Barn Door and Prat again....

Ruckland,Lincolnshire Wolds.

Industrial sunset at South Killingholme.

With the continued prescence of the 2nd calendar year White-tailed Eagle being seen at Ruckland deep in the heart of the Lincolnshire Wolds,i made the trip over to see it today and eventually after a 5 hour wait,saw this majestic raptor.The bird flew in from a northerly direction and did a superb flypast over the village and into the area were the fishponds are,did a few circuits,scaring the living daylights out of the local geese and Mallard population and promptly sat in a large Beech tree.I then walked around along the public footpath to be treated to some excellent views of this monster bird of prey as it preened and watched the Greylag's below,no doubt eyeing up it's next meal,before it took flight again and disappeared behind a wood to the east.What an absolute cracker and this constitutes my first sighting of this species ever!.Also seen in the area today,a single Hobby and at least 6 Common Buzzard.After tea,i then rounded the day off with another visit to see the beautiful Collared Pratincole at South Killingholme and it showed absolutely brilliantly today,with me enjoying some superb views of it on the deck as well as hawking insects,what a beauty and a superb end to a fantastic day!.

Tetney Pipit etc....

Another trip out this morning before work,to see if i could connect with the reported Tawny Pipit,saw me eventually seeing the bird after a bit of a run around.I managed to find it feeding along an area of rotting Sugar Beet,what a stunning bird!,it then flew and i didn't see it again.This is my first sighting of this lovely Mediterranean species and leaves me only needing to see Buff-bellied Pipit to complete my list of British Pipits.Other birds seen this morning included a trip of 7 gorgeous Dotterel on an adjacent pea field,2 Cuckoo,3 Wheatear and a single Short-eared Owl.A very productive 3 hours!.

Collared Pratincole.....

A well timed phone call yesterday,late morning,saw me dashing for Rosper-road Pools at South Killingholme to see a gorgeous Collared Pratincole.The bird was watched as it performed to the assembled group of birders,hawking insects over the area of open water and adjacent hedgerow,what an absolute cracker!.After watching it for about 30 minutes the bird gained height and flew off to the east and was eventually lost to view,but the bird was again seen in the evening.This is my second sighting of this beautiful tern-like wader after seeing the bird present at Frampton Marsh RSPB in August 2009 and also constitutes the 5th record for Lincolnshire.The only other birds seen while watching this beauty,were 4 Arctic Tern,passing rapidly west,my first of the year.

Nightingale's....

A family outing with Trace,Shell and Lee,saw us popping into Whisby nature reserve near Lincoln so muggins could go and see the resident Nightingales and what a show they put on too!.The first bird i came across was singing it's head off,but was very skulking and only brief views of a bird shape were all i saw,so i decided to walk a little way further and found a second male.This particular bird was a proper poser singing right out in the open on an exposed branch,stunning!.He went through his full reportoire of song and when i got too close started to give that grating 'Kerrr,Kerrr' alarm call,but still showed excellently,what a cracking bird,with his reddish brown rump and tail.The sound at times was so intense from this songster that you could actually feel it ringing in your ears,great stuff.This seems to be the only site in Lincolnshire were this beautiful bird is hanging on and long may it do so!.

Falco Subbuteo etc....

Cuckoo Flower.

Tachinid Fly,Tachina ursina.

A woodland scene on the reserve.

With the prospect of another gorgeous days weather,i headed for my favourite summer haunt and had one of my best day's so far this year.The best birds i encountered went to a couple of 1st summer Hobby watched catching St.Mark's Fly's which were swarming everywhere today,these falcon's are so agile and the pair put on a superb aerobatic display,snatching the fly's with their talons and dispatching them in the air,fantastic stuff and a superb sight,one of which i never tire.The reserve is now well and truly alive with summer visitors and the nicest sighting i had was watching a gorgeous male Garden Warbler as it sang that lovely liquid song inbetween catching several flies,this is my favourite warbler species and this site is a haven for this sadly declined species.Other bird highlights included a super male Marsh Harrier,2 Willow Tit,at least 4 Common Tern and a gorgeous summer plumaged Black-tailed Godwit.Today the reserve was alive with Insect's,with my first Odonata species of the year recorded,with 6 species seen and 9 species of butterfly,which included my first Small Copper's of the year.Other goodies included a single Tachina ursina a parasitic species of fly and clouds of the afore mentioned St.Mark's Fly which were providing food for all the avian visitors to the reserve.Another great day in some scorching weather.

