The Patch,26.09.11.

Female Field Grasshopper.

Male Scorpion Fly.

Male Common Darter.

A few hours around Worlaby Carrs this morning produced very few surprises apart from a nice juvenile Whinchat watched sallying for insects from the strip of set-aside to the north east of the car park.The is my second record of the year for the patch with 1,also a juv.,on the 14th of August.Other sightings included at least 16 Common Buzzard,2 Hobby,5 Marsh Harrier and 8 Kestrel.A nice few hours.

Rimac and Covenham re-Tern.....

Rimac Sunrise.

Juvenile Little Stint.

Juvenile American-black Tern.

Devil's-coach Horse Beetle.

A day free today,saw Chris and myself heading down the coast,bright and early hoping to add some nice rarities to our lists.We began proceedings at Rimac to look for the 2 or 3 Buff-breasted Sandpipers that had been present all week,but failed after putting in a good 5 hours effort.All was not lost though,as we logged some nice sightings which included Merlin,5 juvenile Curlew Sandpipers,2 juvenile Little Stint,immature male Marsh Harrier,Lapland Bunting,2,sparring juvenile Peregrine and 5 Pintail which flew south over the sea.The stints and Curlew Sands showing particularly well,giving some nice views and the Lap being our first of the autumn period.After our efforts at Rimac we back-tracked to Covenham to look around the superb res seeing again the expected juvenile American Black Tern,which had been present all week.Today it showed very well again,with us enjoying close views of it resting on the reservoir bankside,a smart bird.Also here were a couple of confiding juvenile Little Stint,2 Common Sandpiper,at least 2 adult White Wagtail,2 Common Buzzard and cracking juvenile Wheatear which showed characteristics of the Greenland race Leucorhoa,with peachy/buff underparts all the way to the undertail coverts and did look a tad larger and longer legged,with a striking head pattern to boot,a beauty.Also observed from the avian world was a roadside Little Owl at Fotherby.Non-bird sightings included a couple of Grey Seal at Rimac and a photogenic Devil's-coach Horse Beetle at Covenham.A great day out again.

What a Dump,but gorgeous bird.......

The worst photo of a Sabines Gull you will ever see!.

What a lovely place!Leadenham Tip.

At last!i have finally caught up with a Sabine's Gull in Lincolnshire,with me today travelling to not the most inspiring of places to see this lovely species,Leadenham Tip.As i arrived at the site,the bird was watched feeding on flies which it was delicately picking from the surface of the furthest right hand pool and after only watching it for ten minutes,it took off and flew past me about 20 feet away heading off to the south east over the fields,before returning again about 30 minutes later.It was a little worrying to see an oceanic species swimming around a grotty hole of a place,with staining from the water on it's breast,lets hope it survives and makes it way back to the Atlantic Ocean!.Other bird sightings comprised of 2 Hobby and at least 5 Common Buzzard and on the insect front a roadside Clouded Yellow,my first for several years.An enjoyable few hours in the sun.

American Black Tern......

Sunset over the nearby Lincolnshire Wolds.

After hearing that GPC had found this first for Lincolnshire,a frantic dash to the res,resulted in everyone present enjoying stunning views of this nearctic visitor.The bird was watched feeding,hawking insects over the res for the majority of the time we observed it,but it did have a few periods of rest on adjacent fields loosely associating with the flocks of Black-headed and Common Gulls present.It was on occasion chased by the local gulls,but managed to evade them thankfully.It was an interesting bird to study,with the distinct i.d. features obvious such as the greyish wash along the flanks,grey underwings and more 'smudged' mark at the neck side and the head pattern was more reminiscent of White-winged Black Tern,a cracker and a fantastic find!.Although there is some argument about it's taxonomic status,it was still an enjoyable and educational bird to watch.Other birds seen while enjoying the Tern included an adult and juvenile Red-necked Grebe(Also possibly of the american race) which showed well and 4 Common Sandpiper.An excellent few hours at this great site.

Pec Sand........

A very welcome text from a certain local birder who seems to be on a bit of a roll at Alkborough at the moment,saw me travelling to this excellent wader and wildfowl hotspot to see this american species.At first the bird gave us the run around,but eventually it was pinned down and we were treated to some nice views as it fed loosely with a flock of Ruff,showing the distinct tram-lines on the mantle and well marked pectoral band.It was watched feeding fairly frantically and was very flighty,suggesting that it may have been newly arrived on this side of the Atlantic.After watching it on and off for about an hour or so it was lost to view and we didn't observe it again.Other sightings around the reserve included 2 juv. Little Stint,3 juv. Curlew Sand's,juv. Sanderling,several Greenshank,40 plus Ruff,1 Spoonbill and 2 Ruddy Shelduck and also at least 2 adult White Wagtail.A very enjoyable few hours at this great site.

Garden Surprise!........

A real surprise addition to the garden list this morning,when i saw a huge bird alight on our hedge and to my surprise it was an adult Grey Heron and we don't even have a pond!.It must have been eyeing someone elses pond and fish and it soon disappeared when it got a glimpse of the strange creature looking out of the kitchen window at it!.Other recent garden visitors have included a couple of Goldfinch visiting the Sunflower heart feeder and a single Coal Tit also visiting the said feeder,with a single Chiffie in the hedgerow.

Out And About In North Linc's.........

Female Common Darter.

Male Migrant Hawker.

A trip out around a few sites with Dave today saw us enjoying a decent days birding in the local area.We began on the patch at Bonby and walked down to the river seeing a few nice birds along the way,the best of which was the resident Common Crane which was watched feeding in a stubble field just over the river in Appleby Carrs.It again,showed nicely in the early morning sun today and looked like it was feeding on spilt grain from the recent harvesting activities,what a smart bird!.Other birds here included 3 Greenshank,flying up from one of the almost dry pools,a good count of at least 260 Goldfinch and 5 Common Buzzard.Other sightings included a single Water Vole and a single Brown Argus.A stop at South Ferriby en-route to Alkborough Flats,saw us enjoying some nice birds,with the highlight being 3 juv. Hobby watched hunting along the Island and adjacent fields,not sure were these birds originated from,they could be local?,but they gave great views all the same,with one perching on a clod of earth,before carrying on its way.Also here was a single juv. Curlew Sandpiper which was associating with a mixed flock of Dunlin and Ringed Plover,only being seen in flight and masses of ducks,waders and gulls flushed by a couple of hunting Marsh Harrier,made for an amazing spectacle!.Our final port of call was the excellent Alkborough Flats and after enjoying a very nice bacon buttie and cuppa,we began our wander around the reserve.Highlights here included 9 Spoonbill(8 on Whitton Sand and 1 on the reserve) all doing what Spoonbills do 90% of the time,sleep and 9 Ruddy Shelduck also on Whitton Sand,with a decent count of 17 Little Egret on the reserve along with at least 10 Ruff,5 Greenshank,1 Green Sand and 9 Pintail.The latter are the first of the autumn i have observed.There were quite a few insects on the wing with the best being a single Wall and 3 species of Dragons,including a female Southern Hawker and several Migrant Hawker.An excellent day out!.