Rainy Patch.....what else!.

A visit this aft to the patch for the last few hours of light....well almost light,saw more,you guessed it...showers!.Thankfully a few nice birds were seen to make up for the rain.The best sighting went to the adult female Hen Harrier watched hunting for about 15 minutes before going to roost,a cracking bird and great to see she is still around with the profusion of idiots with guns in this part of the world.Also over and around the wet pasture were 1 Barn Owl and 2 Marsh Harrier,the Marshies consisted of what looked like the adult female and first adult male(2nd calendar year autumn),both of which have been around for a while in the area.The Barnie was distant over the far side of the pasture and the female Marsh flew north west towards the Humber,but the male Marsh showed nicely as it hunted the pasture and eventually followed the female towards the Humber at almost dark.Three of the always present Common Buzzard were seen and four gorgeous Goldcrest 'Peeped' in the small conifer plantation while a mixed flock of Fieldfare and Redwing passed over on their way to roost.A decent few hours despite the rain,hopefully some dry weather is on the way soon.

Blustery Barton and Bohemian beauties......

Coot,Far-Ings NNR,Barton.

1st winter Waxwing,Burton-Upon-Stather.

Adult male Waxwing,Burton-Upon-Stather.

Adult male Waxwing,Burton-Upon-Stather.

Sunset,Outdoor pursuit Pit,Barton.

Sunset,Outdoor pursuit pit,Barton.

Full moon,Barton.

At last,after a long four days at work,the chance of a full day out saw me heading for Barton,then a nice diversion to Burton-Upon-Stather and then a return visit to Barton for the remainder of the day.Seeing the forecast and the prospect of a few wind blown seabirds,i started the day looking at the Humber at Barton Haven.Highlights here over an hour and half included 4 Kittiwake(3 adult and 1 juv.) moving west and a nice flock of 204 Common Scoter,which on the third attempt,we managed to get the numbers correct!.The 'Kits' are often a feature of these later blows in the autumn and were a nice sight to see,the Scoter more expected and all female/juv's as is often the case.Other birds of note seen included a Peregrine battling its way up river,70+ Black-tailed Godwit moving the same way,1 Grey Wagtail over to the east and 6 smart Knot,feeding with the local 'Shanks' at the haven mouth.After all this action and the need for some warmth,i moved up to Far-Ings to see what was on offer.And today to be fair,Ness lake was a hive of activity,with a good count of 92 Shoveler present,with smaller numbers of Gadwall and a single Goldeneye.Shoveler being one of my favourite species of duck and they showed brilliantly as they sieved the water for food.While looking at my phone,i noticed a message to say the Waxwings were still present at Burton-Upon-Stather,so i made the effort to go and have a look.On arrival,there were only a handfull of birds present,but more and more birds arrived from the direction of the village until a maximum count of at least 180 were present,a beautiful sight and sound.This is my largest flock of this stunning Scandinavian visitor and what a privilege to see,some birds being only twenty feet away as they gorged themselves on Hawthorn berries,fantastic!.Unfortunately,the light conditions were pretty poor,with occasional showers,but i managed a few nice shots.With me enjoying my fill of these Bohemian beauties,i travelled back to Barton for the hoped for Starling roost,which iam afraid didn't materialise today,with only about 1500 birds coming in.I don't know if this was weather related or just the fact they have moved on to pastures new,but i managed some nice shots of the full moon and sunset as compensation for my return visit.A great day out despite the continuation of the poor weather conditions.

Rainy Tophill.......

Grey Squirrel.

Male Blackbird.

Resting waterfowl,Watton Borrow Pits.

D-res Gull roost.

With a fairly crap forecast today and a planned family visit later in the day,i headed for Tophill Low near Watton village in East Yorkshire.I spent at least 7 hours on site,walking all the areas including Hempholme lock,'D' and 'O' Res and Watton nature reserve.Very few highlights were observed today,but the best were a single Brambling and Grey Wagtail in the car park area and at least 2 Lesser Redpoll in 'D' Res woods.Lots of winter visitors were seen around the reserve and included at least 20 Siskin,200+ Fieldfare and 50 Redwing.After much walking,i finished the day at D-Res for the gull roost and the thousands of gulls and waterfowl mixed with the gathering of roost bound Corvids made for an impressive sight as they all swirled around together,a cracking end to this dull day.

