Huddsbirder

Today I was going further afield for the day, out to a place I hadn’t been for a number of years, I was also going with a birding buddy. We set off at about 7:30, as Tophill doesn’t open till 9am, it was going to ber a two hour journey, for us.

We arrived at 9:30am, bang on the two hour mark. The first port of call was the reception hide, where you have to obtain a permit to get onto the reserve, cost at moment is £3.50 for the day, plus car parking.

After all the formalities we concentrated on our target birds for the day, or Ducks as the case was. Our main target was luckily on ‘D’ reservoir, where the reception hide is, so we set about looking, thru all the wildfowl about, there were a lot. The first call was on a Black necked Grebe, not one of the target birds but nice to see, there were also Shovelers, Mallards, Gadwall, Coot, Great Crested Grebe, Teal, Pochard, Wigeon, Goldeneye to go thru. I thought this was going to be an endless task, other birders hadn’t seen the birds today, it was still early thou. Then it started, my buddy called on two birds blogging at the back of the reservoir, we all got on the birds and started checking, however the heads were tucked in, on both birds, Teal size, no white strip, then one lifted its head, we could see the pale spot at the base of the bill, we were sure we were on to a winner, the other bird did eventually show its head, we had found our two Blue winged Teals, lifer in the bag, we did return later in the day, and got the blue wing patch.

Good start, we moved next door for a snack and to watch the feeders for the reported Brambling, but we did get good views of Great Spotted Woodpecker ♂, Goldfinch, Greenfinch, Chaffinch, Blue Tit, Great Tit, but no Brambling. Our next was on ‘O’ reservoir, so off we went. On arrival two people said they hadn’t seen the bird, so once again we set about looking thru all the birds on the reservoir, lots of duck again, our target bird is similar to Tufted Duck, so we started with those. Birds again were Great Crested Grebe, Little Grebe, Shovelers, Pochards, Tufted Duck, we couldn’t see it, but once again just when your going to throw the towel in, bingo, it pops into view, where was it hiding, this was a splendid male Ringed necked Duck, great to find and see, a great looking duck, very similar to Tufted , this being an American species, alas we didn’t find the reported Scaup, cant win them all.

We decided to try and find some of the reported waders that were about today, we ended up in the South Marsh Hide, which is located at the back of the ‘O’ reservoir. Here we saw Redshank, Teal, Common Snipe, Mallards.

A great day with a few year birds to boot and a lifer with the Blue winged Teals, I’m hoping these birds will winter here, be good to see the male in hie splendor of summer plumage. I enjoyed todays venture out looking thru so many ducks, tests the ID skills. I enjoyed Tophill Low, great reserve, very friendly helpful people on site, looking forward to the next visit.

Bird List : Blackbird, Black headed Gull, Black necked Grebe, Blue Tit, Blue winged Teal, Buzzard, Crow, Cetti’s Warbler, Chaffinch, Coal Tit, Common Gull, Coot, Cormorant, Dunnock, Gadwall, Goldcrest, Goldeneye, Goldfinch, Great Crested Grebe, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Great Tit, Greenfinch, Herring Gull, Jay, Kingfisher, Lesser Black backed Gull, Little Grebe, Long tailed Tit, Magpie, Mallard, Moorhen, Mute Swan, Pheasant, Pochard, Redshank, Ring necked Duck, Robin, Rock Dove/Feral Pigeon, Rook, Shoveler, Snipe, Teal, Tufted Duck, Water Rail, Wigeon, Woodpigeon, Wren (47)

Short video, Common Snipe and Kingfisher PRESS

Back to my local nature reserve, I had time to kill, so I thought on having a few hours at Cromwell Bottom near Brighouse. I wasn’t out for anything special, it was a matter of being out in nature again.

A Sparrowhawk was my first encounter, heading over the car park at height as I was getting my gear together. There wasn’t anything the visitor centre feeders, or the river, I headed off to the main feeding station. Here I found Blue Tit, Great Tit, Coal Tit, Dunnock, Nuthatch, Magpie, Robin and a Wren.

