Local Patching Update,Tuesday 7th & Saturday 11th November 2023.

Tuesday 7th 

After getting back from our lovely trip to the Lake District the day previously,it was back to normality for Mrs R as she was back at work.

Thankfully though,i still had the rest of the week off and as the forecast was good today i headed for the patch and a full walk around covering East Halton and Goxhill.

I arrived at first light and as i left the car a stream of Pinks were leaving the marshes,presumably after roosting on there,which is certainly a first for here and goes to show they are really liking the developments on the site.

A total of 535 birds flew out and headed south west inland to some unknown field to feed for the day,what a great start to the visit.

On Winter's the usual 2 female Goldeneye were still present,but little else was seen apart from 9 Little Grebe and 22 Gadwall and a Chiffchaff was still in the bushes.

In the distance i could see the Cattle Egret flock,but wait a minute,6!.

The flock has now grown to 6 birds and it was really great to watch them as they followed the Cattle around,sometimes hitching a ride on the Cows backs,which was comical to watch.

Also on the marshes were 222 Greylag,the 2 Barnacle Geese still,23 Canada Geese,120 Lapwing,6 Pintail,approx. 400 Teal and at least 600 Wigeon.

It was really great to see other species beginning to use the area in good numbers,with an excellent count of 76 Redshank,a record count for the site and 122 Curlew were also recorded.

After looking on the marshes and Humber i decided to head up Marsh Lane and along Skitter Road and up to the Skitter.

Nothing too exciting was seen along here,but it was just great to walk in the lovely autumnal sunshine.

After arriving at the Skitter,a good tramp around the pools revealed 3 Water Pipit,the first of the winter period and at least 4 Rock Pipit along the rocky shoreline.

I then headed along the track alongside the gas compound and inland and then up along East Marsh Road and to Goxhill Haven.

Again little was recorded along here,but the search for Waxwings continues.

Nothing much at Goxhill Haven apart from bloody fisherman everywhere,saw me walking quickly past this area and up to Dawson City.

I stopped here and watched the tide drop off while i ate my lunch watching a lovely group of 43 Bar-tailed Godwit,18 Knot and 2 Grey Plover.

The grass pasture just past Dawson City,had a decent sized flock of 236 Curlew feeding on it,but no Pinks today sadly.

Further along Goxhill Marsh,the distinct chunter of Geese could be heard and a good sized flock of 850 Pinks were loafing and feeding on a field which has been left to fallow.

A good look through them revealed no other species with them sadly.

As i arrived at the Skitter,7 Whooper Swans(3 adults and 4 juv's) were sat at the Haven mouth,they looked pretty settled as i watched them through the scope,but for some reason they got up and flew west inland.

As i walked back towards Winter's another flock of Whooper's(7 adults and a single juvenile) arrived in off the Humber and settled down on one of the larger pools.

By now it was getting towards dark and distantly over the rough field next to Winter's,the lovely sight of 3 Short-eared Owls were watched as they hunted and the 8 Whooper's headed inland,a lovely end to the day. 

Saturday 11th 

Another early start today,thankfully saw the Female Long-tailed Duck still present this morning and she gave some lovely views.

A nice surprise found by a visiting birder,i was pleased she stuck around,always a nice bird to get on the local patch and the first female for a long,long time.It was also the first i have seen on the pits on my patch,all my previous records being on the Humber.

Also on Winter's were 13 Tufties,3 Pintail(2 drakes and a female),3 female Goldeneye,41 Gadwall and 11 Little Grebe,with 650 Pink-footed Geese leaving their now roost on the marshes.

A good scan of the marshes revealed 520 Wigeon,15 Shoveler,now 3 Barnacle Geese,360 Lapwing,55 Icelandic Black-tails,32 Redshank and a cracking count of 253 Curlew the most i have counted here.

Also overhead,an adult female Marsh Harrier and Peregrine,certainly kept the Waders and Ducks on their toes.

The water levels are looking better now and the management of the grassland is really paying dividends now,a big thanks to Mike and his team at the RSPB.

The 6 Cattle Egret were still here and also there were singles of Great-white and Little Egrets and 2 Grey Heron making for a brilliant sight to see.

After enjoying the birds on the marshes i headed up Marsh Lane and had a wander along Jericho Lane.Best birds along here went to a single Siskin and 2 cracking male Great-spotted Woodpeckers which were having a bit of a territorial dispute.

No real highlights were seen along Skitter Road,but it was nice to see a handful of Yellowhammer,a few Goldcrests and a small number of winter Thrushes.

A quick look along the beck,saw the lovely electric blue flash of a Kingfisher as it shot along looking for a fishing perch.

The tide had dropped off now and their were some great numbers of waders feeding at the Skitter which included a cracking count of 1565 Dunlin,with 2 Ruff,4 Knot,11 Bar-tailed Godwit,120 Lapwing,2 Grey Plover and a good count of 155 Avocet being counted.

