Birding with Flowers: December 2024

Friday, 13 December 2024

New Term starts in January

All my current Autumn clients have now been asked if they'd like to return for the Winter sessions, so bookings are now being opened up to everyone else. There are most vacancies on Friday mornings & Friday afternoons, but there are plenty of spaces on Wednesday afternoons with fewer vacancies on other sessions. If you are interested in another session please ask. The classes resume on Tuesday 14th January 2025.

Barn OwlHawfinch (c) 2009 Marcus ConwayThis bird is more of a hunch, it certainly isn't 95% guaranteed, but there are more Hawfinches about this winter than anytime since 2009. In only one winter out of 12 have we had a good connection with this species in the wild, and I seem to remember it was just the Tuesday and Wednesday afternoons which did so. This was way back in 2009, and it's possible that the conditions which made sightings possible then, will be repeated this winter.

Short-eared Owl

Short-eared Owl

Winter is traditionally the period when we have the best chance to see Long and Short-eared Owls, Rough-legged Buzzards, Waxwings, Great Grey Shrikes and Hawfinches. There are also plenty of colourful birds to see like Stonechats, Redwings and Kingfishers.

Rough-legged Buzzard

Ditto

Hen Harrier

Waxwings

Redwing

Snow Bunting

Short-eared Owl

Stonechat - colourful winter bird

Little Egret - eating hawthorn berries

Long-tailed Tit - a commonly-encoutered bird in winter

Starling Murmuration

As the winter progresses we will encounter more birds singing. This is the best time of the year to learn a little birdsong every week, before the avalanche of new singing species when the summer migrants arrive in April and May. It is important to gain a basic knowledge in the birdsong of our resident species before things become more complicated after Easter.

Chaffinch

Friday, 6 December 2024

Ending with a Bittern

On Tuesday we made our final visit of the year to the wolds. It was overcast without much wind. At first any colour was very difficult to see, and the Kites weren’t flying about as much as usual because of the lack of wind. A female Kestrel flew onto the ground among the sheep.

Kestrel

Record Shot of Yellowhammer

Before we started to ascend we managed to spot 3 Yellowhammers, but the light was against us. Once we had climbed the steep hill, it was easier to spot a few perched Red Kites, when we could manage to see through the almost impenetrable leylandii.

Red Kite

Ditto

On Wednesday we made our final 2024 trip to Tophill Low. We went south. The light was too bright at the screen over ‘O’ reservoir, so we went on to SME. There was a Redshank, Lapwing and Heron here - all in the singular.

Sally’s Snipe

We then leapfrogged to Watton Borrow Pits. Tony was the first to spot the Smew, which spent a disproportionate time under water, but it did emerge from the water long enough for everyone to get a view of it. There was plenty of other wildfowl here too including Teal, Pochard, Gadwall and Tufted Ducks. Another Heron was present to keep any Great Egrets at bay.

Smew [Archive]

Pintail

Goldeneye

We then climbed the slope to the new hide-to-be. The light was perfect here to get beautifully lit views of 2 Great Crested Grebes and a single drake Pintail. While we were watching an immature Marsh Harrier flew towards us before heading off in the general direction of Watton Nature Reserve

Marsh Harrier

Ditto

On the way back we didn’t see a great deal, although as we came out on to the approach road, the recently returned Anthony saw a Great Egret over our heads heading towards ‘O’ reservoir. We failed to locate any Siskins on the Alders on our return to the car park.

Redwing

Dropping the Berry

On Thursday originally strong winds and pouring rain had been forecast, so we switched to N.Cave Wetlands. The rain had only recently stopped, so it was quite muddy underfoot. The Dryham Lane hedgerows were a lot quieter than last week. Contrary to rumour the feeds had been inaugurated. There were quite a good number of Greenfinches taking advantage with Goldfinches, but no Tree Sparrows. The light was beautiful on the first ducks we encountered: Wigeon, Teal, Shoveler, Tufted Duck with just the odd Little Grebe sprinkled throughout. We walked to the new hide, where a Peregrine finishing off its kill was pointed out to us. We also managed to see a grainy Little Owl in the distance very close to its new box. We could see the latter slightly better from the walk up to the new screen. There were a great number of Shelduck on one of the islands.

Record Shot of Distant Peregrine

Ditto

Record Shot of Distant Little Owls

Ditto

On North Path we had our most exciting encounter when a Tawny Owl swooped over our shoulders, turned in front of us and headed towards Carp Lake. It was being chased by crows. There was no time to snatch a photo.

Male Bullfinch

Female Bullfinch

A pair of Bullfinches on the edge of Reedbed Lake were another highlight.

