Burnsall To Grassington......The Best Riverside Walk In The Dales?....Sunday 21st October 2018.

After a lovely stay in Leeds the night before to see the superb band Editors in concert,we travelled over to the beautiful riverside village of Burnsall to take part in one of our favourite walks between here and Grassington.
 This stretch of the River Wharfe has some lovely scenery from the dramatic Loupe Scar to the little suspension bridge over the river at Hebden and finally the fantastic Linton Falls.
 Today's visit was a little damper than previous visits,but after a hot cuppa we were on our way.
 Apart from the lovely scenery and autumn leaves positively glowing on the riverside Beech trees we also managed to see some nice birds as well.
 The first section between Burnsall and Hebden saw 1 pair of Dippers,the electric blue flash of a Kingfisher as it zoomed past us,a Grey Wagtail and a single Goosander being logged with a couple of fishing Grey Herons also showing nicely.
 The most productive section was next,between Hebden and Linton Falls and today it didn't disappoint with another pair of Dippers which showed brilliantly near to Linton Falls,a good sized flock of 17 Mandarin in amongst the local Mallards at Hebden and at least 6 Goosander.
 Another single male Dipper was singing on the section of river at Grassington,but we couldn't see a mate.Also here was a nice flock of 47 Fieldfare which passed overhead and a Common Buzzard which was getting some unwanted attention from the local corvids.
 It really is a great privilege to be able to visit areas like this and this walk really is one of our favourites.
 The only other sighting of note,was about 20 Harlequin and a couple of Orange Ladybirds observed along a length of fencing at Burnsall.
 A lovely day out again here and i look forward to visiting again next year,to enjoy more Dippers and the lovely River Wharfe.

Burnsall And The River Wharfe.

Grey Heron,Burnsall.

Lovely Colours Along The River At Burnsall.

More Autumn Colours At Burnsall.

The River Wharfe At Grassington/Threshfield.

Dipper,Linton Falls.

Dipper,Linton Falls.

Grey Heron,Hebden.

Loupe Scar,Impressive Even On A Cloudy Day!.

Far-Ings Wander......Wednesday 17th October 2018.

A spare morning today before preparing for my first night shift of the week,saw me visiting the Far-Ings area,basically for somewhere different to visit,other than my local patch for a change.
 I started as always,by parking at Pursuit Pit as it is a good base to start from and it was apparent from the off that the Pinks from Read's Island where leaving there roost and heading south east onto the Wolds,or perhaps Goxhill Marsh.
 In the 5 hours or so i was on site,i logged a nice count of 2965 birds,what a great sight and sound,one of the best in our natural world in my opinion.
 Another rather noticeable sound this morning,was Cetti's Warbler's,with a minimum of 11 singing males today and a couple of 'Plitt plitting females' as well,one of which gave nice views from Ness hide,but too bloody quick in and out of the reeds to get any clear shots.One day i will get some acceptable photos of this lovely warbler.
 Other niceties seen on and around Ness and the new pits included a Green Sandpiper,2 adult Whooper Swans,2 typically scatty Water Rails and singles of Marsh Harrier and Peregrine.
 The new pits over the road adjacent to the Blow Wells,look in really good nick and had some good numbers of dabbling ducks feeding in amongst the Coots,which included 156 Wigeon and 56 Gadwall.It's great watching the little groups of the latter following the Coots around scavenging any small pieces of water weed the Coots leave behind after their energetic diving after the submerged water weeds in which they feed.
 All through the visit today a light westerly passage of birds had been noticeable and included low numbers of Chaffinch,Meadow Pipits,Starlings and Pied Wagtails.In the bushes 4 Goldcrest,Treecreeper,4 Redwing and a couple of Song Thrush made for some nice viewing and a small group of Beardies were heard and briefly seen in Ness.
 Sadly the morning visit was over and it was time to head home and grab some lunch after another nice morning out and about.

Pink-footed Geese Heading South East.

Peregrine,In The Early Morning Gloom.

1st Calendar Year Water Rail,Ness Lake.

Nice Skies Over The New Pits.

A Sun Dog Over The New Pits.

Adult Whooper Swan Heading East.

White-rumped Mega!!!!,Sunday 14th October 2018.

