Filey Brigg.......

Chris taking a few shots of the big sea.

Looking back towards Carr Naze,with a distant Scarborough in the distance.

A nice change of scenery today,saw Chris and myself heading for this cracking birding hotspot on the North Yorkshire coast.No real rarities were encountered today,but several nice birds were seen for the year and we got some cracking views of the resident commoner species.The year ticks came in the form of Sooty and Manx Shearwater,Arctic Skua and Bonxie,with the Arctic Skua's showing particularly well harrying terns close in off the Brigg,giving us a great chance to study the birds plumage,particularly on one confiding juv..Unfortunately,the Shearwaters were more distant and the Bonxie passed by at about mid-distance.Also seen were a decent sized flock of 55 Little Gull passing slowly north,as they fed.But today it was the commoner species which we were able to study at our leisure and we enjoyed fantastic views of Gannet,Fulmar,Guillemot,Eider,Kittiwake,Knot,Sanderling,Dunlin,Bar-tailed Godwit and a personal favourite Whimbrel,with one bird showing very nicely on the Brigg as it refuelled,before carrying on its migration south.Other goodies included a juv. male Peregrine which showed very nicely,a single Black-tailed Godwit which flew north,3 cracking juv. Wheatear and the surprise of the bunch a Goldcrest on Carr Naze.Non bird sightings included several Red Admiral butterflies,1 Common Porpoise and a couple of Grey Seal.A very enjoyable day in some nice weather.

Patch again........

A passing Thunderstorm.

A few hours around the patch this afternoon dodging showers,saw the best highlights being provided by the superb local raptors,the best of which were 3 juv. Hobby watched hawking dragonflies over one of the woodlands.These superb falcons are always a joy to watch and they showed very nicely through the scope.A further 2 Hobby were also seen,which included 1 which almost caught a Swallow along the river.Other species recorded included 4 Marsh Harrier,which consisted of 1 male,1 female and 2 juv's and at least 15 Common Buzzard,with me also gaining superb views of a juv. male Sparrowhawk as it perched in a dead tree briefly.Also seen was a huge swirling flock of corvids,which was mainly made up of Rook's but there were also quite a few Jackdaw mixed in with them and this coupled with the strong North west wind made for some great viewing as they wheeled about acrobatically,coming down to drink near to the river.An enjoyable few hours.

Local Patch........

Bonby Carrs.

A good walk around the patch this morning covering all the area between Bonby and Worlaby Carrs,saw me getting some nice sightings to log in the notebook.The first good birds were the expected ones,even so,they can't always be guaranteed and were the superb Common Crane and the equally stunning Osprey.As i got out of the car i heard the Common Crane and it was feeding in a stubble field towards Worlaby along the side of the Soak drain,as usual giving nice views,but for some reason every time i have watched it in a morning it calls continuosly,today it started to dance about a bit also as if displaying.It then flew further down the field after being flushed by a dog walker and was still there as i left towards the river.The Osprey wasn't present when i arrived,but she soon flew in with a fish and proceeded to devour it in her favourite tree,there must be some feathers and pellets under there somewhere,perhaps a walk across the field is needed at some point.Also seen near to the car was a single juv. Whinchat,watched flycatching along the grass verge and chasing the local juvvie passerines,which included several Reed Bunt's,Goldfinch,Whitethroat and Yellowhammer's,making for some enjoyable viewing.A single Green Sand was seen along here also with another in the Soak drain later.Other notable sightings included only my second Spot Fly down here,watched along the large hedgerow adjacent to the Soak drain,4 Hobby over,a juv. Peregrine which briefly dive-bombed the Crane!,23 Common Buzzard,which included the stunning pale morph adult that has been around for a couple of years,down near the river at Worlaby and 4 Marsh Harrier.Also pleasing to see were good numbers of Linnet and Goldfinch with 330 of the former and 207 of the latter,the Goldfinches making the most of the abundance of thistles this year.Non bird sightings today were provided by a lovely Buck Roe Deer at Bonby,8 Brown Hawker,114 Common Darter and a single female Southern Hawker.A rewarding 5 hours around the patch!.

Little Gulls.......

Magpie Moth in my sisters garden at Beverley.

