Birding with Flowers: August 2022

Wednesday, 31 August 2022

2023 Calendar is Ready!

My new 2023 Yorkshire Wildlife Calendar is ready!

Great Crested Grebe

A unique feature of the calendar is that it includes 300+ lines of info of what wildlife to see, & when & where to see it.

Lapwing

Grey Wagtail

Hirundines

Whinchat

My new 2023 Yorkshire Wildlife Calendar is hot off the press. It features photos of Grey Wagtail, Sanderling, Bittern, Goldeneye, Lapwing, Whinchat, Marsh Harrier, Yellowhammer, Hirundines, Merlin, Snow Bunting, Long-tailed Tit, Wheatear, Great Crested Grebe and a Six-Spot Burnet Moth on a Pyramidal Orchid.

All photos were taken in Yorkshire, quite a few of them during my birdwatching classes by myself. Cost £10 if collecting in person.

Price for 1 in the post is £11.00

Price for 2 in the post is £20.00

Price for 3 in the post is £30.00

Tuesday, 30 August 2022

Spotted a Crake, Eventually

Last Thursday we went to North Cave Wetlands. There were relatively few people about, so we went to Turret Hide first. There was a Spotted Redshank, a couple of Herons and a Little Egret. There were 3 twitchers ensconced. One with a telescope kept mentioning a Spotted Crake, but after carefully following his directions we failed to see what he was looking at. However, after a quarter-of-an-hour it left the reeds for more than a consecutive few seconds, so everyone had chance to observe it. Then, Elaine set up her telescope, so everyone looked through that and admired the fine detail of its delicately-marked plumage. Through my camera viewfinder it resolutely remained a brown blob, which only resolved itself into an actual bird when the photos were downloaded onto my laptop. On most of the pictures the bird's head was obscured, do the below images are the best I could manage of this very distant individual. At the time I type this, the bird is still present.

Record Shot of Spotted Crake

ditto

Record Shot of Spotted Redshank

Common Sandpiper

Green Sandpiper

Greenshanks

ditto

Greenshank

Heron

Herons

Long-tailed Tits

Rook

Great Crested Grebe

Blackcap

ditto

Sloe

Wednesday, 24 August 2022

Summer Catch-Up

In July and August the Thursday morning group has continued while all the other groups enjoyed a long summer break. We have managed to see something interesting every Thursday so far. However, the computer room has been too hot until now to upload lots of photos, but just recently the temperature has dropped sufficiently in order to add the summer highlights. There is no doubt that so far the best spectacle was a group of four Common Cranes opposite the entrance to RSPB Blacktoft Sands. We were lucky as this was one of the final occasions this family party was seen there after a fortnight of being spotted everyday.

Cranes outside Blacktoft Entrance

Ditto

Taking Off

Ditto

Cranes & Greylags

Cranes

Record shot of Immature Bearded Tit

Black-tailed Godwit

Black-tailed Godwits

Ditto

Greylag Geese

Lapwing

Immature Reed Warbler

Ditto

Snipe

Spoonbills

Spotted Redshank & Black-tailed Godwits

Ditto

One morning (25 July) a Nuthatch visited the garden. Only the second ever visit of this species since mankind first landed on the Moon! A fortnight later that, or another was heard, but this time not seen.

Nuthatch

Ditto

Blue Tit in the garden

Goldcrest in the garden

Goldcrest

Marsh Harrier near Cherry Cobb Sands - 3 July

Ditto

The Thursday after Blacktoft we went to Alkborough Flats.

Meadow Pipit

Reed Bunting

Toad

Record shot of Yellow Wagtail

Barnacle Goose at Hornsea Mere - 12 July

Ditto

Last Thursday we went to Paull Holme Strays

Linnet

Ditto

Turnstone

Turnstones

Ditto

Bar-tailed Godwits

Ditto

Dryad’s Saddle

Shining Lighthouse

A final trip was made to Fen Bog on 11 July, but the Whinchats had disappeared with their brood.

