Hen Harrier and North Linc's goodies.

Sunset over the Outdoor Pursuit Pit,Barton.

A trip over to look for the reported Pallid Harrier in the heart of the Lincolnshire Wolds at Ruckland,materialised into what we had expected,a Hen Harrier!,we managed to get some excellent views of the bird as it hunted several strips of game cover,putting beyond doubt even any remote chance of this bird being a Pallid.No doubt the 2 bird theory will raise it's head,but it seems bizarre that no other observers have come across a Pallid,only the 2 observers claiming it.Other birds here included a Peregrine and a handfull of Common Buzzard.Putting thoughts of our escapades in the Wolds behind us,i met up with Dave and firstly made a quick visit to the patch to look for the reported Rough-leg,which also turned out to be a load of bull,with the bird being the pale adult Common Buzzard which has been around for at least a couple of years in the area.So after another set of stringing we went over to Barton and managed to connect with a REAL bird at last,the male Ferruginous Duck,which was eventually seen on his favourite pit,giving superb views.Nearby we also managed to see the juv.female Scaup on the Pursuit pit,1 Bittern at Far-Ings,giving us a great flypast and 5 Goldeneye.As we were returning to the car Neil rang to say he had just found a Lesser Yellowlegs at Alkborough,so we shot over and managed some nice views of it before it got too dark,as it fed in a flooded field just before the main hide.This my 3rd in Lincolnshire after birds at Gib Point and Killingholme Haven.So this latter sighting coupled with the impressive spectacle of thousands of Golden Plover and Starlings swirling around the reserve after some unwanted attention from a Peregrine,made for a fitting end to a long day in the field.

Alkborough Flats.....

Hawthorn Shieldbug.

Seven-spot Ladybird's.

Tree Wasp.

A visit to this superb site today to lead a walk to see waders and wildfowl didn't reveal too many surprises,with the best sightings being 2 Whooper Swan which did a brief flyby over the reserve,my first of the winter period.Other sightings included 2 Greenshank,5 Ruff,Grey Wagtail and at least 10 Marsh Harrier which gave superb views as they hunted over the reserve and sorrounding area.We also got some great views of the commoner species which included a single streak of blue as a gorgeous Kingfisher flew past,it was later seen perched along one of the dykes briefly.The 2nd calendar yr. Common Crane was not seen on the reserve today,but was heard calling distantly from the direction of Blacktoft Sands RSPB,from were it was reported later in the day.Several other sightings of note from the non avian world included 1 Common Darter,1 Red Admiral,1 Peacock,3 Tree Wasp and a Hawthorn Shieldbug and a Common Seal which was hauled out on Whitton Sand.A decent day with some cracking views of the resident Marsh Harriers.

Barton Pits and Worlaby......

A visit firstly to Barton for a couple of hours,saw me enjoying more views of the 1st winter male Ferruginous Duck after it flew onto its favourite pit near the Far-ings visitor centre.It seems to be aquiring more adult male plumage coloration and the eye looked a touch whiter.He showed quite close for a while before reverting to his usual habit of feeding along the far side of the pit,right in the reed edge.A bonus also on this same pit,was a juv. female Scaup which showed very well and amazingly was the first i have seen this year.After arriving at 'The Patch' i decided to walk all the way down to the river and back,with the highlights being 12 Common Buzzard,4 Redpoll,1 Green Sandpiper and brief views of a ringtail Hen Harrier.The day was rounded off nicely with superb views of 11 Short-eared Owl a slight increase on last weekends 9 birds,with several birds interacting with the local Kestrel and Common Buzzards and involving much sparring amongst each other also,providing great viewing.An enjoyable day out in the great weather.

Worlaby And Bonby Carrs,22.10.11.

Hawthorn Shield-bug.

