Cairngorms road trip, Ospreys fishing, Spoonbills and a surprise herd of Reindeer!

Just got back from a jaunt up to the Cairngorms with my good mate Rob. The weather was less than perfect but it was a great road trip. I did all the driving, Rob all the cooking ... I like driving and he's chef, so it was a good deal! 102 bird species, some interesting flora and mammal species, stunning scenery and good music recorded every night bar one.... so without further ado and less than normal prose from myself  here's the pics!

Pick of the crop was a toss up between 3 majestic Ospreys hunting in tandem over Lochindorb in the rain and 2 Spoonbills at low tide on Findhorn Bay


Osprey_lochindorb, 29/07/15





Osprey_lochindorb, 29/07/15



Osprey_lochindorb, 29/07/15

As well as these 3 over Lochindorb (where we also had a single Black Throated Diver), we had 10 other Ospreys .. they're doing well up here and it seemed to us as if there was at least 1 on nearly every loch!



Spoonbill_Findhorn Bay, 28/07/15

Spoonbills_Findhorn Bay, 28/07/15

Spoonbills_Findhorn Bay, 28/07/15

Hooded Crow_Findhorn Bay, 28/07/15

Grey Heron_Loch Leven, 26/07/15



Orchid species_ Loch Moraigh, 26/07/15

I reckon we were up there at the peak season for wild flowers and a wide variety were in full bloom, not all identified as yet including these orchids .....




Amphibious Bistort_Loch Leven, 26/07/15

Wild Pansy_Loch Moraigh, 26/07/15



Spotted Flycatcher_Cheviots, 25/07/15

Precious few opportunities to photograph smaller birds and I failed woefully to get any decent pics of Crested Tits when about 25 or so suddenly turned up in a tit flock at Abernethy Forest (all too close, fast moving and then they were gone!). The flock also included about 30 Willow Warblers, 10ish Tree Pipits, 3 Treecreepers and 20 Spotted Flycatchers which were pleasingly plentiful throughout the trip .... this one was actually taken on the way up in the Cheviot Hills but it was the best pic!















A few landscapes from the trip and a few of the 'lads' ....



Abernethy Forest



 

Loch Leven

Lochindorb

Lochindorb

Photographing those Spoonbills at Findhorn Bay

 

Playing the Insch Marshes

 On the RSBP reserve at Insch Marshes we came across the perfect place for a bit of outside music and recording. On the elevated platform there we could play and watch the wildlife at the same time and when the rain came the we just moved downstairs and it was almost like being in a recording studio!

Got a single female Marsh Harrier here too - good for Scotland.

Recording at the Insch Marshes



Rob_up in the Cairngorms!

Rob_Wild flower spotting hunting, Loch Moraigh

Around Abernethy



Surrounded by Crested Tits in Abernethy Forest

No Red Deer sightings but plenty of Roes around and the most unexpected mammals were these semi wild Reindeer, a herd of 20 or so including a couple of young 'uns, near to the top of Cairngorm

Reindeer, young stag_Cairngorm, 30/07/15

Reindeer foal running with the pack_Cairngorm, 30/07/15



Roe Deer, Loch Leven

Like I said, and as you can probably gather from some the above, there were precious few 'golden hours' for photography and we had to invest a fair amount of time logged on to local weather forecasts in order to dodge the rain clouds, but this is all part of the fun and we did it successfully and didn't lose a single day to rain.

Sometimes you can try and do too much on a road trip .....I can remember driving right around Scotland many years ago in little over a week ... a great experience but too much of it spent behind the wheel. This was just right but even then we only covered half of the potential sites in the Cairngorms .... we missed out on some key species including Crossbill, Dipper, Ptarmigan and Golden Eagle but 102 species ain't bad for July and for the record here's the list -

