Welcome to my birding blog - first launched 12th March 2012...
25th - 28th March 2013
The Waiting Game continues -
but for how much longer?
Spring aint sprung
The grass aint ris
Do you wonder where the birdies is?
I am the persistent birder after all so I will not give up! My year total has staggered along of late, reaching 164 by the end of last week. Today I looked back at some photos from the past month to check I hadn't missed anything stunning. I liked this image from Seaton Snook. [16.03.13]
Snow buntings are still around. Guess they are waiting too. Tomorrow I will try for jack snipe [winter visitor] and little ringed plover [summer visitor] at the same site. Don't expect I'll be in luck though!!
Another picture from the past few weeks. Remember this red grouse from near Shaw Farm? 16.03.13 You've not seen these 2 photos before...
Well it flew off! Unusual view - perhaps the hunter's view!
And finally from 22.02.13 at Long Riston another view of my friendly barn owl.
I hope there'll be some more stunning photos before too long!
Monday 25th March
So, did I see a jack snipe or a LRP? Did I hecky thump! [Who used to say that?] I explored Willthorpe Marsh in the snow: the marsh itself proved inaccessible due to the mud, snow and general slipperiness. As for Orgreave Lagoon which I attempted to walk round, imagine what bleak means to you. Well, put mathematically it was 2 bleak squared. It was hard going. Saw skylarks and mipits. And a few of the usual suspects from bhg to coot.
Decided to call at Old Moor and Broomhill. Very quiet there [saw 1 little owl at Broomhill] but a bullfinch obliged at Old Moor - probably my best ever shots of a bullfinch. [Yet another ringed bird!]
Summoned home by a greenhouse crisis I called at Fairburn to see if the siskins were showing: no sign but instead a group of at least three redpolls were outside the visitor centre so I sat down quietly and waited. Thankfully there were few people about as the birds were quite nervous. Even my shutter firing off seemed to disturb the male. The female must have been hungrier: very little seemed to bother her and she spent 8 minutes on one feeder whilst other birds came and went.
Here's my little lesser album.
Tuesday 26th March
The March wind doth blow,
And we shall have snow,
And what will the robin do then, poor thing?
He'll sit in the barn,
To keep himself warm,
And hide his head under his wing, poor thing!
Yes, it was still blowing. We went to Fairburn for some sunflower hearts mid-afternoon - perishingly cold. The light was poor and shutter speeds correspondingly slow: sharpness was a bit tricky! Watched lots of little birds on the feeders: a [ringed] nuthatch...
A masked bandit is at large!!
...siskins...
The male was very difficult to lock onto. This female is very pale - juvenile?
Adult female?
I hadn't seen a long-tailed tit out in the open on the ground before. But they have learnt the survival trick of coming to feeders.
We walked to the kingfisher screen. I told my wife they haven't been seen there for some time but we might see a willow tit. We didn't but we did see this tiny surprise!
He turned his back on us.
All black bill = male
As we returned to the visitor centre I alarmed a female mallard hiding in some wet, rotting vegetation by the path.
21st March 2013
Spring has sprung
The grass is ris
I wonder where the daisies is
Well, that's surely what I should be telling myself. I once heard that summer has arrived when you can go out on your lawn and place one foot on four daisy flowers. More likely to end up with a snow encrusted shoe at the moment. Seems the waiting game has a while to go yet. Many summer migrants have now sent just the odd scout: sand martin, wheatear, even willow warbler have been reported as have a few ospreys. Bet they regret it!
Anyway, Thursday looked like the best day of the week - best of a bad bunch as they say, so I went off early to Worsborough Reservoir [near Wombwell, S. Yorks] as someone had posted photos of a lesserpecker there. I failed to see any but I enjoyed my walk and I did encounter quite a few birds...
There were several pairs of great crested grebes and a flock of mallards who had all mixed their genes with some farmyard friends at some point in their history. 'Nearly mallards', one could say - a bit whiter undersides but rather attractive nevertheless. I think they look well unlike many feral hybrids.
Walking on I came across more grebes determined to shoo the mallards out into the middle of the reservoir. This one was aiming straight for them!
The paths were quite muddy but I found the likely birch trees where the woodpecker had been seen. A robin accompanied me for a long time [or perhaps it was several robins!]...
... and a dunnock watched me from his perch.
Three nuthatches were chasing around playing some kind of mating game I presume and were reluctant to pose for a photo. No time for such frivolity!
The robin caught the corner of my eye as it landed in a bush just behind my right shoulder.
Looks a bit miserable - 3 degrees blues perhaps. A pair of goosander were out on the reservoir now as were a number of tufties. This sleeping pochard floated by as I headed back to Tiggy after circumnavigating [posh for going round!] the reservoir.