Tiger Beetle

Black-tailed Skimmer

Bog Asphodel

Large Heath

Sundew

ditto

Some of the July Moths from the garden moth trap, starting with 9th July.

Catoptria Pinella

Figure of Eighty

Ditto

Mesapamea sp.

Ditto

Pale Beauty

Polia sp.

Tortrix Ditula Angustiorana

Wasp sp. Amblyteles Armatorius

Ditto

Hawker sp.

10th July

Bright Line Brown Eye

Codling Moth

Comma

Ditto

Common Footman

Dark Arches

Double Square Spot

Knot Grass

Large Fruit-Tree Tortrix

And now on to 12th July

Least Carpet

Unidentified

The Clay

White Satin Moth

Now on to 11th July

Codling Moth

Common Yellow Conch

Dun-Bar

Privet Tortrix

Scalloped Oak

12 July

Clouded Magpie

Crambid Snout Moth

Double-Striped Pug

Ditto

Dun-bar

Least Carpet

Mother of Pearl

Nut-Tree Tussock

The Clay

Ditto

Moving on to 13th July

Bird Cherry Ermine

Ditto

Buff Arches

Ditto

Coronet

Scalloped Oak

Ermine sp.

Mesapamea sp.

Ribband Wave

Rosy Tabby

Snout

Swallowtail

Tortid Leafroller Moth

Trumpet Moth

The Uncertain

14th July - Bastille Day

August Thorn

Thorn sp.

Common Eupithecia Pug

Oak Lantern

Scalloped Oak

Smoky Wainscot

Spectacle

Ditto

16th July

Barred Marble Celypha Striana

Clouded Border

Green Carpet

McDunnough’s Eudonia

Ribband wave

Ruby Tiger

Ditto

17th July

Cutworm sp.

Shuttle Shaped Dart

The Campion

18th July

Ancylis sp.

Large Fruit-Tree Tortrix

Bird Cherry Ermine

Celypha Moth

Coronet

Cutworm sp.

Forest Bug

Autumn Green Carpet?

Shuttle Shaped Dart

Tortrid Leafroller Moth?

19th July

Beautiful Hook-Tip

Pug & Common Wave

Cutworm sp.

Light Brown Apple Moth

Tortrid Leafroller Moth

Ditto

20th July

August Thorn

Ditto

Buff Arches

Catoptria Pinella

Common Emerald

Coronet

Cutworm sp.

Light Brown Apple Moth

Mint Moth

Oak Lantern

Poplar Grey

Purple Thorn

Straw Dot

Tortrid Leafroller Moth sp.

Treble Bar

Wild Clematis

25th July

Canary-Shouldered Thorn

Ditto

Yellow Shell?

26th July

Knot Grass

Phoenix

Wasp nest

27th July

Light Brown Apple Moth

Chinese character - 28 July

Underwing sp.

29th July

Caddis-fly species

August Moths - starting with 3rd August

Dusky Thorn

Furcula sp.

Ditto

Grey Dagger

Large Yellow Underwing

Willow Beauty

Hawker sp.

10th August

Marbled Beauty

13th August

Rosy Rustic

Peppered Moth (Dark morph)

Willow Beauty

21st August

Angle Shades

Old Lady

Yellow Underwing sp.

Autumn Course Details

Bookings for the 10-week Autumn term have started. At the time of writing there are most vacancies on Tuesday & Friday mornings with a couple of spaces on most other sessions. If you are interested in another session, please ask. For at least 2 hours a week encounter the natural world as a completely new sensual experience. You'll be amazed what you'll find just by listening, and not only by looking! In the Autumn we'll be paying special attention to finding and identifying birds on migration. Autumn visitors we are hoping to track down include: Redstarts, Flycatchers, Warblers, Rough-legged Buzzards, Hen Harriers, Short-eared Owls & various wading birds. We will be visiting venues in East Yorkshire with a couple of ventures into North Lincolnshire and West Yorkshire. So, if you are interested in learning more about your local wildlife in beautiful and secluded venues for less than £12 a week, contact me for more details! We visit a different local hotspot each week and identify all the birds and as much other wildlife as we can. This also includes mammals, and fungi with butterflies, and dragonflies in the warmer months. The course runs twice daily Tuesday to Friday. Please note it is not appropriate to bring your dogs with you. If you are interested in more details of the course, or wish to be placed on a waiting list, please leave a comment next to one of my posts or email me on mflowers81@live.co.uk

