Whistling in the Dark

This morning 12 brave souls ventured into deepest darkest Lincolnshire in search of one of our most remarkable songsters. They were rewarded with hearing 6 singing males - one more than had been recorded by the reserve authorities. We saw at least 4 individuals including one foraging among the thick grass & one which briefly alighted on the path. It cocked it's tail like a giant Wren, and the rusty colouring could easily be observed, which wasn't so obvious when the bird was singing in dense foliage.

In the afternoon the Nightingales were much quieter and consequently more difficult to locate. However, after several false starts we watched one singing very close to the path for several minutes. This individual was then joined by a female bird, and they slipped away in the undergrowth together.

The am group were drenched after they saw all those Nightingales, but were also rewarded with a Jay which seemed loath to stir itself because it was trying to dry itself off. We walked through the woodland, which was pleasant, but we didn't see many interesting birds. There was no sign of any Whitethroats or Garden Warblers. A Brimstone butterfly brightened up the pm session, which escaped without any further rain until they had embarked on the long journey back.

Nightingale - at full throttle

Having a break from all that belting out

Singing an Aria

Coasting along

Foraging on the ground like a giant Robin

On the path

ditto

Jay (c) 2012 David Ware

Chiffchaff

Unfinished Chaffinch nest [found by JanG]

Lamb

Using a Car as a Hide in Spring

Yesterday morning not long after 9am I was given the task of keeping my nephew's attention engaged. So, with a 1980s science fiction playing on the car stereo we set off on a road east out of Hull. We hadn't travelled far when we both spotted a hunting Barn Owl. First we cut off the volume & then found a really good viewpoint with a minimum amount of vegetation between the camera & the owl. We were able to watch for almost 10 minutes with only one other vehicle passing us during that time, as the owl continued to quarter the field. At times it came remarkably close, as it hunted apparently unconcerned by our presence. It finally moved off into an adjacent field and we left it to find a meal for its chicks.

We carried on through the isolated byways where Philip Larkin learned to drive. There were no Whitethroats back yet, and virtually no signs of any other summer visitors. The only birds seen were a few Skylarks, Linnets and Meadow Pipits. However, eventually I spotted a small fragment of Yellow at the top right-hand edge of a Hawthorn hedge on the border of a massive Oilseed rape field - a single male Yellow Wagtail. We were able to park up and watch this bird from a series of perches. When it was sat on the oilseed rape it seemed to disappear into it, and the best photo opportunities were on a tiny young Hawthorn sapling. Unfortunately, this was at Ben's side of the car, so to obtain the photos I had to lean heavily on him, as I poked my lens through the passenger window. We probably spent a total of 10 minutes with this strikingly handsome bird, and luckily during that time we weren't disturbed by a single other vehicle on that narrow minor road.

We then drove round the area, but didn't see a great deal until Ben pointed out a Little Owl on exactly the same fence-post he saw it on last weekend. I never thought to scan that particular fence, but will always check it out in the future.

Yellow Wagtail

Yellow Wagtail

Yellow Wagtail

Barn Owl

Barn Owl

Barn Owl

Barn Owl

Little Owl

Topping-Up at Tophill

The Friday class was due to take place at an extremely exposed location, but the forecast was so bad, especially for the afternoon, that we switched to Tophill Low again.

The experience was pretty much a rerun of the previous day with plenary of species logged, but a drake Goosander flew north over South Lagoon early in the morning. The mischievous Ruffs delayed their appearance until the afternoon, and a drake Pintail was visible for both sessions, but more in the open after lunch.

One of the morning highlights was a male Kestrel, which seemed to show some interest in a nest box. It them flew off, but immediately locked talons with another Kestrel & they both fell vertically into an area of scrub, from where we could hear screeching from these 2 birds until it all went quiet.

The afternoon session was graced by a newcomer who had never seen a Goldfinch before, but who had always wanted to see a Woodpecker. We had just been watching a Mistle Thrush quite hidden among the twigs of a poplar, when I heard a Great Spotted Woodpecker & saw it fly in. We were able to move a little closer, and a lifetime ambition was achieved. I think she probably found the full onslaught of 40+ species within 2 hours a little overwhelming, but she will always remember her first ever sighting of a Woodpecker & her charm of Goldfinches.

Male Kestrel

In flight

Rev Reed Bunting

Marsh Frog

Coot

Blackcap

Mistle Thrush

Pintail

The Ultimate Answer: Tophill Low

At least one of yesterday morning's participants later confessed that he hadn't expected to see much because of the miserable weather. What he hadn't bargained for was to see 40+ species, several of them for the first time, plus excellent views of some summer visitors.