1. Red Grouse (Lagopus lagopus scotica)
2. Red-legged Partridge [sp] (Alectoris rufa)
3. Common Pheasant [sp] (Phasianus colchicus)
4. Greylag Goose [sp] (Anser anser)
5. Canada Goose [sp] (Branta Canadensis)
6. Mute Swan (Cygnus olor)
7. Common Shelduck (Tadorna tadorna)
8. Gadwall [sp] (Anas strepera)
9. Mallard [sp] (Anas platyrhynchos)
10. Northern Shoveler (Anas clypeata)
11. Common Teal [sp] (Anas crecca)
12. Common Pochard (Aythya ferina)
13. Tufted Duck (Aythya fuligula)
14. Common Goldeneye [sp] (Bucephala clangula)
15. Red-breasted Merganser (Mergus serrator)
16. Black-throated Diver [sp] (Gavia arctica)
17. Little Grebe [sp] (Tachybaptus ruficollis)
18. Great Crested Grebe [sp] (Podiceps cristatus)
19. Eurasian Spoonbill [sp] (Platalea leucorodia)
20. Grey Heron [sp] (Ardea cinerea)
21. Little Egret [sp] (Egretta garzetta)
22. Northern Gannet (Morus bassanus)
23. Great Cormorant [sp] (Phalacrocorax carbo)
24. Common Kestrel [sp] (Falco tinnunculus)
25. Peregrine Falcon [sp] (Falco peregrinus)
26. Osprey [sp] (Pandion haliaetus)
27. Western Marsh Harrier [sp] (Circus aeruginosus)
28. Eurasian Sparrowhawk [sp] (Accipiter nisus)
29. Eurasian Buzzard [sp] (Buteo buteo)
30. Common Moorhen [sp] (Gallinula chloropus)
31. Common Coot [sp] (Fulica atra)
32. Eurasian Oystercatcher [sp] (Haematopus ostralegus)
33. Northern Lapwing (Vanellus vanellus)
34. Grey Plover [sp] (Pluvialis squatarola)
35. Common Snipe [sp] (Gallinago gallinago)
36. Whimbrel [sp] (Numenius phaeopus)
37. European Curlew (Numenius arquata arquata)
38. Common Redshank [sp] (Tringa totanus)
39. Common Greenshank (Tringa nebularia)
40. Common Sandpiper (Actitis hypoleucos)
41. Dunlin [sp] (Calidris alpina)
42. Ruff (Philomachus pugnax)
43. Common Gull (Larus canus canus)
44. Great Black-backed Gull (Larus marinus)
45. Herring Gull [sp] (Larus argentatus)
46. Lesser Black-backed Gull [sp] (Larus fuscus)
47. Common Black-headed Gull (Larus ridibundus)
48. Sandwich Tern [sp] (Sterna sandvicensis)
49. Rock Dove [sp] (Columba livia)
50. Woodpigeon [sp] (Columba palumbus)
51. Eurasian Collared Dove [sp] (Streptopelia decaocto)
52. Common Swift [sp] (Apus apus)
53. Great Spotted Woodpecker [sp] (Dendrocopos major)
54. Eurasian Jay [sp] (Garrulus glandarius)
55. Common Magpie [sp] (Pica pica)
56. Eurasian Jackdaw [sp] (Corvus monedula)
57. Rook [sp] (Corvus frugilegus)
58. Carrion Crow [sp] (Corvus corone)
59. Hooded Crow [sp] (Corvus cornix)
60. Common Raven [sp] (Corvus corax)
61. Great Tit [sp] (Parus major)
62. Blue Tit [sp] (Parus caeruleus)
63. Coal Tit [sp] (Parus ater)
64. Crested Tit [sp] (Parus cristatus)
65. Collared Sand Martin [sp] (Riparia riparia)
66. Barn Swallow [sp] (Hirundo rustica)
67. Northern House Martin [sp] (Delichon urbicum)
68. Long-tailed Tit [sp] (Aegithalos caudatus)
69. Eurasian Skylark [sp] (Alauda arvensis)
70. Sedge Warbler (Acrocephalus schoenobaenus)
71. Willow Warbler [sp] (Phylloscopus trochilus)
72. Common Chiffchaff [sp] (Phylloscopus collybita)
73. Wood Warbler (Phylloscopus sibilatrix)
74. Blackcap [sp] (Sylvia atricapilla)
75. Common Whitethroat [sp] (Sylvia communis)
76. Goldcrest [sp] (Regulus regulus)
77. British Wren (Troglodytes troglodytes indigenus)
78. Eurasian Treecreeper [sp] (Certhia familiaris)
79. European Starling [sp] (Sturnus vulgaris)
80. Eurasian Blackbird [sp] (Turdus merula)
81. Song Thrush [sp] (Turdus philomelos)
82. Mistle Thrush [sp] (Turdus viscivorus)
83. European Robin [sp] (Erithacus rubecula)
84. Common Redstart [sp] (Phoenicurus phoenicurus)
85. Whinchat (Saxicola rubetra)
86. Spotted Flycatcher [sp] (Muscicapa striata)
87. House Sparrow [sp] (Passer domesticus)
88. Dunnock [sp] (Prunella modularis)
89. Yellow Wagtail [sp] (Motacilla flava)
90. Grey Wagtail [sp] (Motacilla cinerea)
91. Pied Wagtail (Motacilla alba yarrellii)
92. Meadow Pipit [sp] (Anthus pratensis)
93. Tree Pipit [sp] (Anthus trivialis)
94. Chaffinch [sp] (Fringilla coelebs)
95. European Greenfinch [sp] (Carduelis chloris)
96. Eurasian Siskin (Carduelis spinus)
97. European Goldfinch [sp] (Carduelis carduelis)
98. Common Redpoll [sp] (Carduelis flammea)
99. Common Linnet [autochthona] (Carduelis cannabina autochthona)
100. Eurasian Bullfinch [sp] (Pyrrhula pyrrhula)
101. Yellowhammer [sp] (Emberiza citrinella)
102. Reed Bunting [sp] (Emberiza schoeniclus)



