Birding with Flowers: Waiting for the White Nun(s)

Friday 9 December 2022

Waiting for the White Nun(s)

Smew

On Monday I had a look at RSPB Old Moor for the first time since the pandemic. The place was undergoing a lot of refashioning and disturbance. A family of six Whooper Swans flew in, and they were the highlight of the visit.

Whooper Swans

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Lichenlike Fungus

On Tuesday we went to Tophill Low, now it had been opened for visits on week days. We went to the visitor centre where a chap with a telescope put us on to a drake Smew near the gantry on D Reservoir. When I was first introduced to Tophill Low in c1992 4 Smew were often seen together, but those days are long past. In recent years just a single Redhead, a female or young male have been present, so this was the first ‘White Nun’ we have seen for many a winter. Unfortunately, the views were always rather distant.

Smew

South Lagoon seemed very quiet at first, but eventually a Grey Wagtail dropped in and was surprisingly confiding. On Wednesday a Little Grebe was on this water.

Grey Wagtail

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The visibility wasn’t too good on ‘O’ Reservoir because of the light, but there were plenty of Wigeon, Teal, Tufted Duck and a couple of Great Crested Grebes. South Marsh East, one of the best places during the summer and early autumn, was very quiet. Only Pied Wagtails, Redshank and Cetti’s Warbler enlivened the scene. We carried on to the recently-reopened Watton Borrow Pits. Two Great White Egrets were present at either side of the site. There was also plenty of wildfowl of several species.

Great White Egret

Little Egret

Roe Deer

Fungus

Goat

Rainbow

After the class I drove round Stone Creek, as darkness began to take hold. One Barn Owl was flying along the rough grass of a Dyke, and I was able to drive just behind it for a couple of minutes. At Stone Creek itself a Pheasant eating berries at eye-level, made an appropriate portrait, which may be suitable for a future Christmas calendar picture.

Pheasant

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On Wednesday morning the road to Tophill Low was partially blocked by a car with a registration plate falling off. This may have been involved in illegal hare coursing, as later two participants saw the hounds being unleashed. The incident was reported, but the outcome is not known. In the car park a Goldcrest provided an early highlight. We couldn’t find the drake Smew on ‘D’ reservoir.

Record Shot of Goldcrest

Meanwhile at ‘O’ reservoir Symon spotted a small bird skimming low over the water - it was a Kingfisher.

Record Shot of Symon's Kingfisher

Again, we didn’t see much at South Marsh East. The best poseur was a Dunnock - not exactly a big draw.

Dunnock

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At Watton Borrow Pits Tony was the first to locate another White Nun, this one partially concealed by the grassy mount in the centre of the site. This time only one Great White Egret remained.

White Nun

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Unfortunately, we didn't see the Smew after we left on Wednesday.

Little Egret

Teal

The bushes around South Marsh were dripping with Fieldfare with a few Redwings.

Winter Thrushes

Fieldfare

We were almost opposite the visitor centre when we disturbed a flock of mixed finches from a recently-sown area. One bird remained - a female Siskin.

Siskin

Thursday was even cooler. There was no sign of the drake Smew at either location. However, a decent flock of Siskins near North Lagoon was a welcome sight, though very difficult to photograph. Only a Little Grebe livened up South Lagoon.

Record Shot of Siskin

Little Grebe

ditto

At the beginning of ‘O’ Reservoir it was great to see a flock of 6 Bullfinches feeding in a willow until they were disturbed by a low-flying aircraft.

Bullfinch

After lunch a Grey Wagtail and an Alba Wagtail we’re taking advantage of some muddy earth recently dredged from North Lagoon.

Alba Wagtail

The Southern Site was absolutely replete with winter thrushes - individual hawthorn bushes were absolutely festooned with Fieldfare interspersed with a few Redwing.

Fieldfare

Redwing

Greylag Geese

Watton Borrow Pits was the most rewarding part of the site, despite the lack of the White Nun. When we arrived a Marsh Harrier was busy disturbing the large group of Teal. There were a few Canada Geese with hybrid, with larger numbers of Cormorant, Greylag Geese, plus Wigeon, Shoveler, Gadwall and a few Goldeneye.

Cormorants in the "Guano" Tree

Little Egrets

The highlight in the afternoon was a female Kingfisher, which perched in an Ash Tree just right of the hide. It caught some sort of prey, which it consumed, before flying past the hide. The flight was far too swift to capture.

Kingfisher with Prey

Kingfisher

In the morning when we returned to the car park a Grey Wagtail was on the roof of the Warden’s Office.

Grey Wagtail

ditto

Kestrel

In the afternoon as we were passing South Lagoon a confiding Treecreeper clung on low to the bole of the nearest tree.

Treecreeper

Friday was even cooler, and to make things trickier the approach road was untreated. A large orange tanker had come to grief in a ditch, but it was just possible to drive round it by passing carefully over the green verge. The sun remained unbroken until halfway through the afternoon, so the light was great in some instances, and a little more difficult when the sun was behind the birds.

Grey Wagtail

Bullfinch

Goldeneye

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We popped into South Marsh West on the return journey, where we encountered a good number of Reed Buntings & 2 different Water Rails, plus hearing another two which remained out of sight.

Reed Bunting

Water Rail

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On the return journey as we walked past the new greenhouse a Common Gull remained on top, allowing us to pass very close by without flying away, which seemed abnormal behaviour. Its open billed attitude seemed reminiscent of an ill Woodpigeon we encountered last week. Could this be another victim of bird flu?

Common Gull - bird flu victim on new greenhouse?

Finally, a couple of photos from three weeks ago taken on the Yorkshire Wolds.

Sinister Glove Provided by Davros

[EDIT] Some photos from Wednesday were lost in the ether. Here they are, after being sent again. I think some of Wednesday's attendees were the only group to look at North Marsh once the classes were over. Here, they found a long-staying female Kingfisher and a Water rail. All photos (c) 2022 Tony Robinson.

Female Kingfisher

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Water Rail

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Spring Course Details

Bookings for the 10-week Spring term have started. At the time of writing there are most vacancies on Tuesday & Friday mornings with a couple of spaces on all 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 Spring we'll be paying special attention to finding and identifying birds by their songs and calls. Summer visitors we are hoping to track down include: Turtle Doves, Redstarts, Cuckoos, Yellow Wagtails and Spotted Flycatchers. We will be visiting venues in East Yorkshire with a couple of ventures into North Lincolnshire and North 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.

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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.