The Spurn Area....Saturday 11th April 2015.

A full day to myself today saw me heading into the homeland and my first of hopefully many visits this year to the Spurn area.
 On the journey over the bridge it looked a tad grey and there was light drizzle in the air.The drive was broken up by a stunning roadside Barn Owl sat on a fence in Skeffling which certainly brightened the journey.
 I eventually arrived at my usual parking spot near the Bluebell cafe and got the gear together and then began my walk heading along Beacon Lane.It was soon apparent that there was a steady passage of Linnets heading south and it wasn't long before i added two decent birds in the form of 2 'first's' for the year,with singles of Swallow and White Wagtail following the Linnets south.
 At the top of Beacon Lane i headed over towards Beacon Ponds and Kilnsea Wetlands with a party of 6 Roe Deer being encountered along the way,1 Buck and 5 Does.
 On Beacon Ponds a pair of Gadwall,26 Teal,3 Little Egret,4 Pied Wagtail and another Barn Owl hunting the bankside were all logged in the notebook,while a single Black-tailed Godwit,2 Ringed Plover,6 Grey Plover and 30 plus Dunlin fed and loafed on the Wetlands.As it began to rain more heavily i sheltered in the hide over looking  here as a 2nd calendar year male Marsh Harrier was watched to come in off and then journeying its way south as another Swallow followed in the same direction.
 The rain seemed to dump a few bits in,with a single female Wheatear being grounded on the bank around the pools and another White Wagtail appeared for a short while before disappearing again,the Whitearse being another welcome 'first' for the year.
 As the rain began to lighten i decided to make a move and try and find the Black Brant amongst the Dark-bellied Brent flock,but with the strengthening westerly breeze and my hands being frozen as it began to rain heavier again,i gave it up as a bad job.All was not lost though as two Pale-bellied birds showed nicely at relatively close range.
 I carried on my walk heading for Peter Lane and eventually as i headed in the direction of Sammy's the weather began to break and the sun shone at last!.
 Some lovely sun soon had me warming up and as i neared the first of the Paddock's a group of 5 Pied Wagtails had a lovely White Wag in with them.I managed some decent images of both the Pied and White Wags and it was interesting to note that both the birds i photographed were both 1st summers with moulted mantle feathers on both birds.
 Another first here for the year was a lovely Willow Warbler watched fly catching around the hawthorn bushes along with a single Chiffie giving me great comparison of both species.As i walked onto the bank top here another couple of stunning Wheatears were seen,a cracking male and another female,the male being a particularly bright individual and a proper beauty.
 After reaching the car and a quick change of clothing and footwear,i walked up to the warren and back along Kilnsea cliff to the car seeing nothing new for the day,but more south bound Mips and Linnets added to the day totals.
 As the weather was still good i decided to look for the Black Brant again on the way home and this time hit the jackpot,although it was quite distant and at the rear of the Brent flock,but it was a good end to another excellent visit to this top birding destination and i travelled home across the Humber back to Lincolnshire.
 

Roe Deer,near to Kilnsea Wetlands.

Dark-bellied and Pale-bellied Brent Geese,Holderness Field.

Pied Wagtail,Sammy's Point.

White Wagtail,Sammy's Point.

White Wagtail,Sammy's Point.

Male Wheatear,Sammy's Point.

Female Sparrowhawk,over Kew Villa.

Black Brant with Dark-bellied Brent Geese,Holderness Field.

The North Yorkshire Moors,Sunday 5th - Monday 6th April 2015.

