The Local Patching Year.......A Review Of 2022.

A record year on the local patch in 2022,saw me achieving a target i set myself of 160 species in 2017,i had come close on a few occasions,with me seeing 158 species in 2021,just 2 short of the target.

The following is a review of this amazing year,with not only birds,but some interesting wildlife and insects also being seen.

January

A flying start to the year on the 1st,saw the White-tailed Lapwing still being present thankfully after being found the previous day.

This bird had relocated from Blacktoft Sands RSPB and became the first record for Lincolnshire and was only the 7th record for Britain of this very rare wader.

Also in the area,was a Cattle Egret,feeding on fields near to East Halton village with Little Egrets,another first for the patch.

Also seen today,was a female Red-crested Pochard on Winter's Pond,to round off an unbelievable start to the year.

A visit on the 3rd,saw a visit by 2 Bewick's Swans as they flew east over the Skitter,the first here for many years.

Another new patch species on the 15th,saw me finding a very brief Glossy Ibis on East Halton Marshes before it flew off towards Killingholme and a lovely Long-eared Owl at Winter's next day was a very welcome sighting also.

February

The White-tailed Lapwing was still present when i visited on the 8th,on its favoured pool on the marshes,along with new year additions in the form of Treecreeper at Winter's,followed by 4 Ruff and an Oystercatcher in the Skitter area.

The 9th saw a surprise Chiffchaff showing well near Goxhill Haven and a pair of Goosander at Winter's before leaving for home.

March

A visit on the 6th saw a lovely Woodcock being seen near to Ruins Pond,with the White-tailed Lapwing still being in residence on East Halton Marshes.

The 12th saw a very smart summer plumaged 'Littoralis' Rock Pipit and Water Pipit at the Skitter.

On the 18th,the first signs of spring migration were observed,as 2 Red Kite were seen,1 which flew south along the Humber floodbank towards Killingholme and another which was found along Chapel Field Road at Goxhill,before being seen flying towards the village here.

Also the first arrival of Chiffchaff's,saw 4 birds being recorded.

April

Always a month filled with anticipation,as our summer migrants return.

The 3rd saw a Siskin fly south at Winter's and a pair of Grey Partridge being seen,both new for the year along with a Lesser Redpoll and 4 Small Tortoiseshell.

The 9th saw more migrants being seen,with 2 Swallow at Winter's,2 White Wagtail north along the Humber floodbank and a new species of Tachinid Fly at the Skitter for myself and the patch in the form of Gonia picea.

The latter species parasitise Lepidoptera Caterpillars and particularly those of the Antler Moth and Comma Butterfly,it was found nectaring on Blackthorn blossum.

On the 13th a really good arrival of migrants included new for the year species in the form of Willow Warbler(2),Blackcap(7),Common Sandpiper,Wheatear(6),House Martin(2) and a single Whimbrel.

More migrant arrivals on the 17th saw more new species for the year,which included Reed Warbler(2),Sedge Warbler(3),Whitethroat,Grasshopper Warbler,Lesser Whitethroat and Little-ringed Plover.

After a period of easterlies,a good look around Winter's on the 18th,saw me finding a cracking female Ring Ouzel,a new species for the site and also an added bonus was a Jay in the plantation.

April closed with a visit on the 24th,seeing my first Cuckoo of the year at Winter's along with 3 Arctic Tern which flew south towards Killingholme and a new insect for the patch in the form of a 10 Spot Ladybird at Redhouse Wood.

May

A nice find on the marshes on the morning of the 8th,saw me finding a cracking drake Garganey,the bird had located to Winter's in the afternoon and showed incredibly well.

Also here was my first Hobby of the year,a 2nd calendar year bird watched hawking St.Mark's Flies,what a beauty!.

A red letter day on 14th saw Winter's having one of it's best day's of the year,as the first hour of daylight saw me finding a spanking,singing male Redstart in the hedgerow down to the Humber,a Cattle Egret feeding on the grassland near the car park and a smart 1st summer Med Gull.

