Save Our Woodlands And Forest's.....

Please take time to look at my new header photo to my blog and marvel at the fantastic scenery and habitat this provides for some of our rarest breeding raptors.This habitat is now under threat for some bright sparks in government to sell these areas to the highest bidder for development and god knows what.Please follow the link below by typing it into your browser and sign the on-line petition to save these areas before it is too late.Thanks!. http://www.38degrees.org.uk/save-our-forests

Coast and Forest.....

Some bird spotters,Chris,Dave and Sheepie.

Troutsdale and Wykeham Forest.

1st winter Iceland Gull,Scarborough Harbour.

A day out today with my fellow birding mates,Chris,Dave and Al to North Yorkshire,saw us enjoying a very good day in this great part of the country.Our first destination was the harbour at Scarborough and after enjoying the best hot chocolate in the country,we began to look around the area.The first goodie was the Juv. Great-northern Diver watched feeding in the South Bay,it didn't show as closely as i have seen them in the past,but was great to see all the same and was the first i had seen since february of last year.Also in the South Bay was a flock of 8 Common Scoter,4 Great-crested Grebe and 16 Purple Sandpiper watched flying past and several Fulmar and 2 Razorbill were just off Marine Drive.The main highlight at Scarborough was seen next,the cracking 1st winter Iceland Gull which i saw perched on the side of the fish quay.Luckily the bird was flushed by an aggressive Herring Gull and it landed on the harbour side allowing a close approach and some chances for some record shots,it then put on a great show as it came to bread,tussling with the local gulls and gave superb flight views,what a beauty!.Also seen in the harbour area was a lovely female Red-breasted Merg which showed brilliantly too,not a duck species we see very often in Linc's.After all this excitement we made our way to the forest,stopping off briefly at the Forge valley feeding station to see the local Nuthatch and Marsh Tits,seeing a couple of Nuthatch and a single Marsh Tit,both lovely species.After we arrived at our forest location,we began to scan the valley and forest seeing at least 7 Common Buzzard which included at least 4 perched up and then the target appeared over the forest infront of us a stunning male Goshawk!.We watched this bird on and off for about 30 minutes,seeing him perched on 2 occasions,but the best views were gained when he suddenly stooped into a cloud of Wood Pigeons scattering them in all directions,awesome stuff!!.In all we saw at least 4 birds,what a brilliant place to enjoy the hobby.After a timely text message from one of our local contacts(Thanks Dave),we dashed round into Wykeham forest to successfully twitch a Great-grey Shrike,one of 3 in the area!.The bird was seen briefly perched atop a large Silver Birch and was also seen in flight on the edge of the same location i saw one 2 years ago,talk about another great day out!.Also seen here was at least 25 Common Crossbill,which gave good fight views,giving their distinct 'Glip,glip' calls as they passed overhead.Other highlights today included both a Barn Owl and a superb Ermine just outside of Driffield.A superb day out with the lads again.

Webs Highlights.....

A dawn start at a dull and dreary New Holland this morning,was livened up by a few good sightings here as i took part in the monthly Webs Count which takes part at various sites around the country.The best birds for me today were the lovely wild swans which where thankfully still present on the fields between New Holland bulk terminal and Goxhill tilery.This flock comprises 9 Bewick's and today 12 Whooper Swan,with the Whooper's maxima being of 28 birds in past weeks gone by.It was great to watch them feeding together,although they were very wary,thanks to the local farmer chasing them off at every given oppertunity.The Bewick's took to flight and were seen flying towards Barton.Close by a confiding female Smew was watched on New Holland Ski ponds,associating with a flock of Tufties and on the Humber the Goldeneye flock had dropped down to 247 birds.Other niceities,were an adult Med. Gull passing by up river and a female Brambling with Chaffinches near the grain terminal.A decent few hours in the gloom,oh for some sunshine!.

North Norfolk.....

Titchwell Sunset,looking towards Holme and Thornham.

