Stonechat
On Tuesday we visited part of the new Humber Realignment Scheme, a venue which was new for most of the attendees. It was a lot windier than forecast, and rather cool in the wind, but in sheltered spots it felt rather mild, and when the sun came out towards the end, rather balmy. The trees and bushes near the car park were full of winter thrushes - mainly Redwings, but we did see a single Fieldfare and several Blackbirds. We then walked along the path adjacent to the recently dredged drain. We hadn’t been walking for very long when a dark bird was spotted heading towards us from the northwest. At this location the most often dark bird encountered would likely to be a Cormorant, but one glance at the bird, and its extraordinary bill showed it was a Glossy Ibis. It was a lifer for some members, and was the first for several years for the remainder of the group.
Glossy Ibis
Several groups of wildfowl were flying in to our left (north). The light was pretty poor, but some of these looked like Pintail, whilst others were certainly Gadwall, Wigeon and Unmentionables. Along the path in bushes we could see Reed Buntings and a charm of Goldfinches. Meanwhile, Skylarks kept passing overheard, followed by Curlew and Meadow Pipits. Alison spotted a male Stonechat on a Teazel, whilst another was waiting for us in a more industrial setting.Charm of Goldfinches
Female Reed Bunting
Male Reed Bunting
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| Stonechat |
At the end of the path we reached the estuary mud, but the tide was out. We could see many Shelduck well-spaced-out on the mud, and the plaintive “Coo-ee” of a Grey Plover could be heard for the first time this term, but the birds were too small to really pick out on the distant mud.
Kestrel
As we retraced our steps Steve spotted three hunched shapes in a distant field on a grassy bank. A closer inspection revealed that there were more Glossy Ibises probing the ground for food. We kept our eye on them for the whole of the return journey, and decided to see if we could spot them from one of the new screens. It was at this moment, just when rain had been forecast, that the sun actually broke through the cloud. It was just possible to discern some of the green colour on the backs of the Ibises. Unfortunately, at this juncture a Marsh Harrier appeared, and it was heading towards the Ibises. Their heads craned upwards in alarm at first, and as the Marsh Harrier approached they flew up heading towards the river. However, they dropped into one of the newly-excavated pond areas. As we were watching them a substantial flock of Meadow Pipits landed near our screen, allowing class members good views, but the light was wrong for the camera.
Meadow Pipit
3 Glossy Ibises
2 Glossy Ibises
Nearby Landmark
Wednesday was supposed to have the best weather of the week, so the trip to Barmston (the coast) could go ahead. It was beautiful at the start with very light winds, and barely a cloud in the sky. There didn’t seem to be many birds about at first, with just Robins, Pied Wagtails and Rooks around the parking area. One exception was a pair of Collared Doves, which flew towards the Caravan Site from the village. We used to see Collared Doves every week, but these were the first seen so far this Autumn.
Robin (c) 2025 Symon Fraser
Rook
Female Reed Bunting
Reed Bunting (c) 2025 Symon Fraser
We walked north from the car park taking the crumbling cliff top footpath towards the former nudist beach at Fraisthorpe. It’s supposed to be part of the new monarch’s coastal footpath, but I think he should be forced to walk it himself before naming it after him. At times it disappeared completely, and we had to walk on the beach.
Skylark
Skylark (c) 2025 Symon Fraser
Ditto
Several Skylarks flew over our heads in a southerly direction. There were also plenty of Goldfinches, Linnets with one small flock of Lesser Redpolls. As soon as we reached some longer grass we came across a pair of confiding Reed Buntings, and shortly after that saw at least 3 Stonechats.
Goldfinches
Mainly Linnets
Linnets
Sanderlings
Ditto
As we continued there were occasional sightings of Cormorants flying low over the sea, with 1 Heron flying north heading towards the Great White Cape of Flamborough Head. We only saw one Turnstone and a single Oystercatcher on a separate large rock. We kept spotting plenty of Skylarks, whilst Anthony noticed a Hare & a Buzzard at the top of a bush, and later on the ground in a field.
Pete kept checking waders on the beach, so was the first to spot some Ringed Plovers and a little later a flock of Sanderlings. Unfortunately, the latter were flushed by a dog walker.
Jackdaw
Ringed Plovers
Starling
Yellowhammer
Reed Buntings
Record Shot of Peter’s Purple Sandpiper [left]
For the first time there didn’t appear to be flocks of Yellowhammers or Corn Buntings. Last year’s Merlin was also absent. However, after lunch we were lucky enough to see a few Yellowhammers in the bushes near the pill box.
Sanderling & Oystercatcher
Grey Seal with a Squirming Fish?
Ditto
On the return journey, on checking a flotilla of white-necked birds on the sea, these turned out to be 27 Great Crested Grebes. We couldn’t find any Divers, and a dark blob in the sea, which was originally identified as a bird, resolved itself into what looked like a seal chomping on an eel. We had better views of a larger flock of Sanderlings on the edge of the sea.
