Sunday 3rd June & Monday 4th June 2012

June 04, 2012 • Leave a Comment

Sunday afternoon: to Danby Beacon

A dotterel had been reported for a couple of days at Danby Beacon with golden plovers. On Sunday it appeared to be alone but still present. Moreover a report said the bird was on a track just 100m from car park. I had assumed the beacon was a long walk uphill like Pendle and I had tried that once this year and failed [because the birds had gone]. I don't mind the walk/climb, the issue is more whether I feel I have the strength or stamina to lug the camera all that way. Now 100m is a different story. Barry said he'd drive: so off we went.

As soon as we arrived we saw two small groups of birders either side of a patch of dead or burnt off heather. I think we chose the wrong one. But eventually we changed ends as it were and here are the results. My first ever dotterel photos and not in the ''cuckoo category'!

Dotterel

Dotterel Dotterel Dotterel Dotterel

Dotterel

Monday 4th June: Here, there and everywhere!

Good game this. How many birds can we see and how mant year ticks or even lifers can we get in one day and get Barry home for 4pm? We left at 715am, got diesel and headed up the old A19 to call at Cod Beck reservoir before dog time. In that respect we failed as there were already a few dogs with their owners and their cars. We set off to follow a stream northwards across boggy moorland. We crossed the stream on wobbly rocks. We saw many mipits, curlew, a pair of mistle thrushes, willow warblers, even a stonechat [missed by me]. We returned to the car without seeing our target bird, a whinchat. I commented; 'After all this it'll probably be on a post by the car park!' I was nearly right.

At the car park Barry headed towards the woodland around the reservoir. It began suddenly to hail and I was being bombarded with June hailstones! We sheltered under the trees as did a male whinchat. I went back for the camera but it flew. Oh well, we were still happy.

Back on the road to Saltholme: the long billed dowitcher had been reported on Back Salthome. This would be a lifer for Barry so we scampered north and soon saw the roadside birders and cars hauled onto the grass verge on the A178. The bird was only visible from the road on a small pool. No-one would see it from the reserve. We walked alongside the railway line from the bottom car park at Dorman's Pool. Sedge warblers and whitethroats were busy. The sedge was singing and the throat was feeding. Sedge was too distant so here's a couple of the whitethroat:

Whitethroat Whitethroat Next stop on the whistle-stop tour of North Yorkshire, Cleveland and East Yorkshire would be Flamborough Head for a red-backed shrike. But that meant negotiating Whitby and Scarborough first and any bank holiday traffic. We got to the lighthouse just after 1.30pm and soon saw the shrike. Very flighty and beyond my lens. Barry wanted some coastal ticks at Bempton as he hadn't had the chance to get there this spring so that would be our last call.

I left Barry to see his birds whilst I tried again to get awk bifs! Throw in a couple of gannets too and here's a nice set of images, some easy to get and one which has taken me many attempts. I'm very pleased with it: perhaps you can tell which one I mean, Barry!

Razorbill

Razorbill Gannet