North York's Yanks etc,Saturday 27th February 2016.

With the prospect of a dry day,albeit a cold one,i decided to head north over the Humber and into the home county in the hope to see a couple of visitors from over the pond,this is how my day unfolded and the birds i encountered.
 I set off bright and early from Barnetby,as most people were still snuggled up in bed and headed into the home county.Thankfully the roads were frost free and the journey up to Scarborough a good one,with a couple of hunting Barn Owls brightening the journey,1 near to Hutton Cranswick and the other near to Driffield.
 As i arrived at the Sea Life centre at Scalby Mills,it was just beginning to become light properly and i got the gear together,Scope check,Camera check,Binos check and plenty of layers as it was bloody cold.Thankfully it wasn't long before target number one was in the bag,so to speak.
 The long staying Drake American Wigeon was seen,as he swam around with his Eurasian cousins giving some good views to start with,but eventually he came really close,showing just on the weir where Scalby Beck flows out into the sea.I could have had some cracking photos,but the light was dire,a feature which continued through most of the day unfortunately,but the scope views were excellent.It appears that this male is paired to a female Eurasian bird and it made me wonder if it is the same bird that was around last spring in East Yorks.This is my first American Wigeon since seeing the returning Drake at Angler's Country Park in December 2012.
 After meeting up with Chris we decided to head over to Holbeck and see if the Med's were performing and sure enough after a little encouragement with Chris's super,stale bread they were just feet away.We managed some amazing views as always and today recorded a total of 7 individuals,which comprised of 5 adults,a 2nd winter and a 1st winter bird.One of the adults had a colour ring(3 LAN) on a white darvic ring in black lettering and had been ringed in Belgium,so just goes to show were some of our birds originate.
 After enjoying my fill of the stunning Med's i said my goodbyes to Chris and made the short journey over to Filey for target number 2 for the day.
 After some very welcome lunch and a good chat with John,i wandered down to the Brigg.Along the Brigg side there was a mixed flock of waders feeding on the falling tide and included 10 Oystercatcher's,Curlew,9 Knot and the stars of the Brigg,7 Purple Sandpiper.I spent a good hour or so watching this flock and managed some decent images,oh for some proper light one day though!.
 After enjoying the lovely wader flock,it wasn't long before i was adding target number 2 to the day's sightings,the wintering immature Drake Surf Scoter.
 Today he was more distant than on my last visit,but i still managed some decent views through the scope as he dived for shellfish in the company of a drake Common Scoter,which made for a nice comparison.This was the second species of North American wildfowl for the day,something i can't remember doing before,so was well chuffed to say the least.
 Elsewhere on the sea,good numbers of Guillemot were seen along with a few Shags dotted about over the bay,but nothing else of note was observed.
 Back to the car again and up into the forest for the final destination for the day,the Wykeham Forest raptor viewpoint.
 Thankfully on arrival at Wykeham,the weather began to break and i enjoyed some welcome spells of sunshine at last.This seemed to have the desired effect,with a party of 4 Common Buzzard lifting into the air and thermalling.A few minutes later,one of the birds was displaying,with that distinct,tumbling display,great to watch and a certain sign spring is on it's way.
 It wasn't long before i saw one of the hoped for birds,a Goshawk soaring over the opposite hillside giving decent scope views,they are such impressive birds and always give the impression of power.
 Not long afterwards a Peregrine flew east distantly and a Kestrel became the fourth species of raptor for the day.A few Siskin flocks passed overhead while i scanned the valley,but no Crossbill's today unfortunately.
 The best was left to last,as another Gos,probably the one from earlier,began to display with that distinct slow flapping,tumbling display flight,the flight action being reminiscent of a Harrier sp,just brilliant to watch and a certain highlight to any birders day out.
 So what a great day out today in the best county for birding and i travelled home a happy boy after another great day out.

Drake American Wigeon and Eurasian Wigeon,Scalby Mills,Scarborough.

Drake American Wigeon,Scalby Mills,Scarborough.

1st winter Mediterranean Gull,Holbeck,Scarborough.

2nd winter Mediterranean Gull,Holbeck,Scarborough.

Adult Mediterranean Gull ringed in Belgium,Holbeck,Scarborough.

Adult Male Mediterranean Gull,Holbeck,Scarborough.

Knot,Filey Brigg.

Oystercatcher,Filey Brigg.

Purple Sandpiper,Filey Brigg.

Purple Sandpiper,Filey Brigg.

