Local Patching Update - 29th & 30th October,November 13th,19th & 20th 2022.

 A bumper post on the last 5 visits to the local patch at East Halton/Goxhill,with the patch year list now standing at a cracking 165 species,the following are the highlights of my visits:

Saturday 29th October

A very wet visit today,saw me starting proceedings as always at Winter's first thing,bright and early.

The main highlight was the young female Blue-winged Teal still in residence with the Shoveler gang,albeit on the rear pond,so not viewable from the main track and car park.

Other bits here included 6 Pintail,3 Siskin which flew south,2 female Goldeneye and an increase in Blackbirds and Robins.

I persevered through the wet and walked up to the Skitter,covering the pools,seeing 1 Water Pipit and the very welcome sight of 5 lovely Twite feeding along the track from the gas compound.

It's always a real pleasure to see these lovely little moorland Finches and i left them to feed after getting a few record shots.

I then carried on up towards Dawson City along the saltmarsh in the hope of a Jack Snipe,but only managed to find 7 Stonechat,which was nice all the same.

The Dawson City area was fairly quiet,apart from a flock of 6 Bearded Tit which flew up high south,before piling into another reedbed at great speed,like little exocet missiles.

The last leg back towards Winter's along the mit site,saw a flock of 7 Little Egret taking advantage of the wet conditions,no doubt bringing plenty of worms to the surface of the grass.

Sunday 30th October

A drier day today thankfully,saw a repeat of the previous day at Winter's with our star American visitor still present,showing nicely on the main lake from dawn.

Also around Winter's were 4 Pintail,2 Marsh Harrier,a Great Spotted Woodpecker and 7 Ruff along the Humber,shoreline near the seaplane jetty.

A wander along Marsh Lane and Skitter Road,saw the best bird going to a Great-white Egret which flew north and then north east,before i lost sight of it,a really exceptional year for the species here,long may it continue.

Four Stonechat and a Water Pipit were the only highlights at the Skitter today.

Sunday November 13th

A cracking start today as i approached Winter's car park,saw a Long-eared Owl hunting along the roadside ditch,before flipping over the hedge into the rough grass field next door.This could be the bird i saw back in January,in relatively the same place.

It was pretty foggy to be fair today,but we still had a couple of hundred metres visibility thankfully.

No sign of the BWT on Winter's today,but 2 Barnacle Geese and 16 Shoveler were on the main lake.

We stuck at it,heading up to the Skitter,then down along past the gas compound and along East Marsh Road up to Goxhill Haven.

A nice Spotted Redshank,with the Redshank flock just west of Goxhill Haven was great to see.

As we walked between Goxhill Haven and Dawson City,the very welcome sight of a flock of 18 Snow Bunting appeared,but they were very flighty,not allowing a close approach at all,but just great to see all the same.

Also along this section were 5 Rock Pipits together.

As we walked past the long wood and towards the Skitter,that welcome chuntering call of Brent Geese could be heard and sure enough,22 Birds flew past towards the Skitter,my largest flock here to date.

These birds no doubt getting lost in the misty conditions.

After enjoying the lovely Brents,the next goodie was a cracking Short-eared Owl watched hunting,before it crashed down and caught a Vole,another nice bird to add to the day's sightings.

Saturday November 19th

A good forecast today for pushing birds up the Humber from the sea,saw a very good visit with a total of 5 year ticks being noted.

The first few hours were spent parked up on the flood bank at the Skitter as some proper heavy rain along with a fairly brisk south easterly breeze did the trick bird wise.

First goodie,was a smart 1st winter Little Gull watched feeding along the shoreline,as it flew along picking food items from the surface of the mud and water,what a smart bird.

More scanning followed,with another good bird picked up,as a Red-throated Diver passed by north,really high up,before i lost it over Saltend,GPC later saw the bird up at Barton.

Next was a species i had hoped for today,as 3 Little Auks whizzed past along the shoreline,before again being lost in the rain towards Goxhill.

These lovely diminutive Auks are such smart birds and it reminded me of when i saw my first sighting of the species here in November 1987.

Also from my position,other sightings included a Redhead Red-breasted Merganser,3 Goldeneye,7 Kittiwake and 3 Common Scoter.

Eventually the rain eased and i decided to drive around to Winter's.

After getting plenty of warm kit on i spent some time scanning the main lake and soon came across the now familiar sight of our female Blue-winged Teal.

It does make me wonder where she disappears too,as the previous week there was no sight of her anywhere,perhaps she goes onto the mitigation site,as the water level is building up nicely on there now.

