Winter Term - Friday 1 - Waters' Edge & Far Ings

Rats on Far Ings feeders!!

This morning at Waters' Edge was pretty disappointing, with a pair of Bullfinches being the only highlight. There were very few duck species and no sign of the normal Siskins & Redpolls. I couldn't face it again this afternoon, so called in at Far Ings instead. This was better, but still fell far short of vintage Far Ings - no Bittern, Kingfisher, Smew or Bearded Tits, but we did have a flock of 6 Bullfinches, which gave good views plus most of the usual wildfowl: Shoveler, Pochard, Teal & Gadwall. Also present Great Crested Grebe and several Cormorants in breeding plumage. There were at least 3 different Water Rails calling throughout the reserve. It was unusual for this time of year to only have one Goldeneye, a female, at this location. The feeding frenzy of Long-tailed Tits on the peanuts was a visual highlight. No sign of the normal Willow Tit though!

Winter Term - Thursday 1 - East Park

Goosanders including snappy female (c) 2009 Michael Flowers

ditto is a theme developing? (c) 2009 Jackie Dawson
Pochard (female) (c) 2009 Jackie Dawson
Tufted Duck (drake) (c) 2009 Jackie Dawson

Common Gull (c) 2009 Jackie Dawson

A very dull day weather-wise at East Park with heavy drizzle at times this morning. The rain stopped this afternoon in contrast to the forecast, but it was more difficult finding the small passerines than Tuesday.

Winter Term - Wednesday 1 - Millington Pastures

Record shot of the more colourful Hawfinch (c) 2009 Tony Robinson

Robin on Burdock (c) 2009 Aileen Urquhart
There's the two Water Rails! (c) 2009 Aileen Urquhart

One taken earlier at Spurn (c) 2009 Michael Flowers

If you are from this morning’s group, you’d probably better not read any further... What a start to the birding year for today’s afternoon class! In 5 years of classes at last we had excellent views of a Hawfinch (female). There had been no sign in the morning, but this afternoon she seemed to be making the most of the sunshine which at that time of day was lighting up the tops of the hawthorn bushes from which she was feeding. Some friendly birders had their scopes trained on the bird which stayed in full view in one particular bush for at least 10 minutes & continued to be observed as it moved to other bushes. 3 of the morning group had stayed behind & had already had closer views in the same area of the pool of what they are sure was a brighter bird. The pool was a rich area as a Water Rail gave excellent prolonged views in the morning, and then another came on the scene. There was a brief skirmish before they both fled into cover, but they each made a separate squealing sound from their respective hiding places. Sightings of good numbers of birds of prey were hampered by the weather. The morning was fairly misty & there was virtually no wind. In the afternoon the sun started to break through, but it remained very calm. However, we did ID a Buzzard (dark), a Red Kite, a Peregrine, a large Sparrowhawk, Kestrel, & had good views of Bullfinches and more distant sightings of a Yellowhammer and a Stonechat. On the bird feeders in the woodland there were Marsh & Coal Tits & further in the woodland once the sun began to break through Redwings & Fieldfare were seen. Although the day began very slowly, the Hawfinches were an excellent finale. If you intend to visit Millington for the large birds of prey, it would seem likely to be most successful if it’s windy &/or sunny!

Winter Term - Tuesday 1 - East Park

Goosanders (c) 2009 Michael Flowers

ditto
Tufted Duck (c) 2009 Leslie Fisher
Teal [captive] (c) 2009 Michael Flowers

Mute Swan (c) 2009 Leslie Fisher

Black-headed Gull (c) 2009 Leslie Fisher

The first class of the new term, and one of the best places to take beginners. Here you are guaranteed close views of Tufted Duck and Pochard, and it's a good location to compare and contrast Black-headed, Common and Herring Gulls. However, there are also species to interest more advanced birders: the 17+ Goosanders, and in the afternoon the 6 Redpolls were an excellent finale. The thrushes were well-represented with Mistle, Song, Redwing & Fieldfare. We failed to locate the Treecreeper, Pintail or 'wild' Teal, but the Long-tailed and Coal Tits delighted the morning session. A big plus after last term was that the weather stayed fine for a whole Tuesday!

Limbering up for New Term

Unexpected candidate for 1st bird seen in 2009, but it was the 1st bird this year!

Long-tailed Tit
Fieldfare (c) 2009 Jackie Dawson
Fieldfare (c) 2009 Jackie Dawson
Common Seal - inland at Stone Creek

First time we've had a decent sunny day since last year, so there were some decent photo opportunities in the garden at last!

Happy New Year!

Woodcock - arty shot - actually, shutter speed too slow!

Woodcock -full manual control!

Great start to the year! Took my nephew to Potteric Carr today, and had good views of Water Rail, Willow Tit, Pintail etc, but the best photo opportunity was waiting for us on our return home. Saw something drop down ahead & slowed right down & there it was! Had to reverse a few yards, take the camera out the boot & tried approaching again. Luckily, it stayed put - the light was terrible, so feel quite pleased with the result. Tried it on automatic first, but the shutter speed was too slow (hence the arty 1st pic!), so switched to manual. I wonder when I'll ever have such a good view of this species again? It was only the dull weather, which spoiled things a little!

January Term - Booking Now!

Kingfisher - one of the birds we should see next term!

(c) 2008 Michael Flowers

I have started to take bookings for the New Year course starting week commencing 12th January 2009. We visit a different East Yorkshire hotspot each week and identify all the birds and as much other wildlife as we can. Each session lasts at least 2 hours. During the early weeks we will mainly visit wetland habitats near Beverley & Hull, but nearer spring we also travel to areas of woodland, especially as birdsong becomes more noticeable. If the weather is kind to us we will explore the extensive floodlands of the Lower Derwent Valley, and another trip is timed to coincide with the likelihood of observing the stunning Smew. We should also be able to observe several species of raptor towards the end of the course. The sessions are designed to suit a range of abilities, with beginners being especially welcome. The venues are carefully planned several months in advance, but if a golden opportunity to observe an iconic species occurs, then last-minute changes may be made to the itinerary. For instance, recently one week was cleared so everyone had the opportunity to watch Waxwings at close quarters - this was a new species for more than 80 course members! For those interested in taking up wildlife photography, you will be shown some of the best local sites to capture some special images of your favourite species.
The course runs twice daily Tuesday to Friday. At the moment only the Tues am & Weds am courses are full, but several others are almost at capacity. If you are interested in more details of the course, please leave a comment next to one of my posts or email me on mflowers81@live.co.uk

End of Term Catch-up - Potteric Carr

Kestrel (c) 2008 Jackie Dawson

Great Spotted Woodpecker (c) 2008 Jackie Dawson
Great Tit (c) 2008 Jackie Dawson

In the morning we had good views of Treecreeper, Jay, Great Spotted Woodpecker and Goldcrest, while the afternoon provided Kingfisher, Siskin and plenty of fungi. Unfortunately, the compulsory Water Rail & Bittern seemed to have forgotten the rules, and refused to show!

That's it for the birdwatching classes in 2008 - let's hope for even better birds & a lot better weather in 2009!

Red Kite Special 3

Long-eared Owl (c) 2008 Chris Cox

At least 6 Red Kites in the sky at the same time today - the highest tally so far this week. I thought you may be getting a bit fed up of Red Kite pics, so here's something different. This image was taken on Chris Cox's local patch. Those of you who know Chris will probably realise where that is.