Tophill Low....Another Great Day Out....Sunday 18th January 2015.

Greylag Geese,D'Res.

Merlin,Hempholme Lock.

The River Hull,taken from Hempholme Lock.

Bittern,Watton Nature Reserve.

Split Porecrust.

Scarlet Elf Cup.

Candle Snuff Fungi.

Drake Red-crested Pochard,D-Res.

With the prospect of a full day out today as Trace was sleeping after her nightshift,i decided to head over into the home county again and pay the excellent Tophill Low a visit.It was a tad frosty as i made my journey over the bridge and through Beverley and as i arrived at the car park at Tophill the car thermometer read a bone numbing -5.
 Plenty of layers on and the kit together,i planned to do my routine as i always do when visiting,by heading around the edge of D'res,into D'woods and up to North Marsh hide.
 This first section of the walk saw a few nice sightings being seen and included a drumming Great-spotted Woodpecker and 6 Siskin in the car park area and 2 lovely Marsh Tit near to North Marsh hide.
 A very brief visit to North Marsh saw it being frozen solid and it was far too cold to hang about in their anyway and i carried on towards Hempholme Lock and the River Hull.
 As i quietly watched from the lock,a single Kingfisher patiently fished from its riverside perch and 2 Grey Heron fished from the riverbank.A few Tufted Duck and Goldeneye were seen on the river itself along with 7 Little Grebe and while scanning the adjacent area the best bird of the day was seen hunting the fields,a cracking Merlin.The Merlin briefly perched on a nearby hedgerow before carrying on its hunting sortie,a great record for the reserve recording area and the first i have seen here.
 A few mammals were noted in this area also and included 4 Roe Deer and a couple of Grey Squirrel.
 After spending some time in this excellent area i wandered back in the direction of the car park and down the side of D'res adding only the superb resident white morph Common Buzzard along the way.
 A quick stop for a bite to eat at the car saw me then carrying on to the southern areas of the reserve.A Grey Wagtail around North Lagoon was a nice sighting to add to the days list of birds.
 A search of 'O' res for the long staying Velvet Scoter drew a blank and it must have moved on,but a good mix of Wigeon,Teal,Tufties and Goldeneye had 3 female Pintail in amongst the flocks.
 After a tip off that the Bittern which had been present for a short while was still present on Watton Nature Reserve,it was a sad sight to see the bird with an injured leg,hopefully it will survive the winter,but it doesn't bode too well sadly for a bird that relies on stealth as its hunting strategy.
 Heading back to the car again to meet up with Tophill stalwart Martin Hodges,we changed tack and went in the search of winter Fungi.Some interesting species were found and included the striking Scarlet-elf Cups,Candle-snuff Fungi and the coral-like patterned Split Porecrust.This latter species was a new one for both of us and belongs to the Hyphodermataceae,this particular one being found on the dead wood of an array of deciduous trees.
 As the day wore on it was time to take part in the bum numbing pastime of watching the gull roost.As we waited for the numbers of gulls to begin to arrive the reported drake Red-crested Pochard from earlier in the week,positively glowed in the afternoon sun.
 After scrutinising the arriving flocks,no rares or scarcities were found,but a stunning leucisitic Black-headed Gull certainly made up for it....what a beauty!!.
 As the sun went down to the amazing sound of hundreds of chattering Common Gulls it brought to an end another cracking visit to this brilliant little site in rural East Yorkshire.

Review Of The Year......2014.

2014 was a pretty special year on the whole,with some impressive birding highlights which included myself being involved in the finding of a 3rd for Britain...the widely apreciated Juvenile Masked Shrike at Kilnsea near Spurn.
 Other birding highlights came in the form of Crag Martin at Flamborough...Short-toed Eagle in Sussex...Eastern-crowned Warbler in North Yorkshire...an interesting Citrine Wagtail at Flamborough and the year rounded off with the biggest surprise of the year for most,the Juvenile Little Bustard at Fraisthorpe.
 Some fantastic places were visited by both myself and Trace through the year also and included visits to the Yorkshire Dales,Derbyshire,South Devon and Wales.
 Non bird highlights included the beautiful Red Squirrels in the Yorkshire Dales and a stunning White-beaked Dolphin off Filey Brigg in North Yorkshire.
 The following are a selection of photos from the year:

The beautiful Yorkshire Dales,near Hawes.