Overhead 2 Common Tern flew south and this brought the year list up to a decent 134 species.

The month ended on the 22nd with another decent find in the form of a singing male Quail on the edge of the marshes,my 3rd record for the patch and new insects also recorded which were new for the patch were the Hoverfly Tropidia scita,Pied Shieldbug and Lackey Moth.

June

After returning from a very enjoyable trip to the New Forest/Dorset it was back to local patching on the 19th,with the first returning Green Sandpiper of the autumn migration period.

Some nice insects today included my first patch record of the Hoverfly Meredon equestris,found along Skitter Road near East Halton Grange.Other Hovers seen included,Cheilosia illustrata,Scaeva pyrastri and a lovely Chrysotoxum bicinctum.

More insect finds on the 26th saw me finding another couple of new Hoverflies for the patch,Eristalinus sepulchralis and the striking Volucella zonaria.

Birds seen on the 26th included a Great-white Egret,Adult Med. Gull and now 2 Green Sands at Winter's.

July

The 2nd saw more waders seen and consisted of a male Ruff,Little-ringed Plover and 3 Green Sands at Winter's,with another Green Sand and the first 2 Common Sandpipers of the autumn at the Skitter.

But the 2nd's star find went to finding one of the most stunning flies I've ever seen,the Soldier Fly species Oxycera trilineata.

It was found at the Skitter sheltering from the strong south westerly wind on the edge of the plantation,what an absolute cracker!.

The 15th saw the most bizarre record of the year in the form of a Redwing at Winter's,watched feeding along the edge of one of the reedbed's,totally crazy for the time of year.

Other birds sightings today included new for year species in the guise of 2 adult Kittiwake and a lovely partially summer plumaged Spotted Redshank.

August

The month's sightings began on the 6th,with a huge count of 24 Little Egret at Winter's along with a Great-white Egret.

It was insects and mammals which stole the show on today's visit though,with my first record of Long-winged Conehead for the patch,along with the first 4 Sea Aster Mining Bees of the year,3 Harbour Porpoise,including a calf and a Grey Seal.

After a cracking holiday in Pembrokeshire,it was a return to the patch over the weekend of the 20th/21st with some quality birds being found in the form of an adult Wood Sand at Winter's and 2 juvenile Yellow-legged Gulls at the Skitter on the 20th and juvenile Wood Sand at Winter's,juvenile Whinchat on the marshes and a spanking juvenile Black Redstart at the Skitter on the 21st.

The latter showed impeccably.landing about 5 feet from me when i first found it.

The weekend of the 27th/28th saw a colour ringed Great-white Egret arriving at Winter's,with 2 Wood Sands around,8 Common Sand,Juvenile Hobby and 15 Common Tern being logged.

September

A good passage on the Humber after south easterly winds on the 4th,saw 119 Common and 7 Sandwich Tern off Winter's as they re-orientated along with a Grey Wagtail south overhead,the latter two species being new for the year.

The weekend of the 10th/11th saw some good birds being recorded,with 1 new species for the patch,a Pectoral Sandpiper which flew out of Winter's and north along the Humber towards the Skitter never to be seen again.

Other species seen,included Guillemot,Arctic Skua,Adult Kittiwake,Arctic Tern,17 Pintail,juvenile Hobby and 12 Common Scoter.

I also found the first Willow-emerald Damselflies for the patch,along the beck on 10th,an expected addition,but nice to find all the same.

The 17th saw the first big arrival of Pink-footed Geese for the autumn in good conditions,with 957 being counted,along with a Great-white Egret still,juvenile Hobby again and an Arctic Skua on the Humber.

The 24th saw one of the best birds of the autumn for me,as a superb pale juvenile Long-tailed Skua flew slowly north off Winter's,giving some cracking views,before it settled on the Humber.Also seen today were singles of Gannet and Red-breasted Merganser.

