Lips are Sealed

On Tuesday we made our annual pilgrimage to Donna Nook.  It was a very overcast day and the forecast was dire, so we arrived to find relatively few people there.  The fencing had been completely renewed, so we were distanced from the seals somewhat.  Despite this some people who had never been before were amazed at just how close they were able to get to the pups.

Grey Seal Pup

 Ditto

 Ditto

 A Different Pup

 Mother Love - a Cow and her Pup

 Having Fun?

 War - Bull & Cow

 Another Confrontation

 Cow & Pup (c) 2012 Phil Todd

 Exhausted Pup (c) 2012 Phil Todd

 Contentment

 Physical Contact (c) 2012 Maggie Bruce

Apparently, we just missed 25 Snow Buntings which flew off west, but there were some other birds were present.  These included Turnstones, Knot, Redshank, Golden Plover, Shelduck, Great Black-backed Gulls, Brent Geese and Chaffinches.

Turnstones (c) 2012 Phil Todd

Late-comers

Yesterday I had another look at the Spurn high-tide.  It was very different from the previous visit.  My nephew and I arrived well before the high tide was due, but there were relatively few waders present. A Common Scoter and a Grey Seal were a little out of the ordinary.  We waited until half an hour after the high tide and the situation hadn't altered much.  We went to the other almost derelict hide, where we saw a Whimbrel on the beach & then had a close encounter with a flock of Sanderlings.  We were about to try another bit of the peninsula when suddenly thousands and thousands of Knot could be seen arriving, presumably having been spooked from another roosting site - Beacon Ponds?

Sanderlings

 ditto

 ditto

 Knot

 Knot

 A Finger of Knot

 Knot over the Humber

 Mainly Grey Plover over the Humber

 Record Shot of Common Scoter

 Grey Seal

 Willow Warbler

 Grasshopper

We then had a look at Kilnsea Wetland where we saw 3 immature Avocets & one parent, 2 immature Shelduck and an Oystercatcher.  A Marsh Harrier was hunting over Beacon Ponds & sent up the largest number of Terns Ben had ever seen.  Later, a Greenshank dropped in, but was too distant to photograph. 

Avocets

We then decided to walk along Beacon Lane where a male Wall Brown played hide-and-seek before eventually posing nicely.  There weren't as many butterflies as in other years, and the bird life had quietened down.  At Beacon Ponds there were many Sandwich and Common Terns roosting on a peninsula, but they remained out of range of the camera lens.  

Male Wall [Brown] 

 Underside of Male Wall

 Brown-tail Moth

 Black-tailed Skimmer

Supermarket Sweep

Now is the time to visit the avian equivalent of the supermarket because at the moment the shelves are still fully stacked, but in a month’s time there will be gaping gaps on many of them.  Just outside the car park we had both House Martins & House Sparrows some mainly monochrome jackdaws, and a few very colourful Linnets.  The tide seemed to be going out & looking down on the first ravine of chalk we were able to see Puffins on either side of the cliff.  Looking over the grassy edge there were plenty of short, stubby Marsh Orchids.  Later there were several feral pigeons here, and a couple of apparently pure Rock Doves.  It was here that we were first assaulted by the sound of distant Kittiwakes.  From the top of the cliffs we could see a few of the stiff-winged Fulmars riding the breeze, and a single Lesser Black Backed Gull flying just above the waves.

Puffin

 House Sparrow

 Guillemot

 Razorbill

 Kittiwake & Chicks [above]

 Herring Gull

We carried along the cliffs, and here we could see some brilliantly-white Gannets against the blue of the sea and sky.  Meanwhile we were serenaded by plenty of Skylarks and just a few Meadow Pipits.  There were a couple of Swallows and a single white butterfly, and more Marsh Orchids.  All the usual suspects were in their accustomed niches on the cliffs: Puffins, Guillemots, Razorbills, Kittiwakes, Fulmars and herring Gulls, and a single Stock Dove.  Far below there were some Shags on the rocks at the water’s edge, and Steve spotted a sunbathing Grey Seal nearby.  This was the 1^st seal I’d seen here hauled out on the rocks, they are usually just seen round here as bobbing heads with their bodies hidden by the water.    

Grey Seal

 Marsh Orchid

 Shags

 Stock Dove

 Skylark

 Whitethroat

We carried on to a small conservation area devoted to different species, but it was overgrown with grasses and the ground was very wet & slippery.  Some of the usual suspects were absent from here with no sign of Yellowhammers, Reed Buntings or Linnets.  However, there were great views of Meadow Pipits and Skylarks as some compensation and a couple of Herons.  One Skylark in particular came down very close to us, singing beautifully the whole time, it was so good I’m surprised the group didn’t break into a spontaneous round of applause!  Towards the end of our visit to this area, a Whitethroat put in an appearance, but it wasn’t as easy to get good views of as it had been a few weeks ago.  However, later when we were almost back at the car park, Len did see one out in the open at the top of a bramble spray.  

On the return journey a Sand Martin was spotted heading south, which were added to the couple of Swifts we’d already seen.  A male Peregrine was observed, and this was seen even better in the afternoon when I left my camera behind and carried the telescope instead.  

Meadow Pipit (c) 2012 Phil Hargreaves

 Scarlet Pimpernel (c) 2012 Phil Hargreaves