Ingbirchworth and Langsett

Posted on April 16, 2024 | Leave a comment

I started my afternoon, was now about 2pm, at Ingbirchworth Res, with a walk down along the dam wall. The first birds were Goldfinch in a nearby tree, on the water were a few Great Crested Grebes, Mallards, Canada Geese, and a few mixed up ducks. I was hoping for a few hirundie over the water, but there was nothing about. I made my way back along the dam wall, seeing a male Pied Wagtail this time, I took a few photos before moving on.

I then walked along the top path, passed the bus shelter, it was more productive down here with Goldfinch, Blue Tit, Great tit, Chaffinch, Blackbird, Chiffchaff and Willow Warbler, the latter I managed to get a few photos of.

My next stop after Ingbirchworth, is my favourite place, Langsett Res. Once again I parked in the Barns Car Park, which was quiet today, I got the gear together and headed out, target bird here was Pied Flycatcher, but alas was a no show, did see however Great Tit, Blue Tit, Mistle Thrush, Song Thrush, Nuthatch, Treecreeper and heard a Great Spotted Woodpecker. i then moved onto Low moor Lane viewpoint, hopping for some raptors, but came away with Curlew, Greylag Goose, Mallard, Red Grouse, and a pair of drumming Snipe. On the for tea and afterwards staying up on the moors, hopping for some Owls, only a calling Tawny Owl, but did see a few roding Woodcock over the Moor

Bird List : Blackbird, Black headed Gull, Blue Tit, Canada Goose, Carrion Crow, Chaffinch, Chiffchaff, Coal Tit, Common Sandpiper, Curlew, Dunnock, Goldfinch, Great Crested Grebe, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Great Tit, Grey Wagtail, Greylag Goose, House Sparrow, Jackdaw, Lapwing, Magpie, Mallard, Mistle Thrush, Moorhen, Nuthatch, Oystercatcher, Pheasant, Pied Wagtail, Red Grouse, Robin, Snipe, Song Thrush, Treecreeper, Willow Warbler, Woodcock, Woodpigeon, Wren (37)

Willow Warbler
Grey Wagtail
Pied Wagtail

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A Big Day Out

Posted on March 30, 2024 | Leave a comment

The day started at Broomhill Flash which is managed by the Garganey trust, at 7am, Broomhill was quiet, the highlight being a Marsh Harrier trying to make a meal out of a Teal, which narrowly escaped thanks to a nearby bush, other birds noted were Oystercatcher, Pochard, Tufted Duck, Gadwall, and Mallard.

We moved on then to Wombwell Ings, which is the next field over from Broomhill Flash, all part of the Dearne Valley complex, target here for the day was Water Pipit, which was a no show, Redshank, and Skylarks were very notable, along with Reed Buntings, wildfowl here were Canada Goose, Shoveler, Tufted Duck, Wigeon, Cormorant.

We then moved on to Warbler Way, where there were more Chiffchaff, but we also picked up new birds for the year, Willow Warbler and a male Blackcap, we also found Buzzard and Sparrowhawk.

On then to RSPB Old Moor, target bird here was Garganey, and again a no show bird, however there were plenty to see, Little Egret, Teal, Wigeon, Shelduck, Pintail, Tufted Duck, plenty of Cetti’s Warblers were giving out there explosive songs, a few of the birds even gave excellent views. A new bird for the year was a Common Sandpiper, which we found from the East Pool Hide. The best place for me today was at the Tree Sparrow Farm were there were plenty of birds to see and photograph, Goldfinch, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Robin, Dunnock, Bullfinch, Lesser Redpoll, Brambling, Great Tit and Blue Tit.

Our last site for the day was RSPB St Aidan’s on the reports of another Gargeney, and once again no show, despite extensive searching. Our highlights at here were, the Black necked Grebes, Bearded Tit, an in flight Bittern, Willow Warblers, Blackcap and a single Sand Martin.

