Superb Tophill....Sunday 23.02.2014.

With not a great forecast on the cards today and the outside chance of an Otter encounter at last and some gulling i decided to travel over the bridge into the home county to the excellent Tophill Low near to Watton village.On arrival and after paying for my day permit,it was just beginning to get light,so i made my way quickly down to North Marsh.I entered the hide set the camera up and waited in anticipation and within five minutes i was rewarded,an Otter straight away.I attempted to get a few images as the animal was watched at pretty close range,catching several small fish and what looked like to be fresh water snails before he or she caught sight of me and quietly disappeared.What a great start and fantastic to see one after several attempts at this site,sadly the photos where nothing to write home about in the dull conditions,but it was a great encounter all the same.After spending some time waiting for a repeat performance and seeing a few other bits and bobs in the way of a single Grey Heron and Common Buzzard and a singing male Reed Bunting i carried on my journey around the reserve,flushing a single Woodcock as i left the hide..It was now trying it's best to brighten up and as i walked down the side of Barmston Drain the sun began to break through just as i watched 2 Little Egret chasing each other from the drain.This went on several times more as the dominant bird chased the intruder away from his or her fishing spot.At Hempholme Lock itself,very little was encountered apart from the afore mentioned Little Egrets,but a single drake Goldeneye was on the River Hull and 68 Golden Plover flew south.Large numbers of Corvids where feeding on the fields,which mostly consisted of Jackdaws and 3 Roe Deer browsed in a distant rough field towards Hempholme village.A quick walk through D-Woods back towards the car revealed singles of both Marsh and Willow Tit at the feeding station and after a quick refuel it was on to the southern section of the reserve.South Marsh was pretty lively with some decent numbers of birds on view which included 27 Shoveler,33 Gadwall and 30 Wigeon,with two prospecting Oystercatchers on one of the gravel islands.A short walk around the side of 'O' Res had me reaching the excellent Watton Nature Reserve and here more wildfowl and waders,but not in as large numbers as i have seen in the past,133 Wigeon,19 Gadwall,6 Cormorant,2 Curlew and 3 Grey Heron were the highlights and a decent sized flock of Teal were mainly obscured by the islands.A single Doe Roe Deer bounded past the hide at great speed,flushed by two walkers along the side of Barmston Drain.As i wandered back through the reserve it was really noticeable about the huge numbers of Snowdrops in flower,a great sight to see and as i neared North Lagoon,the sound of Siskins calling saw me watching a flock of 8 birds as they acrobatically fed on the small Alder cones.Back to the car again for another drink and the shedding of some clothes and a quick look around the car park saw me recording at least 62 Chaffinch feeding on the floor around the trees to the right of 'D' hide,a pretty good count and a single Great-spotted Woodpecker drummed away in the trees nearby.As time was getting on now,the final effort of the day,the gull roost and 'D' Res.As there was few Gulls yet,i had a quick scan around to see what numbers of wildfowl where present and the count revealed 55 Goldeneye,16 Pochard,312 Tufted Duck,302 Wigeon,16 Gadwall and 4 Great-crested Grebe.Fellow birder and guller Martin joined me eventually and we began to scan through the increasing numbers of Gulls as they arrived to roost and bathe.Thankfully,today we hit the jackpot,with firstly 2 adult Med.Gulls,a fully white headed bird with no hint of summer plumage and a second smaller bird(Possibly a female)with almost a full black head.But the cream of the crop came in last,when a white winger appeared in the middle of the gulls and it was the 'Barmston' Kumliens Gull!!.It was mostly in the middle of the res,but you could still see the subterminal markings in the primaries and the dark bill tip was obvious,what a cracker and definite reward for the hours put in today.This bird has been rather erratic in it's appearances this winter,not being always seen at Barmston and roosting at both Hornsea Mere and now three times at Tophill,but where does it go in the mean time...it's a bit of a mystery.Well what a superb beginning and end to the day today and another great visit,with great company and i travelled back to North Linc's very contented and happy.

Record shot of the Otter,North Marsh.

Snowdrops,beside 'O' res.

The River Hull at Hempholme Lock.

