Welcome to my birding blog - first launched 12th March 2012...
27th September 2015 ff
1: Spurn Delivers
Sunday Barry and I set off fairly [but not very] early in fog for Spurn. Spurn was clear and bright although you could sea great banks of mist down towards Spurn Point. At Canal Scrape we could just make out a couple of jack snipe bobbing in the short reeds at the back of the scrape. We soon saw yellow-browed warbler, pied flycatcher and redstart as well. A successful visit to Beacon Lane gave us a red-breasted flycatcher which brought my year list level with 2014.
A few butterflies were still about. A brimstone near Westmere Farm.
Down Beacon Lane I saw a speckled wood fly into a spider's web. The following sequence is a bit gruesome!
A few pink-feet passed overhead.
The highlight of the day was an arctic warbler at Driftwood caravan site. Easy enough to see in my bins, I struggled to locate it in the camera viewfinder.
See Barry's blog for better views: http://barryjohnbishop.blogspot.co.uk/
2: Adwick Surprise
A pectoral sandpiper had been reported at Adwick Washlands, part of the Dearne Valley RSPB complex. It's about 8 roundabouts from Old Moor! [Pick up a ''get there map'' from Old Moor reception!] A very long walk to the flash where the bird had settled along with two ruffs. Here they all are. I'm sure you can tell which are which. Anyhow, I'll start with the pec.
Skywatching - then 2 ruff shots.
Back to the pec.
Very pectoral!
I'll finish this set with two nice ruff shots.
UK 268 2015
19th September 2015ff
Great White steals the show but good effort from the grey wag!
Two good days' birding after being largely housebound for a week whilst we had some jobs done on the house. Not 'on the house' in that sense of the meaning! We had to pay! I digress... First day was another ultra early Flamborough seawatch [Saturday 19th September]with a few sooty shearwaters and a largely unseen Cory's shearwater in reasonably close. Couldn't prise my eyes off it to try to tell people where to look. Photographically the prize went to an obliging grey wagtail at Thornwick pool.
By the pool were lots of cornflowers contrasting well with the otherwise yellow flowers: an increasingly uncommon wild flower, present here perhaps after wild flower seed distribution.
A fairly futile hunt for a subalpine warbler at Old Fall just brought out the butterflies. Late small tortoiseshells and speckled woods in number.
I moved on heading for Kilnsea and a reported early arriving Bewick's swan that must have been a Daily Express reader with its gloomy predictions of the coldest winter since I was born!
I called briefly at Hornsea Mere. Quick little gull fix and off I went.
Nearly forgot! Coupled common darters on the canvas of a boat tarpaulin.
When I got to Kilnsea there were about 5 mute swans and another swan fast asleep with its head buried in its feathers - the Bewick's. Tired out after all that reading!
It stirred briefly from time to time to check what was nearby. Like dunlins...
...or greylags.
Photo without the greylag clutter.
Several med gulls also present and another little gull. Distant but still...nicely marked.
At Canal Scrape the little grebe swam by. Funny birds: most ducks don't look wet after a dive although you can see water droplets running off them. Little grebes look either as if they've just stepped soaking out of the shower or as if they've overdone the hair gel!
A mute swan had taken a strong dislike to one particular coot and was intent on attack!
Sunday 20th September I had promised to be home promptly as family were coming early afternoon and staying for tea. I proposed an early session at Saltholme and then come home. On arrival at Saltholme I looked at the pager: buff-breasted sandpiper at Whitburn 'in ploughed field south of obs'. A quick think; asked satnav how far [37 miles]; set off up the A19. 5 minute walk to ploughed field: great views in the scope but beyond my lens and then back down to Saltholme where a great white was on East Saltholme. I parked beside the A178 in the lay-by.
Normally prone to disappear into reeds or keep flying off, this bird was very bold and unfazed by birders. If you don't like great white egrets, look away now!
Little and Large!
Grey heron, little egrets and an albino ostrich! No, just joking: great white of course.
It went for short flights too.
Waders also present: spot the little stint...
...and the curlew sandpiper.
In both flight photos look for the different tail pattern on the curlew sandpiper.
Someone announced that a merlin was on a stump behind us on West Saltholme. You can probably just make it out.
Back to the egret... I'd never managed to get this close before!
Catch!
Swallow!
Cough!
Miss.
Farewell. It didn't go far: dropped down over Dorman's Pool direction.
I scampered home!
Thursday 24th: compost for garden trip to Lumby. Called at Fairburn. Hoped for willow tit but no sign in the harsh sunlight and strong breeze. Grey squirrel [much as I disapprove of them!] can look charming!
Friday 25th: trip to Hartlepool. Called at Phil Stead's place but very quiet there too. Magpie came very close.
Spent a couple of hours at Newburn Bridge. Plenty of wader and gull entertainment; birders to chat with and a high tide. What more could you want? It seemed a bit like being on the jetty at Inner Farne. Perhaps you'll see what I mean...
Pensive sandwich tern.
Adult common tern still bringing food for juveniles on 25/9! Nice shots of both...
Another sandwich, sir?
Prettily marked juvenile common tern.
Felt sure a med gull was around but took some time to spot!
Come on, show yourself!
Waders too.
All this from a little car park by a railway line! Newburn Bridge deserves to be better known. I'll end with a shot I rather like of a young ringed plover.
11th-14th September 2015
Well, that's a first for me!
Title explanation follows much later.
September 11th
I've done a few early morning seawatches this year and, truth to tell, they haven't been terribly exciting. Slowly ticking off a few skuas but whenever I was able to go the winds weren't in the right quarter. Still, I always had a good day. This particular day began with a very early start at the seawatch hut. This day's seawatch was equally quiet but the rest of the day was superb. I'll begin with a friendly snipe at the Canal Scrape.
