Welcome to my birding blog - first launched 12th March 2012...
25.09.2016
An East Coast Safari
Sunday September 25th
I like to get off nice and early and so I was in Canal Scrape hide for 7.30 a.m. A jack snipe was bobbing away but very much obscured by the vegetation. While I waited and hoped he'd emerge I watched a couple of water rails. Here's one of them.
A common snipe was not far from the jack snipe and I hoped it might push the jack into view. If anything it had the opposite effect!
The jack snipe remained half-hidden...
A yellow-browed was being shown at Church Field.
As we watched the yellow-browed someone in the crowd said there was a pecker on the telegraph pole.
Kilnsea Wetlands was quiet at low tide. A ringed starling was on the wires by the car park...
...and some curlews were in the field over the road.
I headed north for Hornsea hoping for little gulls on the jetties but there were none. A few dinghies were on the water.
Wandering around Kirkholme Point a brightly-coloured dunlin flew in and landed almost at my feet on the narrow strip of mud.
The previously reported taiga bean goose was refound near North Marsh, Flamborough but only visible with a scope from Old Fall steps at the roadside.
I eventually saw it along with a small group of birders at the left hand end of a field of about 200 greylags. They took off and I managed to pick it out later at home as the geese flew off from the left with the taiga near the front.
It's heavily cropped - the third bird from the left. General view of the flock in flight...
Thornwick Pool had dunlins again. Messing with camera settings I snapped this heron.
Final stop: Bempton Cliff. Situation normal: gannets and fulmar on show...
...and tree sparrows in the car park.
244 UK 2016
22.09.16
A long walk to an invisible pond...
I spent the day in the Flamborough area, beginning at Bempton in the wind. Six yellow-browed warblers about including three together but very difficult to get a photo as they were endlessly active in the stiff breeze and tending to remain partially obscured deep inside the bushes. An elderly [?] pheasant attended.
I moved on to Thornwick Pool where 5 dunlin were present.
A friendly crow was in the car park by the fishermen's hut.
Later in Bridlington harbour I took a few shots of the everyday birds there. Turnstone with a young crab.
Redshank and herring gull.
The highlight of the day came late afternoon when a red-backed shrike was posted at Cromer Point pond. It was quite a walk from Long Nab car park.
Long Nab observation hut from near Cromer Point.
From Cromer Point I could see no sign of a pond even after scanning with my scope. It's at TA028 928 approx. I turned round to give up and go back and noticed a patch of bulrushes and reeds just west of the last contoured mound I had negotiated. I went closer...
Perched up distantly was the shrike.
11th September ff
Must be the season of the Twitch!
[aka: Let's twitch again like we did last summer!]
Never heard of John of Gaunt's reservoir near Harrogate? On the maps it's one of the Beaver Dyke reservoirs but often known by the name of the ruined castle by the western reservoir. The two reservoirs are just east of Swinsty Reservoir. I went there on Sunday 11th September to see a red-necked grebe.
A bit breezy but otherwise nice. As I walked along part of the Dales Way I met two butterflies I hadn't seen much of this year.
Wall
Small copper
Later I got reasonable views of the grebe but it never came close - so just a few record shots. First, here's the reservoir.
Off out birding! September 13th...Skinningrove, South Gare rocks and Newburn Bridge
Start with another visit to Skinningrove stonechat, rock pipit, linnet and a few other bits.
I saw on the pager that the white-winged black tern and black tern juveniles were still on South Gare rocks as the tide was coming in. I headed there as it was quite close by. The darker bird is the black tern: picture 1. Picture 2 is the white-winged. Met a problem I hadn't come across before: heat haze wobble!
We looked for roseates too with their long streamers. Alan Whitehead arrived as the tide became really high and most of the terns had left.
Newburn Bridge as I needed to call at Hartlepool Tesco! [ringed plover, sanderling and bar-tailed godwit]
13th September - messing about at home with new camera, I took these test shots.
Cyrtanthus elatus or Scarborough lily.
September 16th - back to South Gare but it was pretty quiet. Lots of mipits passing through...
...and a few stonechats.
Newburn Bridge had two med gulls and some other waders...
...but knot a lot else.
September 18th at Blacktoft.
About a mile from Blacktoft we spotted a buzzard. As I got the camera ready a group of dunlin flew west.
The buzzard sparred with a sparrowhawk.
Snipe and ruff at Blacktoft.
September 19th I went to Spurn but suffered battery failure early on: the battery on the new camera doesn't last as well as the 1D. I need to plan for that! I saw a yellow-browed warbler plus the wader spectacle at high tide at Kilnsea Wetlands including the woodsand. Spent a merry hour with Karen and Simon Spavin and watched a redstart plus a probable elusive barred warbler which in the end I didn't count. Just one image then, of a snipe.
Struggling along at 241 for this year but when I look at the draft of my photobook it's nonetheless been a good year for photos.
4th-8th September 2016
Swampy and other bits!
4th September
Second look plus 4 ruddy shelducks on river.
