Welcome To My Blog,This Will Be Mainly Used As A Diary For My Local Birding Patch At East Halton/Goxhill On The Banks Of The Humber Estuary,With Occasional Twitching And Visits Elsewhere Including Photos From Mine & Tracey's Walks And Holidays Around Our Beautiful Countryside.
Our final full day today,so we headed out bright and early to complete a circular walk at our favourite location in the Lakes,Aira Force beside the stunning Ullswater.
On arrival it was a little cloudy with the sun breaking through.
We had a quick look at the lake after putting our gear on for the walk,took a few photos and then we were off.
It was just great to be back here again,somewhere we have visited three or four times before,but have never completed this walk.
It wasn't long before we were at the waterfall and we stopped to admire it and take some photos before heading through and along the woodland patch up to the series of rapids and small falls along Aira Beck.
This area was just lovely and the sunshine lit up the autumnal colours of the leaves on the trees beautifully.
Eventually we made it out of the woodland and out onto moorland and to the base of Gowbarrow Fell.
Some lovely views from here across to Ullswater and Blencathra with an amazing looking cloud inversion over it.
The walk up Gowbarrow Fell was a little steep and Tracey did really well,but when we got to the summit,the views were amazing.
After a short rest and a few photos,the path descends down the side of the fell and towards Ullswater.
The views along here were spectacular,looking across the Lake and towards Watermillock.
We just took in the views as we walked and took a lot of photos it has to be said and the woodland below just glowed in the sunshine.
Eventually we made it back to Aira Beck and the car park and enjoyed a well earned cuppa,before driving over to Glenridding for our lunch.
Well what a fantastic day,this walk has everything,Mountains,Lakes,Fells and Waterfalls and is a big 10/10 from us and our favourite walk we have completed away from our coasts,just brilliant!.
The following are some photos from this epic day.
Aira Force.
Such A Lovely Setting.
Aira Beck.
More Amazing Views Along Aira Beck.
More Lovely Views Of Aira Beck.
Some Stunning Autumnal Colours Along Here.
Beginning The Ascent Up Gowbarrow Fell,The Views Across To Ullswater Were Lovely.
Blencathra With An Impressive Cloud Inversion.
More Fantastic Views,this Time Towards Ullswater & Watermillock.
This Is Where The Path Turns & Runs Alongside The Lake Providing Even More Stunning Views Of Ullswater.
Another day in this beautiful area after a lovely sleep in the cabin,saw us heading out to firstly Ravenglass and then the stunning Muncaster Castle and area.
After the short journey along the A595 we arrived at the village of Ravenglass.
Now this is not the prettiest place i have visited,but it has the added bonus of being the meeting point of three rivers as they reach the Irish sea,the rivers Irt,Mite and Esk and this in turn provides a great area for birding and wildlife.
The reason it was chosen in past history as a Roman naval base was the fact that these three rivers met here and in those days it was known as Itunocelum and it stationed the Cohors Prima Aelia Classica(First Cohort of Hadrian's Marines),so in other words it was Emperor Hadrian's navy,of Hadrian's Wall fame.
The only real ruins here are of the Roman baths,the finest surviving example left in the UK which date back to the 2nd century AD
The Romans occupied this area for some 300 years and the garrison housed 500 soldiers.
Anyway back to the birds,we managed to see a few nice species which included 2 wintering/late Greenshank feeding in the Esk,9 lovely Red-breasted Merganser,a Redhead Goosander and 6 Little Egret,not bad for an hour or so.
After our little walk,it was time to travel the mile back up the road to Muncaster Castle.
This lovely castle which has been in the ownership of the Pennington family for almost 800 years,has some interesting history and it is said to be the most haunted building in Britain.
But for me,the grounds and views across the fells towards Scafell Pike are just beautiful and the gardens are just stunning.
A few birds were seen while we walked around the gardens and unbelievably included a male Hen Harrier which i saw fly up from the River Esk valley below the castle and it then began to soar around before heading off north west.
After studying my pics it soon became apparent the bird had a radio tag on its back,these are fitted at the nest so the birds can be tracked as they are such a rare breeding species in the UK now and are heavily persecuted on Grouse Moors,which is totally illegal as they are protected by law.
I have sent the photos and details to a friend who works for the RSPB Investigations Team and I'm awaiting details back.It will be interesting to see where it has travelled from.
After our lovely time at the castle,we travelled over to Ambleside for some tea before heading back to the cabin to relax.
Information Board At Ravenglass
Some Information About The Roman Baths.
The Ruins Of The Roman Baths,Just Outside The Village.