A last spare of the moment idea had Trace and myself booking ourselves into a lovely B&B at the famous village of Goathland and we spent the next two days exploring some of the lovely local areas,this is what we saw.
 Day one....and after arriving at the B&B we decided to walk down to Mallayan Spout and then on to Beck Hole and back to Goathland.The walk down the side of the Mallayan Spout Hotel was a bit hairy in places due to the recent rain and subsequent mud,but when you reach the river it is well worth the effort,with some impressive upland river scenery.
 The Mallayan Spout Waterfall is the highest in the National Park,but still isn't the most impressive we have seen,but as i said the walk along here is stunning.
 Bird wise it wasn't too bad and we saw and heard 4 Chiffchaff,5 Grey Wagtail,4 Nuthatch and 2 singing male Marsh Tit,the latter being a personal fave.
 I also managed to see my first Butterflies of the year today and they included 2 Comma and a single Peacock and there was also plenty of wildflowers on show with Primroses and Lesser Celandines featuring.A drink at the very quaint Birch Hall Inn at Beck Hole before the return walk back to Goathland was a very welcome one.
 Day Two....After a huge breakfast we had pre-planned to walk from Ravenscar to Robin Hoods Bay,sadly the forecasted fog which had been promised was present in the outward leg of the walk up to Robin Hoods Bay,but on the return leg it thankfully began to lift and we could appreciate the beautiful coastline along here.The walk is a bit up and down in places but has some really nice views.It was interesting to see that this part of the Yorkshire coastline is also eroding at a pretty fast rate as well as the areas further south.
 Bird sightings along the walk included a steady northerly passage of both Meadow Pipits and Alba Wags,at least 7 Chiffchaff,4 Goldcrest,4 Grey Wagtail and the highlights at Ravenscar a 2nd cal yr. Peregrine and a Green Woodpecker.A few mammals were also seen with a Grey Seal just off the beach at Ravenscar and a Buck Roe Deer here as well.
 So after a lovely couple of days away again we travelled home with slightly sore legs,but happy we had visited this stunning part of Yorkshire again.

The River Esk,Goathland.

The River Esk Goathland.

The River Esk,Goathland.

The Murk Esk,Beck Hole.

A misty Ravenscar.

Ravenscar looking towards Robin Hoods Bay.

Ravenscar looking towards Robin Hoods Bay.

Manton Warren And MSQ.....

Up bright and early today for some local birding again and i decided to do things a little different while visiting MSQ.
 I decided to park on the roadside between Greetwell and MSQ and walk onto Manton Warren and down to the sheep fields at the back of MSQ first,before visiting the reserve proper later,this is what i managed to see.
 It was pretty dull to start and as i got the gear together a Great-spotted Woodie drummed in the adjacent woodland and a Mistle Thrush sang nearby.After walking for a short while a couple of Roe Deer were seen distantly along the edge of some nearby woodland and a ghostly Barn Owl was watched hunting along a rough grass field.The Barn Owl gave stunning views eventually,but the light was dire so i didn't even bother with any attempts at photographing it.
 Further on and towards the Sheep fields at the back of the reserve,2 Common Buzzard,6 Avocet and 220 Golden Plover were logged and plenty of displaying from the local waders was a great sight to see and included a singing male Snipe.

Female Yellowhammer in the early morning gloom,Manton Warren.

Doe Roe Deer,Manton Warren.

Male Willow Tit,MSQ.

A splash of colour at MSQ.

Drake Red-crested Pochard,MSQ.

Mute Swan flyby,MSQ.

Gadwall pair,MSQ.

Adult Black-headed Gull,MSQ.

Black-headed Gull R&R,MSQ.

 The return walk back to the car saw some closer views of the 2 Roe Deer from earlier and some nice views of a pair of Yellowhammer brightened the gloom.
 After the short journey to the reserve i began by looking at the pools along the approach track and on Grebe lake where the first of 12 Chiffchaff were seen in the waterside bushes,an increase on my last visit.
 A quick look on the main lake revealed a nice surprise in the form of a smart drake Red-crested Pochard with the local Tuftie flock and nearby the male Cettis gave away his presence with a couple of explosive bursts of song.
 A prospecting pair of Willow Tit were watched at a potential nest site which was a very welcome sight with another single male seen later in another area of the reserve.
 Non bird sightings around the reserve included some Muntjac tracks,a hand full of Common Toads and a single male Smooth Newt seen in the pond in the plantation.
 A few wildflowers are finally beginning to burst through and included several clumps of Marsh Marigold brightening the ditches and dykes around the reserve.
 Finally,before travelling home,a quick visit to one of our heathland sites,revealed two lovely male Woodlark which gave a nice sight and sound and a superb end to a good mornings birding.