Heron

Lapwings

Black-tailed Godwits

Curlews

Overexposed Great Spotted Woodpecker

Great Egret at Ness End

On Friday it was still windy and wet from the stormy night before, so we were at Ness End. The light was good, so the hide was packed. There was hardly a bird to be seen, but the one that was provided the best views of a Great Egret that the Friday am group had ever seen. The wind was blowing into the hide, and there was nothing more to be seen, so we started on a circuit of the reserve. Peering down the swathes which had been cut through the impenetrable reeds we were confronted by the brownish backside of a Bittern, which was stalking away from us. Eventually, it disappeared into the reeds on the left.

Bittern's Backside

Bittern

The wind was also blowing into Target Hide. The ducks were all on the far side. These included Wigeon, Teal, Gadwall, Shoveler with a few Little Grebes sprinkled about. A large flock of Lapwings could be discerned in the distance, possibly over Chowder Ness. It was hide tide on the river bank, and the wind was whipping up the waves, so there was very little to see. this had receded by the afternoon, but rather surprisingly there were still no Redshanks.

Redwing

We reached Reedy Hide. The wind wasn’t affecting the spectators this time, instead the sunlight was pouring into the eyes of the watchers. There wasn’t too much to see from here apart from the necks of 2 Cormorants emerging from the deep water.

Chaffinch

Dunnock

Great Tit

Robin

Woodpigeon

On the remainder of the walk we did encounter a couple of Redwing, and Ian’s seed resulted in some almost touching views of Dunnock, Chaffinch, Great & Blue Tits. Another group were watching 3 male Bullfinches, so we also stopped to have a look at those. The screen was quite quiet apart from a sleeping Shoveler and a quartet of Gadwall until they were disturbed by our first and only Marsh Harrier all day - spotted by GM2.

Great Crested Grebe

Shoveler

In the afternoon a female Bittern was on view as soon as we entered Main Hide, and she continued to perform for the next quarter of an hour. She reappeared at the back of the cut, but the views when she was at the front were the best.

Ditto

Highland Cattle

Autumn Course Details

Bookings for the 10-week Autumn term have started. At the time of writing there are most vacancies on Tuesday & Friday mornings with a couple of spaces on most other 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 finding and identifying birds on migration. Autumn visitors we are hoping to track down include: Redstarts, Flycatchers, Warblers, Rough-legged Buzzards, Hen Harriers, Short-eared Owls & various wading birds. We will be visiting venues in East Yorkshire with a couple of ventures into North Lincolnshire and West Yorkshire. So, if you are interested in learning more about your local wildlife in beautiful and secluded venues for less than £12 a week, contact me for more details! 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. Please note it is not appropriate to bring your dogs with you. If you are interested in more details of the course, or wish to be placed on a waiting list, please leave a comment next to one of my posts or email me on mflowers81@live.co.uk

Terms and Conditions

Birding with Flowers

Terms and Conditions

1.0 General

1.1. Birding with Flowers organises birdwatching and wildlife walks and events to enable participants to learn bird identification, to gain knowledge of habitats and wildlife in general to enhance their enjoyment and appreciation of the countryside. These terms and conditions must be agreed by anyone joining a 10-week birding course or a special one-off event.

1.2 Birding with Flowers reserves the right to revise these Terms and Conditions at any time by updating these pages. It is your responsibility to review and understand the Terms and Conditions. If you are booking a course or event you will be asked to return a signed slip stating that you agree to these legally binding Terms and Conditions. If you do not agree to the Terms and Conditions please do not ask to participate in Birding with Flowers courses or events.

1.3 The Birding with Flowers blog HYPERLINK "http://www.eybirdwatching.blogspot.com" www.eybirdwatching.blogspot.com, the weekly East Yorkshire Birdwatching Walks and one-off special events are managed and operated by Birding with Flowers. The Terms and Conditions set out below constitute the agreement between you (the client) and us (Birding with Flowers or BWF).

1.4 Whilst we make every effort to provide you with up to date details for courses and events, it is ultimately your responsibility to check whether they have been cancelled or rescheduled by checking emails or, where applicable, text messages the evening before a session. We take all reasonable steps to ensure the information on the blog, in the course itineraries and for one-off events is accurate at the time of publishing and continues to be accurate. Liability for any loss or damage arising from inaccuracies, omissions or interpretation of contents is limited to the cost of the session. If you believe any content to be inaccurate please contact us on 07946 625677, or email us at mflowers81@live.co.uk and we will take all reasonable steps to correct it as soon as possible.

2.0 Payments and Bookings

2.1 For the complete 10-week course we require full payment in advance. If payment is not made before the date specified in the course particulars, your place may be given to another client.

2.2 One-off short (2-3 hours) walks may be paid for on the day in cash, but preference will always be made to those who pay in advance.

