Welcome to my birding blog - first launched 12th March 2012...
Tuesday 10th December 2013
Great, grey and great again!
I seem to have been staying in at home a lot and really had to force myself out of the house and get birding! Scarborough had been hosting a great northern diver and Hornsea Mere had had a couple of great white egrets knocking about so that seemed a good plan. The harbour car park in Scarborough was rather sandy after the recent storm but otherwise all was fine. I parked up by 9.15am and set off on foot to have a look round. Turnstones were busy in the sunshine.
I soon spotted the diver, dozing in the middle of the harbour. Although sunny, the sun was low and getting to a position where the light was acceptable was going to involve some rapid walking as the bird drifted along. It stirred so I took some shots into the light in case that was the best I could do. You never know when flight may wreck your plans with birds!
A brisk walk to the western side of the harbour got the bird in a much better light.
Eventually the bird clearly decided to head for the harbour mouth. It was high tide and the bird must have known this. Fortuitously I was ideally placed as it paddled unconcerned past where I was sitting on an iron bollard. It was only a few feet from me. These photos, now in the shade of the harbour wall, are uncropped. Real frame fillers!
In the above photo you can even see the colour of his eye!
A walk up onto the seawall helped me spot over 40 purple sandpipers resting at high tide. Here are some of them.
Then I drove along Marine Drive north to Scalby Mills. Few birds were present as the tide was pretty high covering most of the rocks. A few wigeon were still messing about.
A redshank was by the beck outlet.
I left Scarborough heading for Hornsea, hoping for a great white egret, in the air perhaps! This common gull was quite approachable in the car park.
I got a bit of a surprise!! Two birders told me I had just missed a phalarope just off Kirkholme Point. Not a tick for me, I put a brave face on it. They said it flew off 'over there' - I managed to relocate the bird over the far side, very distant, in my scope. We chatted. [The two birders and I, I mean. You can't talk to phalaropes.] Then one of them said: 'It's back. Look just here!' Now tales of grey phalarope about six feet from your feet must be tales of the unexpected! As Nellie Ashcroft would have said to me years ago: 'Well, I'll go to the foot of our stairs!' It was her standard expression of disbelief.
The two birders - one from Hessle and the other from York - were actually hoping for a great white egret. As the light began to fail the egret turned up to roost right on schedule.
A day to savour. Just when you're not expecting anything, birding comes up trumps and covers you with feel-good...
Saturday and Sunday 30.11.13-01.12.13
Chris and Sheila get Christmasy!
Saturday 30th November
We fancied a day out to see the reindeer at Saltholme's Scandinavian Christmas so we set off for Hartlepool at about 10am. The roads were quiet and we seemed to soon be there. Unfortunately the reindeer were in a tiny pen where naturalistic shots would be impossible. With Sheila's camera we did our best.
Later we walked down to Saltholme Pool hide to see the [distant] barnacle geese. A reed bunting posed for us.
Look carefully at this berry-laden hawthorn bush!
Time for a snack! Song thrush 1: Waxwings 0
We walked the walk round the Headland [lots of red-throated divers], tried Steetley Pier for velvet scoter and lunched at Newburn Bridge with Medusa the med gull in attendance. We watched the big waves pounding in.
Chris and Barry go to the seaside!
Saturday 1st December
Sounds a bit like an early reader book for the under fives, doesn't it! Oh well, there you go. Tiggy came too and we set off fairly early at about 7.40 am for Harwood Dale to look for waxwings. No show but we picked up quite a few birds on our way. Long Nab, Burniston entertained us as we sought the lapland buntings in the adjacent stubble field. The problem is sifting them out from the skylarks as they fly up from almost under your feet!
Next stop at Scalby Mills. Sunshine and little wind made it feel very pleasant. Plenty of wigeon on the sea.
We were pleased to watch a purple sandpiper edging ever closer...
Then we drove down to the harbour. Unfortunately a yacht race and the inevitable movement of boats in and out of the harbour mouth meant that the great northern diver had disappeared. He's back again today [Monday 2/12] as I write this. We photographed the harbour sparrows - aka turnstones!
Sometimes you don't anticipate fully the effect the light will have on the final picture. The distant sandy beach provided the bokeh* in this picture; some dark object did the trick in the next one!
There were a couple of cormorants in the harbour so I took a picture of one [or did I?], mainly because I thought I could capture a nice lighting effect.
I had read in Steve Routledge's blog [try: juncea blog in a search engine!] that he had seen a juvenile shag in the harbour on Saturday so I looked at my photos a bit more closely...then I looked at some bird books...then I looked at on-line photos...then I decided: it's a shag! And with that lighting it's a jolly good shag!
Why is it a shag and not a cormorant? Well, at no stage of their lives do cormorants have a yellowish bill. Juvenile shags do. Pretty much end of the debate.
Holbeck car park next for a quick visit to the mediterranean gulls. Three appeared : see Barry's blog at http://barryjohnbishop.blogspot.co.uk/ for his account of the day and a picture of the 3 meds standing away from the black-heads. Here they are!
