A Day of 2 Halves

It was a gorgeous morning at Filey. We waited for an hour for the Glossy Ibis, but it failed to show. A pair of female type Goldeneye came very close to the L-shaped hide, but the only waders this time were a couple of Redshank. The female Sparrowhawk impressed with her aerial acrobatics, as she was mobbed by crows & then mobbed them back!

We went down on to the beach & had good views of Purple Sandpipers, Dunlin, Turnstones, more Redshank, Oystercatchers & Knot.

Just before the pm session started some sea fret came in, which put a real damper on the day. The Goldeneye were further off, but the Sparrowhawk flew in & panicked a Redshank & a group of Teal. There were Herring, Common & Black-headed Gulls having a bath, but the Glossy Ibis still failed to show. The tide was in, so we walked on the cliff top instead. From here we saw several Shag & Cormorants flying past, and then a Red-throated Diver on the sea & a Grey Seal came up for some air. It's just a shame we lost the sun!

Goldeneye

Teal

Sparrowhawk

Oystercatcher

Knot [centre] with Dunlin

Admire my Ear Tufts!

In the morning the most notable thing was dodging the dog mess which was horrific at this site. However, I'll forbear from putting up loads of images of that visual treat. Some of the 38 birds seen included: Black-tailked Godwit, Lapwing, Fieldfare, Redwing, Wigeon, Goldeneye, Gadwall, Little Grebe, Cormorant, Curlews etc.

The afternoon was a different matter. Shortly after 1pm we saw a Short-eared Owl having a prolonged 'dog' fight with a Kestrel. It was seen hunting over a reedbed for a considerable time, but then I spotted another at the opposite end of the area. I fiddled with my camera setting while my 'students' noted the point at which it seemed to disappear into the reedbed. As we neared the area I noticed that was the one point some branches of a washed-up tree were appearing over the heads of the reeds. We crept closer & I fixed my gaze on the lower regions of the tree, and eventually I could just make out the shape of the Short-eared Owl, but it was almost completely obscured by the reeds.

We inched closer & then Sue set up her scope on the owl so everyone could get a decent view, while I tried to get even nearer. Everyone had taken a look at the bird through the scope when it realised I was watching it. It permitted me to get within photography distance before taking to the air. The fighting Owl & the one which was perched certainly made the afternoon pretty special. Hopefully, the morning group will never realised what they missed!

Short-eared Owl

Am I bothered?

The 1st glimpse through the reeds

Taking to the skies at last

Meanwhile some 'students' from the am went to see an SEO elsewhere

(c) 2011 Tony Robinson

Another Tuesday, Another Lifer

We were supposed to be watching large raptors on the wolds yesterday, but drizzle & thick mist was predicted, so we shifted to a lowland site instead. This was a brand new venue for all of the afternoon session, & most of the am crowd.

It took the morning crowd ages to reach the hide, as there were plenty of birds to see on the way. We also heard Green Woodpecker & a Jay from the car park before we really got started. There were crowds of Yellowhammers, Reed Buntings, Linnets, Greenfinches, Pied Wagtails, Goldfinches, Meadow Pipits, and were were assured a Water Pipit. We didn't get a great view of the latter & it was too gloomy for pictures. However, I did hear a sort of "tsk" sound, a much harsher call than that of a Meadow Pipit.

A few yards further on we saw 2 waders on an area of flooded farmland. One of these was a Redshank, but what was the smaller, more elegant wader? On closer inspection it proved to be a vagrant from the U.S. - a Lesser Yellowlegs. We were able to watch it for a considerable time, as it seemed to be feeding happily alongside the Redshank.

On reaching the hide we saw thousands of Golden Plovers with smaller numbers of Lapwing, Dunlin, Teal, Shoveler, Black-tailed Godwits, Curlew & Heron. There were also at least 3 Little Egrets on site. A Marsh Harrier caused panic among the waders, and the sound from the Shoveler's wings when they went up was incredible.

