Welcome To My Blog,This Will Be Mainly Used As A Diary For My Local Birding Patch At East Halton/Goxhill On The Banks Of The Humber Estuary,With Occasional Twitching And Visits Elsewhere Including Photos From Mine & Tracey's Walks Around Our Beautiful Countryside.
A change of scenery today,saw me visiting Tophill low nature reserve north of Beverley,situated in the River Hull Valley.
Nothing particular had been seen on the reserve,but i know from past experience that it can be a good destination for diversity of birds and insects,so i thought i would give it a go.
After paying for my day permit,i got the pack up and kit together and headed north through the reserve and up to Hempholme Lock.
Nothing really of note was seen on the walk through this area,but it ws great to see and hear nesting Grey Herons in the 'D' Woods.
Walking through the reserve usually sees plenty of insects on offer,but today due to the cold and overcast conditions it was hard work.
The one positive about the visit though,was the huge numbers of Swifts feeding over 'D' Reservoir,with a conservative estimate of at least 1300 birds making for a stunning spectacle.These birds i believe were being concentrated here due to a combination of weather and excellent feeding,with a huge hatch of Chironomid Midges providing plenty of food for their avian predators.
Also in amongst the Swifts were smaller numbers of Swallows,House and sand Martins,what a great sight to witness after such a poor spring for all the species so far.
The above then attracted their supreme predator and i watched as a Hobby sent them scattering in all directions.These beautiful Falcons really are something else and could have easily followed these birds in from Africa.
Hempholme Lock was also pretty quiet,with a couple of Little Egrets being seen and the obligatory Kingfisher sighting and also a couple of Roe Deer.
I then walked back to the car park visitor centre area and enjoyed an hour or so watching and listening to the resident Marsh Frogs.These are brilliant to see and hear with their duck like-quacking-chuckling call they produce when croaking to attract a mate and it was great entertainment.
After enjoying the marsh Frogs performance,i walked around to South Marsh and Watton nature reserve seeing some waders at last and it was great to watch a pair of Oystercatcher feeding their well grown young.
Not a bad day out today,but some warm weather would be nice so i can look for my beloved Dragons.
When I first started birding in my mid teens,i often looked through my bird books and Richard Millingtons superbly illustrated Twitcher's Diary in Birdwatching Magazine and often dreamed of seeing many of the rare species illustrated.
But it was two species that always stood out to me,both from America,one was Western Sandpiper and the other Franklin's Gull.
In January 2012,i added Western Sandpiper to my life list at Cley in Norfolk,unfortunately not the brightly marked juvenile i had hoped for,but a wintering adult,a cracking bird all the same though!.
The other species Franklin's Gull had eluded me for one reason or another,until a fine adult bird was found at RSPB St.Aiden's near Leeds in West Yorkshire,an hour from home.
I checked my phone for news all day and when i left for home,the bird was still there.I quickly scoffed my tea and then i was on the road.
Just under an hour later and i was parking up outside the reserve gate,got my gear together and i was off.
I could see a small group watching the bird about three quarters of a mile away and i walked as fast as i could.
On arrival,the bird was seen straight away and what a cracker!,the combination of jet black head,big eye crescents and scarlet bill,darker grey upperparts and white subterminal markings in the primaries made for a very distinctive bird and all I had hoped it to be.
I watched as it rested at first,as it had a slightly injured leg,but then it began displaying and calling to the surrounding Black-headed Gulls,putting on a great show.The call was slightly Lapwing like and even in flight i could pick it out from the Black-headed Gulls on call.
This bird is thought to be the adult seen in Yorkshire last summer and the same bird seen in Norway in January 2021 and Belgium in March 2021.
Sadly after a good hour and a half i had to leave and get home for work the following morning,but what a privilege it was to enjoy such a smart bird and finally add this species to my life list at last,my 480th species in Britain.
St.Aiden's RSPB,What A Superb Reserve.
A Pretty Tame Juvenile Grey Heron.
A Couple Of Record Shots Of The Stunning Adult Franklin's Gull,Standing Out Well And Truly Amongst It's Commoner Cousins.
A couple of visits to the local patch over these two days resulted in a couple of pretty decent visits,with some nice birds seen as always,the following is what i saw.
3rd May
I started today,as alway's,by parking at Winter's Pond and after getting the required kit together for my visit,i was off and exploring.
As i walked along the Humber bank towards the seaplane jetty,that familiar rattle of a male Lesser Whitethroat was heard and then another,so two birds was good and my first records of the year of this lovely little Sylvia Warbler.
Other singing male Warbler's in the Winter's area included 6 Sedge Warbler,4 Whitethroat,3 Chiffchaff,a single Willow Warbler and 4 Blackcap,as well as the 2 resident Cetti's Warbler.
Other niceities around the area included a single Common Sandpiper along the Humber shore,2 Curlew and 4 Whimbrel.
After Winter's i then decided to cover the mitigation area,with a pair of Wheatear,Black-tailed Godwit,2 gorgeous summer plumaged Golden Plover and my first 'Patch' House Martins of the year,being the highglights.
