I'm still standing!

Well, just about. Been laid up with my bad leg. I blame the whinchat but my wife seems to have a different opinion. Very frustrating. I looked through some of my July photos to see if I'd overlooked anything worth saving. Here's three. Let's call this bit:

Disregarded or discarded!

A young pied wagtail at Bolton Abbey, a carrion crow and a white-winged black tern at Saltholme...

...which makes a nice link to my first venture out birding since 20th August. Back to Saltholme for curlew sandpiper [which had been frightened off by a harrier before I got there].  Not to worry. I went to the Alice's Tea Party area [I presume you all know where I mean - part way to the Wildlife Watchpoint] to photograph the juvenile black tern.

However the star attraction that replaced the curlew sand was a white-rumped sandpiper. Very pale individual. Also featured ruff, dunlin and blackwit. Here they all come.

Here's the white-rumped with one shot showing the slightly larger dunlin for comparison.

222 UK 2019

Falling for a whinchat!

Tuesday August 20th. Forty-sixth wedding anniversary. And I was going birding at the insistence of Sheila. It's a day I normally go birding. I might not bother next year...

First stop Hornsea Mere hoping for nice shots of little gulls. There were plenty of little gulls present but, unfortunately, they were all well out on the water to the right and beyond Swan Island. Here's just one very distant photo showing some of them.

Greylag geese flew overhead.

As did some young shelducks.

Of couse I saw a painted lady butterfly!

I decided to drive down to Kilnsea Wetlands.

A common sandpiper was outside the hide. In the first shot the bird looks rather 'head heavy' to me. Second one is more normal - same bird.

Redshanks flew in.

A couple of dunlin came close.

Walking back a patch of purple clover held a good number of common blue butterflies.

I was going to say the male above looks a bit moth-eaten but perhaps that's a rather mixed-up metaphor for a butterfly! This one's smarter.

I even managed a flight shot - well a taking-off shot at least.

Best of all I spotted a female and managed to keep track of her until she settled. Females are quite inconspicuous and shy so I was pleased with these two shots.

Guess what else I saw! A painted lady. I don't tire of seeing them. There'll be plenty of butterfly-free months to come.

At Sammy's Point I met a birder who told me there were whinchats in the set-aside field on the road down to Canal Scrape. I headed there. I had nice views and decided to move to a gate where I could rest the camera and get a good shot. I was about to press the shutter when the ground gave way beneath me and I slid down into a ditch. As I fell one leg snagged and twisted my leg severely. 

By the time I dragged myself to my feet holding onto the gate the bird had flown and I realised I could barely walk. 

I managed to drive home but my left leg is now very painful; walking is impossible other than a few yards and I'm resting up for a while. Deep heat creams, elevated leg, inactivity. I won't be birding for a while. 

But I got a tick. A nice male whinchat.

221 UK 2019

Sitting on a rock...

Well, it's what I did for a couple of hours the other day at South Gare [14/8] whilst the tide slowly came in and the birds came ever closer...

I actually began at Lockwood Beck reservoir. Generally rather quiet. If you visit note that the feeder station is now accessed from the reservoir side of the fishermen's hut. It is also sheltered from the worst of the weather.

I called briefly at Scaling Dam. Too much human activity: tents, caravans - some sort of regatta was taking place.

Next an even briefer stop at Skinningrove. Again people paddling in the river, dogs on the beach. I didn't linger. South Gare beckoned.

South Gare was quiet. Dog walkers seemed few and far between and kept well away from where I wanted to be. I made my way to the rocks going rather circuitously to avoid the beach proper. The little tern area seems to have confused people this year as they were unsure where you could and where you shouldn't go. More, clearer signage needed. Even the little terns didn't understand it!

I settled myself in the stiff breeze, keeping a low profile and wearing dark coat and hat. I was soon ignored by the terns and waders that slowly came nearer as the rocks submerged under the incoming tide.

I'll start with some ''here's looking at you, babe'' shots!  Juvenile ringed plover, dunlin and sanderling

More dunlins Ringed plovers Sometimes everything went up only to come down again nearby...

Sanderlings - looking very monochrome at the moment

Oystercatchers

Knot

A nice common gull and then it'll be tern time!

Common terns. No definite sightings of arctics unfortunately although a couple of birds had me guessing. 

Sandwich terns

And that's about it for now.  220 UK 2019