Huddsbirder

Well the start of a new year and some big adventures to come this year but todays visit was to the Yorkshire East Coast were the highlights for today could be found at Flamborough and Filey, with hopefully bagging a couple of lifers to get the year off to a good start.

Our first port of call was out to Filey where a long staying Surf Scoter was to be found, we walked on to Carr Naze where we could look over the sea and the bay. The birds observed were Black headed Gulls, Rock Pipits, Cormorant, Shag, Red throated Divers (flying North mainly and a couple in the bay), a bird far out, we decided was an Eider. So no luck  Scoter wise so we decided a walk down on to the brigg, idea being to get lower down to see if that would be an advantage. Settling in on the brigg and scanning around we picked up a few waders, Turnstone, Ringed Plover, Redshank, Knot, Oystercatcher, and Purple Sandpiper also Grey Heron, Great Black backed Gull,  Herring Gull, Cormorant,Shag, Razorbills, Red throated Divers once again no Surf Scoter so back up to the top picking up a Male and Female Stonechat on route.

Back up at the top we saw a few more birders had gathered on the brigg so we headed back towards them. We picked up the “Eider” bird again this time further in towards the brigg and eventually started to fly and landed even closer to the brigg, this time giving more ID features to confirm without doubt this was the bird a young drake (lifer in the bag) see Surf Scoter

On then to Flamborough and hopefully and the Richard’s Pipits’…after a very muddy walk  picking up 2 Whooper Swans and Fulmars on the way down walk we gathered with a few other birders and after 5 mins some guy picked a bird up with the another bird picked up quickly by another guy, we were all soon on both birds as they came together in the grassy field giving us all good views

Grey Heron at Filey Brigg

Days Bird List :-

Red throated Diver, Fulmar, Cormaorant, Shag, Grey Heron, Whooper Swan, Mallard, SURF SCOTER, Common Buzzard, Kestrel, Pheasant, Oystercatcher, Ringed Plover, Lapwing, Knot, Purple Sandpiper, Redshank, Black headed Gull, Herring Gull, Great Black backed Gull, Guillemot, Razorbill, Rock Dove, Woodpigeon, Collard Dove, Barn Owl, Great Spotted Woodpecker, RICHARDS PIPIT, Rock Pipit, Grey Wagtail, Robin, Stonechat, Blackbird, Song Thrush, Coal Tit, Blue Tit, Great Tit, Magpie, Jackdaw, Rook, Crow, Starling, House Sparrow, Tree Sparrow, Chaffinch

2015 in short started on a slow note best bird for the first quarter was a Great grey Shrike just outside the patch area at Low Moor , this bird stopping the winter months.

The second quarter saw the start of the Butterfly season with me adding a new one for the start of the year, Wood Whites’ at Salcey Forest. Birds in the season was a Pied Billed Grebe at Leighton Moss

The third quarter became hot with lots of new butterflies,  Dark Green Fritillary, White letter Hairstreak, Silver washed Fritillary, Chalkhill Blue, Silver Spotted Skipper, Brown Argus, Essex Skipper, Adonis Blue, Northern Brown Argus. I also caught up with the dragonfly species I’ve always wanted to see Golden ringed Dragonfly this was seen in the Fen Bog area along with a Green Tiger Beetle another first

Last quarter was back to the birds with a visit out to Spurn and a Black Stork along with scarce migrants like Red Backed Shrike, Barred Warbler, Pied and Spotted Flycatchers, and then a trip out to Norfolk in October gave me Red Flanked Bluetail, Blyths Reed Warbler and a Daurian Shrike

Thats 2015 I hope its been a good year for all, I now wish everyone a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year and I hope you will all join me in 2016 in which I have a lot of new things lined up, one being a new country to visit early in the year with lots of new species to see, thanks for following me in 2015

Autumn migration was now in full swing and we had to decided where to place ourselves for the spectacle East Coast of Flamborough or Norflok and Holkham/Wells which seemed to be turning the birds up,

