The Persistent Birder Rides Again!

This story begins on the 27th of March when I went to Old Moor for my first attempt to see the elusive ring-tailed duck. Between March 27th and April the 24th I tried 4 times [in total] to track down this bird. Persistence sometimes pays off...

April 7th: Old Moor

No ring-necked duck seen by the assembled crowd. Spoonbill in the mist on Wath Ings and a great crested grebe from Wader Scrape hide.

April 8th: A trip to Ossett

A pair [i.e. two - not necessarily male and female as far as I know] of adult black-crowned night herons were reported on the River Calder.

Views of the location from the bridge.

Part of a bit of an influx across the country. The first bird seen was determinedly fast asleep whilst a crowd of birders watched in hope for a bit of action. This came when the second bird flew in.

April 13th: Bishop Middleham and Saltholme

Bishop Middleham was quiet. Best sightings were fieldfares and a bullfinch.

Saltholme has distant Mediterranean gulls through the visitor centre glass plus a kestrel being escorted off the premises by an angry black-headed gull.

Stock dove

Herring gulls by the Lifeboat Station, Hartlepool.

April 13th: Adwick upon Dearne

Avocets and a kestrel sheltering from the wind. A lucky finding.

April 23rd: Blacktoft Sands to try for the three black terns that were reported on Marshland scrape. They obliged! [There's a swallow in the mix too!]

I only got one photo showing more than one bird.

I walked down to Ousefleet. A pair of yellow wagtails were in the ploughed field.

April 24th: Another old Moor Escapade

I wasn't too hopeful but I had news the ring-necked duck was on Willow Pool. This was confirmed by the girl on duty. we had a fun conversation. i'm pretty deaf and she had laryngitis and could barely speak! Willlow Pool is the far left-hand section of Wath Ings - to the left of the line of trees that stand in the water. A cormorant was perched there all afternoon. I spent all afternoon watching the hirundines, pochard and other ducks whilst hoping Mr. Elusive might appear. Few other people came. It wasn't warm but I had promised myself I'd stay until 3.30. Round about twenty past three I said [very loudly] to the empty hide: 'It's there! It's there!'

It was.

I walked back content and ready to face the A1 at Wentbridge. I passed a pair of LBB miscreants on my way.

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Meeting up with some old friends...

It's probably just me but when I'm out birding and I see a species I haven't seen for a while I feel reassured that in spite of everything going on in the world some things are still ok. Well, just about.

March 19th: Bempton Cliffs and a drive down to Kilnsea

I hadn't yet seen razorbills or puffins so they were birds I hoped to spot. I was lucky to spot several separate groups of red partridge on my drive towards Bridlington and a skylark as I approached the reserve. I also saw kittiwakes as well as the two auk species.

A barn owl was flying near the car park at Kilnsea Wetlands.

March 21st: Adwick-upon-Dearne

A drake garganey was reported and found quite easily as a group of birders were staring hopefully at something in a pool some yards from the main path.

The garganey was fast asleep to the right of the teal. After about half an hour I decided to go for a walk hoping the bird might stir itself later. I saw chiffchaffs,  quite a few avocets, tufted ducks and some black-tailed godwits.

Blackthorn

The garganey meanwhile woke up and flew across to the main pool.

March 24th: Oliver's Mount, Scarborough

Named after Oliver Cromwell but any connection with the great man is almost certainly apocryphal. Still the site provides a great view over the town and sea and was the ideal spot to watch the high speed flypasts of two alpine swifts. I wasn't having a good day as I panicked when I parked the car and discovered I had no phone, no wallet and no pager. I began to search the car but I soon realised the missing items were at home. I had simply forgotten them. Fortunately I had a couple of pounds in the car and plenty of diesel to get me home. Attempts to photograph the swifts didn't go well. The Canon R7 has its flaws and I struggle with the electronic viewfinder to follow fast moving birds against any complex or changing background. These are alpine swifts but I hope for better pictures one day....this year's influx was very unusual.

Oh well. You can't win them all! Still a good tick and great to watch in the bins. 

I saw ruff at North Cave later that day and on March 27th after not seeing the ring-necked duck I watched some other photographers trying to photograph four bearded tits. It looked hopeless and I didn't linger. It was raining.

March 28th and 31st: Blacktoft Sands

Quiet afternoons at Blacktoft with the regular birds. But a couple of nice surprises too. The R7 was in a good mood that day .... or perhaps I was!

Redpoll by Reception

Pied wagtail in flight at Marshland

Something disturbed the birds at Reedling hide

April 3rd: Grouse and Hartlepool

I drove up to Langdon Beck to see black grouse. Only two birds seen distantly from the road side. I headed to Cow Green reservoir. 

Kittiwakes at the lifeboat station. One bird was showing off its jewellery!

A firecrest at the Putting Green in Hartlepool was too quick for the camera to lock on to due to the many branches that were in the way but a sleeping little gull at Saltholme kept me sitting watching it until I decided to move on. All it ever did was move its head. Apparently five minutes before I arrived it was flying around but was being pestered by the black-headed gulls. Once on the ground they left it alone.

April 4th: North Cave

Little owl through the scope and little ringed plover also [but not at the same location]. LRP on Cell 2a; owl down in trees by the farm.

Ruff, lesser black-backed gull, shelduck, avocet, reed bunting and coltsfoot!

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Waiting for Spring...

Things have gone rather quiet lately here in Yorkshire coupled with some unpleasant weather...

March 2nd: North Cave

A few trips to North Cave this month didn't really deliver although I did spend some time there peering down into the reeds to try and see a bittern as it crept almost horizontally through the dead reeds. I did see the bittern but attempts at a photograph were a complete failure! A water rail in the same spot did show.

A couple of other birds from North Cave...

...plus an unusual iris from the garden.

March 15th: Blacktoft Sands

A nice afternoon at Blacktoft with plenty of things to see. Plus a particularly good sighting within reach of my lens. More of which a little later.

People don't photograph greylags because, I expect, they're rather ordinary. So I don't suppose the next bird would be too popular either but it's a bird, it's living its life and we should still respect it.

A few ducks 

Greylags again and a huddle of snipe

A mute swan

Marsh harriers

Sitting in Singleton Hide these four geese sailed into view from behind the large island to the right of the middle channel. They came closer and closer. Here they are. Russian white-fronted geese.

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