Windy Mess.....

Juvenile Common Frog.

Male Smooth Newt.

A lovely early spring scene.

Otter spraint.

Peacock Butterfly.

Marsh Marigold.

A visit to this superb little reserve didn't disappoint today with me seeing some nice birds and another superb,but brief encounter with our native aquatic mustelid.The first highlight of the visit,was my first Swallow of the year seen flying over the second lake,battling against the blustery South west wind,quickly to be followed later by my first House Martin,feeding over the main lake with a decent sized flock of 100 Sand Martin.The House and Sand Mart's gave superb views,hawking insects over the water,a lovely sight and brightened up the day as alway's.Next,was the best sighting of the visit,with me seeing,albeit briefly,a cracking Otter watched catching a fish and then devouring it,superb!!.This is my 3rd of the year so far,with 2 being seen at Barton a few weeks ago.Lets hope the sighting's continue of this beautiful mammal.While watching the Otter,i had heard a brief part of Willow Warbler song and sure enough i found the little beauty singing in an adjacent Hawthorn,this is my first sighting of the year of this returning summer visitor and a personal favourite.Other bird sighting's during the visit included at least 14 Siskin in the plantation,4 Avocet,46 Wigeon,8 Chiffchaff and 5 northbound Redwing.Insects were represented by singles of Peacock Butterfly and Small Tortoiseshell and i enjoyed my first Common Frog sighting of the year along with 12 Smooth Newt in the small woodland pond in the Pine plantation.An excellent visit to this cracking little reserve!.

Superb Viper's,29.03.11.

Female Adder,Laughton Forest.

Male Adder,Laughton Forest.

Female Adder,Laughton Forest.

A full day to myself today,so i decided to pay Laughton a visit and try and get some images of the resident Adder's again.When i first arrived,the weather wasn't great,but by mid-morning the sun began to finally break through.I managed to find a total of five individual animals today which consisted of 4 males and a single female and got the usual fantastic views and encounters with these superb reptiles.I also managed to see a few nice birds here too,with a single male Woodlark singing over the clearing,2 or 3 Chiffies,45 Siskin and a handfull of Redpoll's,with the resident Grey Heron's calling in the background as they attended their young and 4 Common Buzzard drifted over with that superb mewing call.Other sighting's consisted of a lovely Comma and my first Parent Bug of the year.A good day in some warmth at last
.

The Patch....

Misty sun on the patch.

Female Twin-spotted Quaker.

A few hours out this morning as Trace was at work,saw me revisiting yesterday evenings Great-grey on the patch at Worlaby.The bird was seen on arrival and was already being watched by Graham and a few others.It put on a fine performance,catching lot's of food which included several earthworms and Cranefly larvae and was seen at fairly close range,perched on the roadside fence near to the crossing,what a super bird and a long mooted species to occur here.While watching the star bird,i picked up a raptor flying in from the direction of Broughton bridge,gliding on flat wings and i knew what it was immediately,a cracking Red Kite.We watched as the bird flew the length of the wet pasture,giving nice views and heading for the wolds.This is the first time i have seen the species on the patch and was a welcome addition to my list and is my 11th species of raptor here!.The next goodie,was a nice male Wheatear watched feeding in a ploughed field next to the soak drain and gave lovely views as it caught several insects.This is my first of the year and my first recorded down here for 2 years and a welcome spring sight!.Non bird sightings included a Twin-spotted Quaker which i rescued from one of the ditches,a couple of Brown Hare and several 7-spot Ladybird.A cracking few hours on the patch again!.

Wonderfull Hatfield and Patch Great-grey.......

Female Common Groundhopper,Hatfield Moor NNR.

Cuckoo Bee-Nomada leucophthalma,Hatfield Moor NNR.

