I parked today at the visitor centre and after getting all the kit together,began proceedings by looking around Barton Reedbed reserve first.
First nicety to enter the notebook,although a commoner one these days,a male Cetti's Warbler blasted out his song on the edge of the dipping platform as i passed by and overhead a juv. Marsh Harrier slowly quartered the extensive reedbeds looking for it's first meal of the day.
As i walked,the hoped for sound greeted me,which i had been wanting to hear,the distinct 'wink wink' call of Pink-footed Geese.I watched as my first 11 birds seen this autumn,slowly made their way west up the estuary.It was really great to hear and see these beauties,one of my fave bird species.
The westerly passage of Pinks,was a feature of the visit,with other flocks of 16,43,5,4,31 and 15 and also a flock of 19 birds which dropped onto the Pursuit Pit for a well earned wash and brush up after the long journey from their Icelandic breeding grounds,just great to see.
I continued my walk in between showers of drizzle,in pretty poor conditions at times,passing by Western Approach Pit which held a single Wigeon in amongst the local Shoveler and Gadwall,another sign of autumnal migration.
I eventually made it to Ness Lake hide as another shower passed over and spent some time drying out as i watched more Gadwall,Tufties,Shoveler,a single Chiffchaff and heard 5 more singing male Cetti's Warblers.
As the rain stopped and i had dried out,i walked around to the elevated hide which overlooks the old scrapes and enjoyed some nice views of a fishing Kingfisher,which caught several fish before disappearing onto Ness Lake.
Distant views over the Humber bridge,saw me watching a Peregrine as it chased something before perching on the overhead cables.
I carried on walking as it rained again,but this time i managed to get some reward,as i got some cracking views of a male Cetti's Warbler as it flitted about in a nearby Hawthorn hedge.They are such smart birds and it's a real pleasure to watch them when they do show well.
After walking along the edge of the new pits and logging singles of Blackcap,another Chiffie and a Reed Warbler i arrived at the old visitor centre car park to the lovely sight of Hummingbird Hawkmoth buzzing around some Red Valerian before it shot off out of sight,a nice addition to the days sightings i thought.
Down the edge of Hotel Pit and more warblers in a tit flock contained another Chiff and this time a pristine Juvvie Willow Warbler,as well as a Goldcrest and a Treecreeper.
The final stretch back to the car saw me seeing 2 Bar-tailed Godwit as they motered east along the estuary and some superb views of 6 Bearded Tit as they 'pinged' in the reedbed next to the visitor centre buildings.As i have mentioned in the past,Male Beardies really do rank as one of our most stunning native birds.
Well what a nice morning out and about,despite the dodgy weather,this hobby is great!.
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| Pink-footed Geese Heading West In The Murk. |
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| Bar-tailed Godwits Bombing East. |
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| Female Bearded Tit. |
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| Male Bearded Tit. |
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| Nice Moustache!. |
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| What A Cracking Bird These Males Are. |
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| Male Bearded Tit. |
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