Tophill Blow.......

A really crap photo of a Cattle Egret.

As the title suggests,today was slightly windy to say the least,but a great day was enjoyed visiting Yorkshire Waters flagship reserve at Tophill Low.I had made the journey over to primarily see the Cattle Egret,which thankfully was still in the Yorkshire water compound adjacent to the main car park and gave superb views as it fed on earth worms.This bird has been present on and off for a few weeks now between the reserve and nearby Hempholme and this was a welcome new species addition to my Yorkshire list.After enjoying this,my 3rd Cattle Egret,i began to explore the rest of this superb reserve,firstly looking at Watton nature reserve,which is situated adjacent to the river Hull and the reserve.Here highlights were provided by 2 'Redhead' Smew which gave nice views and 3 Black-tailed Godwit.Masses of wildfowl were present here and superb views of the commoner species were gained,the male Teal and Mallards heads positively glowing with colour in the strong sunlight.Also here was my favourite wader species,Curlew,with 19 birds present feeding on the adjacent short turf,cracking!.Later a flock of 31 birds flew over D-res,no doubt containing some of the previous birds.After walking up to Hempholme lock and seeing 3 distant Little Egret,i finished the day with several of the locals in D-res hide for the gull roost.Unfortunately no 'Rare' gulls came into roost,but masses of Wigeon and Common Gulls were present,with smaller numbers of Herring,Great black-back and Black-headed Gulls,making for a great spectacle.I also managed to see my largest flock of Goldeneye so far this year with 41 birds present and they gave cracking views as they displayed to their prospective partners,with that distinct head flicking display and short croaking call,brilliant!.So another enjoyable day out in the home county,can't wait until the Humber bridge toll drops,so i can get over more often.

Scarborough Area......

Sunrise at Scarborough.

Another shot of this lovely scene.

Turnstone,Scarborough Harbour.

Sundown,Troutsdale valley.

With the prospect of several good birds on offer in this superb area of the North riding of Yorkshire,Chris and myself made our way to Scarborough.After the usual stop off for our early morning hot chocolate at the tea pot cafe beside the Harbour,we made our way around to the east pier rocks as it was high tide,to see if the Purple Sands were present.And today's numbers were a certain surprise,with a huge count of 64 birds being the largest count of this species at Scarborough since 14th February 1985!.The birds gave their usual great views as they roosted,superb stuff and a good start.We were then joined by Clare,Dave and Mark and they started to settle down and photograph these super birds as Chris and myself made our way around the rest of the harbour.Birds seen from in and around the harbour included a single Red-throated Diver,6 Shag,2 distant adult Med Gulls flying around Holbeck car park,Great-crested Grebe and a single female Goldeneye.With some dodgy reports of the previous days Iceland Gull and the bird not showing,we made our way around to Marine drive to look for the resident Pergs and reported Black Redstart.First to be seen was the cracking male of the Perg pair,with him putting on a fine display,with much calling involved today,but we couldn't see his mate,what a species these are!.After much searching,we eventually found the Black Redstart and amazingly there was 2,with the birds chasing each other and showing very nicely.They were either females or 1st winter males,but my bet was on 2 1st winter males,as that would possibly explain the reason for the birds chasing each other?.Also in the same area and loosely associating with the Black-red's,was a superb male Stonechat,which also gave great views as it sallied for insects,always nice to see.A couple of Common Porpoise and a single rock climbing Red Fox were also seen in this area.After enjoying all these good birds, we travelled the short journey around to Seamer Road and quickly found the 10 Waxwing,which were occasionally flying down to briefly feed on an ornamental Rowan outside B&Q.These are the first birds we had encountered up to now this winter and are always a treat to see,a very nice end to our visit to Scarborough.Next on the agenda was a visit to my most favourite place in the country,Troutsdale.The target here was of course the raptors and today we only gained brief views of Goshawk,with at least 1 male and 1 female being seen,but this also included 1 bird calling in the forest nearby,excellent.A bonus here was a pair of Mandarin,watched on the small Ox-bow at Hilla Green adjacent to the Derwent and were associating with a small flock of Mallard.These birds are ultra jumpy and nothing like the tame birds seen in wildfowl collections,as wild as they get in this country.Other notable sightings in the area as we made our way to and from our watch point and what we observed from our watch point,included at least 25 Common Crossbill,which included a couple of singing males,40 Siskin,a couple of Marsh Tit,5 Common Buzzard and 3 Sparv.Another great day in this beautiful part of the world,with some great company.