Part Of The Estuary And Where The River Esk Runs Into The Sea.
Beautiful Views From The Castle Grounds.
The Castle Entrance.
The Male Hen Harrier As He Soared Around.
You Can Clearly See The Radio Tag On This Photo,With The Aerial.
After and early start this morning,Tracey and myself headed out on a few days away in the Lake District,we were staying in a lovely log cabin at Broughton Mills about 7 miles from Coniston.
Today's plan was to travel over to the Lakes and visit Wast Water first,before moving over to the cabin to unpack.
After stopping at the services near Lancaster on the way,we arrived at the stunning sight of Wast Water looking amazing in the morning sunshine.
It was really great to be back here visiting this amazing lake and seeing the stunning mountain scenery so close,particularly the towering Great Gable at the end of the lake,just fantastic!.
As we walked a few birds encountered included a pair of 'Cronking' Ravens which passed by overhead,a fitting sighting for such impressive scenery.
After enjoying this fantastic start to our holiday we travelled over to our lovely cabin and un-packed.
The following are my fave photos from our first day.
Another round of superb visits to the local patch at East Halton over these three days,seeing some great birds,the following is what i encountered.
Friday 20th
Some perfect conditions today for pushing seabirds up the estuary,saw me stuck at work until finishing at 1.30pm.After this i headed straight for the patch to see what i could find in the torrential rain and south easterly blast.
On arrival at East Halton,i parked up at the Skitter and positioned the car so the rain didn't come in through the window.
First birds i set eyes on were incredibly,2 juvenile Long-tailed Skuas sat together on the Humber off the Skitter.i watched as they drifted along on the tide before i lost sight of them in the gloom,an amazing start!.
Then it was the turn of Little Gulls to entertain,as birds headed both north and south along the estuary,with some passing close by my position,giving some stunning views of this cracking little species.
Birds of various ages were seen,including some cracking juveniles.In all a total of 22 flew north and 37 flew out south.
Next into the notebook were at least 6 Kittiwakes,with 2 juveniles heading south along the estuary and a juvenile and 3 adults heading north,a typical species to be encountered at this time of year and in these conditions.
A couple of Arctic Skuas were then seen heading out south,followed by 2 juvenile and a 2nd calendar year Gannet flying north and then 2 adults,2 3rd calendar years,juvenile and 2 2nd calendar year birds all heading out south.
The adult Gannets are the first i have seen on the patch for a long while,as adults rarely get blown up the estuary.
Other interesting sightings away from seabirds,went to a cracking Little Stint seen with a flock of Dunlin and a single Dark-bellied Brent Goose which flew north.
A very productive few hours,sadly cut short as the weather deteriorated.
Sunday 22nd
WEBS day today saw me meeting up with Jon and us having a good all day visit ,seeing some great birds.
We started proceedings at Winter's as always which was fairly quiet again,best of the sightings here went to 5 Goldeneye(1st W. drake and 4 females)and a good count of 16 little Grebe.
The marshes were alive with birds this morning though,now with the water levels building nicely and it wasn't long before i picked out some nice birds,a flock of Russian White-fronts.
There were 4 birds,2 adults and 2 juveniles and it made me think about the birds last winter and the outside possibility that these two adults may have visited us before.
They gave some lovely views as they fed unconcernedly,loosely associating with the Greylag flock.
Other bits on here included 3 Ruff,6 Pintail,a brief Short-eared Owl which was flushed by a passing Marsh Harrier and the now resident 3 Cattle Egret were still following the cattle around giving some nice views.
Some good counts of Wildfowl and Waders here included 520 Wigeon,280 Teal,180 Lapwing,46 Black-tailed Godwit,153 Curlew and 24 Redshank making for some great viewing.
After viewing the marshes we wandered up to the Skitter,seeing a hunting Peregrine over the marshes putting all the feeding waders and ducks up,the usual mayhem that they cause.
We then decided to walk along Skitter Road and back to Winter's which proved a pretty good decision as the first nice bird was a single Crossbill which flew west,followed by a Little Owl and Jay nearby and a Green Sand in a flooded field near The Grange.
After arriving back at Winter's,more scanning of the marshes before sundown saw some lovely afternoon light giving great conditions for looking for Owls,but none materialised unfortunately.
All was not lost though,as the lovely White-front family were still present along with the 2 Barnacle Geese and a first winter Med.Gull flew onto the Humber to roost.
A pretty decent count of 87 species were recorded today and just goes to show how good this patch is.
Sunday 29th
A dawn start at Winter's first thing saw a spectacular burning orange sunrise,so plenty of pictures were taken.
