A Tale Of Two Pipits......10th November 2019.

With the continued presence of the Paddyfield Pipit at Sennen in West Cornwall and the fact it was a new species for the Western Palearctic,today,well tonight,saw Tim,Mark and myself making the huge journey south to see this bird.Also on offer as a bonus bird,was another species of Pipit,Buff-bellied or American Pipit as it is also known,one which i have wanted to see for some time,so a double whammy if we got both!.
 A trouble free journey through the night with the lads,saw us eventually reaching the village of Sennen to a very wet and windy dawn and we snoozed after our journey as it struggled to get light.
 Eventually a break in the rain,saw us getting the gear together and the obligatory waterproofs on and we were off and searching for our first target the Paddyfield Pipit.
 It was still struggling to get light,as several banks of heavy rain passed over,but it eventually began to clear and at about 8.30am the Paddyfield Pipit put in it's first appearance.On first views i was struck by how pale and leggy this bird was,with a considerably shorter tail than either Richard's,Blyth's or Tawny Pipit.The latter species was as close a match as the Paddyfield looked in appearance,without the obvious dark lores of that species,but similar paleness.
 As it flew,i heard it call once,realising retrospectively that it was the birds call when i reached home and was listening to it on Xeno Canto,almost Tree Sparrow like to my ears.
 We continued to watch the bird enjoying some superb views and after we had got our fill of the bird,it was all out to try and locate the Buff-bellied Pipit,this took a considerable amount of time to be fair.
 We were stood scanning the eastern side of one of the Maize fields,when Tim called that he thought he had the BBP and sure enough there it was,i quickly got onto the bird and enjoyed some cracking,but brief views of this striking Pipit species,what a beauty!.I called Mark over,but in the excitement he knocked my scope and the bird had flown....crap!.We continued to look for the bird as we wanted more views and more than anything to get Mark onto the bird and after a considerable amount of time i found it again and saw it three times at some distance,as it ranged about the Maize field with the Meadow Pipit flock it was associating with and then it was gone again and we did not see it again,despite more searching.
 Unfortunately time was getting on and we had to leave to make the 8 hour journey home and Tim and myself were gutted Mark didn't see the bird,as it would have been a UK tick for him,but at least he had seen the species before in America.
 We travelled the long journey home in good spirits,although a little weary it has to be said,but i was really chuffed i had added my 470th and 471st species to my list and obviously gained experience of another two species which i had not seen before.
 Thanks to Tim and Mark for the company and I've just about caught up with my sleep now.

More Wet Weather & Seabirds,November 6th + 8th 2019.

More local patching in some horrible weather to be fair,with a deluge on the 8th,but a few highlights observed thankfully to keep interest ticking over.The following are the highlights observed on the two days.

6th November

After learning i did not have to go into work for my night shift,i decided to make an afternoon visit to the patch for a change.
 No major highlights were seen today,but plenty of wader and raptor activity provided interest,with flocks of 45 and 68 Curlew seen at Winter's and on the mitigation site respectively.Raptor sightings went to 3 each of Common Buzzard on Winter's and the mitigation site as with the Curlew and the cracking adult male Marsh Harrier put in an appearance as he headed towards Winter's.
 A wander around the Skitter pools and shoreline revealed singles of both Water and Rock Pipit and a couple of Goldeneye were loafing on the Humber off here.
 The most incredible sighting for the day,was a whopping count of 27 Roe Deer between the Skitter and Winter's which included 3 groups of 5 individuals,just great to see and they are lovely animals to watch,with a couple of fawns chasing each other around and oblivious to my approach.A lovely ending to the day was watching and hearing Pink-footed Geese heading to roost,just bliss.

8th November

After the overnight rain,the fields adjacent to Winter's were again flooded and were a hive of activity at dawn,with 2 Whooper Swan,39 Curlew,15 Redshank,2 Black-tailed Godwit,66 Common Gull and 58 Black-headed Gulls taking advantage of this feeding opportunity.Similarly Winter's was also quite busy with birds and this included 24 Gadwall,65 Greylag,7 Little Grebe,46 Mallard and 6 Shoveler.The male Cetti's Warbler was also still in residence,with occasional bursts of song.
 With the north easterly breeze and occasional showers,i was hoping for a few seabirds,but things were not that exciting to be fair,but i still managed to see 46 Common Scoter in flocks of 10,2 and 34,2 Guillemot and 6 Goldeneye.All these birds were observed moving north up the estuary.
 A walk around the Skitter revealed 2 separate female Stonechat and then the rain started.The forecast had said sunshine and showers,it didn't stop raining for the next 4 hours at least and put an end to the visit as i had enough and all the gear was soaked.I travelled home,slowly drying out thankfully.