Broomhill Bird List ; Blackbird, Black headed Gull, Canada Goose, Carrion Crow, Coot, Gadwall, Greylag Goose, Herring Gull, Lesser Black backed Gull, Magpie, Mallard, Marsh Harrier, Oystercatcher, Pochard, Shoveler, Teal, Tufted Duck, Woodpigeon (18)

Wombwell Ings Bird List ; Blackcap, Black Headed Gull, Buzzard, Canada Goose, Chiffchaff, Coot, Cormorant, Dunnock, Gadwall, Grey Heron, Grey Wagtail, Lapwing, Lesser Black backed Gull, Little Egret, Little Grebe, Long tailed Tit, Meadow Pipit, Mistle Thrush, Redshank, Reed Bunting, Robin, Shoveler, Skylark, Song Thrush, Sparrowhawk, Starling, Stock Dove, Tufted Duck, Wigeon, Willow Warbler, Wren (31)

RSPB Old Moor Bird List : Black headed Gull, Blue Tit, Brambling, Bullfinch, Canada Goose, Carrion Crow, Cetti’s Warbler, Chiffchaff, Common Sandpiper, Coot, Cormorant, Goldfinch, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Great Tit, Green Woodpecker, Grey Heron, Greylag Goose, Herring Gull, Lapwing, Lesser Black backed Gull, Lesser Redpoll, Little Egret, Long tailed Tit, Magpie, Moorhen, Mute Swan, Oystercatcher, Pintail, Redshank, Robin, Shelduck, Teal, Tufted Duck, Wigeon (34)

RSPB Old Moor Butterflies ; Brimstone, Comma, Peacock

St Aidan’s Bird List ; Bearded Tit, Bittern, Blackcap, Black headed Gull, Black necked Grebe, Canada Goose, Cetti’s Warbler, Chaffinch, Chiffchaff, Coot, Cormorant, Gadwall, Goldeneye, Great Crested Grebe, Greylag Goose, Herring Gull, Lapwing, Lesser Black backed Gull, Little Grebe, Magpie, Mallard, Moorhen, Mute Swan, Pochard, Redshank, Robin, Sand Martin, Shelduck, Teal, Tufted Duck, Willow Warbler, Woodpigeon (32)

Lesser Redpoll

Brambling

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Broadstones and the Langsett Areas

Posted on March 24, 2024 | Leave a comment

So today I was visiting a couple of local sites, ones I hadn’t to for a while, in the vain hope of some summer migrants, Broadstones I was hoping for Wheatear with Langsett hopefully delivering Red Grouse. I started by travelling along the Brown Royd Edge Road and stopped at the airfield and found, Fieldfare, Lapwing, Mistle Thrush, with three Wheatear, easily picked up, due to their distinctive jizz, of the upright pose and distinctive run, great to see these birds again. Moving on passed the sheep fields, picking out Lapwings, with a couple of Pied Wagtails amongst them. I moved off from here I went down the Lower Maythorn Lane, where I knew Wheatear stop off, sure enough, there was only one, a female, but it didn’t matter.

So Langsett Res was the next stop, the Barns car park, and at the moment it was quiet. so I had a good choice of where I could park the car. Whilst getting the gear together, I heard and saw Chaffinch, Blackbird, Robin, Chiffchaff (which seemed to be everywhere now), Wren, Mistle Thrush and a hooting Tawny Owl. I started my route along the top path, where I saw and took photos of a Wren, there were also a few Chiffchaff down here also, and a Mistle Thrush, but little else of note. It wasn’t until I’d done my loop and was back near the car park again that I picked up on Siskin, Dunnock, Chaffinch, Blue Tit, heard Great Spotted Woodpecker and Nuthatch. Moving passed the car park and on towards the dam wall, this place is good for Common Sandpiper, today being a bit early but did see a pair of Oystercatcher, and a pair of Grey Wagtail in the overflown channel. I put a few things back in the car and went on then to the Bank View cafe for a bite to eat.

After dinner I decided on getting away from the crowds and going up on to Midhope Moors, to a place I knew would be quiet, and it was, a bit windy however, and a good place for Red Grouse , it took a while today for them to show, but they did eventually show, lovely calls to boot. There was also Meadow Pipits and Linnets around, I decided on taking in the view and sat down on one of the walls, along came a Common Buzzard flying steadily up the valley, a Kestrel hovering nearby, Curlews displaying and calling, then the experience of the day as a female Merlin came within in, maybe a foot, as it flew by hugging the wall, probably hunting the Pipits and Linnets, wow!

