Surreptitious Shooters

Meeting on the Humber bank was a novel experience today for mid-November. It was actually warm and there was virtually no wind. Later, in the lea of a Hawthorn hedge we were plagued by dozens of mosquitoes, which attempted to exact their usual penance! There wasn't a great deal to see on the journey apart from the usual Fieldfare and Curlews in the fields. When we got to the inlet there was a single Bar-tailed Godwit, then a Black-tailed Godwit, with plenty of Redshank and a Curlew or two. A Common or Harbour Seal was guarding the creek entrance. 5 Siskins flew east in the morning, while after lunch 4 Redpolls went east. 

All wildlife pictures (c) 2012 Richard Whateley

Short-eared Owl

ditto

It was a bit of a trial trying to avoid the dog mess, and unfortunately Chris actually failed to avoid it completely. Walking along the flood bank we flushed a Short-eared Owl which managed to perform very well, landing on posts, hiding in the long grass, and then flying along the edge of the salt marsh/mudflat border. When we reached the newly fenced-off electrified area another flew up and they flew within metres of each other before going their separate ways. A Snipe called but it remained invisible. In this area in the afternoon a Chiffchaff was in the hedge, which Gordon was able to watch very clearly. 

Black-tailed Godwit

Grey Plover

Bar-tailed Godwit

Common Seal

There was a new YWT fenced off area with an electrified fence, and on the edge of this in the afternoon 2 semi-concealed people were acting suspiciously on the border of the mudflats and the saltmarsh. As we approached they bent down as far as they could in a vain hope to escape our notice.  However, once we had passed their position they thought they were safe and began to appear above the vegetation again.  The light was a bit tricky for us, but once we got past we could see through the scope that one had on a gauze balaclava, whilst the other with a very young face was wearing a typical hunter's cap. They remained in position for the whole 2 hours we were in the area.  As we were leaving, we'd just clambered over the 2nd stile when they let fly 4 shots frightening a Little Egret, but because they were no longer in view we never discovered what their quarry was.  I hope they weren't laying in wait for the male Hen Harrier, which has been favouring the area.







After a very dull few days the sun finally came out, resulting in an amazing sunset back at the foreshore.

The Beautiful Humber!

The Eternal Quest for the Nuthatch!

Owl Before Noon

We set out from the Humber Foreshore car park again and headed towards reclaimed land.  There were no Jays this time, and the Fieldfare had moved off from last week's location, plus the Twite seemed to have done a bunk.  Despite this there were quite a few waders in the inlet - mainly Redshank, but also a single Bar-tailed and a single Black-tailed Godwit.  Out on the Humber mudflats there was a large flock of Golden Plover and there were plenty of Shelduck sprinkled over the mud. 

We checked the 2 water-filled ditches, but there was only another Redshank.  We clambered a couple of stiles and walked along the flood embankment.  There wasn't a great deal to see - no Bramblings or Fieldfare in the hedge, but then luckily, I spotted a Short-eared Owl.  This flew quite close to us before flying high over the houses and disappeared north.

All photos of Short-eared Owl (c) 2012 Maggie Bruce

In the afternoon we spent much longer in the car.  Unfortunately, because we started at 1pm we couldn't actually find an owl of any persuasion.  Instead we must have spotted over a dozen Kestrels, and we counted at least 27 Roe Deer.  We also came across a flock of 200+ Fieldfare feeding on the ground with just a couple in the Hawthorn hedge.  It's a great place for watching wildlife without having to leave a car, so is a perfect venue during extremely cold weather.  

A Day of 2 Halves

Yesterday's birding sessions took place with a difference - the majority of the classes took place from the security, comfort and warmth of our cars. We met on the banks of the Humber and shared cars into the depth of deepest, darkest Holderness. There were relatively few birds at first, although there were plenty of Blackbirds and Fieldfare. Eventually we saw more and more Curlews in stubble fields, probably looking for worms. We continued until we reached a very muddy area where we had a look around. There was no sign of the once guaranteed Kingfisher in its normal place, but Common Seals were basking on the mudflats. Also on the estuary were large numbers of Golden Plovers with smaller amounts of Grey Plovers, Shelduck, and Mallard. On the creek itself there were several Redshank, and a couple of Bar-tailed Godwits. 

Hen Harrier on a previous visit (a mile from where we saw it yesterday)  (c) 2012 Vince Cowell

 ditto

The hawthorn bushes were adorned with Fieldfare, but there was also a strange nasal twang coming from this area - which turned out to be a decent flock of Twites. They flew off with their bouncing, jinking flight, and our official counter, Miles, was able to confirm that there were exactly 45 of them when they landed on the telegraph wires. Looking across the salt marsh I was surprised and then thrilled to see a pearly-grey slowly flying raptor - a stonking male Hen Harrier. Luckily, it seemed to favour an area with a pale washed-up sofa, so it was relatively easy for everyone to latch on to the bird. In the afternoon there were Little Egrets in the same area, but not really an adequate compensation!