Patch Bits and Barton visit......18.11.12.

Juv. Female Peregrine,Worlaby Carrs.

Juv. female Peregrine chasing Juv. Marsh Harrier,Worlaby Carrs.

Female Reed Bunting,Worlaby Carrs.

Male Reed Bunting,Worlaby Carrs.

South bound Pinkfeet,Worlaby Carrs.

Sundown,Barton.

Moon rise,Barton.

With my day split in two today due to Trace having to be taken to and from work(No public transport on Sundays),i firstly visited the patch at Worlaby and later had a couple of hours at Barton.It was a gorgeous day today,with bright sun and no wind hardly and i parked up at the top of Carr lane as usual and made my way down the patch.Today,huge numbers of Fieldfare were present,mixed in with a flock of Starlings and at least 300 were counted an impressive sight and sound.Before i reached the Soak drain,the first goodie of the day was seen,a cracking juv. female Peregrine.She was watched on a freshly killed Wood Pigeon and gave superb views as she plucked the Pigeon with beak fulls of feathers.When i approached too close on a couple of occasions,she took to the wing constantly scolding me with that piercing 'Ke,Ke Ke' call,so i backed off and she returned to her kill after a brief skirmish with a juv. Marsh Harrier.Other bits and bobs seen included,2 Short-eared Owl,a couple of south bound flocks of Pink's and 2 Common Buzzard.It was time to pick Trace up and i then travelled over to Barton.Here the highlights were a couple of ducks and both now resident.The 'White Nun' was on his favourite pit adjacent to the hotel and gave his usual views at the other side of the pit and the female Red-crested Pochard showed unusually well right out in the open on the large pit across the road from the old visitor centre car park.She was watched with her adopted family of Gadwall and showed pretty nicely,a long stayer,being first seen back in August.I finished the day attempting to get some pics of the Sunset over the Humber, a great end to a nice day out.

L.B.D. etc........

Sunrise over Alkborough village.

What you looking at!.

After several visits and getting decent views of the Long-billed Dowitcher at Alkborough,an early visit today paid dividends as i got cracking,close views from the path down to the main hide as it fed alongside the tidal creek with a mixed flock of Redshank and Ruff allowing me to study the birds i.d. features and it's Snipe like feeding action.It later did its usual trick,disappearing and i did not see it again during my visit.Other highlights consisted of 2 south bound Brambling,a juv. Peregrine south along the hillside and a Water Rail infront of the main hide.Commoner fare included 147 Fieldfare,49 Redwing,7 Ruff and 112 Dunlin.I managed today,as on previous visits,to get fantastic views of Golden Plover,Lapwing,Dunlin,Curlew and Teal as they all showed at close range in front of the main hide,superb stuff and great to see.The Goldies were in huge numbers again today,with at least 8000 birds,at one point filling the whole sky and the chorus of calls was fantastic.Another great visit to this superb site.

White Nun And Snow Bunting surprise......

A few hours out and about this morning before the rain at Barton,saw a few nice birds being seen before the forecasted rain appeared.After hearing yesterday that a Male Smew had returned to Barton for another winter,i managed to find him feeding and loafing on Bridge pit with his Goldeneye cousins.He spent most of the time i watched him feeding right along the bank side  and under some overhanging trees,no doubt finding a plethora of fish amongst the bank side vegetation and underwater tree roots.It was interesting to note that this bird along with the Goldeneye present,still hadn't reached full adult plumage after the moult to eclipse,perhaps indicating a later breeding season,as this species,along with the Goldeneye,moult after breeding.Always a great species to see,this 'White Nun' are stunning and the 10 Goldeneye provided a nice sight also,with several of the males displaying.While stood on the Humber bank watching a nice flock of 14 Bar-tailed Godwit,i heard that distinct rippling call,as a male Snow Bunting flew west along the shoreline towards Chowder Ness,a very nice surprise!.This species is always nice to see and certainly live up to their name,with flashes of white as he made his way west.The afore mentioned Bar-wits gave cracking close views as they probed the estuary mud for ragworms and small shellfish,a mixture of adult and juvenile birds,superb.Other notables included an adult male Marsh Harrier heading west up river,25 Redwing and 100 plus Wigeon.A nice few hours,shame about the rain.

