Some You Win...

On Friday the am group got to partake in a more negative side of twitching.  We met at Hornsea Mere half an hour later than normal to avoid the wet start to the day.  This turned out to be a good move as both sessions avoided the downpours – the afternoon session by only a couple of minutes.

Unfortunately, in the aftermath of heavy overnight rain and strong winds, there was no sign of the Roller.  It had been replaced by noisy jets - not really an adequate substitute.  While we scanned the area there were no hirundines over the crop this time, and although I could hear Yellow wagtails from time to time, there was only one quick glimpse. The Skylarks put on a better show, and the Whitethroat still seemed very vocal in the car park.  On the return trip David noticed a Barn Owl perched on a road sign – one of the best sightings of the morning.  Back at the Mere there was no sign of the Red-Crested Pochards, and very few other birds of interest.  There seemed an absolute plague of Canada Geese, which appear to be taking over the site.  Even their goslings had already lost that air of cuteness, which they exude in their first few weeks of life.  

Linnet [male]

 Bristling with Missiles

 Treecreeper

At the woodland site the Treecreeper was the star performer with excellent views of 2 birds, but especially of one confiding individual.  Someone (Peter?) spotted a Buzzard soaring over the hall, and we also heard a noisy Great Spotted Woodpecker, which then flew off erratically.  A pair of Red-legged Partridge rocketed up, and flew away from us & hurdled a hedge into the distance.  We reached a gate, which represented the furthest extent of our walk.  On Wednesday we could just hear a Cuckoo at this point, but today we couldn’t hear anything interesting, and it all seemed rather disappointing, until Jeanette turned spotted a Fox carrying a dead Rabbit.  We spun round but at the same time the very bright Fox saw us, and he quickly bolted back the way he had come and disappeared into the woodland.

 Treecreeper

 Pair of Linnets

 ditto

 A less red dry perched Linnet

In the afternoon we couldn’t find anything of interest at the mere, so we checked out a reserve we’ve never visited before.  Even before we left the car park we came across a pair of bright Linnets and a Tree Sparrow having a bath in a puddle.  We negotiated our way along the rather confusing start and blind turns among the rather recently-planted native tree species.  A Swallow twittered away on an old farm building, but it wasn’t possible to snatch a picture, while a Blue Tit scolded us from a hedge.  In a marshy area on adjacent land, Jim spotted a Lapwing sat on a nest.  As we neared the sea the air was full of birdsong.  This was made up of Skylarks, Meadow Pipits, Linnets and Reed Buntings, while large numbers of Sand Martins flitted & twittered over the long wet grass, and hung round a WWII pill-box.  All but the Skylarks also sat prominently on either posts or the barbed wire.  The best sight of the afternoon was seen on the return journey came when Sue W identified a Yellow Wagtail on the barbed wire.   Thunder rumbled all around us with lightning flashes appearing to hit the Driffield area.  One Linnet was the reddest Linnet I’d ever seen, and I even had to double-check it wasn’t a Rosefinch – it wasn’t!  There was a whole family of young meadow Pipits – seemingly at least 6 juveniles – sharing their time between the wires and the mowed path, but they were flighty & it wasn’t possible to get pictures of any of them.  A Willow warbler gave even briefer views as it took refuge in one of the small trees, and a Chaffinch and a flock of Starlings were the final birds we encountered.  We didn’t hang around too long as eventually the ominous sky looked as though it was actually going to engulf us after all.  We were just changing out of our boots and back into our shoes when the heavens opened.

 Meadow Pipit

 ditto

 An apparently intact fossilised Tree (elm?) on the cliff edge & now open to the sea with several feet of boulder clay above it

Shock! Horror! We Went on a Dirty Twitch!

Today’s planned venue seemed to have quietened down recently, so we did something we have really never done before in 8 years of these classes – we went on a twitch!

The morning group met at Hornsea Mere, and while there we saw a Black Swan chasing a Mute Swan just off shore.  Keeping up the ‘plastic’ theme, through the telescope we could just make out a single drake Red-Crested Pochard with 2 females in the far distance.  There were quite a number of bog standard Pochards, and Tufted Ducks and seemingly hundreds of Coots.  Anthony spotted a single Common Tern on a buoy, which stayed long enough for everyone to get a decent view.