An all day effort around the local patch today provided some great sightings over the 11 hours i spent there,with the latter part of the day seeing the Short-eared Owl circus beginning in earnest.I arrived on site at dawn,with no owls to be seen anywhere,but the Rough-leg was hunting around the decoy pond to the south east of the car park,giving good views,but this was the last time i saw it today and suspected it may have moved on.Notable movements of birds during the day included 595 Fieldfare,which the majority of which moved north,518 Pink-footed Geese,north and 250 South and a large count of 180 Mallard feeding on a stubble field on the way to Bonby Carrs.Raptors were well represented today with the afore mentioned RlB,but also seen were a juvenile Peregrine hunting the Fieldfare flocks down at the Ancholme and later a Merlin watched doing the same,the Merlin looking almost the same size as the Felfers.No Harrier were observed by myself at all today,which was strange,but good numbers of Kestrel and Common Buzzard were observed,with 13 of the former and 12 of the latter,the Kestrels including 6 birds hunting in the pasture at dusk along with the 9 Short-eared Owl.The Short-eared's put on a great display,even though the light was going,superb to see.Non bird sightings consisted of 4 Common Darter and a single Migrant Hawker,a Hawthorn Shield-bug which landed on my rucksack,7 Roe Deer and 4 Brown Hare.The Roe's included a group of 4 animals which had 2 young bucks in it and they put on an amusing performance as they pretended to joust with invisible antlers,great to watch.An excellent day was had again on this superb area,and a cracking sunset to end it.

Wonderfull Worlaby,20.10.11.

The patch is really coming into its own again now,with todays all day visit producing some excellent sightings through the day.The Rough-leg again put on a cracking performance,giving excellent views,but does disappear for periods,sitting in trees after eating its vole breakfast or dinner.Todays best sighting on a personal level other than the northern buteo,were 2 Hen Harrier,an adult male only seen distantly today and a juv.,which is probably a female,as it looked pretty large when seen at close range.It was watched hunting one of the pheasant strips and caught a vole,it then proceeded to eat it on the bankside of the soak drain.Thankfully there seems to be plenty of food for the raptors again this year and along with the other species the S.e.O's have now increased to 8 birds and at least 8 Kestrel were seen also.Other notable sightings today included at least 15 Common Buzzard,438 Fieldfare all moving north,2 Marsh Harrier,1 Redpoll,60 Linnet and 40 plus Goldfinch.Another superb visit.

Scandinavian beauty........

A few hours to spare this morning before nights saw me heading for the local patch to see if the juv. Rlb was still around.On arrival and a quick look in the pasture field,saw this stunning raptor briefly hunting before resting in a hawthorn bush accompanied by the usual,unwanted corvid attention,this time by 2 Magpie,which were very interested in their northern visitor.After a spell resting,it began a good hunting session covering most of the ground around the carrs and looked like it was checking out the area for its hoped for wintering.It was interesting to watch as the local corvids tended to be more interested in their new visitor rather than a couple of nearby Common Buzzards,the Commons probably enjoying the respite from their attacks.The bird gave stunning views and was observed on the ground on several occasions,once right next to the parked cars,if only we had been sat in them.This is the 4th Rough-leg i have seen on my local patch now since 2002,finding 2 of them,a beautiful bird!.Also seen today and equally as rare by local patch standards,a small flock of Crossbill which flew into the small pine plantation near to the car park and they gave superb views before chipping away,my first record down here and goes to show you never know what may turn up.The only other notable sightings were a single Redpoll and 3 Siskin.

Sunny Barton.....

A misty Ancholme valley en-route to Barton.

Male Common Darter.

Male Common Darter.

A visit for a few hours this morning to Barton,saw me logging some nice sightings over the four hours i was there.In rarity terms,the best bird was the still resident 1st winter male Ferruginous Duck which showed very nicely today as he fed and loafed on his favourite pit near to the visitor centre.Much better views were gained today,thanks to the superb light and weather,with the plumage and eye colour being more apparent than on my last visit in duller conditions.Other nice sightings included at least 382 Pink-footed Geese feeding with a mixed flock of feral geese behind the Blow Wells,13 Siskin,1 Chiffchaff,2 Grey Plover which flew west and a juv. Marsh Harrier.An enjoyable visit in some great weather.

Linc's Coast......

Mesembrina meridiana,Seaview,Saltfleetby and Theddlethorpe Dunes NNR.