Watton Nature Reserve.

Doe Roe Deer,Watton Nature Reserve.

Record shot of the 2nd winter Kumliens Gull,'D' Res roost.

Spring at last!!....And Stunning Two-barred...

With a gorgeous sunny,spring like morning on offer this morning,i travelled over to Barton to have a wander about in the lovely weather.I began by walking around Water's Edge,with nothing really unusual being seen,but some lovely views of Siskin,Gold and Bullfinches and several Shelduck and Cormorant heading west up river along with a couple of Oystercatcher.The Siskins were watched in some Waterside Alders,with the male of a pair i watched trying his up most best to impress his potential mate,with his wheezy song.They gave superb,point blank views,but in the shade,hence no photos,but great views all the same.A well timed or not well timed text,as i was at Barton,saw me heading again for Forest Pines and the male Two-barred.Apparently according to Graham he had been showing well,but i couldn't find him at first or anyone else looking for that matter,but by chance he flew in with 3 Commons.The birds landed in a tall beech,dropping into the bough to drink,a habit i had seen Hawfinches do here many years ago,before i lost them all again in a nearby Spruce.He then appeared again above my head and over the next hour or so i was treated to some stunning scope views as he prized seeds from the Cones.It was great to be able to study this bird at close range,the more orangy plumage from an adult bird,big wing bars,white tertial tips and smaller delicate bill being noticeable.He is beginning to acquire some adult red feathers on the neck sides and head,and he was also heard sub-singing for a while,what a cracking little bird and ten minutes from home,brilliant!!.Other sightings here included 2 Common Buzzard enjoying the warm thermals,at least 10 Common Crossbills,Nuthatch and on the way back to the car my first butterfly of the year a Peacock.What a superb few hours out and about in the lovely weather.

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

Coot,Water's Edge CP,Barton.

Coot,Water's Edge CP,Barton.

Goldfinch,Water's Edge CP,Barton.

Local Two-barred.....12.02.2014.

After a failed attempt in dire weather conditions the previous day,this morning saw me heading again to Forest Pines to look for the male Two-barred Crossbill in much improved weather,albeit being overcast.At first,only 6 birds where seen and they flew off after a short while feeding and this theme continued for an hour or so.Birds continued to be just be seen in flight until at last the main flock arrived,but the first time they just passed over,but the second time they thankfully landed in some Larches at the side of the A18.A quick scan through them revealed the Two-barred feeding alongside his Common cousins....bingo!.Roy,Mal and myself settled down to watch this super Scandi Crozzer as he tucked into several Larch cones,pausing to see off a couple of Commons away from his meal,giving some nice views through the scope,showing off the 'Big' curved white wing bars and white tertial edges and totally different orangy/red plumage to the Commons scarlet plumage.What a cracker and a local bird,ten minutes from home.I can't understand why any so-called birders would not want to see this species over and over again,they are simply stunning birds and well worth the effort in my eyes,this bird also being the 'First' twitchable bird for Lincolnshire and a great find for the visiting birders who found it.After enjoying a good thirty minutes of watching the bird,the flock was flushed again by golfers teeing off and i travelled home one more species richer on my 'Linc's List'.....what a little beauty.

As a footnote and after some discussion about the bird,it seems it may be a 2nd calendar year male due to the orangy-red rather than more red plumage and freshly moulted tertials and secondries.

Superb Scarborough....Sunday 9th February 2014.

