I parked up in my usual place beside the floodbank,put plenty of warm clothes on and off i set.
As on my last visit,i retraced my car journey walking along the side of the beck and up Skitter road.
Another Barn Owl,which i was sure was a different bird to the earlier individual hunted around the rough grass field near the car,before crossing over the haven and hunting around the Skitter Pools.
Plenty of activity along the hedgerows saw at least 8 Blackbird,6 Fieldfare,3 Bullfinch,1 Goldcrest,5 Stock Dove and 8 Long-tailed Tit being seen and a single Water Rail squealed along the beck with a lone Little Egret flying in from the direction of Thornton Abbey towards the pools and haven.
A decent number and variety of species were seen around Grange Farm and included 16 Yellowhammer,25 Chaffinch,1 Jay,1 Great-spotted Woodpecker and the best of the bunch,2 Willow Tit.The latter gave some nice views as they fed alongside the road,before heading inland along a hedgerow with a couple of Blue Tit,a cracking record for here.
I then checked the usual set aside near Red House Farm and sure enough at least 1 Stonechat was still present,a male and i managed a few shots before he promptly buggered off in typical Stonechat fashion.
The Roe Deer gang were again in evidence today with a whopping 12 in the patch square,always great to see in my opinion.
As i reached Winter's Pond the usual,wiley old Grey Heron was perched in his usual spot and also the Redhead Goosander from my last visit was still in residence,which was great to see.
I then checked the pit which is not visible from the approach track,with some decent numbers of ducks which included 88 Mallard,20 Gadwall,6 Shoveler,35 Wigeon and the single Goldeneye.The only Grebe present was a single Dabchick,with the Great-crested's moving on.
As i walked onto the bank top,a flash of yellow saw a nice surprise being seen,in the form of a lovely Grey Wagtail and i managed some nice views and a few record shots before it promptly flew past me and towards Killingholme.A bit of an unseasonal record along here i thought,but great to see all the same.
A quick look around the Skitter pools saw 2 Water Pipits and a lovely CC Marsh Harrier being seen,the latter,the first i have seen down here for a few weeks,the Pipits giving the usual crap views.On the stubble field here,27 Skylark and 2 male Ruff were the highlights.
As i headed along the bank top towards Dawson city,some decent numbers of Fieldfare were present,with approx 275 birds being logged,along with smaller numbers of Redwing and about 500 Starlings mixed in with them,making for an impressive sight.
Further on the 'Wink wink' of Pink-footed Geese could be heard and at least 2500+ birds were using the grass pasture they spent so much time on last winter,which was great to see.After speaking to fellow birder Simon Brebner,who watches Paull Holme Strays on the north bank of the Estuary,it seems these birds are roosting there which is interesting.
Dawson was quiet and the vandals have struck again,ripping the gate off the locked turnstile which the LWT had installed,there are some very sad people around!!!.
A Common Buzzard became the fourth species of raptor for the day as it flew around near Klondyke and at Goxhill Haven a flock of at least 40 Redwing were feeding on a grass pasture there,a great sight to see.
The final leg of the visit walking along East Marsh Road,saw more of the same being seen,with 2 Little Egret using one of the drainage ditches to search for food,as the Skitter pools were frozen over,another sighting of the Common Buzzard from earlier and amazingly another 5 Roe Deer added to the earlier animals.
I eventually made it back to the car after a knackering 11 miles walked today,but what an enjoyable visit again.
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| Male Stonechat Near Grange Farm. |
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| Male Blackie Taking Advantage Of The Local Hawthorn Crop. |
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| Some Great Cloud Patterns Today. |
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| Grey Wagtail,Near Winter's Pond. |
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| Grey Wagtail,Near Winter's Pond. |
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| Black-headed Gull,East Halton Skitter. |
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| Black-headed Gull,East Halton Skitter. |
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| Plenty Of Warm Gear On Today. |
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| Part Of The Pink Flock Near Dawson City. |
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| More Of Those Big Skies Near Dawson City. |
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| More Damage At Dawson City. |
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| Looking Towards The Ferry Terminal And Hull Docks. |
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