As i travelled over the Humber,i wondered what this gem of a reserve will serve up today.
After paying for my day permit,i decided to cover the northern end of the reserve first taking in Hempholme Lock and the River Hull as well.
As i got my kit together and set off,a drumming Great-spotted Woodpecker,11 Siskin and at least 50 Redwing were quickly seen in and around the car park,a decent start i thought.
As i quietly wandered through D Woods,the only highlights entering the notebook were 3 Song Thrush and at least 25 Blackbird.
North Marsh was frozen solid,so i carried on towards Hempholme and as i neared the lock itself i could see a white Heron in the dyke alongside Hempholme Meadow.
As a jogger went past the heron it jumped out of the dyke and so the first good bird of the visit was logged,a majestic Great-white Egret and my first find of the year.
I know this species has become comparatively commoner than it used to be,but to me they are still a great bird to see.It flew over towards the River Hull,landing out of view and i hoped it would allow some photos when i reached the lock itself.
As i searched the river bank before the lock,there was no sight of the Egret,but then as i crossed over to the opposite bank he was there,this time with a Little Egret for company and they both decided to fly off unfortunately,the Little heading off along the river and the Great flying into Struncheon Hill ponds.
A good scan of the area revealed 25 Mute Swans grazing on the adjacent fields and 6 Little Grebe along the river.
As i headed back towards D woods,a nice 2nd calendar year male Marsh Harrier headed along the river towards Hempholme and a Roe Deer quietly disappeared into the undergrowth as i approached.
Back at the car park area now and another view of the Siskins and it was onto O reservoir to look for the star bird if it was still present,a Red-necked Grebe.
It was seen virtually straight away,but unfortunately never close,but nice to see all the same and i attempted to take some mega distant record shots just for posterity.
After seeing the grebe,i made my way around to Watton Nature Reserve,well at least the hide which overlooks it anyway.
Prolonged scanning from here revealed little in the way of surprises,but a nice pair of Pintail and a single Black-tailed Godwit were added to the day list ,along with another Little Egret.
South Marsh was frozen solid,so i made my way around to the wardens hut for a chat with friends Martin and Doug over a very welcome cuppa and i decided to join them at the gull roost.
It was a pretty good omen,as when i have joined Martin in the past,ive always really enjoyed seeing the thousands of gulls dropping into D res and seen the odd rare along the way.
We all got in position and began to scan the constant flow of gulls into the reservoir and the first good bird was soon found by Martin,a 1st winter Med.Gull,this was followed by two different adults and then sometime later the cream of the crop,a second calendar year Caspian Gull which was also found by Martin.... well he is a bit good at this gull lark.
It really is a privilege to visit a cracking reserve like this and then spend time with people who really do know they're hobbies inside out,what a great day again here!.I slowly travelled back home to north Linc's after another brilliant day in the home county and look forward to visiting again sometime.
 |
| Great-white Egret,Hempholme Lock. |
 |
| Great-white Egret,Hempholme Lock. |
 |
| Looking South Along The River Hull From Hempholme Lock. |
 |
| Looking North Along The River Hull From Hempholme Lock. |
 |
| Red-necked Grebe,O Reservoir. |
 |
| Watton Nature Reserve. |
 |
| The Famous D Reservoir Gull Roost. |
No comments:
Post a Comment