MSQ....A Dull Morning.

As the forecast had suggested last night,it was fairly dull as i made my way to the Sand Quarries this morning,but thankfully the wind which had been promised was none existent,so all wasn't bad.
 I decided to look on the sheep fields to begin with and there was plenty of activity with displaying Lapwings and Redshank renewing their territories for the coming breeding season.On the fields a pair of Grey Partridge fed and that lovely,bubbling call of a Curlew gave away the presence of a party of 17 birds feeding nearby,while a Common Buzzard patiently hunted from a nearby fence line.
 A quick look on the new workings were the aggregate company are excavating revealed a party of 8 Avocet quietly feeding,but no sign of any Sand Martins yet,but a Kingfisher was fine recompense.
 So onto the reserve proper and after getting the gear together i began my walk to be greeted by the first of at least 7 singing male Chiffchaff seen and heard around the reserve.It always amazes me to think that this little bird has just arrived all the way from Africa to spend its breeding season here,the wonders of bird migration in action.
 A visit to the wader hide was brightened by the sound of the singing male Cetti's Warbler from my last visit and on the pits themselves lots of gull activity saw 39 Herring,2 pairs of Lesser black-backed and larger numbers of Black heads than on the previous visit.Also in this area were courting pairs and groups of Shelduck,Gadwall,Teal and Shoveler with a hand full of Cormorant loafing on the island.
 In the plantation a couple of Siskin and 2 Redwing were seen and a clump of Scarlet-elf Cup positively glowed in the dull conditions.
 Eventually the promised for rain arrived and i made my way back to the car and travelled the short journey back home.
 Not a bad few hours,but some prolonged,settled,sunny weather would be nice.

Beautiful Dovedale....Sunday 22nd March 2015.

After reading and hearing about this gem of a place in the heart of the White Peak in the renowned Peak District National Park,this was the destination for the day today.
 Trace and myself arrived at the lovely little village of Ilam and eventually found a parking place beside the lovely River Manifold.After a quick cuppa we decided to walk into Dovedale and explore the area.
 A few birds were seen as we walked alongside the river and included at least 4 pairs of Grey Wagtail,a single Dipper and overhead a mewing Common Buzzard.There were plenty of people walking in this lovely area no doubt having the same idea as us in getting out into the very welcome sunshine.
 The scenery was very easy on the eye,with rocky crags and riverside trees and a few more birds entered the notebook which included several Nuthatches and a couple of 'Pitchooing' Marsh Tit.
 After a couple of hours of walking we came across a footpath which said Ilam,so we decided to take this route,it was a tad testing on my knackered knees,but as we reached the top of the hill the scenery was just stunning to say the least with some lovely views of the surrounding valley and countryside.
 A distinct 'Cronk cronk' call revealed a Raven on the opposite side of the valley and i watched it with anticipation as it mobbed a Common Buzzard,but it didn't cross to our side and i relaxed the camera again.A further 2 Raven were encountered and as we descended back down to Ilam the distinct call of a Little Owl was heard from some adjacent ivy covered trees.We never did see the Owl,but further on and nearer the village a Chiffchaff called from some waterside trees and a Grey Heron patiently fished from the bankside.
 We eventually made it back to the car and quickly scoffed a very welcome,thirst quenching ice-cream and rested our weary legs,but what a brilliant place to visit,one from which we will be certainly visiting again that is for sure!.

Hatfield Moor NNR.....Saturday 21st March 2015.