Other birds on and around the main lake,saw a Great-white Egret being seen,female Pochard and 2 gorgeous drake Pintail.

I then reached the flood bank and got back to scanning the Humber,quickly seeing a couple of biggish flocks of Common Scoter,in total numbering 128 birds,a few more Kittiwakes and then the best bird of the day,as a brute of Great-northern Diver appeared from the north,low over the water,before gaining height and i lost it going past Killingholme Haven.

GPC had seen a bird on the Humber earlier off The Deep,but this bird headed south east inland from Graham's position and it makes me wonder if it cut back to the Humber,or this was a different bird.

More scanning saw the final addition to the year list being seen,as a female Scaup was picked up flying in from the direction of Killingholme,before it settled with the Scoter flock.

Also around were 7 Dark-bellied Brent Geese,which settled on the Humber off Winter's and a gorgeous juvenile Peregrine which flew across to Yorkshire.......what a day!

Sunday 20th November

A much quieter day today,but still enjoyable as the wind had swung around to the south west.

After arriving a later than normal today,i spent the day around Winter's and the mitigation area seeing a decent variety in species.

Highlights at Winter's again included the lovely female Blue-winged Teal,as she showed on and off on the main lake,sometimes disappearing onto the rear pond.

The female Pochard was still here,along with a single Cetti's Warbler and 2 Marsh Harrier.

A scan from the flood bank saw a pair of Goosander heading north,approx. 320 Pink-footed Geese in the area along with a decent count of 390 Wigeon on the Humber.

Some good coverage of the mitigation site,saw a few nice birds which included a single Dark-bellied Brent Goose,3 pairs of Stonechat and a gorgeous Barn Owl hunting distantly.

More waders are beginning to use the site again now the water levels are raising and included 36 Curlew,7 Redshank and 140 Lapwing,which were great to see.

Well what an epic series of visits putting me now on 163 species for the year and again proving this area really does provide some really good birding and just goes to show what you can see when you put the time in.

Twite,East Halton Skitter,29th October.

Distant Record Shot Of 2 Of The Snow Buntings From The 13th November.

Male Stonechat,East Halton Marshes.

Female Blue-winged Teal,Winter's Pond.

Yours Truly Watching The Humber On The BIG Day,19th November.

Winter's Pond,What A Cracking Place!!!!,20th November.

Beautiful Bolton Abbey,Sunday 06.11.22.

After enjoying a lovely breakfast after our stay in Leeds to see the superb Biffy Clyro in concert the previous evening,Tracey and myself travelled over to the Bolton Abbey estate for the day.

On arrival after the relatively short journey,through some worrying banks of fog it has to be said,we arrived at Bolton Abbey,got the walking boots on and we were off.

The forecast for today had said light rain showers and that was pretty much spot on,but we still enjoyed our visit to this beautiful area.

I really do like visiting here in autumn,purely for the stunning autumn colours and it being such a photogenic place.

We also managed to see some nice birds,albeit not the lovely Pied Flycatcher's and Redstarts we see in the spring and summer months on our visits here.

Highlights went to some off the expected residents here,including a lovely Dipper splashing about catching it's breakfast,a Red Kite overhead,Goosander,18 Mandarin Ducks and a lovely Kingfisher which i enjoyed showing a young lad and his family through my binos.It was just great seeing the families faces seeing their first Kingfisher.....very rewarding!.

But of course the glowing sight of the autumn leaves in the sunny periods were just fantastic to enjoy and i could'nt  help but keep stopping and taking photos,with the Beech trees looking particularly superb.

The following are my favourite photos from our day and we look forward to our next visit.

The View Along The A59 As We Approached Bolton Abbey.

Rosy Bonnet,A Stunning Little Fungi.

Grisette,A New Species Of Fungi For Us.

Hazel Dormouse & More Fungi,Saturday 22nd October 2022.

A chance today,to go with Tracey to help survey Hazel Dormice,was a no brainer,an animal i had always wanted to see since my interest in the natural world started as a child.

After arriving at our destination,we had a quick chat and split into groups to begin the survey.This consisted of checking a series of nest boxes to see if any Dormice were present,we were going to then sex the animals if found and weigh and record the details.

After checking several boxes we finally came upon one with some Mice inside,thankfully and to our delight,2 Dormice!.

I couldn't believe how small they were,what an absolute privilege to see these lovely little animals up close.

After weighing them and taking the details of the animals,they were carefully returned to their nest box and it was attached back to the tree we found it.

More checking of boxes ensued and after what seemed like a lifetime,Tracey finally found another Dormouse.

This adult male weighed a good 25g and he was obviously packing on weight ready for the incoming winter and colder months.