A visit to see my sister today,gave me the chance to go over to Hornsea to experience the annual gathering of Little Gulls on the mere there and tonight was no disappointment!.On arrival,the birds could be seen everywhere and after my first full scan of the water i came up with at least 400 birds,but then another 200 appeared and then another 150 and by the time i left,i had seen 900 birds at least,with the final figure tonight reported on RBA being 1220.For anyone who hasn't seen this spectacle,it is well worth the effort,as personally i have always thought that Little Gull's are such an appealing species and to see at least 700 birds at one time,together,all hawking insects over the water takes some beating in my opinion!.There were at least 60 birds perched on the pontoons at the yacht club,with the birds bathing and preening,before flying out to sea to roost or having a feeding session,amazing stuff!.A superb few hours and one i will be enjoying again next year!.

Wet and windy Horseshoe,10.08.11.

A visit to this site today,to hopefully see the Tern roost,ended in a disappointing end to the day due to the crap weather we are experiencing at the moment,sorry all summer!.But all was not lost as i managed a few goodies,the best of which was the great sight of 3 Peregrines sat together out on the beach.The trio consisted of an adult male and his 2 fledged chicks,a male and a huge female.The adult bird had brought some prey in for the fledglings and the young male was proceeding to pluck it as his sister looked on.These could be the birds seen by the 'Grimsby' lads during a recent meet at Cleethorpes.A nice sight also experienced today,was a fairly large flock of Golden Plover which consisted of at least 1773 birds, watched feeding in a nearby stubble field and it was great to study the birds at close range as they fed,a chance that doesn't come along that often!,with  quite a few individuals still showing some remnants of summer plumage.Every so often the birds would get up and fly around and eventually the culprit was seen,a cracking Merlin,my first since last winter.Other nice birds observed included 6 Whimbrel feeding out on the Salt marsh,a passing female Marsh Harrier and a single Greenshank.A nice few hours despite the rain and blustery wind.

The Carrs.......

The second day of my week off,saw me visiting my local area and enjoying a superb 6 and a half hours around the patch.The highlights were of course the 2 summering beauties,the female Osprey and the sub-ad Common Crane.Today the Osprey was first watched briefly,flying north along the Ancholme,with a few half hearted attempts at fishing,then later showed brilliantly,watched mobbing a couple of Grey Herons,continuously dive bombing them before eventually flying to roost,a great piece of behaviour to watch!.The Crane today,was watched feeding in a newly harvested stubble field and gave superb views in the lovely evening light as it caught several insects,a beautiful bird and a real privilege to have one summering locally.It is now beginning to acquire more adult plumage features including the bushy tertials and black on the head and neck and also a hint of the red crown patch coming through.Other highlights included a juv. female Peregrine which almost caught a Lapwing,putting on a fine performance,twisting and turning all over the place,but the Lapwing eventually escaped by crashing into a ditch! and 5 Hobby,with at least 2 being juv's,which were watched chasing each other,so all this action combined with 15 Common Buzzard,60 Linnet and 10 Kestrel made for a superb afternoon.Non bird highlights included a single male Roe Deer at Saxby and more Scaeva pyrastri watched nectaring on the riverside flowers.A very enjoyable visit to this cracking local area.

Alkborough Flats.......

Flesh Fly.

Harlequin Ladybird with pupal case.

Adult Harlequin Ladybird.

Syrphus vitripennis.

A visit to this superb site to see what birds and wildlife were about and to lead a walk for North Linc's council,provided me with some nice sightings over the ten hours on site.Bird sighting highlights were provided by 5 Spoonbill,doing what Spoonbill's do best,sleeping,in the breach area at the northern end of the site along with at least 7 Little Egret and 4 Grey Heron.Other avian highlights included a small flock of 6 Juvvie Bearded Tit,which gave nice views as they searched for insects in the blustery wind and singles of Green Sandpiper,Greenshank,Little-ringed Plover and Turnstone were also noted.3 Ruddy Shelduck of suspect origin were also seen feeding on the mud flats with the resident Shelducks.Insect highlights were provided by a couple of Brown Argus and at least 10 Harlequin Ladybird.Mammal sightings included at least 12 Brown Hare and 2 Roe Deer,the latter watched dozing in the morning sun.A great few hours again.