Early Summer snippets from North Yorkshire - Pied Flycatchers & Redstarts at Strid, Chimney Moths & Mandarin at Jefrey Bog plus lots of flowers!

Pied Flycatcher (male) pic courtesy of D.Cookson

Out with the lads at Strid Woods (nr Bolton Abbey) recently I was thrilled to see up to 15 or so Pied Flycatchers. One of my favourite 'small birds', they bring back happy memories of my first forays into birding during family holidays in the Lake District when used to wander off into the woods for hours on end and cause my parents much anxiety!

Smart birds, they seemed quite numerous back then and still hold their own there and in Wales but in common with so many insect eating birds habitat loss both here and in their sub Saharan wintering grounds due to de-forestation has seen their numbers decline by 25 - 50% in last few decades. To my knowledge, Strid Wood is about the only place in Yorkshire where they breed nowadays.

Redstart (male) Strid Wood. 8/06/15

To my chagrin I didn't manage a single decent shot.. poor light down I the gorge is barely half an excuse, but we all marvelled at their aerial prowess as they darted hither and thither over the river catching Damselflies. Plenty of Spotted Flycatchers there too along with Redstarts, Grey and Pied Wagtails all feasting on as many winged insects as I've seen this year so far.

Redstart (male) Strid Wood. 8/06/15

Strid Wood itself is a smashing and invigorating walk. The path meanders through the woods and along a section of the River Wharfe that has narrowed and deepened into some dramatic gorges, and eventually ends up at Bolton Abbey. The tea rooms at Strid and the usual tourist trappings of the Abbey have made it a popular place even on weekdays so my to would be to go early!



Strid Wood & River Wharfe

Dipper, Strid. 08/06/15

Kingfisher, Strid. 08/06/15

Meadow Crane's Bill, Strid, 08/06/15

The lads (Mikey & Nick), Strid. 08/06/15

At some point along the walk there's some stepping stones across the river to negotiate and I was devilishly looking forward to taking a pic of Mikey trying to cross with his dodgy knee but we took a detour so it never happened ... but this young Curlew with legs akimbo reminds me now of that missed photo op!

 

Curlew, Strid, 08/06/15

 
 


Same Mikey was after a Mandarin Duck for his UK list, and he got several, but he needn't have gone so far -  a couple of days later I spotted this female on the River Derwent at YWT reserve Jefrey Bog!

Yet another YWT reserve ticked off and visited (that's 62 out of 98 now).










A tranquil place this one and for once the sun shone and there was warmth. Should have brought the butterflies out but it was late in the day so I had to settle for some reasonable pics of Chimney Moths amongst the Ragged Robins, Yellow Flag Iris and Marsh Marigolds .....