2015 Highlights In Photos.

A bit later posting this than i would have liked,but i have been busy sorting and deleting pics.These are some of the photos i managed to take and some of the cracking places i visited during another busy year enjoying this fine hobby.

Male Dipper,Troutsdale,North Yorkshire,March.

Whooper Swans,Messingham Sand Quarries,Lincolnshire,March.

Dovedale,Staffordshire,March.

Sedge Warbler,Messingham Sand Quarries,Lincolnshire,April.

Carneddau Mountain Range,Snowdonia National Park,Gwynedd,Wales.

Adult Gannet,Bempton RSPB,East Yorkshire,May.

Painted Lady,Kilnsea,East Yorkshire,August.

Brimstone,Messingham Sand Quarries,Lincolnshire,August.

Malham Cove,Yorkshire Dales National Park,September.

Male Redstart,Kilnsea,East Yorkshire,September.

Edale Valley,Peak District National Park,Derbyshire.

Sunrise,Kilnsea,East Yorkshire,October.

Yellow-browed Warbler,Sammy's Point,Easington,East Yorkshire.

Staithes,North Yorkshire,October.

Stridd Woods SSSI,Yorkshire Dales National Park,October.

Female Vagrant Emperor,Hessle,East Yorkshire,October.

Barton Wander.....Sunday 14th February 2016.

Another morning to myself today as the other half was catching up on her sleep after another nightshift and today saw me travelling the short distance over to Barton.
 I started by parking at the new visitor centre and got plenty of warm layers on as it was pretty cold today,a feature of the last couple of weeks,with us experiencing some proper winter weather at last.
 I began my visit by walking along the approach track to the visitor centre,along Far-Ings road and up to Chowder Ness,taking in the 'New' pits.
 Western Approach Pit held a small flock of 5 Goldeneye which showed really well,with the males displaying to the females and positively glowed in the morning sun,what a cracking bird they are!
 Further on and on the pasture field adjacent to the tip a flock of 98 Greylag grazed and rested while a flock of 10 Curlew probed the wet grass for worms.
 As i reached the 'New' pits the best bird so far this morning flew steadily west,a Little Egret.From a personal point of view,i haven't seen that many here and for me are always a highlight of any visit to any site.
 The usual suspects were present on the 'New' pits and included Tufties,Gadwall,Wigeon,Teal and Mute Swans and a handfull of Black-headed and Common Gulls bathing on the pit and loafing on the tern raft.
 After reaching Chowder Ness i decided to walk up to Leggots Quarry and back past Barton Cliff and down to Ness Lake.
 As i walked along the humber bankside towards Leggot's it brought back memories from the 1st of May 1994 when i fortunately found a cracking 1st summer male Woodchat Shrike along here and 30 days later a singing male Golden Oriole in Leggot's Quarry itself,great memories and very special birds from a local perspective.
 A lovely Common Buzzard was seen in Barton Cliff Quarry as i passed by coupled with some welcome early spring birdsong from the local Chaffinches and Great Tits.
 A half an hour stop at Ness hide to chat to Kev and others as they attempted to capture some images of the wintering Bittern was a welcome diversion from the cold,but i soon said my goodbyes as i carried on back towards the car.
 A look on Hotel Pit didn't reveal the Slavonian Grebe,so looks like he or she had moved on.
 As i neared the new visitor centre it began to snow and i rushed back to the car to shelter after an enjoyable visit to the old patch,it's not always about seeing the rare birds....

Mute Swan,on the 'New' pits.

Western Approach Pit.

Looking towards Chowder Ness,Far-ings and the Humber Bridge,taken from Leggots Quarry.

Barton Cliff Quarry.

Green-winger etc....North Cave Wetlands,Saturday 13th February 2016.

