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Welcome to my birding blog - first launched 12th March 2012...
31st December 2022- 3rd January 2023
'Thor' sees the old year out!
Scarborough harbour hosted a one day visit by Thor, the touring walrus
House sparrow on the lobster pots and a fulmar hiding on the cliff
Smew the star of early January
All round the Hartlepool area on January 1st
January 2nd: Askham Bog, North Duffield, Tophill Low and Blacktoft
72 UK 2023
26th December 2022
Boxing Day in and around Hartlepool
I had been trying for months to bump into a red-breasted merganser so I was leaving things a bit late to spot my 2022 sighting! Eight seen in the Pilot Pier area along with eiders.
Cowpen Bewley Country Park feeding station.
Ward Jackson Park
Reminds me of a curling stone [carved in the shape of a tuftie!]
220 UK 2022
3rd December 2012
A Stranger Inland
December 3rd: Moor Lane Bridge, Naburn
A walk both sides of the bridge along the Transpennine Trail. Regular thrushes and tits seen but no bramblings. Nuthatch and coal tit photoed on baited fence post.
December 4th: in the garden
Sparrowhawk caught a sparrow outside our kitchen window. Quickly grabbed Sheila's phone...through glass...
December 6th: Swillington Ings
Colour photo into the sun. Shann House bridge.
From the birders' viewpoint near Shann House Bridge, Swillington Ings. An arctic skua was on a spit near a group of cormorants.
Eventually it flew to chase a gull round the site. Everything flew up.
219 UK 2022
11th November 2022 ff
Something's bound to turn up!
11th November: Hemlington Lake and Saltholme
A visit to Hemlington Lake, Middlesbrough to see if the mystery Upland goose was still around. Unringed but must have come from someone's collection, I hadn't seen one before. Pretty female bird.
Then I went to Saltholme and saw a marsh harrier from Phil Stead's hide.
Plus a distant cattle egret.
21st November: Bempton and Scarborough
Bempton was enjoying having a long-eared owl roosting in the Dell. A small group of birders were watching and I joined them. Second photo shows quality of cropped image with Canon R7 camera plus 500mm lens.
Scarborough harbour was quiet.
23rd November: Blacktoft Sands
Blacktoft was fairly quiet too. It's that time of year. But I was pleased one of the fieldfares was a bit more confiding.
Geese as the light rapidly faded.
25th November: Hartlepool and Saltholme
A bird swimming slowly out of the fish dock at Hartlepool caught my eye. I only had bins with me. I felt it wasn't an eider so I waited for it to approach. Guillemot.
Cormorant
Marsh harrier and teal at Phil Stead's.
From Saltholme car park: crab apple [Golden Hornet?] and a late dandelion looking bright and cheerful.
218 UK 2022 [still]
3rd-4th November 2022
A Tale of Four Places
Blacktoft Sands, 29th October
An afternoon visit with no particular outcome in mind. Just further experimenting with new R7 Canon camera.
Not really an interesting shot but I just wanted to see if the camera could pick up a fast moving wood pigeon. Not quite quick enough [cameraman's fault?] but it's pretty well in focus.
More conventional shots. The distant marsh harrier came out quite well.
Fieldfares
Astley Lake, 31st October
Young osprey photographed from the bank by the hide at Astley Lake. Big crop but I really like these views. There's a cormorant in there too plus a great crested grebe from the causeway at St. Aidan's.
Crossing the River Aire at Shann House Bridge on way back to the car.
Whitley Bay, November 3rd
A trip north through the tunnel to Whitley Bay. The postcode I had was totally wrong and I walked miles from the cemetery at the North end of town down to the Panama Dip. Locals were very helpful and I kept going although, in retrospect, perhaps I should have gone back to the car and parked in a car park much nearer the bird. I didn't want to waste time in case the bird suddenly disappeared.
It's still there 2 days later!
Here it is: pied wheatear.
Eastfield, Scarborough, November 4th
Four birds seen. Took lots of photos but the birds were very high up in the trees. Here's a few nice ones!
