Sunday 12th May ff
Happy man waving book in car park
[and other stories]
On Sunday [12th May] I set off on my own [alas] to Saltholme hoping to bump into a stint or two. I never did but shortly after drawing up in the almost empty car park at Saltholme a man came scurrying over with a book in hand. On his camera he showed me a photo of a shrike and, in the book, a female red-backed shrike. Along the Zinc Works Road apparently.
Off we went. Cars were arriving every minute or two. Where do they all come from? Are they loitering in some birders' burrows somewhere hoping a good bird will suddenly come up on their pagers?
Anyway, red-backed shrike - female - here we go. If you know the place you'll recognise the fence!!
Let's have a closer look.
Eventually she moved nearer the factory into some dead stalks where the views were a little better...
All quiet back at Saltholme so I decided to do my walk alongside the railway line at Dorman's Pool. A whitethroat scuttled nervously back under cover.
Linnets were perched up.
However the sedge warblers were the stars of the show. So, if you don't like sedge warblers, look away now. I'm afraid I can happily spend hours photographing these wonderful little birds.
They can look quite 'dumpy' when not singing. Even a little cross!
Essence of Spring!
On Wednesday I had to be everywhere, it seemed, but I managed an hour at Fairburn down by the kingfisher screen. She turned up.
Eventually she flew into a nearby apple tree producing this slightly strange photo - strange, I mean, for a kingfisher pic! But rather nice, nonetheless.
Finally I snapped this 'Robin with a Message'. Is he referring to my bird seed bill?
On Thursday I went up to Cleveland intending to see if any of the rarities at South Gare were still 'knocking about', as birders often say. They'd all gone apparently, I was told by a chap I know well by sight. We had spent a couple of hours together a year ago trying to locate a firecrest - also at South Gare.Then he added: 'But the wryneck's still in the dog rose behind the pilot station.'
So it was. But can you spot him?
Slowly he crept out from the undergrowth. As I often say: let the pictures tell the story.
He reminds me of a lizard!
Best till last?
Sandwich terns could be heard all around us as we photographed the wryneck.
I called in at Saltholme RSPB. A magpie was carrying food.
At Saltholme there are quite a lot of large wooden sculptures, ranging from frogs to snakes to the Mad Hatter's Tea Party. There are also some wooden sheep. They are evidently very good wooden sheep as the following photos demonstrate.
How affectionate! They look more like beavers to me!!
I was in luck down at Saltholme Pools hide: the lesser scaup was quite close with his tufty female friend. Genetic disaster looms!
I wandered back to the Centre: swallows perched on wires [as they do!].
I popped in to the Phil Stead hide. A little egret appeared and then this nice little duck dropped in!
By the car park more swallows perched.
Friday 17th May. Another, hopefully final, trip to Bolton Abbey for a wood warbler. No, a real one, not one made of wood!
Wild flowers beckoned. Lady's Smock, Cuckoo flower or Milk Maids. You can't get confused if you use the latin name: cardamine pratensis.
An early morning curlew drifted overhead calling. It was not quite 7.30am.
I walked on. I saw very little apart from a friendly gamekeeper, very smart in his tweeds, plus fours with a rifle over his shoulder. Good job he was friendly.
At the stone shelter things began to happen. Some large birds were squabbling high up in the trees. Surprise: mandarin ducks!
A nuthatch seemed to have an itch he couldn't get rid of.
No wood warbler song heard. Blue tits dangled from the tree in front of the shelter. Then another bird. Warbler. Wood warbler? It dropped and flew right. I stood up and crept round the corner. Something was busy on the ground tugging at dead grass.
Bluebells were coming into flower.
Mandarins drifted downstream...
...and piedfly began to appear.
Female on the stone wall.
Ramsoms or wild garlic filled the air with their onion scent.
Allium ursinum [cf. Ursa Major - the Great Bear] shows it's an onion beloved of European brown bears. The fact they are prospering so well in the Wharfe Valley shows that bears are probably now infrequent!!
The great spotted woodpecker seemed to be following me, drumming loudly.
Eventually a pied flycatcher posed for me.
A greylag drank from a pool as I neared Tiggy.
I drove on to Grass Wood.
There were few birds: the odd chiffchaff and willow warbler. Workings to clear the conifers had caused severe damage to one of the main paths.
Overall my visit was disappointing and I was tired. The views of Wharfedale were very good however.
I wanted somewhere quiet for lunch. Somewhere flat too! Staveley NR would be fine. I put the macro lens on.
Alliaria petiolata - onion-like in taste and smell: garlic mustard or, as my father called it, Jack-by-the-hedge.
White dead nettle - lamium album.
Green alkanet, I think, pentaglottis sempervirens. Sempervirens: 'always living', therefore, perennial. Borage family, related to the forget-me-nots. Pretty obvious.
Finally cuckoo pint, Lords and ladies - arum maculatum. Maculatum means spotted. About to reveal its spathe. Not a spot in sight!
Sunday 19th May. Early start for Barry and me heading for Saltholme.
Pecsand on the fire station pool.
Loitering round Saltholme suddenly we had to helter skelter to Hartlepool Headland. For a full account of this day see: http://barryjohnbishop.blogspot.co.uk/
That will save me a lot of typing and reduce your boredom!
Rear view shows the tail nicely. I'll be brief: thrush nightingale, lifer 394.
We wandered slowly back towards Saltholme. I tried to photograph a yellow wagtail from the car, shooting past Barry. The camera's light meter obviously took the light inside the car as an exposure guide: result - dreadful.
However this is an advert for shooting in RAW. Back home I altered the exposure - isn't technology incredible? And then I managed to produce this. Fabuloso!
This too...
Lapwings were nesting.
A reed bunting sang in the willow arch at the car park.
Funnily enough, at Saltholme we met another yellow wag.
But he couldn't hang around. Obviously meeting a girl friend!
Red campions - silene dioicia - were in flower. I photographed an unusually dark-leaved form.
In the main hide some common tern were a-courting...
At first we didn't notice something quite extraordinary over to our right. Barry spotted a dead great crested grebe. We found the sight quite upsetting. The partner bird was looking on disconsolately as the other bird lay in the water, head to one side.
The other bird didn't know what to do. It climbed on to the prostrate bird. A very unusual sight.
Then, suddenly, resurrection! The bird shrugged the other bird off with a splash and courtship began! Well I never! Or as Nellie Ashcroft would have said: 'I'll go to the foot of our stairs!''
Why, I wonder?!
I made a linocut...
The terns were still busy... 'If you want me you'll need to bring me more fish!!' The meaning of life? Sex and Food. That's about it. Oh, and birding. Obviously.
Final call - blog soon over at last - South Gare. We saw a wryneck... [again]
Digging.
Long tail showing well.
Farewell mate.
Anti-climax time. We tried to identify a very hyperactive little [willow] warbler.
Few birds of prey today apart from this one on a mobile home thingy.
Postscript.
As we left we saw some birders. Red-backed shrike and red-breasted fly* finished the day. Wow!
* not that one. Taken at the Crown and Anchor Kilnsea but it looks the same!!