Norfolk.......

Wigeon,Buckenham Marshes RSPB.

Sunrise at Buckenham Marshes RSPB.

Sheepie,Wrighty and assembled bird spotters at Titchwell.

Approaching weather front at Titchwell.

An organised trip to Norfolk today with Chris,Alan and Dave to see the wintering adult Lesser white-fronted Goose and Western Sandpiper,resulted in a cracking days birding.We started proceedings at a freezing Buckenham Marshes with us eventually finding the Lesser white-fronted Goose albeit at long range feeding with the wintering flock of 'Taiga' Bean's and White-fronted Geese,unfortunately for us ,the bird was feeding in a shallow ditch and allowed only glimpses of it 's head at first,before it decided to show itself properly.This is probably the returning bird from last winter and constitutes the first sighting of this very rare goose species for all of us.We also enjoyed some excellent views of the 'Taiga' Bean's,which showed very nicely.Also at this superb site and apart from the afore-mentioned species,were masses of waders and wildfowl,which included a couple of thousand Wigeon,30 Barnacle Geese,43 Ruff,2 male Cetti's Warbler and a juv. male Peregrine which was causing havoc amongst the feeding ducks and waders which swirled around the reserve every time he was spotted,an amazing sight.After this great start,we made the long journey back to the North Norfolk coast and to Cley and after getting robbed blind for five quid for our reserve permit,we made our way around to view the Western Sand.Thankfully,within five minutes,i was watching my first Western Sandpiper after squeezing into the packed hide.It showed very well at times,mainly feeding on it's own,but loosely associating on occasion with a small flock of Dunlin.It was strikingly small compared to the Dunlin,but looked like a miniature version of one and could easily be picked out with it's frenetic,jerkey feeding action,what a bird!.This is the first sighting of this incredibly rare wader for myself and around the tenth for Britain.Also seen at this amazing reserve,sightings consisted of an adult male Peregrine,causing mayhem as the bird earlier at Buckenham and showing very well on the ground,30 plus Ruff,at least 3 Marsh Harrier and a distant flock of Snow Bunting along the shingle ridge.A brief stop off en-route to Titchwell,saw us locating the Dark-bellied Brent flock at Wells and picking out the wintering Black Brant,which gave decent views from the roadside.We finalised our day at the superb Titchwell,with us eventually seeing the 1st winter Arctic Redpoll after some confusion amongst visitors as to which bird it was,but thankfully it flew in and i managed to get everyone onto this distinctive bird.There were at least 2 Mealies with this small flock also.Other birds observed here included a 1st winter Drake Scaup on one of the freshwater pools,3 Marsh Harrier at dusk,2 drake Pintail,1 Spotted Redshank and 2 more calling Cetti's Warbler.Very little of note was seen on the sea,but a large mixed flock of waders and gulls feeding along the tide edge on the incoming tide,provided a great spectacle and great views of the birds involved which included Bar-tailed Godwit,Grey Plover,Sanderling,hundreds of Oystercatcher,Herring,Common and Black-headed Gulls.Mammal sightings today comprised of a couple of cracking Chinese-water Deer at Buckenham and a roadside Muntjac near Kings Lynne.A great day out and thanks again to Chris for driving.

2011.....A Review Of My Year In The Natural World.

Donna Nook,November.

Tetney,November.

Worlaby Carrs,October.

Pyramidal Orchid,Barton,June.

Male Azure Damselfly,Messingham Sand Quarries LWTR,June.

Male Red-eyed Damselfly,Messingham Sand Quarries LWTR,May.

Ovi-positing female Hairy Dragonfly,Messingham Sand Quarries LWTR,May.

Female Scarce Chaser,Woodwalton Fen NNR,May.

Well 2011 was a great year in some respects,particularly on the birding front,but was a poor one for my beloved insects,particularly Dragons and Butterflies,this is a rough account of what i observed.


January.


