You know how some cricketers just can't find their form and keep getting out for a duck?....

Suppose I feel a bit that way at the moment. Feeling blue! The birds are all right but I'm just never in quite the right place for the cream. Just keep getting the semi-skimmed! Some tennis players get a new trainer to sort them out: a bit like Murray and Lendl. Perhaps I should advertise for a local birder to go out with and improve my birding or just be my eyes and ears. I know the year is running down now but October should be good - we've had some easterlies. Just tired of going out on my own day after day and seeing so little.

For instance I went to Spurn on Monday 7th. Saw a sparrowhawk at Canal Scrape. Everything else had [quite naturally] disappeared. Not easy to catch in flight: I was lucky.

Sparrowhawk

Sparrowhawk

Down at the Point [the road was open for once!] I saw brent geese and a brambling. Here are the geese.

Brent Geese

By the pilot pier starlings were lining up for a photo-shoot.

starling

On Tuesday 8th I popped down to Fairburn in the afternoon but there was little to see. I watched the black-headed gulls as family after family ignored the signs asking people not to feed bread to the birds. If they really mean it they should get one of the staff who spend their time nattering in the shop to monitor what goes on ... Last time I was in there I had to wait several minutes to pay for a bar of chocolate whilst two members of staff chatted away in front of me. They have a skill at making you feel invisible at Fairburn.

On the way down the walkway to the feeding station I saw a big fat wasp watching me!

Wasp

Anyway, here are the gulls. Even such common birds can lead to nice images.

Black-headed Gull

Black-headed Gull

The naked eye doesn't realise just how flexible birds' wings are. At least my eyes don't!

Black-headed Gull

Black-headed Gull

Black-headed Gull

Black-headed Gull

A cygnet sailed serenely by.

Mute Swan

Scraping by

Dateline Thursday 10th October: decent seawatch produced a Leach's petrel along the shoreline. It spent several minutes in front of us beating up into the wind as it headed north. A really good bird, it brightened the day immensely. [Only tick this month so far] Pomarine skua, arctics and bonxies also added to the mix. As did manx shearwaters [just a few] and about 16 sooty shearwaters. Amazing. Firecrest at the churchyard along with lots of chiffchaffs. No photos that day.

Friday 11th back again rather late in the day: case of no room at the inn at the seawatch hut. I tried outside but the wind was unbearable. A few fieldfare coming in but hundreds of redwing everywhere. Back to Canal Scrape where we had ring ouzels again, brambling, willow warbler, goldcrests and more jack snipe and dunlins. Cue dunlins.

Dunlin

A woodcock flew by as did many gannets blown up the Humber. As the tide receded large groups of waders could be seen including these knot. Nice image.

Knot

Finally on what I might call ''wryneck mound' by the Crown & Anchor car park, just on the road bend a great-spotted woodpecker caught my eye strolling along the footpath. The woodpecker was strolling along I mean, not me!

Great spotted woodpecker

Oh well, I'll keep trying.

261 UK 2013