As i reached Winter's again,i enjoyed some more superb views of the lovely Long-tailed Duck and after a short while 2 Short-eared Owls showed really nicely again and a Merlin flew past towards Killingholme Haven to no doubt catch it's tea from the huge Starling roost which was beginning to gather.

I guesstimate on the latter is at least 30,000 birds,but i may have underestimated,but still what a spectacular sight to see.

Dawn On The 7th.

Lovely Light On These Lapwing & Gulls,7th.

The Humber Floodbank Near Goxhill Haven,7th.

Some Interesting Cloud Formations Over Hull On The 7th.

Sundown Over The Marshes At East Halton,7th.

Skitter Road Near East Halton Grange,11th.

The Female Long-tailed Duck,Winter's Pond,11th.

Tophill Low,A Great Day Out!,Thursday 16th November 2023.

 A change of scenery today saw me heading to a past favourite site for the day,with some nice birds on offer,i headed out after dropping Mrs R at work.

After negotiating through all the pre-work traffic i eventually made it to Carr Lane to make my final approach to the reserve,when i spotted some Swans in a flooded field,so i stopped to check them out hoping they would be Whoopers.

Sure enough after a quick scan with the scope i was enjoying some nice views of 22 Whooper Swans and a single immature Mute Swan,a lovely start to the visit.

After paying for my permit for the day and just as i was getting the kit together,first 5 Crossbill flew over my head and landed in the car park Larch trees briefly and then a Great-white Egret,things were going well i thought to myself.

After a regular kindly opened the hide for me,i sat down to scan D reservoir and after a little while i found the Drake American Wigeon,unfortunately doing what the majority of the Ducks were doing,sleeping.

I took a few phone-scoped shots and video for posterity and carried on looking for star bird number two,the Blue-winged Teal.

After some time i gave up and decided to go and have a look at the new middle hide.

Some lovely views of a flock of 7 Red-crested Pochard were seen here and included 4 drakes and 3 females,the males glowing in the sun with their fiery orange heads and strawberry red bills,very smart!.

I carried on through D Woods and up to Hempholme Lock,with some considerable flooding along this part of the site,with Hempholme Meadow being nearly all underwater.

Nothing much was seen here or along the River Hull apart from a single Little Egret.

Back up to the car park and a chance meeting with Jo and Tony Hood,saw me catching up with the female Blue-winged Teal as she followed her presumed male Shoveler escort on D Res,so two in 2 years is pretty good,after last years bird on the local patch.

This is my second Blue-winged Teal for this site,after seeing a bird here on South Marsh on the 02.12.95. at the same time and in the same scope view as a Long-billed Dowitcher!.

After seeing the Teal i said goodbye to Tony and Jo and went to look for the next goodie on O Res.

On the way i managed to find a Western-conifer Seed bug and stopped to take a few pics with the phone,my third i have seen this year.

After 5 minutes i was watching a lovely Red-necked Grebe.With patience the bird showed nicely and i managed some video and photos using my new toy,the new and improved Swarovski VPA2.

The latter is a really big step up from the first incarnation of this phone-scoping kit.

After enjoying the smart Red-necked Grebe i walked around to the hide that overlooks Watton nature reserve and saw another or the same Great-white Egret from earlier in the day.

It showed very nicely as Jo and Tony joined me again and we watched as it fished along the edge of the lake,really smart birds,i do love Herons though.

Little else was seen here,so we walked around to South Marsh.

Very little was seen on here as well apart from a small flock of Curlew and a smart juvenile Marsh Harrier which was perched up relatively close.So more phone-scoping ensued getting some nice video and photos of the Harrier and the lovely Curlew.

Well what a great visit today and this place always delivers with something of interest,i hope it won't be so long next time before i visit.

Drake American Wigeon,D Reservoir.

The River Hull At Hempholme Lock.

Another Pic From Hempholme Lock,Looking In The Opposite Direction Along The River Hull.

Western-conifer Seed Bug

Red-necked Grebe,O Reservoir.

Belted Galloway,Near Watton Nature Reserve.

Curlew,South Marsh.

Cracking birds & My Favourite Wader.

Juvenile Female Marsh Harrier,South Marsh.

Lake District Day 3......Aira Force - Gowbarrow Fell Circular,Sunday 5th November 2023.

Our final full day today,so we headed out bright and early to complete a circular walk at our favourite location in the Lakes,Aira Force beside the stunning Ullswater.

On arrival it was a little cloudy with the sun breaking through.

We had a quick look at the lake after putting our gear on for the walk,took a few photos and then we were off.

It was just great to be back here again,somewhere we have visited three or four times before,but have never completed this walk.

It wasn't long before we were at the waterfall and we stopped to admire it and take some photos before heading through and along the woodland patch up to the series of rapids and small falls along Aira Beck.

This area was just lovely and the sunshine lit up the autumnal colours of the leaves on the trees beautifully.

Eventually we made it out of the woodland and out onto moorland and to the base of Gowbarrow Fell.