  
Birding began in earnest in January with myself,along with the Grimsby lads,making the journey to Norfolk on the 16th for the juv. male Northern Harrier,our first NEW bird of the year.And thankfully after the long journey he didn't disappoint showing particularly well when he roosted at Titchwell along with 3 Hen Harrier and 12 Marsh.Other goodies during the day included a fine Drake American Wigeon at Cley,20 Shorelark(11 at Cley and 9 at Titchwell),Black Brant at Wells,2 Red-necked Grebe and 2 Redhead Smew at Titchwell and a juv. Rough-legged Buzzard at Burnham Overy,my 2nd of 5 through the year.Local highlights through Jan,had included the wintering juv. Rough-legged Buzzard at South Ferriby,Hooded Crow at Donna Nook and 9 fine Bewick's Swan at New Holland.Another trip out of the county on the 29th with,again the Grimsby lads,added juvenile Great-northern Diver at Scarborough and at least 4 Goshawk and Great-grey Shrike along with 25 Crossbill at Wykeham Forest/Troutsdale ending a good month and start to the new birding year.




February.


Another potentially new species was seen at Whitton on the 6th,a 1st winter Greenland White-fronted Goose amongst the 'Pink' flock,providing me with my first sighting of this distinctive race and a 'mooted' future split.The patch also provided a nice surprise today in the form of a flock of 23 Waxwing,gorging themselves on Guelder Rose berries at the railway crossing.An excellent day out on 27th saw Chris and myself seeing a long list of good birds,which included the 1st winter Greenland Whitefront,this time at South Ferriby,a pair of Long-tailed Duck and male Arctic Redpoll at Barton along with 2 Otter and my first male Adder of the year later at Laughton.




March.


Another visit to Laughton on the 12th saw me recording at least 6 male and 1 female Adder and a visit with Chris to Donna,next day saw us re-aquainting ourselves with the Hooded Crow again at Quad 3.On the 19th a big movement of Whooper Swans moving north,saw at least 78 birds passing through the Ancholme valley,with one flock of 55 birds being impressive and 8 'Taiga' Bean Geese on the local patch at Worlaby,providing me with my first sighting of this race in Lincolnshire.Another good day out next day saw me adding a cracking male Black Redstart and Firecrest to my yearlist at Barton,with both birds showing very well.The 27th saw a trip only just over the border to South Yorkshire and Hatfield Moor with Chris and Dave,were we where treated to superb views of 9 Black-necked and the superb male Red-necked Grebe,with firsts for the year including Sand Martin and Little-ringed Plover.The day ended with me dashing to Worlaby to add a cracking Great-grey Shrike to my local patch list.A repeat visit next day saw me seeing the Great-grey again and adding a long awaited Red Kite to the patch list.A visit to Messingham on the last day of the month,saw me enjoying another encounter with that superb aquatic mustelid on Grebe lake,with me also seeing my first Swallow and House Martins of the year and quite a few insects which included Peacock and Small Tortoiseshell butterflies.




April.


On the 2nd,the bizarre experience of twitching a rare bird in someones living room!saw Graham,Neil and myself heading to Chipping Norton in Oxfordshire to pay homage to the wintering 1st winter Oriental-turtle Dove and it put on a great show,right infront of the patio window.This garden was a sanctuary for birds with us also seeing 14 Brambling and very tame pair of Bullfinch.
A visit to Chambers farm Wood on the 17th saw me enjoying an array of birds and wildlife which included my first Garden Warbler,Cuckoo,Grasshopper Warbler and Turtle Doves of the year,the latter,sadly,1 of only 2 birds seen throughout the whole summer!.Also seen on this day were 3 Grass Snake,14 Common Lizard,3 each of Muntjac and Brambling and my first Orange Tip butterflies of the year.The 23rd was the first BIG insect day of the year,with high temperatures,and an early emergence of Odonata took place and provided me with my earliest records ever of Hairy Dragonfly(3),Common-blue Damselfly(64),Azure Damselfly(11),Blue-tailed Damselfly(5) and Four-spot Chaser(1).Also seen were 2 Large-red Damselfly.Typically,with all this insect action,2 1st summer Hobby were watched taking advantage of the abundance of flying prey.On the 24th a family day out was diverted to see and hear 3 superb singing male Nightingale at their Lincolnshire stronghold at Whisby Pits at Lincoln.A very busy 3 days at the end of the month saw some crackers being seen,with me adding to my yearlist a gorgeous Collared Pratincole at South Killingholme,Tawny Pipit and 7 Dotterel at Tetney and the majestic,wintering White-tailed Eagle at Ruckland.The Tawny Pipit and W.T.E. being important additions to my 'Linc's' list also.