I then headed off on to the river side footpath, nothing doing along here either or from the view point. Over on the ski lake were a few Black headed Gulls, but i couldn’t really see much do to foliage. I got back to the car park bridge, over the canal, where I heard a Buzzard calling, not to be located. Mute Swans and Mallards were on the canal.

A little snack at the café, coffee and cake, and another look over the feeders here, this time there were Coal Tits, Nuthatch, Blue Tits, Great Tits and a fly over Cormorant.

Only 21 species seen or heard today, however its not the list that counts but its the getting out that counts, sometimes to to force yourself to do it, but it does pay off.

Bird List : Blackbird, Blue Tit, Buzzard, Crow, Coal Tit, Cormorant, Dunnock, Goldfinch, Great Tit, Jackdaw, Jay, Long tailed Tit, Magpie, Mute Swan, Nuthatch, Robin, Rock Dove/Feral Pigeon, Sparrowhawk, Stock Dove. Woodpigeon, Wren (21)

A few hours on my hands after the days jobs were done, so I decided on a visit out to North Cave, I arrived at around 12:30pm to the surprise that there was no butty van, glad I brought a few emergency rations.

i got the gear together, just camera and bins this time, and headed out onto the reserve. I headed down Dryham Lane to the sound of Blue Tits and Cetti’s Warbler, I decided on taking the path that skirts Carp and Far Lakes. I firstly stopped at the hide overlooking the main lake, here I saw Little Grebe, Tufted Duck, Crow, Black headed Gulls, Mallard and Gadwall.

The route around to Carp and Far Lakes were very quiet, I did hear the familiar sound of a Fieldfare, I looked up and around to see a mixed flock of Fieldfare and Redwings going through. Blackbirds, Robins, and Black headed Gulls, were seen around the Far Lake. On approaching the Snipe field area I saw a couple very interested in a bramble patch, I approach very slowly and quietly to find a Grass Snake basking about half way up on the bramble, needless to say it was a great photo opportunity, having never seen one as close I did take a few photos.

My next stop was the Reedbed Hide, here I saw Black tailed Godwit, Ruff, Little Egret, and Shovelers. After the Reedbed Hide I stopped off at the Dragonfly ponds where I saw Migrant Hawkers, Common Darters, Red Admiral Butterfly and Small Tortoiseshell Butterfly.

My final port of call was the Turret Hide seeing from here, Common Snipe, Grey Heron, and Greylag Geese.

It ended up being and enjoyable walk around North Cave setting off thinking I wasn’t going to enjoy my time here, how wrong I was, nature has a way of picking you up, and what an encounter I had with the Grass Snake

Bird List : Blackbird, Black headed Gull, Black tailed Godwit, Blue Tit, Crow, Cetti’s Warbler, Coot, Cormorant, Fieldfare, Gadwall, Grey Heron, Greylag Goose, Herring Gull, Linnet, Little Egret, Little Grebe, Long tailed Tit, Mallard, Moorhen, Mute Swan, Redwing, Robin, Rock Dove/Feral Pigeon, Rook, Ruff, Shoveler, Skylark, Snipe, Tufted Duck, Wigeon.

Butterfly List : red Admiral, Small Tortoiseshell

Dragonfly List : Common Darter, Migrant Hawker

Homeward bound, after a great few days in Norfolk, port of call for stop off on the way North was to be a return visit to RSPB Frampton. I arrived at about 10am, got my gear together and clocked in at the hub, with the staff at the centre, stayed around the centre initially looking at a close by Wheatear, glad I did, as a guy came in saying there was an Arctic Skua, later turned out to be a Long tailed Skua, which had landed on site, so finding out the location I was off to have a look, hadn’t seen one of these in a while. I soon connected with said Skua, due to the little crowd that had gathered, it seemed rather happy blogging about on the water, it was good to see close up, as I’ve only seen these distant on a sea watch, it did fly around occasionally , it stayed on site till at least 13:30.

