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.

Urban Birding

It was too windy for our planned location today, so we switched to a supermarket car park. Yesterday there were reports of 115 Waxwings there. At least 50 were still present at 9.30. They showed well in good light, but wouldn't come down to the berries in the tree they favoured as a chap with a very big lens was stationed really close to their tree. We viewed from some distance away, and were able to get adequate photos. We spent half an hour or so with the birds, but when they all took off we took that as our cue and went to the Humber Bridge Park in the hope of catching up with some Bullfinches.

All photos (c) 2012 Chris Cox
Waxwing

Part of the flock

Unfortunately, the East Riding staff chose this particular day to be tweaking the willows growing around the feeding station, so there were no Bullfinches to see, or anything else of interest in the area. As small compensation one morning participant spotted a Jay, which I've never seen in the area before, but we all managed to sneak a view. We also had good views of at least 2 different Treecreepers, several family parties of Long-tailed Tits and some Goldcrests. Unfortunately in the afternoon virtually all the small birds had disappeared. We did see a couple of Long-tailed Tits, but that was it. 

About to snatch a berry

 Swallowing

However, the afternoon session started in the supermarket car park, and this time there were well over 100 birds. This was a 'lifer' for several participants. My camera decided to die at this point, so I've had to rely on Chris Cox's pictures from yesterday to illustrate the blog.

Wolds Walking Festival

This weekend was the Wolds Walking Festival, and I was involved in at least one event on Saturday, Sunday and Monday.  On Saturday 5 individuals turned up in beautiful warm and sunny weather: one couple from Helmsley, another from Beverley, and one local inhabitant of Thixendale.  We walked down the hill from Robert Fuller's Gallery, but were unable to find the Tawny Owls, which usually inhabit these sycamores.  In fact any sort of birdlife was noticeable by its absence.  I had to fill in by talking about our local Swallow behaviour, plus the latest news of what was happening on the birdfront at Spurn, Blacktoft and other East Yorkshire sites. Needless to say there was no sign of the local Little Owls either.  The only birds seen at this stage were Woodpigeons flying over.  However, flying closer to us was a Migrant Hawker Dragonfly, which did give good views as it hunted for insects along the hedgerow, and almost seemed as large as a Goldcrest!  We were a long way from any appreciable water, but these can be long distance fliers.  

Barnacle Goose

 Red Kite being mobbed

 At the bottom of the hill we took a right turn on to the Wolds Way.  A tilled field was covered with Red-legged Partridges - possibly as many as 10.  The Yellowhammers, and Meadow Pipits which had been so vociferous in the Spring and Summer had all gone quiet, and it wasn't until we went through the second gate that things picked up.    We were watching a hovering Kestrel as it hunted for voles in the long grass in the steep slopes of the dale.  It plunged into the verdure several times, but when it rose again, there was nothing in its talons.  As we observed this young bird, I could hear the high-pitched telltale sounds of a Treecreeper in the mature Ash trees behind us.  We swung round and everyone was able to spot the bird as it inched its way up the main trunk of the tree, before it spiralled round to the back of the trees, and it was lost to sight.  

Cream-Crown Marsh Harrier

 Migrant Hawker

 Bracket Fungus

 Stoat

 Stoat

We hadn't gone much further when there was a strange sound above us.  At first the only birds I could see were a couple of gulls flying north, but then I spotted a bird of prey.  A Buzzard seemed to be the most likely candidate in this habitat, but through the binoculars it was uniformly dark brown despite the tattiness of many of its feathers.  It was a Marsh Harrier.  Later, we heard that the gulls and the Harrier had been in a brief skirmish, which was the origin of the unusual sound.  We carried on to the sight of a baffling turf sculpture, which apparently looks much better and explicable from the top of the hills.  While the turf sculpture was being explained to us by the local inhabitant a bright orange Comma butterfly flew south.  Fairly soon after this a genuine Buzzard came into view - its mixture of dark wing edges and central white patches were in marked contrast to the earlier bird.  On the return journey we could hear Swallows twittering and House Martins "farting", but our best birds had definitely been on the  Wolds Way.  We passed BBC Look North's Simon Clark and  friend making the most of the nice weather by walking part of the Wolds Way.  The Cirrus clouds looked fine against the blue sky, but they didn't bode well for the weather on Sunday...