A trip out today with Chris and Dave to the excellent Hatfield Moor NNR,saw us having a great day.We started proceedings at the nearby Huggin Carr which is adjacent to the NNR and enjoyed superb views of at least 9 Black-necked Grebe,our first good bird of the day.The Grebe's are frequenting a lake which ,sadly,is being developed,so future disturbance will put an end to this site being used by the species.The grebe's showed very well,with them already matched up into pairs,with much calling between them and 1 pair was watched displaying briefly,superb stuff and a real privilege to enjoy these birds.Also around the lake were our first Sand Martin's of the year,with 5 birds being seen,2 smart,singing male Corn Bunting,with their distinct,jangling song,2 Chiffchaff and 5 Goldeneye.A good start!.So it was on to the reserve after running the gauntlet of the Hounds of the Baskerville's again for a second time and down to business.The first place we looked was Boston Park lake,with another 2 Black-necked Grebe being observed here,our first Little-ringed Plover of the year on one of the small islands,at least 51 Sand Martin and the Aythya hybrid from earlier in the year.We then made the long walk down to the other end of the reserve at Ten acre lake,finding a Grey Plover on one of the adjacent pools,a good bird for an inland site and seeing a couple of Common Buzzard and a distant,hunting female Marsh Harrier(With another being seen later).As we arrived at the far end of the lake,the star bird of the day was seen,the gorgeous summer plumaged Red-necked Grebe.We watched him,as he swam around his territory,catching several fish,which included a good sized Roach and was also quite vocal,as on last years visit.If only he could find a mate!.Other birds seen during the day included a further 5 Common Buzzard,2 Redpoll and a handfull of Green and Great-spotted Woodpecker's.Insects were well represented today,with 2 Small Tortoiseshell and a Peacock representing the butterflies and first sightings of the year which included 2 Green-tiger Beetle's and about 50 Common-Groundhopper.I also managed to find a new species today,in the form of a Cuckoo Bee,Nomada leucophthalma,which is a parasite of Andrena clarkella.We also managed to see 1 male Adder.An excellent day at this superb reserve!.

Turkeytail,Hatfield NNR.

 After i arrived home,i had just finished my tea and was dozing after all the walking,i got a timely phone call from Neil to say that a Great-grey Shrike was on my patch!.I was there within about 5 minutes and the bird was sat atop a Hawthorn bush and didn't stay put for long,as a passing train flushed it.Luckily i quickly refound the bird sat in another Hawthorn,from which it stayed and went to roost.What a cracker and an unexpected end to the day!!.

Pulfin Bog/High Eske NR.

A walk up to Pulfin with my sister,Kev and Trace this afternoon produced a few nice sightings,although nothing out of the ordinary.The best birds were a couple of Little Egret watched roosting up on one of the islands,no doubt getting some respite from the cold easterly breeze today,the first ones i have seen down here and brightened up the dull day.The only other really notable sighting was a couple of European White-fronted Geese which were residing with the local Greylag flock,1 individual was fairly tolerant of our approach,but the other soon made it's way out into the middle of the lake.Who know's were these two could have originated from,they could be wild birds or escapee's from a collection somewhere,but were nice to see all the same.Other sighting's included a single Kingfisher seen fleetingly on a couple of occasions,a singing Chiffchaff in a waterside willow,86 Wigeon,33 Mute Swan and 4 Goldeneye and on the walk back 12 Pied Wagtail on a freshly ploughed field and 10 Fieldfare.An enjoyable few hours,despite that biting wind!.

Mixed bag.....

Greylag Geese,Far-Ings NNR.

A trip out again today to firstly,Worlaby then South Ferriby,then Barton finishing on the patch,saw me seeing a good mixture of departing winter visitors and incoming spring migrants.Highlight of the day went to a superb male Black Redstart watched feeding around Chowder Ness Farm at Barton,giving superb views at times,although he was a little elusive feeding inside some of the farm buildings.This is my first spring bird for some years and was a welcome sight,thanks to Mr Sharp for finding it!.Also at Barton was a cracking singing male Firecrest watched feeding with a tit flock in Target lake hedge,3 Chiffchaff,a south bound Common Buzzard,a single Avocet and a displaying pair of Great-spotted Woodpecker,which showed brilliantly.At Ferriby,the best birds were 19 Whooper Swan,3 Common Buzzard,a prospecting pair of Marsh Harrier and 40 Pink-footed Geese.Finally,Worlaby produced the still resident flock of 8 'Taiga' Bean Geese,being seen today on the small reservoir,at least 12 Common Buzzard in the area,with 5 together over the railway crossing and finally 3 Marsh Harrier.Non-bird sightings comprised of 3 Brown Hare at South Ferriby and 2 at Worlaby.A great day out again!. 

Full Of Beans......

Jumping Spider-Salticus scenicus,Water's Edge,Barton.

Groundsel,Water's Edge,Barton.

