows this. Erin and I went for a late breakfast/brunch. I really like the decor inside as it's all wooden chairs and tables. It looks rustic but is really comfy.

After checking out the menu I opted for the Super Protein Pancakes with Yoghurt & Blueberries (£6.50) and Erin had a Bacon Breakfast Roll (£4.50) with Potato Wedges (£2.50). Coming in under our £15 budget at £13.50. We both had lemon water to drink.

My pancakes were yummy, really crisp and tasty with the yoghurt & blueberries (which were the tiniest blueberries I've ever seen). Erin enjoyed her bacon roll which was in a lovely looking brioche bun. She wasn't so keen on the wedges, complaining they tasted 'too much like potatoes'. Haha, I finished them off for her and I thought they were great.

There's plenty on the menu in the Cheap Eats range. Wraps, soup, eggs benedict (someone on the table next to me had this and it looked delicious!), omelettes and salads. There are also lots of delicious looking low fat cakes on offer too. They seem very accommodating with the menu which is great if you're trying to eat healthily or can't eat gluten etc.

Give Nutrition Joe's a try, your body deserves it.


Previously on Harrogate Cheap Eats:
 
Tak Yan

Drakes Fish & Chips

I Am Doner

Cafe Rita

Palm Court Cafe

Photo Challenge Week 4

It's the Final We-ek, doo doo doo dooo, doo doo doo doo doo etc. Yes, that's right I've finished the challenge. Hurrah :D

INSECT - A tiny little bee busy at work keeping us humans alive.

 METAL - A chained gate I passed by on a walk.

 OLD - This is part of Ripley Castle. A Grade I listed 14th-century country house in North Yorkshire.

 SHAPE - I love the shape of trees. All the branches reaching out from a central trunk.

 TIME - This sun dial was in a graveyard I visited. It was positioned under a tree though so there was no sun to help me tell the time.

TRAVEL - One of my favourite thing about the UK is all the Public Footpaths. You see signs everywhere in the countryside showing you where there are paths for walks in the countryside. I really like seeing them.

WEATHER - These wind turbines are lined up on the east coast in Redcar. I like to see windmills anyplace but along the coast seems such a great idea. We should have them on every coast since we're an island.

BOOKS - A section of my to-read bookshelf. A book my sister got me, a book a freind recommended, a book I won, a book a colleague lent me, a book JD passed on to me. Books are great and they connect people together too.

FOOD - I take food pictures all the time for my food blog but never really just some food I'm eating right then. This is my breakfast from this morning. Greek yoghurt, granola, blueberries and honey. Delicious and a good start to the day.

I've enjoyed taking pictures for this challenge. It makes me think more about places I visit when I'm looking around for pictures that fulfil a photo prompt.

I hope you've enjoyed seeing the pictures I've taken. :)

Cheeky Burger 29: Tuna Burger

Making a burger from canned tuna is a really handy recipe to have since you can easily make it from non-fresh ingredients you can keep in the cupboard. I've tried making various tuna burgers before but they never hold together very well. Let's see how this one works out!

Ingredients:

3 cans tuna
3/4 cup breadcrumbs
1 tablespoon oil
1 tablespoon parsley
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon paprika
1 egg
Salt & pepper

Mix ingredients together and form into patties. Cook in a frying pan with a little more oil.

As you can see in the picture a couple of the burgers did break up but also a couple managed to stay quite solid. When the burgers are done transfer them to bread buns adding in some salad and mayo.

The burgers were really tasty. Quite solid to the bite with a lovely taste from the seasonings. The best thing was the crispy bits around the edge from frying. Yum! We all enjoyed them (when I say all, I mean everyone except Erin who only eats chicken burgers) so I'll probably make them again.

Ratings: Emma - 4, JD - 3, Leigh - 5