After this lovely start it was down to looking for our feathered friends and as on my last visit Winter's was fairly quiet,but the marshes were again alive with birds.
The best sightings went to the 3 Cattle Egret still in residence,9 Ruff,5 Pintail,a Kingfisher,2 Stonechat and a single Brambling which flew south.
Numbers of Wildfowl and Waders here included 246 Wigeon,161 Curlew,47 Dunlin,51 Redshank and a good count of 132 Black-tailed Godwit.
As the tide dropped off i wandered up to the Skitter,watching the feeding waders and managing to get some cracking video of both Bar-tailed Godwit and Knot at pretty close range.
The latter two species were in pretty good numbers today with 11 of the former and 19 of the latter.Also around the Skitter area were a Peregrine,134 Avocet and 3 Water Rail which showed brilliantly allowing me to take some pleasing video.
A walk along Skitter Road saw a Jay being seen again at The Grange and a whopping flock of at least 700 Wood Pigeon in the area making for an impressive sight.
On return to the marshes another good look for the previous weekend's White-fronts,saw them definitely not here,but the 2 Barnies were still around and the three Cattle Egret were roosting in the little wood at Winter's.
The Locals On The Marshes On The 22nd.
Spectacular Sunrise On The 29th.
Phone-scoped Photo Of A Bar-tailed Godwit At East Halton Skitter,29th.
With the continued presence of the 1st winter male Red-headed Bunting still at North Marsh at Flamborough and the added bonus of some other tasty eastern migrants,today's destination was an easy one.
I got up bright and early and made my way over to Flamborough for first light and to meet up with Tim and Arash for a top day's birding at this superb site.
As it got light and we paid for our parking for the day,our destination to start was to go and see the Red-headed Bunting over at North Marsh.
As we walked a few migrants were arriving and included a handful of Fieldfare,Blackbirds and Woodcock,the latter giving superb views as they arrived in off the sea.
Eventually we made it around to where the Bunting has been spending the last week in hedgerows and adjacent stubble near to North Marsh.
The bird was seen straight away,although partially hidden all the time we watched it,but you could see its pale plumage,with a yellowish wash to the rump,biggish-almost Corn Bunting like head,with large bill.
The bird is in heavy moult and isn't the smartest rarity i have seen to be fair,but a new species for me all the same.
This is potentially a second record for Britain and obviously a first for Yorkshire of this far eastern breeding species of Bunting and was a solid start to our visit.
We then headed back towards the lighthouse to the superb news that the previous day's Two-barred Greenish Warbler was still present along with a Pallas's and Dusky Warbler for good measure!.
We played it cool though and looked for migrants on our walk back,seeing a lovely pair of Northern Bullfinch around the Golf Course Willows,2 Continental Coal Tits,several newly arrived Goldcrest which fed inches away from us and overhead a chunky Mealy Redpoll passed us by.
We then walked over to where the other star birds where getting some nice views of the Dusky Warbler as it made its way around the undergrowth below the lighthouse compound,giving that tongue clicking 'Teck' call,my first since the bird i found on my local patch at Goxhill in November 2020.
Next was another real rarity like the Bunting,but not quite as rare,the very smart Two-barred Greenish Warbler.
To say this bird showed well was an understatement,giving point blank views allowing all to get some fantastic views of this far eastern species and take in the birds identification features.
This is my second sighting of the species,after a bird i saw at Spurn in October 2021.
Amazing to think that this little bird hatched as a chick this year in Northern Mongolia/Manchuria or Southern Siberia and is now off course some 3500 miles from its natal area.The species winters in South Eastern Asia,so is a long way from home,a similar area to the Red-headed Bunting and Dusky Warbler.
Final goodie and for me the star of the show today,was a gorgeous Pallas's Warbler,it was watched in relatively the same area as the Two-barred and was seen by some,feeding close to it.
These have always been a favourite species of mine and it was really great to reacquaint myself with this gorgeous siberian visitor,a real pleasure to see,with its seven stripes and primrose yellow rump.
After enjoying the lovely Siberian visitors we had some lunch and then went for a wander around the area to see if we could find any other notable species to add to our already amazing day.
The best we managed to add were 5 lovely Purple Sandpiper observed feeding along the low water mark,below the seawatching shelter,several Red-throated Diver and a flock of 35 Common Scoter which flew south offshore.
Well what a cracking day out today at this brilliant place to bird,a real privilege to visit again!
Part Of The Crowd Of Visitors Looking For The Two-barred Greenish Warbler.