The final box we checked had more Mice in it,this time not Dormice,but 4 Wood Mice,really nice to see also.

A few birds were seen while we walked around the woodland and included several flocks of Redwings,25 Fieldfare,Siskins,Common Buzzard and a Grey Wagtail.

After checking all our section we returned to the meeting place and had a chat,before Tracey and myself said our goodbyes and thanked the group for letting us come along and we have now joined and look forward to taking part in more survey's and managemant work in the future. 

After enjoying some lunch in Wragby,we drove over to Linwood Warren to look for Fungi and found several interesting species.

A few birds here included 2 Jay and a Great-spotted Woodpecker.

A brilliant day out today with Mrs R,seeing one of my most wanted species.

Fly Agaric,Chamber's Wood.

Juvenile Dormouse.

Fragile Brittlegill.

Male Dormouse,Such Stunning Little Animals.

Lawyer's Wig,Linwood Warren.

Liver Milkcap.

Birch Polypore.

Plicaturopsis crispa.

Mycena arcangeliana.

Turkey Tail.

Fragile Brittlegill.

Common Earthball.

Sulphur Tuft.

Blue-winged Belter & More Local Patching,8th,15th,16th & 23rd October 2022.

Another great series of visits to the local patch,with another nice find and addition to the patch life list,the following is what i saw.

Saturday 8th October

An early start at Winter's Pond as always today,saw me getting the gear together for another visit to this cracking area. 

A quick scan of the main lake revealed a good count of 22 Ruff,the most I've had here to date,14 Dunlin,90 Shoveler,3 Pintail(2 Drakes and a female),18 Tufted Duck and a Kingfisher.

The bushes revealed at least 5 Chiffchaff,a singing male Cetti's Warbler and 2 Great-spotted Woodpecker(Including 1 in off the Humber and west towards East Halton village)as i walked around to check the rear pond.

An un-ringed Great-white Egret was feeding on the rear pond when i reached there and gave some nice views through the scope.

As i wandered back towards the cottage,i turned around to see 6 Whooper Swan flying in from the direction of the Skitter and they dropped onto the main lake and proceeded to give some nice views.This was obviously a family group,with 2 adults and 4 cygnets,the adults still having peat stained necks from the breeding grounds in Iceland.

I then decided to walk up to the Skitter taking in the Mitigation Area,with some Wildfowl now beginning to use the site regularly.

A few scans revealed at least 37 Wigeon,a female Pintail and 105 Mallard in the channels which are slowly filling with water again.

Along the fenceline up to the Skitter,6 Stonechat were seen and were they're usual uncooperative selves as i attempted to kapture some video.

The group consisted of 2 males and 4 females and are always a pleasure to see.

A few insects along here included a lovely Painted Lady.

A good look around the Skitter saw another 2 female Stonechat being seen,along with another Kingfisher,15 Avocet and 14 Ruff,the latter no doubt part of the Winter's roost.

A few insects seen in the now warm sunshine included a Small White,Speckled Wood,Comma and 2 Red Admirals.

On returning to Winter's before heading for home,it was great to see the Whooper family still here,all huddled together sleeping.

Saturday 15th October

A nice start to proceedings on today's visit as i approached Winter's,was a lovely Barn Owl hunting along Marsh Lane,the first I've seen for a while.

As i got ready for the day here,a quick look on the grassland saw a pair of Egyptian Geese grazing,not the most inspiring of species to start the day,but a NFY species and only the second time I've seen the species for the patch.

More scanning of the main lake saw only low numbers of Wildfowl as is often the case at first light,but amongst the small flock of Black-tails were 23 Dunlin and 8 Ruff.

A walk around to the rear pond saw me seeing my first local Redwing of the autumn,2 Chiffchaff and a Kingfisher flying along the floodbank,it really is turning out to be a good year for the latter.

Nothing of note on the rear pond apart from the 2 Drake Pintail still,so i wandered back towards the car,stopping at the small wood to scan the Wildfowl,which had now built up in numbers.

Now i have been looking through the Shoveler every weekend since we started getting bigger than normal numbers here this year and today it paid off,as i picked up a bird in amongst them with a striking white loral spot,dark eyestripe and pale eye lids forming a broken eye ring.....this had to be a Blue-winged Teal!!!!!.

A few digi-scoped images and a quick chat to GPC after sending him the images,had him leaving Alkborough.

I carried on watching the Teal,as of course i hadn't seen the blue forewing or the birds legs to check for any unwanted bling,thankfully the legs were clear,it then proceeded to go to sleep out of view.

