Welcome to my birding blog - first launched 12th March 2012...
12th July 2017
Take it away skipper!
1: North Cave
Nothing much about bird-wise within reasonable distance, Barry and I decided to go to North Cave. I immediately thought butterflies and dragons!
Here's some of what we saw.
A gatekeeper was my first photo of the day: those white spots are diagnostic even though it refused to spread its wings for me.
Here's another one that was a bit more showy. The dark patches on the forewing are the male sex brand.
For reasons unknown I'm always fascinated by skippers. Perhaps it's the fun of trying to differentiate the Small from the Essex, if you know what I mean. Three Smalls below.
This is large skipper as far as I can tell.
Meadow brown females are more colourful than the males.
Damselflies are another id puzzle sometimes. This is common blue damselfly.
Four spot chaser dragonfly.
Finally from North Cave, here's an empress [emperor dragonfly] ovipositing. She's laying eggs too!!
We spent a long time at North Cave so decided to finish the day at Kiplingcotes Chalk Pit YWT - a great place for butterflies.
2: Kiplingcotes Chalk Pit
As we left the car park to walk the 350 yards to the reserve we saw a marbled white straightaway.
Nice little game to play with these photos. Apart from the obvious main character, in most pictures you can find other insects. Can you spot them all? For example there are little black beetles in the knapweed along with the butterfly.
More marbled whites [and friends].
Commas.
Punctuation mark showing well!
Rather worn common blue.
Meadow brown and six-spot burnet moths.
The hover-fly is episyrphus balteatus but has no common name.
More six-spots.
Pyramidal orchid with another tiny beetle.
Close-up.
Time for the skippers. They are all small or large skippers - so no Essex skippers found today.
This is a large skipper- note the wing patterning.
Back to small skippers.
The diagonal black line on the lower butterfly is its sex brand - showing it to be a male.
Finally a ringlet and a gatekeeper feeding on origanum.
2nd-9th July 2017
Tiggy goes travelling again!
I'll start with a few recent photos of our garden stock doves. Rarely far away, they come in to clean up fallen seed under our feeders - often in the afternoon. Photos by Sheila with her 500D Canon camera and a 300mm lens through glass.
First two below: in the rain! Spot the falling needles!!
South Gare: Part One
July 2nd: I went up to Redcar to try to see the red-backed shrike . It was quite windy and the bird was only seen a few times very fleetingly by the local birders. Unfortunately I was never in the right place to spot it!
Stonechat obliged and I saw some really strong growing pyramidal orchids. It's amazing how much colour there is at this time of year on the apparently barren martian landscape by cabin rocks.
In the strong wind a whitethroat was easily heard and seen but rarely stayed still for a moment. I tried to get some shots while waiting for the shrike to [not] appear.
South Gare: Part Two
I went back next day to try again. No wind: a promising beginning. Some birders were down in the dip. Bird soon seen this time - but always distant. Great scope views. Took lots of photos - here come the best - nice sometimes to appreciate a bird in its environment.
I went further north later that day to try for a pectoral sand at Druridge Pools just north of Cresswell. Pecsand seen along with at least 3 woodsands - but all a long way off. Just snapped this five-spot burnet moth.
Independence Day with Barry: July 4th
A truly grand day out. We began at Kilnsea Wetlands and Beacon Ponds. Barry spotted the white-winged black tern just after exiting the car park! I was still getting the camera ready. Best shots were up near the view screen. If you don't like WWBTs best look away now!
A skylark loitered at the water's edge.
Back to the tern...
I headed to Beacon Ponds to join Barry who was looking for little terns. Along the hedge that separates Kilnsea Wetlands from Beacon Ponds a whitethroat showed nicely.
We returned to the viewing screen as the tern seemed to favour the channel near there.
Next stop: Hornsea Mere where we saw an adult little gull but it was a long way off. Otherwise quiet we headed for Tophill Low. Again a little gull was spotted on D reservoir but little else. At North Marsh the reed warblers showed really well. I don't know why but I always get a thrill out of getting up close with them - and Tophill Low is one of the best places to do this.
We finished the day with a walk up to Hempholme to try to see the kingfishers.
July 6th - a short day with Barry at St. Aidan's and Lin Dyke
Specifically I wanted to try to see the little owls on the Long Drag machine. Machine first: it's called Oddball and it reached its current location after walking post restoration a mere 52 metres. Yes, it walks! [Well, it used to!] Look at the monster!
Photo © Barry Bishop
Kestrels and little owls use it as a nest site. Bring on the little owls!
Comma, gatekeeper, ringlet, meadow brown and marbled white butterflies all seen near Oddball. We decided to call at Lin Dyke on the way home.
A kestrel hovered above us. I fired a few shots - funny how when you're not really trying that hard the results can be rather nice....
Barry pointed to a reed bunting on the wires near the hide. I was a bit late to press the shutter as it flew...
Juvenile common tern on a post; greenshank walking along the flash fringes.
