Badger Encounter & More Spring Migrants.......23rd & 24th April 2021.

Another couple of brilliant visits to the local patch over last weekend,included a mammal encounter i will never forget and finally some better numbers of summer migrants arrive.

Friday 23rd April

As it was a lovely afternoon today,Tracey and myself decided to go for a walk on the local patch at East Halton.

A couple of new species for the year were the first highlights of the visit,with both a singing male Whitethroat and Reed Warbler being seen and heard at Winter's,a good start to the visit we thought.

As we began to walk along the seawall towards the Skitter,i spotted a Badger feeding on the mitigation area a very strange sighting for the time of day.But after thinking how dry the recent weather has been it is possibly just hungry,as dry weather means they cannot hunt for earth worms.It was a real privilege to see this cracking animal and it was our first for quite a while.

We carried on walking finding 2 stunning Whimbrel feeding along the shore,but they were the usual jumpy and shy birds this species more than often is,but lovely scope views were enjoyed.

A surprise sighting at the Skitter,was a single Pink-footed Goose and i thought it may be injured or something as the local wintering flock had moved on many weeks ago,but it looked in fine condition.

A walk back along the mitigation area to the car revealed 3 Little Egret,2 Black-tailed Godwit and the first Lapwing chick of the season,plus,unbelievably,the Badger was still feeding.

I managed to get pretty close and have a good look at him and he looked in perfect condition,what an absolute privilege to see.I left him to feed after taking some video and a few photos,what a fantastic end to our visit.

Saturday 24th April

A dawn start today in fairly cold conditions again,had seen a decent arrival of migrants at Winter's with 5 Whimbrel flying west,now 4 singing male Reed Warbler,2 singing male Whitethroat,3 singing male Blackcap and a new species for the year,in the form of 2 singing and displaying male Sedge Warblers.A party of 10 Oystercatcher,also flew north along the estuary from here,an unusual number at any time of the year.

The walk between Winter's and the Skitter was productive also,with my first Common Sandpiper of the year along the shoreline and also a cracking male Cuckoo,which gave a super close flyby.

No sign of the Badger on the mitigation area was good news and hopefully he will have found enough food now to satisfy his appetite.

Also on the mitigation area were 4 lovely Whimbrel which gave some nice scope views,before they headed off north.

At the Skitter,the highlights included another Sedge Warbler,Whitethroat and Common Sandpiper with the Pink-footed Goose also still here.

Breeding success for a pair of Greylags,saw 6 newly hatched goslings following their proud parents about.

Between the Skitter and Dawson City,more migrant arrivals featured,with another 9 singing male Sedge Warbler,2 Whitethroat and 3 Reed Warbler being seen or heard and 4 singing male Cetti's Warbler were also logged,a good 6 recorded for the day,my most along here.

On the Humber,3 Bar-tailed Godwit fed along with much smaller numbers of Curlew,than a week ago,as birds depart for their breeding grounds and over head a year tick Lesser Redpoll entered the notebook.

The mitigation area held 3 Little Egret again,with 2 Sand Martin and a couple of Swallow being seen and also another pair of Greylag with a brood of 6 goslings were noted.

Final good sighting of the visit,went to 2 Wheatear feeding along the fence posts on the mit site,the male certainly of the 'Greenland' race and the female probably also.

Another couple of brilliant visits,particularly the Badger sighting and finally some positivity regarding migrant numbers,although very few Hirundines are in yet here.

Badger On The Mitigation Area,23rd.

Sunrise Over Winter's On The 24th.

Pink-footed Goose At The Skitter,24th.

Female Wheatear On The Mitigation area,24th.

 

Beautiful Monsal & Wyedale,Sunday 18th April 2021.

Today Tracey and myself visited one of our favourite areas in the stunning Peak District National Park in Derbyshire.

We walked an area,we have walked several times before,parking at White Lodge Car Park on the side of the A6,Buxton Road walking through Monsal Dale to Monsal Head and then along the Monsal Trail to Cressbrook Mill/Water-Cum-Jolly,Litton Mill and up to Miller's Dale Station.

On the return leg,we walked along the Monsal Trail back to Monsal Head and back through Monsal Dale to the car at White Lodge.

The areas covered are not just great for the lovely scenery,but also for the wildlife,with a plethora enjoyed on today's visit.

The wildflowers alone are worth the visit,with Wood Anemone,Greater Celandine,Dog's Mercury and Dog Violets abounding.

Bird wise,the usual Residents were enjoyed today and included Dipper,Grey Wagtail and Mandarin Ducks,with migrant species today including 13 Chiffchaff,7 Blackcap and 10 Willow Warbler.

As the temperature rose,particularly in the afternoon,insects began to appear and we recorded Orange Tip,Brimstone,Peacock,Small Tortoiseshell,Green-veined White and the star of the show which Mrs R found,a Green Hairstreak.The latter is the first i have seen here and was a nice surprise.

Other nice sightings,went to some stunning,wild Rainbow Trout seen at Litton Mill,apparently the only wild population of this species in the country.

