Welcome to my birding blog - first launched 12th March 2012...
22nd-28th April 2019
The grass is riz!
I wonder where the birdies is! They're nearly all here...
April 22nd - Saltholme
I started bright and early at Dorman's Pool, hoping for some warblers. As I got out of the car I could immediately hear a gropper reeling, and, given my hearing loss, that meant very close indeed. Soon spotted in thick vegetation across the road from the little car park. Tried everything to get clear views...
Common whitethroat in same area
Path down to the hide held linnets and sedge warblers - annual treat to get close to the sedgies!
Linnet posing as moustached warbler!!
Sedge warblers
On to Saltholme proper. Walked down to Saltholme hide and met two birds on posts! Meadow pipit first.
Then a super looking wheatear.
Last photo from that trip: a greylag!
I was lucky to be shown a little stint on the causeway late afternoon but it was a tricky scope job to pick it up. Thanks to local birders!
April 24th - Scaling Dam
Hoping most of all for a cuckoo, I spent a very pleasant few hours in the hide chatting to Teesside birders. I'll begin with a greenshank that was in front of the hide.
A white wagtail wasn't co-operative!
The pair of common sandpipers were a bit more inclined to pose.
Some of you may know I call extremely distant views of a bird ''cuckoo' shots. Well here's one...
Meadow pipit [I guess] having a go and probably with good reason!
April 26th - Saltholme and Bishop Middleham
Spent the morning in Phil Stead hide waiting for this bird to wake up!
There were other things to keep me interested...
Black headed gull looking smart in excellent light
A shelduck too
Teal
A group of black-tailed godwits were out on the water feeding.
Three lesser black-backed gulls came in.
They clearly made the godwits very nervous. You'll get some idea from these shots...
The gulls eventually left.
A heron preened and posed.
Throughout all of this the pair of garganey [brief view of female to follow] slept on in the sunshine. I went to buy some sunflower hearts for our garden birds. I went back. Eventually the garganeys stirred. The pictures show I'll never get this close to a garganey again!
I left for Castle Lake, Bishop Middleham in increasing drizzle. Yellow wagtails promised but I couldn't find any. However prime target did show: wood sandpiper.
Today, April 28th: Lin Dike
Up early hoping for a female bufflehead. Seen a few times eventually very far end of Spoonbill Flash. No photos but did see Egyptian geese and my first common terns of the year. Here's the terns.
182 UK 2019
5th-17th April 2019
A Spring Miscellany
1: Kildale, Scaling Dam and Saltholme area - April 5th
Ring ouzels at Kildale - never close but exciting viewing!
Scaling Dam - water pipit and osprey
Osprey seen off by oystercatcher!
Saltholme - curlew
Solar panel car park at Saltholme
2: Fairburn and St. Aidan's - April 7th
Whooper swan living alone at New Flash...
...and a very shy blackcap in Lin Dike car park
Great crested grebes near the causeway, St. Aidan's
3: Garden orchid - April 8th
Japanese calanthe orchid in the garden
4: Fairburn, The Cut - April 9th
Avocets, teal and...
...the top of the head of a ruddy shelduck. She spent the whole afternoon asleep and, virtually, out of sight. I watched the sand martins - one swallow picked out too
5: Fairburn, The Cut [again] and Cedric's Pool - April 10th
I've heard of ragged robin but I felt sorry for this little chap. Still feeding by the path.
Vince told me to head for Cedric's Pool to see a garganey
Gadwall and shoveler too
6: Blacktoft, Potteric Carr and Oddball! - April 12th
I was at Blacktoft where things were pretty quiet even down at Ousefleet. A sole godwit was by the hide...
...but then a spotted crake was paged at Potteric Carr. A bit of quick research told me that the pool in question [Lovershall Pool] was not too far from the visitor centre. I decided to have a go.
Plus a reflective lapwing
On the way home I decided to call at St. Aidan's to see if there was any sign of little owl on Oddball, the old dragline crane.
7: Blacktoft - April 13th
Marsh harriers
8: Tophill Low - April 15th
Very quiet and no new year ticks but a close encounter with a friendly kestrel made my day.
Grey heron
9: Blacktoft - April 17th
Rats!
Sunshine avocet
Another blackcap playing hard to get! And giving me the look!
Sunshine snipe
Finally, some more marsh harriers
169 UK 2019
25th March 2019
Weather tales...
