Welcome to my birding blog - first launched 12th March 2012...
30th July to 2nd August
The Fish Hunters
July 30th
A trip to South Gare and walk out to the rocks about an hour before high tide. Sandwich, little, common and roseate terns all well seen. There is a little tern in this photo but its bill isn't visible. You can recognize it by its size, I think.
Sandwich time!
Common terns
Roseates
Cormorant
Linnet in the Bomb Hole
Whitethroat there too on the bench
Pilot boat returning from duty
I moved on heading for Greatham Creek. Waders and a seal on the sand by the road bridge.
Some of the fragrant orchids I'd seen a couple of weeks earlier were still looking well.
Grayling butterfly
Common centaury
Carline thistle - before and after!
A really strongly growing patch of eyebright
Dandelion
Small heath butterfly
Small skipper [rather a dark one]
Shelduck on pool
Common terns on pool nearest the road [from 'bus stop' shelter]
Curlew
August 2nd
Amazed to find an empty hide when I arrived at Scaling Dam about lunchtime. Osprey overhead - i strolled back to the car for the camera...
Fish!
The dive and catch took place at the far side of the reservoir - a long way from the hide. If you know the site you'll realise the camera did well to pull off these nearly sharp shots of the osprey taking a fish.
Splashdown...
Lift off!
180 UK 2020
24th July 2020
Kittiwakes!
July 24th trip up to Hartlepool. I began with a walk down both sides of Greatham Creek looking for whimbrel. Good views in the scope but not close enough to photo. One fairly close whimbrel was constantly chased off by the much larger curlew. The curlew ignored dunlins and redshanks. Lots of fragrant orchids in flower. One poor phone photo below.
I then went to the Lifeboat Station to see how the kittiwakes were doing. Lots of action with just a few juveniles in flight - other pairs still had quite small bundles of fluff to look after. I've always liked juvenile kittiwake plumage patterns... An adult bird first.
I'm very cross!
I waited hoping to get some flight shots.
Don't turn your back on me! ''Hey, I've learnt to do this on one leg too!''
One landed on the water - must have taken off from the other side of the gantry.
Take-off time! [The backgrounds get quite confusing!]
Elsewhere little seemed to be happening so I decided to call at Nosterfield for an egyptian goose [not available as it turned out] and another look for the little owl.
178 UK 2020
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