Sunday 10th
An early morning start today before dawn surveying Owls,saw a good count,with 4 calling male Tawny Owls and the pair of Little Owls calling to each other,a cracking start to the day.
After it got light a good look around Winter's saw a few Ducks present in the form of 2 Drake Pochard and the first winter Drake Goldeneye still,with 8 Little grebe visible.
Also was the amazing sight of at least 35000 Starlings leaving their roost at Killingholme Haven scattering in all directions as they spread out over the area to feed for the day.
The Marshes was were my main focus was again today though,with some decent numbers of birds present again.
As on previous visits,Goose numbers were still pretty good,with 170 Greylag,7 Barnacle Geese,23 Canada Geese and 25 Pinks,with Ducks included a single Shelduck,19 Shoveler,467 Wigeon,2 female Pintail and 128 Teal.
Waders were also represented well,with at least 1 Oystercatcher present still,465 Lapwing,20 Curlew,52 Redshank and 4 Ruff.
Apart from a single juvenile Marsh Harrier hunting the Skitter pools,that was as exciting as it got today.
Saturday 16th
A tough day today due to the incessant wind and dull conditions saw some nice birds being seen though.
I planned to walk up to Goxhill and began the visit by grilling Winter's main lake first.
A few notables here included 5 Pochard(4 drakes and a female),12 Tufted Duck,8 Little Grebe and the lone Coot still.
The Marshes were again alive with birds and included 343 Greylag,7 Barnacle Geese,35 Canada Geese now,425 Wigeon,127 Teal,480 Lapwing,62 Dunlin and the lovely sight of 165 Black-tailed Godwit.
The Skitter got some good coverage today as i passed by,with the best sighting going to the lovely Female Hen Harrier watched hunting the pools briefly before she headed inland.
Other birds here included 500 Golden Plover,73 Avocet,2 Turnstone,2 Common Buzzard,35 Stock Dove,a Great-spotted Woodpecker and 3 Stonechat.
After covering the Skitter,i headed inland along the Beck up to Goxhill and along Chapel Field Road,then East Marsh Road and up to Goxhill Haven.
A few nice birds included a Mistle Thrush at Chapel Farm and the best count so far this winter of 431 Fieldfare in several flocks,all moving west.
A good count of Pink-footed Geese saw 1935 birds feeding on a grass pasture adjacent to Dawson City.A good search through them revealed no surprises unfortunately.
The Goxhill Haven area held some decent numbers of Waders as the tide dropped off and included a single Oystercatcher,200 Lapwing,45 Curlew,6 Turnstone,155 Dunlin,4 Knot and 66 Ringed Plover.
It was also great to see 3 Marsh Harrier in the area,an adult male,2nd calendar year male and an adult female.
As i made it back to the Marshes at East Halton a lovely Short-eared Owl flew in off the Humber and onto the grassland,my first sighting for a while.
As i reached Winter's for the second time today,another scan of the main lake revealed,unbelievably,first winter male Scaup,with the Aythya flock.
It certainly wasn't present in the morning and was a very nice surprise as i thought i had missed out on the species this year on the patch.It also became species number 160 for the local patch year.
A look on the Marshes for Owls revealed another nice surprise in the form of a lovely Russian White-fronted Goose feeding in amongst the local Greylags,my fifth bird on here this autumn/winter period.
To end the visit,one of the most spectacular sunsets was seen,a superb end to the day.
Christmas Eve
An early start to proceedings today surveying Owls again,had me recording 3 calling male Tawnies,with the added bonus of 2 barking Foxes.
As it got light a scan of the main lake at Winter's saw 17 Tufted Duck,a cracking Drake Pintail,47 Mallard,31 Gadwall and 2 Goldeneye being seen.
The Marshes had a good number of birds present again today and included the Russian White-front still with the Greylag flock,7 Barnacle Geese,38 Pinks,27 Canada Geese,at least 600 Wigeon,200 Teal,65 Curlew,65 Black-tailed Godwit and 7 Ruff.
There were also at least 1200 Lapwing in the area,but they were constantly being flushed and after a while it became apparent why,as i saw a Merlin and then 2 Peregrines,the latter giving some superb views as they sparred over the Marshes.
It was tough going and after a while i dumped the scope in the car and walked with my binos and camera instead.
A nice surprise along Marsh Lane was a Cetti's Warbler singing in a new area for the patch.
It was really great to have got my Swaros back today after their service,i really have missed them and it really makes it apparent when i didn't have them.It's the subtle things that make them so good,like the Purple sheen on Rooks in flight,they just are superb!.
Another nice surprise at the Skitter as i walked along the Beck,was a Green Sandpiper.
It flew out of the Beck and onto the Skitter pools,a good record for here at this time of year.
The rest of the visit was cut short as it just got windier and i began to get a tad peed off with it to be fair,so i wandered back to the car and headed home.
Well another great series of visits here and now on 160 species for the year,i wonder if i will add any more species before the year is out.
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| Dawn At Winter's On The 10th. |
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| Early Morning Near Winter's On The 16th. |
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| Dawson City,A Poor Shadow Of What Was Once A Superb Reserve. |
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| East Halton Marshes,16th. |
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| Distant Phone-scoped Shot Of The 1st Winter Drake Scaup,16th. |
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| Distant Phone-scoped Shot Of The Russian White-fronted Goose As I Found It On The 16th. |
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| An Amazing Sunset Over East Halton On The 16th. |
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