Welcome to my birding blog - first launched 12th March 2012...
13th May ff 2021
Two Faces of Coot
[and other tall tales]
Thursday 13th May
An afternoon trip out to North Duffield to hopefully pick up a tick or two and, more important, continue getting back into the swing of things. From Geoff Smith hide a coot was on its nest: a picture of domestic harmony. The other adult chased off a pair of tufted ducks for coming too close to the nest.
A lone whooper swan lingered on the bund down at Garganey hide. Apparently it can fly but maybe not the long distances needed for migration. A black swan was very distant as was a curlew. Sedge warbler and hirundines were seen too. Here's the whooper: spot the wigeon!
Nothing much happened all afternoon until 4 coots decided to have a real good fight. I think its just a coot pastime as afterwards they drifted away as if it had never happened. Here are a few stills. It was fun to watch!
Back to serenity: a smart drake mallard floated past...
Sunday 16th May
Local birding at York University for a Savi's warbler. seen and heard quite easily but I couldn't manage a photo unfortunately. Reed warblers too. Here's one!
Monday 17th May
After a long gap I finally made it back to Saltholme and Hartlepool. Things were pretty quiet and around the lifeboat station I could only find the kittiwakes on the lifeboat station girders, a solitary turnstone and a few distant eiders.
I drove back towards North Gare and the Zinc Works Road. To my delight I found some wheatears - 3 of them.
Plus what I took to be a juvenile stonechat.
Tuesday 18th May
A new day a new destination: as recommended by birding friends, I headed south to Langford Lowfields RSPB near Newark. Cetti's heard in the car park, sedge warblers and numerous invisible willow warblers and some chiffchaffs too. I liked the sign in the car park.
It's a long walk [0.75 miles to the 360 degree viewpoint] through woodland and along the edge of an old quarry [largely hidden by the scrub] until the scene opens out onto a large and stlll expanding reserve.
Robin in the woods...
...and a wren a bit further on...
A view on the walk and a view from the 'Beach Hut' visitor centre.
I was hoping to see hobbies and indeed I did!
I knew that a glossy ibis had been seen nearby and a local birder sent me off to Besthorpe Notts WT and to Mons Pool where I eventually located the bird on the second section of the pool. On the first section a cormorant nest site dominated the area.
So, here's the ibis on the far side of the pool from the viewscreen.
Thursday 20th May
A miserable, cold morning visit to St. Aidan's to not see the Franklin's gull. I admit the cold and then rain drove me to abandon the search. It was found, of course, shortly after I left. Still here's the alternative menu!
Crow eating Canada goose gosling.
GCGs displaying still - perhaps they don't think it's quite spring yet!
112 UK 2021
9th May 2021 ff
The Darling Birds of May!
Groans from all readers...
Lets hope May will deliver something brilliant. So far rather staid - but it's a start.
Sunday 9th May
Fairburn and St. Aidan's this morning and then marrow, courgette and pumpkin planting this afternoon. A few pictures.
Common terns
Cuckooflower / Lady's Smock / Cardamine pratensis
Little owl
Gadwall
Monday May 10th
First swifts seen in the evening over the house.
Tuesday May 11th
A big day out began at Flamborough bowling green where the locals were practising [9.30am] rolling their wooden balls about and the hoopoe[ quite naturally] was nowhere to be seen! Still the other object of the day was to get some year ticks so I could at least seem to be doing some proper birding again. On, then, To Thornwick Pools where little ringed plover delighted, a sedge warbler was very showy but best of all outside were linnet, whitethroat and, hiding in the base of a bramble tangle was a lesser whitethroat. Not a bird I'm usually very good at spotting.
Next was busy Bempton. Tree sparrows galore - which was another year first.
Amazing how the pandemic has changed everything - car park with portaloos, reception desk outside and birds I see in early January not seen until May! A barn owl was out hunting in daylight so was presumably feeding young.
The cliff regulars were almost all present [although somehow I didn't look out for the fulmars. Were they there?]
My guillemot photos were not good so I've omitted them. The jackdaws were very cheeky and approachable. I like them in spite of their reputations for pushing out other species from nest sites. Clever birds - they know they're safe at Bempton, I think.
After Bempton I called at Filey Dams and added just bullfinches to my tick list - otherwise quiet with lots of common geese and common gulls [but no common gulls if you see what I mean!]. Later I saw marsh tit and nuthatch along with other tits and finches at Forge Valley.
100 UK 2021
18th-20th April 2021
Nothing spectacular- but at least I'm going birding again!
I'm a cautious old bird but this damn virus may still creep up on me... On the other hand something is going to get me anyway before too long! My father died at 42 so I've improved the family longevity score a little bit already!
Birding, Chris, birding. Stop snivelling and get on with it!
April 18th: an afternoon trip to Nosterfield. Not a lot of photo opportunities as everything at Nosterfield tends to be some distance away. However a lovely afternoon with ten year ticks including this showy chiffchaff. First swallow near York as I drove home.
April 20th: Tophill Low. A decent haul for of ten new birds for my year list. Yellow wagtail, kingfisher, little ringed plover,marsh harrier, lesser black-backed gull. Best of all was a cattle egret at Watton. Also seen was the hooded merganser on D reservoir. Here are a few unspectacular pictures...
Since then a camera free walk at North Cave: Cetti's warbler, sedge warbler and 3 whooper swans [plus 3 also rans!]
80 UK 2021
7th April ff
Softly, softly, catchy monkey!
Wednesday 7/4 I went to North Cave to look for a green-winged teal. A few other everyday year ticks were spotted on a brief visit. It was cold and the light was poor. I spoke to a birder who had seen very little - just an Egyptian goose on North Field 'at the end of the hedge'. All I could see were greylags until a sleepy-head decided to stir a little...
That was the only time it moved. I waited a while and went back to Cell A to look for the teal. Soon spotted up by Crosslands hide.
April 14th: World Exclusive
Rare opportunity to tour our garden on a 3 feet above the ground lightning visit!
The file is over 1.2 gigabytes and lasts 2 minutes 45 seconds so will probably play rather jerkily as your PC/laptop loads it. Leave it to play to the end then play it again [but watch it this time!] and it should run smoothly.
Still 56 UK 2021!
29th March 2021
Just dipping my toe in the water...
To mark the end of Lockdown #3 and the start of the easing of restrictions on my birding life I set off for a cautious little trip calling initially at New Flash, Fairburn. Driving through the village I was surprised to see a single sand martin flying up and down the road near the sandstone wall where the sand martins nest every year. An excellent start.
At New Flash, parking at the roadside, I saw ten more year ticks ranging from coot to little egret. I decided I had time for a quick walk along the causeway at St. Aidan's - starting from the Methley end. There were quite a few people about but everyone was very sensible. I picked up just 3 more ticks as I had promised to be home for lunch: cormorant; great crested grebe and a couple of black-necked grebes. My year list increased by 40%!
Goldeneye
Cormorant
Great crested grebe
Black-necked grebe
49 UK 2021