After completing my last night shift of the week and managing to get at least 4 hours sleep,the above destination is where i headed for today.
 A pre organised meet up with Mike again,saw us having a very welcome cuppa and bacon sarnie before we began our walk(Thanks Mike)and some nice Siskins entertaining us near the car park,it was a very relaxed start to proceedings.
 The previous few days had seen a Red head Smew and a drake Green-winged Teal being the star birds here,so that is what we concentrated our efforts in looking for.
 The Teal were in very good numbers,but unfortunately were well spread all around the reserve,so to start the GW Teal was difficult to find.
 We began our walk scanning all the water bodies looking for the star birds,with no luck,but gaining some nice views of the local wildfowl,with excellent numbers of Teal and smaller numbers of Gadwall,Wigeon and Tufties.
 A party of 3 Oystercatcher were signs of the coming spring months and were great to see as they noisily called to each other.
 We came across one of the feeding stations which had some good numbers visiting it,which included at least 10 Tree Sparrow and a cracking male Brambling.The latter was a proper beauty and was the first i had seen since the autumn at Spurn.Other visitors to the feeders included a huge Brown Rat which kept flushing all the birds every time he appeared,but was great to see all the same and added something different to the visit.
 Eventually we got a message that the Drake Green-winged Teal had been seen on the main lake,so that is where we headed.
 After arriving in the hide there he was dozing,like all wildfowl like to do for 80% of the time,but the diagnostic,white vertical line on the sides of the breast could be seen well.He did turn his body so the less visible,white scapular line could be seen and we did manage to see his head on a couple of occasions also when he briefly woke up,showing the less well defined gold edges to the green facial area.
 Also seen while watching this diminutive american duck,was a distant Red Kite along an adjacent hillside,which was nice to see also and unfortunately we never did see the Smew.
 So after a very welcome visit and great few hours out and about with Mike at this excellent little reserve i headed back to North Linc's to catch up on some sleep,seeing another Red Kite over South Cave.

Male Siskin near the car park.

Male House Sparrow.

Brown Rat at the feeding station.

Male Brambling at the feeding station.

Distant record shot of the sleeping Green-winged Teal.

Barton Slav.....Sunday 7th February 2016.

After hearing the Slavonian Grebe that had been present for a short while on Hotel Pit adjacent to Far-Ings,this is where i headed today.
 An organised meet with fellow birder Mike Bingham,saw us having a steady walk up to the reserve from the new visitor centre.
 Along the river bank very little was noted apart from some west bound Geeb's and Herring Gull's.
 Our first efforts at looking for the star bird,had me only seeing it very briefly at the far end of the Hotel Pit,as it fed in a sheltered bay out of the wind,so we continued onto Ness Lake hearing a nearby male Cetti's Warbler quietly sub singing,before blasting out it's song properly.
 Ness Lake was fairly quiet with another male Cetti's singing to the right of the hide with the continuing theme of little else being seen apart from a brief sighting of a young male Marsh Harrier.
 We continued on our walk around to the new pits and here at last,some decent numbers of birds.The largest of the pits had a good mix of Gadwall,Teal,Wigeon and Coot,with a hand full of 'Sinensis' Cormorants resting on the Tern raft.
 It was great to see the Coots diving for food and bringing up good beak fulls of weed,with the Gadwall and Wigeon taking full advantage of any tit bits,a great feeding partnership.
 As we neared the old visitor centre,another loud blast of Cetti's song had us recording our third bird of the morning,but we still didn't see one!.
 Our second effort on Hotel Pit eventually revealed our target,as the stunning Slav was eventually seen properly and was a very welcome 'New' bird for Mike.With some patience we eventually got some cracking close views,but all my photos were into the sun,so were pretty crap to be fair,but it was just nice to see one so well.
 This bird has been part of an influx of the species,with others being seen at Cleethorpes(2),Toft Newton Res,Hornsea Mere,Beacon Ponds and the Witham Mouth to name but a few.
 Also seen on Hotel Pit was a partially leucistic male Gadwall,which provided some interest.With the bird having pale primary and secondary feathers,quite smart looking to be fair.
 After a bit of a windswept morning we made it back to our cars and said our goodbyes and both headed back to the warm after a decent morning out enjoying the lovely star grebe.

Bonby Carrs,Saturday 23rd January 2016.