Record Shot of Great Crested Grebes
“Woolly Bear”
After lunch we saw fewer small birds, but we did see a distant large pod of Bottle-nosed Dolphins heading north after Terry noticed the splashing from their leaps out of the sea.
Great White Cape
On the way home a Red Kite was sighted
(C) 2025 Symon Fraser
Ditto
On Thursday I was supposed to be at Wednesday’s location again, because the high tide was perfect for 2 groups, but the forecast was appalling. So, we relocated to a venue with plenty of hides to escape the rain and wind. There had been quite a few changes since our last visit in the early months of this year. Some of these include bringing in goats and Belted Galloways to do much needed but different grazing of conservation areas.
Gadwall
Ditto
Immature Little Grebe
North Lagoon had been much improved with quite a few Kingfisher perches right in front of the hide. The previously open water marsh had been enhanced with strategically placed reeds to break up the sightlines. The best birds here were an immature Little Grebe and a close Gadwall, allowing us to admire the details of its subtle plumage.
We went on to South Marsh East. There were lots of Teal with a few Lapwing and Snipe, but Elaine spotted the best bird there - a female Marsh Harrier.
Marsh Harrier
We walked around the perimeter of ‘O’ Reservoir until we arrived at the new strange structure, know as ‘The Henge’. This is a double-tier hide with a roof which overlooks the reservoir, but also serves as a dark-sky observatory at night to view the constellations. The interior of the hide was also unusual with a bog oak “apparently” holding up the roof. On one side of this pillar a timeline of this isolated venue had been incised.
‘The Henge’
Central Pillar
Timeline
The View
We carried on to Watton Borrow Pits - via 3 Goldcrests - where there was a Heron, Great White Egret and plenty of wildfowl including Wigeon, Teal, Pochard, Tufted Duck, plus the start species 2 Drake and 5 female Pintail. The Drake were trying to outperform each other to show who was most eligible for the choosing of partners.
Goldcrest
Great Egret
Little Egret
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| Drake Pintail |
Displaying Drake Pintails
Ditto
Pintails
Displaying Pintail
Drake Pintails
Female Pintails
On the return journey we found a small flock of Siskins feeding on the Alder cones. We then returned to the visitor centre to the massive ‘D’ reservoir. Elaine picked out the Black-necked Grebe in winter plumage, whilst not too far we saw a record number of 10 Red-Crested Pochard. We couldn’t find the grebe after lunch but the Pochards were still present in better light.
Siskins
Black-necked Grebes
Red-crested Pochards
The weather was no way as bad as was forecast, and we encountered well over 40 species, and we easily kept out of the wind and the intermittent rain. Thank you to all the brave souls who turned out to an over-hyped bad weather day.
Goats
Belted Galloways
Ditto
Belted Galloway
Friday saw a return to Tuesday's venue. The roofer spotted a Stonechat from the first screen where the wind was awful. Luckily, on the rest of the walk we were largely protected from the wind by either bushes or a flood bank.
The Roofer’s Stonechat
Cormorants
We hadn’t gone too far when a distant bird proved to be a Glossy Ibis high in flight. Later, we saw 4 Glossy Ibises in flight in a similar location to those we saw on Tuesday.
4 Glossy Ibis
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| Ditto |
Bit of Gloss Showing
Glossy Ibis with Wigeon
Pink-footed Geese
There had been an influx of winter thrushes since Tuesday with Redwimgs, Russian Blackbirds and later several Fieldfare. A Kingfisher whizzed past on the main drain, but later another was seen on the parallel ditch, and then those at the back of the group saw 2 Kingfishers chasing each other in close formation.
Redwing & Blackbird
Starlings
Golden Plovers
Ditto
Goldfinch
Kestrel
Mute Swan
During the walk we could hear the twitterings of various aerial species including Skylarks, Meadow Pipits, Goldfinches and Linnets and a single Redpoll.
Redpoll
On the pumping station mud a single Redshank waited for us, whilst Starlings wheeled overhead, and then with added colour some Golden Plovers seemed to wink between gold and white as they swiftly passed over our heads. A flock of Black-tailed Godwits also whizzed past, but they were so quick I was unable to snatch a photograph. The venue was new to many who attended today, but it proved surprisingly popular. I think the light today really helped.
Redshank
Ditto
Meanwhile, somewhere in Willerby…
Fungus mass (c) 2025 Angela Silcock
Several groups of wildfowl were flying in to our left (north). The light was pretty poor, but some of these looked like Pintail, whilst others were certainly Gadwall, Wigeon and Unmentionables. Along the path in bushes we could see Reed Buntings and a charm of Goldfinches. Meanwhile, Skylarks kept passing overheard, followed by Curlew and Meadow Pipits. Alison spotted a male Stonechat on a Teazel, whilst another was waiting for us in a more industrial setting.
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