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.
Another chance to get out again with Tracey and Clara and complete a walk from the picturesque wolds village of Tealby up to Walesby and back,had us having a really great day out again.
It made a nice change not having to drive too far today and we were parked up in the village in about 35 minutes from leaving home.
The walk starts off in the village and you basically follow the Viking Way signs all the way up to Walesby and the lovely little Rambler's Church,or the Church Of All Saints as it is officially known.
On the walk it takes in some great scenery which included the ruins of Castle Farm as you leave Tealby and Bedlam Plantation,before walking over rolling Wolds hills to pass Risby Manor and the lovely Lincolnshire Long Wools,a rare breed of sheep farmed in the area.
After leaving Risby Manor behind,you walk across a large area farmed for Red Deer and it was great to see these majestic animals close up as we headed for Walesby.
The Rambler's church has been here since at least the 12th century and probably earlier as there is some evidence to suggest a Saxon church stood here also,nearby there was a Roman settlement dated at 320AD.
The walk back to Tealby was basically below were we had walked in the outward leg.
A few birds were seen on the walk and the best went to a lovely Redstart,seen below Castle Farm as we walked along the first section of the walk.
After a lovely lunch at the Vintage Tea Rooms,we walked up to Tealby Thorpe again to show Clara,what a lovely little part of Lincolnshire this is.
The following are a selection of pics form the walk.
Tealby Thorpe
The Rambler's Window.
The Rambler's Church,Walesby.
Red Deer At Risby.
Risby.
Sloes.
Risby Manor.
Dew Pond On The Hillside Near To Castle Farm.
All Saints Church Tealby,Near To The Start Of The Walk.
Some birds you think you will never get the chance to attempt to see again in this country and White-tailed Lapwing was such a bird.
After travelling all the way up to Caerlaverock in Dumfries And Galloway,Scotland,in June 2007and being painfully told that the bird had gone,i thought that was it for me....but fast forward to Thursday 26th August and a gripping Whats App message from birding buddy Arash,to say one had been found at Blacktoft Sands RSPB,only 20 minutes from my work....there was a couple of problems,i had no birding gear with me and also i didn't finish work until 2.00pm.
A painfull rest of my shift ensued as i tried to busy myself with my work and try and not think of the exotic Peewit up the road.
Finally 2pm came around and i drove as fast as i could home,dashed in the door,got changed quickly,grabbed my gear and i was back on the road again in 5 minutes flat.
I eventually made it to the reserve to a smiling Adam Hutt,with his usual wit,saying 'Where have you been all morning?'...work i said unfortunately.The good news was that the bird was still here....thank f...
A quick show of the RSPB membership card and a short walk and i was in Townend Lagoon hide.
To be fair it wasn't too busy and after a few minutes i was onto the bird,unfortunately watching it at some distance as it roosted in amongst Black-tailed Godwits and Ruff.
First views showed the sandy brown upperparts,pale head ,longish black bill,dark brown breast band,pale belly and those long,gangly legs,as it preened.
Suddenly without warning,it had a barnie with a Godwit,disappeared out of view for a few minutes and then thankfully flew in,right infront of the hide.
The bird then showed incredibly well and i concentrated my efforts on taking some frame filling video through the scope and also took a few stills.
I have to say that this was quite a smart bird,but it looked like it was going through some active moult,with the scapulars,coverts and head looking slightly untidy,but it still made for a very neat bird and it was so good to put it to rest seeing one after all these years.
This is the first record for Yorkshire of this very rare Plover and only the 7th record for Britain,the first being at Packington Gravel Pits in Warwickshire from 12th to the 18th July 1975.
It also joins two other Yorkshire first 'Waders' for the site,which incidentally,were also national firsts at the time,with Hudsonian Godwit being seen in September 1981 and Red-necked Stint in July 1986.
After enjoying fantastic views,i left for home allowing others to come in the hide and enjoy this smart bird.
Video Grab Of This Smart Bird.
Phonescoped Image Of The Bird Roosting In Amongst The Ruff And Black-tailed Godwits.
An oustanding couple of local patch visits over this weekend,really showing what a cracking little patch I've got.
Friday 20th
An early morning start to carry out my WEBS count,saw me parking as usual at Winter's Pond and spending the next 2 hours around this cracking little site.
To start with i headed for the Humber floodbank to see what waders and wildfowl were present in the calm and slightly misty conditions and was soon rewarded with singles of Ruff and Little-ringed Plover as they flew north overhead,a decent start i thought.
As i walked along the floodbank towards the old seaplane jetty 6 Common Sandpiper were watched along the shoreline,a Greenshank 'Tu-tu-tu'd' it's way south.I then turned around to see 4 Ruddy Shelduck flying by at quite close range,they looked like they were going into Winter's,but after a quick look,they were nowhere to be seen and must have carried on west.