Homeward bound, via the Broadstones area again, stopping at the sheep field first where there were a few Pied Wagtail about, but I did manage to seek out alone White Wagtail too, there were a few Skylark in and amongst too, looking over the airfield again, the Wheatear etc had moved off, due to the model airplanes about now. Pulling into the layby/pull in area at Broadstones, I noticed a few Black headed Gulls flying over the road, but out of the corner of my eye I noticed something different, turned out to be a Barn Owl hunting the road verges, camera was in the boot, not in its usual place of the passenger seat, doh!, mad dash it was for the camera, then a run around to try and capture the Owl, well one day I’ll be in the right place at the right time. On to the heath then, which was quiet, but I managed to find a pair of Stonechat, lovely birds, one I was hoping to see.

39 bird species for the day, not a great tally, but a great day

Bird List ; Barn Owl, Blackbird, Black headed Gull, Blue Tit, Buzzard, Canada Goose, Carrion Crow, Chaffinch, Chiffchaff, Common Gull, Curlew, Dunnock, Fieldfare, Goldcrest, Grey Heron, Grey wagtail, Herring Gull, Kestrel, lapwing, Long tailed Tit, Mallard, Meadow Pipit, Merlin, Mistle Thrush, Nuthatch, Oystercatcher, Pheasant, Pied Wagtail, Red Grouse, Robin, Siskin, Skylark, Song Thrush, Starling, Stonechat, Tawny owl, Wheatear, White Wagtail, Woodpigeon (39)

Stonechat

Barn Owl

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Fairburn Ings

Posted on March 22, 2024 | Leave a comment

Here was again back at RSPB Fairburn Ings and it looked as if it was going to be a nice day. I started around at the Visitor Centre feeders at the Pickup Hide, seems to be a favourite place of mine of late, the usual common species were here, Reed Bunting, Blue Tit, Great Tit, Long tailed Tit, Chaffinch, there was a Chiffchaff and a Green Woodpecker calling nearby. I eventually caught up with the Chiffchaff, near the Kingfisher Screen, as I made my way up to the top trails, sadly not the Green Woodpecker.

I finally arrived at the viewpoint where I could see over the bottom area of the flashes, looking from here I managed to pick out plenty of Cormorants, a couple of Little Egret and finally a Spoonbill, which broke lose from the trees and flew down towards the Lin Dyke area with another following shortly afterwards.

I moved on down towards Lin Dyke as the Spoonbills looked as if they had settled near to the Lin Dyke hide, it looked along way from where I was standing. Finally arriving seeing very little on my journey down here, around the hide were a few Chiffchaffs. It looked as if the Spoonbills had moved, but not far, I managed a couple of shots before they took flight again, back to where I had just come from, I managed a couple of flight shots before they got to far away, there was also two Cattle Egret present down here amongst the Highland Cattle.

Well back at the Visitor Centre feeders, the day was warming up, now evident due to a few Bees now flying around, I settled in for another session with the camera, seeing the usual common species again. Another move and this time back down to Lin Dyke, but in the car this time. I stopped around the feeders here hoping for the a Willow Tit to show up, unfortunately it was another no show, there were Dunnocks, Great Tits, Blue Tits, Long tailed Tits, and a Pheasant.

Fairburn Bird List : Blackbird, Black headed Gull, Blue Tit, Bullfinch, Buzzard, Canada Goose, Carrion Crow, Cattle Egret, Cetti’s Warbler, Chaffinch, Chiffchaff, Coal Tit, Coot, Cormorant, Dunnock, Gadwall, Goldeneye, Goldfinch, Great Crested Grebe, Great Tit, Great White Egret, Green Woodpecker, Grey Heron, Greylag Goose, Jackdaw, Lapwing, Little Egret, Little Grebe, Long tailed Tit, Magpie, Mallard, Mute Swan, Pheasant, Pochard, Reed Bunting, Robin, Shelduck, Shoveler, Skylark, Spoonbill, Stock Dove, Teal, Tufted Duck, Wren (44)

Chiffchaff

Blue Tit

Spoonbill

Honey Bee

Long tailed Tit

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Weekend Away Day 2

Posted on March 17, 2024 | Leave a comment

My idea was to travel back North via Willow Tree Fen for the Cranes, OK it did mean a bit of travelling south first by about 40mins, but would mean a loss of 6mins to home, so decision made then.