Barton Bits.....

Male Orange Tip

Bee-Fly

Hawthorn Shieldbug

A visit to Barton today while Trace was at work,saw me seeing several first records of the year in the form of both insects and birds.The best highlights were at least 4 Grasshopper Warbler's,1 to the right of reedy causeway at Far-Ings and 3 along the shoreline reedbeds infront of the new visitor centre.There have been up to 19 birds here at Barton,an unprecedented event!.Other bird first's for the year included a lovely male Lesser Whitethroat near north meadow at Far-Ings,with another heard singing nearby,a male Yellow Wagtail,over west and 2 Common Tern on Hotel Pit.Insects also featured,with my first Red Admiral's of the year,with 3 being seen and also i recorded my first Bee-Fly's to be recorded at Barton.This latter species is slowly spreading through the county,with,in recent years the species also appearing at Messingham Sand Quarries.A nice few hours in the s.

Chamber's Farm Wood.....

Wood Anemone

Green-veined White

One of the many woodland rides

Male Common Lizard

A change of scenery today from my usual haunts,saw me visiting the superb Bardney Limewoods complex at Chamber's Farm Wood.I purposefully arrived for dawn hoping to hear some Nightingale song,but sadly as last year,i drew a blank.All was not lost though,as i recorded my first Turtle Dove,Cuckoo and Garden Warbler's of the year,with singles of each,the Turtle Dove being the earliest i have recorded.It was great to hear the great spring sound's of Cuckoo song and Turtle Dove,with that gorgeous purring sound as i enjoyed the lovely spring sunshine.There were also fairly good numbers of Blackcap,Chiffchaff and Willow Warbler present,with number's being 30,25 and 18 respectively.Other notable bird sightings included 3 Brambling,2 Siskin and at least 4 Common Buzzard.Mammal sightings today comprised of 3 Muntjac and 4 Brown Hare,both species showing well.Reptile sightings included my first Grass Snake's of the year with 3 being recorded(2 male and 1 female) and at least 15 Common Lizard,the Lizards showing brilliantly!.Notable insect sightings included my first Orange Tip's of the year with 3 males and also 7 Peacock,3 Speckled Wood,3 Brimstone,1 Small Tort,11 Green-veined White and 2 Comma.An excellent day out at this superb site,with the above sightings,coupled with a suffusion of spring flowers and nice weather,great!.

Kj's Garden,16.4.11.

Trace and myself went to visit my sister Kirsty and Kev,her boyfriend,at her home at Beverley yesterday and as it was a nice day,we were sat in the garden.First of all we had 3 Sparrowhawk,1 male and 2 female's displaying over the garden and then about 30 minutes later i spotted 2 more raptor's soaring around on the thermals,2 adult Peregrine!.They were a male and a female and gave great views as they slowly drifted south,perhaps checking the Minster for a new nesting site.After this unexpected sighting,we continued to enjoy the sun seeing several butterflies which included 3 Brimstone,2 male Holly Blue,3 Green-veined White and my first Large White of the year,great stuff and it just goes to show what can turn up in and around your garden.

Lutra lutra etc.....

Fan-leaved Water-Crowfoot

Ground-Ivy

Long-tailed Tit nest

Lycogala terrestre

The heath area on the reserve.

A few hours spare again today while Trace was working,so i decided to go back to Messingham Sand Quarries to see what i could find.The highlight of another great visit,was more fantastic views of an Otter watched fishing on Grebe lake and i spent at least 45 minutes watching it today,what a beauty!.I never get tired of watching these superb animals,they are simply fantastic!.I was also very pleased that Teresa managed to see it today after several blank visits and i also managed to find another area were it has been scent marking.Bird highlights today included at least 4 Marsh Harrier,6 Common Buzzard,more Blackcap,Willow Warbler's and Chiffies and a couple of Brambling in the entrance to the pine plantation,with the male heard singing on several occasions,great stuff.Insects featured highly again today with the following totals for butterflies being 5 Brimstone,6 Green-veined White,3 Peacock,3 Speckled Wood,1 Comma and 1 Small Tortoiseshell,with other highlights including a Red-breasted carrion-Beetle and several Slender groundhopper.Amphibians were also well represented today with about 20 Common Frog,15 Common Toad and 10 Smooth Newt.Another superb day at this priceless reserve.

Barton Dip and MSQ again....

Female Common Toad.

Marsh Marigold's.

Speckled Wood.