The afternoon was a repeat run of the morning with few passerines near the hide, but a Ruff had joined the Lesser Yellowlegs & the Redshank.

The venue was warmly praised by many of the attendees, so it looks as though this may become a permanent fixture on the Autumn itinerary - one participant even described it as a "little gem of a reserve!" However, there was virtually no wind yesterday, so people weren't really seeing it under normal circumstances!

Better pictures of the Lesser Yellowlegs taken with a larger lens & in brighter conditions may be seen here: http://pewit.blogspot.com/2011/11/lesser-yellowlegs.html

Record Shot of Lesser Yellowlegs

Ruff (c) 2011 David Tasker

Record shot of Lesser Yellowlegs

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Record shot of Lesser Yellowlegs (c) 2011 David Tasker

Little Egret

Catch-Up

The last few days have been very hectic, so this is the first chance I've had to bring things upto-date. On Thursday we changed to North Cave Wetlands because of a dodgy forecast. The Green Woodpecker was a new bird for some there, but we only had a distant view. The Little Grebes gave the best photo opportunities.

The weather on Friday was abysmal, but we stayed with our original intention of visiting Tophill Low. Despite the rain the Kingfisher put in a brief appearance for both sessions. The one in the morning was seen in poor light with rain clearly visible in the water behind it. A Water rail slinked past the reeds, but it was too dark to snatch a photograph. We saw 2 drake Goosanders heading south in the rain over D reservoir. The light had improved considerably by the afternoon & the pm crowd enjoyed 2 visits. With the improving light a photographer had also turned up. We went on to see 2 Barn Owls near the North Scrub box, 2 Whooper Swans flew over heading south & a Black-tailed Godwit was flushed briefly in the Hempholme area. The pm session saw 5 red-legged Partridges in the new scrape area, plus at least 3 Mistle Thrushes. We bumped into the reserve warden, who escorted us into parts of the site I hadn't visited before. He showed us paths made by Otters & everyone sniffed Otter poo & were suitably impressed with its sweet aroma - which managed to smell completely unlike lavendar!

On Saturday morning we had an influx of Woodcocks with at least 4, and perhaps 6 concealing themselves at the base of some of the trees. Unfortunately, they weren't very relaxed & were soon flushed & the morning was too dark for photography.

The Red Kite roost event at the Robert Fuller Gallery went well with perhaps 12 individuals seen, but the photo opportunities weren't as good as last week. The Saturday SEO safari is described on the previous post, but we went there again yesterday. Several participants weren't dressed warmly enough, and the weather was very gloomy & we had drizzle at first. This meant that the Owls seemed more likely to perch in the open, so we had good views of those, & I went back for the telescope so everyone could enjoy better views. We also had several chances to appreciate an immature female Hen Harrier, which came fairly close at times.

Tophill Kingfisher - showing its right profile

Now it wants its left side to be admired!

Immature Sparrowhawk

Little Grebe

A Silver Birch - & if you look really carefully there is a Green Woodpecker

From 7 to 70!

Watching Owls is very weather dependant, so I studied the weather forecast carefully to check that the rain wasn’t due to reach our area. I also had to check the wind speed carefully, as the birds sometimes won’t fly if the wind is too strong. When it is very windy the owls can’t differentiated the rustle of a vole from the rustle of the grass due to the gale force winds!

A group of 12 very eclectic people aged between 7 & 70, and some coming from as far as Leeds shared cars to yesterday’s planned location. As we neared the venue I spotted a harrier species, but it was soon lost to view behind some conifers. We had only just left the cars and were scanning an area from a bridge when one participant spotted a “bird of prey”. Immediately we saw a very dark brown bird with a white rump – a ringtail Hen Harrier – either a female or immature bird.

