Local Patching....Friday 2nd April & Tuesday 6th April 2021.

A couple of visits to the local patch at East Halton/Goxhill in the continuing freezing conditions resulted in some nice additions to the patching year list over the 2 visits,the following is what i recorded.

Good Friday 2nd April

Today i concentrated my efforts between Winter's and the Skitter only,with some decent results to be fair.

Winter's held 4 singing male Chiffchaff first thing,a single Fieldfare and my first Swallow of the year,also a single,feeding over the back pit.Also here were a Redhead Goosander and a buck and doe Roe Deer were observed around the margins of the back pit.

On the Humber,3 Common Scoter drifted on the out going tide,a drake and 2 females,always a pleasure to see these marine ducks.

Some good coverage of the mitigation site,saw the best bird of the day being seen,as a lovely Red Kite drifted high south west over,my first local bird of the year.This species is now annual on the patch,a lot different to when i first started birding back in 1986.

Also on the mit site were 16 Shoveler,6 Icelandic Black-tails and a stonking male Sparrowhawk which perched briefly on the fence line before disappearing,66 Teal and a Little Egret.

A lone Chiffchaff also sang in the plantation at the Skitter,this little woodland would be so much more productive without all the disturbance and litter,a real shame.

6th April

Full coverage of the patch today in a freezing north westerly blast with a few snow flurries,certainly paid dividends with 3 new for the year species being recorded.

On Winter's first thing,2 each of both Chiffchaff and Cetti's Warbler were doing their bests to attract a mate.

Seven Wigeon were still present on the main lake with 2 Black-tailed Godwit and the resident pair of Oystercatcher feeding on the grassland near the car park.

A Swallow battled it's way north along the floodbank and along the shoreline up to the Skitter 31 Shelduck,106 Redshank,29 Teal and a handfull of Curlew fed.

A quick scan of the mitigation area revealed 77 Curlew roosting first thing,a Little Egret and a distant Barn Owl hunted the wet grassland near the Skitter.

I then spotted 4 Little-ringed Plover on the first strip of water from the car park and they showed well before flying off,calling,heading south west.It was really nice to see these lovely little birds for the year,one day hopefully,they will settle on the patch and breed.

I then headed along Marsh Lane & Skitter Road adding 4 more singing male Chiffchaff to the days tally,with 2 singing together in Red House Wood,along with 2 drumming Great-spotted Woodpecker,which were having a drum off between each other.

Nothing new of note along the beck or at Chapel Farm to add to the days list,but some nice views of Roe Deer were had again as on my last visit here.

Chapel Field and East marsh Road was also more of the same,with Roe Deer and some added Brown hare sightings to keep interest ticking over.

At Goxhill Haven,some nice views of a foraging flock of 19 Turnstone would have made for some great video footage,but it was just too windy unfortunately.

I stopped in Dawson City for my lunch where the now derelict hide used to be and watched as a Chiffchaff sang nearby and a Swallow and Cetti's Warbler both put in welcome appearances.

Another singing male Chiffchaff and Cetti's Warbler were seen between Dawson and the Skitter and as i approached the bankside puddle at the Skitter,two Water Pipit flew up in usual fashion before disappearing back into the marsh.

After reaching the Winter's end of the mitigation area,i could see the 4 Little-ringed Plovers had come back after flying off earlier and also a female Ruff was feeding around the margins as well,year tick number 3.

I spent five minutes watching the LRP's and the Ruff before wandering back to the car.

A quick scan of the grassland revealed another Ruff,this time a male and i grabbed some video as he energetically fed in the loose company of 6 Lapwing.

This male,although not in full summer plumage yet,was a lovely marked bird and he gave some nice views.

So,not a bad couple of visits to the patch and hopefully this will continue now with no more Covid interruptions!.

Beautiful Blackthorn Blossum,6th.

Dawson City LWTR,6th.

Big Skies,With Hull And Saltend In The Background,6th.

The Floodbank Looking Towards Goxhill,6th.

The Skitter Pools,6th.

The Copse At The Skitter,6th.

East Halton Skitter/Mitigation Site,6th.

East Halton Skitter/Mitigation Site,6th.

East Halton Marshes,6th.

East Halton Marshes,6th.

East Halton Beck,6th.

East Halton Beck,6th.

Marsh lane,East Halton,6th.

Cherry Blossum,6th.

A Long Distance Shot Of The Red Kite From The 2nd.

Chiffchaff From The 2nd April.

Fantastic Flamborough & Brilliant Bempton,Easter Sunday,4th April 2021.

Our first trip further afield today and walking from North Landing at Flamborough Head up to Bempton cliffs RSPB and back taking in the stunning scenery and brilliant birds,before travelling over to the lighthouse area at Flamorough Head.We then spent the rest of our day exploring Selwick's Bay and caves after enjoying some well earned Steak Pie,Chips and Peas at the excellent Headlands Cafe/Resteraunt.A really enjoyable day and much needed time out with Mrs R after her recent health problems.

The following are my favourite photos from the day coupled with some video clips of some of the excellent wildlife we encountered which included Grey Seals,Harbour Porpoise,Peregrine Falcons,Fulmars,Gannets,Guillemots,Razorbills,Kittiwakes and of course everyones favourite the Puffins.

Rock Pillar,Selwick's Bay.

Sea Arch,Selwick's Bay.

Selwick's Bay.