5 individuals again turned up for the Sunday Wolds Red Kite Roost event.  Unfortunately my sat nav led the attendees from Robert Fuller's Gallery on a circuitous, but picturesque route seemingly all over the wolds.  However, we did eventually arrive at the viewpoint.  At first it seemed very few birds were present apart from some very noisy female Mallards opposite our site.  However, a Heron flew through, which was a sign of better things to come.  Unfortunately, it was spitting with rain, so I didn't expect too many birds of prey.  It wasn't too long before our first Red Kite appeared to the right of the site, spotted by a Pocklington couple.  It flew over the woodland and disappeared to the left and below a very distinctive tree.  We then enjoyed sightings of several lone birds, sometimes they appeared distantly over the brow of the wooded hillside.  On other occasions they began to emerge in the far distance in the north, but always making for the same general area.  At least 2 birds showed interest in a green field, which may have hosted some carrion, but the roost site seemed to be the favoured area with all the other birds.  

Another Heron made its distinctive slowly flapping flight over the  woodland - seemingly with a wingspan only marginally greater than some of the Red Kites we had been watching.   Unfortunately, the lowering clouds began to look ever more threatening.  At one time 4 birds could be discerned in the northern distance through what looked like mist, but this was the first sign of a more significant shower of rain moving in.  We decided to call it a day, but we had seen over 10 Red Kites flying into the woodland.

On Monday we revisited Friday's location in worse light, so there were fewer photo opportunities.  North Cave Wetlands seems to be a fairly well-known site locally, so it was an unusual experience to introduce the venue for 5 people (100% of the attendees) who were trying it out as part of the Wolds Walking Festival.  The birds and dragonflies we saw today were very similar to those last week.    A mammal highlight were 2 Stoats - one running towards us, and another running away.  The Barnacle Goose showed really well, but seemed a very isolated individual, and was virtually the last bird we saw, so brought the session to a fitting end.  Please see Friday's photos here: Friday

Great White Cape?

 Today we were at a coastal site, but migrants were kept down by strong westerly winds just the direction you don't want on the east coast at this time of year.

There were plenty of Fulmars about the cliffs, and one particularly sheer cliff was covered with Shags. There were a couple of female Grey Seals in a little cove, and some Herring Gulls, but little else. A walk along the hedgerow got us out of the wind, but apart from the call of a Robin and the sound of a Linnets in the thistle field there was very little sign of bird life. One exception was the chattering House Martins, but then Andy spotted a Swift heading south.

Roe Deer

Roe Deer Doe [left] & Fawn

Speckled Wood

Great, White Cape?

The walk along the cliff edge was very windy again. We were accompanied by House Martins with the odd Swallow virtually all the way. In the ploughed field I located a Wheatear, and Caroline later saw another. A couple of Lesser Black Backed Gulls flew past at one point, whilst further out to sea I heard a Sandwich Tern, which was heading south. A pair of Red-legged Partridge were hunkered down on the edge of a field, and from their indistinct plumage they appeared to be moulting.






As we travelled to the woodland a flock of Goldfinches were observed flying over the hedge - they seemed to be trying to evade a Magpie. At the copse we looked back and saw a Kestrel effortlessly hovering in the strong winds. In the trees we eventually saw a juvenile Willow Warbler, and there was a brief call of something unusual, but we couldn't see anything apart from a Great Tit.



As we skirted the trees we flushed a doe Roe Deer and her fawn, which took off across the fields, but they did pose long enough for everyone to get a good enough view. Back on the path I noticed a pair of ears sticking up from the shade of a small bale of hay. It was a Hare. It lowered its ears, but remained hidden in the shade and all participants were able to observe it from the path before it zoomed off along a field margin. Just after this we saw a family of 6 distant Red-legged Partridge, but we only got a rear view as they carried on walking away from us.