2.3 Except for payments for short walks (see 2.2 above), payments made by BACS are preferred by us as this is a safe, quick and easy method of payment. You will require the Birding with Flowers account number and bank sorting code. You will need to include your surname and the day you attend as a reference. If you require our bank details this will be sent in two separate emails, please do not reply to those emails for security reasons.

2.4 If you do not want to make a BACS payment you may still pay by cheque. Payment by cheque requires your contact details written on the reverse. If you pay by cheque, you should be aware that your cheque will take a few days to arrive in the post, and your payment will not be recognised as completed until the cheque has cleared, which will take several more working days. Please take this into consideration when sending your cheque. For details on how to pay by cheque please email us at mflowers81@live.co.uk

2.5 No cash payments should be sent to us in the post.

2.6 You are required to ensure, when booking a course or event, that there are sufficient funds to cover the cost of the service. Payment will be taken in advance for the services offered and if payment fails, bookings will not be made until an alternative payment has been made. If there are any changes to your details that may affect your booking it is your responsibility to inform Birding with Flowers by contacting us on 07946 625677, or email us at mflowers81@live.co.uk

2.7 It is important that you print the email of the confirmation of your booking for your own reference.

3.0 Data Protection

3.1 Birding with Flowers takes your contact details as part of the booking process. Your details will not be shared with any third party or organisation. If you request another member’s email or phone number for whatever purpose, your message will be forwarded to that client, but any reply will remain between yourself and that client.

4.0 Intellectual Property

4.1 As a member of the Birding with Flowers course you may be sent detailed itineraries, birdsong calendars, species location spreadsheets, bird identification flowcharts and other original items. Any items marked with copyright should not be shared with any third party, including previous members of the course. Once a person has left the course they are no longer entitled to receive further publications.

5.0 Changes and Cancellation: by Birding with Flowers

5.1 Birding with Flowers begins planning courses and events many months in advance. On occasions we have to make changes to details both before and after bookings have been confirmed. With outdoor classes and events, local weather, transport or a host of other uncontrollable factors can mean a change in the itinerary. Although we always take all reasonable steps to avoid changes, we must reserve the right to do so.

5.2 If we have to make a minor alteration to your itinerary or travel arrangements before departure, we will, if practicable, advise you before departure but we are not obliged to do so or to pay you compensation.

5.3 In the event of poor weather conditions which we consider will seriously affect the quality of a class or one-off event, we reserve the right to postpone or cancel the class or one-off event. In this case you will usually be offered alternative dates for the same or similar event from our programme of events.

5.4 If we have to cancel an individual class, or one-off event, completely due to unforeseen circumstances such as illness of the course leader, extreme weather events or major travel disruption, where possible we will offer an alternative date. If we have no alternative dates to offer, you will receive a full refund of all monies paid for that class or event.

5.5 If a major change is made (e.g. cancellation of all or more than 2 classes of your course or a one-off event e.g. because of the illness of the course leader), we will inform you as soon as possible. In this circumstance we will offer you the choice of the following options:

a) accepting an alternative course, part-course or one-off event arranged by Birding with Flowers and beginning on an arranged day; or

b) transferring your payment to a future course or one-off event run by Birding with Flowers of a similar standard to that originally booked, if available. We will endeavour to offer you at least one alternative course or one-off event of equivalent or higher standard.

In the event of no alternatives being available, or if you are unable to attend a future course or one-off event, a refund for the cancelled proportion of the course or for the one-off event will be offered.

5.6 The decision as to whether a change is minor or major lies with Birding with Flowers, who will act fairly in all circumstances.

5.7 No liability beyond offering the above-mentioned options can be accepted where we are forced to make a change or cancel as a result of unusual and unforeseeable circumstances beyond our control, the consequences of which we could not have avoided even with all due care. No compensation will be payable and the above options will not be available if we cancel as a result of your failure to comply with any requirement of our Terms and Conditions entitling us to cancel (e.g. not paying on time) or if the change made is a minor one.

5.8 In the event that a course or event is cancelled by Birding with Flowers because of insufficient numbers signing up for it, a full refund of monies paid by you will be made. However, no further liability will be accepted by Birding with Flowers. Usually an alternative course will be arranged.

6.0 Changes and cancellation by the client

6.1 You may cancel your booking for a course or one-off event at any stage; however, a full refund will not be issued if cancellation is notified to Birding with Flowers less than 7 days before the course commences or the event is due to take place. In the event of serious illness or a major change in your personal circumstance notified by you, any refund of some or all of the course fee or event fee would be at the discretion of Birding with Flowers.

6.2. You may request a change to a booking by contacting us by email or telephone. If possible, a request to change the day/and or time of a course or an individual class will be permitted, providing there is a vacancy for the replacement day and/or time.

6.3 Please note that failure to attend a course, a single class or one-off event without first informing Birding with Flowers cannot be regarded as a cancellation. Unless otherwise agreed, clients who fail to attend a class or event without prior notice will not receive a refund for the course, missed class or one-off event.