A chance find at Barnetby In April.

A stunning female Adder at Hatfield Moor NNR.

The corking Short-toed Eagle at Gills Lap in Sussex.

A supremely beautiful Arctic Tern on Inner farne.

One of the beautiful residents at Bempton RSPB.

'Blue' Fulmar,Scarborough Birders Pelagic,North Yorkshire.

Adult White-rumped Sandpiper,Frampton Marsh RSPB,Lincolnshire.

Juvenile Cuckoo,Donna Nook NNR,Lincolnshire.

Mute Swan,Windermere,Cumbria.

A beautifully wild place,Wast Water,Cumbria.

Llyn Cwellyn,Snowdonia National Park,Gwynedd,Wales.

Wheatear,Spurn,East Yorkshire.

Find of the year....and the rest is history.

Woodcock,Flamborough,East Yorkshire.

Little.......Beauty,31.12.2014.

Headless chicken routine ensued after hearing the reported Little Bustard had been nailed down in a Oil seed rape field at Fraisthorpe after being initially seen at nearby Wilsthorpe by local birder Kev Barnard.So it was grab the gear,dinner in the microwave and drive to the area as quick as possible.Some slow drivers and usual obstacles were met on the way,but thankfully after parking at the birds chosen field it was soon apparent this Yorkshire Mega was still present.
 The bird was watched at first resting in its chosen field,but it did have several bouts of feeding also,when it was watched eating the Oil seed rape leaves.It was also seen in flight on one occasion,when the striking black and white wing pattern was seen giving the bird an unmistakeable appearance.
 It's plumage features gave it a fairly cryptic look about it when sat in the field,but when feeding it was rather long legged and a blackish base colour was noted on the neck.This latter feature probably indicating the bird to be a Juvenile male.
 After getting my fill of superb views of this cracking and totally unexpected find,it was a relaxed steady drive home instead of the manic one on the way and a fantastic end to some superb birding in the home county this year.

Juvenile male Little Bustard.

Juvenile male Little Bustard. 

Record shot in flight,showing the striking wing pattern.

Freezing Carrland.....30.12.2014.

An afternoon spare after being at work for a few hours a.m. saw me travelling the short journey over to Worlaby.
 I parked in the usual spot at the top of Carr Lane and planned to walk down to the Ancholme as i do on most visits.
 First goodie was a Merlin watched travelling at a rate of knots up over the village onto the wold top.It must have seen a prey target,but i couldn't see anything...a nice start.

Looking towards the village.

 More usual fare was seen after this and included 25 Fieldfare,52 Linnet and the first few of a total of 13 Common Buzzard seen during the visit.
 After reaching the railway crossing a mixed flock of Golden Plover and Lapwings gave some nice views in the lovely sun,the Goldies positively shining in the superb light conditions.
 I eventually arrived at the river and a nice surprise came in the form a flock of 4 Redhead Goosander as they flew rapidly west towards Brigg,the first i have seen down here for quite a while and were a welcome bonus to the days sightings.
 The return leg back towards the car saw more welcome Buzzard sightings and as the light began to go as the sun began to set,a nice flurry of sightings were noted.These included a lovely Barn Owl watched hunting along the banks of the Soak Drain and a good total of 7 Roe Deer watched browsing on the field edges nearby.These were joined by a stunning Fox watched crossing one of the fields and a single Brown Hare completed the mammal sightings for the day.
 So all in all not a bad visit,but it is a shadow of what it used to be down here sadly!.

Donna Nook Bits....Saturday 26th December 2014.