A quick sleep after my last night shift of the week,saw me heading out locally today to Bonby Carrs to see what avian delights i could find on the local patch.
 After getting the gear together i began my walk down towards the River Ancholme.Some nice views of the resident Wigeon flock were had and numbered around 100 birds,but as on previous visits were again difficult to get an accurate count of.They were again constantly being flushed and 2 of the culprits were eventually seen,a 3rd calendar year male Marsh Harrier and a juvenile Peregrine.The latter which was probably a male,as he looked quite small when alongside the Marsh harrier.
 Other birds observed before i reached the river included a hand full of Common Buzzards and 5 lovely Roe Deer.
 After arriving at the river i spent some time watching and scanning the surrounding area seeing a further 2 Roe Deer,a nice sized flock of 33 Redshank and a further 3 Marsh Harrier(another 3rd calendar year which was different to the earlier bird) and 2 juv/female type birds and a good sized flock of about 450 Teal.The Teal where incredibly difficult to get an accurate count on as with the Wigeon,as every time i got anywhere near them they all scattered.
 I decided to walk towards Saxby Bridge to see if i could get anywhere nearer to the Teal,again without success,but i could see the Swan flock was still on the same field of Oilseed rape as they have been all winter.The 2 lovely Whooper Swans were still present,but today the Mute's had increased to 23 birds,from 15 on my last visit.
 After enjoying my time watching from my vantage point,i began the return walk back towards the car.
 A further 2 Roe Deer,different to the earlier animals,made up an impressive total of 9 animals for the day,the most i have seen down here for a while.
 As i carried on walking,2 Short-eared Owl hunted the usual set aside and dykes between Bonby and Worlaby Carrs and overhead the Peregrine from earlier zoomed off towards Saxby chasing an unseen target.
 As i neared the car several nice sightings included the usual Barn Owl from the village hunting the pasture fields,one of the earlier young male Marsh Harriers hunting the same area as the Short-eared Owls and the most significant sighting of the day,32 Corn Bunting feeding in a wet stubble field near the Soak Drain.
 The Corn Buntings were the first i had seen down here for quite a while and were feeding in the same field as a mixed flock of 25 Yellowhammer,50 Fieldfare and smaller numbers of Starlings.It was really great to see this declining Farmland bird,thankfully still in the local area.
 Another great visit today to this cracking area.

The 2 Whooper Swans,along with part of the Mute Swan flock,Appleby Carrs.

The Old Patch....Saturday 16th January 2016.

With her indoors catching up with her sleep after another night shift,i had the best part of a full day to myself and decided to visit part of my old local patch at East Halton Skitter and walk up to Goxhill Haven.The following is what i recorded during my visit to this superb area.
 After getting plenty of clothing on due to the frosty start,i began by looking over the haven and pools at the Skitter,seeing at least 1 Water Pipit in flight on a couple of occasions and the first of 3 Short-eared Owls hunting the saltmarsh here.
 Further along the local wader flocks were very jumpy and after a short while the culprits were seen,a juvenile Peregrine and 2 young male Marsh Harriers obviously on the hunt for their first meals of the day.The Peregrine put on a fine show,dive bombing and chasing several targets,which included the Marsh Harriers.One of the birds had,had his fair share of this abuse and headed northeast over the river and into Yorkshire.
 A little further along the river bank i heard that distinctive 'Wink wink' of an approaching Pink-footed Goose flock and sure enough a good sized flock of about 600 birds flew from the direction of Goxhill Haven,over my head and over the Humber in the same direction as the male Marsh Harrier had taken,a great sight and sound to see.
 I eventually made it around to the Lincolnshire Wildlife Trust reserve,Dawson City near Goxhill Haven,a place in which i had spent many an hour as an up and coming birder in my teens and had seen such goodies as my first ever Red Kite on the 31st March 1988,when they were proper rarities!.
 Today's visit though was a much quieter affair,but i spent some time watching the humber from here and logged a few niceties in the form of 4 Goosander(3 drakes and 1 hen),148 Goldeneye and a single drake Pintail.The Goosanders put on a great show,chasing and displaying,the males vying for the attention of the female,great behaviour to watch.
 As earlier i could hear that 'Wink wink' call again and the Pinks that had passed over me earlier were on their way back,thankfully they chose to land in a flooded grass field not far from where i was stood.A quick scan through them revealed an adult and juvenile White-fronted Goose which were of the Eurasian race and a decent count of 521 Pink feet.It was nice to see these birds feeding and being fairly relaxed as they are pretty jumpy at the best of times.
 As i walked back towards East Halton Skitter,i was joined by fellow birding buddy Charlie Adland and after a good chat we went our separate ways.While chatting another 265 Pink-footed Geese flew overhead to join the flock i had just been watching,so 786 birds was a pretty impressive total for down here indeed.
 As i neared the Skitter,a handfull of other sightings included a single Little Egret fishing in the haven pools,3 SEO again hunting the saltmarsh,2 west bound Black-tailed Godwits and more sightings of the marauding juvenile Peregrine.
 What a great visit today and it was really nice to visit the old patch again after all these years,one of which i will be repeating now.

One of the Short-eared Owl's,never close enough sadly.

Looking towards Immingham Dock and Grimsby.

Dawson City LWTR.

Dawson City LWTR.

Record shot of the Goosander's.

Distant record shot of part of the Pink flock and you can just make out the White-fronts also.

Goxhill Marsh.