Here's the big bird!
I was pleased to see my photo of the Bonaparte's gull on the Wansbeck estuary, Northumberland in the August issue of Birdwatch magazine...
...and amused to be asked if a local village magazine in Kent [!!] could use my much copied turtle dove photo. It was a pleasure to say yes!
I snapped this tiny instar grasshopper with my phone in a hide at North Cave on August 26th!
Thornwick Pool - 6th September
After a quiet seawatch with a red-throated diver and one arctic skua to add to the innumerable gannets, gulls, terns and fulmars [plus some common scoter flocks], Barry and I went to Thornwick Pool to watch some waders. Here comes my dunlin portfolio!
September 8th: South Gare and Skinningrove
A fairly early start at South Gare hoping for a roseate tern or two. Reed buntings were about...
...along with many meadow pipits sheltering in the marram grass. They shot up as I walked down towards the fenced off area.
There was a mixture of terns on the beach.
At Skinningrove I struck lucky with wheatear, stonechat...
and a few fulmars [about 9] were still on the cliffs. One of them was very vocal as it flew around me.
I was thrilled when a little stint came in off the sea and landed on the weed by the car park. What a gift. Here's my little stint portfolio! I've mixed a few dunlin pictures so be sure to spot them! [A juvenile grey wagtail got in on the show too!]
17th August - 2nd September
A Fine Assortment
From Egyptian goose to spotted crake!
Playing catch-up as whilst I took a long time to post all my Shetland material I was also out photographing more stuff locally. Especially as I had some new kit to experiment with. I'll try to be brief and rattle through it all!
August 17th: Egyptian geese at North Cave. Record shot into the sun.
Darter.
August 18th: at home in the garden trying a new lens.
August 20th: Saltholme, Phil Stead hide.
August 23rd & 24th: For a few days in late August we awoke to watch roe deer from our bedroom window here in Acomb, York. A selection of photos from both days follows.
In the afternoon of the 24th Sheila and I popped in to Blacktoft to see Barry. Things were very quiet.
August 26th: We drove to North Cave hoping for a glimpse of the spotted crake. Tricky bird to spot!
Record shot at best. I'll make amends later on!
The crake hid himself away, ashamed to show his face, afraid of what others might say...Remember that? Danny Kaye singing the Ugly Duckling. I watched this greenshank. It's definitely greenshank season at the moment!
Walking back we saw this dragonfly on a tree by the path.
A juvenile great crested grebe gave some nice reflections.
The greenshank turned up again later at Crossland hide along with a little grebe with a little fish.
August 27th saw us both back at Saltholme. Not for anything special. Just a trip out to see the sea. Ever get that feeling? I need to see the sea? Phil Stead's greenshank first.
Plus a magpie.
Med gull on the lamp-post at Newburn Bridge and...
...another one on the beach!
Some redshanks flew in...
...but turned their back on me!
Strangely I visited Alkborough three days running. Once on the 28th to see the spoonbills and whatever else might be around, then again on the 29th with Barry after a disappointing day at Frampton and, finally, on the 30th...
...but we'll come to that later.
So, on the 28th I had no luck with the bearded tits but the spoonbills were pretty close.
The best part was when they were all spooked and took off...
Then the godwits took to the air. I can find 4 wader species in this shot.
The sea aster was in full flower.
August 29th was the day Barry and I went to Frampton Marsh and saw hardly anything. Reports of large numbers of curlew sandpipers and little stints had tempted us. There were a few little stints admittedly but nothing in the quantity we had hoped for.
The visit started well with a couple of yellow wagtails with the horses from the car park.
Reed bunting and whitethroat juvenile on our walk.
Small tortoiseshells were frequent even though there have been reports of a big drop in numbers this year.
Ruff
A very distant ruff and little stint. I'll put that right a little later too.
We headed for Freiston Shore RSPB. Little grebe at Freiston.
Continuing north we called at Alkborough where there were plenty of birds. Little did we know what would be found the following day!
On the 30th August a western purple swamphen turned up at Alkborough. Sheila and I went quite late on and had good scope views of my 424th British Isles lifer. I didn't take a camera but here's a reminder of a bird I saw at Saltney, Clwyd, North Wales at a Morrisons building site in 2010. It was an escaped grey-headed gallinule but closely related to 'Swampy'. Look at those feet!
September! The year rushes on.
September 1st and Sheila and I headed for Thornwick Pool, North Landing, Flamborough hoping a little stint was still about. A bit far off but a lot closer than the Frampton birds.
Slowly getting closer.
Some dunlin came in.
Back to the stint. Still going in the right direction!
See the tramlines.
We called at Bempton. Jackdaw on the walk down to the cliffs.
The RSPB volunteer at the viewpoint explained that young gannets fly down from the nest and spend some time in the water getting all the guano etc off their wings before they try to fly off again. That's what this bird was doing.
September 2nd: after increasing reports that the spotted crake was becoming more bold and showing well we decided to have another look...
Right out on the mud!
