Birding with Flowers

Tuesday, 7 February 2012

Surprises in the Snow

A heavy fall of snow always causes surprises to turn up - quite often in birder's gardens. People who don't normally get Fieldfares or Redwings in their garden do find them after snow. Another of the most frequent surprise visitors are Reed Buntings, and there have been recent reports from the middle of Beverley, in South Cave and in Nafferton. The Nafferton Reed Buntings may be seen here: http://idiocybirding.blogspot.com/2012/02/wee-bit-chilly.html

A male Brambling turned up in a South Cave garden - & was a lifer for at least one of the inhabitants.

We haven't seen a Lesser Redpoll in our garden for over 20 years, but on Sunday a drab female turned up. It was only when I was processing the pictures that I noticed it had been ringed. However, it wasn't a standard aluminium ring, so I wasn't sure if this had been ringed as part of some scientific study. Unfortunately, the more mundane explanation is that it is almost certainly an escaped bird from someone's private collection. The ring is red which indicates if it is a UK bird it may have been ringed in 2006, which in Redpoll terms makes it a very old bird indeed! [Thanks to RB for this information].

However so far the laurels go to Chris Cox. He found a Bittern up a tree in Burstwick, which was surprising enough, but this was mirrored at RSPB at Bempton on Sunday when another was photographed by several people. Yesterday, Chris walked 100 yards of a hedgerow near Keyingham and saw 10 different Woodcock - the highest total he's ever seen. One of these can be seen below & this was taken without his usual long lens!

Although the heavy snow is good for birdwatcher's, if it lasts more than a few days, it can have a devastating effect. Barn Owls can't find their prey under the snow, and Kingfishers can't find fish in frozen streams. This is just a small example, lots of other birds have trouble finding enough food the longer a cold snap lasts. Supplementary feeding & watering of birds in your garden can help some small passerines survive for a few extra days.

Lesser Redpoll

Red Ring 8.....FB - ringed in 2006? escaped from a bird fancier's cage?

Sunday, 5 February 2012

Before the Main Snowfall

On Friday all but one class participant made it to Tophill Low, but the Hornsea 'lads' had to fight their way through 3 inch snow drifts before getting there. Things were so bad in Hornsea, they even thought the session would be cancelled, but there was no snow around Beverley & only a covering elsewhere away from the coast.

In all we saw more than 40 species. The Pintail & Smew were new to some, but most of the other birds had been seen before. Unfortunately, the Cattle Egret was no longer a voluntary prisoner in the compound, so that remained unseen.

A very annoying microlight kept flying low over O reservoir & disturbing all the ducks. It is to be hoped this doesn't continue in really cold weather when the birds will have lower energy levels, and can do without being deprived of much needed feeding time by senseless joyriders.

A male Tawny owl hooting at lunch time near the Visitor Centre was a surprise, but the varied birdsong was pretty much as expected in the glorious sunlight. There was even an amateur attempt by a Chaffinch attempting the central trill of what will soon be its complete rollicking song.

The bad weather has caused unusual behaviour in some birds, and I'm hoping to include a blog soon with a round-up of some of these.

Smew [Redhead]

ditto

Goldeneye [female]

Goldeneye [drake]

ditto

Pintail - with B.O.

Goldcrest

Reed Bunting [female]

Pheasant

ditto

Mute Swan

Long-tailed Tit

Wigeon

Roe Deer

ditto

Remains of 'Mackerel' Sky

Persistent Microlight - disturbing Reservoir Birds - again

Wednesday, 1 February 2012

Where Have all the Raptors Gone?

Today following the recommendation of Wold Ranger yesterday for a venue with Peregrine, Marsh Harrier & Buzzard, we visited this venue at short notice after a terrible forecast for the East coast. Unfortunately, the Peregrine & Marsh Harrier were only noticeable for their absence, & a perched Buzzard could only be seen as a pale blob perched in a tree on a distant hillside.