Two more stops planned. Firstly, Scarborough Mere where I snapped a mandarin in the fading light at a rather slow shutter speed. One hundredth of a second won't freeze a scurrying drake!
Last port of call was at Castle Howard lake where we saw a fine collection of wildfowl and gulls. Pretty good day for early December, I think - and we made the most of it.
* Bokeh
The term comes from the Japanese word boke 暈け or ボケ, which means blur or haze and is used in photography to reflect the aesthetic or atmospheric nature of out-of-focus parts of an image. But you knew that already! I 'm just being pedantic again!!
Saturday 23rd November ff
398 and counting!
Just a quick note because there are no pictures I'm afraid. I went to Holt in Norfolk on Friday afternoon [22.11.13], arriving at the country park as the light was failing. It was good to get my bearings for the following day but I had planned to stay the night and start early on Saturday anyway. I got there after my B&B in the old telephone exchange [it looks like a modern bungalow to me!] by 8am on Saturday 23rd November. Only one other birder present and he soon located a huge-billed female. Later we had several males - a treeful of birds atop a tall conifer. They detached whole pine cones, moved them along the branch and, holding them in their claws began to extract the seeds. I hadn't seen that behaviour before! By 11am it was a super-twitch with upto 60 vehicles and an overflowing car park!
I left and called at Titchwell in the rain. Later I dropped in to Thornham harbour where I had very close views of brent geese but no sign of a reported hooded crow.
I set off home as Norfolk had turned quite wet. Arrival York 4.30pm. A good trip!
So, two to go - plus a few spares I hope to cover the 'plastic' birds in my list. I won't start an argument as to what that means: canada geese, ring-necked parakeets, mandarins....where does one stop? Gadwalls??
Red House Wood
Two visits so far [Sunday 24/11 and Tuesday 26/11] to see the firecrest. No joy but I now know where to park to minimise the walking time. I have seen bullfinch, chaffinch, goldcrest, marsh, coal, blue and great tit, kestrel, cormorant [over], and lots of redpoll. It's a really good place for redpoll. I think early morning on a sunny day will be best for the little pond half way along the main track from SE 525571.
Long Nanny
Monday 25th November I finally decided to go for the lesser grey shrike. Not a lifer as I had seen one before at Kelling Quags LNR, Norfolk on 19th August 2010. By a unique dickensian coincidence it was my 277th bird that year and it is my 277th bird this year!! That year I went on to see 308 birds - something that won't be happening this year. Funnily enough my 308th and final bird of the year [and my 32nd lifer of the year], a pied-billed grebe at Hollingworth Reservoir, Littleborough near Rochdale was seen as early as 10th November so I'm keeping things going quite well this year...
Just shows how good it is to keep careful records.
Back to Long Nanny. I arrived at the Northumberland County Council car park just after 9am after hitting Newcastle at the worst point of the morning rush hour in spite of my 6am departure. Four birders were watching something through a mixture of scopes and bins. It was that easy: there it was, the juvenile lesser grey shrike. One of the most photographable birds I have encountered - as you are about to see.
My first view:
The shrike flew from time to time to different places generally on varying sides of the little car park, such as in the sheep compound.
On one occasion when it jumped down to the ground a pied wagtail popped up!
It then spent a long time in an evergreen bush next to Tiggy.
Eventually it flew off into some hawthorns at the roadside and we left it in peace.
A great memory!
I drove north a couple of miles to Beadnell. I rather liked the place. Quite a few waders about too, including a few bar-tailed godwits.
A female eider was near the shore.
In the village a fading sign made me smile.
I was surprised to see snow on the hills.
Here's the original photo. You can see an electricity pole and a chimney from a bungalow behind the dunes. I cloned them away! Who says the camera never lies? But it makes a better picture don't you think?
Heading South I dropped in to Roker beach, Sunderland hoping for more waders on the tide-line. No sign but a few rock pipits kept me busy!
Last call at Saltholme for lunch in Phil Stead's hide. A common teal looked splendid in the sunshine.
A little egret was showing well on the fire station field.
I'll end with a squawk!
Postscript: Wednesday 27th November. Spent the day with the Once and Future King.
277UK
November 20th ff
Going down the local!
No, not the pub but an outing to two of what I consider to be my best local reserves: North Cave YWT and Blacktoft Sands RSPB. What got me out of the house? The prospect of seeing a black-throated diver at North Cave on the main lake. The light was good if a little too contrasty and the bird was showing well but initially a little distantly. Slowly it drifted in the breeze ever closer to the hide...
There were in fact quite a few pinkfeet in the greylag flock as well as a range of canada/greylag hybrids. I don't think any can be seen here.
Next it was back West along the M62 to Goole and a drive to Blacktoft. I concentrated on Townend hide as Singleton was closed for 'management work'. We had 4 different birds of prey: peregrine racing up river; marsh harriers over the Trent, four buzzard sightings and a kestrel.
Now kestrels whenever they get anywhere near me they have a sort of GPS device which tells them to hover with their back to me, displaying their tail. Like this:
To my surprise I got better views!
A stroll to Marshland showed how quiet Blacktoft is at the moment. A solitary snipe stirred in the grass.