Terms and Conditions

Birding with Flowers

Terms and Conditions

1.0 General

1.1. Birding with Flowers organises birdwatching and wildlife walks and events to enable participants to learn bird identification, to gain knowledge of habitats and wildlife in general to enhance their enjoyment and appreciation of the countryside. These terms and conditions must be agreed by anyone joining a 10-week birding course or a special one-off event.

1.2 Birding with Flowers reserves the right to revise these Terms and Conditions at any time by updating these pages. It is your responsibility to review and understand the Terms and Conditions. If you are booking a course or event you will be asked to return a signed slip stating that you agree to these legally binding Terms and Conditions. If you do not agree to the Terms and Conditions please do not ask to participate in Birding with Flowers courses or events.

1.3 The Birding with Flowers blog HYPERLINK "http://www.eybirdwatching.blogspot.com" www.eybirdwatching.blogspot.com, the weekly East Yorkshire Birdwatching Walks and one-off special events are managed and operated by Birding with Flowers. The Terms and Conditions set out below constitute the agreement between you (the client) and us (Birding with Flowers or BWF).

1.4 Whilst we make every effort to provide you with up to date details for courses and events, it is ultimately your responsibility to check whether they have been cancelled or rescheduled by checking emails or, where applicable, text messages the evening before a session. We take all reasonable steps to ensure the information on the blog, in the course itineraries and for one-off events is accurate at the time of publishing and continues to be accurate. Liability for any loss or damage arising from inaccuracies, omissions or interpretation of contents is limited to the cost of the session. If you believe any content to be inaccurate please contact us on 07946 625677, or email us at mflowers81@live.co.uk and we will take all reasonable steps to correct it as soon as possible.

2.0 Payments and Bookings

2.1 For the complete 10-week course we require full payment in advance. If payment is not made before the date specified in the course particulars, your place may be given to another client.

2.2 One-off short (2-3 hours) walks may be paid for on the day in cash, but preference will always be made to those who pay in advance.

2.3 Except for payments for short walks (see 2.2 above), payments made by BACS are preferred by us as this is a safe, quick and easy method of payment. You will require the Birding with Flowers account number and bank sorting code. You will need to include your surname and the day you attend as a reference. If you require our bank details this will be sent in two separate emails, please do not reply to those emails for security reasons.

2.4 If you do not want to make a BACS payment you may still pay by cheque. Payment by cheque requires your contact details written on the reverse. If you pay by cheque, you should be aware that your cheque will take a few days to arrive in the post, and your payment will not be recognised as completed until the cheque has cleared, which will take several more working days. Please take this into consideration when sending your cheque. For details on how to pay by cheque please email us at mflowers81@live.co.uk

2.5 No cash payments should be sent to us in the post.

2.6 You are required to ensure, when booking a course or event, that there are sufficient funds to cover the cost of the service. Payment will be taken in advance for the services offered and if payment fails, bookings will not be made until an alternative payment has been made. If there are any changes to your details that may affect your booking it is your responsibility to inform Birding with Flowers by contacting us on 07946 625677, or email us at mflowers81@live.co.uk

2.7 It is important that you print the email of the confirmation of your booking for your own reference.

3.0 Data Protection

3.1 Birding with Flowers takes your contact details as part of the booking process. Your details will not be shared with any third party or organisation. If you request another member’s email or phone number for whatever purpose, your message will be forwarded to that client, but any reply will remain between yourself and that client.

4.0 Intellectual Property

4.1 As a member of the Birding with Flowers course you may be sent detailed itineraries, birdsong calendars, species location spreadsheets, bird identification flowcharts and other original items. Any items marked with copyright should not be shared with any third party, including previous members of the course. Once a person has left the course they are no longer entitled to receive further publications.

