Welcome to my birding blog - first launched 12th March 2012...
10th-15th March 2017
Yorkshire delights
March 10th
Tiggy took me to Wykeham lakes where I saw a drake scoter on the sailing lake and some crossbills in the forest.
Dippers were in Troutsdale.
I headed for Scarborough to see the Mediterranean gulls - larus melanocephalus - which of course means black-headed gull! Here's a few...
The great northern diver was still amputating frogs' legs in the harbour before swallowing the rest in one gulp...
March 13th
I went to Bempton resolved to walk however far I had to to see a corn bunting. Now much of my photography is pretty spontaneous - I like it that way which is why I prefer hand-held still although from time to time I wonder about a big steady tripod...
On this occasion I found the cornbunts in a field about half a mile south-east of Staple Newk.
Brief digression for fulmar and gannets from Staple Newk...
There were just a few puffins about.
Back to the buntings. The birds were feeding on dry material in the south east corner of a large field. I tried to approach following a Defra conservation public footpath [never been on one of those before!] but the birds disappeared into the field. There was one solitary bush which I sort of hid behind for an hour or so. Eventually the birds returned to their favoured spot.
Walking back I was entertained by a group of bold jackdaws.
On the way home I called at the vast Burdale Quarry to look for a little owl. No sign but saw this: hope you can make it out!
March 15th
Barry and I headed into West Yorkshire to Wintersett looking initially for an elusive firecrest. It remained elusive! Here are the substitutes: long-tailed tit and chiffchaff.
Saw my first butterfly of the season there too - a comma and a short while later while driving we saw a male brimstone storming along the roadside.
Female comma hutchinsonii I believe but I'm no expert.
Two encounters with long-tailed ducks that day: one at Calder Wetlands and the other, more distantly on Lemonroyd Lake. We also saw the black-necked grebes and 3 water pipits at the filter beds. Here's the Calder Wetlands bird.
170 UK 2017
3rd-4th March 2017
Two days in my life!
Woke up, fell out of bed,
Dragged a comb across my head
Found my way downstairs and drank a cup,
And looking up I noticed I was late...
Day 1: Family Fun Day
...just managed to get to the Yorkshire Wildlife Park near Doncaster on time where Sheila and I had been invited to help celebrate my son's and my elder granddaughter's birthdays: one born on March 2nd and the other on March 3rd but some years apart!!
Obviously I took a camera so, slightly different to my normal fare, here are a few zoo snaps. I was impressed by the sense of space - very large enclosures - but not by the weather it was cold and wet. Still, we all had a good time.
Meerkat above; painted dog below.
Best of all for me were the tigers - and they stuck it out in the rain for us!
Day 2: Back to the day job!
Headed north again to my beloved Hartlepool region and in particular to Redcar beach. First of all I parked up near the beach cinema to go look for velvet scoter. I could soon see eider but the scoter were diving and coming up somewhere else or disappearing in the waves...
That's better!
Walking back to the promenade I noticed a few common gulls among the herrings. Two allowed a close approach.
A mile or so further brought me to Foxglove Covert yet again, Marske, hoping for either corn bunting or lapland. Ready for disapppointment I bumped into Martyn Sidwell and we homed in on the preferred 'lump' in the middle of the stubble field.
Foxglove Covert delivers!
Double vision!
I then headed back to Redcar Stray to call on the snow buntings. Three were present and seemed well used to the people, dogs and ice-cream throwing children. The conditions were brighter and calmer than previously and it shows!
I finished my day in the life with a walk along Greatham Creek just with my bins. I hoped to find my first avocets of the year out on Seal Sands and I wasn't disappointed. Five seen but there are more present as I write this.
Found my coat and grabbed my hat
Made it to Tiggy in seconds flat
Found my way inside and had a coke,
Somebody spoke and I went into a dream....
166 UK 2017
21.02.17 ff
Rats! Is that the best you can do?!!
21st February
Roving along the clifftop at Flamborough east of South Landing looking for lapland buntings that were no longer there!! Made do with yellowhammers, tree sparrows at Bempton and my first kittiwakes of the year on the cliffs...
The bird station at Bempton has a healthy scattering of rat traps. Not quite sure what they are going to achieve... The rats seem unconcerned...
26th February
A blustery day, it felt very cold even though the temperature was about 11 degrees. Sheila and I completed the North Cave circuit. Little of especial note: just my first 2017 chiffchaff. Kestrel, red kite, sparrowhawk and buzzard all seen either on site or during the drive.