With the prospect of it always being a good winter birding destination,i decided to have a day down the coast at the excellent NNR at Donna Nook.
 I arrived nice and early just as it was beginning to get light and made my way in the direction of Pye's Hall first,walking along the developing shore out from Stonebridge car park.There were several Grey Seal pups still present and i stopped to watch 11 pups playing in a large pool and they gave the usual fantastic and confiding views.
 As i neared Pye's a few scattered flocks of Dark-bellied Brents were feeding on the shore and more flocks began to arrive from the direction of Grainthorpe.Thoughts of the Black Brant seen earlier in the week had me thinking of having a look through the flock once they had settled down and sure enough i managed to find it,albeit a bit distant through the bins,but it was a well marked individual and stuck out like a sore thumb in the flock.I got a few record shots of the bird for posterity and then carried on my walk.
 While walking along the developing shore which reaches out toward Grainthorpe marsh,2 Lapland Buntings passed overhead and a nice surprise in the form of a Woodcock flying in off the sea kept the interesting sightings ticking over nicely.Other sightings added to the notebook included 61 Goldfinch and at least 15 Reed Bunting with a minimum of 25 Rock Pipit also being observed.
 The only raptors i managed to see over this area and Grainthorpe Marsh were singles of Sparrowhawk,Kestrel and Peregrine,the Perg being seen again later.Disappointingly no Hen Harriers were seen today.
 A walk around the perimeter of the re-alignment saw a few sightings of interest which included 7 Snipe,72 Fieldfare and a probable Water Pipit seen only in flight.
 As i reached Stonebridge again a single Lap Bunt Flew south and 2 Whooper Swans also followed in the same direction.
 After spending an enjoyable visit to Donna,i decided to give Covenham a look and hopefully watch the gull roost.But as the afternoon wore on the visibility started to deteriorate as well and i gave it up as a bad job as it became slightly misty and the light was terrible.A few notable sightings here included 46 Goldeneye,5 Little Grebe,47 Wigeon,22 Shoveler,95 Teal and 2 adult Lesser black-backed Gull.
 So after a decent days birding a headed back home after another good day out.

Record shot of the Black Brant.

Grey Seal pup.

Grey Seal pup.

Grey Seal pup.

Potteric Carr.....Saturday 13th December 2014.

With nothing really about in the way of rares,apart from the continued presence of the Blyth's Pipit near Wakefield,a change of scenery and a visit to Potteric Carr near to Doncaster was the order of the day.
 It was a pretty trouble free journey along the M18 and i arrived just as the visitor centre was opening it's doors.It was pretty cold with a ground frost,so plenty of layers was the order of the day.Pack up and drink in my pockets and camera set up and off i went to explore this extensive reserve.
 While walking along one of the paths i noticed a movement,when three Roe Deer quietly appeared feeding pretty unconcernedly.I was fairly close to them,but i stayed still and watched them from a distance,when all of a sudden a Fox appeared and startled them briefly.What a great scene to enjoy,with them all disappearing into a nearby copse.
 Very little was seen along the remainder of the reserve until i reached Huxter Well Marsh apart from a few roving Tit flocks which included a single Willow Tit.
 On Huxter itself there was a decent sized group of mixed wildfowl,as this was the only open area of water on the reserve.It included several Cormorants,Mute Swans,a large flock of Greylag,Shovelers,Teal,Gadwall,Mallard and a handful of Wigeon.There were also a few Lapwing feeding on the edge of the lake and in turn this area had also attracted a single Dunlin.
 At the back of the pools the best bird up to now was sat preening,a Juv. Marsh Harrier.It spent most of the time i watched it sat preening,but it did have a few bouts of activity half heartedly hunting.
 I continued on my journey around the reserve and sat in one of the other hides overlooking Huxter when all of a sudden a Bittern appeared distantly flying towards my viewpoint before it landed again.It then flew twice more and i didn't see it again afterwards.It's always great to see these cracking herons and i was pleased with my sighting of this rare heron.
 Other sightings observed during my visit included a couple of Little Egret,two Common Buzzard and a calling Green Woodpecker was heard.
 Not a bad visit at all today and it is always nice to visit somewhere different for a change and i travelled home a happy boy.

Displaying Robin,a great piece of behaviour to observe.

Robin.

Roe Deer.

Distant shot of the Bittern on Huxter Well Marsh.

Greylag Geese.

Greylag Goose.

Blyth's Pipit.....Tuesday 9th December 2014.

