Friday 28 January 2022

As Seen on Winterwatch!

On Tuesday I set off at 7.15 in order to get to Scarboro in time, only to find I arrived early at 8.45.  It was rather misty, especially on the outskirts of town, but it was less foggy at the Harbour.  However, it was very chilly all morning, even though it wasn’t particularly windy. 

It was almost too easy to find the Turnstones.  They almost followed us around at times.  If we had food I’m sure they would have taken it from John’s hand.  We circled the harbour looking for the Great Northern and Red-throated Divers, but without success.  A Shag was spotted diving near the beach on the edge of a group of swimming gulls. We went to the highest part of the wall, from which we could see around 40 Purple Sandpipers on the rocks nearest the water.  A female Common Scoter flew past heading north.  We carried on and headed towards Marine Drive.  There was nothing at all swimming in the harbour, as a Cormorant had flown off not long after I had arrived.  

Turnstone

Ditto
Black-headed Gull
Herring Gull
Immature Herring Gull
Purple Sandpiper 
Female Common Scoter
Ditto
A small Peregrine was easy to locate on the cliffs, despite the murky conditions.  Noisy pairs of Fulmar had also taken up residence on the cliffs, but Rock Pipits which we had seen in the past were noticeably absent.  We returned to the harbour, and checked out the area near the new lifeboat area.  A Pied Wagtail flew up and headed to the roof.  We reached the end of the pier, and there was the immature Great Northern Diver - outside the harbour.  
Fulmar
Peregrine 
Magpie
Great Northern Diver
Ditto
On a much sunnier Monday I checked out other Scarboro venues.  The raptor viewpoint had several Buzzards and a Siskin, but was otherwise rather quiet.  Forge Valley feeding centre didn’t disappoint with Nuthatch, several Marsh Tits, a gang of Long-tailed Tits and all the usual suspects.  This time Stock Doves had screwed their courage to the sticking-point enough to visit the periphery of the feeding area.  I don’t remember seeing them before.  There was nothing of interest at the mere.
Nuthatch 
Ditto
Ditto
Ditto
Long-tailed Tit
Marsh Tit
Long-tailed Tit
Marsh Tit
Ditto
Chaffinch
Blue Tit
Coal Tit
Robin
Stock Dove - through windscreen 
Pheasant
Blackbird
Ditto
Robin
Siskin

On Wednesday we crossed the Humber to the Ness End Farm reserve.  There were 3 photographers in the Main Hide, so we gave that a miss.  We found several Bullfinches in a Willow along the main path.  We then went for a walk round the perimeter.  From here we were able to see Target Lake in excellent light.  There was a drake Goldeneye, plus 2 females, a good number of Pochard, Tufted Ducks and an immature Great Crested Grebe.   

Female Bullfinch eating Buddleia
ditto

ditto
Male Bullfinch 
Goldeneye
Pochard
Great Crested Grebe (c) 2021 Symon Fraser
ditto
Little Grebe
Little Grebe (c) 2021 Symon Fraser
ditto
Little Grebe (c) 2022 Aileen Urquhart
Dabchick
Little Grebe with Fish (c) 2021 Hugh Wood
On the riverbank we saw a couple of Redshank and a dozen Wigeon.  A few birds were flying west along the river, but they were too distant to be identified.  
Redshank (c) 2021 Symon Fraser
Redshank (c) 2022 Tony Robinson
ditto
Redshank (c) 2022 Aileen Urquhart
Wigeon (c) 2022 Tony Robinson
Wigeon (c) 2021 Symon Fraser
Redshank
The light was very strong from Reedy Hide, so everything was seen as a silhouette.  A Buzzard was seen over the distant woodland.  
Female Reed Bunting
Female Reed Bunting (c) 2021 Symon Fraser
Reed Bunting (c) 2022 Tony Robinson
ditto
Robin (c) 2022 Symon Fraser
ditto
Robin
At the screen a Water Rail called, and a further 3 were seen coming from reedbeds to the left towards the calling bird.
Record shot of swiftly moving Water Rail
Water Rail (c) 2022 Aileen Urquhart
We crossed the road to check the new pond, and there were some Gadwall here, our first of the day.  A check on the nearby woodland resulted in 3 Long-tailed Tits, which were also our first sightings of them, plus after lunch a pair of constantly moving Goldcrests.