An all day effort down the Lincolnshire coast with Graham and Neil today,concentrating our efforts between Saltfleet Haven and Churchill Road resulted in few common migrants being seen in any numbers,but this was made up by us finding a cracking juv. Rough-legged Buzzard which flew in off the sea at Seaview farm with an elusive,but vocal Yellow-browed Warbler nearby.The Buteo flew in at tree top height giving superb views,before being lost over Saltfleet village,with a group of Corvids in hot pursuit,a superb bird.The Yellow-browed was less confiding,being seen in a nearby inaccesible garden,calling on and off.Other birds recorded during the day included a confiding Pied Flycatcher on the way down to Churchill road,2 Short-eared Owl,2 Merlin,Peregrine,2 Woodcock and 31 Pink-footed Geese,with small numbers of Brambling,Siskin,Redwing and my first Fieldfare of the autumn.A decent day in some great weather.

Ferruginous Duck.....

After a text saying that Graham had found a juv. male Ferruginous Duck on Western App. Pit at Barton,i made the short trip over this morning to see if i could catch up with it.The bird was immediately found on the same pit this morning feeding and loafing with a small flock of Tufted Duck and Pochard and i was treated to superb views of the bird.As Graham has described on his blog,a good set of features are indicative that this is a genuine bird and not a hybrid.As i spent my time watching it,it became apparent that it was very wary and the flock then flew towards Far-Ings.On arrival at Ness Lake it was feeding in the middle of the lake,before again looking alert and flying back to the original pond,this happened again and by this time i was knackered and couldn't re-locate it.This is only my 2nd sighting of this smart duck,the last being at Water's Edge in April 2001.Other birds seen this morning included my first Redwing and Goldeneye of the autumn a handfull of Siskin and Lesser Redpoll,a singing male Cetti's Warbler,which was only heard and a couple of Treecreeper and Willow Tit.A good few hours.

Local Patch......

An aborted effort at trying to look for Owls on the patch this evening,saw a few more species being recorded which included my first local Pink-footed Geese of the autumn,with a flock of 53 over the patch and a few distant flocks heading for the Wolds from the direction of the humber.Other notable sightings included a pair of Stonechat,flycatching in the pasture field and a Merlin sat on the ground to the south east of the car park.Both the latter sightings were also first sightings for the patch in this autumn/winter period.The only mammal sighting recorded was a lovely Fox along the side of the small wood at the car park.

Sandhill.......

Male Migrant Hawker.

With the kind offer of a lift from Neil to go and see the adult Sandhill Crane that has been touring the UK,myself Graham and Neil made the long journey to coastal Suffolk.As we arrived,eventually finding the village hall car park,we made the walk to the birds chosen fields were it had been feeding.Within half an hour we were watching this magnificent,elegant species as it fed in some harvested fields,at first at long range,but later showing very nicely through the scope.It was quite inactive at times,feeding in one area,but was also heard to call on numerous occasions and was also seen in flight.The local species were quite interested in their overseas visitor and a comical encounter with a Brown Hare was an interesting piece of behaviour to watch,as neither the Crane nor the Hare new what to make of each other.This is the first record of the species for myself and is the first to be recorded in England,with the remainder of a handfull of records coming from Ireland and the Northern Isles.Other birds observed through the day included a 2nd winter Med.Gull,4 Wheatear,5 Marsh Harrier,2 Common Buzzard,a singing male Cetti's Warbler and a cracking adult Hobby,with an escaped juv. Bald Eagle being seen also!.Insect sightings comprised of hundreds of Harlequin Ladybirds,about 10 Migrant Hawker and 20 Common Darter and a handfull of Red Admirals.A long,but enjoyable day.

Windy day...

A brief few hours around the patch this morning,saw a couple of highlights being logged in the form of a single 4th year Yellow-legged Gull watched loafing on the fields at Bonby along with a group of 23 Lesser black-backed Gulls and a couple of juvvie Wheatear watched battling along in the blustery westerly wind.The only other notable sightings were at least 200 Linnet and a flock of 268 Golden Plover.To make things worse,apart from the bloody wind,was the haze,coupled with a constant smoke screen from the steel works,making the visibility not great,so i called it a day after 2 hours.Cooler weather is on the way thank god!.