An early start for a change today,saw me parking the car on the floodbank near Winter's Pond and spending some time watching the estuary from here.
As it got light the first Pink-footed Geese began leaving their roost site on Cherry Cobb Sand in Yorkshire and headed over to East Halton for the day to feed on a harvested stubble field.
A decent count of 2419 birds left the roost and a further 615 birds joined them during the day making for a decent 3034 birds counted.
The sight and sound of them overhead is so special to me,what lovely birds they are.
In amongst the flocks of Pinks was a single Barnacle Goose and add to this 475 Greylag and 41 Canada Geese feeding in the same area,it made for a very 'Goosey' start to the day.
A nice collection of Ducks were on Winter's,with 54 Shoveler counted,41 Teal,24 Wigeon and 10 Pintail observed in the area.
Other species observed on Winter's included 14 Little Grebe,15 Coot and a single Little Egret.
In the bushes around Winter's 43 Linnet,2 Bullfinch,2 Goldcrest and 11 Chiffchaff were recorded.
A watch from the floodbank saw a single Common Tern fly out south and an adult and juvenile Arctic Tern head north and then out south later.
After spending some time around Winter's i moved up to the Skitter to see if i could find something nice.
The best of it went to a single Wheatear feeding along the floodbank and in the outfall area,2 Common Sandpiper,3 Little Egret,22 Knot,5 Bar-tailed Godwit,16 Avocet and a flock of 101 Stock Dove on the fields nearby.
Another look back up at Winter's before i travelled home,saw a cracking juvenile Hobby watched hawking dragonflies and i wished it a safe journey to Africa.
Saturday October 14th
An incredible day of local patching today saw me starting on the floodbank at first light to count the Pinks coming out of the roost on Cherry Cobb as part of the synchronised Icelandic Goose Survey on the Estuary.
An incredible 8128 birds were counted today,blowing my previous counts out of the water and even more incredible was the amazing number on the whole Estuary being a whopping 56800 birds an all time record count.
This species seems to be going from strength to strength and long may it continue.
While watching the Pinks,a lovely Merlin flew across the Estuary from Yorkshire and headed across the fields towards East Halton village,my first here for several months.
Winter's was fairly quiet today,with 4 female Goldeneye being the only highlight,so i returned to the floodbank to watch the outgoing tide.
It wasn't long before i got onto another good bird and it was a species i hadn't seen here for many years,a Razorbill.
I watched as this juvenile drifted slowly out on the tide,a really useful year tick and great to catch up with.
This was followed by a single intermediate plumaged juvenile Arctic Skua which flew north.
A wander up to the Skitter proved fruitful with some nice birds being seen,with the main highlight being 3 Cattle Egret watched at some distance feeding amongst the cattle on the marshes,another great species to catch up with and still pretty rare here it has to be said.
More niceties around the Skitter included 3 Ruff which flew south,4 Knot,15 Bar-tailed Godwit,59 Curlew and a stunning adult Peregrine which put the frighteners up the local waders scattering them in all directions.
Away from the waders and beautiful Falcon,a Wheatear fed along the seawall and i then came across 2 Coal Tits.
The latter is pretty rare on the patch and after studying my photos,it was apparent that these birds were of the 'Continental' race Ater,identifiable by their greyer mantles and little tufty crest.
Today was really turning into one of those amazing patch days!.
Some prolonged scanning of the marshes saw me picking up a cracking Red Kite as it thermalled its way south high up,another year tick along with a lovely adult male Marsh Harrier.
Next sightings of note were a couple of flocks of Whooper Swans involving 5 birds on the marshes,8 which flew into Winter's and another 17 which flew south,just great to see and hear,my first of the autumn.
A few flocks of Pinks were moving about over the fields and i managed to pick up 2 Barnacle Geese and a stunning Bar-headed Goose in amongst the 8000 throng,the latter obviously an escapee from somewhere.
As time was getting on now,i decided to drive around to Winter's and look on the marshes to see if any Owl's were going to hunt before dusk,when a lovely Great-white Egret flew slowly past me.
While i was watching the Egret a small wader shot past me and landed on the first pool.
I got the scope on it to see long primaries,short black bill and scalloped upperparts,sh#t a Baird's Sand!!!!!,but then for no reason it was gone and flying to the pools further down the marshes.
I could see in the distance that the pools had loads of Geese and at least 5 Whooper Swans,but i had to try and relocate the Baird's.
I walked towards the pools and the Yank flew onto the next pool,then all hell broke loose as all the Swans and Geese took off,the Baird's then flew again and was heading for the Humber,crap!.
