As i drove down the approach road and just before i reached the gate at Winter's,an Owl was hunting the grass verge,before flicking over the hedge into the rough field next door.I recorded it as a Short-eared,but it conceivably could have been a LeO.As it got light,another look for it revealed no hunting birds and i will keep my eyes peeled on future visits.
After getting the kit together and some warm clothes on a good look around Winter's itself revealed few surprises,but 12 Tufties,25 Mallard and the regular pair of Mute Swans were present and as i walked,a female Sparrowhawk nearly took my head off as it chased some unsuspecting passerine.
A few small birds along the hedgerows included 9 Long-tailed Tit,11 Blackbird,5 Song Thrush and 3 Redwing and the ever present male Cetti's Warbler,gave occasional bursts of Song.
Onto the Humber floodbank and it was slightly misty to say the least for round two of the Icelandic Goose survey,but some incessant scanning revealed at least 2200 Pink-footed Geese,which at first were all sat on the Humber together,before lifting off onto the fields to feed.Also on the outgoing tide,were a single female Common Scoter,7 Goosander and 4 Goldeneye.
A scan over the mitigation site,revealed a single male Stonechat sallying after it's prey,a single Common Buzzard and 3 more Song Thrush.A nice surprise,was a lovely Fox,watched as he went about his morning business and at least 14 Roe Deer were logged.
A really good tramp around the Skitter and pools,again revealed no big surprises,but the stunning old male Marsh Harrier put in an appearance along with a brief view of the male Barn Owl along the Beck.The pools and foreshore held a single Water Pipit,2 Rock Pipit,12 Yellowhammer and 11 Reed Buntings,but wader wise it was very quiet,with the only highlight being 5 Avocet.
The decision was then made to head inland along the Beck and cover Chapel Field Farm and Road and then onto East Marsh Road and up to Goxhill Haven just in case there were any Geese lingering on the fields,as the hunt for White-fronts continued,after the recent influx.
The usual suspects were encountered along the Beck,with a hand full of Redwings and Fieldfare and the lovely sight of a flock of 45 Stock Dove,they are such underrated birds,just stunning!.
As Chapel Field Farm was passed by a flurry of activity along the approach road to the farm,saw 41 Redwing and 7 Fieldfare being seen,but then a good sized flock of 67 Chaffinches were feeding along the harvested wheat field and adjoining hedgerow,a nice sight to see.
Along East Marsh Road,no sign of the Pink flock in their usual fields,but they were playing hide and seek with us over towards the Haven,but out of view and i hoped we would get a good,clear look through the flock before the day was out.
As we reached Goxhill Haven,the only highlight was a Great-spotted Woodpecker seen on a telegraph pole and 6 Bar-tailed Godwit fed on the mud as 100+ Golden Plover flew over head.
The leg back towards East Halton Skitter,including the huge sandbank off Dawson City was the most productive area for the day,with some nice sightings to make just reward for all the effort put in today.
The sandbank off Dawson held 294 Curlew,480 Lapwing,400 Golden Plover,1 Oystercatcher and 2 Rock Pipits were seen along the shoreline,with a pair of Stonechat watched on the Saltmarsh,the 2nd and 3rd birds for the day and as we neared Ruins Pond,a calling Cetti's Warbler was heard and then a little further along at the pond itself a singing male,so 2 along here was good.
At last the chance had arrived to get to grips with the Pink flock,as they were feeding on a Winter Wheat field.Putting the zoom eyepiece to good use on the big Swaro scope,i managed to pick out 2 Eurasian White-fronted Geese...yes!,i knew there would be some somewhere along the Humber and my little,local flock had 2 in it.The birds were watched at some range as they browsed on the crop,thank god for a 60x zoom.Soon the flock was off again and that was that.
Nothing else of note was recorded as the last leg of the walk was completed back to the car.
A bit knackering today,but rewarding when you can watch a patch as good as this,it's just great to be able to get out in the fresh air enjoying a hobby i love.
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| Distant Shot Of The Fox On The Mitigation Site. |
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| Rock Pipit At The Skitter. |
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| Some Nosey Locals Down Goxhill Marsh. |
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| Sundown Over The Skitter Fields. |
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