7.0 What is Included on BWF Courses or One-Off events

7.1 See the course itineraries or details of one-off events for what you can expect to be provided by Birding with Flowers.

8.0 What is Not Included on BWF Courses, or One-Off Events

8.1 Birding with Flowers does not organise or pay for clients’ travel expenses to and from events, such as public transport or car hire. We do not pay for telephone calls, snacks or any items of a personal nature.

9.0 Insurance

9.1 Birding with Flowers has taken out full indemnity insurance for events held in the UK.

10.0 Special Requests

10.1 If you have any special requests, you should inform us of such requests at the time of booking. We will try our best to accommodate your requirements but we cannot guarantee that such requests will be met. Furthermore, we have no liability to you if such requests are not met.

10.2 Confirmation that a special request has been noted or the inclusion of the special request on your confirmation or any other documentation is not confirmation that the request will be met.

10.3 If you have any medical problem or disability which may affect your course or one-off event, (e.g. heart condition, asthma, epilepsy, mobility problems, mental condition etc.) please tell us when making your booking so that we can advise as to the suitability of the chosen arrangements. In any event, you must give us full details in writing at the time of booking. If we reasonably feel unable to properly accommodate your particular needs, we must reserve the right to decline your reservation or, if full details are not given at the time of booking, cancel when we become aware of these details.

11.0 Behaviour

11.1 When you book with us, you accept responsibility for any damage or loss caused by your negligence.

11.2 You are respectfully requested to switch off your mobile phone, or switch it to silent mode, for the duration of the birdwatching session. If you are expecting an urgent call during any particular session, please let the course leader know before the commencement of the class. Otherwise if your phone rings without arrangement during a session, do not be offended if you are asked to switch it off.

11.3 You are respectfully requested to wear muted colours for birdwatching sessions. Dark colours allow us to get a little closer to the birds and may prolong our observation of the wildlife. If you arrive wearing bright red, white, yellow or pink you must expect to be asked to cover up.

11.4 Birding with Flowers requests participants to observe the basics of fieldcraft. This means when we are approaching wildlife unnecessary noise should be kept to a minimum. If clients are talking loudly they may be asked to be quiet.

11.5 We expect all clients to have consideration for other people. The majority of Birding with Flowers clients are non-smokers. In order that they can enjoy their course or one-off event in comfort, we insist that smokers refrain from smoking or vaping in the proximity of all other group members, and while watching wildlife, at all times. Smoking indoors in any public space – e.g. bird hide – is illegal, while smoking in any confined space – e.g. at any other group gathering or in a vehicle – cannot be permitted. Additionally, Birding with Flowers implements a policy of eco-tourism and requests that smokers dispose of used cigarette ends, which contain non-biodegradable material, responsibly. In booking a course or one-off event you agree to accept these guidelines, and it is the right of our course leader to dismiss from a class, event or course any participant failing to respect them.

11.6 If, in the reasonable opinion of the course leader, you behave in such a way as to cause or be likely to cause danger, upset or distress to any third party (including the course leader) or damage to property or fauna (including the collecting of any specimen from the natural world, for example any plants or insects), we are entitled, without prior notice, to terminate your attendance on the course or one-off event of the person(s) concerned. In this situation, you will be required to leave the course or event immediately. We will have no further responsibility toward you including any return travel arrangements. No refunds will be made and we will not pay any expenses or costs incurred as a result of the termination.

11.7 If, in the reasonable opinion of the tour leader you are asked to modify your behaviour in any way, that modification, once agreed, must be adhered to. Any failure to modify your behaviour as previously agreed will result in the immediate expulsion of that person(s) from the course. We will have no further responsibility toward such person(s) including any return travel arrangements. No refunds will be made and we will not pay any expenses or costs incurred as a result of the termination.

11.8 The course leader reserves the right to bar any person that he/she considers is behaving in any manner detrimental to the smooth running of the course from attendance on any future courses or one-off events. In the first instance this will involve the lack of a renewal information for a future course or one-off event to the individual(s) concerned. Renewal emails/renewals will only automatically be sent to those whose behaviour has caused no problems to either the course leader or to other members attending the course or one-off event.

11.9 If any course member has a problem with the behaviour of any other course member this must be brought to the attention of the course leader, preferably in writing. The person(s) concerned will be questioned and the opinion of other course members sought. If the case appears weak the individual will be informed of his/her alleged behaviour, and warned that any future recurrence will result in immediate explusion. If the case against the individual appears strong then that person(s) will be required to leave the course or event immediately. We will have no further responsibility toward such person(s) including any return travel arrangements. No refunds will be made and we will not pay any expenses or costs incurred as a result of the termination.

12.0 The course leader’s decision on any dispute is final.