The birding gods were smiling on me though thankfully and the bird flew back in and landed on the third pool.
I moved in and quickly got some video to aid with any description i would have to write up later and then began watching it through the scope,when all of a sudden it began calling and flew off north towards the Skitter.
Unfortunately i had to leave but let GPC and Jon know about my find and put it out on the Bird Information services,but stated the bird had flown off north and would be looked for in the morning.
To put things into context,this is the first record of this North American species for my local patch and only the 7th record for Lincolnshire.
As i left Winter's there were 13 lovely Whooper Swans bathing on the main lake...........What a day,it took a good hour or so to relax after,but what an amazing day,if Carlsberg did birding days.......
Sunday 15th October
After dropping Mrs R at work it was down to the patch and meeting up with Jon and then GPC and we walked onto the marshes checking the first pool and nothing,then Graham saw a small wader bomb past us,a quick check and sure enough it was the Baird's.
We crept up to it and then watched it for a good 25 minutes as it showed really well allowing some chances to study the bird and get some nice video and photos,before no apparent reason it began preening,stretched its wings and it was off again calling with that distinct 'Prrreet' which it repeated three times as it headed for the Humber.
We then spent a large amount of the day attempting to re-locate the star bird with no luck for us anyway,but still managed some great sightings in the form of another 4 Whooper Swans,the 3 Cattle Egret on the marshes,2 Great-white Egret on the marshes and a late Common Sandpiper along the floodbank between Winter's and the Skitter.
A Redhead Goosander also flew north.
Other goodies during the day included a Short-eared Owl and juvvie Peregrine over the marshes,10+ Common Buzzard,8 Bearded Tit along the edge of the marshes,4 Stonechat and a patch first for Herons with Great-white Egret,Cattle Egret,Little Egret and Grey Heron all being seen on the same day.
Well what a amazing few visits with the year list nicely boosted and the patch life list with another species added,what a really great place this is!
Juvenile Baird's Sandpiper,East Halton Marshes,Photo's Courtesy Of Graham Catley
Phone-scoped Image Of One Of The Cattle Egrets From East Halton Marshes.
With the prospect of 3 wader species from America on offer,today's visit to Frampton Marsh RSPB was a no brainer and i travelled south through the Lincolnshire Wolds to my destination.
On arrival at Frampton,i expected it to be pretty busy,so parked in the overflow car park and got the kit together for my day at this superb reserve.
While walking along the path towards the 360 hide i enjoyed some lovely close views of a Great-white Egret,still an uncommon species locally to me and it was great to soak up the views.
First target was the juvenile Semipalmated Sandpiper,but after an aborted attempt to view Middle Scrape from the 360 hide,i had to make do with a group of other observers to view the scrapes from the adjacent pathway.
After a while i located the bird,but it wasn't close and i took in the birds features as it spent most of its time feeding away from the main flock in drier areas of mud.
This was only my second Semi-p after a bird which Neil Drinkall expertly found at Alkborough Flats in August 2010 and thus becomes Lincolnshire's 3rd county record.
The bird gave us all a bit of a runaround today,due to the flock being occasionally flushed by raptors and i never did get any close,close views as some had from the 360 hide.
While scanning through the wader flocks it was great to enjoy some superb views of at least 8 juvenile Little Stints,at least 3 Curlew Sandpiper,Greenshank,Spotted Redshank and the commoner species.
Eventually we got some nice views of American wader number 2,the very elegant Lesser Yellowlegs.
I attempted to try and take some video of the bird,but it was always in the edge of the scrape and most of the time behind vegetation,but some lovely views were gained of the bird,my 4th in the county after a bird was seen at Bagmoor Lake in 2012.
After enjoying some views of the Lesser Legs,it was onto the floodbank for the 3rd species of 'Yank' for the day,the Buff-breasted Sandpiper.
On arrival at it's chosen area,we found it feeding in amongst the salicornia and it gave impeccable views,what a lovely species these are and for me certainly the star of the show today.
Its amazing to think these three American species have travelled at least 3,000 miles to arrive on our shores,a mean feat for any bird.
The Buff-breasted Sandpiper was the 21st species of wader for the day for me personally,which is impressive indeed.
A bonus flyby of a Glossy Ibis happened while we were watching the lovely Buff-breast and added to the already excellent list of species seen during the day.
We watched as the bird briefly touched down on the wet grassland before doing a couple of circuits and then headed off South West towards Norfolk.
The sheer numbers of species here on this reserve really is down to the fantastic work the RSPB team do in keeping the site in tip top condition and they really should be congratulated and it is certainly worth every penny of my membership!.
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