May.


On the 1st,the largest count of Hairy Dragonfly i have heard of recorded in the county,saw at least 50 being counted at Messingham Sand Quarries,an amazing number.A return visit next day,saw me enjoying a lovely Drake Garganey and 3 Wood Sands on the reserve and my first Swift and Brown Argus of the year.With the kind offer of a trip to Woodwalton Fen in Cambridgshire on the 7th,Colin and myself enjoyed seeing and photographing one of,if not,THE UK's most striking dragonfly species,Scarce Chaser.We managed to find a total of 18 insects and they were all the striking,orange abdomened tenerals,superb!!.Also here,highlights were provided by 3 Chinese-water Deer and 3 singing male Nightingale.A visit to nearby Holme Fen on the journey home saw us recording a new moth species for ourselves in the form of 2 Peacock Moth.Some good dragon counts on the 9th and 21st at MSQ saw me recording my highest counts for Four-spot Chaser(48,7th) and Azure Damselfly(1020,21st) for the reserve,being pretty exceptional.The month ended with some nice views of a pair of Common Crane at West Butterwick beside the Trent,with a singing male Quail and Hobby also recorded.




June.


A trip to one of my favourite sites,Crowle Moor on the 4th saw me seeing and recording some good numbers of insects,with the highlights being provided by 97 Large Heath,55 Four-spot Chaser and 201 Large-red Damselfly.On the 11th, a visit along with Dave and Teresa to Troutsdale in North Yorkshire,saw us enjoying the amazing spectacle of 2 displaying male Honey Buzzards,with 2 females being seen also,superb stuff.Also here were at least 2 male Goshawk,19 Crossbill,3 Spotted Flycatcher and 4 Grey Wagtail.On the 20th June,a few nice sightings at MSQ included singles of Crossbill,Siskin and Hobby,with my only Broad-bodied Chaser of the year being seen,a female.On the 25th,a visit to the patch,saw me seeing the 2 summering 'Special' birds,the 2nd calendar year female Osprey and 2nd calendar year Common Crane.They were both to be enjoyed on several more occasions through the summer months.Another trip over the border into Yorkshire on the 26th to the superb upland habitat at Fen Bog,saw the highlights including 35 Small pearl-bordered Fritillary,1 Dark-green Fritillary,30 Keeled Skimmer,3 Golden-ringed Dragonfly and the biggest surprise of the day,a cracking male Nightjar flushed from a bracken covered hillside while walking over the moor!.


July.


The month began with an out of county trip to the huge Rockingham forest complex in Cambridgeshire/Northants,with the highlights being 15 Silver-washed Fritillary,12 White-letter Hairstreak and my first Violet Helleborines.Bird wise,this superb area saw us enjoying a cracking Honey Buzzard in the air with 2 Common Buzzard,single Crossbill and several Nuthatch and Marsh Tit.A visit later to the nearby Fairmyn Wood/Lady Wood area,saw us enjoying at least 5 magnificent Purple Emperor,which included an egg-laying female.On the 9th/10th a couple of visits to the patch at Bonby Carrs,saw me enjoying more superb views of the summering Osprey and Common Crane and me finding 2 cracking caterpillars in the form of Sallow Kitten and Puss Moth.The latter,one i had wanted to see since i became interested in wildlife as a child.The 12th had me dashing from work to Alkborough,to get brief views of my first Marsh Sandpiper,another quality find by Neil Drinkall.Fortunately the bird began to settle into a pattern,residing at Blacktoft Sands RSPB,so a visit there on the 16th,got me superb,prolonged views of this cracking adult.Other birds enjoyed at this flagship reserve included 2 Wood Sandpiper,2 Spoonbill,17 Little Egret and 7 Green Sandpiper.The next day,while taking part in my monthly WEBS count at New Holland,a nice find in the form of another Honey Buzzard,flew south west inland there.Finally,another visit to the patch at Bonby,saw me finding a fairly good insect for the area,a male Roesel's-bush Cricket.It was of the migratory 'Macropterous' form and is the first record i have personally heard of in the area.


August.