We shared cars to Aldbrough and parked at the designated car park – we seemed to be the only ones present.  A Whitethroat was singing as soon as we opened the car doors, and House Martins were ‘farting’ around the farm buildings.  We emerged from the farm drive and looking across the road there was no sign of the Roller on its accustomed post.  Then we spotted some chaps at the top of the hill on the bend, who waved us towards them.  We carefully negotiated the grassy verge punctuated with muddy & wet drainage slots.  On the brow of the hill about 5 birders were lined up on the Roller which was perched in a small bare tree in the trees which surrounded the farmhouse.  The bird had its back to us, so at that distance appeared mainly brown (although technically it has been described as cinnamon pink).  However, it was preening itself and when it turned its head the remarkable blue colour could be glimpsed.  There was a singing Skylark in the distance and then Brian spotted a Yellow Wagtail flying over the wheat.  Sure enough there was a pair and another single male.  Shortly afterwards Eileen saw a male Yellowhammers, while Swallows chased insects over the crop.  Later, they were joined by a couple of Sand Martins.  Once everyone had observed the Roller through the telescopes, as well as their own binoculars, and because the bird looked quite settled we shared cars to some woodland.  

The Roller photographed a few days ago when it favoured the bare field (c) 2012 Vince Cowell

 ditto

 Red-Crested Pochard (c) 2012 Tony Robinson [photographed elsewhere]

At the woodland those who didn’t have a coffee break were rewarded by saw a pair of Buzzards soaring over the woodland, and a Sparrowhawk moved far more purposefully just over the canopy.  In a ring of bushes we could hear a family of Long-tailed Tits, while a Reed Bunting perched briefly on the top.  Then there was a distinctive ‘chupping’ sound as 11 Crossbills flew north.  Only a few mintues later another was spotted at the top of a pine being bothered by a Pied Wagtail.  15 minutes later another pair were seen briefly feeding on the edge of a pine branch, but they soon flew towards the Mere.  There was no sign of any of these Crossbills in the afternoon, but we did hear a distant Cuckoo while we were standing in the same place.  The afternoon groups also had good views of a male Great Spotted Woodpecker feeding a much less colourful youngster.  A distant Chiffchaff could be heard, as could the ‘raunchy’ cooing of a Stock Dove.  Anthony glimpsed an Egyptian Goose back at the Mere at lunchtime, but it had hidden itself away before I’d had chance to set up the scope.

In the afternoon we went straight to Albrough.  This time about 5 birders were scutinizing the tilled field, so it looked as though the Roller was much closer to the road.  When we walked to the end of the drive we discovered we were mistaken and that the Roller hadn’t been seen for over an hour even by the 3 RSPB employees.  Rather than stare at an empty field I crossed the road & walked partly up the hill & checked out the trees around the farm.  The Roller wasn’t where it had been in the morning, but I could make out something blue in another tree.  This time the bird was facing the watchers, so its stunning colour was more obvious.  Everyone else came across, but despite my directions initially no one else was able to get on to the bird.  As well as setting up my telescope I was then asked to lock on to the bird through the RSPB’s scope.  Then everyone tried to see the bird through the telescope, and once they had done so, they also attempted to find it through their own binoculars, which proved rather tricky for some.  Before everyone had had their turn looking through the scope a twitcher who had travelled some distance, insisted he should have a look, as he’d left his telescope in the car & was petrified that the bird may have flown away before he had retrieved it, and he may actually miss out on seeing the bird.  My ‘student’ was too polite to tell him where to go, and he saw it through the scope before they did!  We  were watching the bird from the safety of the grass verge, but we were still photographed by a mad local person going past in a speeding car.  Once everyone was satisfied with the views they had obtained we shared cars back to the Mere.  The behaviour of the Roller seems to have altered.  It doesn’t seem to be spending anywhere near as long feeding in the tilled field.  I wonder if it’ll be leaving soon?

House Martin

 Sand Martin [left] & House Martin [right]

 Sand Martin

 ditto

 Swift

Unfortunately, the Red-Crested Pochard & Egyptian Goose were no longer in view, but there were several Great Crested Grebes present and a single Gadwall.  The clouds had darkened and looked more threatening than in the morning & there was a resultant huge increase in the number of hirundines over the water.  Numbers of House Martins & Sand Martins heavily outnumbered the swallows, and several unrelated Swifts flew just over our head, and one of them actually displayed its white chin.  

The visit to the woodland was less eventful in the afternoon, an apart from the woodpecker already mentioned the best find was probably a Treecreeper, which was fairly confiding.  We dipped our toes into the murky water of twitching, and everyone was happy to see the Roller, but I don’t think we’ll be making a habit of it!  There was a bitty quality to the day, which was quite alien to the happily-established norm of an in-depth 2-hour session.

