On Monday we were driving towards Patrington Haven car park when we noticed a car blocking the road ahead of us. It must have seen us coming because it started to move inexorably towards us. I pulled in onto my Yellow Wagtail lay-by, but the driver stopped and wound his window down to inform us that there was a Peregrine on a post ahead of us. So, we thanked him and drove on. Sure enough a large female Peregrine was on a fence post. Her feathers looked extremely ruffled at first, but she looked a bit neater later on. She remained on the post all the time we remained in the area, and the original car driver was still watching further down the road. I re-orientated the car until the female Peregrine (one queen) was in line with the spire of the "Queen of Holderness."
Both Tuesday and Wednesday sessions started from Barmston. Tuesday was still icy, but with little wind. Wednesday was warmer underfoot, but the wind became worse mid-morning even though the temperature continued to rise. Both days started quietly, but with a single sighting of a Red-throated Diver. On Tuesday one flew south, but on Wednesday it was on the sea. More than 25 Ringed Plovers were clustered on the edge of the receding sea - Anthony was first to spot them on Wednesday. The reedbed held a pair of Stonechat, which were much harder to locate on Wednesday. Both sessions almost fell over Wrens. 
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As we walked along the cliff edge we flushed several Snipe, although they were much less plentiful on the second day. Was this because the ground had started to defrost, and the Snipe could find suitable habitat away from the seashore? Other birds seen included Reed Buntings, Meadow Pipits and Skylarks. Some larger birds on the shore proved to be Grey Plovers, and one landed in a field in front of us. On Wednesday Symon spotted them in a loose group near the sea’s edge, whilst Brian was the first to give these birds their correct identity. We saw birds flying low over the sea on several occasions. They were mostly Cormorants and gulls, but we did see some Great Crested Grebes.
As we approached a line of bushes we could see that they were covered in small birds. As we got closer we could identify Yellowhammers, Reed Buntings and Corn Buntings. Flocks of small birds continued to fly over the stubble, and the photographs revealed that these flocks were largely composed of Corn Buntings. There were also a few Fieldfare, which flew across the field, but not in organised flocks. Several Skylarks also flew out of these fields and high into the sky, but they didn’t start to sing. The Wednesday afternoon group just reached all these birds when the long-threatened rain began to fall. We crouched behind a pillbox for a while, before having a look at them through the telescope, before trudging back to the beginning.
On Thursday northerly winds were forecast, so we had to switch to somewhere with south facing hides. At Tophill Low there were still remnants of ice around some of the marshes, but the reservoirs were clear. On D reservoir all the most interesting birds were at the far side and not within the range of our optical equipment.
We walked from the visitor centre and headed south through the woodland. Almost immediately we could hear Goldfinches and Siskins, and shortly afterwards Long-tailed Tits and a Marsh Tit. We arrived at O Reservoir from which we could see Shoveler, Great Crested Grebe, Pochard, Wigeon and Cormorants. South Marsh East was fairly quiet, but there was a Kingfisher when we first arrived, a Water Rail called, but remained hidden. We also had a brief glimpse of a Cetti’s Warbler. On our return 3 Curlews had dropped in and a Water Rail jumped up and fluttered down into a reedbed. Another Water Rail was seen briefly at South Marsh West.
At Watton Borrow Pits there was a higher concentration of wildfowl. Highlights here included Great White Egret, Little Egret, Goldeneye, Tufted Duck, Shoveler, Teal, Gadwall and Pochard.
Great Crested Grebe
On the return to the woodland near the car park we saw two Treecreepers and a Goldcrest looking for food in the leaf litter.
There was a male Kestrel near the parking area with Redshank and Teal at the high tide water level. On the estuary mud it was possible to see hundreds, if not thousands of Golden Plover, whilst their Grey cousins could be heard calling. The light wasn’t very bright, but it was possible to see Black-tailed Godwits, Common Seals, Lapwing, Shelduck and others waders impossible to identify. We had been walking for some time when Joan spotted a Short-eared Owl behind us. It flew towards the estuarine mud and flushed many of the waders into the air. Further along the bank we came upon a noticeably paler individual. The exaltation of Skylarks was mildly surprising, but the scattered Reed Buntings were completely expected.
Teal
On the circular walk a highlight was a Kingfisher, which flew up from the ditch and escaped across the field, we had just traversed. A Heron stood as a lonely sentinel near the sheep field, but there wasn’t a great deal new to see on the return journey to the starting point.
Heron
1 comment:
That hobby horse is weird
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