A visit to this excellent NNR today in the hope of some half decent weather and some encounters with our native Vipers,didn't go exactly to plan,with the hoped for sunshine not really materialising and it stayed cloudy for most of the visit and fairly cool to be fair...this is how our visit unfolded. As we left the car park a 'Yaffling' Green Woodie called near to us and a few metres away a distinct 'Chiff chaff' heralded my first Chiffchaff of the year,a good start.The Chiffie showed only briefly,in typical fashion,as they never stay still in one place until they find a mate and we didn't see the Green Woodpecker.
 After much searching we finally saw our target an Adder.In fact,2 males were found sheltering behind a clump of Silver Birch from the fairly strong north easterly wind and didn't stay put for long as they soon disappeared into the scrub and that was that.We did search in another area and managed to find another male,but none of the individuals showed particularly well today no doubt due to the poor conditions.
 After looking for the snakes,a chance find on a gate saw us enjoying some nice views of a male March Moth and constituted only my second sighting of this species.
 Back to the birds,saw us getting brief views on middle moor of a Merlin and while walking around the Dragon Pits the resident male Mandarin showed as he consorted with his Mallard buddies.
 The only other birds of note were a drumming male Great-spotted Woodpecker seen on a few occasions and three Jays.
 Not the best visit today,but time was at a premium and the weather certainly didn't help.

Blue Tit.

Blue Tit.

Great Tit.

Male March Moth.

Messingham Visit And Wild Swan Surprise.....Monday 09.03.2015.

With a free morning available today as i was swapping onto my night shift pattern tonight,i decided to travel over to MSQ as it was a relatively decent forecast.
 On arrival after the short journey down the M180 i was greeted by the sight of a Great-spotted Woodpecker and a male Pheasant and his harem around the mini feeding station near the car park...a pleasant start to proceedings.A quick walk up along the approach track revealed some nice signs of spring in the form of a singing male Reed Bunting and a flock of 17 north bound Redwings,breaking into their song,no doubt limbering up for their breeding territories further north and east.
 To be fair even though it was an overcast sky,there was plenty of spring bird song elsewhere to cheer me up,from the spritely Coal Tits in the pine plantation to the lovely song of local Mistle and Song Thrushes and an electric blue flash saw me disturbing a Kingfisher from it's fishing perch.The song theme was continued as i approached the final stretch of path up to the duck hide,with an explosive burst of Cetti's song and the obligatory fleeting glimpse as the bird shot around the corner of a bush...a nice surprise and my first here for several years.
 On to the duck hide and several expectant scans of the sparse reed beds revealed no sightings of the reported recent Bittern records,but fine compensation was had in the form of 7 beautiful Whooper Swans.
As i have mentioned here on many occasions these lovely birds rate as one of my all time favourite birds,they are just stunning with that lovely trumpeting call and gleaming white plumage set off perfectly with the yellow blaze on their bills.Added interest was provided by one of the adult birds having a yellow darvic ring with B4A in black lettering on it's right leg and on arriving home and some quick response from the WWT conservation body and particularly Kane Brides i was told that this bird had been ringed as a cygnet in Iceland in 2006.It was an interesting piece of information and iam waiting for some further history of the bird from the C-Ring website from which i have submitted the sighting.Its amazing to think that this bird has made it's ninth visit to the UK to get away from those harsh Icelandic winters.
 Other sightings on the main lake included 17 Cormorant which were indulging in some courtship display,21 Shoveler,15 Teal and as previous springs,a displaying pair of Lesser black-backed Gulls.Hopefully one day both the Cormorants and the Leebs will stop to breed.
 The remainder of the reserve was fairly quiet apart from more of the same species in the plantation as earlier with the added sightings of a hand full of Goldcrest.
 Another great visit to this gem of a reserve.

6 of the 7 Whooper Swans,with the colour-ringed bird central in the photo.

Whooper Swans.

Whooper Swans.

Colour ringed adult Whooper Swan,B4A.

Cormorants.

Courting Lesser black-backed Gulls.

Black Beauties And The Stunning Dales....Saturday 07.03.2015.