With a half decent forecast today,i decided to make the trip up into North Yorkshire to my fave place Scarborough.On the journey up it was a bit rainy so before reaching my destination i decided to drive over to Forge valley and the excellent feeding station while the rain stopped.I have been visiting this site since i was a toddler and it is always great to see the species we don't encounter commonly where i live.My personal favourite being the lovely Marsh Tit of which at least 2 were making visits to the feeders.Also seen on around the feeding station were 2 Nuthatch,40 plus Chaffinch and several Blue and Great Tit.In the surrounding woodland the echoing sounds of early Spring included singing Wood Pigeons,the afore mentioned Marsh Tit and a couple of drumming Great-spotted Woodpeckers.At last the weather broke and i travelled over to my parking spot on Marine Drive.After another shower passed over i got the gear together to the sound of cackling Fulmars pairing up on their cliff side residences.After meeting up with local Cetacean expert,Stuart Baines,we stood and watched at least 7 Harbour Porpoise as they hunted and interacted with each other giving some excellent views of this superb animal.After enjoying the Porpoises i made my way down to the Harbour to look for the Juvenile Great-northern Diver.I met up with fellow Birders,Chris Bell and Micky Mcnaghten and we enjoyed stunningly close views of the Diver as it caught several crabs and small fish,sadly this bird was found dead the following day,what a real shame.After taking loads of photos of the cracking Great-northern i made my way around to the East Pier as it was high tide,to look to see if any Purps were roosting and sure enough there was a small group of birds today,with 11 being present.It is always great to catch up with them on my winter visits and they have to rank among my favourite waders.Next stop was the Mere and after some patience,the wintering Firecrest was eventually seen feeding in a Eucalyptus tree in the company of 3 Goldcrest,but was easy to lose amongst the evergreen leaves,a good local record for the area.After enjoying the Firecrested Wren i ended my visit in the company of the wintering Med Gulls at Holbeck car park and they put on a great show as normal with super,stunning,close views.Today there was 5 adults and 2 3rd calendar year birds and they showed very well for the camera as they searched the grassy areas surrounding the car park for earth worms,superb birds and anyone who discards them as a common and boring must need their head seeing to.So another great visit to this fantastic area for the hobby was had today and i travelled home through the stunning Wolds a happy boy.

Juvenile Great-northern Diver.

Juvenile Great-northern Diver.

Juvenile Great-northern Diver.

2nd calendar year Great black-backed Gull.

3rd calendar year Med. Gull.

Adult Med. Gull.

Adult Med.Gull.

Adult Black-headed Gull.

Beautiful Dales And Red Squirrel Encounter......1st - 3rd February 2014.

Sheep at Hardraw.

Hardraw Force.

Dales scenery near to Hardraw.

Lovely countryside near to Hawes.

Dales scenery near Hawes.

Red Squirrel,Snaizeholme.

Red Squirrel,Snaizeholme.

The Upper Falls,Aysgarth.

The Upper Falls,Aysgarth.

After learning about an accessible site relatively close to home for Red Squirrels,Trace and myself booked ourselves into a lovely Dales B&B at Bainbridge in the heart of Wensleydale in the stunning Yorkshire Dales National Park.After a couple of hours kip from finishing my week of nights,we made the journey up the A1 and then cut across into the Dales.The A1 journey was brightened up by 2 cracking roadside Red Kites near to the Wetherby services.A stop for food at the lovely market town of Leyburn en-route,then saw us making the remainder of the journey to Bainbridge.After arriving at our B&B,ran by the lovely Roxana,we unloaded the gear and then decided to travel the short distance over to Aysgarth to view the stunning Water falls.It sadly was raining on and off as we arrived,but there was some compensation as the falls were in full flow with all the rain,the Upper Falls being particularly impressive and we took plenty of photos.After a great meal out and sleep,next morning saw us heading towards Hawes and after a well timed phone call we visited Mrs Kemp and her Red Squirrels.After a slightly hairy journey along the approach track to the farm,Mrs Kemp met us to say she had just put some food out for the little red coated locals.The next two hours were spent with at least 20 Red Squirrels,with up to 6 on view at the same time and has to be one of the best wildlife experiences i have had with some of the individuals being incredibly bold,walking around our feet.I managed some decent images despite the dull,overcast weather and showers,but i couldn't have cared less after this brilliant experience.After our great few hours with the little red beauties,we spent the remainder of the day exploring Wensleydale and we visited the impressive Hardraw Force and the obligatory visit for a cuppa at the Wensleydale Creamery.But even at this time of year and in rainy and overcast conditions for most of our stay,it was and still is a beautiful area to visit and it was sad for us both to be travelling back home on Monday morning.The journey home was again broken up by another Red Kite near Wetherby services and a couple of Common Buzzard.A brilliant weekend away in a stunning part of the world....who needs foreign holidays,not me.