An early start today for a day out in Norfolk with Chris,Alan and Dave provided us with one of the best day's birding we have all had,this is what we saw.After the long drive down from North Linc's we eventually arrived at Thornham to look for the Northern Harrier and after about 20 minutes i was onto it as it appeared and began to hunt over the saltmarsh.On first views,the bird was much darker overall on the upperparts than Hen,with a larger,gleaming white rump and the underparts being more cinnamon than the Hen Harrier we had also just seen,i unfortunately didn't note the hooded affect seen by some birders.After the bird went to ground after possibly catching some prey we carried on watching,seeing a Common Buzzard and a hunting Barn Owl,as well as 3 Marsh Harrier,which included a nice adult male.After nailing the bird we had come to see,we made our way to a very blustery Cley to look for the reported Drake American Wigeon and Shorelark's.On arrival here,we got the gear together and made our way down the east bank to scan the grazing marsh and pools,with Chris picking the sleeping yank out amongst his European cousins and after a short while we eventually got good views of the bird after a passing Marsh Harrier spooked the flock,with him showing nicely on the water,before disappearing again.After watching this dapper American duck,we carried on down to the shingle ridge,with the Lark's nowhere to be seen,so we had a quick look on the sea seeing a single adult Gannet,Guillemot,Red-throated Diver and 4 Velvet Scoter,but nothing else revealed itself apart from a Grey Seal and a couple of Harbour Porpoise,so we went back to hunting for the Shorelark's and within about 5 minutes Chris and Dave had re-located them and before i could get there,the 11 birds flew past me and landed a short distance away,we then settled down to watch them as they fed along the shingle ridge,at times being quite difficult to keep tabs on as we lost them amongst the vegetation and large pebbles,stunning looking birds with their lemon yellow and black face pattern and little horns.After enjoying the Wigeon and Lark's and seeing the amazing spectacle of about 5000 Pink feet landing on an adjacent field,we quickly re-fuelled and made our way to Wells for the next goodie.On arrival the Brent Geese where present and it wasn't long before 'Sheepie' had the Black Brant in his scope and it gave brilliant views as it fed on the short turf with it's Dark-bellied friends,a very well marked individual with it's striking collar and flank patch,things where going incredibly well!!.Our next port of call was Burnham Overy,so after getting the wellies on again,we proceeded to scan the grazing marshes and woodland to the east looking for the wintering RLB's and after what seemed an eternity,Al picked up a raptor in the distance which i quickly id'd as a Rough-leg.We watched the bird as it battled against the wind,with the white uppertail coverts and underwing pattern being visible even at long range,eventually losing it behind a section of woodland.Other birds seen here included hundreds more Pinkies,Ringtail Hen Harrier and 4 more Marsh Harriers.The final place we visited was the RSPB's flagship reserve at Titchwell,which certainly lived up to it's reputation as being one of the best reserve's in the country.We had planned to come here last,as there was the possibility of the Northern Harrier showing before going to roost and we wern't to be disappointed.As we walked down the main path after seeing a couple of Redhead Smew,we met with a couple of birders who said they had just seen the N.H. and sure enough we got onto it again as it flew by across the saltmarsh towards Holme,with a Hen Harrier for comparison,cracking stuff!!.We then carried on towards the sea,seeing another 9 Shorelark in flight briefly and a flock of about 40 Twite,with the sea revealing 2 smart Red-necked Grebe which showed pretty well,2 'Punky crested' Drake Red-breasted Merg's and an immature Drake Eider.On the return journey,a very smart Spotted Redshank showed brilliantly before we returned to looking for raptors.After scanning the marsh towards Holme and Thornham i picked up the Northern Harrier again and this time it came by at close range allowing us to see the whole range of diagnostic features,the bird looking like it had just eaten a meal,with the crop looking distended.He flew by and across the main path and joined the gathering flock of Hen and Marsh Harrier which were going to roost,with him being seen in the air together with 3 Hen Harrier and 12 Marsh Harrier,an amazing spectacle.What a perfect end to an incredible days birding,with some good planning and excellent company,one to remember for years to come!! 

Laughton and MSQ....

