Local Patching.....8th,12th & 18th May 2019.

Another compilation here on the past three visits to the local patch at East Halton/Goxhill,continuing in the search for rares and recording breeding species.In this period,i managed to record a further 3 species,1 of which i cannot report here due to it being a schedule 1 species and its sensitivity to disturbance.

8th May

After an early morning visit to Gibralter Point near Skegness for the Iberian Chiffchaff it was apparent that there was an influx of Black Terns taking place due to the south easterly wind and heavy rain.So i decided to shoot over to Winter's Pond just on the off chance one might be there.
 On arrival Chris Toop was already there and thankfully watching one on the pit with 2 Common Tern,but it was hard to see them through the rain in my face.
 I grabbed the gear and got the water proofs on and walked around the side of the pit and managed to get some half decent views along with some record shots of the Black Tern.I was really chuffed that this inspired visit had paid off and it was nice to see a summer plumaged Black Tern on the patch and another species recorded at Winter's and also another two species for the year list.

12th May

An organised meet up with John today and all the area up to Goxhill Haven and back covered in some lovely weather.
 Only a few highlights were encountered today,but it was really nice to get out again,the best of which was a new species for the year,but unfortunately i cannot mention it here,due to its protective status.Other species noted included a female Wheatear in the rough field near to Winter's,a singing male Grasshopper Warbler and Greenshank at the Skitter and a Bar-tailed Godwit on the mitigation site.
 Apart from the bird sightings,some nice numbers of butterflies were also recorded and included Small Copper,Holly Blue,Small White,Orange Tip,Green-veined White,Peacock and Small Tortoiseshell.

18th May

An afternoon visit today,for 4 hours,after finishing my nightshift saw a pretty productive visit to be fair with some good numbers of waders on the mitigation site.This included a whopping flock of 10 Greenshank  which gave some great views and it was the first time i can recall hearing them singing.Also on the mitigation site and an equally good record,was 2 male and 1 female Little-ringed Plovers which gave some nice views,but distantly.
 Other bits and bobs seen today included another Greenshank at the Skitter,a Common Sandpiper on Winter's and a male Cuckoo,also at Winter's.
 Non bird sighting's included my first local patch Diamond-back Moth's,with at least 45 counted.It looks like a huge immigration of these moths is taking place currently with thousands being reported at some sites around the country.

More excellent and enjoyable local patching and 3 more species added to the year list putting it at 132,only 8 more species to beat last years total of 140.

Black Tern,Winter's Pond,8th.

Winter's Pond On The 12th.

Small Copper,East Halton,12th.

Female Wheatear,East Halton,12th.

Ruins Pond,Goxhill Marsh,12th.

Holly Blue,Goxhill Marsh,12th.

Ringed Plover And Dunlin,Goxhill Haven,12th.

Ringed Plover,Goxhill Haven,12th.

Ringed Plover,Dunlin & Turnstone,Goxhill Haven,12th.

Turnstone,Goxhill Haven,12th.

Turnstone,Goxhill Haven,12th.

Small White,Goxhill Haven,12th.

Diamond-backed Moth,East Halton,18th.

Roe Deer,East Halton,18th.

Common Sandpiper,Winter's Pond,18th.

Skylark,East Halton,18th.

Brown Hare,East Halton,18th.

Iberian Chiffchaffs......5th & 8th May 2019.

After being out with the family visiting Yorkshire Wildlife Park near Doncaster on Sunday and because of the relatively close journey,Tracey and myself travelled over to South Kirkby near Wakefield to see the reported Iberian Chiffchaff.
 The bird was found straight away,on it's chosen,little,wooded hillside.At first it was a bit of a pain to see keeping low down,but eventually gave some superb views with occasional bouts of singing.This is my second Iberian after seeing one at Potteric Carr YWT on the 30th May 2010 and was all together a much smarter,more well marked bird.
 Also on a nearby pond,was a cracking Drake Ferruginous Duck,a definite added bonus to the trip.
 Skip forward to Tuesday 7th May and unbelievably another Iberian Chiffchaff is found relatively close to home,but this time more importantly a bird in Lincolnshire and a much awaited first for the county.
 So it was up early this morning and getting to Gibralter Point for first light and even better still,before the rain started.I grabbed the binos,got wrapped up and headed for Mill Hill.On arrival the Chiffie was singing straight away,but in thick cover sadly.I persevered with the bird and bit by bit i got some cracking views eventually,down to 10 feet at times as it fed in the cover of the bushes,no doubt keeping out of the wind and i even managed a few sound recordings of the song with my phone.On appearance,this bird looked overall duller than the South Kirkby bird and even it's song was slightly different,but i guess they do vary slightly,individually,as do Common Chiffchaff's,but the classic phrases were heard in both birds the 'Djup djup wheep wheep...chit chit chit chit',neither bird was heard to give the contact call.
 This latter bird was obviously my third sighting of the species now and also my 326th species in Lincolnshire,not too bad for a ex-pat Yorkie.
 A couple of great encounters with this lovely little Phylloscopus Warbler.

