Coincidental Birding at RHS Harlow Carr Gardens, Harrogate 5 June 2024
After our visit of the previous day to RSPB Bempton Cliffs, we chose to stay overnight at The Pine Marten hotel right next door to RHS Harlow Carr gardens. The idea wasn’t to be birding but the gardens were such a fantastic habitat for birds that we notched up twenty-three species including a year-tick Spotted Flycatcher.
The various paths through the gardens took in the arboretum which proved to be particularly good for birds and the trees were full of bird song. Using the Merlin app, I was able to confirm what I thought I had heard – a Spotted Flycatcher. We were a bit disappointed that we had not seen one at the Upper Goyt Valley last month so this was a very welcome tick. It is not the first time that we have found Spotted Flycatchers at a “formal” garden that has lots of woodland.
Greenfinch were plentiful too and there were many common woodland birds. When we were looking in the plant shop, I looked up and saw a group of birds mobbing a Red Kite, high up over the garden. Even though gardens aren’t really my top places to visit, some are very good for “accidental birding” and this certainly proved to be one of these.
It rounded off our trip to Yorkshire that took in Blacktoft Sands, North Cave and Bempton Cliffs as well as this site which gave us a total of seventy species.
Bird Sightings : RHS Harlow Carr Gardens 5 June 2024
| Species | No |
|---|---|
| Blackbird | 2 |
| Blackcap | 1 |
| Bullfinch | 1 |
| Buzzard | 1 |
| Carrion Crow | 4 |
| Chiffchaff | 2 |
| Collared Dove | 2 |
| Dunnock | 1 |
| Goldfinch | 2 |
| Greenfinch | 4 |
| House Martin | 1 |
| Jackdaw | 6 |
| Long-tailed Tit | 6 |
| Magpie | 4 |
| Moorhen | 1 |
| Nuthatch | 3 |
| Pheasant | 1 |
| Red Kite | 1 |
| Robin | 2 |
| Song Thrush | 1 |
| Spotted Flycatcher | 2 |
| Swift | 6 |
| Wren | 3 |
