198 Yellow Wagtail

This year we set ourselves the challenge of seeing 200 wild British birds within the bounds of the UK. A trip to Longtown, North Cumbria, provided species numbers 198. Walking along the Esk, north of Longtown we saw a Yellow Wagtail - our first ever in the UK at all. It's on the red list for UK Birds of Conservation Concern and breeds mainly on arable land in the South and East of England. The map below (https://www.bto.org/understanding-birds/birdfacts/yellow-wagtail ) shows breeding records 2008 - 2011..couple this with the graph below showing its decline and I'm guessing the current map isn't so dotted. We were lucky to see one. 

The Esk.

It was also lovely to watch and photograph a Kingfisher - albeit at a distance.