Welcome to my birding blog - first launched 12th March 2012...
Wednesday 25th September ff
Yellow-browed harvest!
I went up to Hartlepool on Wednesday 25th September in hope of a yellow-browed warbler. Eventually saw one at the memorial garden aka 'The Croft' along with a number of siskins and a pair of redwing in St. Hilda's churchyard. The warblers were hyperactive and impossible to photograph. The pager promised more at South Gare - so off I went. Three were isolated in a group of elder bushes which meant [eventually, again!] four for the day.
Here's one of the South Gare birds.
A couple more record shots - the bird was very low down keeping out of the stiff breeze. One photo shows an unusual view of a yellow-browed on the ground.
Saturday 28th September: Blacktoft a-bobbing!
After nearly three days of removal assistance for younger son it was a relief to get out to Blacktoft where both pectoral sandpiper and jack snipe were reported. The jack snipe was elusive but we found it in the end really close to the screen at Ousefleet. No pictures I'm afraid but here's a blast from the past! [Last year at Old Moor]
The long hedge down towards Ousefleet was alive with dragonflies: a mix of common darters and migrant hawkers. These splendid beasts were often resting in the sun, in some cases just hanging there...
Monday 30th September - back to Hartlepool
At the putting green a juvenile redstart showed briefly but otherwise things were surprisingly quiet considering the moderate easterly that was blowing in. The seas were angry. A redshank screamed away followed by a cormorant.
A few seagulls lingered inside the harbour mouth along with a guillemot that did a mysterious disappearing act when I raised my camera!
I drove north to Whitburn to see a Richard's pipit [named after Monsieur Richard of Luneville, France - a naturalist] which we never found. I joined with a group of local birders but we could only find meadow pipits. Someone reported a Richard's pipit up on Whitburn golf course - so off we jolly well went. Again no sign but the walk took us to Marsden Quarry, a famous hotspot for passing migrants. All was quiet there too but from up on the cliff I filmed this short tour of the quarry: a first for me, taken with my iphone!
So it was back south to Hartlepool where nothing had changed. The day was enhanced late afternoon by a close encounter with the juvenile redstart in the young trees in Borough Hall gardens. Here's a pretty set of pictures...
Full frontal: I've been spotted!
Postscript: I got a card from someone in Wales the other day with a robin on it. The wording was in welsh: picture of a 'robin goch', meaning red robin. So does the phrase 'cock robin' refer to the male robin or is it from the older celtic goch robin? I can't help wondering... Incidentally, as a further aside, chough are bran goesgoch.
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Wednesday 18th September ff
There and Back Again
Wednesday 18th-Thursday 19th September
It was a brief trip to collect stuff from my mother-in-law's. I tried for Leach's petrels at Rhos-on-Sea but failed. Next I called at Conwy RSPB and was told a little stint was on the reserve near one of the hides. I went to see. At first I could only see dunlin...
The stint was just emerging from behind some reeds: in the above picture some reeds are waving in front of the dunlin but are blurred out.
You can see the stint is much smaller than the dunlin and the white 'tramlines' are visible.
A rabbit ran across in front of the hide.
I drove along Foryd Bay but there was little to see other than large numbers of distant, roosting oystercatchers. A curlew was beachcombing.
Next I called at Porth Ysgaden on the Lleyn Peninsula to try another seawatch but things were dead there too. I crept up on a kestrel perched on the rocks but he saw me coming!
At Pwllheli Marina a rock pipit was working among the seaweed - proving very difficult to get close enough to photograph. Dark legs clearly visible.
On this picture you can see the bird is eating a tiny crab.
Journeying home next day, the weather was appalling. I stopped at Conwy RSPB to give the windscreen wipers a break! No sign of stint or a reported curlew sandpiper. A curlew was enjoying...
Bath Time!
That's better!
A wheatear landed briefly on the mud too. It looked exhausted - obviously why it was on the ropes!!
Ducks were flying along the Conwy estuary. Gadwall?
Mallard.
Where's the Odeon?
I decided to go to Lincoln to visit Boultham Mere for the first time to see the blue-winged teals. Finding the way was fine until I reached the final 200m when instead of an Odeon cinema I came upon a Superbowl. I retraced my steps, double checked and ended up back at the Superbowl. Clearly Bird Guides' directions were out of date: the Odeon has gone and it's now a Superbowl. At the far end of the car park I found confirmation: a couple of cars with Bird Fair stickers!
The teal were nervous and never too close. I also saw bittern across the mere walking along the reed edge and a kingfisher going back and forth.
Here are the teal with just a smidgin of blue showing.
Later, at North Cave I photographed this young little grebe after failing to find the cattle egret at Tetney Lock or the curlew sandpipers at North Cave. Oh well, 'twas one of those days!
Tuesday 10th September ff
Quiet times at Hartlepool
Tuesday 10th September
Windy but dry when I arrived just after noon. Little seen really: I watched my med gull on the beach at Newburn Bridge but elsewhere was pretty quiet. Curlews wandered close to the car on the North Gare access road.