Back at Townend a moorhen reflected on the day's events...
...and a pheasant went a-wading.
It's been a while since we had one of my 'cuckoo photos', a photo of a very distant bird that you can just about make out. Well, here's one. From the hide at Townend a water rail came right out into the open. Can you spot him?
A truly thunderous noise from behind the hide made me think the end was nigh! A giant bird came rumbling at very low altitude over the scrape, scattering every bird as it roared past. As someone said: 'Big bird but doesn't count!'
The birds did return.
I've saved the best till last. The dark clouds raced in from the West bringing rain. The kestrel was still looking for his supper. I was really pleased with this sequence of shots. Let's go reed diving!!
Going, going, gone!
Update. October and November have been good birding for me but I have worked hard at it! From being a poor year numbers wise I have nearly caught up with my average since retirement. So far this year, 10 lifers and a UK year total of 275.
November 13th ff
Serin-dip-ity I
No, it's not a typo. Serendipity is a word coined by Horace Walpole in 1754 to express a sort of happy accident. Well, there was no happy accident yesterday [13.11.13] when I went to Millennium Wood, Flamborough to see a bird that had been reported. It was cold, overcast and soon I was reminded of a Kipling novel I had to read many years ago: 'The light that failed.' Not a bad tale but out on the set-aside field in a strong breeze the light did soon fail. I dipped on the serin.
Serendipity II
The serin was reported again and so I drove back to Millennium Wood and made my way up the slope to a group of birders whose scopes were trained on the southern edge of the wood. Brambling, dunnock, goldfinches by the score, bullfinch, chaffinches and then: the happy accident. Lifer number 397 there in front of me in the bins. It dropped back down. Later I saw it in someone else's scope. Two good views but it was very flighty. Andrew Hood has put up a record-shot photo on Rare Bird Alert if you want to see it; others now on BirdGuides.
Friday 15th November: all the Seatons
Seaton Sands, Seaton Carew, Seaton Snook, Seaton Reach - the lot. I walked and walked and walked...
The idea was to find the lapland buntings. Well, to try. I drove slowly along the road to the North Gare car park. Curlew and lapwing were reasonably close by.
I parked and then walked out through the dunes. It was further than I expected. A flock of snow buntings swirled overhead as did an anonymous dark raptor [buzzard, probably]. Redshanks were on the shore. I walked all the way to the samphire beds at Seaton Snook because someone said the twite were active. When I arrived there was no sign but that didn't surprise me. Eventually I spotted a single bird on look-out duty atop a dead plant.
I had been told they often perch on the wire fence. Suddenly they all flew up in the air, circled round and landed on the fence whilst ones and twos dropped down onto the grass behind the dune to bathe in a rainwater pool. I tried to edge nearer using the marram grass on the dune side as cover. Note how the birds face at different angles covering all directions...
14 twite [or twites!] One is calling.
...including straight at me! Guess I've been spotted. No twits these twites!
Best close-up I could manage. Need a 600mm with a 1.4 teleconverter. In my dreams!
I walked back to the Zinc Works Road and was surprised just before reaching the works entrance to see a tail flick in front of me: grey wag!
After that I then took the path inland from the dunes across the golf course back to North Gare car park. Curlew streamed inland from the east.
Driving back to the main road I paused to check over some black-headed gulls. I spotted this orangey-legged bird with a ring. You don't often see black-headed gulls with rings.
I called at Tesco and at Newburn Bridge. The tide was high and the normal set of waders were present as was my friend the mediterranean gull. Then the pager announced 'lapland bunting with snow buntings, Seaton Carew on beach south of sewage works'. I decided, tired as I was, to set off again with bins and scope. From a distance I saw the flock of snow bunting - very mobile - and I could see 2 darker birds with no white patches flying with them. Alas, I never got close enough to be sure. The lapland buntings remain a probable, that's all.
Eventually I dropped in to Saltholme before coming home.
Yet another birding trip!
Sunday 17th November
Up nice and early and off over the bridge to Lincolnshire. First stop: Theddlethorpe Dunes NNR to try to find some shore larks. I met up with a lad called Dave and we swapped phone numbers so we could contact each other if we found our target birds. I soon had a mixed flock of twite and snow buntings. Birders were stretched out over some distance along the front of the dunes.
Dave phoned. Four shore lark located. Great views in the scope but too far to photograph. Soon a group of birders arrived . Obviously they had guessed from our behaviour that we were on to something. A mini 'twitch' of six birders was soon lined up. We didn't approach further for fear of disturbing the birds.
I drove on, through Boston, heading for my beloved Frampton Marsh. One of my top ten birding locations. In search of the long-travelling white-rumped sandpiper. I soon saw it. A peregrine put everything up. Golden plover...
...lapwings and a few redshank, I think...
...wigeon...
...and brent geese.
Monday 19th November: Burniston and Long Nab
A late morning departure to look for the reported lapland buntings. I found the stubble field and after advice from the birder in the old coastguard's hut I walked up the field and soon put up the skylarks and, eventually, the group of five lapland buntings. Never quite still enough for a photo unfortunately. As soon as I got near the larks would go up and the others would follow.