Chimney Moth, Jefrey Bog, 09/06/15



Chimney Moth, Jefrey Bog, 09/06/15

Ragged Robin ... interestingly backlit, Jefrey Bog, 09/06/15

Marsh Marigold, Jefrey Bog, 09/06/15

 A few more early Summer snippets from round and about and in no particular order to round things off before the Solstice tomorrow - I'll be on Hatfield Moor again and praying for good light!

Red Campions, River Seven at Normanby, 20/05/15



Speedwell, River Seven at Normanby, 20/05/15

Dog Rose, Askham Bog, 14/06/15

Lastingham with the NY moors beyond, from Normaby, 20/05/15

Marsh Orchid, Askham Bog, 13/06/15

Marsh Thistle, Askham Bog, 13/06/15

Singing Yellowhammer, Wykeham, 10/06/15



Chilling out on Hatfield Moor, a possible new breeder, dashing Hobbies and singing Tree Pipits.

Some more good news for Hatfield Moor / Humberhead Peatlands, a couple of Marsh Harriers look like they're going to breed there this year. Its likely that this is overspill from nearby Potteric Carr where there are at least 3 pairs or even Blacktoft Sands where they're also doing well. With so many of our native birds in decline its heartening to witness the continuing expansion of these graceful raptors and it surely can't be long before a pair nest in the Lower Derwent Valley.



Marsh Harrier, Hatfield Moor, 28/05/15

Not the best of pics because of the distance we were away from the nest site but I don't believe anyone else has managed to photographically record this success story and that was my mission on the day. This is the male, a very pale, relatively small individual that could almost be mistaken for a Montagues Harrier from a distance.





Marsh Harrier, Hatfield Moor, 28/05/15

We'll have to wait and see if they breed successfully but the omens are good.





Hobby, Hatfield Moor, 28/05/15

Hobbies have been doing ok on Hatfield for some time now and along with nearby Thorne Moor, its one of the easiest of places to catch up with these dashing, colourful falcons. This one came out of nowhere as we were waiting for the Marsh Harrier to return, caught a dragonfly and in typical fashion ate it on the wing... all over in a flash and I had to be quick to get these pics!



















Hobby devouring a dragonfly, Hatfield Moor, 28/05/15



Hobby, Hatfield Moor, 28/05/15



Hobby2, Hatfield Moor, 28/05/15

We caught up with another Hobby later in the day, just cruising around, easier to photograph and  perhaps a more 'typical' view but to my mind not as exciting a capture as the previous one ..red trousers on view though!






















Even easier was this nice Tree Pipit, one of several singing birds on the moor. To the untrained eye its just another small brown bird; not as exciting as a dashing Hobby or as colourful as say a Redstart but hey they're just as fascinating. They too migrate 1000s of miles from Africa to breed here and they sing better than Hobbies! Holding their own here I'd say but getting scarcer around my vicinity in the Vale of York.



Singing Tree Pipit, Hatfield Moor, 28/05/15



Tree Pipit, Hatfield Moor, 28/05/15

Bright, warm sunshiny days have been few and far between this May in the UK and this wasn't one of them but biking around Hatfield with me old mucker Mark was as enjoyable as ever .. we got the record shots of a potentially new breeding bird for the reserve (mission accomplished), got plenty of other stuff too - disturbed a few Adders, heard a couple of Garden Warblers and many Cuckoos, and just chilled!



Chilled out on Hatfield

Hatfield Moor



Hatfield Moor

Check out the blog for recent sightings here - Hatfield Moor Blog Red Necked Phalarope over this past w/e ..where was my lens!

A good wood found, wild flowers in profusion at last, Snipe a drumming, a wet Moors day and a successful Heron watch event

 

Its been a tricky old merry month of May for me. Just like the UK spring this year - stumbling and stuttering into some kind of recognisable swing, I've struggled a bit to get into the rhythms of the season. Some kind of 'hangover' effect maybe from so many unfettered, uncluttered days in Spain maybe, who knows .. I'll not dwell, its not very interesting!



Water Avens, Pocklington Wood, 15/05/15

I found a new wood just outside Pocklington the other day and these lovely Water Avens growing in profusion certainly were of interest as they're relatively uncommon in East Yorks.

Also known as 'drooping' or 'nodding' avens this native wild flower often finds it way into garden borders because of its attractive pinky red blooms and distinctive shape and I must say it photographs really well!

