Welcome to my birding blog - first launched 12th March 2012...
June 6th ff 2016
Where next?
Couldn't think of a good title today [9/6/16]. Been down the A1 to Old Moor for the little bittern.
Found a buzzard photo from last Monday which I think is better than the one in the last blog.
Someone asked me the other day what I did with all my photos. I explained that I do a blog, I put some of my better photos on Bird Guides and I produce a nice thick photobook each year as a record of my birding year. Here's a 2-page spread from this year's book [although, inevitably, it may well change by the end of the year!]
Sunday 12th June - half day visit to Old Moor with Barry. No bitterns seen so had to make do with coots, linnets, and pterodactyls. Honest! What else could they be? The astonished gulls are lesser black-backs - I can see their legs!
Let's have a closer look at the right-hand bird...
There. Told you!!
There were lots of marsh and common spotted orchids - some were especially lush and robust.
We moved on to somewhere to try the new hide. A great crested grebe came close and the funny duck was there with its stiff tail and big blue plastic bill.
UK 227 2016
4th-7th June 2016
From Bonaparte to Great Crested Fish!
- including what I consider is my photo of the year so far...
A really early start on Saturday June 4th took me up north of Newcastle to the River Wansbeck estuary. Research suggested I ignore the Castle Island birders and head along a footpath on the opposite northern bank from the Old Colliery downstream and east of the A189 flyover. After much scanning I spotted a good possible...
Landing on black-headed gull's head!
Above: fishing boat reflection.
Whilst walking back I flushed a butterfly from the grass [I was trying to clean beach mud off my shoes!] It crashed back down in the grass. The temperature was about 10 degrees. I spotted and was surprised to see my first painted lady of the year.
I saw 6 more at Druridge - of which more later.
QEII country park just on the off-chance...
Garganey and spoonbill at Druridge Pools but distant. A marsh orchid and garden tiger caterpillar.
The ladies were very nice...
I headed south intending to reach Appleton-le-Moors in the NY Moors by about 2p.m. to try once again for a pearl-bordered fritillary. A lifer butterfly for me I was thrilled to see just one. It was nice and warm but surprisingly windy.
Sunday June 5th took Barry and me to Bolton Abbey. Dipper including an attempt at a swimming shot!
A pair of redstarts were active just before the woodland.
Pied and spotted flycatchers were seen plus a green woodpecker [not photographed as it hurtled downstream].
This great spotted woodpecker posed by the half-way shelter.
Hesperis matronalisor sweet rocket plus ajuga reptans bugle were seen.
A spotfly posed on the aqueduct bridge, just catching the sunshine.
We headed about a dozen miles north to Kilnsey Park's SSSI to see the lady's slipper orchids. I glimpsed a tiny brown argus butterfly.
Narrow-leaved marsh orchid [we were informed] and bird's eye primrose.
Barry photographing the bird's eye.
Final stop was my third visit to Farnham so Barry could meet the small blues. I'm thinking of selling this as a very difficult jigsaw puzzle!! Can you spot the butterfly?
Cropped view!
Monday evening 6th June we went on a visit to a private reserve near Goole. As we waited for some others to arrive a buzzard was mobbed overhead. Perhaps the best buzzard photos I've ever got.
Southern marsh orchid, common blue butterfly, blue-tailed damselfly...
...and a little egret.
However the main reason for our visit was the possibility of seeing turtle doves. We spotted something on the path ahead.
We soon had turtles in the air around us.
On Tuesday I went at short notice to Blacktoft for a red-necked phalarope at Ousefleet. Very distant, cue a true cuckoo photo [as I call shots of birds ridiculously far away!] The phalarope is that tiny lump to the right of the spoonbills and just left of a gadwall.
Next daft idea was to go to Old Moor in order not to see a little bittern. Spent an hour and a half staring at reedbed. Bird did show 2.25 hours after I left! Oh well, that's birding. I photographed a great crested grebe lunching on a perch. Not perched on a perch just lunching on one!