Iberian Chifchaff,South Kirkby,West Yorkshire.

Iberian Chiffchaff,South Kirkby,West Yorkshire.

Record Of The Iberian Chiffchaff From Gibralter Point,Taken In The Gloom.

Drake Ferruginous Duck,South Kirkby,West Yorkshire.

Wintery Weather & Patch Watching Highs & Lows,Saturday 4th & Monday 6th May 2019.

Another compilation here,including the last two visits to the local patch,in not ideal migration weather for summer visitors it has to be said,but still i managed to add another 4 species to the year list,this is what i saw.

4th May

So,into a new month and nothing really has changed in the weather,in fact today was more reminiscent of December rather than May,with some heavy down pours of hail and a freezing north westerly wind again.
 Because of the weather i concentrated my efforts between Winter's Pond and East Halton Skitter and didn't really fancy getting a soaking half way to Goxhill Haven.
 Highlights today were few and far between,but one first for the year was seen,Common Swift.A single bird was watched over Winter's in the morning and made its way west followed by at least another 6 birds in the afternoon which showed nicely.
 At East Halton Skitter,7 pairs of Avocet showed well in the Haven,a male Cuckoo and Short-eared Owl were seen briefly on the mitigation site and 17 Whimbrel were watched feeding in the sheep field near to Grange Farm.
 In the Afternoon before i left for home,a nice mix of 45 Sand Martin,25 Swallow,6 House Martin and the afore mentioned Swifts made for a nice spectacle considering the weather earlier in the day.

6th May

A vast improvement weather wise today,but still a tad nippy at times,but i managed to cover the whole of the patch logging 12.5 miles walked.Some lovely early morning sunshine at Winter's certainly had the local warblers singing again and as i walked towards the mitigation site the distant calls of Avocets could be heard.
 A slight increase in Warbler numbers today was encouraging and as i walked along the beckside the sound of Blackbirds mobbing something had me adding Tawny Owl to the patch year list at last!.
 Thirty minutes later and i was adding a species i did not see last year at all,a cracking Grasshopper Warbler.He was watched singing out in the open on a dead Ash tree along Chapel Field Road and gave some lovely views,what a beauty!.
 As i walked along East Marsh Road,the Rookery was a hive of activity as it had been on my last walk along here,with plenty of young Rooks begging for food,a great sound of the country.
 More of the same species as on my last visits were seen for the rest of my walk and the visit really consisted Of logging numbers of singing male Warblers.
 I eventually made it back to Winter's a tad worse for wear after the long walk,but i decided to check the small pit at the back of the site and by a stroke of luck flushed a Kingfisher along the small ditch from which i was walking along,species number 129 for the year.
 Other sighting's today of a non-bird variety included some cracking views of a Brown Hare and i managed to get some lovely images.

Another couple of great visits,onwards and upwards to beating the target of 140 species from last year.

Rainbow Over The Mitigation Site On The 4th.

Part Of The Mitigation Site At East Halton Skitter On The 4th.

Whimbrel At The Skitter On The 4th.

Red Admiral At The Skitter On The 4th.

Roe Deer Buck At The Skitter On The 4th.

Common Swift,Winter's Pond On The 4th.

In Bound Ferry Off North Killingholme On The 6th.

Some Lovely Early Morning Light Along The Estuary.

Sedge Warbler,Winter's Pond On The 6th.

Sedge Warbler,Winter's Pond On The 6th.

Winter's Pond On The 6th.

The Cattle On The Mitigation Site On The 6th.

Some Lovely Patterning In The Sky On The 6th.

Hawthorn Blossum Along The Beckside On The 6th.

Grasshopper Warbler From The 6th.

Nosey Locals Down Goxhill Marsh On The 6th.

Brown Hare,East Halton On The 6th.

Brown Hare,East Halton On The 6th.

Brown Hare,East Halton On The 6th.

Brown Hare,East Halton On The 6th.

Brown Hare,East Halton On The 6th.

Passage Wader's & Local Spooner,22nd & 28th April 2019.

A couple of cracking visits to the local patch recently and spring migration is really getting into full swing.Over the two visits i managed to add another 11 species to the growing year list,including a whopping 10 on the 22nd!.
 The following is what i encountered in a summary form again with a selection of photos.

