Ditto
On the first session of the Spring Term we went to our best Bluebell wood. There were a few summer visitors back like Chiffchaffs, perhaps 3 Willow Warblers, and a couple of Blackcaps, but it was the wild flowers, which impressed more than the birds. We did have a Red Kite over the heath, and we heard both Green Woodpeckers and Marsh Tits, but didn’t see them. Red-legged Partridges, Pheasants and Jackdaws helped make up the 17 species encountered. On Friday we saw the Green Woodpecker in the Heath area, plus we saw around 5 or 6 Lesser Redpolls, one was quite pink.
On Wednesday we visited a recently flooded Alkborough Flats, but the paths near the car park had almost dried out. Bitterns were heard from the car park, plus a strange call, which Miles hesitantly identified as a Crane. We hunted it down, and sure enough a pair of Cranes flew high in circles and eventually they disappeared in a south-easterly direction. It seems the Cranes may have been flushed by a shifty photographer wearing a mask who was trespassing in areas not open to the public. My camera was on the wrong setting, so no photos from me. In the afternoon we had an immature Spoonbill.
Almost as far as we could venture the normally green fields were almost completely flooded. On the remaining green area were hundreds of Black-tailed Godwits, plus Dunlin and a single Spotted Redshank. Something spooked them and when they landed they were much further afield. Apparently, we missed out on a Knot, a Garganey and a Grey Plover.
The highlights hadn’t ended because on the return journey a pair of Bearded Tits showed very well close to the path. We also saw a pair after lunch, which is quite unusual that late in the day. The best Moustachioed Reedlings seen by a Weds pm group for quite some time. Later, we heard that there may have been a Grasshopper Warbler near the car park. We heard that “reeling” a few times, before we had brief views of it in a Hawthorn bush. Finally, a Blackcap gave us a merry dance in some bushes, but a Chiffchaff appeared quite close to us in a bramble patch.
On Thursday we went to Allerthorpe for the first time in 2024. We were shocked to find parking meters installed, although they weren’t yet in operation. We used the main central path to avoid the mud. We had views of Goldcrest, Treecreeper, Blackcap and Willow Warbler before we reached the YWT reserve. That was very quiet apart from a singing Linnet, and a fleeing Hare. We walked back along the perimeter of the woodland & the open fields. We were soon rewarded by a singing Mistle Thrush, swiftly followed by a pair of Jays feeding along a field edge. We reached a gate and joined a public footpath. Here, there were some Yellowhammers, Pied Wagtails and eventually a Yellow Wagtail.
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