Some lovely views from here across to Ullswater and Blencathra with an amazing looking cloud inversion over it.

The walk up Gowbarrow Fell was a little steep and Tracey did really well,but when we got to the summit,the views were amazing.

After a short rest and a few photos,the path descends down the side of the fell and towards Ullswater.

The views along here were spectacular,looking across the Lake and towards Watermillock.

We just took in the views as we walked and took a lot of photos it has to be said and the woodland below just glowed in the sunshine.

Eventually we made it back to Aira Beck and the car park and enjoyed a well earned cuppa,before driving over to Glenridding for our lunch.

Well what a fantastic day,this walk has everything,Mountains,Lakes,Fells and Waterfalls and is a big 10/10 from us and our favourite walk we have completed away from our coasts,just brilliant!.

The following are some photos from this epic day.

Aira Force.

Such A Lovely Setting.

Aira Beck.

More Amazing Views Along Aira Beck.

More Lovely Views Of Aira Beck.

Some Stunning Autumnal Colours Along Here.

Beginning The Ascent Up Gowbarrow Fell,The Views Across To Ullswater Were Lovely.

Blencathra With An Impressive Cloud Inversion.

More Fantastic Views,this Time Towards Ullswater & Watermillock.

This Is Where The Path Turns & Runs Alongside The Lake Providing Even More Stunning Views Of Ullswater.

Just Stunning!

The Narrow Pathway Along The Hillside.

Lake District Day 2.....Ravenglass & Muncaster Castle,Saturday 4th November 2023.

Another day in this beautiful area after a lovely sleep in the cabin,saw us heading out to firstly Ravenglass and then the stunning Muncaster Castle and area.

After the short journey along the A595 we arrived at the village of Ravenglass.

Now this is not the prettiest place i have visited,but it has the added bonus of being the meeting point of three rivers as they reach the Irish sea,the rivers Irt,Mite and Esk and this in turn provides a great area for birding and wildlife.

The reason it was chosen in past history as a Roman naval base was the fact that these three rivers met here and in those days it was known as Itunocelum and it stationed the Cohors Prima Aelia Classica(First Cohort of Hadrian's Marines),so in other words it was Emperor Hadrian's navy,of Hadrian's Wall fame.

The only real ruins here are of the Roman baths,the finest surviving example left in the UK which date back to the 2nd century AD

The Romans occupied this area for some 300 years and the garrison housed 500 soldiers.

Anyway back to the birds,we managed to see a few nice species which included 2 wintering/late Greenshank feeding in the Esk,9 lovely Red-breasted Merganser,a Redhead Goosander and 6 Little Egret,not bad for an hour or so.

After our little walk,it was time to travel the mile back up the road to Muncaster Castle.

This lovely castle which has been in the ownership of the Pennington family for almost 800 years,has some interesting history and it is said to be the most haunted building in Britain.

But for me,the grounds and views across the fells towards Scafell Pike are just beautiful and the gardens are just stunning.

A few birds were seen while we walked around the gardens and unbelievably included a male Hen Harrier which i saw fly up from the River Esk valley below the castle and it then began to soar around before heading off north west.

After studying my pics it soon became apparent the bird had a radio tag on its back,these are fitted at the nest so the birds can be tracked as they are such a rare breeding species in the UK now and are heavily persecuted on Grouse Moors,which is totally illegal as they are protected by law.

I have sent the photos and details to a friend who works for the RSPB Investigations Team and I'm awaiting details back.It will be interesting to see where it has travelled from.

After our lovely time at the castle,we travelled over to Ambleside for some tea before heading back to the cabin to relax.

Information Board At Ravenglass 

Some Information About The Roman Baths.

The Ruins Of The Roman Baths,Just Outside The Village.

Part Of The Estuary And Where The River Esk Runs Into The Sea.

Beautiful Views From The Castle Grounds.

The Castle Entrance.

The Male Hen Harrier As He Soared Around.

You Can Clearly See The Radio Tag On This Photo,With The Aerial.

Lake District Day One......Friday 3rd November 2023.

After and early start this morning,Tracey and myself headed out on a few days away in the Lake District,we were staying in a lovely log cabin at Broughton Mills about 7 miles from Coniston. 

Today's plan was to travel over to the Lakes and visit Wast Water first,before moving over to the cabin to unpack.

After stopping at the services near Lancaster on the way,we arrived at the stunning sight of Wast Water looking amazing in the morning sunshine.

It was really great to be back here visiting this amazing lake and seeing the stunning mountain scenery so close,particularly the towering Great Gable at the end of the lake,just fantastic!.

As we walked a few birds encountered included a pair of 'Cronking' Ravens which passed by overhead,a fitting sighting for such impressive scenery.

After enjoying this fantastic start to our holiday we travelled over to our lovely cabin and un-packed.

The following are my fave photos from our first day.

The Huge Sight Of Great Gable.

Some Of The Locals.