A Beached Grebe

Today we ventured into North Yorkshire to a site we've only visited as a one off special in the dim & distant past. There was the call of a Bullfinch near the car park, but it remained hidden. Everyone arrived on time & we shared cars to the ultimate destination about a mile or so further up the road. After lunch the 3 at the front had a brief glimpse of a Kingfisher, as it took off on sight of us and headed away along the stream. This was quite well screened from the strong winds, so we could hear juv Willow Warblers & the alarm calls of Blackcaps, Robins & Wrens, and a Great Spotted Woodpecker called as it flew behind the hedge. Even the frog-like croak of a Gadwall carried against the wind to where we were standing. In the afternoon there was a massive flock of Long-tailed Tits with a few Willow Warblers, Blue Tits and Great Tits also part of the gang.

Little Grebes

 Willow Tit

 Commas

 Comma

 Looking through the gaps in the hedge we could see Mute Swans, Greylag Geese, with plenty of Lapwings accompanied by a few Starlings. Ducks included: Mallard, Teal, Shoveler and Gadwall. There were large numbers of House Martins flying high after insects with just a few Swallows in tow. 

From the hide we had great views of a family of four Little Grebes, plus Herons, Cormorants, Lapwings & a single Redshank. John or Steve spotted a flock of Canada Geese coming in to land across the road onto some far pools. Then John spotted a very distant Great Crested Grebe, which remained long enough for everyone to find it. The only bird of prey was a distant hovering Kestrel. 

Migrant Hawker

 Migrant Hawkers

 Ditto

 Red Admiral

 Ruddy Darter

 Common Darter? [female]

 Common Darter [male]

We carried along the path until the railway bridge, at which point we saw at least 3 Willow Tits, plus a few skulking Blackcaps and Whitethroats. On the way back a female Bullfinch was spotted, but she disappeared into the hedge pushed on by the strong winds. On the pool behind the path I spotted a tiny distant bird struggling against the wind - this was a Kingfisher. Luckily, it first landed on a stout, short post then flew high into a Hawthorn bush where it sat long enough for everyone to see it. This was a new location for Len & he was especially pleased as it was his first Kingfisher for 20 years.

Speckled Wood

 Green-Veined White

 Meadow Brown

 Chickory

 Amphibious Bistort

 A return to the Visitor Centre saw plenty of Tree Sparrows on the feeders, plus Greenfinches & Goldfinches, but the visit to a screen was less productive with nothing new to add apart from a pair of scruffy moulting old Pheasants. A Marsh Harrier drifted west of the car park at lunch time, but not everyone managed to get on to it before it disappeared. The day went quite well, and would have been even better without the awful wind!

In the afternoon we had a look at the Kingfisher Screen, but there wasn't a single bird of any description. However, it was a bit better for butterflies and dragonflies. We found a pair of Migrant Hawkers resting on a bare twig, and back at the dog muck walk we saw a pair of Commas. These didn't interact at all, so it was impossible to say if they were 2 males, 2 females, or one of each!

A Nice Day Beside the Sea

Wednesday was the second day running I'd spent on the coast, but this time I was some 30 miles or so south of yesterday’s venue, so not many species overlapped.  From the car park some of the class thought they saw a Snipe fly into the Borrow Pits, but it didn’t stay long.  Leaving the car park we saw a Greenfinch performing its slow-motion ‘butterfly courtship’ flight, and then we soon encountered a House Martin colony with a couple of House Sparrows also in residence.  Not long after going through the gate we found our first Common Blue butterfly, but we didn’t add many more.  This area is normally very good butterflies, but apart from a few whites and a pair of Small Heaths fighting and a Speckled Wood in the afternoon, numbers of butterflies were definitely down.  Once it had warmed up by the afternoon a large hawker Dragonfly was also patrolling this area.  Blackbirds and a Song Thrush were singing, but there were very few Linnets, and a few singing Goldfinches.  Near a marshy area we usually see a Sedge Warbler, but this was absent this time, although we did see a whole family of Whitethroats.  At the end of the hedgerow Meadow Pipits and Skylarks were singing and flying above a meadow.   