I cannot praise this area enough for its beautiful wild flowers,wildlife and scenery and i hope to visit again,later in the season.

The View From Monsal Head Along Monsal Dale.

Cressbrook Dale.

Butterbur,Water-Cum-Jolly.

Water-Cum-Jolly.

Wild Rainbow Trout,Litton Mill.

The River Wye At Litton Mill.

Wood Anemones Along The Monsal Trail.

Cressbrook Tunnel.

Tracey's Star Find,A Lovely Green Hairstreak.

Greater Celandine,Monsal Dale.

Dog's Mercury,Monsal Dale.

Monsal Head Viaduct.

Lovely Violets In Monsal Dale.

WEBS Count & Spring Migrants Trickle In......Sunday 11th April & Saturday 17th April 2021.

 With the continuing easterly and northerly airflow,with some pretty cold days it has to be said,migrant birds are beginning to slowly arrive from warmer shores.The following are a compilation of sighting's from these 2 visits to my local patch.

Sunday 11th April

The first three hours of the visit today,were taken up by me carrying out my WEBS count for April.A few niceities were seen and included 3 Ruff(2 Males and a Female) and 6 Wigeon still,hanging on at on Winter's Pond.Also along the approach road to Winter's,a lovely Barn Owl was watched hunting,a great sight to see.

On the mitigation area,the best sighting's went to 5 Black-tailed Godwit,a Dunlin,79 Teal and 57 precious Curlew.

Migrant species around the 2 sites,included 2 Chiffchaff,a male White Wagtail and my first Wheatear of the year,a female,on the mitigation area.

After my WEBS count had been completed,i then headed to the Skitter were i saw another couple of Chiffs,2 Oystercatcher,75 Linnet,18 shelduck and there were 2 Water Pipit still around the pools.

I then decided to walk along the track down past the gas compound and up past the new gas pipeline site and along East Marsh Road,seeing very little new sightings for the day,but 2 Little Egret fed in the drainage dyke along East Marsh Road.

As i arrived at Goxhill Haven,i flushed a Red-legged Partridge,now to some people that probably means nothing,but on my patch this species is pretty rare to be fare,so was notable all the same.

I stopped in Dawson City for my lunch and some welcome sunshine and respite from the northerly wind and enjoyed my lunch as 3 male Blackcap sang around the reserve.

Also on Dawson,were another 2 singing Chiffs and a singing male Cetti's Warbler.

The walk between Dawson and East Halton Skitter saw another 2 Chiffchaff and a decent count for the time of year of 161 Curlew.

Saturday 17th April

A much more productive day today regarding migrants,but a freezing -3 start to the day,saw plenty of warm clothing for the start to the day.

First goodie as i got out of the car,was that iconic sound of the spring,as a male Cuckoo sang at the back of Winter's.I eventually located him sat partially hidden in a Willow,but what a great sound and start to the day.

Also at winter's were 2 singing male Cetti's Warbler,2 Chiffchaff and a lovely male Blackcap and along the sea wall towards the old seaplane jetty,2 male Sparrowhawk sunbathed in the early morning sun.

A walk along the sea wall up to the Skitter,saw another addition to the year list and another spring migrant,a lovely Whimbrel.I watched as the bird fed along the rocky shore,giving some lovely scope views,but i could not get close enough to get any video unfortunately.

The mitigation area held a few nice birds,which included 2 Wigeon,39 Teal,Little Egret and a cracking male Yellow Wagtail.The latter was another first for the year and added a very welcome splash of colour to the day's sighting's.

At 10.00am i was meeting up with Jackson and others to carry out a litter pick around the small copse at the Skitter and after 2 hours of graft,we managed to collect 300kg of rubbish.It really is a shame this has to be done,but there are so many people who just do not care about the environment and throw their litter out of their cars or just flytip it.

After the litter pick,i said goodbye to the gang and headed over to the Goxhill Tilery area for a change.

By now the weather was lovely and a decent 15 degrees and the Butterflies certainly responded with me seeing my first Brimstone of the year,3 Green-veined White,11 Small Tortoiseshell and 3 Peacock Butterfly.

Another insect which seems to be doing well and is certainly spreading it's range,is the Dark-edged Bee Fly and i managed to see at least 2 around the woodland area at Quebec.

Bird sightings around the area included 11 Common Buzzard,which included a group of 9 drifting high west up the estuary,3 singing male Blackcap,7 singing male Chiffchaff,another Whimbrel and Yellow Wagtail also passing over and the final newbie for the year,a singing male Willow Warbler near the Old Boatyard.

A great couple of visits,but still no local Sedge or Reed Warbler,Whitethroat or Lesser Whitethroat or House martin.We really need some southerlies to bring the rest of the migrants in.

Sunrise Over The Estuary On The 17th.

Dawn At Winter's Pond On The 17th.

Looking Along The Sea Wall,At East Halton,11th.

East Halton Skitter,11th.

Ruins Pond,11th.

Goxhill Marsh From The 11th.

A Lovely Male Roe Deer Buck,From The 11th.

Sunrise Over The Humber On The 11th.

North Yorkshire.....Saturday 10th April 2021.