Next call would be Broomhill Flash to see a couple of green sandpipers - or, as it turned out, not to see either of them although, allegedly, one had been seen that morning. Still, 2 little owls, 3 pinkfeet and a special duck made up for it quite nicely.
I had decided the night before to combine all this with a run to the coast to Bempton Cliffs RSPB.
Arriving in Bempton village I spotted the emus up by the fence so couldn't resist the chance for some candid portraits. They'd have pecked my lens if I'd let them!!
I knew that razorbills were back and that the light might be good. Unfortunately the wind wasn't quite doing what I hoped so the birds weren't hovering as they tried to make landfall on the cliffs being blown back by the wind. However I had a good time, got some nice photos and a couple of year ticks - razorbill and a puffin on the water quite distant but seen through an RSPB scope and spotted by one of their volunteers.
Fulmars
Jackdaws
Herring Gull
Kittiwake
Gannets galore!
Flying past the clifftop like torpedos!
'Glad you've finished the gardening, dear!'
Razorbills
Tree sparrows nesting in a house! [Well, the visitor centre actually!]
Thursday 14th March - Saturday 16th March 2013
The Waiting Game: Part 2...
...but still enjoying myself!
Thursday 14.03.13
Cooped up at home I simply popped down to Askham Bog [3 miles away] to see if I could get some shots of the marsh tits. On the walk in from the car park area a nice drift of snowdrops caught my eye.
Always careful to make sure it's not one of the accompanying coal tits...
I soon had a marsh tit on the fence posts where seed is left.
Now before we go any further and I get neurotic about paler wing panels and bib size for all I know this might be a willow tit. But for now it's a marsh tit - or a marlow tit. It's definitely one of them. And so are these charming fellows.
Can be a dangerous place if you're a long-tailed tit. Always better to go round in twos!
There were lots of smart looking great tits too.
Friday 15.03.13 - first of 2 days in the Hartlepool area
I parked at the Seal Sands car park and walked to the new viewscreen by the Greatham Creek road bridge. Few birds present but I spotted a ringed plover nearby.
I went down to Greenabella hoping for the spotshank but the tide was out and the birds were all distant on the mud. The steelworks was putting on quite a show. Perhaps they'd just elected a new bishop - great billows of red smoke.
The black-throated diver was in the marina and two red-throated divers were in the harbour mouth.
There was quite a swell near the harbour mouth.
Some time was spent along the South Gare access road trying to photograph the curlews - they are easily disturbed so I was quite pleased with this set - including the one with all the jewellery...
6 rings!
Saturday 16.03.13 - day 2 in the North-East
Barry and I set off early to call at Shaw Farm and hopefully catch the black grouse. I knew there would be snow but I hoped for the best nonetheless. Black grouse are in the photo [2 males seen] - top left green field just near the diagonal snow line. But you can't see them!!
I was experimenting with my old Nikon Coolpix 4500 - I thought I might use it for landscape views as it easily slips in the pocket.
Here's the road to Langthwaite...
...and the road back north to the Stang.
We did eventually catch up with red grouse in the snow - all taken from the car.
In the mist this bird nestled down in the snow. They must be made of sterner stuff than I!!
We drove over Langdon Beck too but saw no more black grouse. Heading for Hartlepool for the remains of the day.
First location would be Seaton Snook where we would seek out some snow buntings. Barry took this as I watched a long-tailed duck on the creek.
It took us some time to find the snow buntings. In fact I was losing hope and had just said to Barry: 'This is where I saw them earlier in the week' when Barry said he'd spotted one. Let the pictures do the rest. Male and female present - and yet another ringed bird!
Here's the female.
Then relocated the male up on a log.
Back to the female.
Thanks to both birds for a great set of images.
As harbingers of spring, the coltsfoot were in flower.
We moved on to Greenabella hoping that as the tide came back in I might catch up with the spotted redshank. In fact we did see this bird together with a redshank and a greenshank. A sort of triple shank!!
A common scoter was by the second bridge over the creek.
On the walk back we watched a crow dropping a mussel shell onto the stony pathway. Clearly he had done this before and was soon eating the contents...
...even holding things in place with his foot. Clever birds.
Just before we reached the road a gull tried to mob a barn owl. It soon got out of the way.
A jolly good time was had by all - and it was quite a nice day too. Back to miserable winter weather for a while, I fear...
Week commencing March 10th 2013
The Waiting Game
Week commencing March 10th 2013
Sunday I went to Blacktoft to seek out some water pipits. It was very bleak there and I didn't meet up with them. Dunlin, shelduck, redshanks but nothing really special. There were a lot of dunlin and snipe about. And konik ponies looking ready for Spring: the sap definitely rising.
