The Freezing Carrland......

As Trace was at work today,i decided to brave the biting easterly wind and head down the carrs again.Today i decided to do something a little different and walk up to Saxby Bridge.After parking up in my usual parking spot beside the soak drain and getting umpteen layers on i then began to scan the floods again as on my last visit.By the time i had reached the river,it was apparent that the wildfowl were in slightly different numbers to my last visit and included not 1 drake Pintail,but now 2 drakes and a duck.These birds,as i have mentioned before really are stunning!.Other wildfowl seen on the floods included at least 551 Wigeon,111 Mallard,24 Gadwall,266 Teal,10 Shoveler,28 Shelduck and 15 Mute Swan,with 100 plus Lapwing,5 Redshank and 11 Dunlin representing the wading birds.Raptors were again in fairly good numbers with at least 9 Common Buzzard seen along with a couple of male Kestrel and a 2nd calendar year male Marsh Harrier which flew north along the valley toward the humber.Passerines were again few and far between,the highlight being a single male Stonechat sallying for insects along the river bank near Saxby bridge,my first of the year.A few signs of spring could still be seen and heard despite the freezing weather and included displaying Lapwings,singing Skylarks and a drumming male Great-spotted Woodpecker.A couple of mammal sightings today included 2 Brown Hare and 2 Roe Deer watched on the opposite bank of the Ancholme in Appleby Carrs.A decent few hours out despite the freezing temperature.

The Carrs.....

The Carrs looking towards Saxby village.

C-130 Hercules flying by.

Mixed wildfowl on one of the floods.

Golden Plover passing overhead.

17 of the 23 Whooper Swan flock.

After spending the morning in sunny Scunny,i then decided to spend the afternoon at a sunny Bonby Carrs and today it certainly was impressive.Thanks to the large amounts of rain and snow over the winter the Carrs are holding some good amounts of water still and today the impressive numbers of wildfowl were taking full advantage of the conditions.Best of the wildfowl went to a nice flock of 23 Whooper Swan which consisted of 21 adult and 2 2nd calendar year birds,they gave nice views through the scope and are always great to see,no doubt they will be continuing on their journey back to Iceland providing the weather doesn't hold them up for too long.Almost as good as the Whoopers was a cracking drake Pintail in amongst the Wigeon,Teal,Gadwall and Mallard,what a stunning duck they are and he gave fairly good views although he was a bit wary.As i mentioned before,a very impressive array of wildfowl were present with at least 716 Wigeon,185 Teal,30 Gadwall,5 Shoveler and 2 Pink-footed Geese present,also,a further 125 Pinks passed overhead heading for their summer home along with the Whoopers in Iceland.There was also a few waders present with a nice flock of 33 Dunlin feeding on the floods along with 150 plus Lapwing.Along with the wildfowl on the flooded fields were good numbers of bathing and loafing gulls,with a couple of thousand of each of Common and Black-headed Gulls and smaller numbers of Herring Gulls and 7 Lesser black-backed Gulls.As is usually expected on my visits down here raptors also featured with at least 9 Common Buzzard in and around the area and the best sighting a cracking female Hen Harrier watched hunting the fields between Bonby and Worlaby Carrs.Passerines were really thin on the ground apart from 5 northbound Fieldfare.Other notables were a nice flock of 45 Stock Dove feeding on the fields and a pair of Grey Partridge.A cracking visit to the patch.

Sunny Barton.....19.03.2013.

2nd Calendar year Common Gull,Water's Edge CP.

Adult Black-headed Gull,Water's Edge CP.

Blue Tit,Water's Edge CP.

Singing male Reed Bunting,Water's Edge CP.

Roosting Redshank and Black-headed Gulls.

Female Bullfinch,Water's Edge CP.

Magpie,Far-Ings NNR.

Female Gadwall,Ness Lake,Far-Ings NNR.

Coot,Ness Lake,Far-Ings NNR.

A change of scenery today and a visit to Barton,saw some nice bits being seen and photographed.I started off the day by parking up at Water's Edge and walking all the way up to the sailing pit and back along the humber bank in some lovely,hazy,spring sunshine.Highlights included a single Jay,which was a nice surprise,male Brambling,Treecreeper and drumming male Great-spotted Woodpecker around Water's Edge and 10 Lesser Redpoll in How Hill car park feeding in the Alders there.There were still quite a few Goldeneye on the sailing pit,with at least 20 birds present.Also seen at Water's Edge was a single Water Vole,the first i have seen for ages.After a quick snack after parking up at the new visitor centre at the OPC pit,i covered all the area up to Chowder ness,along the edge of the new pits and around to Ness lake.Highlights on this side of the town included my first Avocets of the year,with 3 birds on the Pursuit pit and 4 birds flying east over Ness Lake,a really nice sight to see.Other niceities in the form of a 2nd calendar year male Marsh Harrier over Ness lake and some great views of the resident wildfowl,made for a very pleasant walk.At last after all the cold weather today,i managed to see my first Butterfly of the year in the form of a Small Tortoiseshell along the border of the reserve near to North meadow,a joy to see and it won't be long before iam watching my beloved Dragonflies.A very enjoyable few hours around my old stomping ground.

