Messingham Sand Quarries, Monday 6th April 2026

 A relatively good forecast today and some good temperatures and light winds saw me heading for this cracking little reserve to see what i could find.

As on my previous visits in years gone by, i will split the visit into families of insects, birds etc. as there is so much to record here of interest.

Birds

On today's visit it was nice to see a few spring migrants which included my first local Willow Warbler of the year, 3 singing male Blackcaps, 3 Sand Martins and at least 8 Chiffchaff.

Out going winter visitors included a lovely Drake Pintail, which gave some nice views from the Wader Hide.

A few other nice sightings included at least 2 Siskin and a pair of Avocet and Oystercatcher each.

Hymenoptera

This is a family i really need to get to grips with better, but on today's visit i managed to photograph a few nice species which included Clark's-mining Bee, Early-mining Bee and Tawny-mining Bee. The latter are really distinctive and a species i have seen in our garden at home.

Syrphidae

Probably my favourite family of insects after Odonata and today saw several nice species being seen, with a lifer in the form of Cheilosia pagana. A group of 5 males were watched lekking on a silver birch trunk and involved much chasing and sparring, which was great to watch .Other highlights included my first Chalcosyrphus nemorum of the year, a lovely female Eristalis intricaria, several Eristalis pertinax and Epistrophe elegans.

Lepidoptera

It was a pretty good visit today regarding Butterflies with a good 6 species recorded, this included 6 Brimstone, 5 Peacock, 1 Small Tortoiseshell, 3 Green-veined White and my first records of the year of Speckled Wood(2) and Comma. Unfortunately i didn't manage to photograph any of the species seen.

Heteroptera

Only 1 species was recorded on today's visit, the diminutive Birch Sheildbug, really smart little insects and great to see.

Arachnids

One species was really apparent on today's visit, the fairly common Pisaura mirablis, with at least 6 seen and i even managed to photograph a sun bathing male.

Amphibians & Reptiles

Three species were recorded today, the Common Frog which i have photographed below, 2 lovely Smooth Newts and a couple of Common Lizards, adding some welcome variety to the species list for the day.

Wildflowers

It was really nice to walk around the reserve today and see several species coming into flower now along with the flowering Willows. I managed to take photos of two species, Marsh Marigold and Lesser Celandine, both really glowing in the spring sunshine.

Spider Sp. Pisaura mirablis

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Female Tawny-mining Bee

Marsh Marigold

Male Early-mining Bee

Female Clark's-mining Bee

Female Eristalis pertinax

Birch Shieldbug

An Immature Common Frog

Female Eristalis intricaria

Male Chalcosyrphus nemorum

Male Cheilosia pagana, a new species for myself

Not As Sharp As I Would Like, But This Species Was Difficult To Photograph, So I Cropped The Image Above This One To Show The Subtle Dark Tips To The Antennae Which Help Identify The Species

Male Clark's-mining Bee

Lesser Celandine

Phone-scoped Image Of A Female Gadwall

Male Epistrophe elegans

Danes Dyke To Flamborough Head, Saturday 4th April 2026

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.

South Landing

Selwick's Bay

The Iconic Lighthouse.

Grey Seals.

Local Patch Round-up - March 2026

 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.

Winter's Pond, 27th.

Setting Sun Over Redhouse Wood, 27th.

Tophill Low, Saturday 28th March 2026

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.

Barmston Drain

Green Sandpiper, Watton Nature Reserve

Hempholme Lock 

South Marsh

South Marsh From The New Observation Area

O Reservoir

Jumping Spider Sp. Salticus scenicus

Roosting Tawny Owl

D Reservoir

Female Robin