We saw nearly 40 species. The highlights were Lynn's Snipe in the morning, Gillian's Green Woodpecker in the afternoon & finally the mass frenzy of Long-tailed Tits on some peanuts. I thought this was a fiction only portrayed in bird feeder catalogues, but it definitely greeted the pm team as they left South Hide.

Concerning raptors all the large ones were missing, but we saw a Kestrel in the far north west corner & at lunch time Dave had a Sparrowhawk perched in a dead young elm opposite his car at lunchtime, but that was it!

Long-tailed Tit

ditto

Robin

New Telescope Rest - Patent Pending

Final Urban Visit

Swings & roundabouts - the am group had a pair of Treecreepers, whilst the pm session saw 3 Redwings. The rest was pretty much the same, but in general there were fewer species of passerine seen in the afternoon. This can be a marmite location, some participants dislike it, whilst yesterday someone asked if they could go there every week. We saw 30+ species, which is better than many local nature reserves at this time of year!

Lesser Redpoll

ditto

Treecreeper

Ring-necked Parakeet [Yellow Morph]

Ring-necked Parakeet [Bog Standard]

Silhouette of RNP in flight

Female Goosander

Lesser Black-backed Gull

Thursday, 26 January 2012

Cattle's Captivity

Those who arrived early this morning were rewarded with a Cattle Egret sheltering in a reedy ditch in the fenced-off compound surrounding the work buildings of a water treatment plant. It gave good views for about 25 minutes before flying over some trees towards a neighbouring farm. This bird was a UK lifer for all morning participants who saw it.

In all we saw over 40 species; morning highlights being: a male Peregrine, a pair of Redhead Smew, several Lesser Redpolls, Siskins, a pair of Mistle Thrush, an Egyptian Goose, a Treecreeper, and a flyover Grey Wagtail. A Merlin was reported at North Lagoon by a couple of guests in the same place where a Kestrel was seen in the afternoon.

The afternoon started with better light on the Redpolls, but no sign of the Cattle Egret. We went on to see the Egyptian Goose standing up to a pair of trespassing Greylags before it flew off north. The Egyptian Goose was a brand new bird for Thursday afternoon sessions. Again, we saw plenty of birds but the best were those near the Visitor Centre. The Redpolls were in the best light yet, including one pinkish male, and a couple of male Bullfinches. However, the climax was provided by the Cattle Egret, which had returned. It stayed just long enough for everyone to get a good look at it before it again flew in the same direction it had at 9.30 am. It's not often these days we get two new birds on a session, but today was one of those red letter days!

Cattle Egret - A Lifer for Almost All

Egyptian Goose Standing Ground with Greylags

Egyptian Goose Leaving WBP

Record Shot of Redhead Smew

Record Shot of a Pair of Redhead Smew

Redpoll

ditto

Redpoll

Lesser Redpoll

Bullfinch

Teal

Fox

Roe Deer

Curlew

Yesterday, we went to an urban park & saw most of the usual suspects. The 4 Lesser Redpolls in one car park were new, as was a Fox leaving by the main gates at 9.40 am. The rest of the birds were pretty much as expected with just the Great Spotted Woodpecker, Great Crested Grebe & Kingfisher letting the groups down.

Long-tailed Tit

Moorhen

Coots - 'True Love'

Black-headed Gull [adult]

Herring Gull

Autumn Term Details

Bookings for the 10-week Autumn term have started. At the time of writing there are most vacancies on Tuesday mornings, Wednesday afternoons & Thursday afternoons with a single space on Wednesday mornings. If you are interested in another session, please ask. For at least 2 hours a week encounter the natural world as a completely new sensual experience. In the Autumn we’ll be hoping to encounter Short-eared Owls, Hen Harriers, and plenty of waders on the coast & at our estuarine venues. We will be visiting venues in East Yorkshire with a couple of ventures into North Lincolnshire and possibly one just in West Yorkshire So, if you are interested in learning more about your local wildlife in beautiful and secluded venues for £13 a week, please contact me for more details! We visit a different local hotspot each week and identify all the birds and as much other wildlife as we can. This also includes mammals, and fungi with butterflies, and dragonflies in the warmer months. The course runs twice daily Tuesday to Friday. Please note it is not appropriate to bring your dogs with you. If you are interested in more details of the course, or wish to be placed on a waiting list, please leave a comment next to one of my posts or email me on mflowers81@live.co.uk. If you use iCloud your email will need to be sent to michaeljflowers@yahoo.co.uk