October

The month began on the 1st with a new for year species at Winter's Pond,a juvenile Curlew Sandpiper which spent the day feeding around the site.Other birds here included a juvenile Spotted Redshank,Great-white Egret,15 Ruff,Greenshank,3 Grey Wagtail and a Merlin.

A nice find from the insect world,was a colony of Hornets at East Halton Grange,the first records for the patch of this impressive insect.

The 8th of October saw a family party of 8 Whooper Swans arriving at Winter's for the day,along with 22 Ruff,3 Pintail,90 Shoveler and 6 Stonechat on the marshes.

After lots of searching this year,a BB rarity was eventually found at Winter's,a juvenile female Blue-winged Teal with the Shoveler flock.This was not only a self find tick for me,but a new bird for the patch,it was also the 14th record for Lincolnshire of this Nearctic species.

Also on site,but of much lesser significance,were a pair of Egyptian Geese.

A visit on the 23rd saw no sign of the Blue-winged Teal,but 2 Dark-bellied Brent Geese were around.

The final visit for the month saw the Blue-winged Teal making a re-appearance at Winter's,with 5 Twite found at the Skitter,a nice surprise.

November

A visit on the 13th,saw a cracking Long-eared Owl seen hunting along Marsh lane at dawn,with other welcome highlights including an adult Spotted Redshank and 18 Snow Bunting at Goxhill Haven followed by a large flock for here of 22 Dark-bellied Brent Geese as they flew south along the Humber along Goxhill Marsh.

A good movement of seabirds on the 19th,saw me adding 5 new species for the year list in the form of a 1st winter little Gull,Red-throated Diver,3 Little Auk,Great-northern Diver and female Scaup.Other notable species seen on the day included 7 Kittiwake,Red-breasted Merganser,131 Common Scoter and 6 Dark-bellied Brent Geese.

The Blue-winged Teal was also present along with a Great-white Egret at Winter's.

The 20th/21st saw the final weekend the Blue-winged Teal was present along with a single Dark-bellied Brent Goose.

The final visit of November on the 26th,saw the arrival of a flock of 19 'Albifrons' White-fronted Geese.They were first seen flying over me along Chapel Field Road at Goxhill,before being refound later that day on fields near East Halton Marshes.

Also recorded during the day was a stunning pale morph Common Buzzard at Goxhill,Spotted Redshanks at both East Halton Skitter and Goxhill Haven and a stunning adult Med.Gull to finish the day at Winter's.

December

After finally cracking my target of 160 species,by 6,it was great to relax and have some really enjoyable birding through the month and the first proper winter weather for some years.

Visits on the 3rd,11th,17th and 18th saw the White-fronted Geese at either East Halton marshes or on Winter's.They used the latter site for bathing and drinking and generally fed on the fields until the year end.

The final addition to the year list saw a Jack Snipe being seen along Marsh Lane,with a male Snow Bunting seen the same day at East Halton Skitter.

A total of 4 new birds for the patch life list this year,White-tailed Lapwing,Cattle Egret,Pectoral Sandpiper and Blue-winged Teal,putting it on a respectable 216 species.

Well what a year,with some real quality birds and birding being enjoyed,2023 will do well to follow this,but i will still keep visiting this cracking area aiming for 170 species as my target now.

East Halton Marshes January.

Winter's Pond,March 18th.

Tachinid Fly,Gonia picea,East halton Skitter,9th April.

Ruins Pond,Goxhill Marsh,8th May.

Winter' Pond Dawn,14th May.

Tropidia scita,Winter's Pond,22nd May.

Female Broad-bodied Chaser,East Halton Marshes,11th June.

Hoverfly,Scaeva pyrastri,Skitter Road,East Halton,11th June.

East Halton Beck,11th June.

Skitter Road,East Halton Skitter,19th June.

Eristalinus sepulchralis,East Halton Skitter,26th June.

Volucella zonaria,Skitter Road,East Halton,26th June.

Winter's Pond,26th June.

Oxycera trilineata,East Halton Skitter,2nd July.

