Ho-Hum

As we drove towards today's location many of the fields were under water. This would later come to haunt us. The morning started well with a Mistle Thrush and a Treecreeper singing outside the visitor centre. As we moved off we saw a pair of Siskins feeding on the alders, and a female Great Spotted Woodpecker in a nearby Poplar tree. Then came a long period of virtually no bird song and empty lakes and marshes. This dearth was remedied when we reached the hide overlooking the apparently almost empty reservoir. Here were several Great Crested Grebes and in the afternoon 5 drake Goldeneye displaying to 3 females. There were also plenty of Wigeon, and Tufted Duck, plus a few Pochard. 




Record Shot of Great Grey Shrike (c) 2013 Tony Robinson

 Lesser Redpoll (c) 2013 Aileen Urquhart

We walked through woodland and then scrub to another hide. This is normally the most productive hide at this time of year, but at first it seemed there were only plenty of Greylag Geese. A closer inspection revealed the odd Goldeneye, Gadwall, Teal, Pochard and wigeon, but the numbers were definitely down. The reason for this is the birds are normally concentrated on the lakes and reservoirs in the area, but now that they have so much flood water to chose from then they have become scattered throughout the surrounding water logged fields.

On the return journey we stopped off at South Lagoon and were rewarded with several views of a Kingfisher flying past the hide. A few minutes later we had close views of 4 rather drab Lesser Redpolls. In the end 5 birds flew off, but whether the 5th bird was also a redpoll remains a moot point. The visit to the larger reservoir revealed another depleted water resource, which sees very ironic when the surrounding fields were dripping with water. 

Lesser Redpoll (c) 2013 Tony Robinson

Meanwhile 3 morning students went off to look for roosting Kites.  It was while they were watching those they heard about a more interesting bird, and tracked down a Great Grey Shrike.  That is the only reason this bird appears at the head of the post.

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!

The End of the Rings

Yesterday saw our final scheduled ringing sessions at Spurn.  The morning was fairly quiet because of the strong winds with just an adult Song Thrush seen and a very dull Lesser Redpoll.  John Wint was on duty to explain in details the ringing process.  The afternoon group saw 3 Bramblings after ringing, and marvelled at the yellow patch under the wing.  Both groups saw the Black Redstart around the ex-lifeboat houses, but it posed better and for longer in the morning.  At the high tide we saw the usual waders, but the strong winds almost forced the Brent Geese to stall as they passed the hide.  This is the first time I remember being close enough to catch the glint in their eye as they flew past.

The afternoon group happened to be on site when the moth trap was emptied, so they saw a few species of moth too.  

Overall, our visits this Autumn raised exactly £320 for the Spurn Bird Observatory Trust.  That's enough for 4 new mist nests, which doesn't seem much when put like that, but every little helps!

Lesser Redpoll

 Ditto

One ringed earlier - with no red on its poll or anywhere else!

 Black Redstart

 Brambling - showing yellow underwing

 Brent Geese

 ditto

 ditto

 ditto

 Song Thrush

 ditto

 Tree Sparrow

 Common Darter

 Broom Moth Caterpillar?

 Angle Shades

 Lunar Underwing

 A Moth

The Past Week

The past week wasn't the greatest for photo opportunities.  Tuesday should have featured a visit to the South Bank, but strong winds curtailed this trip, and North Cave Wetlands was lousy for taking pictures - none survive from that trip.  It was windy again at Tophill Low, so there weren't that many chances of taking photos of the best birds 300+ House Martins and 3 Chiffchaffs.  The wind was blowing straight into North Marsh, so there was very little chance that the Kingfisher would be on its perch, and we had a fruitless vigil.  As the morning session was about to end attention was drawn to a small feisty raptor attacking & being mobbed by Crows.  At first it seemed to be a young Hobby, but the wings weren't swept back enough and on one occasion its role was taken over by a male Sparrowhawk which was noticeably larger and broader-winged.  Then when the first bird passed behind some dark vegetation and flipped over, so we could see from its front that it was a female Merlin.  She then flew higher right through the large flock of House Martins a couple of times before she singled one out.  Needless to say the House Martin easily managed to evade her attentions.

On Thursday and Friday we travelled to Fairburn Ings.  The Lin Dike area was supposedly flooded, so we walked from the Visitor Centre to Bob Dickens Hide.  The Thurs pm & Friday am groups were the only 2 which were rewarded with the immature male Kingfisher, although a Thurs am 'student' remained behind if only to prove that Kingfishers aren't in the same category as leprechauns, fairies and pure moonshine - his life ambition achieved, I wonder what his next bogey bird will be?  The immature Green Woodpecker on Thursday am was a nice compensation.  

There were plenty of Redpolls and Siskins and a few Jays at Fairburn - all birds which are a little thin on the ground in East Yorkshire.  However, late September and early October, doesn't seem to be the best time to visit Fairburn, I wonder what is?

Immature Male Kingfisher - Fairburn

 Blackcap - in the garden

 Woodpigeon Squab - on the Fairburn Boardwalk

 Green Woodpecker - Fairburn (c) 2012 Phil Todd

 Lapwings (c) 2012 Phil Todd

Lesser Redpoll

 Record shot of Goldcrest - Tophill Low

 Comma - Tophill Low

 Common Darters - Fairburn

 Darter - Fairburn

Final Visit to the Bog

Yesterday the ginger dwarf said the rain would get less the further north you went, so I took notice and didn't cancel today's session in North Yorkshire.  This morning's forecast on the TV looked quite different with rain shown on the graphics for North Yorkshire all day.  It was too late to cancel, so I drove north with a sinking heart.  The terrible traffic chaos just north of Malton didn't help, but on arrival the sky was very overcast, but at least it wasn't raining....yet.  

All pics (c) 2012 Tony Robinson

Whinchat (male)

 ditto

The first birds we saw were plenty of Meadow Pipits, which seemed to be very argumentative, and wouldn't leave each other in peace.  The path was much muddier than last week, which made the going much trickier between clumps of heather, sedges and the other specialised plants.  Despite the conditions we managed to get a little further than last week, and this was lucky because the Green Woodpecker family had moved several metres further south.  We also enjoyed much better views of Whinchats this time, and it was very heartening to find that they had bred successfully - there was a brood of well-grown youngsters.  There were also Reed Buntings in the area.

Lesser Redpoll 

 Lesser Redpoll

 Meadow Pipit

 We retraced our footsteps and returned to the gate, and from here we travelled down towards the railway line.  Another male Whinchat was perched on a post with a female nearby.  A Willow Warbler sang from the trees near the line but there seemed to be very few other birds about.  We were leaving again when suddenly I heard the trills of some Redpolls, which were very hard to locate in the leaves of a tree, but most people got to see them.

Later we tried another path through the bracken to try and get a view of a possible Stonechat.  Unfortunately, we didn't track it down, but we did find a Siskin.  It didn't rain at all while we were there, but some small biting midges made their presence felt, and were far from pleasant.   On the way back to the original car park we saw displaying Curlew, so presumably they are still nesting in the area, perhaps they lost earlier broods?  Apparently, not long after we left the rain moved in, so we were extremely lucky to remain dry.

Roe Deer