A full day out planned today locally at Barton saw me covering nearly all the habitat between Pit25 and Chowder Ness,this is what i recorded.
The day began by parking in the Water's Edge car park and using this as a base and for the first half of the day covering the pits to the east of the bridge and the second half covering the west side.After getting the gear together i decided to walk the Humber bank all the way to Pit 25 and then back along the side of the Sailing Pit,Hoe Hill etc. and through Water's Edge back to the car for lunch.I checked the boatyard at the haven first in the hope that a Black Red maybe hiding somewhere,as has happened on a couple of occasions before,but no such luck today.Similarly i searched the bank side for any Wheatears,but again nothing.Things certainly began to improve as i reached the path between the Sailing Pit and Pit 25,with 2nd calendar year Drake Long-tailed Duck putting on a great show as he displayed to some confused looking female Tufted Ducks.This was quickly followed by a brief snippet of Willow Warbler song and i quickly found the culprit and he showed brilliantly at the side of the New Workings as a brief shower passed over.He was quickly followed in song by a 2nd bird,the first 2 of 6 birds being seen in total on these eastern side pits,my 'First' records for the year.This area proved to be quite productive with a couple of male Blackcap and 4 Common Buzzard soaring over Barrow Haven.I made my way down the side of the sailing pit and could see the Slavonian Grebe was still present and i made my way closer.On route to the Slav,another 'First' for the year was seen in the form of a single Sand Martin as it made it's way west up the Estuary,a great sight to see.I eventually made it to were the grebe was and it is safe to say this is probably the scruffiest Slav i have seen,with a mixture of winter and summer plumage.I don't think it is an adult bird though,as surely it would have acquired full summer plumage by now if it had been an adult.I managed a few record shots of him or her as the bird always kept it's distance,but nice to see all the same.Other birds present and seen on the Sailing Pit included 22 Goldeneye and a single Kingfisher.I then carried on walking being stopped in my tracks by an explosive burst of Cetti's song,but i never did see the bird.This species seems to have recovered from the harsh winter of 2010/11 with at least 5 males being heard on my first section of today's walk,a very welcome return.In Hoe Hill the first brood of ducklings i have seen this year numbered 8 birds and the mother soon alerted them to my presence a great sight to see.I eventually made it back to the car for some welcome lunch before walking the western side pits taking in Far-Ings etc.Unfortunately it was difficult to cover all this area properly as large sections of the Humber bank are closed now due to the flood damage.Highlights consisted of a single 2nd calendar year male Marsh Harrier passing north over the Estuary,3 female Goldeneye on Ness Lake at Far-Ings and 3 more singing male Cetti's Warbler.A little disappointing to say the least this side,but like i said not 100% coverage good be completed.Warbler totals for the day included 23 Chiffie,12 Blackcap,6 Willow Warbler and an very impressive 8 singing male Cetti's Warbler.A few insects were also seen on the visit and included my 'First' Green-veined White of the year at Far-ings,a single Small Copper and 6 Peacock.A very enjoyable visit and hopefully more will come this year.
The day began by parking in the Water's Edge car park and using this as a base and for the first half of the day covering the pits to the east of the bridge and the second half covering the west side.After getting the gear together i decided to walk the Humber bank all the way to Pit 25 and then back along the side of the Sailing Pit,Hoe Hill etc. and through Water's Edge back to the car for lunch.I checked the boatyard at the haven first in the hope that a Black Red maybe hiding somewhere,as has happened on a couple of occasions before,but no such luck today.Similarly i searched the bank side for any Wheatears,but again nothing.Things certainly began to improve as i reached the path between the Sailing Pit and Pit 25,with 2nd calendar year Drake Long-tailed Duck putting on a great show as he displayed to some confused looking female Tufted Ducks.This was quickly followed by a brief snippet of Willow Warbler song and i quickly found the culprit and he showed brilliantly at the side of the New Workings as a brief shower passed over.He was quickly followed in song by a 2nd bird,the first 2 of 6 birds being seen in total on these eastern side pits,my 'First' records for the year.This area proved to be quite productive with a couple of male Blackcap and 4 Common Buzzard soaring over Barrow Haven.I made my way down the side of the sailing pit and could see the Slavonian Grebe was still present and i made my way closer.On route to the Slav,another 'First' for the year was seen in the form of a single Sand Martin as it made it's way west up the Estuary,a great sight to see.I eventually made it to were the grebe was and it is safe to say this is probably the scruffiest Slav i have seen,with a mixture of winter and summer plumage.I don't think it is an adult bird though,as surely it would have acquired full summer plumage by now if it had been an adult.I managed a few record shots of him or her as the bird always kept it's distance,but nice to see all the same.Other birds present and seen on the Sailing Pit included 22 Goldeneye and a single Kingfisher.I then carried on walking being stopped in my tracks by an explosive burst of Cetti's song,but i never did see the bird.This species seems to have recovered from the harsh winter of 2010/11 with at least 5 males being heard on my first section of today's walk,a very welcome return.In Hoe Hill the first brood of ducklings i have seen this year numbered 8 birds and the mother soon alerted them to my presence a great sight to see.I eventually made it back to the car for some welcome lunch before walking the western side pits taking in Far-Ings etc.Unfortunately it was difficult to cover all this area properly as large sections of the Humber bank are closed now due to the flood damage.Highlights consisted of a single 2nd calendar year male Marsh Harrier passing north over the Estuary,3 female Goldeneye on Ness Lake at Far-Ings and 3 more singing male Cetti's Warbler.A little disappointing to say the least this side,but like i said not 100% coverage good be completed.Warbler totals for the day included 23 Chiffie,12 Blackcap,6 Willow Warbler and an very impressive 8 singing male Cetti's Warbler.A few insects were also seen on the visit and included my 'First' Green-veined White of the year at Far-ings,a single Small Copper and 6 Peacock.A very enjoyable visit and hopefully more will come this year.
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| Record shot of the male Long-tailed Duck. |
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| Mute Swan,Sailing Pit. |
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| Record shot of the Slav Grebe,Sailing Pit. |
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| Great-crested Grebe,Water's Edge. |
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| Grey Heron,Far-Ings. |
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| Drake Pochard,Far-Ings. |
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