The remainder of the walk was pretty uneventful - just a few Starlings on the wires. Not the most exciting start for Linda's first session, but she did enjoy the sight of the deer and the long look at the Hare.



In the afternoon we went through some woodland down to the beach, but the heat had brought out some day trippers and dog walkers, so there weren't many waders to see. There were a few Oystercatchers, and Turnstones ; plenty of Cormorants were flying back and forth across the surface of the sea, and at least 3 Sandwich Terns fished as they headed south. One of them caught an enormous fish, which it carried off with ease. It was lucky to get away with it because also heading south a few minutes earlier was our first ever Great Skua (Bonxie). This was a bird that some on the course had never heard of, and those who had didn't expect to see one on our shores - they had been up to Orkney specially to see them!


Hare






After the beach we climbed the steps to the top of the cliffs. From this vantage point we could see Redshanks and a Ringed Plover in the rock pools and a Curlew also flew in. A pair of Kestrels flew over the golf course, and continued to make a lot of noise for the next 10 minutes. The hoped-for Wheatears failed to materialise, so we retraced our steps to the woodland. In here we heard a few alarm calls of bramble-eating Blackcaps, a Treecreeper, and the plaintive cries of an immature Sparrowhawk, but there were precious few other birds to be seen or heard. However, it was a very pleasant walk in a fern-covered, verdant pleasure garden. Hopefully, there will be more birds for the newcomer from Bingley, as it's a long way to travel for only a few birds!

Some You Win...

On Friday the am group got to partake in a more negative side of twitching.  We met at Hornsea Mere half an hour later than normal to avoid the wet start to the day.  This turned out to be a good move as both sessions avoided the downpours – the afternoon session by only a couple of minutes.

Unfortunately, in the aftermath of heavy overnight rain and strong winds, there was no sign of the Roller.  It had been replaced by noisy jets - not really an adequate substitute.  While we scanned the area there were no hirundines over the crop this time, and although I could hear Yellow wagtails from time to time, there was only one quick glimpse. The Skylarks put on a better show, and the Whitethroat still seemed very vocal in the car park.  On the return trip David noticed a Barn Owl perched on a road sign – one of the best sightings of the morning.  Back at the Mere there was no sign of the Red-Crested Pochards, and very few other birds of interest.  There seemed an absolute plague of Canada Geese, which appear to be taking over the site.  Even their goslings had already lost that air of cuteness, which they exude in their first few weeks of life.  

Linnet [male]

 Bristling with Missiles

 Treecreeper

At the woodland site the Treecreeper was the star performer with excellent views of 2 birds, but especially of one confiding individual.  Someone (Peter?) spotted a Buzzard soaring over the hall, and we also heard a noisy Great Spotted Woodpecker, which then flew off erratically.  A pair of Red-legged Partridge rocketed up, and flew away from us & hurdled a hedge into the distance.  We reached a gate, which represented the furthest extent of our walk.  On Wednesday we could just hear a Cuckoo at this point, but today we couldn’t hear anything interesting, and it all seemed rather disappointing, until Jeanette turned spotted a Fox carrying a dead Rabbit.  We spun round but at the same time the very bright Fox saw us, and he quickly bolted back the way he had come and disappeared into the woodland.