 Twite

 Golden Plovers

 Ditto

We then carried on our car sharing over a terrible potholed road, and the wildlife encounters immediately improved. First we came across 5 Roe Deer right by the side of the road, and a buck actually climbed the bank and ran in front of us before continuing in the field on the other side. We hadn't gone too far when a Magpie and a raptor were seen flying from the south across the bare fields. It wasn't exactly clear which bird was attacking the other, but they came to a stop in some small trees in front of us. Unfortunately, the birds were out of sight, but the female Merlin emerged from the vegetation and set off along back to where it had come from.







The strengthening winds ensured that even though the afternoon group continued in the area after 3pm, the expected Owls failed to appear, but neither did the Merlin or the Hen Harrier. It was a day of 2 halves. 

Hilda's Muriel

On Thursday we had a walk along the Humber estuary. As we waited for Chris in the car park plenty of Fieldfare and a few Redwing were spotted collapsing into the hawthorn bushes around the fort. The miniature lighthouses were flashing, presumably because of poor visibility, although its the brightest its been all week. Alan suddenly spotted in the far distance between the 2 lighthouses that the air was swirling with birds. They were thousands of Golden Plovers. There were a few Curlew at the waters edge and 6 Wigeon, but the birds were in rather short supply.

No Comment necessary (c) 2012 Richard Whateley

 Wigeon (c) 2012 Richard Whateley

 Golden Plover (c) 2012 Richard Whateley

 Ditto 

 Grey Plover (c) 2012 Richard Whateley

At the tip of the old flood bank we saw quite a variety of waders. Jean spotted & correctly identified a Turnstone, but there were also a few Bar-tailed Godwits, a dozen Redshank, half a dozen Dunlin, and 30 Lapwing. We had just started to head back when I spotted a Swallow, then another and another. In total 6 Swallows were heading east.

 Turnstones (c) 2012 Richard Whateley

 Curlew (c) 2012 Richard Whateley

 Curlew

 The 'Maybe' with Humber Bridge

 Illumination

 The Grimsby Tower with Golden Plovers

In the afternoon the tide was coming in, but was still a long way out when we visited. We counted 150 Black-tailed Godwit, 112 Knot, and 8 Bar-tailed Godwit. We were standing near the breach when suddenly I spotted a Peregrine steaming in from the south-west. It made a bee-line for the Golden Plovers, and although they took some time to see it they all escaped. This remained the case even when a second smaller Peregrine see spotted by Eric all joined in on the action. After several stoops and swift changes of direction they failed to catch a single bird. However, one Peregrine moved quickly north, as it has spotted that a Merlin had just caught a small bird. The Merlin relinquished its catch, but the Peregrines seemed a bit fussy about picking something up from the estuary mud, and it took 3 attempts before it carried away the prize.




On the way back a Pipit flew up from the main path making an unusual 'tsskk' call. It was larger and paler than a Meadow Pipit, but still seemed to have white in the tail and in the wing. Although a similar colour to a Skylark its wings were much narrower than the large wing area of a Skylark. On returning home and playing the sounds of a Richard's Pipit and an Olive-Backed Pipit, the latter seemed a much better fit. Hopefully, someone is going to check out the area tomorrow, to see if they can relocate this intriguing bird.  Finally, in a Hawthorn bush near the entrance to the fort we found a Goldcrest, although it was shy about coming into the open!

Peregrine - the bane of Golden Plovers (c) 2012 Vince Cowell

 Merlin on Mudflats

Goldcrest

Spurn Turns up Trumps

I've been to Spurn most days within the past week, and we've seen some good birds...

Osprey (c) 2012 Maggie Bruce

 Osprey (c) 2012 Aileen Urquhart

 Osprey (c) 2012 Tony Robinson

 Red-breasted Flycatcher (c) 2012 Aileen Urquhart

 Red-breasted Flycatcher (c) 2012 Tony Robinson

 Pied Flycatcher (c) 2012 Tony Robinson

 Redstart (c) 2012 Tony Robinson

 Willow Warbler

 Willow Warbler (c) 2012 Tony Robinson

 Red-backed Shrike

 Stonechat

 Migrant Hawker (Saturday)

 Red Admiral (Saturday)

 Small Tortoiseshell (Saturday)

 Roe Deer

 Greenshank (Monday)

 Brambling (Tuesday)

 Dunlin (Saturday)

 Dunlin (Tuesday)

3 from Paull Holme Strays 

Golden Plovers (Sunday)

 Bar-tailed Godwit (Sunday)

 Gannet (Sunday)