Tales From the Riverbank

The first Thursday of the new term saw us visiting a estuary location at full tide. Unfortunately the tide was so high in the morning there was very little exposed mud available for waders. There were a few Pied Wagtails here instead. There a few Mallards about, some Black-headed Gulls and a few Teal, but little else. We walked along the river bank for the majority of the time. It started off very quietly with hardly a bird to be seen. At this time of year we used to encounter Stonechats along here, but they've been absent since the recent spate of severe winters. However, just as the industrial buildings were coming to an end, we saw a very smart Wheatear on the flood barrier. This kept us coming for the next 1/4 of a mile as it flew along ahead of us. The sunlight was against us for really excellent views, but these were the best views of this species we've managed for quite some time.

Wheatear

Marsh Harrier [with Carrion Crows]

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Charm of Goldfinches

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We carried on to see charms of Goldfinches on the thistles and other seed-bearing plants. There were also a smattering of Linnets. Some of these were males as they were still singing, but they had moulted so there was no trace of their bright spring colours.

 Grey Pates

 Small Tortoiseshell

Near the marsh was a flock of more an 100 Lapwings accompanied by 3 Starlings, and in the corner of the field were six strange, grey hunched figures. These turned out to be Herons. One flew off west & another east, but most of them stood their ground. Not too far away were 4 smaller shapes, and as we neared them their curved bills could be glimpsed - Curlews.

Over the marsh itself a cream-crown Marsh Harrier was seen flying towards us with 4 crows in hot pursuit. It eventually came to rest in the tall reeds in the marsh, but only after disturbing the few Gadwall on the water. Phil G saw the tail of a small mammal disappearing in the grass, which on investigation turned out to be a young Wood Mouse. We left it in its nursery. A few geese flying over we're not identified, but from the poor view I got I don't think they were Pink-footed Geese, which have just started to return to this part of the world.

Late-comers

Yesterday I had another look at the Spurn high-tide.  It was very different from the previous visit.  My nephew and I arrived well before the high tide was due, but there were relatively few waders present. A Common Scoter and a Grey Seal were a little out of the ordinary.  We waited until half an hour after the high tide and the situation hadn't altered much.  We went to the other almost derelict hide, where we saw a Whimbrel on the beach & then had a close encounter with a flock of Sanderlings.  We were about to try another bit of the peninsula when suddenly thousands and thousands of Knot could be seen arriving, presumably having been spooked from another roosting site - Beacon Ponds?

Sanderlings

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 Knot

 Knot

 A Finger of Knot

 Knot over the Humber

 Mainly Grey Plover over the Humber

 Record Shot of Common Scoter

 Grey Seal

 Willow Warbler

 Grasshopper

We then had a look at Kilnsea Wetland where we saw 3 immature Avocets & one parent, 2 immature Shelduck and an Oystercatcher.  A Marsh Harrier was hunting over Beacon Ponds & sent up the largest number of Terns Ben had ever seen.  Later, a Greenshank dropped in, but was too distant to photograph. 

Avocets

We then decided to walk along Beacon Lane where a male Wall Brown played hide-and-seek before eventually posing nicely.  There weren't as many butterflies as in other years, and the bird life had quietened down.  At Beacon Ponds there were many Sandwich and Common Terns roosting on a peninsula, but they remained out of range of the camera lens.  

Male Wall [Brown] 

 Underside of Male Wall

 Brown-tail Moth

 Black-tailed Skimmer