The Thursday morning group were expecting to walk along a section of disused railway line, but there was no cover there, and because of the threat of frequent torrential showers we relocated to Tophill Low.

Highlights included a very early Reed Warbler, a couple of Sedge Warblers, a Common Tern (pm), Barn Owl, 2 Avocets (pm), Brambling (am), Little ringed Plover, Curlew, Great Spotted Woodpeckers, 20 Swallows & 2 House Martins. However, the am crowd were probably most impressed by a group of 8 Ruff, including 2 very handsomely marked males. Unfortunately, they were no longer present in the afternoon.

When I asked the morning recorder how many birds we'd encountered, he replied that we'd seen 42: The answer to the ultimate question of Life, the universe & Everything. Unfortunately, he was the only person who hadn't spotted the Barn Owl, so we had actually seen more species. The afternoon added several we hadn't see in the morning, so the overall tally for the day was 50.

The weather forecast is pretty similar for today, so we are relocating to Tophill again...

The first 10 photographs are (c) 2012 Richard Whateley

Sedge Warbler

Blackcap

6 Ruff among Black-headed Gulls

Long-tailed Tit

Tufted Duck

Wren

Goldcrest

Coal Tit

Kestrel

Buzzard

Willow Warbler

Oystercatcher

Teal

Wigeon & Little Grebes

Sparrowhawk

Raining on my Parade

Because of the bad weather my camera didn't leave the car - the pictures below were taken during better weather - honest!

Avocet

Avocets

Marsh Harrier

Yesterday didn't start well with a puncture caused by a screw stuck in my rear passenger wheel. I arrived at my local Savoy Garage shortly after 8am, in order to get it repaired well before my class, but they didn't have the electricity to repair it! They sent me to their Willerby outlet instead. I managed to get there but the rush hour traffic delayed my progresss. The repairs seemed to take forever when you are watching the clock. I was able to text 4 members of the Weds am group to warn them I would be late & where to go first for best views of Avocets.

Apparently, they were able to ID a Sedge Warbler by sound shortly after starting & there was plenty of action from the Avocets - even during the fairly constant rain. Luckily, Mike Andrews, one of the wardens, was in the hide & he was able to keep the class entertained with plenty of esoteric information about the breeding habits of these black-and-white favourites.

We went on to the next hide which had a single Shoveler, a single Teal & a single female Pochard, as well as plenty of noisy Black-headed Gulls. As we traversed the reserve we noticed that there were more Marsh Harriers perched in the open than usual. This seemed bizarre in the rain, but it is likely that their feathers will dry more quickly in the open among strong winds, rather than if they had been sat among soaking reeds protected from the wind. When the rain died away then the Marsh Harriers began to to perform some skydancing & interaction with each other. This was particularly spectacular in the afternoon & the raptors came closer to the hides than normal.

There were a score of hirundines, which were hunting for insects low over the water & readbeds. The vast majority of these were Swallows, but there were a few House Martins too. Although the flock was checked carefully we were unable to discern a Sand Martin among the other birds.

Overall the morning group saw 34 species with the afternoon session adding a Curlew to the tally. Of course when we went in one hide we were told that an hour ago there had been a booming Bittern, which had then flown through the area. We never caught up with this species, but we did remarkably well considering the dreadful conditions. The rain did ease off about 2pm, so the last hour of the pm session was much more pleasant.

The forecast over the next few days would seem to indicate we haven't done with the precipitation by a long chalk. Expect more of the same tomorrow...

Starting Over

The classes started again yesterday, and immediately the changes from last time were apparent - singing Blackcaps, Willow Warblers, and Chiffchaffs, which weren't even in the UK last time we had a class. There were plenty of resident birds too, with titmice roaming all over the place - and eventually Marsh Tits showed really well. We risked going to our richest woodland, and despite a little bit of dampness in the morning it was well worth it. Other birds seen included: Buzzard, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Wren, Robin, Red-legged Partridge, Swallows. Next week both Common & Lesser Whitethroat may be back too & then hopefully Garden Warblers!

Blackcap

Willow Warbler

Marsh Tit

ditto

Scruffy Marsh Tit [female]

Marsh Tit [begging for food]

Male (right) feeding female - notice the obvious cloaca

Common Shrew

Primroses

Bluebell

Wood Sorrel

Larch 'Flower'