Cuckoo (c) 2012 Aileen Urquhart

 Speckled Wood

 Small Heath

 Small Heath (c) 2012 Aileen Urquhart

 Blackbird - with damaged plumage & beak full of worms

 There had been changes in the area, as new conservation areas had been excavated since last Autumn.  This meant that we had to take a slightly different path from this point.  Here, we did have good views of a Sedge Warbler and a Large Skipper, and a more distant sighting of a Reed Bunting.  A male Wall Brown basked at the entrance, but a few hundred yards further we stumbled upon a very worn female Wall.  2 Little Egrets flew over as we neared the lagoons.  On the first stagnant pool we discovered a pair of Shelduck, a Redshank and 3 more Little Egrets.  Then we saw our first hunting Little Tern, while 5 Sandwich Terns headed out to sea.  

 Large Skipper

 Wall Brown (male)

 Wall Brown (worn female)

 Little Tern

 Little Tern

 Sandwich Tern

 Ringed Plover

 Ringed Plover (Chick) - had the awww factor

 Ringed Plover - adult in flight

Ringed Plover seeing off a Dunlin

Right next to the hide in the morning was a Curlew, while in the afternoon this had been replaced by a Little Egret.  From the hide we saw a couple of Ringed Plovers and 3 tiny chicks, and a Little Tern also seemed to be on eggs.  A distant Cuckoo we seen heading north being mobbed by small birds before it left them trailing in its wake.  Meanwhile on the lagoon a Dunlin in breeding fettle flew in, but it was soon seen off by one of the Ringed Plovers.  On the return journey a Cuckoo (possibly female) was flushed from the hedgerow, she flew over the fields, but then started to return before perching on the top of a hedge in full view.  We even had time to set up the telescope for everyone to get a decent view.  Exclamations ranged from “Golly gosh”, through “Crikey”, to “it was good, that”, but Brian’s “brilliant” provided the final consensus.  Suddenly the temperature rose to unimaginable heights and the humidity was an amazing contrast to recent weather.  The afternoon started with these temperatures, but by the end a cool easterly wind had started to hit us from the sea. 

Dunlin

 Little Egret

 ditto

 Little Egret under attack by Ringed Plover

 Cuckoo (c) 2012 Aileen Urquhart

Mute Swan Cygnets (above) - again provided an aww factor

The morning group shared cars to the hide on the edge of the Nature Reserve.  There wasn’t a great deal to see, although the 5 cygnets in front of the hide elicited some appreciative, but embarrassing cooing!  Also seen here were a pair of Pied Wagtails, some moulting Mallards, and a few Linnets & meadow Pipits came down for a drink.  In the bushes opposite we observed a family of very colourful Greenfiches and the odd Whitethroat were also spotted.   

Pied Wagtail (female) with Mayfly?

 ditto

 Apprentice Scumbag

 Three of the morning group went on to Sammy's Point where they saw at least 4 different Cuckoos.  However, the afternoon also scored as the morning female had returned to her position in the hedgerows she had patrolled in the morning.  They were all able to enjoy a long look at her as she flew north over an Oilseed Rape field.

 Cuckoo (c) 2012 Tony Robinson

Diamond Tail Jubilee

Turtle Dove Spreading its 'Diamond' Tail

Wednesday was a rerun of May 15th, but the weather was a lot milder today: http://www.eybirdwatching.blogspot.co.uk/2012/05/crouching-hares-hidden-turtles.html

The strong winds were gone, but if anything it was actually too hot, even first thing in the morning.  Before we set off we saw Whitethroat, Yellowhammer and Blue Tit.  Not long out of the car park and we had a Willow Warbler and a Tree Sparrow.  We had 4 Long-tailed Tits and another Willow Warbler just before the stud farm, and then under the trees which always used to hold a Garden Warbler I was surprised to first hear & then see a single Yellow Wagtail flew over.  Later, at lunch time the 2 Davids & Barbara had 3 Yellow Wagtails in the car park.  These are fairly unusual sightings as there is no water anywhere in the vicinity, although there is an oilseed rape field fairly nearby.  A Song Thrush, and a Chiffchaff were singing in the general area, but there wasn’t a single whimper from the Turtle Doves.  

