September 14th - September 20th 2023

September 21, 2023  •  Leave a Comment

Cattle, Woods and Pier

September 14th: New Flash, Fairburn

The report on my pager said there were 14 cattle egrets at Fairburn. I re-read the message. Was it for real? I decided to go and have a look just in case. It was indeed a spoof message as I only saw 13 cattle egrets!! Probably more in one shot than I'd ever seen before in total in my life.

Here's the whole group.

September 15th: Bempton

I headed to Bempton hoping to see the short-eared owls that have been showing well in the area behind Bartlett viewpoint.

After standing by the cliff but facing inland [which seemed to mystify some of the visitors] I detected movement with an owl- like flight pattern. Very distant so I headed up the path that runs alongside the owl fields. I had already selected where I might stand. No-one there when I arrived. Here are the shorties.

Plus a tree sparrow.

September 16th: Newburgh Priory lake

Report of wood ducks at Newburgh was interesting although any birds would be of doubtful provenance. I was sufficiently curious to have a look. Female or immature. Eventually a smart looking male appeared.

September 20th: South Gare

I went three times to South Gare in the hope of seeing the booby up close. The first 2 visits were in the afternoon and were unsuccessful. A wryneck also evaded my attempts to spot it near a sycamore on cabin rocks. So the third [a morning] attempt was to be my last. The weather deteriorated as the morning progressed. I resorted to snapping ships...

...a passing juvenile gannet, a great black-backed gull...

By now I was sheltering from the gale under a building and occasionally going back to the car which I had positioned in view of the old pilot pier. Suddenly I saw two men get down flat on the ground, supporting their cameras on propped elbows. I had seen no new birds arrive watching through the bins in the car. I hurried down the slope. It was now raining. Then hailstones. Looking through the viewfinder I was unsure what was what but the general excitement was enough. By the way the photos seem to manage to not show the weather conditions at all although admittedly I have brightened the images where necessary. 

Brown booby

211 UK 2023


Comments

No comments posted.
Loading...

Archive
January February (2) March (1) April (1) May June July August September October November December