Terms and Conditions

Birding with Flowers

Terms and Conditions

1.0 General

1.1. Birding with Flowers organises birdwatching and wildlife walks and events to enable participants to learn bird identification, to gain knowledge of habitats and wildlife in general to enhance their enjoyment and appreciation of the countryside. These terms and conditions must be agreed by anyone joining a 10-week birding course or a special one-off event.

1.2 Birding with Flowers reserves the right to revise these Terms and Conditions at any time by updating these pages. It is your responsibility to review and understand the Terms and Conditions. If you are booking a course or event you will be asked to return a signed slip stating that you agree to these legally binding Terms and Conditions. If you do not agree to the Terms and Conditions please do not ask to participate in Birding with Flowers courses or events.

1.3 The Birding with Flowers blog HYPERLINK "http://www.eybirdwatching.blogspot.com" www.eybirdwatching.blogspot.com, the weekly East Yorkshire Birdwatching Walks and one-off special events are managed and operated by Birding with Flowers. The Terms and Conditions set out below constitute the agreement between you (the client) and us (Birding with Flowers or BWF).

1.4 Whilst we make every effort to provide you with up to date details for courses and events, it is ultimately your responsibility to check whether they have been cancelled or rescheduled by checking emails or, where applicable, text messages the evening before a session. We take all reasonable steps to ensure the information on the blog, in the course itineraries and for one-off events is accurate at the time of publishing and continues to be accurate. Liability for any loss or damage arising from inaccuracies, omissions or interpretation of contents is limited to the cost of the session. If you believe any content to be inaccurate please contact us on 07946 625677, or email us at mflowers81@live.co.uk and we will take all reasonable steps to correct it as soon as possible.

2.0 Payments and Bookings

2.1 For the complete 10-week course we require full payment in advance. If payment is not made before the date specified in the course particulars, your place may be given to another client.

2.2 One-off short (2-3 hours) walks may be paid for on the day in cash, but preference will always be made to those who pay in advance.

2.3 Except for payments for short walks (see 2.2 above), payments made by BACS are preferred by us as this is a safe, quick and easy method of payment. You will require the Birding with Flowers account number and bank sorting code. You will need to include your surname and the day you attend as a reference. If you require our bank details this will be sent in two separate emails, please do not reply to those emails for security reasons.

2.4 If you do not want to make a BACS payment you may still pay by cheque. Payment by cheque requires your contact details written on the reverse. If you pay by cheque, you should be aware that your cheque will take a few days to arrive in the post, and your payment will not be recognised as completed until the cheque has cleared, which will take several more working days. Please take this into consideration when sending your cheque. For details on how to pay by cheque please email us at mflowers81@live.co.uk

2.5 No cash payments should be sent to us in the post.

2.6 You are required to ensure, when booking a course or event, that there are sufficient funds to cover the cost of the service. Payment will be taken in advance for the services offered and if payment fails, bookings will not be made until an alternative payment has been made. If there are any changes to your details that may affect your booking it is your responsibility to inform Birding with Flowers by contacting us on 07946 625677, or email us at mflowers81@live.co.uk

2.7 It is important that you print the email of the confirmation of your booking for your own reference.

3.0 Data Protection

3.1 Birding with Flowers takes your contact details as part of the booking process. Your details will not be shared with any third party or organisation. If you request another member’s email or phone number for whatever purpose, your message will be forwarded to that client, but any reply will remain between yourself and that client.

4.0 Intellectual Property

4.1 As a member of the Birding with Flowers course you may be sent detailed itineraries, birdsong calendars, species location spreadsheets, bird identification flowcharts and other original items. Any items marked with copyright should not be shared with any third party, including previous members of the course. Once a person has left the course they are no longer entitled to receive further publications.