After the excitement I was back on wader watch, there was a lot to go through, highlights being Little Stints, Curlew Sandpipers, Green Sandpiper, Snipe, Dunlins, Black tailed Godwits, Ruff and Avocets, there was also a Wheatear near to the visitor centre Very little was seen at the 360° hide, so I called at the Reedbed hide, where there was more wader action, more of the previous waders seen before plus about 20 Spoonbills, the resident Whooper Swan put in an appearance.

Today was only a drop in visit to Frampton, I find this a great place for many species, and no doubt there be something turning up when I leave, as this place has a tendency to draw in the unexpected anytime.

Bird List : Avocet, Black headed Gull, Black tailed Godwit, Canada Goose, Crow, Cattle Egret, Cormorant, Curlew Sandpiper, Dunlin, Gadwall, Goldfinch, Lapwing, Linnet, Little Grebe, Little Stint, Long tailed Skua, Mallard, Moorhen, Mute Swan, Oystercatcher, Pied Wagtail, Pintail, Red Kite, Ringed Plover, Ruff, Shelduck, Shoveler, Snipe, Starling, Swallow, Wheatear, Whooper Swan, Wigeon, Woodpigeon (34)

Why Titchwell again? I had to have another go at the American Golden Plover (Lifer at Risk), as the day went by, it wasn’t going to be again, another dip, but there were other things to see.

Willow Emerald was the first thing to see on the west Bank Path near to the Visitor Centre. No Bearded Tit today, a bit windy, which they don’t particularly like. Island Hide was my first port of call, here I saw Avocet, Teal, Shoveler, Wigeon, Black tailed Godwit, Ruff, Lapwing and 32, yep 32 Spoonbills.

I was back on the west bank pathway, Parrinder hide was my next port of call, as the American Golden Plover hadn’t been seen today, I settled in to view over the Volunteer Marsh first, here I saw Redshank, Curlew and a Knot. Over on the other side of Parrinder, overlooking the Freshwater Marsh, lots of Greylag Geese with Black tailed Godwits, Ruff, Pied Wagtails, Starling, Linnets, Black headed Gulls, Herring Gulls, plenty of Golden Plover and Lapwings.

On then down to the beach, the tide was well and truly out, so a little walk to get into position. Down here there were Black tailed and Bar tailed Godwits, Oystercatchers, Redshanks, Turnstones, Black headed Gulls, Herring Gulls, and again for me nowt out at sea.

Back on the west bank path, a little crowd had gathered near the dunes, due to a Convolvolus Hawk Moth being found, a bit of a beast and a plain looking moth, a new moth species for me.

After dinner I was once again looking for the American Golden Plover, a fruitless task today, but I did see Pink footed Geese going over, Great White Egret, Meadow Pipit, Dunlins and a Common Gull whilst searching. I got talking to someone who hadn’t seen the wasp spider or the moth, off we went. We saw the Wasp Spider also ended up finding another six on our way down to the beach area and the moth, the Hawk Moth however had done a bunk, but a Common Lizard was nice compensation.

I left the person behind and ventured off back towards the visitor centre looking for Dragonflies now, only finding Common Darters and Migrant Hawkers. I received a message from a friend back in Huddersfield of a Lesser Yellowlegs that had been seen near the Parrinder hide, off I went back towards the hide, finding one guy there who kindly put me onto the bird, very distant and I’d left my scope back in the car, more birders were now arriving, another guy kindly let me look thru his scope, not a new bird but nice to see and a good one to end the day.

Bird List : Avocet, Bar tailed Godwit, Blackbird, Black tailed Godwit, Canada Goose, Crow, Cetti’s Warbler, Chaffinch, Common Gull, Coot, Cormorant, Curlew, Dunlin, Gadwall, Golden Plover, Goldfinch, Great Black backed Gull, Great Tit, Great White Egret, Herring Gull, Kestrel, Knot, Lapwing, Lesser Yellowlegs, Linnet, Little Egret, Mallard, Meadow Pipit, Moorhen, Mute Swan, Oystercatcher, Pied wagtail, Pink footed Goose, Redshank, Robin, Ruff, Shelduck, Shoveler, Spoonbill, Starling, Teal, Turnstone, Wigeon, Woodpigeon, Wren (46)