Scraping by at Kilnsea
Saturday 14th September
I was in the seawatch hide at the Warren by 7.15am [!!] and was not entirely surprised to find it packed with Spurn regulars. The visibility was good if only the birds would come. Unfortunately there were no fabulous sightings but we had 30+ red-throated divers, 4 manxies, 1 sooty, plenty of arctic skuas and hundreds of meadow pipits flooding across the waves to make landfall. Heading south from Northern Europe I assume. By 9.30 things were very quiet so I headed for the Canal Scrape for a coffee. I met up with some of the newly arrived meadow pipits.
At Southfield Farm I saw the much admired juvenile red-backed shrike which had been around for some days. Sitting on a fence sheltering from the wind it was easy to see in the scope.
Next I drove down to the Kilnsea Wetlands car park. It's not too far to walk to the tiny hide [desperately needs a hide twice the size] and I began to scan through the birds present. No-one had seen the three little stints way down the far end: I had never seen three little stints at once before. We saw ruff, dunlin, bar-tailed godwit [single], double figures of greenshank, spotted redshank and ringed plover.
Here's a little stint with 2 ringed plover: good size comparison!
Here's a little stint from a couple of years ago: taken at Covenham reservoir, North Lincolnshire.
Things were generally quiet at Spurn by midday [although a great snipe would appear after 5pm]. I was leaving the Bluebell car park when I saw a large crowd looking into the field where the shrike was: surely the Spurnites had already seen the shrike? I wandered over to have a look. Next to the shrike, on a fence, was a barred warbler! Bird of the day.
I drove back west to North Cave where it was much warmer and less windy. I saw three kingfishers which was quite a thrill. Here's a couple of snaps!
The female tufted duck had a lot of white round the bill but still a tuftie!
A great crested grebe swam near.
Spurned again!
Monday 16th September
I set off for Filey Dams to see a reported jack snipe. When I arrived the place was busier than I had ever seen it, which, I thought, was a good omen. However the hide was full of glumness. Apparently a sparrowhawk had flushed the bird some time earlier.
The bird had flown.
One of the seven glums said there was only Stephen left.
'Stephen?' I said. He pointed to a herring gull on the grass just outside the hide.
'Yes, Stephen Seagull. He has a brother called George.'
I feel there's a joke in there somewhere, trying to get out...
The pager announced that the great snipe was still in the driveway of Warrenby Cottage, Kilnsea. I headed south, back to Spurn, and as I went the pager kept on reassuring me that the bird was quite stable. Hopes rose! Ok, here's the bird - none of these photos have been cropped: the bird was only just far enough away to establish a focus!
First glimpse over a brick wall, craning my neck round a fence and pointing the camera in the right direction!
I eventually left and went to Canal Scrape for a coffee. I tried to find the red-backed shrike on Peter Lane but failed. As I drove back I saw birders in the grassed area south of the cottage. The bird had moved to the garden area.
On my way home I called at North Cave again. No kingfisher this time but common and green sandpipers spotted in the scope. Great crested grebe again came close: quite a photogenic bird.
Sad news this morning: the great snipe died. It didn't look ill to me but I wonder if a local cat got it... I'll update this if I find out more.
Update: Yes, a cat did get the bird, I'm afraid. Probably never seen people or cats before. I seem to remember the same thing happened to an american robin a few years ago in Grimsby... very sad.
Stop press!
Working with Booksmart I have published a book of my favourite images of 2012. Here's a couple of sample views...
UK 2013: 255
Wednesday 4th September & Saturday 7th September 2013
Old Moor's Almanac
Wednesday 4th September
The night heron had appeared, albeit briefly, in the 'cuckoo tree' across from the wader scrape. When I arrived, along with other pager watchers, there was no sign. This situation prevailed for the rest of the afternoon: no night heron!
So, make do and mend. There were common sandpipers...facing left...
...plus the right facing variety...
...there were reflective snipe...
...and easily overlooked, massive-billed shovelers!
...and there were some ruff that were pretty mobile but eventually dropped in in front of the hide...
When I got home I found my wife had been keeping a caterpillar captive until my return. This turned out to be an elephant hawk moth caterpillar, about 3 inches long when on the move...
Thank heaven for little gulls
For little gulls get bigger every day!
[from Gigi, corrupted...]
Saturday 7th September
Well I don't suppose they do really. Anyway, I'd better start at the very beginning [a very good place to start, said Maria in the Sound of Music - if that doesn't put you off, nothing will!]. I was supposed to be going cruising but the cruise was cancelled due to weather conditions. So it was off to Flamborough to implement Plan B. Lots of gannets and porpoises but no skuas or shearwaters. I think the morning was too old and I look forward to an earlier departure on the 15th. Still, it was off to Hornsea Mere next. There were birds there!
I watched a red-necked grebe distantly across the mere and I saw the juvenile black tern out on the water. Later I spotted a tern on a post near Kirkholme Point.
Common tern. Not the black tern. What's this then?