Gadwall
Female Tufted Duck (c) 2022 Aileen Urquhart
Mute Swan (c) 2022 Aileen Urquhart
Deborah stayed behind in the afternoon to wait for the Bittern.  Unfortunately, she drew a blank with that, but then heard a distinctive ‘pinging’ sound learnt during the classes.  She had found her own personal Bearded Tits.   
Bearded Tit (c) 2022 Deborah Parry
Female Bearded Tit (c) 2022 Deborah Parry
ditto
Winter Heliotrope
Collapsed Cap & Gills of a Toadstool
Some of the morning crew went on to Alkborough Flats only to find some of the paths flooded.  The only photo opps were provided by some Golden Plovers.
Golden Plover (c) 2022 Tony Robinson
ditto
On Thursday we returned to Wheldrake.  It was a lot warmer with no sign of ice, but despite a week with no more rain it was still very squelchy underfoot.  Bullfinches were in the car park again.  There were sounds of Skylarks flitting across the sky and a Song Thrush was singing lustily shortly after we joined the path.  We hadn’t travelled far when I spotted a Treecreeper on the opposite bank of the Derwent, but a few minutes later Bruce noticed it was now on a tree much closer to us.  We came across one tree with around 6 Bullfinches chomping on buds.  Because of the thaw the waders and wildfowl were much further from the hide this time.  Lapwings and Golden Plovers were sent up throughout the morning by constant activity of a pair of Marsh Harriers.
Bullfinch
Treecreeper
Pink-footed Geese
Mute Swan
Kestrel
Ditto
Ditto
Ditto
Ditto
Pool Hide brought us great views of a pair of Goldeneye with more distant views of Shoveler, Gadwall and Teal.  Some Pink-footed Geese flew over and one minute a male Sparrowhawk passed below the hide, while a couple of minutes later a female started soaring in front of us.
Goldeneye
Goldeneyes
Goldeneye
Pair
ditto
ditto
ditto
Goldeneye (c) 2022 Paul Green
Synchronised Diving (c) 2022 Paul Green
Marsh Harrier
Walking between the hides resulted in a family group of Long-tailed Tits.  We did see some Pintail from Swantail Hide, but they were fairly difficult to pick out in the mass of Wigeon.  
Pintail Among Wigeon
Ditto
Some Random Bloke
Two Wednesday stalwarts couldn't get enough birds at Ness End, so on Thursday they were at Bridlington Harbour.
Turnstone (c) 2022 Symon Fraser
The best photo of this species ever submitted to this blog.
Purple Sandpiper (c) 2022 Symon Fraser
Great Black-Backed Gull & Herring Gull (c) 2022 Symon Fraser
On Friday we returned to Tuesday's location in slightly better weather.  It wasn’t as misty, but the morning was rather overcast, and luckily not much wind.  The Great Northern Diver was much easier to find, so we soon tracked that down.  Yesterday the Great Northern Diver was featured on Winterwatch, so it was great to seen one so soon after the programme.
Great Northern Diver
Turnstone
ditto
ditto
ditto
Wing bars
Leg Bling
We walked towards the lighthouse accompanied by a single Turnstone, and then we saw one with plenty of bling on its legs.  From the lighthouse we could see a Razorbill just outside the harbour on the sea.  As we walked along the perimeter we could see a Red-throated Diver, so we crossed to the sea wall for a better view.  From here we could see 5 or 6 Red-throated Divers, although they were all fairly distant.
Razorbill
Red-throated Diver
ditto
A look over the sea wall resulted in nearly 40 Purple Sandpipers snoozing on rocks near the edge of the sea.  More Turnstones joined us, but in much smaller numbers than earlier in the week.  
Purple Sandpipers
Shag
ditto
Cormorant

Herring Gull
Immature Herring Gull
Redshank
Lobster Pot Sparrow
We walked along the wall all the way to Marine Drive keeping an eye on the sea for anything floating on the sea, or flying over it.  We saw a scattering of Guillemots, and then some Shags flew across and settled on the sea.  The crests were fairly easy to discern even though the birds were relatively distant.  Dave spotted a Peregrine perched on the cliffs, whilst George pointed out some Porpoises swimming past.  The Fulmars were still busy pairing up, but a Stock Dove was a new bird for us.  There were no signs of any Rock Pipits this time, unlike our visits before the pandemic.
Peregrine
Harbour Porpoise
ditto
Coastguard Helicopter