Eristalinus aeneus,East Halton Skitter,2nd July.

Male Lesser-marsh Grasshopper,East Halton Skitter,6th August.

Juvenile Black Redstart,East Halton Skitter,21st August.

Sea AsterMining Bee,Goxhill Haven,27th August.

Female Long-winged Conehead,Goxhill Marsh,27th August.

Sunrise Over The Humber At East Halton,24th September.

Comma,East Halton Skitter,24th September.

Willow-emerald Damselflies,East Halton Skitter,1st October.

Winter's Pond,15th October.

Juvenile female Blue-winged Teal,Winter's Pond,15th October.

Red Admiral,Red House Wood,East Halton,16th October.

Twite,East Halton Skitter,29th October.

Snow Buntings,Goxhill Haven,13th November.

Barnacle Geese,East Halton Marshes,26th November.

Atlantic Walrus,Scarborough,North Yorkshire,Saturday 31st January 2022.

After seeing the incredible news that a male Walrus had been found resting in Scarborough Harbour,Tracey and myself made the journey up through the wolds to go and see this magnificent beast.

After a bit of frantic drive up through the Wolds,we met up with Tim and walked the short journey down to the Harbour to the sight of this huge,snoozing animal.

To actually see one up close was really something and he was massive,being probably 3 or 4 times the bulk of a bull Grey Seal.

On a few occasions he raised his head to see what all the fuss was about,with some very happy faces watching this superb animal.

This big male is obviously a long way from home and thought to be the same as seen in France,the Netherlands and Hampshire,experts believe him to be about 4 years old,so still only a youngster as they can live up to 40 years.

As the crowd got bigger we decided to go and have a look from the outer harbour wall,enjoying some nice views of the local wintering Purple Sandpipers and a few Red-throated Divers,Guillemots,a Grey Seal and a couple of Harbour Porpoise.

After saying goodbye to Tim,we made our way home through the Wolds after a fantastic few hours out seeing our first Walrus.

Clumber Park & Thoresby Hall,Thursday 29th December 2022.

A good forecast and a free day today,saw Tracey and myself heading for Clumber Park and nearby Thoresby Hall.

As always on our visits here,one eye was on the birds and after a good look for Hawfinch around the chapel and unfortunately drawing a blank,we continued our visit around this cracking place.

The best sightings we managed were 13 Goosander,which consisted of 6 stunning drakes and 7 Redheads.They are such smart ducks and are always a pleasure to see.

After enjoying some food in the cafe we drove the short journey over to  nearby Thoresby Hall and park.

A wander around the grounds became very fortuitous,when i came across a flock of 15 Hawfinch which were feeding in Hornbeams alongside the River Meden /deer park.

They were feeding in the trees and then dropping onto the ground,but were then flushed by the Fallow Deer and they flew off towards Perlethorpe and we did not see them again.

Thoresby Hall is a very impressive building and also the church of St.John the Evangilist at Perlethorpe.

This is an area we will certainly visit again in the future.

A lovely few hours out and about today,the following are my favourite photos from our day.

The Church Of St.Mary The Virgin,Clumber Park.

Clumber Park lake.

The Weir At Hardwick Village 

Thoresby Hall

The Church Of St.John the Evangilist At Perlethorpe.

Winter's Pond.......What A Site And Year!

Winter's Pond,or East Halton Pit as some know it is a series,well three to be exact,of old clay workings which once upon a time was a working tilery which made pantiles for the building industry.Two of the lakes/pits are still open and visible,but the third is grown over now.

Today,it gets occasional visits from Angler's,but mainly people walking along the side of the main lake to the Humber floodbank,with the kind access allowed by the owner Jean Winter.

I have been visiting Winter's on and off since 1986,when i first took up birding,but in the last 6 years this has intensified with me concentrating efforts between here and Goxhill to record bird species and hopefully find a few rarities along the way.