1: Wet,wet,wet!
Monday March 25th tempted me to pop to Blacktoft for reported garganey. I already knew about the need for wellingtons as some of the paths were flooded to four or five inches in a few places. Access down the hedge path to Ousefleet was fine and it was from the gate at the end of the hedge that I spotted the garganey [2 ducks, 1 drake] out on the grazing marsh which still held a lot of water. Ousefleet hide had a strong collection of wildfowl and waders. I took no pictures however as nothing was really close. Heading back and turning left for Marshland hide I had to paddle through the deepest section of water...
2: Sunny skies!
Kildale for ring ouzel and wheatear [29/3] but no sign. Just mipits, red grouse and a mistle thrush. Here are some red grouse shots.
All taken from the car. I moved on to Skinningrove still hoping for my first wheatear of the year. Skinningrove delivered. I spotted a stonechat on the rock armour so raised my camera and, looking down the lens, I saw a wheatear. The stonechat was just a metre further on. Here's both of them.
A motley crew of eiders off Skinningrove beach.
Finally at North Gare thinking about a possible white wagtail but took these photos instead. Kestrel and skylarks.
Saturday 30/3: I followed up on a report of little gull at Fairburn. Managed to scope the gull from the visitor centre boardwalk looking down Main Bay. Then met a birder I know by sight who told me where to go to see the spoonbill. So, mission accomplished: 2 ticks in a morning.
3: Cold!
To Tophill Low for the day. Hoping for kingfisher but that hope never materialised. Blackcaps, cetti's and chiffies all singing but only chiffchaff actually seen.
It was cold and this bird looks like it would like something warmer! Meanwhile in the visitor centre a little gull was showing rather well. Two seen: here's one of them. At first hiding on the reservoir wall. Then took flight.
A few wrens were noted. Here are 2 different ones from different parts of the reserve.
From North Marsh, some little grebe photos.
O reservoir had a few goldeneyes still around.
South Marsh also had a little gull present. Nice size comparison with black-headed gull.
A marsh harrier drifted across North Marsh before dropping into the reedbed. Some unusual angles as it banked before diving down!
160 UK 2019
20th March ff
I'm still standing!
1: Bempton
Just in case any of my regular readers are wondering whether I've popped my proverbial clogs, I'm fine: just been looking after a new kitten, I've hated the windy weather [putting things right round the garden after the storms took its time] and there hasn't been much to go out for recently in our part of the world. So yesterday [20/3] I went to Bempton to get my annual auk fix. Also saw kittiwakes, gannets, fulmars, mipits and a chesty greenfinch. Here's the photos.
2:March 22nd - Skinningrove, Lockwood Beck reservoir and Scaling Dam
Main target was a female black redstart at Skinningrove...
"What's this grey job then?" My friend Chris King asked.
"Dunno CK," I replied.
Dunnock. Often overlooked and took a nice photo.
This wasn't my target either!
Then I spotted it on the far side of Kilton Beck [the stream that runs down to the sea at Skinningrove]. Female black redstart - perfectly coloured to be almost invisible at times as she wandered in and out of the rock armour.
Next stop: Lockwood Beck bird feeder station. First 20 minutes were completely devoid of any bird life. Then a couple of chaffinches appeared. Shortly after that it was raining birds. And what a super selection too!
Lesser redpolls...
A super male brambling...
...and this fellow. Mealy redpoll
There were 2 mealy type redpolls and you probably spotted a siskin in there too. Supporting cast of robin, blackbird, treecreeper, chaffinch, goldfinch, dunnock and a few tits.
Finally a brief call at Scaling Dam for a LRP.
155 UK 2019
27th February 2019
Great grey!
February 27th - took me down the A1 to Clumber Park near Worksop and to a county I don't visit that often, Nottinghamshire. It was a long walk from the car park to South Lawn on the other side of the lake, followed by a long wait for the bird to reappear. I sat on a bench in the sunshine and chatted to a local birder. Ron Marshall came over to chat too. Eventually the bird was spotted in a tree some way behind us and looking into the sun.
Luckily it flew over us and landed in a sequence of shrubs and small trees in front of us. Not too close but near enough for some good photographic possibilities.
The shrike was not concerned by all the folk about on such a nice day and most of the folk were blissfully unaware of the bird's presence!
You had to be quick to get a focus lock before it changed sapling!