Highland cattle added a splash of colour on the walk back.
By the road we spotted a chiffchaff. Managed to locate it in the lens.
July 7th I went up to Nosterfield...
...in the afternoon after grand-daughter had left. Hoped to see a ruddy shelduck. Very distant but still present.
July 9th: final section of this posting!
Early morning trip to Wykeham raptor watchpoint for honey buzzards. None seen but never seen so many birders - over 40 by noon. No honey buzzards, just common buzzards, a kestrel and good views of goshawks which was nice. A golden ringed dragonfly landed near me. Never seen one stationary before - I had to back up a bit to get a focus with the big lens.
I gave up in the end and headed for Fen Bog. No whinchats still but what's this?
It's a juvenile stonechat [dad was close by].
I'll finish with a few butterflies - small skipper seen but not photographed at all. Keeled skimmer dragonfly also seen but not photographed successfully: they all came out blurred!
Small heath and dark green fritillary coming up.
It's wet and unpleasant today here in York but the bird feeders need filling so I'll have to fly!
243 UK 2017
I usually do an update on my year targets at this time.
2017 targets updated 11.7.17
1: See 40 species in/from the garden. 37 - fingers crossed!
2: See 100 or more species within the modern York boundary. 50 – more effort needed!
3: 10 lifers in UK in any combination of birds and butterflies. 4
4: Website hits to reach 35,000. 33,600: should get there!
5: Go on 2 more birding adventures. 1: Highlands and Skye
6: BirdGuides Iris photo total to 7,000. 7,000 achieved: 21/05/17
7. Fastest hundred: achieved 10.53 a.m. on January 5th
29.06.17
Blacktoft excels itself!
An afternoon trip out to Blacktoft to see if the spoonbills were nice and close at Marshland...
There were four of them! But right over the far side from the hide. Two left within minutes of my arrival - the other two stayed all afternoon. They weren't quite as far away as this chap.
Can't be many spoonbill/bearded tit photos!!
...or spoonbill/spotted redshank photos!
The owl box had faces peering out.
Anyway, here are some nice spoonbill images.
Punkbill!
Hey, that's not a spoonbill!
Time to leave: spoonbill lift-off!
I went to First hide. A marsh harrier showed up.
This warbler turned up too. Cetti's I think.
Finally a magpie.
27th June 2017
Two 5-star Birds in one day!*
*according to DOGS [Downesian Ornithological Grading System]
I had a plan. Get up at 4a.m. and drive south to East Leake quarry to see some bee-eaters. So I did. I was in position at the viewpoint by 6.30. I saw the birds [plus great spotted and green woodpeckers] and took a few photos and went home for lunch.
Oh yes, here's the pictures...
Odd man out! On the same branch as the bee-eater on the next photo.
This one is deliberately over-processed to produce an effect. You'll probably hate it!
So I had lunch at home. I mentioned that a Sabine's gull was still at Nosterfield on Flask Lake. [I can never remember which lake is which!] Sheila said I should be able to get there and back in time for tea. I checked on Flask Lake and guessed I could shorten the walk by parking in a lay-by in the village and walking along Flask Lane...
...the bird was miles away on a sandbank out in the lake over the far side. From the left: avocet; great crested grebe; black-headed gull and Sabine's gull! [If you can see it!]
![Sabine's Gull [small gull on the right]](https://chrisdownesbirds.com/img/s/v-10/p2393367521-5.jpg)
I'll zoom in a bit - heavy crop. [To the right of the black-headed gull]
![Sabine's Gull [small gull on the right]](https://chrisdownesbirds.com/img/s/v-10/p2393367529-5.jpg)
For the next hour and a half it barely moved. I watched a family of wrens. Some birders I know from Barnsley area decided to try to get nearer by going round the lake. I said I would stay put. I spotted my first pyramidal orchid of the year.
I could stay, I calculated, until 4.15. Eventually the gull stirred and flew around but always very distantly.
Then, according to the camera's Exif info, this happened at 16:10:39...
It came and landed in front of me! What luck!
Eventually it was time to say goodbye and head home.
A great day out.
238 UK 2017
20th June 2017
Blacktoft Harriers and Dusky Maidens
Late morning arrival at Blacktoft hoping for spotshanks on the tide and some more shots at a perfect marsh harrier if only they'd come that bit closer...
I went to Marshland first to check if anything had dropped in. A sedge warbler showed well just before the hide.
The male harrier showed very distantly over towards Alkborough church but the female patrolled the reedbeds in the Townend/Singleton area. Here are some more attempts at better marsh harrier photos...
Eventually I headed back. Good but fleeting view of a cetti's warbler en route. First comma of the year too.
Spotted redshanks x4 were on Marshland but well over the far side. The avocets pushed them about a lot but later let a magpie take one of their eggs.
Distant spotted redshanks looking nice and black!
Treat of the day came when a bittern climbed into view on the reeds to the right hand side of Marshland lagoon.