22nd April 2019

The easterly air flow continued today,but had switched around to the south east,with warmer temperatures.It certainly brought the birds in that was for sure.
 Around Winter's it was total warbler song,with 3 Reed Warbler,2 Lesser Whitethroat,2 Blackcap and the resident male Cetti's Warbler all bidding to find a mate,with 2 new in Sedge Warbler singing away also.
 On the shore,3 Whimbrel showed nicely through the scope and 2 Common Sandpiper 'Teetered' along the flood bank being new for the year.
 Another new for the year species,came in the form of a cracking male Wheatear ,on the flooded rough field near the car as i returned to dump my scope and the presumed feral Barnacle Goose showed nicely with the local 'Lags'.
 I walked down the side of the mitigation site and this proved a good decision,with first a pair of Little-ringed Plover dropping in and then a cracking Wood Sandpiper,with 2 Greenshank for good measure.The Wood Sand is the first i have seen down here for ages and was a real welcome sighting.
 At last,the mitigation site is finally attracting some passage waders,albeit in two small areas of water,imagine if the whole site was covered in water!.
 A good walk around the Skitter area and along the beck,saw my first Whitethroat's of the year being seen,with their scolding 'Churr' calls from their little patches of brambles and nettles,one male watched nest building.
 Along the beck,that beautiful local ghost,a Barn Owl hunted and passed by me without a care in the world,what a cracking bird.
 As i walked along Chapel Field Road,a species was added to the year list i really struggle to see locally,Red-legged Partridge.Not the most exciting species i know,but they all count in the year listing business.
 More of the same species were recorded up to Goxhill Haven and after seeing another male Wheatear here a look on the Humber over the dropping tide,saw 3 flocks of Arctic Terns heading out east,with 2 Little Gulls in amongst one of the flocks.Local patch birding at its best today,i thought to myself.
 The rest of the visit included more of the same species as already seen,Whitethroat,Willow Warbler,Chiffchaff etc. until a lovely male Cuckoo was found flying along the fence posts near to ruins pond.This was my first of the year and the 10th species added to the year list on today's visit,what a brilliant day out local patching.

28th April 2019

A very different day weather wise,with a freezing northerly airflow and rain showers on and off,until the weather cleared in the afternoon.
 An early morning walk along the mitigation site and surrounding fields revealed a single Wheatear in the same field as on my previous visit,this time being a female which was nice to see and a few Whimbrel scattered around,including 8 on Winter's first thing.A single Lapwing chick seen briefly on the mitigation site was encouraging.
 The first broods of Greylag goslings on Winter's included an 8 and 2 and the Barnacle Goose was still in residence also.
 The rain and cold eventually got to me and i decided to drive onto the flood bank at the Skitter and watch the river.This proved a master stroke as my first ever patch record of a Spoonbill,saw an immature fly past me at close range,allowing me to get some pleasing images of the bird.This bird could well have been the one seen flying south at Spurn earlier in the morning.
 After what seemed ages of watching buggar all moving on the river,apart from the Spooner earlier i drove back to Winter's now it had stopped raining and had brightened up.
 I decided to walk the square along Skitter Road and then back along the flood bank towards Winter's,with a few nice sighting's entering the notebook.This included a whopping flock of 210 Stock Dove along one of the fields along the approach road to Winter's and also a nice flock of 15 Whimbrel feeding in a meadow along here.
 At the Skitter 3 pairs of Avocet showed nicely and a single Greenshank 'Tu tu tued' it's way along the haven after i got too close.Some cracking views of a single Whimbrel here,allowed some photo opportunities.

Well what a couple of brilliant visits to this superb local area,with the year list on 125 now and only 15 species of last years total,onwards and upwards.

Dawn At Winter's Pond On The 22nd.

One Of The Two Common Sandpipers,Near Winter's On The 22nd.

Male Wheatear,Near To Winter's On The 22nd.

One Of The 2 Little-ringed Plover On The 22nd.

Wood Sandpiper On The 22nd.

Greenshank & Wood Sandpiper On The 22nd.

Roe Deer On The 22nd.

Male Whitethroat,Goxhill Haven On The 22nd.

Arctic Terns & Little Gulls,Goxhill Haven,On The 22nd.

Female Wheatear Near To Winter's On The 28th.

Barnacle Goose,Winter's Pond On The 28th.

2nd Calendar Year Spoonbill,East Halton Skitter,On The 28th.

2nd Calendar Year Spoonbill,East Halton Skitter,On The 28th.

Whimbrel,East Halton Skitter On The 28th.

Part Of The Stock Dove Flock On The 28th.

Male Reed Bunting On The 28th.

Local Lambs On The 28th.

Greenshank,East Halton Skitter,On The 28th.

Avocets,East Halton Skitter,On The 28th.