I may be wrong but I think it's just a juvenile common tern... quite dark but that bill should be black...
Still, I saw some gulls on the jetty. Black-headed I expected.
Yes, proper black-heads. A little gull. This chap still had his full summer cap - the others were getting into winter garb...
Never got little gulls like this before so no apologies for the number of images in this group.
Finally I called at North Cave for butterflies and dragonflies. Not disappointed...
Common hawker [I think]...
...common chaser...
...and an admirable way to end, I think...
254 UK 2013
Friday 23rd August - Wednesday 28th August 2013
A week is a long time in politics birding!
Well Mr. Cameron probably is thinking just that. Meanwhile I'm ready to report a varied week when the promised easterlies didn't quite deliver - although they did send us a few 'goodies'. Let's tell the story!
Friday 23rd August: Blacktoft
An afternoon visit to Blacktoft in hope of a reported little stint that had left when I arrived. Arrival and departure probably linked to the tides. I made do with a greenshank...
...a snipe...
...an unusually close spotshank still in [fairly] summer plumage [and ruff in the background]...
...and a few black-tailed godwits.
Oops!
Saturday 24th August: Acomb, York: the sparrowhawk dropped in to visit!
Saturday was to be a day at home sorting various bits of paperwork. Bills and receipts etc. From up in my study I heard my wife shouting 'camera' and something else indistinguishable. I grabbed camera. No memory card. Grabbed memory card. Assumed by the time I had done this the bird would have disappeared. By now I gathered the cat was in the conservatory looking up at a sparrowhawk on the fence at the side of the conservatory watching the cat. The cat had gone back to sleep knowing it was safe. It understands the concept glass and the safety it affords.
By now I had reached the back bedroom window to see if the bird was there. It was unbelievably close. At 13 feet just within focus range of my 400mm DO lens. Aim, focus, shoot! Through the double glazing too! So, given the deterioration I expect through glass here is what I think is a great set of images. But I would, I suppose...
Here's looking at you!
The green is next door's lawn if you were wondering, slightly overexposed.
Sunday 25th August: Spurn calling!
An early start, I was hoping for a good seawatch and although things were not that 'busy' I was pleased to see pomarine skuas, one sooty shearwayer, some manxies and, probably best of all, three arctic skuas flying along the shoreline. Incredible views.
As for photographs... There were whinchats everywhere. Here's my best shot from Canal Scrape.
Rumours attracted me to move on to Sammy's Point where wryneck was reported along with some warblers. Wheatear were seen and more whinchats. No sign of a wryneck other than a fleeting glimpse. A painted lady posed. I suppose painted ladies would do that!
A chiifchaff probably.
I returned to Canal Scrape to watch the swallows who were nesting in the hide. They perched on the barbed wire waiting to come in, made nervous by the numbers of birders present.
In the car park I snatched this wall butterfly as it paused ever so briefly with its wings open.
A wryneck was entertaining the crowds at the Rose & Crown. I went along. I'll end this day's report with the wryneck images.
Monday 26th August: Blacktoft &
Barry and I had a day's local birding. No especial targets - just a nice day out!
Blacktoft had insects and birds. We walked down to Ousefleet where we saw this greensand on the pool from the screen.
On the way back we were 'buzzed' by various dragonflies. Common chaser.
Speckled wood at rest. Usually they rest with wings open as in all of my previous photographs of this species.
The scrapes were quiet but we found an attractive greenshank in good light.
A heron was preening but with one wing draped over its body to catch the warmth of the sun.
A little grebe plus chick.
A larger, great crested grebe drifted past the hide.
A very late [juvenile, I think] avocet.
A final dragonfly and a nice butterfly image to round off the day. 
Tuesday 27th August: Flamborough Failure?
Well not quite failure after looking at lots of photos we decided we had seen an icterine warbler along Old Fall hedge. Otherwise we saw spotfly and some willow warblers. Photographically it was more a case of trying to get far enough away from the butterflies as I had the 400mm lens on. Still, it worked out all right.
First red admiral photo of the year.
This wall looks quite different from the pictures in my books.
It's a male from the dark sex brand running down the forewing.
Speckled wood.
We saw the Yorkshire Belle from the cliff top. I'll look forward hopefully to a cruise this autumn...
Wednesday 28th August: Spurn beckons again
Barry and I had a day at Spurn. We found hirundines gathering at the Warren. Not a great photo but I like it because it shows a sand martin [blurred, top right], swallows and a house martin sandwiched between the two foreground swallows. Full set!
A barred warbler was to be released in 10 minutes. We got there!
The wrynecks were still present. Nice views coming up! On the rock armour...
...Crown & Anchor car park...
...roadside near Cliff Farm [all the same bird]
Waders came down the Humber in a long line.
On to Kilnsea Wetlands. Golden plover whirling round.
A few dunlin came close to the small hide.
A curlew drifted past over our heads. I was a bit slow to get onto it.
I'll finish with a few late butterflies. Wall.
Painted lady.
Common blue.
Common chaser? Very red one.
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