Sometimes the photos just aren't there!

Monday 27th August

The forecast waasn't great but the phalarope was still there, so, damn the weather, I went off to Frampton to see it. Hopefully!

It took about twenty minutes to find it. There were garganeys and curlew sandpipers too but nothing especially close. Remember my cuckoo type photos? Birds you can barely see. Dots in the landscape. Well it's time for one of them again...

Red-necked Phalarope Can you see it? No? Oh well, here's a megacrop!

Red-necked Phalarope On the way home I called at Swanpool [SK950701] in south-west Lincoln - the local patch of a group of birders. A couple of common redstarts had been reported. Eventually after meeting up with a couple of the birders we had quite a lot of fleeting views of the female.

You don't often get two year ticks as late in the year as this. Another good day therefore.

Tuesday 28th August

Going north. For a lifer and a decent tick as well. Decided to start at Cresswell Pond, the most northerly point of the trip, where I soon spotted the long-tailed duck. It remained, however, well out of reach of the camera. Also present were a pink-footed goose, an avocet, a common sandpiper, yellow wagtails and a little stint.

As for the lifer, a greenish warbler, in spite of four hours' patient waiting in front of the designated scrub [along with about 8 other birders] we never saw a thing.

I called at Saltholme on the way home to see the recently reported spoonbill. It too was beyond my reach but looked great in the big Opticron scope that an RSPB chap had got set up in Saltholme Pools hide. I wandered back and popped into the Phil Stead hide with the camera. A greenshank was close by. I seem to be photographing a lot of them this month... Better than nothing eh?

Greenshank Greenshank

Greenshank

Thursday 30th August

Old Moor for another red-necked phalarope! Two in a week!! More or less a cuckoo type photo but marginally clearer [?] than the Frampton Marsh bird. Just.

Red-necked Phalarope You can easily see this one! Big crop however...

Friday 31st August

Spurn for a seawatch with Barry. The seawatch was pretty quiet. We went to the Canal Scrape hoping for something a bit more interesting. The Hebridean sheep were near the hide.

Shetland Sheep Shetland Sheep A juvenile pied wagtail was chomping on a common blue damselfly.

Pied Wagtail Meadow pipits, looking very fresh and bright, were searching the dead plant material at the water's edge.

Meadow Pipit

A wheatear [white arse to those on familiar terms!] was on the grass or on the barbed wire not far from the hide. Gradually he came closer. Here are some pictures of the bird.

Wheatear Wheatear Wheatear Wheatear We went down to the car park at Kilnsea. This new information board intrigued me and explained some new wooden posts that have been appearing with a number on and the letters SKEALS.

Spurn, Kilnsea, Easington Area Local Studies Group. There are some nice old photos on the website - do have a look. Hope they don't mind me giving a little taste of what is there.

The Spurn Railway

The Spurn Point Bus

In the overflow car park Barry found a white wagtail.

White Wagtail Next we went and parked at Kilnsea Wetlands. Things were much quieter there than last week. We saw quite a few butterflies that day. This male small white was feeding on thistles.

Small White Bedraggled Reed Bunting This reed bunting [I had no idea what it was when I photographed it. The main reason to photograph it was to try to identify it later.] was looking somewhat the worse for wear. Hangover perhaps.

The blog encourages me to take other bits and pieces. This sound mirror prompted a little research.

Kilnsea Sound Mirror is located near Kilnsea, Yorkshire.It is the only listed ‘building’ in Kilnsea.
In World War I the Germans used Zeppelins to make bombing raids on eastern England. In order to have some warning of their approach, acoustic sound mirrors made of concrete were erected at various points along the coast. The Kilnsea sound mirror was probably built in 1916/17. It is in the shape of a half-hexagon, with an inner concave circular disc to amplify sound. It is 16 feet high and 17 feet wide. In front of the concrete disc is a plinth, with a pipe on which would have been mounted a trumpet-shaped 'collector head' which was a basic microphone.

On the western side of Beacon Lagoons sea aster aster tripolium flowers proliferously at this time of year.

Sea aster aster tripolium Walking  back along Long Bank [sea plan earlier] a common darter was almost camouflaged by the mown grass.

Ruddy Darter Finally we spent an hour at Sammy's Point. There were lots of common blues and small tortoiseshells to enjoy. I was pleased to photograph the shy female common blues too. Enjoy too...

Small Tortoiseshell Common Blue This male looks past his prime!

Common Blue Common Blue Male and female.

Common Blue Barry was photographing a smart looking male common blue so I joined in. I like this image.

Common Blue Female again.Common Blue Walking along the shoreline, a kestrel surprised as it came out of the sunshine towards us. I pointed and hoped. The light was challenging and the focus was slow to lock.

Kestrel

In the horse paddocks we spotted some activity other than the ubiquitous goldfinches. A chiffchaff was bustling about proving hard to identify conclusively. I wanted it to be a greenish warbler! It has a slight wingbar and strong supercilium.

Chiffchaff Chiffchaff The best thrill was when I found a female redstart in the bushes.

Redstart Redstart

Saturday 1st September

The thrill of finding your own rarity!! I will be brief. I went to Whitburn looking for a Bonaparte's gull. Various searches on the beach and in ploughed fields full of gulls revealed nothing. Eventually I went down to Roker Pier to sift through the gulls there. I found it!

There were no other birders to be seen so I phoned my find onto Bird Guides and Rare Bird Alert. After about 25 minutes birders wrrived and confirmed my sighting to my relief asnd great pleasure. Sorry no camera with me.

Sunday 2nd September

Bridlington cruise - again no camera. The cruise was very quiet although we did see a pomarine skua [tick], great skua [bonxie], pied flycatcher, manx shearwaters but noithing in quantity except little gulls.

Afterwards we went to Old Fall plantation where we eventually saw [Barry was onto it first] the arctic warbler. People had come from afar to see this bird: alifer for both of us.

And so another great day and the end of the summer holiday season, so the old man will be a lone birder more often from now on. Bring on the easterlies, bring on the megas!!

125 Yorkshire; 260 UK; 385 life list.