A visit to Alkborough on the 7th to lead a Butterfly and Dragonfly walk,resulted in very few highlights insect wise,due to the weather,but a few birds were logged in the form of 3 Spoonbill,3 Ruddy Shelduck and 6 juvenile Beardies.Local patch watching on the 9th and 14th provided some nice sightings,with the continued presence of both the Osprey and Common Crane,with a juv.Peregrine on both dates and a Whinchat and Spot Fly on the 14th.On the evening of the 12th,a visit to my sisters,coincided with a visit to see the massive numbers of Little Gulls at Hornsea Mere,with me seeing at least 900 birds!,this included at least 700 on view at one time,an amazing sight to see.Another trip out of the county,this time to Filey Brigg on the 28th,saw Chris and myself seeing nothing out of the ordinary,but enjoying superb views of Arctic Skua,Manx and Sooty Shearwater,Bonxie,Whimbrel and Wheatear,an enjoyable day just watching common birds.


September.


The 3rd saw more local birding to start off the month,with me visiting Bonby Carrs,South Ferriby and Alkborough Flats and enjoying some nice sightings of the 2nd calendar yr. Common Crane at Bonby,followed by 3 Hobby at South Ferriby and finishing the day at Alkborough with 9 Spoonbill and 17 Little Egret.The Spoonbills being the largest flock i have observed,a great sight.Another visit to Alkborough again on the 11th saw me adding a nice juv. Pectoral Sandpiper to the yearlist.The 17th and 18th saw me adding 2 quality birds to my Lincolnshire list,the first on the 17th was a first record for the county and came in the form of a 'Surinamensis' Black Tern at Covenham Res,this is the american form of Black Tern and was found by GPC.The bird showed superbly to the expectant crowd and proved very popular over the coming days.Also here were an adult and juvenile Red-necked Grebe,which showed possible characters of the american race.The 18th saw me at last, adding Sabine's Gull to my Lincolnshire list,with me visiting the juvenile bird at Leadenham Tip.It gave superb views,actually flying past me at one point,before returning to its favoured pool,an absolute cracker!.A bonus find after enjoying the gull,was a Clouded Yellow along a roadside verge.A trip down the coast on the 24th,saw very little of note apart from 2 juv. Little Stint,5 juv.Curlew Sandpiper and my first Lapland Bunting of the autumn,all at Rimac,with a return visit to Covenham on the way home,enjoying more superb views of the American Black Tern and another couple of juv. Little Stint.Local patching on the 26th saw my second juv. Whinchat of the autumn being logged and 16 Common Buzzard and 5 Marsh Harrier ending another superb months birding.


October.


On the 6th,more long distance twitching along with Graham and Neil,saw us heading to Boyton Marshes in Suffolk for the superb adult Sandhill Crane.The bird showed admirably and we managed some great views of it feeding and in flight also,a beauty!.This was obviously my first sighting of this migratory american species.Other birds seen during the day included a single Hobby,4 Wheatear and a 2nd winter Med. Gull.An all day effort down the Linc's coast on the 14th,had us seeing a few nice bits which included a late Pied Flycatcher at Rimac and a Yellow-browed Warbler and an 'In off' juv. Rough-legged Buzzard at Seaview Farm.Other niceities through the day came in the form of 2 Short-eared Owl,Peregrine,2 Merlin and male Stonechat.The 15th had me dashing to Barton to see only my second Ferruginous Duck and like the last one a male,albiet this one being a 1st winter,another class find by Graham.Local patching again between 18th-22nd saw us all enjoying another Rough-leg at Worlaby,my fourth for the patch and a lovely surprise addition to the patch list in the form of 6 Crossbill on the 18th.The month ended on a high,when Neil found another quality bird,a Lesser Yellowlegs,firstly at Bagmoor,but then it re-located to an accessible site,Alkborough Flats,were it was enjoyed by many and made for a nice end to the month.


November.