Winter's has a long history of rare birds being found here,with Graham Catley finding Lincolnshire's first Black Kite here on 18.05.79. and the previous year,a male Little Bittern resided here from the 19th until the 29th April.

It wasn't until the 3rd April 2018 when i could stamp my mark on the site with a quality find in the form of a singing male White-spotted Bluethroat,which spent the day typically skulking in the hedgerow and adjacent field which runs paralell to the track down to the Humber and occasionally sang also.

The continued efforts to try and find some more or another rare bird did not happen until 15.01.22. when a Glossy Ibis made a flying visit,literally and then a Cattle Egret spent the day feeding on the grassland on the 14th May along with a singing male Redstart in the adjacent hedgerow.The Ibis and Cattle Egret were both personal find ticks also.

Next was a very brief Pectoral Sandpiper on 11th September,before it flew north towards the Skitter never to be seen again,but frustratingly still no BB rare.

This thankfully changed when i managed to find a very smart juvenile female Blue-winged Teal on the 15th October,which was associating with the local Shoveler flock.

It commuted between the main lake and the smaller rear lake at the back of the site and could be elusive at times,but stayed until 20th November.

 This species is of Nearctic in origin breeding across North America and Canada.

Now the rarest bird to have graced this site,occurred on 31st December 2020,when Mike Pickwell visited and found a 'Funny looking wader' with yellow legs feeding on the grassland.

Unfortunately i was out for the day with my wife,but i communicated with Mike on what it could be,Lesser Yellowlegs perhaps,no!,i then sent GPC a message and he went to check it out,imagine my disbelief when he rang me back to say it was the White-tailed Lapwing!.

It had left Blacktoft on Christmas Eve and disappeared until Mike found the bird.

A frantic visit next day,saw the bird thankfully still around and it then spent the next 66 days either on Winter's or on it's favoured pool on East Halton Marshes next door.

It is the 7th record for Britain of this very rare wading bird,which breeds occasionally on the Black Sea coast Of Romania and further east and winters in Pakistan and India.

Apart from rare visitors,the site is an important one for Wildfowl and Waders,with it being particularly important for Icelandic Black-tailed Godwits which use the site to bathe and feed throughout September and October.

The constant effort of reading colour rings which the birds are fitted with on their legs to study their migration,has shown birds visiting from France,Iceland,Holland,Norfolk,Suffolk and Welwick on the Humber,as well as Frampton RSPB on the Wash.

A total of 26 species of wader have been recorded on site to date by myself and 1 of those,Avocet,has also bred.

Visiting Wildfowl species have included Red-crested Pochard,Garganey,Smew,Scaup,Red-breasted Merganser,Common Scoter,White-fronted,Egyptian and Brent Geese.

Other species which have made appearances,have included a wide array of families,such as Hooded Crow,Long-eared Owl,Twite,Black Redstart,Waxwing,Hen Harrier and Black Tern.

I have to date recorded a total of 157 species on and over the site,a decent total.

The site is not only good for birds though,with a fairly good list of Odonata,which includes a breeding colony of Small red-eyed Damselflies and occasional Hairy Dragonfly.

Mammals are also a regular feature of my visits and include daily sighting's of Roe Deer,the occasional Otter and Muntjac,with the much persecuted Fox and Badgers being seen also.

This site really is a special one and i hope it continues for many years to come,with the continued pressures from companies like AbleUK to develop land along the Humber.

The following are a selection of my fave photos and video clips of birds and the stunning sunrises and landscape of the site.

Winter's From The Air

Juvenile Female Blue-winged Teal,October 15th 2022.

In bound Whooper Swans,08.10.22.

Buck Muntjac,25.09.22.

Dawn Over The Site,24.09.22.

Buck Roe Deer,02.07.22.

The Rear Lake,26.06.22.

Geese In The Mist,19.06.22.

Sunrise On The 07.08.21.

Male Small red-eyed Damselfly,23.07.19.

Pink-footed Geese Dropping Into Bathe,13.10.18.

Whooper Swan,07.01.18.