Selwick's Bay.

Sea Arch,Selwick's Bay.

Yearling Atlantic Grey Seal,Selwick's Bay.

The First Of 2 Yearling Atlantic Grey Seal Resting At low Tide.

The Iconic View Of Selwick's Bay,From Many A Postcard.

Selwick's Bay.

Flamborough Lighthouse.

Cat Nab.

Staple Newk,Bempton Cliffs RSPB.

Staple Newk,Bempton Cliffs RSPB.....All The White Dots Are Gannets.

Thornwick Bay.

North American Poser & Red-necked Stunner.....Good Friday,2nd April 2021.

After a timely text message while i was birding my patch at East Halton from GPC,i headed over to Pit 25 at Barton to try and see the Red-necked Grebe which Graham had found this morning.

I parked at the railway crossing near the ski pit at Barrow Haven as i thought it would involve less walking and this proved a great decision,as after bumpimg into Mark Bannister,he told me he had just found a drake Ring-necked Duck on the Ski Pit....bit jammy i thought to myself as i knew nothing about the bird,what a nice added bonus.

After a quick chat to Mark i was off and enjoying some lovely views of our very smart American visitor,as he swam about and postured to his Pochard buddies.He looked to be paired to a female Pochard,as they more often than not are,well at least the ones i've seen have anyway!.

After a while i was joined by Wayne and Claire Gillatt,Mr C and Neil D and i thought to myself this is the most birders i've seen since last autumn visiting the Taiga Flycatcher in Co.Durham.

Covid really has brought it home how important my hobby is to my mental health,even on the day's when you see buggar all,it's just great to get out into the natural world.

After enjoying views of the Ring-necked Duck i walked over to Pit25 to look at the lovely Red-necked Grebe.

The bird showed more distantly than i would have liked,but was great to watch as it picked flies from the surface of the water,showing off it's summer finery,lovely black crown and mask,with subtle white border,yellow bill base and brick red neck and lower brest,what a cracking bird!.

I was then joined by Jon and he enjoyed views of the Grebe and added a lifer in the form of the Ring-necked Duck,so a good day was had by all.

Other sightings while on site,saw at least 85 Sand Martins being seen,my first of the year and a stunning male Marsh Harrier.

A brilliant few hours out and about and my first twitch of the year.

Humberhead Peatlands...An Excellent Visit!.....Saturday 27th March 2021.

An all day visit to the superb NNR that encompasses both Crowle and Thorne Moors NNR today,saw some really good sightings during the 9 hours i was on site.The following is an account of what i saw on my visit to this fantastic area.

On arrival at dawn,the promised showery start soon dissipated and the weather began to brighten.

The first section of the walk along Moor Middle Drain and then North Tram,saw some nice views of Roe Deers being had,with 3 buck's and 5 doe's being logged in the notebook and other notable sighting's included 2 Fieldfare,a drumming Great-spotted Woodpecker,3 singing male Chiffchaff and 2 male Diurnia fagella roosting on an Oak Tree.

As i crossed the new bridge over the Swinefleet Warping Drain and into Yorkshire,a singing male Cetti's Warbler was heard,with that explosive song and the first of 3 'Yaffling' Green Woodpecker's for the day was also seen and heard.

I continued along Goole Moors Tram,seeing a single male Stonechat and several more Chiffchaff.

The weather by now had much improved and was a mix of sun and cloud and as i walked 6 Whooper Swans trumpeted their way back to their northern breeding grounds and i wished them a safe journey.

I eventually reached the Fison's Limestone Road and found a pair of Stonechat to add to the earlier male and watched as the flycatched from several bushes and then i flushed 2 Pipits,both Water's and hoped they would fly back and land on the track and one bird thankfully did.

Water Pipits,as birders know,are a pain in the proverbial usually to see on the deck,but this bird showed nicely,but briefly and was soon off again.They are very attractive birds in summer plumage and it was a pleasure to see one in its finery.These birds have been present all winter and i recalled seeing one earlier in the winter at Blue Bridge on Boxing Day 2020.

The remainder of the visit on Thorne was taken up mainly by more Chiffchaff sightings,a single Common Buzzard,6 Redwing and 5 Goosander which graced Will pitts Scrape.

It was along here and on the opposite bank of the Warping drain,on Crowle Moor,in the shelter from the northerly wind that i logged some nice insect sightings which included several Tachina ursina,Eristalis intricaria,2 Dark-edged Bee Flies,a female Tree Bumblebee and a Small Tortoiseshell,all first records for the year and most welcome ones at that.

So with my first visit of the year here under my belt and excellent views of both the 'Rare' and scarce visitors to the NNR today,i travelled home a slightly weary but happy boy.

The New Crowle NNR Signs.

Tachinid Fly Species,Tachina ursina,Crowle Moor NNR.

Coltsfoot,Crowle Moor NNR.

Will Pitts Scrape,Thorne Moors NNR.

The Flooded Limestone Road,Thorne Moors NNR.

The Edge Of The Paraffin Cuttings,Thorne Moors NNR.

Big Skies And Some Lovely Contrasting Colours Over And Around The Parrafin Cuttings On Thorne Moors.

Goole Moor Tram,Thorne Moors.

Micro Moth Species,Diurnia Fagella,Crowle Moor NNR.

Another Male Diurnia Fagella,But A Slightly Darker Individual,Crowle Moor NNR.