There i was arriving at home after being out for sunday lunch,with Mrs R,my sister and her husband Kev and just settling down,when in typical fashion all hell breaks loose on Twitter.....Pacific Swift,Hornsea Mere.
 The headless chicken routine ensued,in between ringing birding buddy Tim,getting changed and grabbing my gear all at the same time,in a flash i was quickly on my way and across the Humber.
 As i neared Willerby,the unbelievable news from Tim,that this was now not a Pacific Swift and instead a White-rumped.....holy *@$£.I knew this was a first record for Britain after i had read about a bird in Finland and one in Ireland,which made the journey even more frantic.
 I arrived at Hornsea at roughly 5pm,got the kit together and did a combination of running and power walking across 3 fields to where the assembled group were hopefully watching the bird.
 A quick discussion as to where it was,saw me getting onto it relatively quickly.
 I watched the bird distantly at first,loosely associating with a small group of House Martins and I commented how small it looked,compared to our Common Swift and it also had a curious flight action gliding on bowed wings almost shearwater like.
 At first i could not see any plumage features on the bird,but thankfully it came nearer and i could now see the white throat and horseshoe shaped white rump patch ,which seemed to wrap around the body,what a cracker!!!!.
 A couple of phone calls to Tim to keep him notified,saw him eventually arriving,he had driven from Doncaster in super quick time and thankfully got onto the bird,albeit at long range.
 As the light went we all chatted about what a cracking record this bird was and another top quality species to add to the already mouth watering array of rarities seen in Yorkshire.
 I felt sorry for the birders arriving as we walked back to our cars,as they had no chance of seeing the bird,as it was now dark and the bird looked like it had left south.
 A crazy few hours,but what a fantastic experience in seeing this first for Britain.

Local Patching.....Saturday 13th & Monday 15th October 2018.

A couple of visits to the patch over the last few days resulted in some fantastic views of the now resident flocks of Pink-footed Geese with a few bits and bobs seen also,this is what i recorded over the 2 visits with a selection of photos.

Saturday 13th

A blustery south westerly wind today and crazy temperatures for the time of year,hitting 25 degrees C,made for a difficult visit and hard work looking for birds along the Humber bank.
 The first nicety was a bit of a surprise regarding the location,as a Dark-bellied Brent Goose was found amongst 300 Pink-footed Geese at Winter's Pond.The bird was only seen at first light and not seen afterwards.
 A session scanning the river revealed only one decent bird,a Knot,a long overdue species for the year list,the bird passing east towards Killingholme with 5 Dunlin.It has been a dire year for wader passage on this side of the Estuary unfortunately this year,but with the creation of the new wetland site,hopefully things will change.
 Other bits seen included 3 Kingfisher,1 at Winter's and 2 seen along East Halton beck,a female Marsh Harrier over the fields near the gas compound and 2 male Ruff with the Black-tailed Godwit flock at the Skitter.
 Non bird sightings included a Hornet seen at Red House Wood and a couple of Small White butterflies.

Monday 15th

After the forecast over night of easterly winds and rain,i arrived at East Halton Skitter in the hope of seeing some passage along the estuary,but instead it was a North-North Westerly blast with incessant rain/drizzle making for even more difficult conditions than Saturday.
 I spent the first 3 hours or so scanning the estuary,getting very little reward for my efforts,with 9 Pintail and what was most probably 15-16 Whooper Swans disappearing east into the murk.
 Enough was enough and i headed out for a walk and did the square,highlights included 34 Skylark moving west,at least 600 Pink-footed Geese scattered over the fields between the Skitter and Winter's Pond,an Adult male Marsh harrier,3 Ruff and 600 Golden Plover at the Skitter,75 Goldfinch and 92 Linnet on the mitigation site.
 Two relatively late Swallow headed east at Winter's Pond,the first on the patch for a couple of weeks.
 An interesting record concerned a colour-ringed Greylag '4XI' on Winter's Pond,which had been ringed the previous year in the Lower Derwent valley in North Yorkshire on the 19.06.2017. and was subsequently recorded at Spurn on 06.05.2018.,another sighted ringing recovery for the patch.
 Non bird sightings today included a Hornet in the same place as Saturday,a Brown Hare and at least 7 Roe Deer.

Dawn At Winter's Pond,13.10.2018.

Greylag Geese,Winter's Pond,13.10.2018.

Moody Skies Over The Humber,13.10.2018.

Mute Swans Heading East,13.10.2018.

Pink-footed Geese,East Halton,13.10.2018.

Pink-footed Geese,East Halton,13.10.2018.

Pink-footed Geese,East Halton Skitter,13.10.2018.

Black-tailed Godwits And Ruff,East Halton Skitter,13.10.2018.

Female Kestrel,Winter's Pond,13.10.2018.

Looking Towards East Halton Skitter,With Saltend And Hull In The Distance,13.10.2018.

Pink-footed Geese,Winter's Pond,13.10.2018.

Pink-footed Geese,Winter's Pond,13.10.2018.

