On Monday I travelled to Rosedale Abbey for the last time this spring, looking for possible subjects for my 2023 Calendar. One species performed well.Lapwing
Petals Caught in a Web
On Wednesday the wind was horrendous, especially for such an exposed location as Alkboro Flats. A Cuckoo was heard from the car park, but the bird sounds were noticeably curbed in comparison with other recent visits. We hadn’t been going for long before we managed to see a Bearded Tit flying low over the weeds apparently carrying food for its nestlings. We walked much further before we saw or heard anything else of interest. There was a Black-tailed Godwit in the water in front of the hide, but very little else of interest. Reed Buntings were the most obvious birds with occasional sightings of singing Sedge Warblers, plus we had one brief glimpse of a Cetti’s Warbler. Other birds seen included: Skylarks, Shelduck, Linnets and a male Marsh Harrier. We met someone who told us that the 3 Glossy Ibises and the Purple Heron had been frightened off by rampaging twitchers at the weekend. Later, we found evidence which seemed to show that deliberate destruction of habitat had taken place to give twitchers a better view of the Glossy Ibises. We did see Little Egrets, lots of Swifts, a couple of Sand Martins and a single House Martin. Four possible Spoonbills were seen landing in the distance. We saw Spoonbills after lunch, plus 3 Great White Egrets all in the air at the same time. On the return journey we observed both male and female Marsh Harriers hunting low over the reeds and also a low-flying Heron.
Great White Egrets
On Thursday morning a sadly depleted crew arrived at MSQ in bright skies and sunshine, but even before we set off it started to cloud over. After lunch we had a full complement. On the entrance road to the footpath there was a hollow fence post, which had a very strange root system in the middle, and beneath that were some silent nestlings. They were very difficult to photograph. We heard and then saw a Garden Warbler just outside the car park. 2 Common Terns were nesting on the raft with another 2 birds flying nearby. We made our way to the Duck Hide. We heard a Cuckoo before spotting it on a large Silver Birch. It later flew across the lake in front of us. We then heard it calling at various times throughout the morning. This time there were plenty of Sand Martins and Swifts over the main lake, plus Pochard, Tufted Ducks and Shelduck on the water. We carried on to the furthest hide hoping to avoid the forecast rain, which never really materialised. In the afternoon just after entering the hide a Hobby zoomed right past the hide - the closest view of one for some time.
At the wader hide we found a single Avocet, plus a Shelduck with 8 ducklings. A single duckling called out the whole time in front of our viewing area without ever locating its parents. In the afternoon this had disappeared as had another two of its siblings.
On Friday the wind was supposed to be worse than ever on the Humber, so we switched to North Cave. It was the windiest day I’ve ever had there in May. There was a Lesser Whitethroat near the parking area, which we glimpsed as it crossed from one hedge to another. The sound of calling Avocets pervaded the airwaves. We saw several and their chicks from the viewing platform. When we reached the lake in front of south hide we spotted a zooming Kingfisher, plus Great Crested Grebe, Little Grebes, Gadwall and Tufted Ducks. There were plenty of Sand Martins and Swifts over the water. It was noted that there weren’t large amounts of nesting Black-headed Gulls. Had the predation of eggs/nestlings resulted in an abandonment of the colony?
From Crosslands hide we saw Oystercatcher, Lapwing, and plenty of common ducks. The lake at the back had a Pied Wagtail on the shore, plus more common birds plus a flying Great Crested Grebe and an airborne Coot! Beyond the farm we realised where a lot of the BHGs had moved to.
The west hedgerow was out of the wind, so we saw damselflies and our first Speckled Wood. There weren’t many birds in this area. On North Path a few Linnets flew over, a Cetti’s Warbler sang and we saw another pair of Avocets and a chick. We were almost back at the car park when we noticed a Blue Tit chick in the entrance hole of a nest box. Then it’s parent came to feed it.