We set off at 6am and picked up another party at Doncaster then motored on to Norfolk and Wells next the sea arriving at at about 9:30am ‘ish , we agreed that the Red-flanked Bluetail would be the first port of call, so off we set towards the drinking pool its last reported location. After a brief walk and asking a few people where the drinking pool was we settled in to the site with about c50 other folk, we watched Robins, Goldcrest, Jays and Redwings going over before the whisper started but it was only a brief glimpse, I didn’t managed to get on the the bird the first time it showed as it was seen off very quickly by one of the Robins. Half an hour and I finally got a flight view as it settled to the other side of the pool, so off I went to the other side and it was here that I finally got to see the my first Red-flanked Bluetail and what a beautiful bird it is. it was quite active feeding amongst the bushes, with at times being seen off by a couple of Robins now and again, however great views were obtained of the bird especially the bluetail (It was originally thought to be a member of the Thrush family but is now considered to be an Old world Flycatcher. Similar in size to the Common Redstart and slightly smaller than the European Robin, it frequently flicks its tail in the same manner as the Common Redstart, and regularly fly’s from a perch to catch insects in the air or on the ground, and should be winters mainly in South-eastern Asia)

It was then on to our next location to try and pin down our next victim of the day, a lifer for two of the days crew, a Blyth’s Reed Warbler (this one should be wintering in India or Sri Lanka. Very similar in appearance to the Reed Warbler but this bird is greyer on the back, the forehead being less flattened and the bill is less strong and pointed. These birds favour bushes and tress unlike the Reed Warbler which favours mostly Reed Beds), anyway back to the bird. It took a few hours and a few visits during the day to finally pin this bird down, a very difficult bird to locate as previously stated these birds favour bushes and this one certainly did giving a lot of people the run  around, however we all finally succeeded in seeing the bird.

Another highlight of the day was a Isabelline Shrike also around the Holkham Pines Area, probably of the race Daurian, I last saw one of these birds back in 1988 at Spurn Head, since then these bird have been split into the Daurian, Turkestan and Chinese Shrikes (see this Link). This bird gave excellent views out in the open as soon as we turned up on site.

Other birds of the day were Firecrest (we connected with two),  Humes Leaf Warbler, Yellow Browed Warbler and Pallas Warbers also at Holkham

Isabelline (Daurian) Shrike

Spurn Head time and our first port of call was at Sunk Island for Black Stork, a new bird for me so I was hoping for good views. As we approached the site we could see a few birders gathered, so a good sign and it was, we were straight out of the car and the bird was near the road walking along one of the ditches. It took to flight eventually, landing in the nearby by field but still giving good views,it was soon in the air again but this time passed over our heads and landed in a field again but this time was distant, so a great start to the day

Black Stork

It was then onward with smiling faces to our goal were we spent the rest of the day. a Juv Red backed Shrike was seen in the corner field our first bird after our landing (it was also mig fest weekend at Spurn), and a Common Whitethroat around at west mere farm we had views of Barred Warbler (eventually), before heading down for a sea watch for a few hours but we did see Common Scoters, Sooty Shearwaters, Red throated Divers, Fulmar, Gannet, Arctic Skua, Sandwich Tern, a manx Shearwater and Pomarine Skua passed which I didn’t get onto.

We had Pied Flycatcher around the warren area with Little Grebe, Mute Swan and Mallard on the Canal Scrape, Whinchats on the triangle. Grey Plover, Ringed Plover, Dunlin, Redshank, Shelduck, Curlew, and a fantastic count of 15+ Little Egrets on the shoreline, overhead plenty of Golden Plover and a Yellow Wagtail over

Around the Crown and Anchor pub we saw more Pied Flycatchers along with Spotted Flycatcher and a Lesser Whitethroat

Birds missed which would have been nice to see were Corys Shearwater, Sabines Gull and Baleric Shearwater

All in all a great day out may have to plan a bit better for next years mig fest which I believe is the weekend of the 9th of September 2016

Want to know what’s at Spurn at the moment…see Yorkshire’s what’s about link

Map of Spurn and My Spurn List

The final day and it was down to Aston Rowant for butterflies not the planned day which would result in a look trip back to Huddersfield but there were a couple of butterflies I needed to catch up with.