Stunning Scarborough And Environs.......

With the prospect of a cracking days weather,Chris and myself made the journey to my favourite part of the world.....Scarborough.After hearing that a juv. Glaucous Gull had been showing well in the harbour,this along with the prospect of a great days birding in the area,saw us visiting today.To start with we enjoyed stunning views of the Peregrine pair near to were we had parked the car at post 54 along Marine drive.These two birds put on a fine display as they preened and wheeled around over their cliff top eyrie,with much calling between the two,a great start to proceedings.Nearby and off marine drive,we saw several goodies,the best of which was a Slavonian Grebe flying north with a Great-crested Grebe,a distinct species when seen in flight for me,with it doing much neck stretching and lifting its head,not unlike what Red-throated Divers do,a nice surprise.Also off the drive were at least 5 Common Porpoise,giving great views and overhead a male Lapland Bunting came in off the sea,before heading south.We then made our traditional stop at the 'Tea Pot' for a Hot Chocolate and Bacon bun(Thanks Chris) and briefly saw a rock climbing Fox on the castle headland nearby.Unfortunately after several hours looking the Glauc didn't visit today,but several other goodies were seen around the harbour area and included at least 40 Purple Sandpiper coming into roost at the east pier,which gave stunning close views,1 Razorbill,just off the harbour wall.In North Bay,6 female type Common Scoter and a Red-throated Diver were seen,3 adult Med Gulls were watched distantly around Holbeck car park,123 Pink-footed Geese flew south and a Common Buzzard was seen overhead on a couple of occasions,receiving a proper battering from the local Crows,with the birds pecking and jostling this poor raptor as it tried to escape.By this time lunch time was approaching,so we drove the short journey over to Scalby Mills for one last attempt at looking for the Glauc and a bite to eat.Again the Glauc wasn't seen but a flock of about 120 Wigeon,Grey Wagtail and a crab crunching male Eider were seen.The Eider particularly stunning with his fine plumage.As always happens when we visit this area we made our way over to spend the remainder of the day at beautiful Troutsdale.The best bird here was a stunning adult male Goshawk,close enough to see the eye and 'Super' through the scope as he made his way across the valley from our vantage point,fantastic and a single bird called from the forest.Other niceities seen here,included a single Willow Tit near Hilla Green,40 plus Siskin,2 Common Buzzard,male Peregrine heading west along the valley,a single Crossbill,6 Bullfinch and a Nuthatch which gave superb views as it fed in a roadside Oak.So after all this it was sadly time to go back home after another cracking visit to this stunning part of the world.

Late Martin and Duck surprise........04.11.12.

Field Maple.

Fragile Brittlegill.

Gorse Shieldbug.

Hawthorn Shieldbug.

Muntjac droppings.

Orange Mosscap.

Dog Stinkhorn.

