After arriving and paying for my day permit,i decided to cover the northern part of the site first and after getting the gear together i was off on my walk.
As i walked through the gate near to the new visitor centre,my first goodies of the day where seen...Sand Martins.
I watched as these lovely little birds hawked insects over the surrounding tree line and thought to myself about the incredible journey they had just undertaken all the way from central Africa.
There were 15 birds in all and after enjoying my fill of these little crackers i was off again.
The familiar sound of Chiffchaff's singing,saw 3 birds being recorded before i reached middle hide overlooking 'D' Reservoir.
A quick scan over the res revealed a decent total of 25 Goldeneye still present and a Roe Deer quietly browsed along the bank side.
Another Chiffie recorded in the notebook before i reached North Marsh and a quick look on here saw nothing of note being seen apart from some prospecting Long-tailed Tits.
I then made my way around to the hide overlooking the pool next to Hempholme Meadow were the pair of Kingfishers have been displaying etc. and was treated to some lovely views of these beautiful birds as the male frequently brought fish in for his mate.Lets hope they can breed successfully and add to this sites already good population.
Onwards and further up to Hempholme Lock,a fave area of mine when visiting this extensive site,saw very few notable highlights apart from a Little Egret fishing in Barmston Drain and the first of the day's Common Buzzards overhead.
By now the sun was wall to wall and the temperature rising and i added another 2 Sand Martin which passed south overhead towards the car park.
A single Pink-footed Goose was seen feeding on fields at the side of 'D' Res with 2 Greylag,funny how this single birds end up on their own.
Back at the car,a quick refuel stop saw me shedding some clothing before it began to rain,but at least it was warm.
North Lagoon held a very dapper male Grey Wagtail,who was singing his little head off in between flycatching,a great sight to see.
The sun was back out again as i left North Marsh and i continued around to South Marsh to see what birds were present on this superb area.A few notable insects included 2 Brimstone and my first Dark-bordered Bee Fly's of the yearThe hard work from the reserve staff and volunteers is really paying off with the recent breeding of Garganey last spring/summer.
As i walked towards the hides,that distinct fluty song of a male Blackcap saw me gaining brief views of the bird as it was watched flycatching,another migrant species and my first record for the year.
South Marsh was alive with birds and more migrants which included another first for the year in the form of a Little-ringed Plover,which also gave brief views before disappearing and a second calendar year Med Gull which was seen in amongst Black-headed and Common Gulls feeding and prospecting over the islands before moving on.
A singing male Cetti's Warbler blasted it's distinctive song from the far side of the scrapes,another welcome species to add to the days sightings.
After meeting up with Martin and Karen,i was invited to go along to see what moths had been trapped overnight and a decent variation of species were seen which included Red Chestnut,Hebrew Character,Common Quaker and the lovely Water Carpet amongst others.
Another look on South Marsh afterwards didn't reveal any new birds for the day,but Peacock and Small Tort were seen to add to the other insect sightings during the visit.
Watton Nature reserve was covered in birds,but nothing unusual was recorded,but a nice flock of 54 Curlew and a pair of Goldeneye were nice to see all the same and my fourth first for the year nearby,was a singing male Willow Warbler in the hawthorns in South Scrub.This is one of my favourite sounds of summer and it is great news that it is going from strength to strength as a breeding bird.
So after another great visit to this superb reserve,i travelled back across the Humber to Lincs contented on another great days birding.
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| Hempholme Lock And The River Hull. |
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| Pink-footed Goose With The Local 'Lags'. |
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| Kingfisher's. |
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| Female Kingfisher With Three-spined Stickleback. |
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| Male Kingfisher. |
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| Male Brimstone,Near 'O' Reservoir. |
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| 2nd Calendar Year Mediterranean Gull,South Marsh. |
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| 2nd Calendar Year Mediterranean Gull,South Marsh. |
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| Water Carpet,A Pretty Worn Individual. |
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