Monday 3 September 2018

Autumn Term Starts Soon

My Autumn classes resume in a fortnight's time.  We will be making a special effort to try and see Bearded Tits, which are doing well on the humber.  I suspect they've had a good breeding season, and I even saw some in the afternoon last week, which bodes well. 
Bearded Tit
Last Autumn was rather poor for Short-eared Owls, but this year the early indications are we are going to be falling over them this Autumn!  Fingers-crossed!  We are certainly going to a few locations, where we should see them if they do arrive in numbers this year.
Short-eared Owl
 Ditto
Last Autumn we endured a similar situation with Hen Harriers.  I have already seen a beautiful male this Autumn, so I have great hopes that we will see them in reasonable numbers in a few weeks' time.
Female Hen Harrier
 Ditto
 Male Hen Harrier
Numbers of Rough-legged Buzzards seem to fluctuate from year-to-year, but if they are around, we will do our best to connect with them. 
Rough-legged Buzzard
Barn Owl numbers have never recovered from the winter of 2010, and the Beast from the East won't have done them any favours.  However, we are going to good Barn Owl venues, so we should see them.
Barn Owl (c) 2018 Chris Cox
Autumn is usually a good time to see waders, and we are visiting wader venues at high tide to observe them.  We are blessed with several good sites on the estuary, so we will try and see Black-tailed Godwits, Golden Plovers, Ruff, Dunlin and Knot.  if we see pectoral sandpipers or other transatlantic vagrants then they will be a bonus.
Greenshank

A summary of what to expect on the Autumn course is given below:
At the time of writing there are a couple of vacancies on Wednesday afternoons followed by Thursday afternoons and Friday afternoons.  I'm afraid I cannot take any more bookings on the Tuesday morning or Friday morning sessions. If you are interested in another session, please ask. For at least 2 hours a week encounter the natural world as a completely new sensual experience. You'll be amazed what you'll find just by listening, and not only by looking! In the Autumn we'll be paying special attention to migrating birds and waders. If you want help sorting out your Dunlin from your Knot, and pointing out the differences between singing Black-tailed Godwit and Bar-tailed Godwits then this is the place to be. We are going to locations where you will hopefully see and not just hear Bearded Tits and Water Rails. Towards Christmas we will also make a special trip on the wolds to encounter large birds of prey. So, if you are interested in learning more about your local wildlife in beautiful and secluded venues for less than £10 a week, then this is the course for you! We visit a different local hotspot each week and identify all the birds and as much other wildlife as we can. This also includes mammals, and fungi with butterflies, and dragonflies in the warmer months. The course runs twice daily Tuesday to Friday. If you are interested in more details of the course, or wish to be placed on a waiting list, please contact me on either the email or mobile details at the head of the page.

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