After a coffee I moved down to the car park at Kilnsea Wetlands. A roe deer was in the field across.
A lone knot lingered on the scrapes together with more distant greenshank and ringed plover. Here's the knot - keeping an eye out for the peregrine. If he gets caught he'll be undone! [There's a bad joke in there somewhere...]
My eye was drawn to my right by movement amongst the nettles and dead thistles. Wheatears and whinchats.
Later back at Canal Scrape for a break a colourful and friendly dunlin lingered in front of the hide. Here are quite a few photos of this pretty bird. I like the moorhen shot!
I also spotted a fresh willow warbler among the cut reeds.
Wigeon have returned too.
The Crown & Anchor area produced both pied and spotted flycatchers - more than one of each species.
Time for a walk at Sammy's Point I thought. I set off with bins and camera. After only 50 yards while scanning the first of the horse paddocks I spotted a very grey warbler. Immediately I thought of barred warbler.
Since I've been birding I've seen some fabulous birds, I've even helped relocate great birds that had gone missing but I had, until that afternoon, never found a rarity myself. Not a great rarity I know but a pretty good bird nonetheless. I called to a couple of birders who were walking back towards the car park with scopes over their shoulder. They looked with their bins.
'Lesser whitethroat, mate, ' one said. But they put their scopes up as I walked off still thinking barred warbler. A voice called out: 'Hey, come back. Look in here! You were right.' Soon it was on the pager and the wasps gathered around the honeypot...
Here's my barred warbler!
Swallows were waiting to fly south.
I finished the day with a second visit to Spragger Drain near Sunk Island to look for the black stork. Seen badly at Spurn I wanted a better view. The bird duly obliged to round off a great day's birding.
September 13th
After another, this time completely dead, seawatch I retreated to the hide at Canal Scrape. Snipe began the day photographically for the second time running.
Little grebe and incoming wigeon.
Next it was down to the wetlands again. A short-eared owl put on a thrilling display.
A roe deer was watching us.
Kilnsea churchyard for a yellow-browed warbler. Difficult to track in the sycamore leaves - phylloscopus means 'leaf seeker'...
Retreat to Church Field where I knew I could sit a while. Varied sights: red admiral, buzzard and a cannabis plant!
I seem to have a bit of a Spurn routine: Sammy's Point next. Soon found a redstart in the same bushes as I saw the barred warbler 2 days earlier. It proved tricky to photograph and I spent a long time getting these quite distant shots. I needn't have bothered as you'll see shortly! Anyway, for now here's the Sammy's redstart plus his companion whitethroat.
I must have called back briefly at Canal Scrape as I took this photo of a mallard watching me.
I then walked from the Crown & Anchor towards Sunny Cliff caravan site. A very confiding redstart entertained several of us. Nice photos and so easy!
September 14th
Nosterfield LNR in the afternoon to see a juvenile woodchat shrike. Very distant, it eventually came a little closer.
That's it for now!
1st September ff
Dancing in the rain!
Birding isn't easy. It needs patience, buckets of the stuff. Remember the quote:
Tuesday September 1st took me back to Blacktoft yet again for a couple of hours. Nice selection of waders at Marshland. Here's a ruff coping with a very heavy shower.
When the sun came out a spotshank came close...
...as did a little egret.
Friday 4th September in a very strong wind and sheltering by the fog station compound wall we [about 8 present] watched good numbers of birds mainly heading north. Unfortunately not many skuas or shearwaters compared with the previous day and I failed to get onto some that were called. My highlight was 2 bonxies heading north.
Sunday 6th September Sheila and I went up to Hartlepool. Highlights were the waders at Newburn Bridge and a little owl at Wingate - and it was a warm, sunny afternoon too! The jet stream at last to the north of us! Must be 'bak to skool' time!
Juvenile ringed plover...sanderlings...
...little owl...and a wall butterfly.
Wednesday 9th September got me out of the house by 5am and onto the cliffs at Flamborough Head by 6.30! Arctic skuas, good numbers of red-throated divers and plenty of general action with good close-up views of fulmars from my look-out below the fog station. Never been down there before. By 8.30 numbers of birders began to build hoping for a fea's petrel that had gone north from Spurn. No show. I left for Hornsea Mere for a little gull fix.
Diagnostic black underwings and fairy flight!
The birds seemed to take turns to return to the jetty for a rest.
A no doubt feral barnacle goose made a nice close-up study.
Same day Beacon Ponds an immature caspian gull was attracting a lot of attention from well-known Spurnites.
I took the Holmpton road to Patrington. A detour certainly but sometimes it throws up the unexpected.
Roe deer distant in the fields.
Kestrel monitoring my activities!
UK 2015 birds 258
26th-30th August 2015
Hiatus!
A trip to Kettlewell on August 26th to try to find a small colony of scotch argus butterflies proved surprisingly successful on a day of sunny intervals and showers. The butterflies moved quickly among the long grass and bracken but dived down out of sight as soon as the sun was obscured by cloud. I wasn't able to get a photo as the day wasn't settled enough for the butterflies to sunbathe. Two camera views of the general location plus a photo of a rabbit hunkered down in the wind but letting me get very close!
At home on the 27th August I photographed some house sparrows in a bay tree in the garden.
A trip to Blacktoft on August 30th just to spend an hour or two on wader watch. Nine species of wader plus some water rails [and the crake still present] Blacktoft was good entertainment. Here are a few blackwit and ruff photos.
Quite a few ruff present but I'm pretty sure these are all of the same bird...
...and it is striking how short-necked and long-necked the same bird can appear in different shots!
'Much about?'
'No. Just rumours... Someone mentioned black-eared wheatear at Frampton... We'll have to see how that develops!'
Note: it turned out to be a soggy northern wheatear!