After hearing on Monday that West Yorkshire local patcher Jonny Holiday had found a Blyth's Pipit on his local patch at Pugney's Country Park/Calder Wetlands,it was my destination bright and early today.
 I eventually found somewhere to park alongside birding friends Tim Cowley and Steve Lawton near the Swan and Cygnet pub before getting the gear together and making our way to the birds chosen field.
 To see where this bird had been found was even more unbelievable,a smallish water logged,rough grass field,surrounded by an industrial estate and the M1 motorway making it even more of an amazing find.
 We had organised to meet up at 07.45 while the local lads walked the field,the first sweep revealing nothing,apart from half a dozen Mips and a couple of Reed Bunts,but on the second,bingo there it was!.
 Unfortunately the views were only in flight,but it was clearly a pale,large Pipit with a shorter looking tail in flight than Richard's and once you got your eye in a distinct flight action when flying alongside the Mips.Fortunately it was heard to call on a few occasions with it's diagnostic flava wagtail like 'Pscheeoo'.
 It was flushed on a few occasions for the visiting birders to observe it and then left to rest.I would have loved to have better views but it was impossible in the field and beggars can't be choosers when it is a 'First' for Yorkshire and only my second sighting overall of the species after the showy bird at Gringley Carr in Notts in December 2002.
 So after a 2 or 3 hours on site Tim and myself travelled home happy with another Yorkshire Mega in the bag.

Cleethorpes...Monday 8th December 2014.

With the prospect of a decent,albeit cold forecast today,saw me heading out fairly locally to Cleethorpes after hearing the previous day had seen a couple of Shorelarks associating with the resident Snow Bunting flock.
 So as i arrived full winter birding kit was the order of the day and i made my way out to the beach and developing shoreline were the birds had been seen.
 It wasn't too long before i spotted the birds distantly and made my way over to them,but after a couple of scans through the flock there was no sign of the Larks unfortunately.
 On the plus side,the flock was a pretty good sized one,containing 89 birds and is currently the largest flock being reported in the country.Several adult males were contained in this group of lovely Buntings but the bulk were immatures,unfortunately they were not very photogenic being very jumpy

Partial albino Carrion Crow.

Drake Pochard.

1st calendar year Common Gull.

Black-headed Gulls.

Collared Dove.

.
 A walk back through the dune system revealed small numbers of Skylark,Reed Buntings and a few Rock Pipits,with an interesting partial albino Carrion Crow which looked striking in flight.
 I then decided to have a look on the boating lake to see if any Med Gulls were present,but not so today,instead at least 6 Drake Pochard were the main interest and are probably the tamest birds i have seen.
 So after a fairly quiet morning i made the short journey home Larkless,but there is the remainder of the winter to go and some more may turn up.A good few hours out and about in the lovely winter sun.

Atlantic Grey's.....Sunday 30.11.2014.

It is only on a very rare occasion that i specifically travel out to just photograph a subject,but today i decided to visit the Seal colony at Donna Nook on the Lincolnshire coast.
 The forecast had been good and it wasn't that long before it was bright sunshine.The following images are some of the best i gained during my visit,enjoying as always,the close encounters with these lovely,enigmatic mammals.

A Damp Tophill Day.....23.11.2014.

A change of scenery today and a visit to Tophill Low near to Watton in East Yorkshire,saw some pretty crap weather to be fair and i had to work damn hard for my sightings today.
 Because of the weather i spent the first few hours watching D-res,but the notable sightings were few and far between due to the poor visibility.There was certainly no sign of the Grey Phalorope that had made 'D' it's temporary home.
 The best i could manage was 22 Goldeneye and a Weasel watched along the bank outside the hide carrying a caught Vole in it's mouth.
 After putting up with the rain for so long i decided to stretch my legs and walk around to North Marsh.Sightings here included some cracking views of a pair of Water Rail which were nice to see,a lovely Marsh Tit close to the hide along with a foraging Tit flock and a Cetti's was heard calling at the far end of the marsh.
 Back through D-Woods towards the car had a Tawny Owl calling in its tree top roost site.
 After a quick refuel stop at the car,it was on to Watton nature reserve and 'O' res.Watton saw some decent numbers of wildfowl and a good sized flock of 34 Curlew fed and loafed on the grass banks surrounding the reserve and 14 Cormorant fished and dried their wings.
 As i walked around the side of 'O' a Dunlin flew over calling and was quickly followed by a Juv Perg.The Falcon spent several minutes chasing the Dunlin,but the Falcons potential prey's evasive action worked and the Perg broke off it's chase.
 A quick look on South Marsh saw very little birds being seen,but a couple of bursts of Cetti's song brightened the gloom and 67 Pink-footed Geese flew over high north east.
 Back to D-res as the time was getting on and the roosting gulls had began to slowly trickle in.The best sighting here was a female Scaup and it showed fairly well amongst the Tufties,Pochard,Coot and Goldeneye.
 Eventually the front of weather finally begin to clear and the last hour or so of the daylight saw some sunshine at last....better late than never!.
 Gull numbers were pretty low and included 4000 small gulls,39 Great black-backed Gulls,45 Herring Gulls and a single 2nd calendar year Leeb.
 A tough day with regards to the weather,but great to get out again.