 Long-tailed Tits

 Long-tailed Tits

When we set off again there was a different family of Long-tailed Tits and among a group of young Rabbits was a melanistic, (black) one!  At the edge of the reserve a Linnet & a Pied Wagtail flew over, and a Marsh Tit flew into the reserve.  Butterflies seen on the journey include: Speckled Wood, plenty of Orange-Tips, and a single Comma.  There were a pair of Linnets on the escarpment, and Miles found a Froghopper, which disappeared before its picture could be taken.  We were a bit luckier with Maxine’s ‘soldier beetle’.  A male Pheasant was spooked from under our feet, which then went on to spook a pair of Red-legged Partridges.

A pair of Treecreepers in the reserve were calling vociferously, but they were very difficult to spot hiding in Hawthorn bushes.  There were quite a few butterflies in the reserve including: Common Blues, Dingy Skippers, an alleged Brown Argus, and a Small Heath.  Not long after we left the reserve a Hobby flew West right through the valley.  We didn’t see a great deal on the return journey, but a pair of Blackcaps under the brick viaduct were a late highlight.  A clucking Red-legged Partridge was another new bird for this particular area. 

Speckled Wood

 Comma

Soldier Beetle sp Cantharis rustica (Thanks to Barry Warrington)

 Common Blue

 Common Blue [male]

 Dingy Skipper

Record shot of Hobby (c) 2012 Tony Robinson

 Yellowhammer

There are no House Martins among the car park buildings this year – too dry?, but a tree Sparrow was using a nest under the eaves in the artist’s studio.  I decided to take the afternoon session East, as the West side had been relatively disappointing.  Straight away a Green Woodpecker was sighted shortly after leaving the parking area followed by a family of Long-tailed Tits and a Willow Warbler.  When we left the trees and we could see through a gap between the Hawthorn hedge we were just able to discern a Red-legged Partridge along a fence line.  We carried on for a bit and not long after we passed a jerk who doesn’t clean up after his dog.  Soon after we arrived at Yellowhammer central, which is an escarpment open to northerly winds – today the breeze was welcome.  Suddenly some Rooks went up into the sky making a lot of noise, and we could see 2 Red Kites overhead, which eventually drifted north east.  A Red-legged Partridge flew onto the top of a distant post, but nevertheless gave decent views. 

 Bullfinch

We then entered an area with steep banks on either side, and covered with Hawthorn, Dog Rose, Wild Strawberry and various species of emerging vegetation.  We were watching a very bright male Bullfinch in the centre of the path when most of us saw a Stoat running behind the Bullfinch carrying a small Rabbit.  We were heading towards the small bridge when we heard the unmistakable purring of a Turtle Dove.  It displayed over our heads a few times, but also continued to purr from one of several Ash trees along that section of the track.  We stayed still for 10 minutes or so, but only got sight of it fanning its diamond shaped tail as it swept by us.  It was seen perched in a distant Ash, but the views weren’t terribly good.   

Turtle Dove

 Record Shot of Green Woodpecker

 Willow Warbler

 Jerk who Lets his Dog Foul a Nature reserve

 This Dog Cannot Read...

 ...This Sign

On the East side of the small bridge a Song Thrush was singing, but there were fewer birds in this area.  Another Yellowhammer, and a flying Kestrel were in the area of the final bridge.  On the return journey a large pale Buzzard looked as though it was about to land in the steep-banked area, but it saw us and veered away sharply, and then was lost to sight.  The Green Woodpecker and Willow Warblers were again near the quarry area, but this time they were also joined by a Great Spotted Woodpecker.  There were fewer butterflies in the afternoon because it had clouded up considerably and it almost seemed as though it was about to rain. There were a few drops as we reached the cars, but it was so warm we weren’t even dampened by the time we returned.  Only a couple of years ago there were 3 singing Turtle Doves either side of the car park, but today only one could be tracked down - that represents a loss of 5 singing males!  There was also less wildlife on the Westward trip, despite this being a morning trip.  On future visits we will always be heading Eastward Ho.