5.0 Changes and Cancellation: by Birding with Flowers

5.1 Birding with Flowers begins planning courses and events many months in advance. On occasions we have to make changes to details both before and after bookings have been confirmed. With outdoor classes and events, local weather, transport or a host of other uncontrollable factors can mean a change in the itinerary. Although we always take all reasonable steps to avoid changes, we must reserve the right to do so.

5.2 If we have to make a minor alteration to your itinerary or travel arrangements before departure, we will, if practicable, advise you before departure but we are not obliged to do so or to pay you compensation.

5.3 In the event of poor weather conditions which we consider will seriously affect the quality of a class or one-off event, we reserve the right to postpone or cancel the class or one-off event. In this case you will usually be offered alternative dates for the same or similar event from our programme of events.

5.4 If we have to cancel an individual class, or one-off event, completely due to unforeseen circumstances such as illness of the course leader, extreme weather events or major travel disruption, where possible we will offer an alternative date. If we have no alternative dates to offer, you will receive a full refund of all monies paid for that class or event.

5.5 If a major change is made (e.g. cancellation of all or more than 2 classes of your course or a one-off event e.g. because of the illness of the course leader), we will inform you as soon as possible. In this circumstance we will offer you the choice of the following options:

a) accepting an alternative course, part-course or one-off event arranged by Birding with Flowers and beginning on an arranged day; or

b) transferring your payment to a future course or one-off event run by Birding with Flowers of a similar standard to that originally booked, if available. We will endeavour to offer you at least one alternative course or one-off event of equivalent or higher standard.

In the event of no alternatives being available, or if you are unable to attend a future course or one-off event, a refund for the cancelled proportion of the course or for the one-off event will be offered.

5.6 The decision as to whether a change is minor or major lies with Birding with Flowers, who will act fairly in all circumstances.

5.7 No liability beyond offering the above-mentioned options can be accepted where we are forced to make a change or cancel as a result of unusual and unforeseeable circumstances beyond our control, the consequences of which we could not have avoided even with all due care. No compensation will be payable and the above options will not be available if we cancel as a result of your failure to comply with any requirement of our Terms and Conditions entitling us to cancel (e.g. not paying on time) or if the change made is a minor one.

5.8 In the event that a course or event is cancelled by Birding with Flowers because of insufficient numbers signing up for it, a full refund of monies paid by you will be made. However, no further liability will be accepted by Birding with Flowers. Usually an alternative course will be arranged.

6.0 Changes and cancellation by the client

6.1 You may cancel your booking for a course or one-off event at any stage; however, a full refund will not be issued if cancellation is notified to Birding with Flowers less than 7 days before the course commences or the event is due to take place. In the event of serious illness or a major change in your personal circumstance notified by you, any refund of some or all of the course fee or event fee would be at the discretion of Birding with Flowers.

6.2. You may request a change to a booking by contacting us by email or telephone. If possible, a request to change the day/and or time of a course or an individual class will be permitted, providing there is a vacancy for the replacement day and/or time.

6.3 Please note that failure to attend a course, a single class or one-off event without first informing Birding with Flowers cannot be regarded as a cancellation. Unless otherwise agreed, clients who fail to attend a class or event without prior notice will not receive a refund for the course, missed class or one-off event.

7.0 What is Included on BWF Courses or One-Off events

7.1 See the course itineraries or details of one-off events for what you can expect to be provided by Birding with Flowers.

8.0 What is Not Included on BWF Courses, or One-Off Events

8.1 Birding with Flowers does not organise or pay for clients’ travel expenses to and from events, such as public transport or car hire. We do not pay for telephone calls, snacks or any items of a personal nature.

9.0 Insurance

9.1 Birding with Flowers has taken out full indemnity insurance for events held in the UK.

10.0 Special Requests

10.1 If you have any special requests, you should inform us of such requests at the time of booking. We will try our best to accommodate your requirements but we cannot guarantee that such requests will be met. Furthermore, we have no liability to you if such requests are not met.