A visit today to my favourite area in North Yorkshire,Wykeham Forest and it's environs resulted in a superb day's birding,albeit a pretty wintry one.The following is what i encountered during my day.

The drive up through the Yorkshire Wolds was nice and quiet,a tad frosty,but nice all the same and a lovely Barn Owl hunting along the roadside verges just outside the village of Foxholes was a good start.

I eventually arrived at destination number one for the day,the raptor viewpoint at Wykeham Forest.

After getting the required clothing on for this frosty start to the day and because it was early,i decided to have an explore along the plantation opposite the car park.This paid divedends,with my first Willow Warbler of the year,singing away from its icy perch.I thought to myself,'I bet it wishes it was still in warmer climes',but these are tough little birds and breed throughout Scandinavia,so it will be in their DNA.

A little further on and another singing male Willow Warbler was located and as i scanned the fields a superb male Goshawk was watched as it mobbed and chased two Carrion Crows,a great sight to watch!.

As i walked back to the car, i heard the distinct and sadly rare these days,song of a male Willow Tit and sure enough i saw him,before he quickly disappeared towards the car park.a great sighting and my first of the year.

So began the watch from the viewpoint,after the short walk from the car park and at first the weather looked good,albeit with little wind,so not ideal for diplaying Accipters.

Eventually i saw one male Goshawk,get up out of his forest home and begin to soar around,giving some nice scope views,just great to watch these powerfull birds again.

Other species seen around and from the viewpoint included,incredibly,2 singing male Willow Tit,no doubt one being the earlier bird,but to have 2 of these precious birds,was great for the area.

A singing male Marsh Tit,Treecreeper,half a dozen Siskin,3 Common Buzzard and a couple of Crossbill added to the list of species seen,but then the weather set in and it snowed for about 45 minutes.I decided enough was enough and drove around to Troutsdale.

A different route today up and through Snainton,due to a landslip along my usual route through Everley and Hackness,saw a different perspective on this lovely little valley.

Notable sightings around Hilla Green included another singing male Willow Warbler,Dipper,Grey Wagtail,4 drake Mandarin Duck and 4 singing male Chiffchaff.

With it still only being lunchtime,i decided then to visit Wykeham Lakes,a site i hadn't visited before.

It seems to be going to be a mixture of water sports and a mini country park,perhaps a little too manicured and disturbed for any proper birding when it will be completed.But on my visit,the nice sight of 100+ Sand Martin and 35 Swallows,sort of had signs of summer about it.

Despite the weather and amongst the Hirundine flock,i managed to pick out my first House Martin of the year,so another added bonus to the days sightings.

Other birds seen included Chiffchaff,5 Goldeneye and a single Barnacle Goose.

The final place i visited before travelling home,was another personal fave,the lovely Forge Valley.

I have been visiting this fantastic wooded valley along the banks of the River Derwent since i was a small child and today's visit was enjoyable as always.

Best sightings went to a singing male Blackcap,2 Chiffs,a pair of Mandarin and 2 Grey Wagtail,but it was the commoner woodland species,which i gained the best views of which included Marsh Tit,Nuthatch and Treecreeper.

I will no doubt be back here in the warmer months to look for Beautiful Demoiselle as i do annually.

So another great day today,despite the icy weather,but what a great area this is for birding!.

Hilla Green,Home To Dippers,Grey Wagtail & Mandarin Ducks.

Troutsdale Valley.

Fantastic Views Across Troutsdale And Beyond From The Raptor Viewpoint at Wykeham Forest.

Clumber & Rufford Parks,Thursday 8th April 2021.

A day out today with Mrs R,to a couple of our favourite places,saw us having an enjoyable day out despite the generally cloudy weather.The following is what we saw during our visit.

At Clumber we decided to do the full circuit around the huge main lake and we saw some really nice birds to be fair.

The best of the highlights went to my first Blackcap's of the year,with 5 males located,a Red Kite & a pair of Raven thermalling over the Lawns area and also a singing male Cetti's Warbler,which was a first sighting here for me.

It was really nice to see some lovely male Blackcaps,as they are a personal favourite species and i love their flutey Sylvia song.

Other niceities went to 6 Sand Martin over the lake and a male Mandarin did his best to impress the local Mallards.

We shouldn't forget the superb views of the numerous Nuthatch,Chiffchaffs,Treecreeper and other woodland species you encounter on a visit here.

After visiting Clumber we moved onto Rufford,which to be honest,was packed with people,but it was still a pleasant visit.

Three more singing male Blackcap were seen and heard here,along with 4 Chiffchaff and a lovely pair of Grey Wagtail were observed at the ford area,as they quietly fed along the banks.

Overhead 3 Common Buzzard mewed as they sorted out their territorial disputes another great sound to hear.

A lovely day out today and really nice to finally visit some differant places again.

View From The Ornamental Bridge.

The Newly Repaired Ornamental Bridge at Clumber.

An Incredibly Tame Grey Squirrel At Clumber Park.

The Impressive Chapel At Clumber Park.

Mute Swan,Clumber Park.