The site was a little tricky to find but I had directions also from a friend who had been the previous week.The site is sited on both sides of the M40 motorway, the M40 splits it, its a steep chalk banking which runs down to the motorway so it’s a little noisy from the traffic, but its a great site.

Chalkhill Blues were everywhere it was hard not to tread on them, with a little looking  and with the help of another couple we were soon on the the Silver spotted Skipper (one of the reasons why I came down), Brown Argus were in good numbers and I also got my first sighting for the year of a small Copper.

A Painted Lady was a nice find along with a smart-looking Peacock, Small Tortoiseshell, Meadow Brown, Brimstone, Gatekeeper and another lovely find with hard work was the Essex Skippe, but the other butterfly for the day took some finding with Common Blue adding to the confusion but it did show flying past me it gave off a striking blue colour, really standing out and then it landed all but briefly which gave me a chance to get a couple of shots off of the Adonis Blue before it gave flight.

Aston Rowant a great place for butterflies especially the Chalkhill Blue and Silver spotted Skipper, my time was up down south it was time again to head ‘up North’

Silver Spotted Skipper

The weather got worse on the Friday but brighter again for the Saturday so the plan for today was Rutland Water then Aston Rowant for Butterflies Saturday then back home.

Rutland Water was a wash out it rained most of the time I was there and in the brief times it wasn’t Common Blue Damselflies could be seen darting amongst the bushes. I started the day at the visitor centre from the upstairs which overlooks lagoon 1, here I found a few Little Egret, Common Tern, Mallard, plenty of Coot, Swallow, House and Sand Martins overhead, Shoveler, Crow, Lapwing and Great Crested Grebe. 

I then headed out towards lagoon 3 where most of the interesting waders were, like Ruff, Wood Sandpiper, Green Sandpiper, Dunlin etc but someone must have told them I was coming because they were none of them there. I moved on to lagoon 4 here I found an Osprey which eventually took flight when we had a brief break from the rain, plenty of Pied Wagtails were also on lagoon 4 with Egyptian Goose, Gadwall, Lesser Black backed Gull, Black headed Gull, and I believe a juvenile Kittiwake, Tufted Duck, Greylag Goose and Teal.

I then took the decision to take a long walk back to Lax Hill were a few more lagoons had been created over the last winter period. Four new lagoons I visited 5,6,7 and 8 with very little to see, the odd Robin, Wren, Cormorant and Buzzard, and what I believed to have been a Raven. I did also manage a to see a couple of brave butterflies Ringlet and Gatekeeper, there was also a few Cinnabar Moth caterpillars amongst the Ragwort

Common Blue Damselfly, Female

View at Lagoon 6

Due to the weather turning for the worse I decided on staying around the B&B and investigating the woodland rather than the planned trip to Aston Rowant. Red Kite and Buzzard were following the plough in the nearby field, Swallows were overhead and House Sparrow and Yellowhammer in the hedgerow nearby. In on the woodland ride there was little flying around in the overcast conditions but as always you could rely Ringlet and Meadow Brown braving it. A Magpie Moth gave flight and rested in the nearby grass and started laying eggs before giving flight again.