We watched her for several minutes, and then turned our attention to the opposite side of the road. Immediately an owl was seen flying low over the vegetation near the railway line. Then another was seen under a heavily wooded area. We continued to scan the area during the remainder of our visit, and saw at least 4 birds in the air at the same time, and almost certainly as many as 6 in total – possibly several more. At times a couple of birds flew very close to us, and the observers gasped with admiration of their flying skills and their beautiful markings. Other raptors included a few Kestrels, a Marsh Harrier and a distant Buzzard. During the 2 hours we also heard or saw: a charm of Goldfinches, an exaltation of Skylarks, a single Meadow Pipit, plus flocks of Fieldfare & Lapwings passing over.

Short-eared Owl - almost black & white in the gloom!

Hen Harrier

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Short-eared Owl

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Crossing the Road - watched from both sides!

Bloody Snack on the Beach

After yesterday's exciting species, today had to be an anti-climax. The best sighting was a young Kestrel observed hovering in the car park at lunch time. It then went along the cliff edge & pounced & dragged its catch to the beach where it calmly devoured it as we looked on.

In the pictures the voles features seem to be frozen in a deathly grin. less than 5 minutes later the Kestrel had removed all the innards from the vole & the meal was over.

The walk today was rather tough in the considerable winds. There was a large movement of Skylarks this morning with a flock of 22 heading south over the sea, and smaller flocks moving through virtually all morning. I don';t think there was a single sighting of a Skylark in the afternoon!

Waders seen on the beach included: Grey Plover, Sanderling, Ringed Plover, Oystercatcher & Dunlin. In all the am group encountered 24 species - this is nearly 20 fewer than some other venues this term. We won't be hurrying back to this venue.

Kestrel

Trick of the Light? Vole appears to be 'smiling'

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Too gory?

The medicine goes down

Grey Plover

Grey Plover (c) 2011 Tony Robinson

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Grey Plover - showing black 'wing-pits'

Grey Plover

Glossy Ibis (c) 2011 Tony Robinson

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Redwing - located by Aileen

Goldfinch

Cormorant [immature]

Grey Partridge

Glossy Mags

Today was our 3rd & final visit to Filey. I checked on the car sharing venue on my way in, as yesterday an interesting bird was present. The car part was busier than usual, but not too bad, and the 'interesting' bird hadn't been seen that morning. However, it had been commuting between the main pools & the hidden East Pool yesterday. Half an hour or so later the class shared cars back to this venue, and I made the fateful decision of going to the L-shaped hide. The group were able to discern the differences between Bar-tailed & Black-tailed Godwits, but there wasn't much else of interest. However, fairly new recruit Margaret (hence Mags in the blog title) asked what the unusual dark bird was directly under the other hide. She had found the Glossy Ibis. I set up the telescope on the birds & everyone was able to watch it quietly feeding.

After 10 minutes or so we decamped to the other hide, but before we got there apparently the Ibis flew over to the pool we had been watching, but we were screened by Willows, so were unaware this was happening. We were later informed that the Ibis flew off because of excessive noise in the small hide, but have no evidence that this was indeed the case.

Both classes went on to the beach in the 2nd half of their session & saw Purple Sandpipers, Turnstones, Oystercatchers, Redshank, Knot & Dunlin. Cormorants were on the Brigg in the morning, but we managed to find one in the sea during the afternoon. A massive flock of probablte Common Scoiters was seen heading south before the am session finished.

I returned at lunch time to find one of the county's top listers in place behind the screens. We stood behind the exterior screens for some time, and was joined by an am class member & eventually the Ibis took to the air again, and it was mobbed by a couple of crows before it disappeared into East Pool.

The afternoon group couldn't actually get in the L-shaped hide, and despite a long wait the Ibis remained out of view. However, plenty of entertainment was provided by 3 Sparrowhawks fighting amongst themselves & being mobbed by the crows & a Magpie.

Yesterday James Spencer of Ornithological Idiocy managed to get some different shots, which I've tried to add to this blog without success, so please visit his blog & take a look here: http://idiocybirding.blogspot.com/2011/10/ibis-at-dams.html

Glossy Ibis & Carrion Crow

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A record shot showing some of the gloss

Glossy Ibis heading to East Pool

Oystercatchers

Knot & a Dunlin

Purple Sandpipers & a Turnstone