To put the latter sighting into context,this is a patch first species for me personally,so was a great sighting,despite the unkown origin of the birds.
A good scan of the main lake at Winter's revealed 19 Tufted Duck,2 Great-crested Grebe,10 Little Grebe and the usual wily old Grey Heron in his favourite fishing place and in around the bushes a really good count of 15 Willow Warbler and 6 Lesser Whitethroat were seen.
Plenty of scanning of the Mitigation area,as i walked saw some nice sightings being logged and included another first for the year in the form of a Hobby.It was watched hunting and caught a Swallow,before sitting up in the trees at the back of East Halton Grange,what a cracking bird!.
Also along the Mit site,were 2 juvvie Marsh Harrier watched hunting and resting on the fence posts and also a nice flock of 63 Goldfinch were noted.
More scanning of the Humber in hope something good may have come up River in the misty conditions and big tide,saw this paying divedends,with first 4 Arctic Tern being seen,then 2 fem./imm Common Scoter and finally a gorgeous juvenile Kittiwake.
The Terns and Kit flying towards Hull and the Scoter's drifting out on the tide as it dropped off.
The Skitter,as on my last few visits,was a hive of wader activity,with today's stars including the adult and juvenile Wood Sandpipers still,1 Green Sandpiper still,a juvenile male Ruff,another Common Sandpiper,3 juvenile Water Rail and a very noisy flock of 6 juvenile Greenshank.
The latter were feeding in the Haven and eventually flew off south towards Killingholme.
The juvenile Water Rails put on a great show also,with 1 bird showing very nicely in the open allowing me to take some pretty decent video of it.
Other bits around the Skitter included 4 Bearded Tit,a Grey Plover,a Whimbrel and a Great-spotted Woodpecker in the plantation.
Sunday 22nd
Today's visit along with Jon,saw some favourable conditions,with a light north easterly and slight mist/low cloud and with the rain overnight,making us hopefull for a movement of seabirds or grounded passerines.
The former was soon confirmed,as we experienced a large movement of Terns early on,with a minimum 338 Common Terns,4 Arctic Terns and 7 Sandwich Terns all moving north along the Estuary.Mixed in with these were an adult Kittiwake,21 Common Scoter and a single Arctic Skua chasing Gulls near Killingholme and a juvenile Caspian Gull also flew north,giving some nice views,as well as a stunning juvenile Med.Gull resting on the seaplane jetty.
The movement of Terns,is the most i have seen personally on my patch and it was a real privilege to witness all these lovely birds re-orientating after the overnight rain.
Waders seen along this stretch up to the seaplane jetty included a single Ruff which flew south,a flock of 11 Whimbrel which flew west,60 Ringed Plover roosting on the car storage area,9 Avocet,87 Redshank and a Common Sand.
Overhead a flock of 48 Sand Martin flew south and around the bushes a few Willow Warblers,Chiffs and Lesser Whitethroat were seen.
The mitigation area was a bit disappointing to be fair,as with the overnight rain,i expected to see at least a Whinchat,but no migrants of that nature were seen,just the local Starling flock which numbered 250 birds today and 70 Goldfinch.A juvenile Marsh Harrier was also seen.
The Skitter area again proved to be good for wading birds with 2 juvenile Wood Sandpiper,Green sand,6 Common Sand and a decent sized flock of 1894 Icelandic Black-tailed Godwits.
In amongst the Godwit throng,we managed to pick out 6 colour-ringed birds,3 of which were birds which had been ringed by the Humber Wader Ringing Group at Welwick Saltmarsh in Yorkshire,the other 3 we are awaiting details on.
As we arrived back at Winter's a quick scan through at least 200 Ice Black-tails on the car park grassland revealed another 2 flagged birds,one,the french ringed bird i have seen on two previous occasions and 1,another bird ringed at Welwick,again by the Humber Wader Ringing Group,which was a new bird for me and the details of which i will attach to this post.
Well what can i say,but two superb visits again to this cracking area,i love my patch.
Ringing Details On Colour-ringed Icelandic Black-tailed Godwit
Today,after getting some sleep after my nightshift,Tracey and myself had planned to drive over to Donnington-on-Bain in the sleepy Lincolnshire Wolds and complete a circular walk we attempted last year,but could not,due to part of the pathway being closed due to Covid19 restrictions.
After arriving at this lovely little village,we got our boots on and waterproof packed and off we went.
To start with,the weather was a bit drizzly,but it soon warmed up and the weather broke into a pleasant day.
This walk takes in some lovely Wolds scenery and includes the famous Belmont TV mast,Biscathorpe Lake,the ridge and furrow remains of the medieval village of Biscathorpe,the lovely gothic style St.Helen's Church at Biscathorpe and of course the lovely little River Bain.