The month started with a bang on the 5th,no pun intended,with Dave and myself heading to Spurn to see our first Isabelline Wheatear,the bird put on a great show to the gathered crowd,an absolute cracker.Next day,bird of the year for the patch,came in the form of a Lapland Bunting seen twice in flight and was a long awaited addition for myself after me already seeing Snow Bunting.Also seen on the 6th were a whopping 15 Short-eared Owl,the largest count i have recorded at Worlaby,superb stuff!!.On the 12th an all day visit to the coast with Chris saw us seeing the previous days 'Desert' Lesser Whitethroat,found by Graham and Neil and what a superb little bird it was too.This turned out to be a very productive day with us also seeing 3 'Tundra' Bean Geese and 50 Eurasian White-fronted Geese at Pyes's Hall along with Black Brant,9 Lapland Bunting,2 Peregrine,3 Merlin,2 Hen Harrier and 9 Whooper Swan at Donna Nook,what a day!.A visit to the Tetney area again with Chris on the 12th,was also a great day out with us seeing an ultra tame Great-grey Shrike,3 Bewick's and 5 Whooper Swan,2 Short-eared Owl and 2 Merlin.A return visit to Donna Nook on the 23rd saw me logging my latest Northern Wheatear,with a juv. along the beach near Pye's.Other goodies recorded included 4 White-fronted Geese south,Peregrine,Merlin and 15 Lapland Bunting.On the journey home,i popped in at Covenham and found a further 2 'Tundra' Bean Geese and 7 White-fronted Geese on an adjacent cereal field and a superb 1st winter male Snow Bunting watched feeding along the reservoir wall.More geese on the 26th and 27th included me seeing 26 more 'Tundra' Bean's on the wold top above Worlaby and 20 White-fronted Geese at Winterton(26th) and 2 'Tundra' Beans and 17 White-fronted Geese at Messingham(27th).The latter date saw me seeing a single Mealy Redpoll with a flock of Lesser's at Messingham.


December.




No real highlights were observed until mid-way through the month on the 17th,with a trip firstly to Donna Nook seeing again the Black Brant from back in November and a few other bits which included 4 Pale-bellied Brent,6 Lap. Bunt. and a Kingfisher.Later we went to look for the reported juv. Rough-legged Buzzard at Withern,but only managed brief views of it perched on a roadside hedge before it disappeared onto a distant hawthorn.A bit of local birding on the 26th looking for the elusive Great-white Egret,saw me again missing this bird,but i managed to see an unseasonal Green Sandpiper,3 Goosander and superb views of a flyby Bittern.Next day saw Chris and myself heading for the Yorkshire coast,with us getting nice views of the 1st winter male Desert Wheatear at Bempton,with a bonus Short-eared Owl thrown in for good measure and later a visit to Scarborough paid divedends with us seeing Great-northern Diver,6 Med. Gulls,34 Purple Sandpiper and the resident pair of Peregrines.Another day out on the 30th with Chris and fellow Grimbarians,Tony and Ian,got us a nice list of birds despite the poor weather conditions,these included superb views of the RLB at Withern,Red-necked Grebe and 2 drake Goosander at Covenham and finally 4 'Tundra' Bean Geese,10 Whooper and 2 Bewick's Swan,2 Short-eared Owl and a Barn Owl at Thoresby Bridge.The year ended on the 31st with a day out with Dave and with us finally catching up with Great-white Egret and also seeing a very interesting Great-grey Shrike at Wroot,that was showing some characters of the 'Homiyeri' race.To end the day 3 'Tundra' Beans above Worlaby village on the wold top and 3 Short-eared Owls on the patch ended a great years birding and wildlife watching.

Wet And Windy,But Good Birds........

A free day again today,so i joined the Grimbarians,Chris,Tony and Ian for a foray around the north east part of the county,taking in some of the goodies on offer.We started proceedings at a very windy and incredibly cold Withern to look for the beautiful Scandi Buteo and after much scanning and a false alarm Chris found this stunning vole scoffer hunting over the rough fields to the west of the village.We managed some great views of this lovely bird as we were constantly battered by the strong north westerly,as it quartered the sorrounding fields looking for its vole breakfast.On my last visit i had only gained brief views of this Rough-leg,but today i was nicely recompensed.Other sightings logged here included a couple of Little Egret and at least 4 Common Buzzard.Our next stop was Covenham Res and we made our way to shelter from the wind behind the strategically placed Yacht club buildings,this made for a good choice as the heavens opened for a good hour with some of the heaviest rain i have seen for a while.Enjoying our respite from the weather,we managed to find the previous days Red-necked Grebe after some help from Covenham regular Keith Robinson.It was watched at distance feeding around the water tower and became the 6th bird i have managed to see this year.Other birds observed here were a couple of dapper drake Goosander,looking like big,white exocet missiles in flight and as equally as streamlined on the water,very nice!.The final destination was the nearby Thoresby bridge,which was the most productive site of the day.The main highlights here consisted of the resident 4 'Tundra' Bean Geese,which were watched leisurely grazing on the sugar beet in the field along with 10 Whooper and 2 Bewick's Swan.The Bean's becoming my 35th,36th,37th and 38th birds of the autumn/winter period,amazing!.The Whooper Swans consisted of 8 adult birds and 2 juveniles and the Bewick's,both adults.A nice surprise here came in the form of 2 Short-eared Owl watched hunting along the drain bank side and a single Barn Owl was also seen hunting an adjacent set-aside strip.So all in all,a very successful day,considering the weather conditions and a big thanks to Catkin for driving.