Dragonfly List ; Common darter, Migrant Hawker, Willow Emerald Damselfly

Todays outing was to Titchwell Marsh, I arrived at 10am, a little bit later than I would have liked, but here I was. Got the gear together and straight out, no messing, stopping at the Visitor Centre feeders was the first port of call, seeing Blue Tit, Great Tit, Dunnock and Woodpigeon. On to the reserve then, walking towards the Island Hide a guy (photographer) was being really joyful, he’d just photographed his first Bearded Tit. Island Hide being my first port of call, soon I believe to be replaced with new, from here, Spoonbills, Black tailed Godwits, Avocets, Ruff, Shovelers, Teal, and Greylag Geese.

Back on the footpath, I was going to head towards the beach, but the Bearded Tit man was waving, beckoning us over, so off I went, a family group pf Bearded Tits were showing close to the path, needless to say a few photos were taken, before they took flight.

Back on the freshwater marsh, hoping to see the reported American Golden Plover from this morning, it turned out to be a needless task, it was a no show, despite extensive searching. Next stop then was the parrinder hide, where I had dinner, also seeing Pied wagtails, Common Sandpiper, Avocets, Golden Plovers, Swallows, and a Grey Heron.

Heading down to the beach, this was the section of the Wasp Spiders, but despite looking, again it wasn’t my day. I stopped off at the saltmarsh area and viewed a few Redshank, Dunlin, Curlews, and Little Egret.

The tide was out when I reached the beach, so it was a little walk to get slightly closer to the birds feeding on the shoreline, Oystercatchers, Ringed Plovers, Black and Bar tailed Godwits, Curlews and Turnstones were all on show.

Back on to the reserve, I once again decided on looking for the American Golden Plover, it would be a lifer if found, but wasn’t to be, despite looking thru lots of Golden Plovers. It was about 4:30pm now, so I headed back to the car and toilet before heading out again to look for dragonflies, Migrant Hawkers, Common Darters and Willow emerald Damselflies were the only ones encountered.

It was now close to 5:45pm, I had to be in Sculthorpe for a meal reservation at 7:30pm, about 30 mins travel away, I decided on looking for the Wasp Spider again and found it, luck was turning so I had another look for the American Golden Plover, I wasn’t that lucky.

Video of the Day can be seen pressing THIS

Bird List :- Avocet, Bar tailed Godwit, Bearded Tit, Blackbird, Black headed Gull, Black tailed Godwit, Blue Tit, Buzzard, Canada Goose, Cettis Warbler, Coot, Cormorant, Curlew, Curlew Sandpiper, Dunlin, Dunnock, Egyptian Goose, Golden Plover, Great Blacked backed Gull, Great Tit, Grey Heron, Greylag Goose, Herring Gull, Kestrel, Lapwing, Linnet, Little Egret, Mallard, Marsh Harrier, Moorhen, Oystercatcher, Pied Wagtail, Redshank, Robin, Ruff, Shelduck, Shoveler, Snipe, Spoonbill, Starling, Swallow, Teal, Turnstone, Woodpigeon, Wren, Yellow Wagtail (46)

Dragonflies : Common Darter, Migrant Hawker, Willow Emerald Damselfly

Landed at Frampton at approx 8:45am, after a 2 1/2 hours drive, traffic conditions were good on the way down, weather started off dull and overcast, but brightened up as I travelled south.

Got the gear together after which the first stop would be toilets, the Visitor Centre doesn’t open till 10am but fortunately there was an outside toilet open. So everything sorted on set off, stopping close by to scan the marsh adjacent to the visitor centre, seeing plenty of Dunlin, Ruff, Lapwing and a few Avocet. Moving on further down the Marsh, stopping about half way along to scan again due to me a large flock of birds which turned out to be Black tailed Godwit, which also had a few Ruff mixed in, more Dunlin nearby but also this time a few Little Stint mixed in, plus Curlew Sandpipers and Snipe.

I walked on down towards the saltmarsh seeing Little Egret and Cattle Egret, Pied Wagtail on the marsh and a fly over Yellow Wagtail. Nothing much on the saltmarsh when I got there, a few Crows, Linnets and Meadow Pipits on the small pools, nearby Black headed Gulls and Herring Gulls, fly over Swallows and House Martins.