 Treecreeper

 Pair of Linnets

 ditto

 A less red dry perched Linnet

In the afternoon we couldn’t find anything of interest at the mere, so we checked out a reserve we’ve never visited before.  Even before we left the car park we came across a pair of bright Linnets and a Tree Sparrow having a bath in a puddle.  We negotiated our way along the rather confusing start and blind turns among the rather recently-planted native tree species.  A Swallow twittered away on an old farm building, but it wasn’t possible to snatch a picture, while a Blue Tit scolded us from a hedge.  In a marshy area on adjacent land, Jim spotted a Lapwing sat on a nest.  As we neared the sea the air was full of birdsong.  This was made up of Skylarks, Meadow Pipits, Linnets and Reed Buntings, while large numbers of Sand Martins flitted & twittered over the long wet grass, and hung round a WWII pill-box.  All but the Skylarks also sat prominently on either posts or the barbed wire.  The best sight of the afternoon was seen on the return journey came when Sue W identified a Yellow Wagtail on the barbed wire.   Thunder rumbled all around us with lightning flashes appearing to hit the Driffield area.  One Linnet was the reddest Linnet I’d ever seen, and I even had to double-check it wasn’t a Rosefinch – it wasn’t!  There was a whole family of young meadow Pipits – seemingly at least 6 juveniles – sharing their time between the wires and the mowed path, but they were flighty & it wasn’t possible to get pictures of any of them.  A Willow warbler gave even briefer views as it took refuge in one of the small trees, and a Chaffinch and a flock of Starlings were the final birds we encountered.  We didn’t hang around too long as eventually the ominous sky looked as though it was actually going to engulf us after all.  We were just changing out of our boots and back into our shoes when the heavens opened.

 Meadow Pipit

 ditto

 An apparently intact fossilised Tree (elm?) on the cliff edge & now open to the sea with several feet of boulder clay above it

Magical Mystery Workout

The only event this week was our first visit to a far-flung woodland.  Unfortunately, we’d been warned that because of major roadworks in Malton there were massive delays, so several people either set off early to cope with these, or set off early to go round by a much longer route.  Today because of the school holidays there were no delays in Malton!  When I arrived after almost a 2 hour journey everyone had been waiting in the car park for what seemed like hours.  Immediately, there were Siskins flying over the car park, and these were probably visiting the feeders at the visitor centre.  

Treecreeper

 Yellowhammer (c) 2012 Richard Whateley

 Tree Pipit (c) 2012 Richard Whateley

We eventually found a new gravel path which meandered its way to the reserve through a pleasant heathland habitat studded with young conifers and birches.  We travelled in a cloud which was hanging over the crag we were walking on, but there was plenty of birdsong, including: Willow Warbler, Yellowhammer, Whitethroat & a Song Thrush.  However, the definite highlight here was a Tree Pipit.  Its pleasant canary-like notes drifted towards us, and it could be seen perched on the top of a young conifer.  On the way back, Sally saw it parachuting down.  There was a Kestrel hovering in the mist and we flushed a couple of Linnets up from the ground at our feet.  Other birds around here included plenty of Chaffinches and a single carrion Crow.  

Hoof Fungus

We turned right when we reached a broader path and found ourselves at the same height  as the trees full of Blue Tit fledglings.  We then arrived at a steep narrow path plunging down to the Yorkshire Wildlife Trust reserve.   It had rained heavily overnight and we made our way carefully down the muddy and slippery terrain.  Unfortunately, we are used to even paths on the flat here in East Yorkshire and several people didn’t fancy the climb down to the lake at the bottom and turned back.  We could hear our first Chiffchaffs, Swallows were twittering above us but couldn’t be seen because of the tree cover.  A Willow Tit sang out, plus Coal Tits and a little later a whole family of Long-tailed Tits.  On a fallen log last Autumn’s ear fungus was still intact, but had gone past the edible stage.  Sally correctly identified the song of a Blackcap – it seems it is possible to identify song birds after repeated exposure to the same species! 

Froghopper (bit of Cuckoo Spit visible under the leaf)

 Cardinal Beetle

 ditto

As we made our way down to the lake we could hear the ‘pic pic’ calls of a distant Great Spotted Woodpecker, and an even further off Cuckoo.  However, as we descended into the abyss the Cuckoo became easier to hear & Eileen could pick it out – gone are the days when she lived on Thorne Moors & she was the 1^st to hear one every year!  On the lake there was a pair of Tufted Ducks and several Mute Swans, but little else.  We did a circuit of the lake where we encountered a Treecreeper, Blue Tit fledglings, another singing Tree Pipit and Sparrowhawks calling from deep within the wood.