Big change from yesterday’s weather were it was nice and bright to a very damp start today. On my travel into Willow Tree Fen I came across Twenty one Whooper Swans settled in a field, so things brightened up, it was still drizzling when I arrived at Willow Tree Fen and to locked gates to the car park, it wasn’t long thou before the voluntary warden showed up to unlock, and looked in disbelieve at someone showing up today. After parking up the rain did stop, looking over the marsh we did manage to to find a few Cranes, I finally picked out seven birds in total, a few did fly off site, which was great to see, long necks and legs, calling with that distinctive Crane sound, beautiful.

Also on site were a few Marsh Harriers along with Common Buzzard, Chaffinch, Collard Dove, Coot, Goldfinch, Mallard, Mute Swan, Shoveler, Snipe.

Back on the road, as I got further North the weather started to brighten up so I decided on calling in at RSPB St Aidan’s on the way for the Black necked Grebes. On arrival at St Aidan’s, my first stopping point of course was the dragline, but again no Little Owl was showing but there was plenty of Stock Dove about. The BN Grebes apparently were frequenting Bowers lake, so I headed off in that direction. I was looking at Great Crested Grebes, Tufted Duck, Mallard, Mute swan, Pochard, Coots and Black headed Gulls and the sound of Bittern, but no BN Grebes, I decided on walking back the way I had come, so I was looking at the opposite lake, it wasn’t long before I picked up on a Black necked Grebe, a bit distant, I watched it for a while and it was eventually joined by another two, not good views due to where they were hanging out amongst a patch of reeds. After that I made my back seeing Reed Bunting, with Sparrowhawk, Kestrel, and Common Buzzard over the hillside.

I was then joined by another group of people who informed me that a Black necked Grebe was making its way around the channel close to the footpath, and heading towards us, I waited and ended up having one of the best wildlife encounters ever, as the Black necked Grebe popped up withing six feet of me, after getting over experience, I did manage a couple of pics, what a moment.

Moving on then down towards the main lake area, seeing Grey Heron , Great White Egret, Lapwing and a Common Redshank, there were a few Gulls down on the main lake, mainly Black headed Gull and Lesser Black backed Gulls. Well the day was drawing to a close, I headed back out towards the visitor centre again, once again seeing the Kestrel hunting over the hillside, with no Little Owl on the dragline, again. Whilst having my usual coffee and cake break, outside this time where i had good views of the feeders, finishing the day off with Greenfinch, Blue Tit, Great Tit and Reed Bunting.

Willow Tree Fen Bird List : Buzzard, Chaffinch, Collard Dove, Coot, Crane, Goldfinch, Mallard, Marsh Harrier, Mute Swan, Shoveler, Snipe, Whooper Swan (12)

St Aidan’s Bird List : Bittern, Blackbird, Black headed Gull, Black necked Grebe, Buzzard, Canada Goose, Cetti’s Warbler, Chiffchaff, Coot, Cormorant, Gadwall, Great Crested Grebe, Great Tit, Great White Egret, Greenfinch, Grey Heron, Greylag Goose, Kestrel, Lapwing, Lesser Black backed Gull, Little Grebe, Magpie, Mallard, Mute Swan, Pheasant, Redshank, Reed Bunting, Shoveler, Sparrowhawk, Starling, Stock Dove, Tufted Duck, Wigeon, Woodpigeon (35)

Black Necked Grebe

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Weekend Away Day 1

Posted on March 16, 2024 | Leave a comment

A weekend in Lincolnshire and the first port of call was back to RSPB Frampton Marsh, Why? unfinished business with a certain American bird that has been there most of the winter, the Lesser Yellowlegs. See the video HERE

As I turned into the car park, I could see the Lesser Yellowlegs in the near by field, adjacent to the car park, panic set in, so close, was it going to take flight before I had chance to view it. I parked up got the gear together in double quick time. I soon got to the view the Lesser Yellowlegs and got a few shots off before the bird wandered off to be too distant, arrived just in time. Other birds here were Ruff, Lapwing, Wigeon, Teal, Pied Wagtail.

I now went and got the rest of the gear I needed and set off onto the reserve, I decided on doing today a different way to the one I usually do and headed off down around the back of the Visitor Centre with Corn Bunting in mind. Mute Swans and Greylag Geese were close in, with a pair of Marsh Harriers in the air, doing their display flight, other birds nearby were Reed Bunting, Blue Tit, Great Tit, Dunnock, Greenfinch, House Sparrow, Collard Dove and a single Chiffchaff, nice to get a migrant on this years list. There were few other birds around as I walked the path, just picking up Great Crested Grebe and Greylag Geese, and no Corn Bunting. On then to the 360° hide and here I saw Pied Wagtails, lots of Avocets, Common Snipe, Dunlin, Redshank, Black tailed Godwit, Ruff.