I eventually called in at the East Hide and had time photographing a few Little Egrets, after which I walked on to the Reedbed Hide, where I saw approx 18 Spoonbills. The last port of call for today was the 360° hide where there were more waders, namely, Dunlin, Ruff, Pied wagtails, Greylag Geese and a nice fly thu juvenile Peregrine.

After my lunch I decided a walk along the top path, near the car park, along here I found Speckled Wood, Green veined White, Red Admiral and Comma Butterflies, along with Common Darter, Ruddy Darter and Migrant Hawker Dragonflies, and a few Willow Emerald damselflies.

I finally decided on a walk near to the Visitor Centre, left side looking at the Visitor Centre, and here there were more Common Darters, but also lots of Migrant Hawkers, one did eventually land and I filled my boots with photos.

Video of the Day can be seen by pressing THIS

Bird List : Avocet, Black headed Gull, Black tailed Godwit, Canada Goose, Cattle Egret, Cormorant, Curlew Sandpiper, Dunlin, Goldfinch, Grey Heron, Greylag Goose, Herring Gull, House Martin, Kestrel, lapwing, Linnet, Little Egret, Little Grebe, Little Stint, Mallard, Meadow Pipit, Moorhen, Mute Swan, Peregrine, Pintail, Ruff, Shelduck, Shoveler, Snipe, Starling, Stock Dove, Swallow, Teal, Wigeon, Woodpigeon, Yellow Wagtail. (36)

Butterfly List : Comma, Green veined White, Red Admiral, Speckled Wood

Dragonfly List : Common Darter, Migrant Hawker, Ruddy darter, Willow Emerald Damselfly

A quick visit to the local ponds on another Dragonfly hunt, the first ones seen were the Common Darters , easy to spot and photograph, along with these were a few Southern Hawkers, got four in the air at one point, and it took a while but a couple of Ruddy Darters as well, alas no damselflies were seen. A single Small Copper Butterfly was a nice find.

It was time to try and catch some hawker species of Dragonflies, before the season ended, I decided that the playground would be RSPB Old Moor, unfortunately Old Moor doesn’t open till 9:30am, so 9:30am on the dot I was in the car park.

I got my gear together, clocked in at the hub, and on to the reserve. It was now cloudy with periods of sunshine, I stated my adventure off in the sensory garden, for my troubles I got a fly by Common Darter. there was nothing on the small pond.

On then to the larger pond area, passed the stepping stones pond, nothing here too, it wasn’t until I’d passed over the bridge and stopped at the left side pond that I started to find Darter species, Common was first but I soon picked up on Ruddy Darter too, along with a nice male Common Blue Damselfly.

I struggled for the rest of the day to add new species, having only one Brown Hawker on a fly past and a single male Emerald Damselfly along the new path, which was at a distance.

I decided on putting Dragonflies to one side and went down to the Wath Ings Hide , as this seemed to be where the bird action was today. Spoonbills were on site Eleven in total and six of those were doing what Spoonbills do at Wath Ings, sleeping. Other birds of note were Greenshank (3), Green Sandpipers (4), Common Sandpipers (2), Great White Egret (2), plus other species, see list.

Overall the day was good, a great number of Darters, littering the paths and fences, and a good number of Spoonbills with 11 seen

Bird List :- Blackbird, Black headed Gull, Canada Goose, Crow, Common Sandpiper, Coot, Cormorant, Gadwall, Great Tit, Great White Egret, Green Sandpiper, Greenshank, Grey Heron, Greylag Goose, Herring Gull, Jay, Lesser Black backed Gull, Little Egret, Magpie, Mallard, Moorhen, Mute Swan, Shoveler, Spoonbill, Starling, Stock Dove, Teal, Wigeon, Woodpigeon (29)

Butterflies :- Brimstone, Common Blue, Large White, Speckled Wood

Dragonflies :- Brown Hawker, Common Blue Damselfly, Common Darter, Emerald Damselfly, Ruddy Darter

Video of the day can be seen here….PRESS