Welcome To My Blog,This Will Be Mainly Used As A Diary For My Local Birding Patch At East Halton/Goxhill On The Banks Of The Humber Estuary,With Occasional Twitching And Visits Elsewhere Including Photos From Mine & Tracey's Walks And Holidays Around Our Beautiful Countryside.
The chance to get out with Mrs R today saw us heading for another favourite destination of ours, the majestic chalk headland of Flamborough Head.
We decided to walk from Danes Dyke and up to the Lighthouse and back, a walk we had done once before.
On the outward leg the weather wasn't too bad being slightly cloudy and with light winds, but on the way back it was fairly blustery and full cloud cover.
The walk was still enjoyable all the same and we managed to see some nice birds and some of the fantastic local wildlife.
The best bird sightings went to 2 Red Kite as they slowly flew south over the gorse field and Old Fall, but today the mammal gods were smiling on us as we enjoyed some superb views of a pod of 7 Bottle-nosed Dolphins as they swam south past the seabird observatory. It was really great to have another encounter with these cracking animals and there were a lot of smiling faces after they had disappeared.
Also nearby, where at least 250 Grey Seals, giving they're usual fantastic views as they loafed about on the beach and several were also seen swimming around giving some brilliant and entertaining viewing.
The following are some pics and videos from our day.
Another month ends and we are moving into spring proper now and the hope for some spring surprises.
The following is a summary of sightings for March from Goxhill and East Halton.
Sunday 1st
Good coverage of the Goxhill part of the local patch today, saw a decent 66 species being recorded.
Highlights went to a singing male Chiffchaff seen in Dawson City and later on, 2 lovely Bearded Tit along Goxhill Marsh.
Some good counts of waders and wildfowl included 2500 Pink-footed Geese feeding in fields along Goxhill Marsh and 350 Curlew in the same area. A decent count of 45 Goldeneye were seen on the Humber off Goxhill Tilery, with 2 Jay still nearby.
Saturday 7th
A very productive visit today, saw me visiting East Halton in the morning and then walking from Goxhill Haven to Dawson City in the afternoon, adding 4 new for the year species to the local patch list.
The first was a Raven which flew north along Skitter Road adding another record to the recent run of sightings over the past few years.
At Goxhill a well timed visit saw myself and Charlie seeing not only a smart 1st winter Caspian Gull at the Haven, but also a pair of Red-breasted Mergansers which flew west along the tideline here. The former was colour ringed with PE1P on a yellow darvic ring and had been ringed in Poland. The latter sighting of the Mergs, are the first i have seen as a pair since 1987ish, as i only usually record them in autumn as singles and usually redheads, so what a great record!.
Other nice sightings from the day included 3 Barn and a single Short-eared Owl, 3 Whooper Swans at East Halton Skitter, 2 Ruff and still 625 Icelandic Black-tailed Godwits on East Halton Marshes and the lovely sight of 2 Kingfishers at Winter's Pond.
Saturday 14th
A decent visit again today covering Goxhill and East Halton, saw only 1 NFY species, a Green Sandpiper, which was seen flying over the saltmarsh towards Dawson City. This continues a run of records of this species in recent years in spring.
Some decent counts on East Halton and Goxhill Marshes, included 47 Shelduck, 458 Curlew, 650 Icelandic Black-tailed Godwits and 47 Redshank. The 2 Ruff from my previous visit were also still at East Halton.
Saturday 21st
Another visit today walking from Goxhill Haven to East Halton and back, saw things starting nicely at Goxhill, when a Raven flew west at Goxhill Haven first thing and was then followed by some lovely close views of a hunting Barn Owl.
Just west of the Haven, 3 Whooper Swans were on the Humber off the old boatyard, continuing the recent run of sightings.
The only notable sighting at East Halton, was a NFY Common Scoter, with a Drake watched drifting along on the out going tide.
Some notable counts included 13 Cetti's Warblers(12 singing males), 257 Curlew and 558 Wigeon, with the wintering Black-tailed Godwits now dropping to 18 birds at East Halton.