A full day free to ourselves today saw Trace and myself heading to the beautiful Yorkshire Dales(even at this time of year) to do some sight seeing along with looking for my 'First' Black Grouse sightings in Yorkshire.The journey up the A1 was pretty uneventful apart from a single Common Buzzard and a party of 6 Roe Deer to relieve the boredom,but we eventually arrived at Bedale and headed into the Dales.
 I had been given some very helpful info. in where to find our target birds,by fellow birder Gareth Picton and we headed in the direction of Reeth near to Leyburn.There had obviously been some substantial amounts of snow recently ,as it was still white on the tops of the hills and unfortunately as we neared the area of Arkengarthdale where we were to look for our quarry,the weather began to deteriorate the higher we travelled.
 Some stunning views of roadside Red Grouse and some lovely Golden Plover certainly made up for the poor weather conditions and we sought some respite in the world famous Tan Hill Inn.
 Getting out of the car here for us was an experience all in its own,with gale force wind and rain nearly blowing us back were we had travelled from,but eventually we enjoyed a well earned mug of tea inside this historic pub.
 After enjoying our cuppa we carried on back in the direction of Reeth,looking in all the suitable pasture fields until,at last!....i spotted a single male Black Grouse in a field just above the village of Whaw.
 I clambered out of the car,set the scope up and Trace and myself watched our first 'Yorkshire' Black Grouse as he fed in the grass field.A quick scan revealed a further 2 males here sat on one of the drystone walls,what a cracking bird they are with their glossy blue-black plumage,just stunning!.
 More searching near to Reeth,revealed another 7 males sheltering and feeding behind a drystone wall,giving more distant views,but very welcome all the same.What a stunning area to watch some beautiful birds.
 The rest of our visit was spent looking around the lovely town of Richmond and the very impressive River Swale followed by a slap up steak meal at Penley's a very impressive eatery in the middle of the town.
 So what a great day out again in this beautiful part of the world watching some stunning birds and great food to boot,we travelled home happy...and slightly full....and we even managed to see 2 Red Kites on the journey home,good times.

Stunning Accipiters And Beautiful Dippers.....Sunday 1st March 2015.

With a bit of a mixed forecast today,i headed for North Yorkshire in the hope i was at least going to get some sunny spells to look for today's target birds.It was just beginning to get light properly as i stopped briefly en route to my destination for the day,looking at the Forge Valley feeding station alongside the babbling River Derwent.Highlights here included a few expectant Grey Squirrels as they stared at me as if to say were are my peanuts!....but the real beauties were seen in the form of a couple of Marsh Tit,Nuthatch and a drumming Great-spotted Woodpecker in the riverside trees.
 Onward to my usual parking spot in Troutsdale Valley,i arrived just as the sun began to break through the cloud cover.Plenty of layers were put on as it was pretty cold and there was a heck of a breeze blowing from the west,making the temperature decidedly chilly.A quick look on the river revealed no Dippers,but a single Grey Wagtail dropped in from overhead.
 On the small ox bow next to Hilla,a nice surprise in the form of two pairs of Mandarin showed pretty well before flying around to the back of the pond and a few parties of Siskin passed by into the nearby Alders.
 I eventually walked up to my vantage point and began to scan the valley,but there were very few birds in the air and the wind was certainly not helping matters.A nearby Common Buzzard escaped into the nearby Pine forest as if to get out of the wind and 4 Kestrel and a local Sparrowhawk hunted nearby.Enough was enough and i decided to head back to the car and have a look along the river.As i neared the car,first one,then two Goshawks appeared and flew past me and along the valley to the west...at last i had some sightings in the bag of this stunning raptor species.
 A look along the river saw the local Dippers putting on a fine show,particularly the male of the pair,as he sang his scratchy song on some nearby rocks.The trees along the banks of the river saw a foraging tit flock being seen and included a couple of Marsh Tit and a Treecreeper which gave superb views.
 Back to the car saw me heading around to the raptor viewpoint at Wykeham to attempt to get some more raptor sightings in the bag for the day and it wasn't long before i was watching more Goshawks,albeit on the opposite side of the valley.A sparring pair of females were seen chasing each other before dropping into the forest and about an hour later a displaying male at a similar distance was watched putting on a great show...what a bird species they are!.Other sightings during my watch included 30 plus Siskins,with 1 male doing his bat like display flight around some nearby Spruces and a pair of Common Buzzards soared around over the forest.
 Today's visit wasn't in the best conditions to be fair and it was four seasons in one day,i will make another visit in a couple of weeks time in some better weather conditions.
 A good day out despite the rain at times.