Coverage of the Skitter area,saw the Pink-footed Goose still in residence,with 2 Avocet also being recorded.
I then decided to walk along Skitter Road and this proved to be a good move,as the best bird of the day was seen.
I was just walking past East Halton Grange,when i turned around to see a lovely male Ring Ouzel fly past me and onto the sheep pastures.I walked around there,but could not see any further sign unfortunately,but was very pleased to have seen the bird.It is the first i have seen on my patch,for many years,what a lovely surprise.
Also along Skitter Road were decent numbers of Insects and i managed to find both Rhingia campestris and Rhingia rostrata within close proximity of each other near Redhouse Wood.The latter was my first sighting of the species and a welcome addition to my Syrphidae list.
The only other highpoint of the visit,bird wise,was a pair of Grey Partridge and another singing male Lesser Whitethroat seen along Marsh lane.
9th May
A totally different visit today,with the weather turning around to a southerly/south westerly airflow and boy did it make a difference.
A rainy start first thing,saw me watching the Estuary from the car,which certainly paid dividends,with 2 flocks of 4 Arctic Terns flying out south,a welcome year tick and good start.
Also from my watchpoint here,a lovely Grey Seal,50 Dunlin,14 Ringed Plover,a Cuckoo and a single Avocet were seen.
After the rain stopped,it was back around to Winter's and the best sighting's included a Swift south,my first of the year,2 Common Sandpiper along the Humber shoreline and the first of a good movement of Hirundines moving north along the Humber bank,which included mainly Swallows,with smaller numbers of House and Sand Martins and Swifts.
I then walked along the seawall up to the Skitter,seeing the lovely sight of a flock of 10 Whimbrel feeding on the mitigation area and as i reached the Skitter,a very smart Sanderling was added to the increasing year list as it flew close,past with a Dunlin and also another Whimbrel entered the notes.
Some concentrated coverage around the Skitter,saw a really rare bird for my patch being found,a Corn Bunting!.
This bird was watched feeding around the muck heap near the gas compound and is the first i have seen on my local patch,for a long,long time.
Also around the same muck heap,was a lovely female Wheatear.
I then walked up along the floodbank to Dawson City seeing another female Wheatear,near to the long wood and also another 8 Whimbrel feeding on one of the cattle pastures.
On Dawson City itself another Whimbrel on the pasture at the rear of the reserve,a Little Egret,9 Curlew and a Cetti's Warbler were noted.
Nothing much different was logged on the return walk to the Skitter and i then decided to walk along the edge of the mitigation area and back to Winter's.
Along the Mit site,more Hirundines were watched moving north still,with a lovely Redshank seen displaying,showing some hope for possible breeding,a pair of Teal and 2 Snipe still and the lovely sight of 4 more Wheatear for the day,together,2 male and 2 females.
A good couple of visits with some decent numbers of summer migrants in at last.
The Humber Floodbank,Near To Dawson City.
Dawson City LWTR.
Cranefly Sp. - Tipula vernalis.
A Very Important Hedgerow Plant,Garlic Mustard,The Foodplant Of Orange Tip And Green-veined White Butterflies
Today,another visit further afield with Mrs R,to an area which has become a favourite for us and has some lovely scenery,cracking birding and two of the most quirky,interesting, towns or villages we have visited.
An early start saw us travelling along the M62,bright and early for our first destination Hardcastle Crags.
This valley in Upper Calderdale,is a wooded valley along the River Hebden and contains some lovely mixed woodland along with some special birds.
Today's visit was no exception,with me finding a cracking,singing male Wood Warbler,which showed really well and relatively low down as well and i even managed to get a few pics.
Other species seen included a small colony of Grey Herons,Grey wagtails and a pair of lovely Dippers feeding their chicks at the nest.
A profusion of wild flowers included Wood Anemone,Bluebells and Wood Sorrel and the Ramsons were also just beginning to flower,with that lovely garlicky smell.
After enjoying a welcome Hot Chocolate at the 19th century Gibson Mill,which is now converted into a National Trust cafe and shop,we decided to walk up over the hill to the unique village of Heptonstall.
It was a tad tiring up the steep incline,but the reward is a village which is such an interesting place,with it's 2 churches within each other(St.Thomas A Becket & St.Thomas The Apostle) and the lovely cobbled streets.
After our enjoyable visit to Heptonstall,we walked back down the hill to the car at Hardcastle Crags.
The rest of the day was spent at Hebden Bridge,enjoying a well earned lunch and taking in the sights and sounds of the Rochdale Canal.
Woodland Scenery At Hardcastle Crags.
The River Hebden.
Singing male Wood Warbler.
Male Wood Warbler.
Dipper,Near To It's Nest.
Dipper Nest.
The 19th Century Gibson Mill.
Part Of The Famous Crags.
Some Of The Locals.
Stoodley Pike & Monument,Viewable From Heptonstall.