Thursday 26th
A good walk around the whole patch today, saw 71 species entering ebird, with highlights going to a cracking Corn Bunting just west of Goxhill Haven, another or the same first winter Caspian Gull at Goxhill Haven, but this time only seen briefly as it flew past me. A Green Woodpecker near Chapel Field Farm was nice to hear 'Yaffling' away as i passed by and my first 2 local Sand Martins were seen at Goxhill Tilery Ponds.
Other notables during the visit included a 'Booming' male Bittern, 2 Siskin and 3 Bearded Tit.
Friday 27th
An evening visit to East Halton today after taking Mrs R shopping, saw a pretty productive visit, with me adding 3 NFY species, which included 9 Avocet feeding on the Humber mud, just north of Winter's, a lovely pair of Great-crested Grebe on Winter's itself and a smart male Little-ringed Plover on East Halton Marshes.
A single Knot was seen feeding in amongst a flock of Redshanks between Winter's and Killingholme Haven and a single Barn Owl was watched hunting along East Halton Marshes before i left for home.
Sunday 29th
The last visit of the month in some rubbish weather to East Halton certainly made it worthwhile putting up with the rain, when i found a Little Stint feeding with a single Dunlin and the usual Redshank flock between Winter's and Killingholme Haven. I tried to get near the flock to attempt to get some video or photos of the Stint, but the Redshank flock kept flushing in usual Redshank fashion, very frustrating!.
A few other notables seen during the visit included a pair of Little-ringed Plovers now on the marshes, 21 Icelandic Black-tails, the pair of Great-crested Grebes still and singles of Barn and Short-eared Owls.
A pretty decent month overall, with some great birding enjoyed.
Dawson City, 1st
Ruby Tiger Caterpillar, East Halton Skitter, 1st
One Of The Cute Locals, Goxhill, 1st.
Coltsfoot, Goxhill, 1st.
Colour-ringed Caspian Gull, Goxhill Haven, 7th.
Goxhill Marsh, 14th.
Sunrise, Goxhill Haven, 21st.
Common Buzzard, Dawson City, 21st.
Blackthorn Blossom, East Halton Skitter, 21st.
Hoverfly Species, Eristalis pertinax, East Halton Skitter, 21st.
A change of scenery today, visiting one of my favourite East Yorkshire birding sites, the following is an account of my day.
After dropping Mrs R at work, i travelled over the Humber into the home county and made my way to Tophill.
On arrival, I decided to have a walk along Barmston Drain and the River Hull first, before making my way up to the reserve proper and see what was around this productive area.
After getting some warm kit on due to the fairly cold, blustery wind, i headed off. As i approached Watton Nature Reserve, a single Cattle Egret flew past me, a good start i thought and the first i have seen this year. A good scan of Watton, saw the best sighting going to a Green Sandpiper as it sheltered from the blustery wind.
Further along and as i approached Wilfholme Landing, i could now see 2 Cattle Egrets in amongst the cows on the pasture. A quick scan around of the area revealed more 'White' Herons in the form of a single Great-white Egret and 5 Little Egret feeding along the River Hull. Also along the river, was a single drake Goldeneye. Another quick scan of the pasture in the hope of an early Wheatear, saw a pair of Egyptian Geese and a single Pink-footed Goose being seen.
I retraced my footsteps back to the car and headed for the reserve and paid for my permit for the day.
After a quick drink and something to eat, i decided to look over D Reservoir first before heading through D Woods and onto Hempholme Lock.
A scan of the Res revealed 3 Female Common Scoter quite distant, but i managed a decent record video of them. Also on here were 159 Tufted Duck, 55 Goldeneye and a mixed flock of 31 Sand Martin and my first 3 Swallows of the year. It was really great to see these lovely Hirundines again and they gave some nice views in front of the hide.
More scanning from this viewpoint, saw the lovely sight of 2 Red Kites over the Decoy Woods nearby and a cracking Peregrine.
