8th April - 24th April 2014
My World Tour
Summer in Lapland, A Mediterranean Spring and a walk with Mandarins!
[.......and other bits and pieces]
Tuesday 8th April: North Cave and North Cliffe Wood
Although there are no photos, North Cave held a yellow wagtail and a blackcap - my first of the year - along with the little ringed plovers and ringed plovers. North Cliffe Wood seemed deserted apart from this pheasant on the verge near the road.
Wednesday 9th April: Kildale and Saltholme
Barry and I set off bright and early for Kildale in search of reported ring ouzels. Strangely we could find nothing at first apart from a wheatear and various red grouse. Nonetheless some obliging birds posed for me...
He came nearer on the fence post.
A meadow pipit was close by near the red grouse.
Eventually another birder put us onto the ring ouzels. We saw a pair but the female perched high in a tree with lots of twigs in front of her and I couldn't get a focus lock. But here's the male.
We finished the day at Saltholme. Record shot of a garganey from Phil Stead's place and a goldfinch from there too.
Thursday 10th April: Buckton Cliffs and Hornsea
Some more precise information about the location of lapland buntings near Buckton led me to try again to find these summer plumaged birds. I knew the area around the Heligoland trap well by now and was thrilled to locate one stunning male in the company of a Scarborough birder I have met once or twice.
On the walk back I couldn't resist one gannet photo.
I decided to come home via Hornsea Mere but found little new. The long-tailed duck was close by but out of worthwhile camera range. A tame common gull was in the car park.
Saturday 12th April: Blacktoft and North Cave
Blacktoft was very quiet. Unusually a female pheasant was balancing on a round pole perch.
A blackcap cheered me as he sang out in the open down at Ousefleet.
After that a visit to North Cave YWT produced a very smart lesser black-backed gull...
...followed by a very aggressive, territorially-minded Mediterranean gull by the name of Putin!
The idea was to take over one of the small islands for himself. So, you lot, clear off!!
While all this was going on, a coot and a black-headed gull were quarrelling.
If things aren't quite going your way, time for dirty tricks! Really dirty ones!
Calmer waters!
But he'll have to have the last word!
Sunday 13th April: Flamborough
Hoping for crag martin. Total failure. Saw tawny pipit. Photographed just this meadow pipit at the fog station. Oh well, that's birding!
Tuesday 15th April: Bolton Abbey, Nosterfield and Saltholme
Time for our first Bolton Abbey visit of the year. A bit early perhaps for wood warbler and flycatchers but I hoped for mandarin and willow warbler at least. Barry also wanted to see his first dipper of the year. We soon came across a pair of grey wagtails.
Very casually I snapped at a great tit in a bush in front of me. Funny how shots like that sometimes seem just perfect when others that you spend time over are rubbish!
We soon had our first sightings of dipper...
... and, soon after, of mandarins. One drake was defending his female from a determined interloper.
To our surprise we heard and found that pied flycatchers were present.
Barry spotted a treecreeper and as he walked on I lingered, watching him circumnavigate the tree. The next picture is the right way up!
At the stone shelter about two-thirds of the way along the eastern path we met more mandarins and this blue tit.
We eventually had more encounters with the pied flycatcher.
House hunting!
And we met more dippers by the aqueduct bridge.
We drove north to Nosterfield where we saw just the usual culprits... plus a brimstone ready for take-off...
...so we headed for Saltholme. There were no great surprises here either. Just an appealing avocet close to the main hide.
Thursday 17th April: Blacktoft
All quiet still. Sedge warblers heard but not seen. Only birds I got close to were the avocets at Marshland...
...and this pied wagtail by the new pool at Singleton.
Friday 18th April: Blacktoft
Finally on a much brighter and calmer day I saw some sedge warblers... and a pair of gay mallards. But before that on my walk down to Ousefleet hide a robin posed for me...
...and cowslips were growing on the bank.
Sedge warbler: one of my favourite birds
Saturday 19th April: Deer Hill Reservoir and Wintersett/Anglers CP
Barry and I headed west into the Pennines to Deer Hill Reservoir near Huddersfield to visit the twite feeder area. On the walk up to the reservoir Barry spotted some golden plover in the fields.
Later we found the twite. Year tick for Barry.
After that I thought we'd try Wintersett. Great birds: common sandpiper, arctic tern, grey plover, whitethroat and we heard Cetti's warbler. Barry took some photos, so see his blog at http://barryjohnbishop.blogspot.co.uk/ I just photographed Barry photographing a whitethroat [I think] near the dam outfall.
Ready?
Shoot!
Pity about the squashed nose!
Thursday 24th April: Blacktoft and Wintersett
Sheila and I set off for Blacktoft hoping to photograph a little gull at Marshland. See the photos.
We also saw some displaying sedge warblers and heard the gropper quite clearly. On to Wintersett again where we saw a black tern and a common tern out on the reservoir - beyond the lens' reach of course. I was pleased to photograph this willow warbler...
...and a very ragged speckled wood. Once again we heard Cetti's warbler but couldn't find him.
And that, as they say, is your lot. 70 photos covering half of April.
Current year total: 190