Raining on my Parade

Because of the bad weather my camera didn't leave the car - the pictures below were taken during better weather - honest!

Avocet

Avocets

Marsh Harrier

Yesterday didn't start well with a puncture caused by a screw stuck in my rear passenger wheel. I arrived at my local Savoy Garage shortly after 8am, in order to get it repaired well before my class, but they didn't have the electricity to repair it! They sent me to their Willerby outlet instead. I managed to get there but the rush hour traffic delayed my progresss. The repairs seemed to take forever when you are watching the clock. I was able to text 4 members of the Weds am group to warn them I would be late & where to go first for best views of Avocets.

Apparently, they were able to ID a Sedge Warbler by sound shortly after starting & there was plenty of action from the Avocets - even during the fairly constant rain. Luckily, Mike Andrews, one of the wardens, was in the hide & he was able to keep the class entertained with plenty of esoteric information about the breeding habits of these black-and-white favourites.

We went on to the next hide which had a single Shoveler, a single Teal & a single female Pochard, as well as plenty of noisy Black-headed Gulls. As we traversed the reserve we noticed that there were more Marsh Harriers perched in the open than usual. This seemed bizarre in the rain, but it is likely that their feathers will dry more quickly in the open among strong winds, rather than if they had been sat among soaking reeds protected from the wind. When the rain died away then the Marsh Harriers began to to perform some skydancing & interaction with each other. This was particularly spectacular in the afternoon & the raptors came closer to the hides than normal.

There were a score of hirundines, which were hunting for insects low over the water & readbeds. The vast majority of these were Swallows, but there were a few House Martins too. Although the flock was checked carefully we were unable to discern a Sand Martin among the other birds.

Overall the morning group saw 34 species with the afternoon session adding a Curlew to the tally. Of course when we went in one hide we were told that an hour ago there had been a booming Bittern, which had then flown through the area. We never caught up with this species, but we did remarkably well considering the dreadful conditions. The rain did ease off about 2pm, so the last hour of the pm session was much more pleasant.

The forecast over the next few days would seem to indicate we haven't done with the precipitation by a long chalk. Expect more of the same tomorrow...

Starting Over

The classes started again yesterday, and immediately the changes from last time were apparent - singing Blackcaps, Willow Warblers, and Chiffchaffs, which weren't even in the UK last time we had a class. There were plenty of resident birds too, with titmice roaming all over the place - and eventually Marsh Tits showed really well. We risked going to our richest woodland, and despite a little bit of dampness in the morning it was well worth it. Other birds seen included: Buzzard, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Wren, Robin, Red-legged Partridge, Swallows. Next week both Common & Lesser Whitethroat may be back too & then hopefully Garden Warblers!

Blackcap

Willow Warbler

Marsh Tit

ditto

Scruffy Marsh Tit [female]

Marsh Tit [begging for food]

Male (right) feeding female - notice the obvious cloaca

Common Shrew

Primroses

Bluebell

Wood Sorrel

Larch 'Flower'

Easter Holiday Pics

The classes haven't been operating for 3 weeks because of the Easter break, but that hasn't stopped some of the students going out & photographing wildlife on their own.

The Mandarin mysteriously turned up on Walkington pond recently, but Margaret & Brian found it independently. The photos below the Mandarin were all taken at Tophill Low. the Black-necked Grebe was photographed at a distant location, which hasn't be revealed to me!

Black-necked Grebe (c) 2012 Tony Robinson

Mandarin (c) 2012 Margaret Richardson

All remainingh photos (c) 2012 Tony Robinson

Roe Deer [Buck]

Blackcap [male]

ditto

Barn Owl

Brown Hare

3 Hares -a - Leaping

Roll Up, Roll Up for East Yorkshire's Wildlife!

During the wildlife walks which start on Tuesday, we won't just be identifying any birds we encounter. We will also be keeping a sharp lookout for any mammals. We will be going to locations where Otters are present. Although we are unlikely to see one in bright sunshine you will learn where it is possible to see them, and some tips on how to make a sighting more likely. The same applies to Badgers. A Red Deer is another possibility, but Roe Deer are much more likely. Other mammals we may see include: Water Vole, Fox, Stoat, Weasel, Hare and of course every week we'll probably see Rabbits!

Otter

Badger

Red Deer

Water Vole

Stoats

One of the features of the Spring course are the number of colourful dragonflies & damselflies we may see. The Large Red Damselfly should be seen first towards the end of April , followed swiftly by the 4-Spotted Chaser, then over the following weeks we should get to see most of the other local species.

Banded Demoiselle

4-Spotted Chaser

Common Blue Damselflies

Ruddy Darter

Grasshopper

Micromoth

Burnet-Moth

Lime Hawk-Moth

We'll also be watching out for any reptile species each week. These range from Common Lizards, sunning themselves to Grass Snakes in aquatic habitats & Adders among bracken.

Common Lizard

Grass Snake

Adders

Finally, flowers are often overlooked, but we will spend time admiring the brightest and most colourful species, as well as some shrinking violets.

So, whatever aspect of nature you are interested in, you should find it catered for on the course. Come and embrace the natural world & enjoy an uplifting experience among like-minded individuals. At the time of writing there are still a few vacancies on Tuesday & Friday afternoons!

Bee Orchid

Cuckoo Pint

Going Gaga After a Whistlestop Tour

I took my nephew to see a duck he'd never seen before - the Garganey at Tophill Low. He seemed quite impressed, so goodness knows what he'd have thought of the view the Thurs am group had at Far Ings about 3 years ago! Unfortunately, he incorrectly expected a wasp in every hide, so we had to cut our Tophill visit short, especially as it was just about to tip it down. At least I heard & saw my first Willow Warblers of 2012.

We cut across country to the Kiplingcotes area, but apart from a few Yellowhammers, there was little to see here. After a packed lunch outside Rifle Butts' Quarry we continued to Allerthorpe Common. Again this was rather poor, and because of threatening clouds his fear of wasps was replaced by an allergy to thunderstorms, so we had to cut that visit short too. At least the first twittering Swallow of the spring was a welcome sound & sight. We were going to check on the Bluebells in North Cliffe Wood, but the clouds still threatened, so we returned to home earlier & I was freed from his allergies - hope he doesn't grow into any more as the teenage years are just round the corner!

Garganey - if only today's had been as close as this!

Garganey - as we actually saw it

ditto

Midges

Testing the Water

Early this morning (to avoid heavy showers, which had been forecast for the afternoon) I checked up on one of this coming term's venues. The views of Marsh Harriers, Little Grebe, Coot, Kingfisher were excellent, but the bright morning light was a little tricky. The only summer visitor seen was a Chiffchaff, but when we visit the Yellow Wagtails, Turtle Doves, Whitethroat, Lesser Whitethroat, Reed Warbler & Sedge Warblers should all be back, so there will be even more to see!

Chiffchaff

Chiffchaff & food?

Kingfisher

Kingfisher - closer, but still very hard to see

Marsh Harrier

Kestrel