After dinner, I grapped the scope, thought I’d need this to try and see the other two birds I wanted to see today, these were last seen down towards the Salt Marsh, off I went. Took me a while to find the first bird amongst the Black headed Gulls but once located it stood out like a sore thumb, a Mediterranean Gull, nice to catch up with this one, apparently there were six on site. I put a passing birder onto the Med Gull and it return they found my last target bird, the Green winged Teal, distant, glad I got the scope. The view was all but brief before the Teal flock took flight, hence losing the bird, but fortunately I soon relocated it and obtained better views.

I then ventured down to the Marsh where I saw very little, but looking back over the reserve I picked out a Great White Egret and Cattle Egret, now it was coffee and cake time.

After the coffee break, I was again looking for the Corn Bunting, it gave itself up eventually but briefly. The weather had now turned for the worse, so I headed to the East Hide and settled in to watch Ruff, Redshank, Avocet, Oystercatchers and Ringed Plover

It was now getting late so I decided on calling it a day, I arrived back at the car park to more views of the Lesser Yellowlegs before it was spooked and flying away, I managed some footage before it departed, which can be seen HERE

I finally saw 60 species for the day, my best count for a day at RSPB Frampton Marsh, beating the previous best of 57 in 2018

Bird List : Avocet, Black headed Gull, Black tailed Godwit, Blue Tit, Brent Goose, Canada Goose, Carrion Crow, Cattle Egret, Cetti’s Warbler, Chiffchaff, Collared Dove, Coot, Cormorant, Corn Bunting, Curlew, Dunlin, Dunnock, Gadwall, Golden Plover, Goldeneye, Great Crested Grebe, Great Tit, Great White Egret, Greenfinch, green winged tEal, Grey Heron, Greylag Goose, Herring Gull, House Sparrow, Lapwing, Lesser Black backed Gull, Lesser Yellowlegs, Little Egret, Little Grebe, Magpie, Mallard, Marsh Harrier, Mediterranean Gull, Moorhen, Mute Swan, Oystercatcher, Pheasant, Pied Wagtail, Pintail, Pochard, Redshank, Reed Bunting, Ringed Plover, Robin, Ruff, Shelduck, Shoveler, Skylark, Snipe, Starling, Teal, Tufted Duck, Wigeon, Woodpigeon, Wren (60)

Lesser Yellowlegs

Lesser Yellowlegs

Ruff

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RSPB Frampton Marsh

Posted on March 4, 2024 | Leave a comment

Arrived at 8:30am after a 2 1/2 hour drive down to the sound of Geese and whistling Wigeon, the field adjacent to the car park was full of water, hence the large congregation of wildfowl here. I sat in the car and scanned the field picking out Wigeon, Teal, Mallard, Shoveler, Gadwall, Pintail, Little Egret, Ruffs, Lapwing, Golden Plover, I eventually tore myself away and got my gear together.

I initially stayed near the car park looking thru various waders hoping to see the long staying Lesser Yellowlegs, wasn’t to be my day, and I never connected with the bird at all that day, I did see a Peregrine for my efforts, and great photo opportunities with the Ruffs. I moved on eventually tearing myself away and headed over to the visitor centre to check in, and to find out what had been seen so far, only reports were of Scaup (2♂, 1♀), so my next target were these birds.

It wasn’t long before I got to see the Scaup, soon finding them from the pathway, they were distant, hanging out at the back of the Marsh up against the far reeds, other birds here were Pochard, Tufted Duck, Black headed Gull, Brent Geese, after getting some record shots of the Scaup, I headed out towards the 360° hide, stopping on route to view a group of Goldeneye, these birds were actively displaying to the females present.

Arriving at the 360° hide, I missed out the Reedbed hide as there didn’t seem to be many birds present, there was a lot more happening here, plenty of Avocets, Dunlin, Ruff, Black tailed Godwit, Common Snipe, Redshank, Brent Geese, Lapwing and Golden Plover. I eventually moved on to the east Hide, around this area were more Dunlin, Little Egret, Whooper Swan (1), Reed Bunting.