Further in I was being to find little insect life but the birds had picked up with Coal Tit, Great Tit, Robin and Chaffinch seen and with Hobby going thru overhead , Great Spotted Woodpecker seen and Nuthatch heard. A couple of the many hoverflies ID were Marmalade, Seicomyia silentis and Chrysotoxum bicinctum  and to finish the walk, and nearly stepping on it, a beautiful Painted Lady my first of the year

Painted Lady Butterfly

Magpie Moth

I took a couple of days of work and headed south again for a 3 night stay in the Northants area for some wildlife watching, my base camp was to be a new B&B for me called Laundimer House, Weldon nr Corby, a new farmhouse build at the end of a dirt track with Swallows, Red Kites, Buzzards and a large wood next door I think I have just found a new home, for more info see the B&B tab.

So it was Wednesday the 12th (Day 1) the sun was out to play and my first port of call was to be Barnack Hills and Holes NR which is known for its Orchids and Butterflies and I was turning up for the butterfly side. I arrived at about 9:15am after a 2 hour journey from home, on entering the reserve the first butterfly seen was a hoped for Chalkhill Blue I needn’t have hoped they were everywhere the most common butterfly on site. This being the sighting of Chalkhill Blue I was taken by surprise of the size much larger in flight than the common blue and more of a pascal shade of blue. With careful searching I was also able to find my next quarry of the days away the Brown Argus, smaller than the Chalkhill Blue but about the same size as the Common Blue. Other butterflies on site were in good numbers the Meadow Brown, Ringlet and the Green veined White, there were also Large White on site. Birds seen here were Red Kite, Kestrel and Green Woodpecker, also caught of 6 Spot Burnet Moths and a Shaded Broad-bar Moth.

Chalkhill Blue Butterfly

My second port of call for the day and a new site for me was to be Bedford Perlieus NR…no car park here so it was a make do pull over room for about 3 cars only, parking up then I caught sight of a pair of  Silver washed Fritillarys’ gliding about just in front of the car so I spent some time with these before moving into the reserve. In here there were lots of Silver washed fritillary about, most were now well-worn but there was the odd individual that was still in good condition. With looking I found a few Brown Argus Butterflies along with a couple of Comma, a couple of Speckled Wood, a couple of nice Peacock, Large Skipper, lots of Meadow Brown, Green veined whites, a single White letter Hairstreak, lots of nice Brimstone butterflies as well. Other wildlife included Green Woodpecker and a Fox

Brown Argus Butterfly

Siler washed Fritillary

Big day out today, so passport ready as I was going thru Lancashire up in to Cumbria and my first port of call was to be Arnside and Arnside Knott for a few sort after butterflies. Scotch Argus was the butterfly of the day with plenty of them around but very hard to get a photo as they were not settling, other species about in numbers were Meadow Brown, Gatekeeper and Ringlet, After much walking I came across a well camouflaged butterfly blending well in to the rock it was sat on, it was only because I disturbed it that I was able to see the Grayling. By now I’d walked all the way round so I started another search this time I found a worn Northern Brown Argus, and a better specimen later on, also got to see a Dark green Fritillary in the same location, Small Skippers were also seen as well as a few birds five Common Buzzards went over a Nuthatch was seen along with a Green Woodpecker.

I decided on a visit down to gait Burrows which wasn’t very productive but did add Speckled Wood and Common Blue to the day list and I also got great views of a Common Darter Dragonfly has it kept returning to the same perch which was at my eye line and only about 4 feet away.

My final port of call was down to Leighton Moss and to the Eric Morecambe hide where I managed to get views of the Great White Egret also with the smaller cousin the Little Egret. There was a good group of waders close in to the hide being Common Redshank and Dunlin mainly with a few Black tailed Godwits thrown in, there was also a single Spotted Redshank. Further out were Oystercatcher, Pied Wagtails, Starlings, lapwings, and a Comma Butterfly was added to the day list

Scotch Argus

Grayling

Common Darter

Took a quick ramble around a local Huddersfield Res in the vain hope of seeing a Wall Butterfly which didn’t pay off but plenty of common stuff to feast on the bright windy conditions…. Small Tortoiseshell, Meadow Brown, Ringlets, Small Skippers, Green veined Whites and Gatekeepers

Green veined White

Small Tortoiseshell