This weekend Tracey and myself had pre-booked a weekend away at Flamborough staying at North Moor Farm cottages near to North Landing.
Unfortunately for Tracey the weather forecast for Saturday was gale force winds and showers and wasn't very conducive for walking,but we still made the most of our visit and got some great birding in as well as enjoying the magnificent scenery this beautiful headland offers.
The following account is what we managed to see during the weekend:
Saturday 26th
An early morning watch in storm force northerlies from North Landing made it impossible to stand at times,but i managed to shelter behind one of the buildings as i scanned the sea.
A few nice birds were seen in the couple of hours from this viewpoint and included several Sooty Shearwater, 7 Great Skuas,7 Pale-bellied Brent Geese battling their way north,Arctic Skua,5 Eider south and in off flock of Starling.
After a couple of hours i wandered back to the cottage for a welcome cuppa and bacon sarnies.
Another watch from the lighthouse/sea watching hide from 2.30 until 6ish was far more productive as the rain had eased and visibility was much improved.
Much better views of Sooty Shearwaters were seen from here,with at least 150 being seen,along with 35 Manx Shearwater,a handful of Arctic & Great Skuas and the star of the show,a stunning pale morph Long-tailed Skua which steadily flew north close in,thanks to Phil Cunningham for letting us into the hide to see it.
Sunday 27th
A much better day today weather wise after the early morning showers had dissipated.After a walk around Selwick's Bay with Tracey our main concentration was land birds,as the wind had eased,so we walked around to Old Fall with our friend Steve to see if the 2nd calendar year male Red-breasted Flycatcher was still showing.Sure enough on arrival he was still in the same area i had seen him in early morning,what a cracking little bird as he sallied after flies.Other birds seen in the area included 13 Redwing,19 Barnacle Geese which flew south,2 Brambling,Great-spotted Woodpecker,Redpoll,2 Chiffchaff and a calling Firecrest which i didn't see unfortunately.
After some lunch we said goodbye to steve and his wife and headed over to South Landing,which proved a good idea,as we were treated to some cracking views of a Hawfinch feasting on Hawthorn berries showing in the open at times and we also managed to see at least 2 Yellow-browed Warbler which were associating with a mixed tit flock.Other migrants observed here included a Wheatear,male Stonechat,Blackcap,Brambling and a Common Buzzard.
Monday 28th
Sadly it was time to go home and as i packed the car,a single Common Crossbill flew in off the sea and south.What a brilliant place this is and we are already looking forward to our next visit here with brilliant birding and stunning scenery.
North Landing,26th. 
North Landing,26th. 
Selwick's Bay,26th 
The Impressive 'Chalk Tower',27th.
 |
| Selwick's Bay,27th. |
 |
| The Iconic Lighthouse,27th. |
 |
| Selwick's Bay,27th. |
 |
| Check Out Those Wellies! |
 |
| Selwick's Bay,27th. |
No comments:
Post a Comment