Another couple of visits to 'My' little part of Lincolnshire and i look forward to my next visit.

The 70 Year Old Cruise Ship Astoria As It Was Leaving Hull.

Looking Towards North Killingholme Haven At Dawn On The 8th.

Common Scoters Heading Along The Estuary.

Goldeneye Heading North Along The Estuary.

Phone Scoped Photo Of One Of The Female Stonechats At The Skitter On The 8th.

The River Wharfe....Burnsall To Grassington,Sunday 3rd November 2019.

After attending the lovely bonfire night and fireworks at Bolton Abbey the previous evening,we were up and at it this morning after enjoying a lovely fry up at the B&B before heading to Burnsall.
 Today saw us getting away with parking for free at the riverside and we quickly got ready and headed along this beautiful stretch of the River Wharfe.
 The weather wasn't great overall today,but we began the walk in some lovely autumnal sunshine.
 Bird wise it wasn't as productive as some visits we have made in the past,but we still enjoyed lovely views of Dipper,Goosander and last but not least a Kingfisher which showed brilliantly near Hebden,so i could let Trace enjoy watching it through the new scope.
 This really is a lovely walk and its just bliss enjoying the autumn colours and great scenery,one for anyone who enjoys riverside walking.
 Sadly after returning back to Burnsall and enjoying a very nice sunday lunch at the Red Lion,it was time to head home,but i certainly look forward to my next visit here to this beautiful river.

Hebden Suspension Bridge.

Lovely Colours On The River At Hebden.

Riverside Trees At Hebden.

Kingfisher Near Hebden.

Kingfisher At Hebden.

Linton Falls.

Linton Falls.

Trace At Linton Falls.

The River Wharfe At Grassington.

Wild Swans Arrive & Local Patching Update,20th & 27th October 2019.

More local patching here,with another summary of two days out and about around my little patch on the banks of the Humber Estuary.

20th October

Today was the Icelandic Goose survey around the country,where a synchronised count takes place counting Pink-footed Geese leaving their roost sites and i did my bit counting birds leaving their roost on the north bank of the Humber,crossing over to my patch and inland to feed for the day.A decent count of 2,241 birds was made and an incredible 29,600 birds on the estuary as a total,the second highest count ever.

 After the goose count,Winter's held 2 pretty late Curlew Sandpipers over the high tide and a female Stonechat was along the seawall towards Killingholme.

 At East Halton Skitter today,another female Stonechat and a Merlin were seen,the latter bombing past us at break neck speed.

 A walk along the mitigation site revealed the 3rd and 4th Stonechats of the day,with a pair being seen and then the beautiful sight and sound of 50 Whooper Swans.A nice flock of 46 birds headed south towards Killingholme and 4 birds dropped in on the mitigation site,what a great end to the visit for the day.

27th October

A few bits and bobs on Winter's to start the visit today included a single Ruff,3 Little Egret and the resident male Cetti's Warbler singing away and after reaching the floodbank a redhead Goosander flew out towards Killingholme.

 Quite a bit of wildfowl on the mitigation site included 56 Mallard,18 Gadwall & 50 Teal and the first 4 Roe Deer of a good count of 11 were seen.

 A good tramp around the Skitter pools and general area,saw 2 Water Pipit arriving for the winter,3 Rock Pipits,a single male Bearded Tit and a Juv. Peregrine all entering the notebook.This was followed by 2 Stonechat a male and a female seen separately and a nice flock of 60 Chaffinch observed on the fields.A good check through these revealed 0 Bramblings unfortunately.

 A walk along Skitter road,saw me adding a new species for the year and not a common one on my patch,a Coal Tit.This single bird was seen with a mixed tit flock at Grange Farm and was a nice surprise.

 A quick check of the flooded field next to Winter's before i left for home,saw 11 Black-tailed Godwit,Turnstone,Dunlin,Snipe,7 Redshank and 47 Lapwing feeding on it and the stunning adult male Marsh Harrier was seen again hunting the rough field nearby.

A couple of decent visits,particularly the Pinks and Whooper Swans.

Whooper Swans,Over The Mitigation Site On The 20th.

Dawn Over The Humber On The 27th.

Little Egret,Winter's Pond,27th.

Juvenile Male Kestrel,Winter's Pond,27th.

Red Head Goosander,27th.

Greylag Geese,27th.

Grange Farm,27th.

Common Buzzard Over His Territory,27th.

Gadwall,Winter's Pond,27th.

Gadwall,Winter's Pond,27th.