PS I’m not really sure if today’s events really qualifies as a dirty twitch – whatever one of those is!

 Buzzard

More Rolling News

This morning the forecast wasn't brilliant, but it looked as though the coast would stay driest the longest.  I asked Ben if he would like a proper look at the Roller now that there would be likely to be fewer twitchers around.  He immediately agreed, and also asked to go on to Spurn afterwards.

When we got to Aldbrough there was only one birder present, and he was lucky enough to get on to the Roller as soon as he set up his scope.  The Roller had moved north into an adjacent tilled field because some heavy machinery had arrived to drill some peas.  The Wakefield birder pointed out the bird, which was almost directly opposite to the car park at Berwick Hall.  We watched it for over half-an-hour hunting for insects in a bare field.  Its colours looked even more glorious, if that's possible, against the dark background of the field, than it had against grass on Saturday.  It made several short sorties to hunt for prey & at these moments the colours were even more vivid on the wings in flight.

It was one of the farm workers first days back at work and he came over to see what we were looking at.  He looked through the Wakefield birder's telescope and was mightily impressed with what he could see.  He was pretty sure a Roller wasn't even in his bird book!  A few more cars turned up, and we'd enjoyed several good views of the bird, so we packed up & went on to Spurn instead.

At Spurn the tide was going out, and there weren't many birds of interest.  There were 'Woolly Bears' (caterpillars of Garden Tiger Moths) everywhere at the point, and they even outnumbered the dreaded Brown-tail Moth caterpillars.  A couple of Cinnabar Moths added a splash of colour, and there were a few Speckled Woods about, but very few other butterflies, apart from Common Blues near Canal Scrape.  It was also here that 4 Common Lizards were soaking up the sun on their usual post.

At Sammy's Point Ben unearthed a dog's skull, and we saw a pair of wary Oystercatchers.  Finally, just south of Thorngumbald we noticed a couple of Hares staring each other out in a Paddock.  Surprisngly, the forecast was incorrect, as instead of raining at 11am, the rain didn't begin until closer to 5pm!

First 3 pictures (c) 2012 Chris Cox

Roller

 ditto

 Roller being mobbed by a Meadow Pipit again

 The remarkable plumage in flight

 Roller

 Another flight shot

 Cinnabar Moth

 'Woolly Bear'

 4 Common Lizards

 Skull of a Dog?

 Oystercatcher

 2 Staring Hares

Rolling News

This Roller was first spotted at Spurn on Tuesday 29th May.  It was seen at several locations there before being last sighted at about noon.  It then remained hidden for a couple of days before being relocated on the Thursday.  Since then literally hundreds of birders and twitchers have been to see it.  2 of my 'students' were only a couple of miles up the road, so I alerted them to its presence.  They went to see it one day, but then returned the following morning to get some pictures.  

As you can see from the picture it is not a small bird, and dwarfs the Meadow Pipit and Goldfinch seen in the photograph.  It is about the same size as a Jackdaw, and its colours almost rival a Kingfisher.  It is a little off course, as its nearest breeding site is probably in Spain.  It has taken up residence in a drilled field where it seems to be surviving on a diet of worms, beetles and other insects.

My Saturday morning job was cancelled, so I took my 12 year-old-nephew to see it.  We drove past 6 times & had brief glimpses, and then I parked up for a couple of seconds so we could both see it through the bins.  Although it was only 8.15 am there were already plenty of what he called 'geeks' in attendance, and he didn't want to stop for a better view (which he now regrets).  I also find these twitches deeply uncomfortable, so I wasn't sorry he wanted to move on.  There is no denying this is a gloriously plumaged bird, and it would be great to have a longer look at this species one day.

As I type this post the bird is still present, possibly for the longest stay of this species in Yorkshire, and now a second bird has been sighted near Hornsea Mere!  I wonder if they are of a different gender...

All pics (c) 2012 Phil Hargreaves

Roller

 Roller being Mobbed by Meadow Pipit

PS. The Roller was still present today (5th June), but is now often showing more distantly than previously.  Yesterday one reliable witness saw "selfish behaviour" from some of the twitching fraternity with cars abandoned in awkward places.  In the end the police were called & several twitchers were asked to move their vehicles.  As far as I know the Hornsea Mere Roller hasn't been seen today.