After the East Hide I decided on making my way back to the Visitor Centre, along the back path, hoping for corn Bunting but only came across a singing Skylark. After a quick snack at the café (coffee and cake) and once again enjoying the Ruff, near the car park area, alas still no Lesser Yellowlegs, I headed off down towards the salt marsh, I had a good scan thru the Teal looking for Green winged but to no avail. At the marsh were Redshank, Meadow Pipit, Little Egret and finally a Marsh Harrier ends the day.

Video of the Day press HERE

Bird List : Avocet, Blackbird, Black headed Gull, Black tailed Godwit, Brent Goose, Canada Goose, Carrion Crow, Cetti’s Warbler, Common Gull, Coot, Cormorant, Curlew, Dunlin, Egyptian Goose, Gadwall, Golden Plover, Goldeneye, Goldfinch, Great Crested Grebe, Grey Heron, Herring Gull, Lapwing, Little Egret, Little Grebe, Magpie, Mallard, Marsh Harrier, Meadow Pipit, Moorhen, Mute Swan, Oystercatcher, Peregrine, Pheasant, Pied Wagtail, Pintail, Pochard, Redshank, Reed Bunting, Robin, Ruff, Scaup, Shelduck, Shoveler, Skylark, Snipe, Starling, Teal, Tufted Duck, Whooper Swan, Wigeon, Wren (51)

Ruff
Ruff
Dunlin
Dunlin

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RSPB Fairburn Ings

Posted on February 25, 2024 | Leave a comment

The attraction of Fairburn Ings today was just simply to get out with the camera and binoculars , and Fairburn gave me a second chance of catching up with the Cattle Egret and Willow Tit, hopefully.

Anyway on arriving at Fairburn, I decided on having a bit of time at the Visitor Centre feeders first, here I saw Coal Tit, Blackbird, Robin, Blue Tit, Great Tit, Chaffinch, Dunnock, Long tailed Tit, and Wren. After the photo session here, I headed around to the other feeders close by, in the hope of the Willow Tit, but due to the noise level and dogs running the feeding area I gave up and decided on moving down to the Lin Dyke area, I would be quieter down there, hopefully.

Walking around Lin Dyke , it was quieter, I spotted Great White Egret, Little Egret, Mute Swan, Tufted Duck, Shelduck, Greylag Geese, Canada Geese, Pochard, Shovelers, Wigeon, Cormorants and Black headed Gulls and finally a pair of distant Cattle Egret.

I then got talking to someone who was looking for the Lin Dyke feeders, where the Willow Tit had been seen, now I didn’t think there were any feeders down this end of the reserve, but it transpired there was, and they were located on the entrance to the car park, this is where the Willow Tit has been seen, this guy eventually saw it, after waiting thirty mins, then came and found me, told me all about, so I finished my day at said feeders waiting for thirty mins also, until 5:30pm when the light was fading, no Willow Tit for me but plenty of Blue Tit, Great Tit, Long tailed Tit.

I called it a day, I was heading back towards the visitor centre, thinking a Barn Owl would be nice now, just going over the road. I got to the visitor centre and turned onto Back Newton Lane, when I saw a bird shadow in the distance, thinking Buzzard, it wasn’t till I got nearer that it turned out to be a Barn Owl, well that made up for missing the Willow Tit

Short Video of the Visit Press THIS

Bird List : Barn Owl, Blackbird, Black headed Gull, Blue Tit, Canada Goose, Carrion Crow, Cattle Egret, Chaffinch, Coal Tit, Common Gull, Coot, Cormorant, Dunnock, Gadwall, Goldfinch, Great Crested Grebe, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Great Tit, Great White Egret, Grey Heron, Greylag Goose, Jackdaw, Little Egret, Little Grebe, Long tailed Tit, Magpie, Mallard, Moorhen, Mute Swan, Oystercatcher, Pheasant, Pochard, Reed Bunting, Robin, Shelduck, Shoveler, Sparrowhawk, Stock Dove, Teal, Tufted Duck, Wigeon, Woodpigeon, Wren (43) (YTD 110)

Reed Bunting
Reed Bunting
Wren
Wren

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Cromwell Bottom

Posted on February 10, 2024 | Leave a comment

A nice steady morning down at the local Nature Reserve, Cromwell Bottom, first sightings were around the car park with Blue Tit, Great Tit, Bullfinch, Grey Herons, Blackbirds, Magpies and Woodpigeons.