The way back up the hill wasn’t as bad as everyone feared & the only new creatures encountered were the Froghopper (manufacturers of Cuckoo Spit).  They were out in force & it was clear that their manufacturing had only just began, so they were about to get very busy – they are very late this year – delayed by the cold or the relatively dry spring?  Although the trek up the hill wasn't too bad, many of the attendees were red in the face & either dripping with sweat, or soaked with rain.  Some attendees went on to the visitor centre where Siskins and Coal Tits could be seen on the feeders.  

 Siskin (c) 2012 Richard Whateley

 Coal Tit [& Siskin] (c) 2012 Richard Whateley

 Siskin [female] & Collared Dove (c) 2012 Richard Whateley

White Triangle Bird

The weather forecast last night indicated that rain would move slowly up the  country.  In an attempt to avoid the rain the venue was changed to as far north as we could go & still be in East Yorkshire – we may have actually just strayed into North Yorkshire.  

A Yellowhammer and Linnets were first heard & then seen from the car park.  We walked down a valley, which had been cleared of many of its scrubby bushes, so the Willow Warblers have vacated this area.  However, the am group did watch a male Whitethroat dancing around a female - a performance I hadn't witnessed before.

We plunged further down to the valley’s bottom, and despite the lack of conifers we heard and then saw a couple of Goldcrests.  Next we passed through a gate towards a scheduled ancient monument and searched the old ash trees and bushes for the Redstart Tony Robinson saw at the weekend.  A female had turned up since then, so the birds were a while before they showed, and they weren’t as confiding for us, as Tony's male had been briefly for him on Saturday.  Everyone was able to obtain a view, but they were much harder to see in the afternoon.  Despite Doug’s best efforts at finding the male Redstart it disappeared again before everyone had seen it.

25 years ago shortly after passing my driving test I took my mum to today’s location.  While I was recording some birdsong my mum spotted something she hadn’t seen before.  “A strange bird just flew past, with a white triangle on its head!”  A few questions later & it seemed she’d seen a Redstart in an area where they weren’t generally supposed to be.  However, further searching has revealed that there is a small but stable population on the Yorkshire Wolds.  They seem to arrive a little earlier in the valleys with streams, pools and other running water, but they are also present a few days later in the completely dry valleys.  I’m not sure if any survey work has been undertaken to determine just how many Redstarts breed on the Yorkshire Wolds.  This population is much further East than is generally acknowledged in references to the distribution of this species in the UK.

We went back to an old railway line and saw Marsh Tits attacking the buds of an Ash tree, but there weren’t as many hedgerow birds as usual.  This could be because the summer migrants still haven’t all arrived, but could be because their favourite hedge had been severely hacked back.  We reached the village and saw a soaring Kestrel, which a couple of ‘stringers’ tried to boost into a Sparrowhawk, but they hadn’t noticed the dark border to the tail.  Of course when it flew off normally it resumed its standard Kestrel shape.  As we approached the village sightings of Swallows, Pied Wagtails and Greenfinches increased, and in the village itself House Martins and Tree Sparrows proliferated.  We also saw a male Bullfinch here and heard the beautiful song of a Garden Warbler, which was glimpsed briefly by the am group.

We returned the way we had come, but the killer hill proved rather unpopular with some participants, so 2 set back up there early, so they could take their own time, whilst an am participant waited in the village for someone to collect her by car.  The wild flowers weren't bad today & a couple of Orange Tip butterflies were seen.

During the morning session a formation of 20 planes flew North-West with another plane leading them.  We have no idea what these planes were doing in this remote area.


**STOP PRESS** It now seems we were witnessing a training exercise of the planes for the Queen's Jubilee, which were actually flying in a formation which mirrored the digits 60!

The afternoon group jumped in their vehicles, and then the first spots of rain started.  The move north had worked out to perfection.

The first 6 photos are (c) 2012 Tony Robinson & were taken on Saturday.  The rest are from today

Redstart - the White Triangle Bird!

 Redstart

 Marsh Tit

 Sparrowhawk

 Treecreeper

Treecreeper 

 Red-legged Partridge

 Garden Warbler

 Garden Warbler

 Goldcrest

 Goldcrest

 Yellowhammer

 Pied Wagtail [female]

 Water Avens

 Butterbur

 Fly-past