Desert Beauty and Scarborough Bits.......

As both of us were on our Christmas hols,Chris picked me up today and we headed into gods own country to see if we could manage to see the still present Desert Wheatear at Bempton and mop up on some goodies at Scarborough also.As we arrived at a drizzly Bempton,talk about de-ja vu,we made our way around to the Staple Neuk viewpoint and began searching for the Wheatear,when i eventually got onto him feeding as on my previous visit around the deserted Gannet nests.Eventually we managed some nice views of the bird as he was finding plenty of insect food amongst the nooks and crannies of the cliff,a great relief to see.This bird was first seen in the 3rd week of November and looks like it may winter.Also here was a single Short-eared Owl hunting a set-aside strip,giving decent views as another band of low cloud passed over.After enjoying this Desert cracker we made our way over to Scarborough.Holbeck car park was the next stop,were the expected Med Gulls put on a great show after being enticed down with some Dairy lea sandwiches and cheesy wotsits.There were 3 adults and 3 1st winter birds,the 1st winters being particularly appealing and included 1 bird which had a silver BTO type ring on its left leg,who knows where it has originated,no doubt eastern Europe.Off the car park i managed to pick out the Great-northern Diver feeding out in South Bay and hoped for better views later.After eventually finding a parking place along Marine drive,we were treated to some nice views of the resident pair of Peregrines as they rested on their cliff top home,what majestic birds this species are,casually surveying the marine kingdom.Around the harbour and south bay was were most of the action was and i quickly spotted the Great-northern Diver again for the second time today,about half way across the bay,giving fairly good views,with that super smooth diving action,just slipping below the surface of the water,along with 9 Common Scoter,3 Red-throated Diver,7 Great-crested Grebe,half a dozen Shag and several Guillemot dotted about over the calm sea.In the harbour only a single Great-crested Grebe and Guillemot showed today,although a couple of Red-throated Diver gave really nice views through the scope nearby.As the tide began to come in,the Purple Sands began to gather at the east pier to roost and gave great views as they jostled for position to get out of the way of any incoming waves.It was really nice to get such good views of this super little wader with 21 birds gathered on 1 rock together and a decent total of 34 being seen overall.An excellent day apart from the dodgy weather early on.

MSQ Bits,26.12.11.

A hopeful visit today to MSQ to look for the reported Great-white Egret,drew a big blank,but a few other birds were seen and partially made up for the dip.Best bird honours went to a Bittern which did a superb flypast from right to left in front of the Duck hide giving excellent views of this cracking heron,before it crashed into the windswept reeds on the other side of the lake from which we were viewing.This is my first Bittern sighting here for a couple of years and my first since one at Far-Ings a few weeks ago.Also in the vicinity of the Bittern was a single drake Goosander which was watched loafing and feeding,giving nice views of this whopper of a duck.It was great to watch it using the 'Snorkelling' behaviour they use to great effect,catching several fish.Earlier i had seen a pair fly in over the lake and do a quick circuit,before heading off in the direction of Twigmoor.The last noteworthy sighting went to a single Green Sandpiper watched feeding in the dried up area down from the car park at the far end of Grebe lake.It initially gave itself away with that distinct 'Peet,weet weet' call and then settled back down to feed again.This species is becoming a more and more common sight in winter due to the milder conditions we are now experiencing at this time of year and many are deciding not to make the long journey to tropical Africa.Today there was also a nice mix of wildfowl feeding on the main lake,with Teal,Wigeon and Gadwall featuring,the Gadwall in good numbers with 86 birds present and Wigeon with 16.Passerines were thin on the ground,with only 2 Siskin seen and a couple of female Bullfinch put on a fine show outside the Duck hide window,superb!.A good few hours in some bright sun for a change.