On down at the canal were the usual Mallards but no Mute Swans this morning. On at the Visitor Centre feeders were more Stock Dove, Blue Tit, Great Tit, Chaffinch, Nuthatch and Robins, with a single Grey Wagtail in the staff car park.

After about 30mins i moved on and headed towards the weir, down here i encountered a few Robins, heard a few Song Thrush, always proving difficult to get a photo of unlike the Robins, who to want photos taken.

On down at the large feeding area there seemed to be a bit more action, but this time I didn’t enter in to the seating area put stopped around the periphery were I saw Reed Buntings, Dunnocks, Blue Tit, Great Tits, Chaffinch, Coal Tit, Long tailed Tit, and of course Robins, with Great Spotted Woodpecker and Goldfinch being heard.

I walked a bit further on and towards the Old Canal area alas no Kingfisher was sighted but I did manage to see a single Goldcrest. On then to view the Ski Lake area where there were plenty of Gulls to go thru these were, Black headed, Common, Herring and Lesser Black backed Gulls, wildfowl on here were Tufted Duck, Coot, Moorhen and a few Goldeneye, Cormorants were plenty as well.

I then worked my way back to the viewing platform overlooking the lagoon area where I saw a single Male Teal along with a Little Grebe. Walking back to the Visitor Centre, I finally managed to get a photo of a singing Song Thrush.

Bird list : Blackbird, Black headed Gull, Blue Tit, Bullfinch, Buzzard, Canada Goose, crow, Chaffinch, Coal Tit, Common Gull, Coot, Cormorant, Dunnock, Goldcrest, Goldeneye, Goldfinch, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Great Tit, Grey Heron, Grey wagtail, Herring Gull, jay, Lesser Black backed Gull, Little Grebe, Long tailed Tit, Magpie, Mallard, Moorhen, Nuthatch, Reed Bunting, Robin, Song Thrush, Stock Dove, Teal, Tufted Duck, Woodpigeon, Wren (37)

Reed Bunting
Reed Bunting
Song Thrush
Song Thrush

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Day Out

Posted on February 4, 2024 | Leave a comment

Wykeham Forest and the Raptor view point was our first stop of the day with Goshawk in mind. We arrived at about 9am to an empty car park, we got our gear together to the call of Crossbills overhead and eventually settling in the nearby trees, a great start. Setting off then to the nearby raptor viewpoint, a short walk. We were soon joined by more Crossbill, giving off there distinctive calls, along with the Crossbills were Siskins, although the Crossbill were nice to see we were here for raptors, so we started watching the skies.

We soon picked up some raptors over the far ridge, these turned out to be Common Buzzards, along with them however were a couple of Goshawk, bingo. It was more of the same for the next hour with no ground breaking views of Goshawk all staying distant, the Crossbills however were different.

After an hour or so we moved off and headed towards the coast, for the reported Snow Buntings and Shorelarks. We stopped off at Filey Country Park first, in rain and wind, in the search of the Slavonian Grebe. Viewing from the Brigg we picked up Great Northern and Red Throated Divers, Gannets off shore, and a dark looking Rock Pipit at our feet, we eventually picked out the Slavonian Grebe, it was closer in shore than we expected. On the Country Park field were Oystercatchers, Redshanks, Turnstone, and Black tailed Godwits.

Our last port of call was Thornwick Bay Caravan Park, near Thornwick pools, after blots of walking we finally found the field were the Snow Buntings were, very distant, you could make out they were Snow Buntings, but too far to make out any Shorelarks, a pair of Stonechat on the way back to the car was a nice sight

No photos today due to weather but here a short video of a Male Crossbill, press THIS

Todays Bird List : Bat tailed Godwit, Blackbird, Black headed Gull, Buzzard, Crow, Chaffinch, Common Crossbill, Common Scoter, Coot, Cormorant, Fulmar, Gannet, Goshawk, Great Crested Grebe, Great Northern Diver, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Great Tit, Herring Gull, Jackdaw, Magpie, Mallard, Moorhen, Mute Swan, Oystercatcher, Pheasant, Red Kite, Redshank, Shag, Siskin, Slavonian Grebe, Snow Bunting, Song Thrush, Sparrowhawk, Starling, Stonechat, Teal, Turnstone, Woodpigeon (39)

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