Hide and Seek at the Yorkshire Sculpture Park

It was really chilly this morning and I knew the clay would be unbearably cold to work with so I decided to give the day chance to warm up in the forecast sunshine and headed for one of my favourite places - The Yorkshire Sculpture Park.

First thing in the morning is when it's quiet, you can hear the birds singing and the breeze rustling the leaves. I even heard a Woodpecker and managed to spot it.

Spotted Woodpecker on a tree branch
There were about half a dozen Cormorants around the lakes. Cormorant bird with wings outspread flying against a blue sky
And to my great surprise and delight, they'd replaced the old Hide with a new one and re-opened it for visitors! What a bonus! 
The Hide at Yorkshire Sculpture Park
Sitting down and enjoying the serene vista through the hide, I spotted quite a few faces I'd not seen at the park before.
The first was this adorable Little Grebe.
A Little Grebe swimming on the water
Then there were the Gadwall Ducks. I love that their feeding behaviour is called "Dabbling and up-ending" both of which speak for themselves really, and duck butts "up-ending" will never cease to make me giggle. Yes, I am still 5 years old.
A female Gadwall Duck watches her male partner bobbing for food
A Gadwall duck stretches its wings
There were a couple of Tufted Ducks...
A Tufted Duck on the water
and a pair of Mandarin Ducks!
Male and Female Mandarin Ducks on the water
There were plenty of Greylag Geese making quite the racket as they took off from the water and flew over the lake.
Greylag Geese flying against a blue sky
The prehistoric-looking Herons were out and about.
Usually shy they fly off as soon as they spot you but today I had two VERY close encounters when one flew over me to land on the grass less than 30 feet away!
Grey Heron in flight against a blue sky
The second was a youngster who I stood with for a while before they toddled off, only to fly straight towards me 5 minutes later! I honestly thought they were going to fly into me! I've never been so close to a Heron!
 A young Grey Heron amongst foliage
There were plenty of Common Darter Dragonflies out making the most of the sunshine too.
Common Darter Dragonfly on a leaf in the sun
I know it's full of sculptures but sometimes I just like to enjoy the natural beauties that are on offer at the Yorkshire Sculpture Park. Even the best sculptors in the world can't hold a candle to the real thing. 
As always, I left with a full heart and a peaceful soul. Another wonderful visit. 
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