28th February - I can do better!
Part One: Gosh!!!!!
After reading Nigel Stewart's latest blog with confirmed sightings of goshawk in Troutsdale I decided to go see as things were pretty quiet otherwise. [See Clifton birding if you don't know it].
I drove down into Troutsdale. A kestrel flew along a stone wall beside me before Tiggy dropped down into the valley itself.
A short iphone video of the valley taken from the raptor watchpoint later that morning. It takes a few seconds to load.
A buzzard was soon seen in the sky. I carried on, stopping from time to time to scan the area. At SE 934 899 I saw this in the distance.
What a beast. A first for me: my previous goshawk encounters had either been fleeting or very distant. What a treat. 5 sightings all told and at least 2 birds as I saw 2 at once. Let the pictures take over!
Treecreeper seen too: first of 2017.
Part Two: despatching a few decapods!
I headed down to Scarborough for a stroll round the harbour before heading home. The black-necks were hiding - under the pontoons I expect - but the great northern was feeding constantly. This sequence features one bird [obviously] but about 4 different crabs!
In the next photo a crab is in the bird's throat just left of the lower mandible: you can see the lump. It went down in one!
That's it for February. March should be interesting........
Postscript from the useless information department!
As a linguist and former latin student [grade C 'O' level!] I was fascinated to learn that the word Volvo means 'I roll or tumble.'
It's not Swedish for anything!
164 UK 2017
17th-19th February 2017
Three days worth!
Day 1: Notts and Lincs
Rufford CP for hawfinch drew a blank but I carried on to Hoveringham sailing club lake and walked from the village [no car access for non-members - coded gate] but the bird was soon spotted. Friendly members let me use their scope and within a minute, literally, I had seen a curlew, a glaucous gull, a black-necked grebe and my target, a black-throated diver. All were a long way off seen in a powerful Swarovski scope. I decided to wait and hope the diver would approach.
Great crested grebes were friendly.
The diver was out by some rescue craft.
Eventually it came a bit nearer before heading way out again.
I returned home via Clumber Park where I saw 2 hawfinches, each briefly, from the car park.
Day 2: We went to Bempton!
Sheila loves to see the sea and to see owls so what better than Bempton! I got an easy year tick with my first razorbills of the year - just seven on the cliffs with hundreds of guillemots. Here are the owls - followed by a skylark singing for Yorkshire and the world!
Day 3: Wintersett and Ibbotsons Yard!
Walking the old railway line near Wintersett looking for a firecrest was a complete failure - although the roving tit flock did appear after I'd left along with the crest and a load of redpolls. A song thrush sang beautifully all the time I was there - reminiscent of a nightingale briefly at times. I wondered if it had heard one once and was mimicking a memory....
Not to worry - I had left for Acaster Selby or thereabouts to see the local great grey shrike. Lots of people near Ebor Trucks. I decided to look nearer Ibbotsons and found the bird. I waved to the others who came at a pace. I began to worry as the bird disappeared before anyone else saw it. Happily after ten minutes the bird was seen again just beyond the trailers. Eventually it came quite close.
160 UK 2017
8th February 2017 ff
Swans for starters!
February 7th: Thorn Bank road near Wroot
A field south of the road held lots of mute swans, a lonesome whooper and, separate from the rest, a group of 5 Bewick's swans...
February 10th: dismal weather...
...left me shooting sparrows and starlings from a bedroom window!
Main course!
February 13th: Lincolnshire again
This time it was down to Willow Tree Fen LWT near Spalding to see if I could encounter a friendly bluethroat.
Valentine's Day: Scorton and Greatham Creek
Report from Scorton gravel pits claimed an early or overwintering little ringed plover. I may have missed it but all I could find was a single ringed plover.
I carried on to walk the Salterns and Greatham Creek at Hartlepool. No sign of spotshank but quite a few [5] greenshank and the predictable rest.
Along the Creek I was shooting into the sun so the light was tricky.
Redshanks, brown feet!
Oyk! Bathtime!
Greenshanks.
Dead carline thistles always seem attractive...
...but there were a few signs that spring isn't far away.
Dessert at Phil Stead's place!
A set of images from Phil Stead hide. Nice light!
Best not leave this fella out. Last call at Ward Jackson's.