Another feature as you head back into Donington-on-Bain,is the remains of the old RAF radar station at Stenigot which was part of our Chain Home early-warning network in the second world war.
This really is a pleasant walk and the following are my favourite photos from our visit here.
Lords & Ladies,Donington-on-Bain.
St.Helen's Church,Biscathorpe.
A Small Ford Across The River Bain At Biscathorpe.
Mrs R At Biscathorpe.
Common Carpet Moth Found Roosting On A Tree At Biscathorpe.
A couple of good visits to the local patch at East Halton/Goxhill,with 3 NFY species added to the patch year list,putting me on 133 for the year.
The following is what i recorded over these two excellent visits:
Friday 13th
A blustery,but warm day today,saw me starting as usual by parking at Winter's Pond,getting the required kit together and spending a full day covering the whole patch.
Winter's first thing,was fairly quiet,but wildfowl numbers are slowly starting to build with 16 Canada Geese still in residence,22 Tufted Duck,8 Gadwall & 2 Shoveler.
In the bushes,9 Willow Warbler was notable,as juvenile birds push through the area on their long migrations to Africa.
Along the Humber shore up to Killingholme Haven,it was noticeable there was a good movement of Gulls along the Estuary,mainly comprising of Black-headed Gulls.
Waders along here on the rising tide,saw 4 Avocet,52 Redshank,6 Ringed Plover and 15 Curlew being logged.
The walk between Winter's and the Skitter,saw the first Chat migrant of the autumn being seen,with a female Wheatear giving the usual skittish views as it caught plenty of flies along the sea wall.
Also along here,at least 9 Yellow Wagtail showed well as they also plundered the profusion of flying prey.
The Skitter proved to be THE wader hotspot today,with 2 NFY species,a very brief Wood Sandpiper which was flushed by a hunting male Marsh Harrier and quickly disappeared onto the Humber along with 3 Greenshank.
Also around the Skitter and pools,were 5 Common Sand,a Green Sand and 6 Avocet.
On the fields,211 Golden Plover were seen and as i headed along the beck towards Goxhill,7 Little Egret were roosting in the beck side trees.
Along the beck,Chapel Farm,Chapel Field Road and East Marsh Road,the usual suspects were seen,with varying numbers of Butterflies and Dragons being recorded,with 276 Rook,indicating a decent breeding season.
Goxhill Haven was also quiet,but a confiding flock of foraging Turnstones entertained as i took some video of them.
Back at the Skitter for the 2nd time today and the tide had dropped off significantly,with a whopping flock of 2576 Icelandic Black-tails taking advantage of the excellent feeding for them to moult through those fresh winter feathers.
A good scan through the flock revealed 4 colour-ringed birds,unfortunately,i could only read one of the birds rings,due to the frustrating combinations of wind,heat haze and mud.The bird i managed to read was red over black flag and green over white,the bird i had seen at Winter's a week or so ago,which had been ringed at Long Bank near Spurn,by the Humber Wader Ringing Group.
Also at the Skitter,was a gathering group of large Gulls,with at least 1 juvenile Yellow-legged Gull amongst them,new species number 3 for the year!.
This species is no doubt more common than we think,it's just picking them out from the throngs of commoner species at this time of year.
As i walked back to Winter's,the Wheatear was still along the sea wall and at Winter's itself,41 Sand Martin hawked for insects over the main lake.
Sunday 15th
A great start to the visit today,with me nailing the French colour flagged Icelandic Black-tail as it roosted on the grassland first thing.Previously i had only seen one leg,but today i got the full combinations of Orange flag over white on the left leg and red over orange on the right leg,it had been originally ringed at Moeze in France on 26.02.09. making it at least 12 years old.Looking through the birds sightings history,it seems to moult in the UK and then winter each year in France and it has been seen on 2 other occasions on the Humber 20.07.19. and 07.08.19.
Other species today on the site included 2 Green sandpiper,1 Common Sandpiper,22 Tufted Duck still,2 Great-crested Grebe and a lovely Kingfisher.
Along the Humber shore,some decent numbers of waders included 5 Whimbrel,8 Knot,21 Dunlin,11 Avocet,3 more Common Sands and 67 Ringed Plover,with a further 58 flying north,no doubt to roost at Read's Island at South Ferriby.
The Skitter was very productive again today,with not 1,but 2 Wood Sandpipers on the pools,with 2 Greenshank still,Green Sandpiper and a juvenile Water Rail.
As i walked,another Common Sandpiper was seen and 4 gorgeous,gingery plumaged juvenile 'Islandica' Black-tailed Godwits fed on the Humber mud,the first to arrive this autumn.
A bonus find while wandering about,was a stunning Gold Spot Moth found roosting on a Thistle.
A cracking couple of visits and i look forward to my next outing on my superb little patch.
Ringing Details On The French Colour Ringed Icelandic Black-tailed Godwit.