Graham arrived to the news it was out of view and asleep and to make things worse ND rang to say he had just had a Pratincole sp. at Alkborough where Graham had just left!.

We waited for what seemed like ages,but eventually the BWT woke up and began to feed again,this time in amongst some European Teal and Shoveler allowing some great size comparisons to be made,it then went to sleep again.

A really good pointer for picking the bird out when it was asleep,was the fact it showed the striking white eye-lids when it would open and close its eyes,a great feature for future reference on picking them out of dozing flocks of Wildfowl.

It was then flushed along with the rest of the flock by a passing Marsh Harrier and we seized the chance to get closer as it settled down again.

We got relatively close this time and i got some decent digiscoped shots and video of the open wing and also noted another good feature....its dull yellowish legs.

While watching this cracker,several flocks of Gulls had come and gone and we noted 2 separate Med Gulls a lovely 2nd Winter bird and a First Winter......what a place this is!.

Sunday 16th October 

The obvious destination this morning,bright and early,was Winter's to see if the female Blue-winged Teal was still in residence.

After it got light,an initial scan of the main lake didn't reveal our American visitor,but then a Marsh Harrier passed by and flushed all the birds off the rear pond and sure enough it had done the trick and there she was with her Shoveler cousins.

More nice views and studying of the bird ensued and it was great to have such a great bird here with much more relaxed viewing now we had gained plenty of pics and video the previous day.

Also on the main lake were a cracking count of 22 Ruff roosting as they have in previous visits,before dispersing for the day onto the fields with the Lapwings and Black-tails.

Also present were the Egyptian Geese pair still,a female Pintail and a single Little Egret.

I then decided to go for a wander in the now lovely,warm autumnal sunshine and walked up along Marsh Lane,Skitter Road around the Skitter and back along the Mit Site.

Not many birds of note were seen apart from a lone female Stonechat on the Mitigation Site,but of several butterflies seen,species included Small Copper and Speckled Wood,with a single Hornet at East Halton Grange.

On my return to Winter's,more views of the star bird and a lovely adult Med.Gull before i left for home was a great end to the day.

Sunday 23rd October

A pretty mixed up day today,due to the heavy rain from 9ish until 2pm,saw me having a quick scout around Winter's first and last thing in between the rain.

A complete clear out of Wildfowl including all the Coot as well made for a strange atmosphere here for this time of year.

All was not lost though,with the autumn/winter periods first local Goldeneye being seen,a female on the main lake,along with 10 Ruff and 4 Pintail.

A cracking old type adult male Marsh Harrier put in a few appearances,which was great to see.

In the bushes,an obvious increase in passerines included 13 Robins,Fieldfare,Lesser Redpoll and Grey Wag over,Chiffchaff and a handful of Redwing.

The period of heavy rain saw me watching from the car at the Skitter,parked on the floodbank,with the highlight being a duo of Dark-bellied Brent Geese which flew north along the estuary and were my first records of the year here.

Other bits seen from my watch point,included a single Great-crested Grebe floating out on the falling tide,18 Avocet and a Harbour Porpoise.

Before i left for home after the deluge,some coverage of the Mit Site,saw a few nice sightings being enjoyed which included a Fox,Barn Owl,3 Stonechat(Male and 2 females),450 Pinks,63 Curlew,105 Mallard,67 Wigeon,a juvenile Marsh Harrier and 6 Roe Deer.

Well what a great few visits again and i really enjoyed finding the Blue-winged Teal,as it was not only a first for the local patch,but also a self find tick and the 12th record for Lincolnshire.

The patch year list now stands at 156 species.

Five Of The Six Whooper Swans On The 8th.

Whooper Swans,On Winter's,8th.

Looking Towards The Skitter,From Near Winter's Pond,8th.

Snoozing Whooper's After Their Epic Journey From Iceland,8th.

Winter's Pond,8th.

Looking Along The Floodbank Towards Killingholme,15th.

First Views Of The 1st calendar year Blue-winged Teal On Winter's,Note The Distinct Pale Loral Spot,Dark Eyestripe And Pale Eye Lids Forming A Broken Eye Ring,15th.

A Bit Of Preening Later In The Day In Far Better Light,Revealed The Striking Blue Forewing,Winter's,15th.

Dawn At Winter's,16th.

Red Admiral,Red House Wood,16th.

Tachina Fera,Skitter Road,16th.

Skitter Road,16th.

Autumnal Colours,16th.

Long Shadows,16th.

Winter's,16th.

A Very Tame Icelandic Black-tailed Godwit At Winter's,16th.

Adult Mediterranean Gull,Winter's,16th.