Its got history, like most wild flowers, ...said to be an excellent natural remedy for diarrhoea this one!















Water Avens, Pocklington Wood, 15/05/15





Water Avens, Pocklington Wood, 15/05/15

No need to look up the medicinal and culinary properties of this next wild flower that is currently scenting many of our woodland glades at the moment ... Wild Garlic!



Wild Garlic, Pocklington Wood, 15/05/15

It grows well in the right conditions .. dampish woodland and there were massive carpets of the stuff here, competing for space with equally impressive stands of Bluebells, and in many ways more attractive to my mind ... certainly photographs better!



Wild Garlic, Pocklington Wood, 15/05/15

For the record here's some of the Bluebells, kind of 'de rigueur' to post a pic of the old 'Calverkeys' at this time of year and catch them while you can.... for they'll be gone in a week or so.

 

Bluebells, Pocklington Wood, 15/05/15

 

We're coming up the best time of year for the vast majority of wild flowers and shrubs now and I'm looking forward to the various Orchid species that should be in flower next month. For now though here's another couple of common but attractive flowers currently in bloom ...

Common Bugle, Pocklington Wood, 15/05/15



  

Herb Robert, Pocklington Wood, 15/05/15



  Pretty sure I heard a Spotted Flycatcher here and possibly a distant Stonechat perched in the middle of a rape seed field but nothing conclusive either way. Another nice Common Whitethroat pic managed though and there were maybe 4 pairs in the general vicinity.

 



Common Whitethroat, Pocklington Wood, 15/05/15



 

Earlier in the month during a brief visit to Strensall Common, just outside York I came across a couple of Northern Wheatears on passage. A good record for the site. and always a treat to see these chaps on their way through. Here's a nice pic of the male perched on top of the firing range there.



Northern Wheatear, Strensall Common, 01/05/15



 

Apologies by the way for the uniform 'centering' of text and pics in this post. Another bug in the  BlogSpot site or maybe my limited html skills? Nothing I seem to be able to do about it except stick to the centre ground ... with hindsight something maybe Ed Milliband might have considered? Oooh er -  a bit of politics on timbobagginsabroad! A definite non starter.

 

 

 A planned trip up to the North Yorks Moors last weekend in the great company of messrs Robin Marrs and Mark Paine was blighted somewhat by the weather but hey we chilled well and explored many moorland nooks, valleys and car parks. Although the light was dismal nearly all day, 2 Fulmars gliding inland over Gorse bushes at Ravenscar, briefly illuminated as they were by watery late afternoon sunshine, has my vote as the best picture I never took this month award. Live long in the memory though!

 

A few nice captures of Sand Martins, maybe 60 or so, feeding across a nearby cliff top pond partially made up for that however. This is the best of the crop

 

 



 with this one a distant 2nd ....such a shame the weather gods didn't shine on us that day.

 

 

 

 ..... a cheeky Nuthatch at Forge Valley that has probably been photographed thousands of times and from a thousand better angles was my only other half decent pic of the day.

 

 



A flock of Crossbills at Ellerburn Bank were my first in years and rumours of  Hen Harriers speculating and making the odd appearance again over the heather all added to a memorable Moors experience.

 

A few more random pictures from my May so far. The Spring courtship flight and sound of displaying Common Snipe is as unique as it gets in the bird world... the strange, eerie and sometimes nocturnal 'drumming' sound and whirring flight of these game birds has even led some folk to believe that it is the sound of alien spacecraft about to land!

 

Broad daylight on Thornton Ings in the Lower Derwent Valley and here is proof that these noises are earthbound birds with vibrating tails! Not a particularly clear shot but you can clearly see the detached outer tail feathers that act like wind vanes and produce that totally weird sound as they career up, down and around in the skies above their breeding sites.

Snipe a drumming, Thornton Ings, 13/05/15

 

  

Even more random .... here's a rare bird. Me working! This was at the Yorkshire Sculpture Park (Bretton Lakes) and the annual Heron Watch event where more than 600 passers by had the opportunity to watch nesting Grey Herons. All pics courtesy of Carole Tidball. Great event, lots of interest (surprising how many people didn't even realise that herons nest in trees!), and 11 sign ups for Yorkshire Wildlife Trust by yours truly - some effort in just 5 hrs!