A change of scenery today while Trace was at work,saw me heading for one of my favourite reserves at Messingham,with some nice surprises being seen over the four hour visit.Best of the bird sightings went to two species,firstly a single House martin was watched over the second lake down from the car park,watched hawking over the lake and woods,a pretty late record and should be well on its way to Africa by now.The second was a reserve tick for me,a couple of Scaup watched on the main lake with a mixed flock of Pochard and Tufties.One of the birds was an adult female and the second a juv. female and they gave great views as they dived for food,a great surprise and a pretty rare visitor to the reserve.Other niceties included a good sized flock of 40 Lesser Redpoll,with a couple of birds looking like good candidates for Mealies,but i just didn't get good enough views of them as they were occasionally flushed by walkers and a Sparrowhawk.Associating with this flock also was a group of 20 Siskin which gave better views than the 'Polls',both species nice to see.Insect highlights are getting few and far between now,so finding two species of Shieldbug was a decent effort.1 Hawthorn and 1 Gorse Shieldbug were found in relatively the same area and i managed to get a few images of both.No mammal sightings were observed today,but i found signs of a species of which i have not seen on the reserve,some Muntjac droppings on the edge of the heathy area,i will keep an eye out on future visits.A nice diversion while walking around this superb reserve,was the multitude of Fungi on display,with me finding a new species in the form of a Dog Stinkhorn,a strange looking species,certainly living up to its name.Another nice day out despite the overcast conditions and drizzly rain,with some nice surprises on offer.

Alkborough Bits.......03.11.12.

Golden Plovers.

A full day out with Chris and Dave saw us heading to Alkborough Flats to look for the 'Yank' waders that have been on offer.After spending a full day on site,we missed the Lesser Yellowlegs very brief visit as we were at the other end of the reserve and there was no sign of the Long-billed Dowitcher,but we still had a cracking day out.Birds of the day had to be the 2 superb male Hen Harrier which we saw hunting around the reserve during the day,the first time i have seen 2 different males locally,a real treat.A surprise while stood on the hillside overlooking the reserve,was a single Bullfinch which was calling differently,with a deeper piping call,when i first got onto it and sounded like a 'Northern'.I have had the privilege of seeing several over the years,including 7 birds at Flamborough and after arriving home i listened to the call on the PC and was pretty convinced that is what it was,a pretty good record.Also along the hill was a single female Brambling feeding in the canopy of a sycamore in the village and at least 100+ Redwing,3 Jay,4 Redpoll and a distant adult Peregrine sat on Whitton Sand,seen from our vantage point.Wader highlights today included 1 Green Sandpiper and 6 Spotshank,104 Avocet and the usual spectacle of 1000's of Golden Plover and smaller numbers of Black-tailed Godwit and Dunlin as they were continually flushed by hunting raptors,a fantastic sight and sound.Also seen and heard today were several Bearded Tit around the reserve,always great to see and hear with that 'Pinging' call.So another great day out was had today and it's not always about the rares,sadly so many birdwatchers don't see the bigger picture and enjoy the sights and sounds of such a great place,thanks to Chris for driving.

Local Patch highlights......

With some nice weather on offer today i decided to go and have a look on the patch at Worlaby.I parked in the village as Carr lane was covered in mud and good weather at this time of year equals Owl dudes.After hearing the familiar 'Wink wink' calls of Pinks,hundreds of birds were seen coming off the Wold top and landing in a stubble field to the north of Carr lane.In all at least 1500 birds were estimated as being seen and at dusk the whole flock flew back towards the Humber to roost,a fantastic sight and sound.I then walked down to the edge of the long wood adjacent to the pasture field and spent the next 3 and a half hours stood here.The best of the days birds seen from here included a cracking adult female Hen Harrier watched sparring with a juv. Marsh Harrier,2 Peregrine,which included a juv. male flying within about 50 metres of me giving stunning views through the scope as it flew south over were i was stood,a further 2 Marsh Harrier(1st adult male and adult female),1 Short-eared Owl and a single Jay.The latter was doing a perfect impression of a Common Buzzard and at first when i heard it,i kept looking up expecting to see a Buzzard flying over until it revealed itself.Other notable sightings from my vantage point included at least 191 Fieldfare,1 Siskin,6 Kestrel,8 Common Buzzard and a nice 'Charm' of 75 Goldfinch.On my walk back to the car,highlights included 2 stunning Barn Owl,1 of which i flushed by mistake from the small conifer plantation,the other being seen near to the village.These are the first Barn Owls i have seen down here for months,so were a nice diversion from the usual suspects.An enjoyable visit in great conditions.