I then made my way through D woods and down to Hempholme, the only highlight was a kingfisher on North Marsh and a Great-white Egret along Barmston Drain.
As i looked around Hempholme Lock, there was a tractor ploughing one of the fields and one of the Red Kites from earlier flew in and gave some lovely views. I know they are commoner these days, but they are stunning birds none the less and are always a real pleasure to see.
After arriving back at the visitor centre car park, i headed towards the southern part of the reserve.
South Marsh had quite a few nice birds which included a smart 2nd summer Med Gull and a pair of Marsh Harriers. It was nice to bump into Tophill regular Martin Hodges here, after a long gap. After seeing Martin we parted ways and i headed up onto the new observation area which over looks O Reservoir.
First scan and i quickly picked out a Redhead Smew, in amongst a small group of Goldeneye, a nice bonus bird as i thought the wintering birds had all left. Also on the res was a single female Common Scoter adding to the earlier birds on D res. This bird spent most of the time i watched it asleep, no doubt getting its batteries recharged for its nocturnal migration to the Irish Sea.
Final goodie of the visit as i returned to the visitor centre car park, was a lovely Tawny Owl as it roosted in a pine tree, a great end to a superb day out.
A good total of 80 species was recorded on today's visit, proving this extensive site to be really good for birds.
The following are my favourite photos from the day, all taken with my Google Pixel 10 Pro phone or Google Pixel 10 Pro through my Swarovski ATX85 telescope.
The plan for today, was to walk from Keswick town and along the banks of Derwent Water and up to Ashness Bridge, taking in the scenery and beautiful views of Catbells and the stunning fells surrounding the area.
The walk takes in some lovely scenery along the eastern shore of Derwent Water, with several lovely bays, such as Calfclose and Barrow Bays. The former had a few pairs of Goldeneye feeding and the latter a lovely pair of Red-breasted Mergs.
The walk up the hill to Ashness Bridge is fairly steep and not for anyone with breathing or heart problems, but once you get up there it is a lovely setting and there are some great views of Derwent Water and beyond.
A lovely day today with the following being my favourite photos from our day.
A few days away with Mrs R for our 29th wedding anniversary, saw us heading to the Lake District, staying at lovely Glenridding on the banks of the beautiful Ullswater. The following account is what we got up to on our adventures visiting this stunning part of the world.
Day One - Sunday 22nd
After travelling over from home and the usual stop at Wetherby services, we eventually arrived at our destination of Aira Force. A quick stretch and some warm clothing on and we were off exploring. Now as we have visited several times before and always hoped to see a Red Squirrel we had always unfortunately drawn a blank, but thankfully today was our day. As we approached one of the feeding areas, we could hear a tapping noise which sounded to both of us like a lid opening and closing. We quietly investigated and there it was, a Red Squirrel. It was sticking its head in and out of the feeder, hence the tapping sound as it got a peanut and then proceeded to eat it, before getting another, just great to see and what a start.
We walked on and stopped to admire the beautiful waterfall before carrying on along Aira beck, before it happened again!. We just walked through a gap and there about 5 metres away was another Red Squirrel, this time right in the open. It was just to fast for us and we just stared at each other before the Squirrel bounded off into cover. I don't know who was more surprised, the Squirrel or the two daft humans looking at him or her.
After all the excitement we carried on our walk, tackling Gowbarrow Fell and then back around to the car park at Aira Force, taking in the the stunning, if slightly hazy scenery.
After checking in at the hotel we decided to board one of the Ullswater steamers for a trip up and down this fantastic Lake. It really took in some superb scenery and was a really enjoyable trip.
After all the fresh air we headed back to our room and had some well earned food in the restaurant.
Aira Force
Robin, Aira Force.
Aira Beck.
Gowbarrow Fell.
Beautiful Ullswater
Mrs R
Ullswater Steamer
Every Scene On This Stunning Lake, Was A Photo Oppertunity.