Manton Warren And MSQ....A Dull Day.

I had planned today to travel further afield,but due to the crap weather conditions and forecast for the day i decided to stay local.
 I began my trip out today by walking up to Manton Warren and around the fields to the back of Messingham reserve to look onto the sheep fields.
 After getting a few layers on i began my walk and after passing the ruins of the old farmhouse a good sized flock of Yellowhammer were encountered along a hawthorn hedgerow beside some pheasant cover.After passing by an excellent total of 47 birds in this flock were counted and later a further flock of 14 were seen,impressive stuff for this declining farmland bird.
 Other birds observed around this area included 3 lovely Common Buzzard,a single Willow Tit with a flock of 6 Long-tailed Tit and 2 Lesser Redpoll.
 On the return walk back to the car,the best bird of the morning and a nice unseasonal surprise was seen,a Chiffchaff.It was first heard giving that distinct 'Hweet' call and i eventually managed to locate the little beauty.This species used to winter solely in Africa,but due to the warming of the climate it has began to be more commonly seen in the winter months,great to see all the same.
 I eventually made my way back to the car and then travelled the short distance over to Messingham reserve.
 Before leaving the car it was great to see a pair of Willow Tit and a Great-spotted Woodpecker visiting the reserve feeders,a nice start to the visit.
 I walked my way through the reserve,before i heard that distinct 'Pu Pu Pu' call and i saw the culprit on top of a waterside willow,a lovely Green Woodpecker,another bird that is always great to see.
 After making my way around to the main lake,highlights here included 6 Goldeneye,16 Pochard,15 Cormorant and 11 Shelduck.
 The forecasted rain arrived as i was watching from my viewpoint and i hurried my way back around to the car park,seeing only a couple of Siskin overhead before making my way home as the rain got heavier.
 A decent few hours out and about,shame about the weather.

Fantastic Frampton....New Year's Eve 2015.

With a fairly good forecast on the cards today,i decided to head darn sarf and visit the RSPB reserve at Frampton Marsh.
 On the journey down to Boston,the last remnants of the overnight rain had passed over and along the way i gained some fantastic roadside views of a hunting Barn Owl at Ulceby Cross,what a beauty!.
 After arriving at the reserve car park,i got all the gear together and as on my last visit,headed over to the 360 hide first.
 It was a hive of activity looking over the scrapes from this excellent viewpoint as on my previous visit and it was great to see so many birds.There was a constant turnover of species at first,as an unseen predator was flushing the birds,but it wasn't long before one of the culprits was seen,as a stunning Merlin shot across the scrapes flushing birds in all directions.This superb falcon was seen on another 2 occasions giving some equally great views,fantastic!.
 I then moved to the hide overlooking the Reedbed Lake were highlights included 25 Ruff,2 drake Goldeneye and the 1st winter drake Scaup which has been present for a while and he gave some nice scope views in between bouts of snoozing.
 A quick visit to the car for lunch,then saw me seeing the best bird of the day so far as i left the car....a Little Stint.This unseasonal little wader was heard calling and seen in flight only as all the waders and wildfowl were flushed off the Reedbed Lake,a great sighting for the time of year and a nice surprise.
 A look over the wet grassland was impressive to say the least,with the whole area being covered in ducks,geese and waders,the best of which included at least 10 Ruff,200 plus Pink-footed and 2 Barnacle Geese.
 While scanning over the scrapes a stunning adult Peregrine was seen coming towards me and gave some cracking views as it passed overhead,what a privilege they are to see.
 For the final part of my visit,i walked a big square taking in the farm res,onto the floodbank and then back to the car park,with more great sightings of Wigeon,Lapwings,Curlew,Pink-footed and Brent Geese and also 5 distant grey geese looked like they may have been White-fronts but they were a long way off and i had left the scope in the car,buggar!.
 Scanning of the vast saltmarsh from the floodbank saw a distant Marsh Harrier hunting and another Merlin was observed on its lookout perch,patiently waiting for a prey target.
 I eventually made it back to the car as the sun began to set and reluctantly left this superb reserve and made my way back home through the Wolds after another superb visit to this gem of a reserve.

Lapwings over Reedbed Lake.

Male Ruff feeding on the main scrape.

Supreme predator,adult Peregrine over the wet grassland.

Some of the myriad of Wigeon on the reserve,an amazing sight.

Dark-bellied Brent Geese,showing well on the saltmarsh.

Even closer views of these beauties.

What a fantastic way to end the day with this superb scene.