I decided to head for Old Moor along the motorways. Again nothing really special but the goosanders were nice and close down at the wader scrape.
Bitterns were booming too and yellowhammmers and brambling near the car park feeders.
Little owl reported at Broomhill. No sign [no surprise] but red-legged partridge and, bird of the day - a nice duck.
UK 2013 160... and waiting for the sand martins and wheatears that are dribbling into southern Britain. Snowing as I write this 11.03.2013 12.15pm.
Blog's 1st Birthday March 12th: 4368 visitors so far.
Wednesday 13th March 2013
Got up really early and got to Mirfield by 7.50am. Saw the ring-billed gull immediately through another birder's scope! At this point, before I could set up my own scope, all the birds flew off! Well at least I saw the bird. Went next to Broomhill Flash. Don't know why but just felt like going there. A birder coming out of the hide told me exactly where to look: 2 little owls through the scope. Brilliant!
Wanted some pictures too [never satisfied - is that the human condition?] so went to Fairburn to see if any 'eat-my-hat' birds were showing. [So-called because I once told my friend Barry that I'd eat my hat if we saw siskins at Fairburn on the visitor centre feeders. And we did!] Well then: here's some very pretty eat-my-hat birds.
I prefer not to take pictures of birds on feeders, so I tried to get the birds in the surrounding vegetation too. Actually this one is on the feeders but I cropped the feeder off.
Here they are in the bushes.
Some coal tits were around too. This one seemed a little drunk and had trouble balancing on landing...
A long-tailed tit seemed to be having a bit of bother too. Perhaps they're putting brandy in the seed on these cold mornings!
This greenfinch looked very smart.
The long-tailed tits were showing really well including this ringed bird.
Monday March 4th ff
Another week - last trip to Mirfield??
Monday...
...took me once more [5th time?] to the weir at Mirfield in search of the ring-billed gull. Finding the source of the Nile would be easier!! No show again so here's another shot of that splendid lesser black-backed gull - still present.
A grey wagtail lurked along the towpath very close to us but remained hidden for much of the time amongst roots and flotsam that had gathered when the water level had been higher. Even nosy canada geese failed to dislodge it. I managed a lot of close-ups many of which were obstructed by twigs etc. Here's something reasonable.
Eventually it flew to the orange floats.
Looks well I think.
Tuesday...
...was a day when there were jobs to do. The afternoon was bright but cold. A walk around Askham Bog to photograph marsh tits was a bit confusing. The robins were friendly and numerous.
Marsh tits and coal tits were tricky to separate when looking through the camera. This nice sharp picture is a coal tit - you can just see the wing bar on the right hand side.
This grey squirrel looked quite cute even though I regard them as vermin. Unfortunately we don't have any local reds - as far as I know...
It was great to catch up with a treecreeper as we headed back to the car.
By the exit gate I did eventually catch up with a marsh tit.
Wednesday...and this little piggy stayed at home!
Thursday...off I go!
Bit of a repeat actually. Decided to go back to Langthwaite to see some Yorkshire black grouse. The weather was poor: thick fog and I began to fear I was wasting my time. However as I descended from the Stang forest the skies cleared. The red grouse became visible in the remaining mist.
For some reason I missed the viewpoint and had to turn in the village and go back uphill to NZ007 052. It's easier in that direction to spot where you have the best view of the green fields above the farm. I saw 8 white-tailed males a-strutting!
Well, that was a good start. On then to Hartlepool to psych myself up for another sand-blasting at Seaton Snook.
Couldn't face it straightaway: the potential disappointment was oppressive so decided on some softer birding at Hartlepool Headland. Soon encountered a nice adult med gull - not Medusa from Newburn Bridge, a different bird.
When you are trying to track one bird among a number of black-headed gulls it is easy to think you are still on it when you're not...
Or you are...
Eventually the bird opted for a break on the rocks. I watched one birder trying to get close by venturing on to the seaweed covered rocks. I contented myself with this shot from the shore.
Something disturbed the knot and they flew past.
I set off for Seaton Snook. By the power station roundabout I saw a large murmuration of starlings being chased by a peregrine - but I was driving and couldn't stop. Along the Zinc Road many fieldfare were gathering on the edge of a huge flock of starlings. Getting ready to depart, I wondered?
[Photographed through a mesh fence]
I plucked up courage and set off.
Again I walked a long way along the shoreline. Niente, rien, nichts, nada! So, I thought, perhaps I should traipse among the dunes where they extend like a long spit into the estuary at NZ 538 267. I dislodged some crows but then saw something else move at the northern base of the dune, in a little round sheltered, gravelly spot. Eight of them - seven in this shot. Male blurred in background.
