Barton Wander & High Eske Visit,Sunday 29th October 2017.

The rare occurrence of being able to get out birding twice this weekend,saw me heading out to Barton for a change of scenery in the morning and also a walk with my sister up to High Eske NR in the afternoon,the following is what i,we saw.

As mentioned above,getting out twice was a bonus today and i headed over to Barton while Trace was catching up on her sleep after her night shift.
 I started proceedings by parking at the Pursuit Pit and headed west along the flood bank towards Far-Ings first.Quite a bit of vis-mig in the light northerly air flow saw at least 400 Wood Pigeons heading overhead and along the north bank of the Humber,with smaller numbers of Chaffinch and Starlings,but still no Hawfinches unfortunately.
 A nice feature of the morning also was the constant passage of Pink-footed Geese on their feeding flights from Read's Island,mostly heading east,but the odd flock flew across to the north bank and a few u-turned and headed back to their roost site at South Ferriby.A total of at least 1500 birds were observed which was a great sight to see and hear as they 'Wink winked' along their way.
 Another species which always brightens the visit along here,were the constant blasts of Cetti's song and without even trying hard i had encountered at least 6 males and a couple of spluttering females all calling from their scrubby and reedy hideaways.I did manage to see one birds arse end,a typical view i thought!.
 A single Marsh harrier flew over the river at Far-Ings,but little else was observed on Ness lake.The 'New Pits' were alive with birds,Wigeon,Teal,Tufties and some lovely fiery headed Pochard males all made for some lovely viewing,but sadly nothing of note.
 I then decided to walk up to Leggot's Quarry and back along the wold top back to the car,seeing at least 7 Redwing,a total of at least 15 Redpoll and a few Goldcrest.It was great to walk along Chowder Ness,Leggot's and Barton Cliff and it brought back some great memories,as in May 1994 i hit the jackpot along here finding an immature male Woodchat Shrike at Chowder on the 1st May and a few weeks later a stunning,singing male Golden Oriole in Leggot's.A bit of a purple patch for me and great to reminisce.
 Anyway back to reality and the normality of finding buggar all,i eventually made it back to the car,with the only addition to the rest of the morning being a Common Buzzard seen in Barton Cliff Quarry.

After lunch,Trace and myself travelled over to Beverley to meet up with my sis and Kev and we walked along the River Hull up to High Eske nature reserve and back from Tickton.
 We met up primarily for Kirst to try out her new camera and for me to offer any tips on how to use it(Don't know why she is asking me?).A few nice sightings in the now more blustery conditions included 2 Kingfishers,2 Common Buzzard and 7 Great-crested Grebe,but no sign of the Slav Grebe that has been about recently.

So a couple of outings today and still no Hawfinches,can't believe it to be honest,must try harder!.

Sunrise At Barton pits.

Wood Pigs On The Move At Barton.

North Ferriby,My Birthplace,A Long Time Ago.

Pinks Overhead At Leggot's Quarry.

The 'New' Pits Looking Good This Morning.

The River Hull At Tickton.

Common Buzzard Near High Eske N.R.

Rainbow At High Eske N.R.

'Lags' At High Eske N.R.

Gull's Following The Plough Near Tickton.