Welcome to my birding blog - first launched 12th March 2012...
20th March 2020
Going solo
March 20th: I decided I needed to get out but I had equally decided to avoid other people completely. I managed to see two good birds at two sites without seeing another soul all day [apart from when I was in Tiggy2 and driving along].
So where did I go? I headed north all the way to Langdon Beck to see the black grouse. I saw about 30 but they were all very far away this time. Here's a shot of one plus an equally distant and heavily cropped curlew in the same field. Taken from the road to St. John's Chapel.
Then I set off for Grindon Lough. Up near Hadrian's Wall the lough is one of several natural lakes in the area. In the sunshine and hail showers it looked amazingly pretty.
The reason for my trip? To see an American wigeon. There were a lot of wigeon present so I realised this might be a challenge. I put up the scope and focussed. Miraculously I was pretty sure I'd found my target immediately so I zoomed in...
These are huge crops but in the good light I think the American wigeon shows very clearly.
I headed south via Hartlepool, calling briefly at the lifeboat station. Ok, I did see a couple of people watching me from inside the lifeboat station and a distant dog walker on Middleton beach but otherwise it was strangely quiet. Kittiwakes were back on the bridge that connects the building to the lifeboats. About a dozen birds present. Here's one.
150 UK 2020
16th March 2020 ff
Time to go home!
As a child I remember a children's programme - Andy Pandy - when at the end someone would say ''Time to go home, time to go home. Andy Pandy is waving goodbye. Goodbye!''
For me it's time to go home and stay there for months, I believe. So this post may be the last for a while...but I'll try to find things to post.
March 16th: a trip to Castle Howard to look for [and not find] hawfinches. No-one else found them either although a few have been seen today [17/3/20].
So pictures are not exactly riveting! Best I could manage were captive birds: guinea fowl and 2 noisy peacocks.
Robin and honey bees at a hide in the Arboretum. The bees were finding plenty of pollen.
I didn't know where to go next after 2.5 hours waiting for nothing to happen. [I wasn't alone - 3 other birders looking] I headed to Filey Dams. Pinkfeet on the water plus a barnacle goose that I only spotted at home later.
Decided to call at Bempton before heading home. The weather was very pleasant. Tree sparrows sunning themselves.
Down by the cliff just at the end of the path I spotted a pair of sleeping puffins. I pointed them out to a couple but it was obvious they didn't believe me! No colourful bill so not a puffin I felt was how they saw things.
Later they stirred and stretched.
I do like razorbills.
148 UK 2020
One behind last year but I don't think this year will be like any other. Predict 170 for the year - if I'm lucky!
Take care everybody!
Chris
11th-13th March 2020
Hard at work!
Doing my best to keep things moving and reflecting the changing season. I know only too well that at one moment spring seems slow to get going and then suddenly there's a crazy rush and things can get really hectic! Not quite there yet!
March 11th: Old Moor and Adwick-upon-Dearne with Barry
Old Moor featured an expected pair of lesser black-backed gulls.
Some of the ducks were looking good.
Med gull being bossy!
Kestrel at Adwick Washlands
Moi! Photo by Barry!
Rather damp pied alba wagtail, avocet, a redshank, a little egret...
...and a very shy chiffchaff
March 13th: St. Aidan's RSPB. Barry was hoping for owls and black-necked grebe. The grebe turned up and so did some other nice things. I'll start with a hare that was having a break from being a mad March hare.
Crow, reed bunting and quite a few stonechats!
Grebes. Great crested first.
I was rather pleased with myself to have found these bearded tits! Male
Adult female, I believe.
Finishing off...black-headed gull, very high up red kite and a lapwing.
147 UK 2020
5th March 2020 ff
Was it Wilkins Micawber?
You know the chap from David Copperfield who famously said ''something will turn up!'' Well I suppose a great grey shrike in Co. Durham just about qualifies but I'd like something really special to celebrate the coming spring and all the goodies that lie ahead [Black crow Corvid-19 permitting]. Not that I'm greedy or anything.
Still, here's an account of the last few days.
March 5th at Bempton with Barry. Caught up with first puffins, razorbills and shag from the clifftop. Picture time.
First kittiwakes actually paired up on the cliffs.
Kestrels kept appearing. First time overhead as we walked up to the VC.
Second bird at Flamborough Head almost oblivious of my presence level with the bird as it hovered out over the cliff edge. These are uncropped images - probably the closest I've been to a kes.
March 6th: I went to Trimdon to look for the great grey shrike. No sign so I headed for Saltholme before going home early. A walk down the Greatham Creek right-hand path produced a few black-tailed godwits [I hoped for bar-tailed] shelduck and greylags.
Plus a distant sleepy greenshank with its back to me.
March 8th: back to Garmondsey Farm and success this time after a long wait watching the bird from a long way off. Just about recognizable!
There were 4 of us standing around. Suddenly I looked up and there it was, pretty close. 'It's here I said!' in disbelief. It certainly was!
142 UK 2020
25th February ff
Le Petit Tour de Yorkshire
A day out with Barry in Tiggy2: 25/2 We headed for Wykeham and saw our first red-legged partridges of the year en route. A stop at the T-junction at the end of the road up from Wykeham produced a clutch of three crossbills. Here's two of them: a juvenile and a male.
I spotted another at the Raptor Watchpoint but I wasn't quite quick enough!! Dive bombing!
After enjoying views of a couple of goshawks we moved on to Forge Valley where we saw the expected usual suspects including nuthatch, treecreeper and marsh tit. Hackness delivered with a nice pair of mandarins. The photo turned out better than I expected.
Scarborough harbour was quiet.
Just this redshank to photograph...
...and a house sparrow on the lobster pots...
...and a load of friendly turnstones!
Nearly forgot: a brute of a great black-back patrolled the harbour.
Holbeck had a nice Mediterranean gull for Barry but we continued to Bempton. I couldn't locate a razorbill although the RSPB staff said there were some. Lots of gannets, guillemots and some kittiwakes on the sea.
And this charming couple!
February 27th Evening: the moon and Venus were very close. By the time they were clearly visible from our house they had drifted apart somewhat. The moon looked a little bit like a piece of nibbled cheese!
March 2nd - a couple of hours at Blacktoft.
Spring has come
The grass is ris!
I wonder where the daisies is?
They're here!
Goldeneye and snipe showing at Townend hide.
Mallards and greylags flying past.
Eventually a male marsh harrier gave me some stunning views. Made the visit memorable!
March 3rd: Lockwood Beck, Skinningrove and South Gare with Barry. We saw quite a few red grouse en route. Lockwood Beck had siskin and other common birds. Skinningrove turned up trumps with a black redstart [not photographed - it was too quick for us] and a pair of stonechats.
Rock pipit and dunnock amongst the boulders of the rock armour.
Here's the female stonechat.
South Gare provided a good year tick for me in the shape of a group of four twite...
...and a couple of spring flowers. Alexanders and a coltsfoot.