I nearly forgot. My best photo of the year so far? A turtle dove. Nice one!
226 UK 2016
24th May -31st May 2016
Uphill and Down Dale - again!
On May 24th Barry and I made a return visit to Leyburn Old Glebe YWT to look for orchids. There were carpets of green-winged orchids.
A special treasure at Leyburn are the burnt-tip orchids. Only a couple found this year.
Wednesday 25th May Barry and I went up to Cresswell, Druridge Pools and Castle Island. The Bonaparte's gull eluded us but we saw a pectoral sandpiper at Boldon Flats and a little stint on a flash by Druridge Pools. In a hide there a swallow perched in front of us.
On the 28th I went to Alkborough where I saw bearded tits [but failed to get them to pose for me] along with other well-known friends. Here's a few...
Shelduck displaying then scarpering!
Sometimes the bird doesn't need to be dominate the whole image!
Exocet.
I then drove to Spaunton Quarry where I saw very little. Just a wall butterfly.
On the way home I called at a site near Farnham [Knaresborough way] where I did rather better. Small blues.
On May 29th Sheila and I went to Kilnsey Park for a walk with an expert in the SSSI there.
Orchid heaven. Also featured: a friendly willow warbler. I'll start with a few early marsh orchids.
Hybrid marsh orchid we were told.
Early purple.
Butterwort and bird's-eye primrose.
The warbler with food.
Ambition fulfilled: Lady's Slipper orchids.
On the way home we called at Farnham again so Sheila could see the small blues. They were very co-operative!
Yesterday: glossy ibis at North Cave.
Today: great white egret North Duffield. No photos due to the distance.
221 2016
7th May 2016 ff
It's Bumper Bundle time!
Starting on May 5th with a double walk in the Bolton Abbey area. I soon met up with the birds I expected to see on the river...
Common sandpiper
Grey wagtail
Grey heron - looking almost like a plastic replica!
Up into the woods I came across a puzzled song thrush who just sat and stared at me.
Target bird number one: pied flycatchers in good number.
I came upon a friendly female pied flycatcher.
I saw a few redstarts but they were not posing for me. This is a smart male but it was taken into the sunlight.
Although others had wood warbler that day I failed to find any. No-one else had seen spotted flycatcher - I was even told it was too early yet by one self-confessed expert. So here's the early bird.
Mandarins came very close.
The females are subtly attractive.
The male retreated to the trees.
One grey wagtail perched in a tree next to me...
...another was on a rock in mid-stream.
I frightened a foraging squirrel.
Mrs Mallard took her ducklings for a bubble bath!
Butterburs were flowering on the west bank...[they get rid of migraine apparently]
...along with bluebells.
I had a go at photographing the sand martins. Here's one I was quite pleased with.
Later that day I dropped in to Crimdon Beach to see if the little terns were back. A sea fret meant it seemed very cold and dismal. Sanderlings were out for a jog.
Little terns - first of several visits.
Sunday May 8th just an hour free to go to Swillington Ings. Black necked grebes looked well in the sunlight.
A female orange tip [no orange tips on the female so it's often overlooked] was on the cuckoo flower - its normal food plant.
A reed bunting was singing merrily competing with a reed warbler about ten feet away. Here are both of them.
The warbler kept diving back into a gorse bush but soon reappeared to sing.
I was reminded how suddenly spring arrives and how quickly it can be over...
May 9th: whiskered terns at Saltholme were the excuse to head up to the Hartlepool area. Not easy to photograph - note the dark underparts...
...and in this shot the short tail shows fairly clearly.
At Phil Stead hide a tree sparrow was sunning itself...
...and a garganey showed briefly before disappearing in the weeds...
...a common tern was taking a break.
At Dorman's I can never resist the sedge warblers.
Seaton Common was quiet apart from some distant curlews. They used to keep linnets as cage birds - this one's just on a fence!
Then back to Crimdon Dene!