Pink-footed Geese,Winter's Pond,13.10.2018.

Pink-footed Geese,Winter's Pond,13.10.2018.

North Yorkshire......Saturday & Sunday 6th/7th October 2018.

A couple of days away with Mrs R to north York's staying at East Ayton close to Forge Valley saw us seeing a few birds on our travels in which wasn't really a birding holiday at all,but just a couple of relaxing days away.
 Saturday saw us visiting lovely Thornton-Le-Dale and a blustery and wet Whitby,but some confiding Turnstones at Whitby made the visit worthwhile.
 Sunday saw us visiting several places including the lovely villages of Rosedale,Hutton-Le-Hole and the deserted medieval village of Wharram Percy as we toured around the Moors and Wolds,seeing a few nice birds and scenery.The best of which went to 3500 - 4000 Pink-footed geese flying over Wharram Percy,which was a fantastic sight to see and hear. 
 I have included here a selection of photos of both the birds,landscapes and some of the places we visited during our trip.

Beck Isle Cottage,Thornton Dale.

A Blustery Whitby Looking North Towards Sandsend.

Turnstone,Whitby Harbour.

Turnstone,Whitby Harbour.

Turnstone,Whitby Harbour.

Turnstone,Whitby Harbour.

Whitby Abbey,What A Fantastic Iconic Building.

Sunrise At East Ayton.

Some Nice Scenery Near To Rosedale.

The Road Into Rosedale.

Rosedale.

Red Grouse,Rosedale Moor.

St.Martins Parish Church,Wharram Percy.

St.Martins Parish Church,Wharram Percy.

Barton Pits & East Halton,Saturday/Sunday 29th/30th September 2018.

With the rare chance of getting out birding on two days this weekend,i decided to visit Barton Pits on Saturday and the local patch at East Halton on Sunday,the following is a summary of what i saw and some photos thrown in as well.

Saturday 29th

Today i planned to walk from the 'New' visitor centre up to Leggot's Quarry and back,taking in Far-Ings,Chowder Ness etc.
 The main feature of the visit,was a westerly passage of Pink-footed Geese up the estuary as on my last visit here and today's totals were a decent 1002 birds.
 Other highlights included in the visit,saw at least 47 Bearded Tit being seen around the Outdoor Pursuit Pit reed beds,my first Rock Pipit of the autumn flying west along the shore at Chowder Ness,1 adult female Marsh harrier and a couple of Siskins heading west.
 I also had brief views of a Bittern and Kingfisher on Ness Lake,but it was just nice to get out and about in the sun today.

Sunday 30th

Today's local patch visit was pretty damn good to be honest,with some nice birds seen,including one pretty scarce bird here to be fair. 
 The first highlight went to lovely juvvie Grey Wagtail watched feeding around the margins of Winter's Pond and it gave some nice views just after first light,before flying off south,the first i have seen on the patch this year.
 Next goodie was the best bird of the day,as a grey goose took off from Winter's,flew over my head calling and headed towards the Skitter and landed in a stubble field at the back of the mitigation area.I walked up onto the bank to scope the bird,which to be fair was quite a way off,but I'm certain from it's call and structure,thin tail band at the tail tip in flight,big head and wedge shaped profile that this was a Bean Goose
 I watched it for a good while and flocks of Pink-footed Geese flew closely over it and it did not show any interest in them at all and there was also at least 50 birds feeding close by on a stubble field,strange behaviour i thought if this was a Pink.It was then flushed by a passing aircraft and joined the Pinks feeding nearby which in turn where flushed and i didn't see the bird afterwards.
 Other goodies seen today included 2 Marsh Harrier,a juv. and the adult male from Dawson City,1 Siskin which flew west,Kingfisher(At last!) at the Skitter and last weeks adult Med Gull was still present at the Skitter along with the pair of Stonechat.
 So with 4 additions to the patch year list and some great birding to boot,it was another great visit.

Pink-footed Geese,Heading West At Barton.

Part Of An Irrupting Flock Of 47 Bearded Tit,Outdoor Pursuit Pit.

Male Bearded Tit,Outdoor Pursuit Pit.

Cormorant,Ness Lake,Far-Ings.

West Bound Pink-footed Geese Over Far-Ings.

Curlew,Chowder Ness.

Gadwall,Ness Lake,Far-Ings.

Sunrise Over The Humber,East Halton.

Pink-footed And Greylag Geese,Winter's Pond.

Adult Med. Gull,East Halton Skitter.

Adult Med.Gull,East Halton Skitter.

Male Ruff,East Halton Skitter.