5.0 Changes and Cancellation: by Birding with Flowers

5.1 Birding with Flowers begins planning courses and events many months in advance. On occasions we have to make changes to details both before and after bookings have been confirmed. With outdoor classes and events, local weather, transport or a host of other uncontrollable factors can mean a change in the itinerary. Although we always take all reasonable steps to avoid changes, we must reserve the right to do so.

5.2 If we have to make a minor alteration to your itinerary or travel arrangements before departure, we will, if practicable, advise you before departure but we are not obliged to do so or to pay you compensation.

5.3 In the event of poor weather conditions which we consider will seriously affect the quality of a class or one-off event, we reserve the right to postpone or cancel the class or one-off event. In this case you will usually be offered alternative dates for the same or similar event from our programme of events.

5.4 If we have to cancel an individual class, or one-off event, completely due to unforeseen circumstances such as illness of the course leader, extreme weather events or major travel disruption, where possible we will offer an alternative date. If we have no alternative dates to offer, you will receive a full refund of all monies paid for that class or event.

5.5 If a major change is made (e.g. cancellation of all or more than 2 classes of your course or a one-off event e.g. because of the illness of the course leader), we will inform you as soon as possible. In this circumstance we will offer you the choice of the following options:

a) accepting an alternative course, part-course or one-off event arranged by Birding with Flowers and beginning on an arranged day; or

b) transferring your payment to a future course or one-off event run by Birding with Flowers of a similar standard to that originally booked, if available. We will endeavour to offer you at least one alternative course or one-off event of equivalent or higher standard.

In the event of no alternatives being available, or if you are unable to attend a future course or one-off event, a refund for the cancelled proportion of the course or for the one-off event will be offered.

5.6 The decision as to whether a change is minor or major lies with Birding with Flowers, who will act fairly in all circumstances.

5.7 No liability beyond offering the above-mentioned options can be accepted where we are forced to make a change or cancel as a result of unusual and unforeseeable circumstances beyond our control, the consequences of which we could not have avoided even with all due care. No compensation will be payable and the above options will not be available if we cancel as a result of your failure to comply with any requirement of our Terms and Conditions entitling us to cancel (e.g. not paying on time) or if the change made is a minor one.

5.8 In the event that a course or event is cancelled by Birding with Flowers because of insufficient numbers signing up for it, a full refund of monies paid by you will be made. However, no further liability will be accepted by Birding with Flowers. Usually an alternative course will be arranged.

6.0 Changes and cancellation by the client

6.1 You may cancel your booking for a course or one-off event at any stage; however, a full refund will not be issued if cancellation is notified to Birding with Flowers less than 7 days before the course commences or the event is due to take place. In the event of serious illness or a major change in your personal circumstance notified by you, any refund of some or all of the course fee or event fee would be at the discretion of Birding with Flowers.

6.2. You may request a change to a booking by contacting us by email or telephone. If possible, a request to change the day/and or time of a course or an individual class will be permitted, providing there is a vacancy for the replacement day and/or time.

6.3 Please note that failure to attend a course, a single class or one-off event without first informing Birding with Flowers cannot be regarded as a cancellation. Unless otherwise agreed, clients who fail to attend a class or event without prior notice will not receive a refund for the course, missed class or one-off event.

7.0 What is Included on BWF Courses or One-Off events

7.1 See the course itineraries or details of one-off events for what you can expect to be provided by Birding with Flowers.

8.0 What is Not Included on BWF Courses, or One-Off Events

8.1 Birding with Flowers does not organise or pay for clients’ travel expenses to and from events, such as public transport or car hire. We do not pay for telephone calls, snacks or any items of a personal nature.

9.0 Insurance

9.1 Birding with Flowers has taken out full indemnity insurance for events held in the UK.

10.0 Special Requests

10.1 If you have any special requests, you should inform us of such requests at the time of booking. We will try our best to accommodate your requirements but we cannot guarantee that such requests will be met. Furthermore, we have no liability to you if such requests are not met.