10.2 Confirmation that a special request has been noted or the inclusion of the special request on your confirmation or any other documentation is not confirmation that the request will be met.

10.3 If you have any medical problem or disability which may affect your course or one-off event, (e.g. heart condition, asthma, epilepsy, mobility problems, mental condition etc.) please tell us when making your booking so that we can advise as to the suitability of the chosen arrangements. In any event, you must give us full details in writing at the time of booking. If we reasonably feel unable to properly accommodate your particular needs, we must reserve the right to decline your reservation or, if full details are not given at the time of booking, cancel when we become aware of these details.

11.0 Behaviour

11.1 When you book with us, you accept responsibility for any damage or loss caused by your negligence.

11.2 You are respectfully requested to switch off your mobile phone, or switch it to silent mode, for the duration of the birdwatching session. If you are expecting an urgent call during any particular session, please let the course leader know before the commencement of the class. Otherwise if your phone rings without arrangement during a session, do not be offended if you are asked to switch it off.

11.3 You are respectfully requested to wear muted colours for birdwatching sessions. Dark colours allow us to get a little closer to the birds and may prolong our observation of the wildlife. If you arrive wearing bright red, white, yellow or pink you must expect to be asked to cover up.

11.4 Birding with Flowers requests participants to observe the basics of fieldcraft. This means when we are approaching wildlife unnecessary noise should be kept to a minimum. If clients are talking loudly they may be asked to be quiet.

11.5 We expect all clients to have consideration for other people. The majority of Birding with Flowers clients are non-smokers. In order that they can enjoy their course or one-off event in comfort, we insist that smokers refrain from smoking or vaping in the proximity of all other group members, and while watching wildlife, at all times. Smoking indoors in any public space – e.g. bird hide – is illegal, while smoking in any confined space – e.g. at any other group gathering or in a vehicle – cannot be permitted. Additionally, Birding with Flowers implements a policy of eco-tourism and requests that smokers dispose of used cigarette ends, which contain non-biodegradable material, responsibly. In booking a course or one-off event you agree to accept these guidelines, and it is the right of our course leader to dismiss from a class, event or course any participant failing to respect them.

11.6 If, in the reasonable opinion of the course leader, you behave in such a way as to cause or be likely to cause danger, upset or distress to any third party (including the course leader) or damage to property or fauna (including the collecting of any specimen from the natural world, for example any plants or insects), we are entitled, without prior notice, to terminate your attendance on the course or one-off event of the person(s) concerned. In this situation, you will be required to leave the course or event immediately. We will have no further responsibility toward you including any return travel arrangements. No refunds will be made and we will not pay any expenses or costs incurred as a result of the termination.

11.7 If, in the reasonable opinion of the tour leader you are asked to modify your behaviour in any way, that modification, once agreed, must be adhered to. Any failure to modify your behaviour as previously agreed will result in the immediate expulsion of that person(s) from the course. We will have no further responsibility toward such person(s) including any return travel arrangements. No refunds will be made and we will not pay any expenses or costs incurred as a result of the termination.

11.8 The course leader reserves the right to bar any person that he/she considers is behaving in any manner detrimental to the smooth running of the course from attendance on any future courses or one-off events. In the first instance this will involve the lack of a renewal information for a future course or one-off event to the individual(s) concerned. Renewal emails/renewals will only automatically be sent to those whose behaviour has caused no problems to either the course leader or to other members attending the course or one-off event.

11.9 If any course member has a problem with the behaviour of any other course member this must be brought to the attention of the course leader, preferably in writing. The person(s) concerned will be questioned and the opinion of other course members sought. If the case appears weak the individual will be informed of his/her alleged behaviour, and warned that any future recurrence will result in immediate explusion. If the case against the individual appears strong then that person(s) will be required to leave the course or event immediately. We will have no further responsibility toward such person(s) including any return travel arrangements. No refunds will be made and we will not pay any expenses or costs incurred as a result of the termination.

12.0 The course leader’s decision on any dispute is final.