Welcome to my birding blog - first launched 12th March 2012...
11th-17th July 2020
Minus 42
No, not the temperature! That's how many I am behind last year's total on the same date. And last year was not a good year anyway. On a brighter note and proof I've stayed much closer to home since March, 88 of my year 177 ticks [so far] were seen in Yorkshire. Only 4 less than last year as a whole so I should beat last year but I won't get near 2011 when my Yorkshire ticks amounted to 233!
Still, I soldier on...
July 11th - bees in the garden and a few other bits.
Red-tailed bumble bee fallen prey to an orb spider
Romneya coulteri - California tree poppy
Poncirus/citrus trifoliata or trifoliate orange produces small bitter fruit. Been in the garden for years - it's very thorny - only had its first orange last year. Lots this year.
July 14th: Red kite over A64 and a barren trip to Fairburn Ings. The kite was very high and so was the helicopter. Little else of interest.
July 15th: Staveley YWT. An enjoyable afternoon. Whitethroats, a few orchids, common terns, red-tailed bumble bee, scabious flowers, policeman's helmet [aka himalayan balsam] and, most of all, marsh helleborine orchids. Still in fairly good condition and growing next to the path. Here they all are.
Marsh helleborines
July 17th: South Gare and Dorman's Pool
Nothing really exciting but it was good to see a few little terns [14 in the photo!]at South Gare along with lots of common terns and a few sandwich terns. They were distant with my short zoom lens so I couldn't be sure if any other types were lurking among them.
Lesser black-backed and herring gulls at Dorman's plus a friendly crow.
23rd June to 6th July 2020
Flowers and Birds
Flowers from June 23rd first: the main rush of flowers has now passed but there's still plenty to see and smell!
June 25th: Nosterfield - birds and dragons!
Lesser yellowlegs
Oystercatcher, wren and little owl
Dragonflies - four-spotted chaser and common darters
Common spotted orchid
June 29th: Fairburn, Lin Dike viewing screen: wood sandpiper. Green sandpiper also seen but with difficulty. Would have had great views if the hide had been open!
July 1st: Little terns on Seaton Carew beach. Also saw sandwich terns flying past Hartlepool Headland. Here's my favourite tern.
July 3rd: trip to not see the black-browed albatross. Success! I didn't see it! For a bird like that - one that doesn't hang around - it's tough trying to get ready and head to Bempton from York in time. However, I still had a great day. I avoided the crowds and headed for Staple Newk where I met my friend Linda who's a volunteer at Bempton.
Here's a set of photos from Bempton.
Guess what they're not looking at!
Above: tree sparrow by Bempton visitor centre
July 6th: back to Fairburn for a distant common sandpiper...can you see it?
Also present: the cattle egret.
177 UK 2020
11th-17th June 2020
Changes: turn and face the strange
Everything we took for granted now seems either different or at risk. I remain cautious and anxious for all our futures. Things have been happening that have upset the balances in my world. Oh well, enough of that. I'll snap out of it as my mother used to say. Let's go birding again...
June 11th: I finally decided to go to Far Ings in Lincolnshire to try for the Blyth's reed warbler. Apart from a 400 metre walk that's all there was to it. The bird appeared, sang plentifully going through a comprehensive repertoire of song mimicking other birds it had heard. Here he is.
I called at North Cave on the way home. All pretty quiet but I was thrilled to see a pair of great crested grebes with young on board.
Plus sand martin!
June 13th: Old Moor for an invisible black tern. Bird reported but on arrival it became obvious there was no way to see the main lake. All hides closed; quite a few paths were also closed. I met several angry birders who couldn't see the point of saying the reserve was open but 'by the way' you can't get to see the birds! Seemed a bit of a farce to me. On my walk to the 'bus stop' viewpoint I saw some reed warblers. Here's one.
June 16th: first trip to Biggin [near Sherburn in Elmet] for the red-footed falcon which by the time I arrived had flown off for the day only to return in the evening long after I had left. Red admiral and yellow wagtail seen. Only managed to photo the butterfly and never looked for the little owls that were reported later.
Swallow on wires by the car.
June 17th: went back early! Saw the red-footed falcon immediately. Never close but great to watch. Flight shots very disappointing.
Back home Sheila pointed this insect out to me on our lounge window. After much research I think it's ephialtes manifestator and it doesn't have a common name. The 'stinger' is in fact an ovipositor. It's a kind of wasp relative.
168 UK 2020
7th-10th June 2020
That's a bit more like it!
June 7th: I went to Collingham to see a rose-coloured starling. Just after seeing the bird it dropped into the field behind the hedge and didn't reappear until it was spotted flying off down the road. I left with just a couple of shots taken.
June 8th was a really good day: good to meet a few birders I know and to see some quality birds. North Cave Wetlands, reedbed lake: a red-necked phalarope was my target.
A red kite came over much to the distress of the local lapwings.
Reed warblers were moving up and down the reeds in front of us.
The bird just above looked like a recently fledged bird that was following an adult around.
Two photographers had told me they were waiting for a stoat to reappear so on my way back I gave the area a wide berth. The men were still waiting. I carried on about 100m when, out of their sight, I met a group of what I assume were young stoat kits.
I walked back and beckoned to the two stoat seekers. I left them after a while but they got some shots in the end.
June 9th: I drove up to Nosterfield to try and spot the drake garganey [second attempt]. Seen this time asleep but it did shake its head a couple of times. Female garganey out on the water spotted by another birder. Lesser yellowlegs looking very smart. However all of these were great to see in the scope but too distant for the camera. I walked north along the village path expecting to find whitethroats again. No sign but this sedge warbler posed.
Orchids in the fields.
Rabbits in abundance.
I went back down the A1 to Collingham for another look at the starling.
Red kite came over.
June 10th: cattle egret on New Flash, Fairburn.
165 UK 2020
3rd June 2020
It's Bumper Bundle Time!
We're not out of the woods yet, I'm sorry to say. Chasing us out of the woods prematurely won't do us any good. So I intend to proceed with the utmost caution. I have, however, been to see a few birds...
Flowers first. No comments at all this time. Mail me if you need to know more!
Small blue butterfly not far from York 02/06.
Avocet at Fairburn
Yellow shell moth found in a greenhouse.
Common tern down Lin Dike, Fairburn.
Red kite locally but distant.