May 11th I began the day at North Cave where I saw a wood sandpiper. Then I went to Filey as a stop-off on my way to Scaling Dam. Carr Naze was busy with sand martins. I lay in the grass near a fence they favoured...
Eventually they flew off and a meadow pipit took over.
Scaling Dam's new hide afforded views of a common sandpiper among the gulls. How small is that!!
I decided to walk up the glen from the wonderfully-named Boghouse Lane. Stonechats, three cuckoo sightings and my target: green hairstreak.
Thursday 12th May Barry and I headed for Saltholme. Whiskered tern, black tern for starters and then on to Crimdon so Barry could see the little terns. Cowslips were in flower...
...and skylarks singing overhead.
Ringed plover on Crimdon Beach
Summer sanderlings still jogging. Nice light!
Rare flight shot of Barry's cap blowing away in the wind. Barry hotfooting after it!
Obligatory little terns again!
A pied wagtail explored the dried up beck...
...and a [buff-breasted] meadow pipit watched us from the grassy bank.
As we left Crimdon we spotted a few early purple orchids.
In the afternoon we went on a walk somewhere not far from the Bilsdale transmitter which was visible above the clouds. Crossing the moors Barry spotted some golden plover in a field of sheep. Stopping to take a quick photo the sheep all came running excitedly towards us. Result: golden plover exit stage left!
A wheatear brightened our stroll.
We were on our walk to a Duke of Burgundy site. Barry spotted our first of the year. More followed in the sheltered ride.
A couple of dingy skippers were seen too.
On the way home we called briefly to see if turtle doves had been seen this year up Sutton Bank. We were told no, nothing definite. This was follwed 10 minutes later by this email...
Hi Chris,
You must be something of a lucky charm – confirmed turtle dove sighting about 10 minutes ago! Nice to see you again!
Chris
Visitor Centre Assistant Sutton Bank National Park Centre Sutton Bank Thirsk YO7 2EH
...and then by this...
I also saw my photos in the 2016 North York Moors guide...
Friday 13th a quick trip to Danby Beacon for dotterel. They were a long way from the road - others had better views on other days but I was content to see them in the damp misty conditions. Record shot - not quite what I call a cuckoo shot!
Monday 16th May - a drive down the A1 to Twyford Wood in Lincolnshire to hunt the grizzled skipper. Hunt the Butterfly Conservation area was the main problem. No signs or clues. Eventually after wandering along roads and runways [the woods hide an old WWII airfield] I met a man with bins and a camera and so I got there in the end.
The only sign is when you actually are already there!!
I found the 'Sanctuary' and a dingy skipper...
...and then my lifer butterfly - grizzled skippers. They're tiny chaps. Some pose very nicely.
A trip to Gait Barrows NNR proved disappointing with regard to pearl-bordered fritillaries but interesting nonetheless. The limestone pavement is amazing.
I saw some early purple orchids and a speckled yellow moth.
Lily of the Valley grow wild too.
Yesterday I finished up at Bempton and went back to my roots: it all started for me with a desire to photograph birds in flight. Bifs, some call them. Well, here's a nice set to finish this posting.
But before that a few snaps from around the visitor centre: swallows, tree sparrows and a charming jackdaw. I like jackdaws!
Oh yes, and a pied wag. Never easy to photograph well, this one really pleased me!
And now the finale. A fistful of gannets!
215 UK 2016
30th April ff
It all happens so quickly...
The weather shifts into a better frame of mind and everything takes off. Problem is being in the right place at the right time and not being able to be in two places at once!!
Blacktoft Sands 30th April. Sedge warbler.
The cloud moved on...
Frampton Marsh, 4th May - Black-winged stilt and a garganey. [Garganey photographed through a hawthorn bush!]
Called at Whisby on way home and watched a nightingale then saw the female Monty's at Blacktoft.
A walk with Barry on Strensall Common on Thursday 5th May...common lizard.
We heard cuckoo, green woodpecker and saw tree pipit too.
Plus a few lambs!
Willow warblers competed for the airwaves with chaffinches. This chaffinch posed in the sunshine.
