Quietening down? Or is there still life in the old year?

Thursday 13th November

South Landing's water pipit seems to hide away when I try to find it. So I tried again at high tide in a roaring gale. The pipits kept coming to the outfall at the end of the road where later on I parked to escape the bitter wind.

I suspect my best possible is still a rock pipit. But I enjoyed the other birds...

Bar-tailed Godwit

It's a bar-tailed as it frequently proved as it was easily spooked into flight but always returned to the same general area.

Bar-tailed Godwit

Bar-tailed Godwit

By lunchtime I was shooting into the sun. Quite effective.

Bar-tailed Godwit

Curlew flew past several times.

Curlew

Cormorants braved the heavy seas constantly disappearing beneath the waves.

Cormorant

Cormorant

As for the pipits, put it this way, if nobody had suggested there was a water pipit about I'd have happily accepted them all as rock pipits. Perhaps I'm just not yet a good enough pipitologist!

Anyway here's my paler bird that looked brighter than the ''darkling rocks...' [Tennyson] He's bulkier too!

Rock Pipit

..and in flight too.

Rock Pipit

Sunday 16th November

Barry and I started at Hayburn Wike looking for a Richard's pipit but we dipped there. At Filey Brigg we saw some eider, red-throated divers, little auks and pomarine skuas. Very pleased to see them.

Then at Bempton, Buckton end, we waited for the short-eared owls to show. They didn't! My only pictures of the day were of the fungi Barry spotted!

Fungus

Fungus

Saturday 22nd November

I went up to the north-east, Hartlepool area, and wandered around my normal sites. Nothing particular to report. I ended up in Albert Park to see if the jays were still about. Three still present but too skittish to get anywhere close. I photographed this tufty on the lake.

Tufted Duck Tufted Duck

Shortly after this I managed to lock my car keys inside Tiggy. Green Flag were summoned but they failed to gain entry. In the end my friend Barry, whom I can never thank enough, drove all the way up from York with the spare keys. The end of a rather embarrassing day!

Monday 24th Novemberr

On the evening of the 23rd an isabelline wheatear was reported on the beach at the end of the Zinc Works Road, Seaton Carew near Saltholme. I set off by 10am to see if it was still around after sorting out a few things at home. The bird was very confiding and the pictures probably say it all.

First view just to make sure in case it promptly flew off. [This has happened to me more than once!]

Isabelline Wheatear

Isabelline Wheatear Isabelline Wheatear Isabelline Wheatear Isabelline Wheatear Isabelline Wheatear Isabelline Wheatear Isabelline Wheatear Isabelline Wheatear

Cheers!

Isabelline Wheatear

Twitch on the beach!

Isabelline Wheatear twitch

UK lifer 409. Year count 2014 263