D-res as the weather front began to clear.

D-res.

Dovekies,Oceanic Waders And Stunning Cetacean......Sunday November 17th 2014.

After hearing on Saturday that there was a decent movement of seabirds on the Yorkshire coast and that there were at least 2 Grey Phalorope still present at Filey,this is the direction i headed in today. I began my journey out bright and early across the heart of the Yorkshire Wolds,with the only highlight seen on the drive being a lovely Barn Owl hunting a grass verge between Langtoft and Foxholes.
 On arrival at Filey it was pretty cold,so plenty of layers and lots of pack up was the order of the day before making my way to the Brigg.
 On the way down to the Brigg there were a few waders feeding along the shore which included a couple of Sanderling and a single Purple Sand amongst the larger numbers of Oyks and Turnstones.
 After finally reaching the seawatch hide and having a quick chat with Filey regulars John Sanderson and Brian Pinning i settled down to watch the sea.
 It wasn't long before i was watching my first Little Auk and this was quickly followed by brief views of a Grey Phalorope as it flew past relatively close in to the north.
 There was lots of activity on and over the sea with a handfull of Razorbills,larger numbers of Guillies and a single Juvenile Puffin from the Alcid family and a smaller number of Shags and Red-throated Diver watched diving for food.All these birds were mostly feeding in the rough water on the northern side of the Brigg with a couple of Common Scoter,2 Eider and the odd Little Auk on the sheltered side of the Brigg.
 I was just scanning the sea when all of a sudden a dolphin burst into view through the waves,at first i was pretty gob smacked to be fair and it gave some pretty impressive views over the next 20 plus minutes as it broke the surface hunting for prey.It was identified by it's tall dorsal fin,large size and white markings on its back as a White-beaked Dolphin,a new species for myself and a most welcome one.It was last seen heading in a southerley direction,i could have watched this stunning animal all day!.Other marine mammals observed through the day included a single Harbour Porpoise and 2 Grey Seals.
 Back to the birds,the first of 14 Pomarine Skuas flew south but most of the birds were distant,but thankfully 3 Juv's flew south relatively close together giving some nice views of this superb Skua species.
 While scanning the bay for the umpteenth time,i picked up one,then two Grey Phals together and they spent a short time in close proximity together before separating again,with one bird flying right across the bay towards Reighton and the other being seen on a few more occasions on the sea off the northern side of the Brigg.It was really great to see these tiny oceanic waders actually in some stormy seas,showing how they perfectly deal with these conditions,bobbing about like little corks,fantastic to watch.
 More Little Auk sightings included 1 flying right past us were we were watching from,what cracking little birds they are and i always feel sorry for these diminutive Auks.
 More notable sightings included a Great-northern Diver which flew south and then doubled back,flying back north,giving some good views of its steady goose-like flight action,a flock of 22 Shag flying south high up above the sea,on first views being reminiscent of a flock of Pinks,but as they neared our position it became apparent what they were.This is the first time i have seen a large flock like this migrating together so high up,both impressive and educational to witness.
 A real surprise came in the form of my latest record of Sandwich Tern as a single bird flew in from the north and into the bay and just goes to show that anything can turn up,particularly when you think all the summer migrants have passed south.
 Other sightings seen included 2 Bonxie south,6 Little Gull feeding off the Brigg end,a flock of 5 male Eider additional to the earlier birds,2 Snow Buntings which flew in off the sea and 9 Purple Sandpiper.
 So what a cracking day out with plenty of great sightings with the stonking Dolphin stealing the show for me,another great day out in the home county.

Stormy seas off the Brigg today.