A visit to Water's Edge this morning drew a blank,while visiting the site to look for the reported Slavonian Grebe and after a conversation with Graham i learnt that on the previous evening,the Slav had been chased all over the pit by the local Great-crested Grebe's,buggar,but not was all lost,as i had seen 2 summer plumaged birds here in the past.I then decided to walk up to the Sailing pit enjoying superb views of my first Sedge,Reed and Cetti's Warbler's for the year,the Cetti's and Reed showing particularly well!.It was obvious that there was quite a lot of migrant warbler's about with me recording total's of 17 Blackcap,12 Chiffie's,7 Willow,5 Sedge and 3 Reed Warbler,an impressive haul considering we are only in the first week in April!.The highlight of the visit,was the female Long-tailed Duck watched diving for food on the Sailing pit,loosely associating with a first summer male Goldeneye,both lovely species.Raptor's also featured,with 2 Common Buzzard drifting west,a cracking male Marsh Harrier and a soaring Sparv.A fairly unseasonal sighting,was 13 Pink-footed Geese watched flying west.Insects were also apparant today,with Butterflies being represented by my first Speckled Wood and Brimstone of the year and singles of Comma,Small Tortoiseshell and a couple of Peacock.After picking Trace up from work and dropping her at home i went over to Messingham and it was nice to meet up with Teresa,Mike and Rog.The best sighting's here included a good mix of birds and Insects,with a couple of male Marsh Harrier,5 Common Buzzard,single Brambling in the plantation and more Chiffie's,Willow Warbler's and Blackcap's,coupled with my first Green-veined White of the year,3 more Speckled Wood and singles of Brimstone,Small Tort,Comma and Peacock,so six species recorded,pretty good stuff.We also managed to find more Otter sign's and also 15 Smooth Newt's in the woodland plantation,with a few Common Toad's also seen and my first Bee-Fly's of the year.So,all in all a good few hours out and about with some nice company.

A taste of the Orient.....

An early start today along with 2 other hardy twits,sorry twitcher's,saw us heading for Oxfordshire in the search of the reported Oriental-turtle Dove.After the very entertaining experience of listening to Neil's entire collection of Motown music and the 3 hour journey,we eventually arrived at the bird's chosen garden.We were quickly waved in by the owner on arrival and promptly told it had just been showing,so we paid our 5 pound donation and settled down to the surreal experience of twitching a rarity in someone else's kitchen!.After what seemed like an eternity and enjoying superb views of 29 Brambling,male Blackcap and 4 Bullfinch which were also visiting the garden feeders,we got some fleeting views of the bird at last.We only managed to see it's head and body and also had some brief flight views as it was spooked by a passing Sparv,but at least we had seen it,although not great,but better was to come.We were then told the bird was showing down the road,so off we all went,to be told it had flown off again,this wasn't going well.Neil and Graham decided to walk back into town and get the car while the bird appeared again,when all of a sudden someone said it was back in the garden.We all made our way back to the house and i got cracking views of the bird along with ten other birders as it fed on the bird table in front of the patio,superb stuff!!,i willed Graham and Neil to arrive,but the bird flew into next doors garden and thankfully was still showing and they eventually got back to see the bird.This is only the 5th record for Britain of this very rare eastern vagrant and the owner's of the house have to be congratulated for raising money to save birds in Malta and for letting so many strangers into their home.A superb bird and my first new species of the year!.

Far-Ings NNR. 01.04.11.

A spare few hours this morning while her indoors was working,so i decided to pop over to Far-Ings and have a look to see what spring migrants had arrived on the banks of the Humber.The first migrants i came across,were a steady passage of Sand Martins over ness lake all moving west,with a total of 125 birds,but no Swallows or House Martins today.After spending what seemed like an eternity in Ness hide and dodging a few showers,i enjoyed some nice views of an adult male Marsh Harrier as it hunted the now dry scrapes and reedy causeway,a lovely bird!.After seeing the Harrier i continued onto the Humber bank,quickly seeing a Wheatear sillouhette on the banktop.I then began to watch this harbinger of spring and it showed nicely as it caught several insects,things wern't going to badly at all.After this i made the daft mistake of walking around the new pools instead of walking through north meadow,as Andy found a male Firecrest after i had left,buggar!.A quick check of Old cements before leaving for home revealed a single Willow Warbler and a nice male Blackcap which showed very well and spent most of the time i observed it,singing that,rich fluty song,my first of the year and a good end to the visit.