MSQ Mustelid and Marine Ducks.....

Common Buzzard.

Record shot of distant Dog Otter.

2nd calendar year Mute Swan.

Dunnock.

Moorhen.

My last day off today,saw me heading to my 2nd home at Messingham Sand Quarries and the 6 or so hours on site proved fruit full.After arriving at the car park i made my way down to the edge of Grebe lake and followed my usual routine of scanning for Otters and any avian delights,but sadly not today.I then carried on walking around this cracking reserve in the gorgeous bright sun,if a little cold today in the fresh North Westerly wind.Plenty of bird song was to be heard around the reserve,with Coal Tit,Robin,Chaffinch and Wood Pigeons all joining in the spring chorus and a Common Buzzard displayed and mewed over the plantation.As i got to the edge of the second meadow to view the Grebe lake,there it was!....the hoped for Otter porpoising along the edge of some lakeside reeds.I then spent the next 30 minutes watching this beautiful mammal as it caught several fish and shellfish,as in the past,just too far for any decent pics.After watching this cracker i carried on my walk around the reserve eventually reaching the duck hide,seeing a few Goldcrest,Siskin and a couple of Bullfinch.A scan over the main lake revealed plenty of birds present with mixed flocks of Black-headed and Common Gulls and wildfowl which included 108 Gadwall and highlight of the day bird wise in the form of 2 female Scaup still being present from their long stay through the winter.Other birds observed around the reserve included 4 Willow Tit and a couple more Siskin and Common Buzzard.Another great visit to this super little reserve.

Barton Great-northern.......

Juvenile Great-northern Diver.

Juvenile Great-northern Diver.

Juvenile Great-northern Diver.

Juvenile Great-northern Diver.

Juvenile Great-northern Diver.

Male Reed Bunting.

After days of being indoors due to the crap weather i decided to venture out and made the decision to visit Barton.On arrival i got the gear together in some lovely sunshine,but this didn't last long and it soon clouded over with frequent snow flurries.But things weren't all bad when i was walking past the humber bank end of the Hotel Pit i noticed a large diver on the pit.A quick look through the bins revealed the bird to be a Juvenile Great-northern Diver,a nice surprise!.I made my way down the side of the pit to try and get closer and with a bit of patience i got some very nice views of the bird.Unfortunately the light was dire,so the photos were not great,but we can't always get that perfect photo.I spent the next hour and a half watching this superbly streamlined bird as it cruised about it's temporary home,at one point catching a fairly decent sized Silver Bream,which it temporarily struggled with before swallowing it down,with a distinct bulge in it's neck.The remainder of the time i observed it,it understandably dozed and rested after it's substantial meal.This my third Great-northern of the year,after birds at Ashbyville near Scunthorpe and Tophill Low.Nothing else of note was observed apart from a couple of Siskin over.A nice few hours,with a surprise find.

The Moors......

Red Deer Hinds,Crowle.

With the prospect of a free day today,i decided to head for one of my favourite areas,the superb NNR which encompasses both Crowle and Thorne Moors.On arrival at the nice new car park,3 Roe Deer were seen on the adjacent fields and i gathered my gear together and made my way onto the NNR.Very little was seen on the first area of the reserve until i reached Will Pitts wood.The highlight here,were a very nice surprise in the form of a calling male Lesser-spotted Woodpecker.It was watched at the top of a Silver Birch,giving its high pitched 'Phew phew phew' call,a little cracker.On the adjacent lake,3 Goosander(2m and 1f) cruised about and a single Common Buzzard passed overhead.While walking along one of the many reed edged dykes,i heard what i thought was a Bearded Tit calling,but i thought no,i must have been hearing things,but sure enough after a bit of pishing,a male Bearded Tit appeared and gave some great views,but it was just too quick to get a photo of.This has to be a rare bird here and was a bigger surprise than the Pecker.I then scanned over the main gull breeding pools were other highlights included a pair of Stonechat sallying for insects and 2 Marsh Harrier(juv type and 2nd calendar year male) hunted overhead.A sudden trumpeting sound,saw the welcome sight of 18 Whooper Swan flying over to the north,simply superb and as i have commented before,one of my fave birds,no doubt making their journey back to Iceland.The only other highlight birdwise was a singing male Willow Tit.Mammal highlight for the day went to 2 Hind Red Deer near to the Crowle reserve entrance,nice to see.A cracking day out at this cracking area.

North Linc's......28.02.2013.

A lovely morning today,so i dropped Trace at work and decided to head over to the forest to look for Adders.There had been a decent frost overnight,but as on previous visits over the years i knew there would be a possibility there would be some active animals.After arriving at my destination it was wall to wall sun and the temperature was steadily rising.As i searched for my first individuals,overhead a single Common Buzzard mewed and 2 Woodlark sang their beautiful melancholy song.At last i found my first male Adder and he was pretty well concealed to say the least and i then found a second animal which was in full view and gave superb views and a great chance to take some images.Not a bad effort,but slightly later and less animals than last year,but it is still early in the season.An enjoyable few hours in the sun,a rare commodity lately.