10.2 Confirmation that a special request has been noted or the inclusion of the special request on your confirmation or any other documentation is not confirmation that the request will be met.

10.3 If you have any medical problem or disability which may affect your course or one-off event, (e.g. heart condition, asthma, epilepsy, mobility problems, mental condition etc.) please tell us when making your booking so that we can advise as to the suitability of the chosen arrangements. In any event, you must give us full details in writing at the time of booking. If we reasonably feel unable to properly accommodate your particular needs, we must reserve the right to decline your reservation or, if full details are not given at the time of booking, cancel when we become aware of these details.

11.0 Behaviour

11.1 When you book with us, you accept responsibility for any damage or loss caused by your negligence.

11.2 You are respectfully requested to switch off your mobile phone, or switch it to silent mode, for the duration of the birdwatching session. If you are expecting an urgent call during any particular session, please let the course leader know before the commencement of the class. Otherwise if your phone rings without arrangement during a session, do not be offended if you are asked to switch it off.

11.3 You are respectfully requested to wear muted colours for birdwatching sessions. Dark colours allow us to get a little closer to the birds and may prolong our observation of the wildlife. If you arrive wearing bright red, white, yellow or pink you must expect to be asked to cover up.

11.4 Birding with Flowers requests participants to observe the basics of fieldcraft. This means when we are approaching wildlife unnecessary noise should be kept to a minimum. If clients are talking loudly they may be asked to be quiet.

11.5 We expect all clients to have consideration for other people. The majority of Birding with Flowers clients are non-smokers. In order that they can enjoy their course or one-off event in comfort, we insist that smokers refrain from smoking or vaping in the proximity of all other group members, and while watching wildlife, at all times. Smoking indoors in any public space – e.g. bird hide – is illegal, while smoking in any confined space – e.g. at any other group gathering or in a vehicle – cannot be permitted. Additionally, Birding with Flowers implements a policy of eco-tourism and requests that smokers dispose of used cigarette ends, which contain non-biodegradable material, responsibly. In booking a course or one-off event you agree to accept these guidelines, and it is the right of our course leader to dismiss from a class, event or course any participant failing to respect them.

11.6 If, in the reasonable opinion of the course leader, you behave in such a way as to cause or be likely to cause danger, upset or distress to any third party (including the course leader) or damage to property or fauna (including the collecting of any specimen from the natural world, for example any plants or insects), we are entitled, without prior notice, to terminate your attendance on the course or one-off event of the person(s) concerned. In this situation, you will be required to leave the course or event immediately. We will have no further responsibility toward you including any return travel arrangements. No refunds will be made and we will not pay any expenses or costs incurred as a result of the termination.

11.7 If, in the reasonable opinion of the tour leader you are asked to modify your behaviour in any way, that modification, once agreed, must be adhered to. Any failure to modify your behaviour as previously agreed will result in the immediate expulsion of that person(s) from the course. We will have no further responsibility toward such person(s) including any return travel arrangements. No refunds will be made and we will not pay any expenses or costs incurred as a result of the termination.

11.8 The course leader reserves the right to bar any person that he/she considers is behaving in any manner detrimental to the smooth running of the course from attendance on any future courses or one-off events. In the first instance this will involve the lack of a renewal information for a future course or one-off event to the individual(s) concerned. Renewal emails/renewals will only automatically be sent to those whose behaviour has caused no problems to either the course leader or to other members attending the course or one-off event.

11.9 If any course member has a problem with the behaviour of any other course member this must be brought to the attention of the course leader, preferably in writing. The person(s) concerned will be questioned and the opinion of other course members sought. If the case appears weak the individual will be informed of his/her alleged behaviour, and warned that any future recurrence will result in immediate explusion. If the case against the individual appears strong then that person(s) will be required to leave the course or event immediately. We will have no further responsibility toward such person(s) including any return travel arrangements. No refunds will be made and we will not pay any expenses or costs incurred as a result of the termination.

12.0 The course leader’s decision on any dispute is final.