Troutsdale Valley.

Troutsdale Valley.

Male Dipper.

Male Dipper.

Tophill Low....Another Great Day Out....Sunday 18th January 2015.

Greylag Geese,D'Res.

Merlin,Hempholme Lock.

The River Hull,taken from Hempholme Lock.

Bittern,Watton Nature Reserve.

Split Porecrust.

Scarlet Elf Cup.

Candle Snuff Fungi.

Drake Red-crested Pochard,D-Res.

With the prospect of a full day out today as Trace was sleeping after her nightshift,i decided to head over into the home county again and pay the excellent Tophill Low a visit.It was a tad frosty as i made my journey over the bridge and through Beverley and as i arrived at the car park at Tophill the car thermometer read a bone numbing -5.
 Plenty of layers on and the kit together,i planned to do my routine as i always do when visiting,by heading around the edge of D'res,into D'woods and up to North Marsh hide.
 This first section of the walk saw a few nice sightings being seen and included a drumming Great-spotted Woodpecker and 6 Siskin in the car park area and 2 lovely Marsh Tit near to North Marsh hide.
 A very brief visit to North Marsh saw it being frozen solid and it was far too cold to hang about in their anyway and i carried on towards Hempholme Lock and the River Hull.
 As i quietly watched from the lock,a single Kingfisher patiently fished from its riverside perch and 2 Grey Heron fished from the riverbank.A few Tufted Duck and Goldeneye were seen on the river itself along with 7 Little Grebe and while scanning the adjacent area the best bird of the day was seen hunting the fields,a cracking Merlin.The Merlin briefly perched on a nearby hedgerow before carrying on its hunting sortie,a great record for the reserve recording area and the first i have seen here.
 A few mammals were noted in this area also and included 4 Roe Deer and a couple of Grey Squirrel.
 After spending some time in this excellent area i wandered back in the direction of the car park and down the side of D'res adding only the superb resident white morph Common Buzzard along the way.
 A quick stop for a bite to eat at the car saw me then carrying on to the southern areas of the reserve.A Grey Wagtail around North Lagoon was a nice sighting to add to the days list of birds.
 A search of 'O' res for the long staying Velvet Scoter drew a blank and it must have moved on,but a good mix of Wigeon,Teal,Tufties and Goldeneye had 3 female Pintail in amongst the flocks.
 After a tip off that the Bittern which had been present for a short while was still present on Watton Nature Reserve,it was a sad sight to see the bird with an injured leg,hopefully it will survive the winter,but it doesn't bode too well sadly for a bird that relies on stealth as its hunting strategy.
 Heading back to the car again to meet up with Tophill stalwart Martin Hodges,we changed tack and went in the search of winter Fungi.Some interesting species were found and included the striking Scarlet-elf Cups,Candle-snuff Fungi and the coral-like patterned Split Porecrust.This latter species was a new one for both of us and belongs to the Hyphodermataceae,this particular one being found on the dead wood of an array of deciduous trees.
 As the day wore on it was time to take part in the bum numbing pastime of watching the gull roost.As we waited for the numbers of gulls to begin to arrive the reported drake Red-crested Pochard from earlier in the week,positively glowed in the afternoon sun.
 After scrutinising the arriving flocks,no rares or scarcities were found,but a stunning leucisitic Black-headed Gull certainly made up for it....what a beauty!!.
 As the sun went down to the amazing sound of hundreds of chattering Common Gulls it brought to an end another cracking visit to this brilliant little site in rural East Yorkshire.