Welcome to my birding blog - first launched 12th March 2012...
1st September ff
Dancing in the rain!
Birding isn't easy. It needs patience, buckets of the stuff. Remember the quote:
Tuesday September 1st took me back to Blacktoft yet again for a couple of hours. Nice selection of waders at Marshland. Here's a ruff coping with a very heavy shower.
When the sun came out a spotshank came close...
...as did a little egret.
Friday 4th September in a very strong wind and sheltering by the fog station compound wall we [about 8 present] watched good numbers of birds mainly heading north. Unfortunately not many skuas or shearwaters compared with the previous day and I failed to get onto some that were called. My highlight was 2 bonxies heading north.
Sunday 6th September Sheila and I went up to Hartlepool. Highlights were the waders at Newburn Bridge and a little owl at Wingate - and it was a warm, sunny afternoon too! The jet stream at last to the north of us! Must be 'bak to skool' time!
Juvenile ringed plover...sanderlings...
...little owl...and a wall butterfly.
Wednesday 9th September got me out of the house by 5am and onto the cliffs at Flamborough Head by 6.30! Arctic skuas, good numbers of red-throated divers and plenty of general action with good close-up views of fulmars from my look-out below the fog station. Never been down there before. By 8.30 numbers of birders began to build hoping for a fea's petrel that had gone north from Spurn. No show. I left for Hornsea Mere for a little gull fix.
Diagnostic black underwings and fairy flight!
The birds seemed to take turns to return to the jetty for a rest.
A no doubt feral barnacle goose made a nice close-up study.
Same day Beacon Ponds an immature caspian gull was attracting a lot of attention from well-known Spurnites.
I took the Holmpton road to Patrington. A detour certainly but sometimes it throws up the unexpected.
Roe deer distant in the fields.
Kestrel monitoring my activities!
UK 2015 birds 258
26th-30th August 2015
Hiatus!
A trip to Kettlewell on August 26th to try to find a small colony of scotch argus butterflies proved surprisingly successful on a day of sunny intervals and showers. The butterflies moved quickly among the long grass and bracken but dived down out of sight as soon as the sun was obscured by cloud. I wasn't able to get a photo as the day wasn't settled enough for the butterflies to sunbathe. Two camera views of the general location plus a photo of a rabbit hunkered down in the wind but letting me get very close!
At home on the 27th August I photographed some house sparrows in a bay tree in the garden.
A trip to Blacktoft on August 30th just to spend an hour or two on wader watch. Nine species of wader plus some water rails [and the crake still present] Blacktoft was good entertainment. Here are a few blackwit and ruff photos.
Quite a few ruff present but I'm pretty sure these are all of the same bird...
...and it is striking how short-necked and long-necked the same bird can appear in different shots!
'Much about?'
'No. Just rumours... Someone mentioned black-eared wheatear at Frampton... We'll have to see how that develops!'
Note: it turned out to be a soggy northern wheatear!
23rd August 2015 ff
Two days in August
Sunday 23rd August: a seawatch at Flamborough was very quiet - I think the good stuff went through before I arrived. But there's time yet this autumn... I drove round to Thornwick pool. Black-tailed skimmer on the mud bank by the hide.
A couple of common sandpipers dropped in.
Two knot were fairly settled and eventually came close.
Attempts to find the elusive night heron at Swillington ended in failure - the second effort failed by one minute! A common hawker...
...and a common darter were consolation prizes.
Jobs in the garden on the 24th August meant I didn't get away till after noon. I decided to dash to Conder Green, south of Lancaster and try for the lesser yellowlegs. A favourite bird since, when just starting birding, I saw one at Thornham, Norfolk. My wife and I were puzzled why cars suddenly came tearing down the harbour track every couple of minutes to see this bird. We knew nothing then of pagers!
Here's the very long-legged Mr. Yellowlegs!
I joined a small group of birders and this was my initial view [left-hand bird]. I drove round to the north side of the location where the light was worse but you could get much closer to the bird.
Final shot shows the yellowlegs with two ruff - really emphasises the length of those legs - almost stilt-like!
20th-21st August 2015
RBS didn't let me down!
August 20th at Carr Naze: saw 2 wrynecks at once perched on the same dead branch! Distant however so photo is quite poor. Icterine warbler there too but not seen by me.
Friday 21st August took me to Hummersea above Skinningrove. I met Renton Charman there - a well-known local photographer with a nice big lens! I told him we needed to go down the steps towards the beach as the pager suggested the 'second bench' as a good viewpoint. Other birders came into view as we descended. And as the title of this posting goes, the RBS didn't let us down! Here it is - adult male!
Twigs could be a problem!
Messing with a few photos from Thornwick Pool on 16.08.15 I though I'd include them in as Sam Goldwyn used to say!
Ruff and woodsand.
254 UK 2015
15th - 17th August 2015
Just keeping my eye in!
They say practice makes perfect. Well, in that case I've a long way to go! But I do believe in getting out there among the birds as much as I can. The last few days were more photo-opps than new birds. Only tick was a wood warbler at Sandy Bay with Alan Whitehead although I didn't get a brilliant view until he had moved on. And even then it was too quick for me to grab a shot.
I'm rambling. Back to the beginning...
Saturday 15th August I went back to Blacktoft to get a better photo of the spotted crake. I waited an hour or so but it didn't show. Greenshank and multi-egrets only.
I headed for Kilnsea. Saw the wood warbler, missed the icterine. Wall butterflies everywhere. I said to a chap while we waited to see a barred warbler:
'Walls everywhere. All around us.'
Guess he thought I was a head-case. He moved away. Walls!
Sunday 16th August at Flamborough for a red-backed shrike. Tempted by quality waders at Thornwick Pool I decided the shrike could wait. When I finally got to Old Fall a tourist helicopter offering short trips round the Head had scared it off 5 minutes earlier. We lingered but never saw it. No regrets - the birding at Thornwick was brilliant. Nice to see Nigel Stewart there - good stint photos, Nigel!
Here are my Thornwick waders. Ruff first.
A couple of common darter dragonflies were flying around, attached to each other whilst the female was ovipositing as she was dragged around. Photographically limited but it was worth a try!
I waited while an adult little stint slowly came closer.
The stint never came as close as the ruff but the wood sandpiper did! One of my all-time favourite birds.
All was pretty quiet along the Old Fall path [apart from helicopters]. Lemonhammer.
The plan was to call at Hornsea to see if any little gulls were waiting to be photographed and then catch the crake At Blacktoft in the better afternoon light. Afternoons are usually better there as the sun is then behind you. I ran out of time but this fellow did turn up for me! Nice little gull.
Monday 16th August back to Blacktoft for a 3pm shift! Spotted crake duly turned up.
As did a great white.
'Two a penny these days!' said one miserable birder.
There's quite a lot of them around you know. Great whites and miserable birders. I particularly don't care for those who tell you nothing; who don't reply when you say hello. I remember last year when Barry and I made enquiries of one chap he replied 'I prefer to find my own birds!'
Moral: always greet; always share. More fun for all that way.
Great white then! In the distance at Singleton.
It flew nearer...
...and nearer.
251 UK birds 2015