The highlight of a lovely spring day today,was the fantastic sight of 8 'Taiga' Bean Geese on the local patch at Worlaby!.When first seen this morning,they were only observed in flight,but a quick visit again this afternoon saw me enjoying some great views of them on the deck.This is the first time i have seen this distinctive race of Bean Goose,not only for the patch,but also for Lincolnshire.Other birds seen here included 1 Short-eared Owl and a record patch count of 78 Whooper Swan flying north in 2 flocks of 23 and 55 respectively.The 23 landed on fields in Bonby Carrs and contained 1 colour-ringed bird.Other highlights enjoyed today included my first Chiffchaff's of the year,singing away in the spring sunshine at Barton and the male Long-tailed Duck still present on the sailing pit.Non bird sightings included a single Comma seen at Water's Edge,several clumps of Coltsfoot and a Roe Deer at South Ferriby along with several Brown Hare.An excellent 4 hours out!!.

Gloomy Donna and Covenham Res.....

Coltsfoot,Donna Nook NNR.

Badger footprints,Donna Nook NNR.

Male Yellow-dung Fly,Covenham Reservoir.

A day out today with Chris and Dave resulted in a few goodies being seen in the gloomy conditions,what a contrast to yesterday.We put in some considerable effort at Donna Nook,walking south to quad 3 and then all the way up to Pye's Hall,with the best birds being the wintering Hooded Crow seen in the quad 3 area with his Carrion cousins and showed fairly well being seen in flight and perched.This species seems to be much rarer in Linc's these days,what a shame!.The only other notable sighting's were a Merlin watched hunting along the beach and perched up on the RAF targets and 8 Long-tailed Tit.Non-bird sightings here included my first Coltsfoots of the year and lot's of Badger activity ,with tracks all over the beach area.The last place we visited was Covenham Res,with the best bird here being a single Sanderling watched feeding along the east bank,this is the first time i have observed the species here.Other birds here included 3 Goosander(2 Drake and 1 Duck) and 27 Goldeneye.On the way home 3 Common Buzzard where seen near to Ludborough.Not a bad day despite the weather.

Woodland Wonder's.....

Hide and seek!,male Adder,North Linc's.

Male Adder,North Linc's.

A trip out today to one of the local woodlands resulted in a great 4 hours while Trace was working.The main reason i had ventured out today,was to look for those zig-zag patterned reptiles which are now emerging from their winter homes and i managed to find 6 individuals today and got some excellent views of these stunning animals as they basked in the warm,hazy spring sunshine.I also managed to get some fairly good images of them as well,which is always a bonus.While watching the Adder's,several good birds where seen and included a singing male Woodlark,with it's beautiful song washing over the woodland,2 Common Crossbill,30 Siskin and 5 Common Buzzard.There was also quite a bit of insect activity today,which included my first Buff-tailed bumble-Bee,Seven-spot Ladybird and Pine Ladybird's today.Spring is certainly here now!.

Peacock....

A shout from Trace this afternoon saw us enjoying our first butterfly sighting of the new season,with a Peacock enjoying the lovely afternoon sun,basking on our garden fence.A nice sighting and a sure sign spring is on it's way!.

MSQ And The Humber Estuary.....

A few hours out this morning starting firstly at Messingham Sand Quarries where spring was all around today,with birdsong filling the air and my first amphibian sighting of the year,with a single male Smooth Newt in the small woodland pond in the plantation.The best bird sightings today included a couple of Goosander watched fishing on the main lake and 2 'Trumpeting' Whooper Swans flying onto the small pond on the sheep fields,one of the birds being colour ringed.Also on the sheep fields was a good sized flock of 112 Wigeon and more signs of spring with displaying Skylark's,Lapwing's and Oystercatcher's.The next place i visited was the superb Read's Island,were the best birds included a feast of raptor's, which included juv. Rough-legged Buzzard,2 juv. Peregrine,Merlin,4 Marsh Harrier and a single Common Buzzard,with my first Avocet's of the year being seen also,with a superb count of 236 birds.Other birds seen here included a couple of 'Sinensis' Cormorant,several groups of Wigeon and Teal,but no sign of the Pink's today.A quick visit to Water's Edge on the way home revealed very little apart from a drumming Great-spotted Woodpecker and a nest building pair of Magpie.A good few hours,with spring here at last.