A trip out this morning,firstly to Laughton Forest to look for any Redpoll flocks,resulted in me drawing a blank here,only seeing 1 Redpoll and a nice Nuthatch,i then made my way to MSQ where things were a little more productive.I managed to find the Redpoll flock that has been hanging around the reserve with at least 70 birds located and managed to get some fairly close views,picking out at least 7 Mealies in the flock,with one cracking male coming down to drink at the lakeside below the Birch and Alder's they were feeding in giving superb views,but i couldn't find any frosty plumaged birds that looked like Arctic's,what a shame!,there must be some hiding in the local woodlands somewhere!.Other birds seen around the reserve included a single Green Woodie and a flock of 20 Siskin associating with the Redpoll flock.The only other bird of note observed today was a stunning pale morph Common Buzzard seen perched on a roadside hedgerow on the way to Laughton.A good few hours!.

Hatfield Moor......

Hatfield at Sunset.

1st winter female Lesser Scaup hybrid.

Made the short journey to this excellent NNR today to pay the reported 1st winter female Lesser Scaup a visit and within about ten mins she showed at incredibly close range almost mugging visiting birders for any sandwiches or bread they had.What a confiding and appealing little duck and my first female after seeing two drakes previously at Barton Pits,this bird may well be a genuine vagrant,as they often come to bread in their native North America and Canada and the Slimbridge bird which is also present there at the moment is also quite tame,so it may be just the fact they have never encountered humans before,instead of people jumping to conclusion that they are escapees.Also seen today on our all day visit included a nice flock of 44 Mealy Redpoll,which showed brilliantly in excellent light conditions allowing a great chance to study them,but we couldn't find any of the reported Arctic's from previous days,despite a few other birder's trying to persuade us to the contrary.Other minor highlights included a lovely female Green Woodpecker,single Brambling,single Whooper Swan a juv. Peregrine and 227 Pink-footed Geese.An excellent day around this vast NNR.


It has now come to light that the duck at Hatfield is now thought to be a Lesser Scaup hybrid due to head shape and bill pattern!.

Donna Nook and the Res,02.01.11....

Grey seal pup,Donna Nook NNR.

Donna Nook,dawn.

A very tame Robin at Donna Nook.

A visit to these two sites today with Chris,saw a few good birds being seen,but it was hard work!.The best of what we saw at Donna,after some serious effort walking all the way south to quad 3 and then out to the tide edge included the resident Hooded Crow,which was roughly out from the car park at Stonebridge with his Carrion buddies.This is the first one i have seen for many a year,with the species certainly not being as common a winter visitor into Linc's as they used to be.The other highlights included a flock of 33 Snow Bunting which showed nicely near the Seal colony,with a single bird being seen later on,a single flyover Lapland Bunting and a single Ruff.After this poor return for all the effort,we made our way to the reservoir at Covenham,which we scoured for any rare grebes,duck etc,but only managed 8 Goosander,4 dapper drakes and 4 redhead's.There were good numbers of wildfowl present,but it seems the bad weather has not brought anything of note in.Other species observed included a single Common Buzzard and 2 adult Whooper Swan on adjacent farmland,34 Goldeneye,173 Wigeon,5 Dunlin and 72 Great-crested Grebe on the res and a flock of 128 Pinkies passing south.Mammal sightings today comprised of at least 15 Grey Seal pup's along the beach as we walked south at Donna,yet to join the colony out at the tide edge.A good day,in some decent weather for a change.

01 Jan 2011...

Well the new year is here and i ventured out at first light this morning into the dismal,drizzly,grotty weather and made my way to South Ferriby to visit the Fenno-scandian vole snatcher.When i arrived,this gorgeous buteo was sat watching for any movements in the grass compound he spends his time hunting in,waiting for the slightest twitch of a grass blade to indicate his breakfast was about to give itself away.I will never tire of watching this superb species,they are stunning!.Other birds seen here were a Juv. Peregrine,2 Marsh Harrier hunting the nearby Read's island and 250 Pink-footed Geese passing over to the south west.My next stop was the excellent Alkborough flats were i enjoyed superb views of the White-fronted Geese which are consorting with the local Greylags.They really where nice to watch and the Juv's great to study with there subtle bill colour and facial markings,with just a hint of a white blaze and black belly markings beginning to appear on some of the individuals.Also here,other sightings comprised of 1 Merlin,adult Peregrine,Bearded Tit and a 100 Pink-footed Geese and a single drake Pintail with the local Wigeon flock.Mammals seen today included a handfull of Fallow Deer,Brown Hare and Roe Deer.A decent day out in crap weather conditions.