Showing posts with label Howardian Hills. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Howardian Hills. Show all posts

Friday 28 January 2022

Crisp winter days and some cracking good New Year's birds.

 A new year, fresh challenges and many promises to self - most of which I hope to achieve whilst realising that such is my want, many I wont! However and most importantly, I'm happy enough - still doing my usual thing (strolling around birding and taking pictures mainly!), and fit and healthy enough, although at 62, whilst I don't feel particularly old, becoming more and more aware that in the eyes of all the young bucks I am that grumpy old git walking around aimlessly with a pair of binoculars around his neck. It's a bit like the pandemic turning into an endemic - I must learn to live with it!

So last year I somehow manged to amass 207 bird species; very good for me, and nearly all in Yorkshire & North Lincs. Several 'twitches' in that lot of course and I fully intend to twitch again this year. So far I've managed to fail to see a Dusky Warbler at Wheldrake Ings, Bittern at North Cave Wetlands and Baikal Teal at Hornsea Mere, but success 2nd time around with the Great Grey Shrike at Wistow Clough and Richard's Pipit on Filey Brigg. I found a Water Pipit in the Lower Derwent Valley and whilst at Hornsea Mere got both Slavonian & Black Necked Grebe, a Long Tailed Duck and 4 Scaup.

Of that healthy bunch my stand out bird so far this January has been the Great Grey Shrike. I couldn't have picked a better day for my second attempt to track down this most impressive bird, cold yes, but one of those bright and sunny winter days without a breath of wind. I watched it for a good hour or so as it flew around hedges and perched up on favoured treetops. 

Great Grey Shrike, Wistow Clough
Great Grey Shrike, Wistow Clough, nr Cawood. 17/01/2022

Even with a telescope, the problem with spotting birds at Hornsea Mere is its sheer size. It's the largest freshwater lake in Yorkshire and invariably most of the good stuff will be on the opposite side! The 4 Scaup came closest but the Long Tailed Duck was just a dot but at least I managed a record shot. No chance with the Black Necked and Slavonian Grebe but at least I saw them both.

Long Tailed Duck, Hornsea Mere
Long Tailed Duck, Hornsea Mere. 10/01/2022


Scaup, Hornsea Mere
Scaup, Hornsea Mere. 10/01/2022

I knew about all of the above birds so it was just a case of going to find them but the thrill of finding your own good bird is something else, so I was a happy bunny indeed to find a Water Pipit on floodwater adjacent to the Pocklington Canal. 

Water Pipit, Pocklington Canal
Water Pipit, Pocklington Canal, 03/01/2022

Filey Brigg
Filey Brigg, 19/01/2022
Scarce as they are, especially around the York area, I suspect that more Water Pipits are missed than seen given the amount of favourable habitat throughout the Lower Derwent Valley. Richard's Pipits are even scarcer and although a photograph was never on the cards I was pleased to catch a brief glimpse of the elusive one that has been present at Filey for the past few weeks. No luck with Grey Phalarope though - been 2 reported from here recently, but 13 Purple Sandpiper was a first for the year and it was good to see a few other shorebirds in great light.




Oystercatcher, Filey Brigg
Oystercatcher, Filey Brigg, 19/01/2022

Shag, Filey Brigg
Shag, prattling about on the sea, Filey Brigg, 19/01/2022

Sanderling, Filey Brigg
Sanderling, Filey Brigg, 19/01/2022


Out and about elsewhere so far this January, I've got around some of my familiar haunts around the Lower Derwent ValleyNorth Cave Wetlands and York, plus a couple of visits to the hills of North Yorkshire. 

A walk from Cockmoor Hall to the Wykeham raptor viewpoint was undertaken in the hope of seeing a Goshawk. It was another crisp sunny day, perfect I thought for raptors, and having seen nothing of note on the walk I was still hopeful .. certainly looked promising.

Raptor viewpoint, Wykeham
Approaching the Raptor viewpoint, Wykeham, 14/01/2022

Cheeky Robin, Wykeham
Robin, Filey Wykeham, 14/01/2022

Not a sausage, not even a Buzzard! I gave it an hour, photographed a cheeky Robin that was after scraps from my lunch, then gave up and not for the first time I left Wykeham 'hawkless'. Lovely walk though and I was happily compensated by some great views of 3 Crossbills 'gipp gipping' away in the top of a fir tree and coming down to drink from a thawed out pond in a timber yard.



Crossbill, Wykeham
Crossbill, Wykeham, 14/01/2022

Crossbill, Wykeham
Crossbill, Wykeham, 14/01/2022

The sun was shining again when I decided to do a 5 mile circular walk in the Howardian Hills around Terrington and the Wiganthorpe estate. I've been transferring all of my old bird records from notebooks onto a database recently, and bearing in mind we're talking records from nearly half a century ago (now I really do feel old!), it's triggered many a memory. Back in the 80s Terrington Pond was a regular 'pop in' when out birding in these beautiful hills that I still explore today, but to my utter astonishment I realised that I hadn't gazed upon this particular spot for decades! So it was nostalgia that prompted this walk as it passed right by the place. Stupidly forgot to take a picture but it was looking good - mainly frozen over but 33 Teal hugging the thawed out margins were nice to see, as where 2 Marsh Tits by the side of Rose Cottage Farm. I broke out the packed lunch at the top a hill near Swinsy Carr with great views of Slingsby Heights and Thurtle Wood to the east, and disturbed 2 Buzzards that flapped around quite close giving me some great pics of our most common raptor.

Looking east from Wiganthorpe towards Slingsby Heights, 13/01/2022

Common Buzzard, Wiganthorpe, 13/01/2022

A further trip up to the Howardian Hills, this time around Scackleton, Grimston and Yearsley Moors later on this month was marred by a group of rowdy pheasant shooters around Oulston Reservoir, but Brambling, Goldcrest, Redpoll and Nuthatch were welcome additions to the year list. Lots of Fieldfares about (including a flock of about 320 in one field alone), 2 Marsh Tits and a single Willow Tit taking bird seed from one of the entrances to Yearsley Moor the other highlights.

Willow Tit, Yearsley Moor, 26/01/2022

Elsewhere, both North Cave Wetlands and Wheldrake Ings have been superb this month for massed flocks of thousands of ducks, geese and other over-wintering birds such as Golden Plover of which I approximated about 850 on one my visits to Wheldrake. 

Golden Plover, Wheldrake Ings, 07/01/2022

Wintering ducks, mainly Wigeon & Teal, Wheldrake Ings, 07/01/2022

Lapwings, North Cave Wetlands, 11/01/2022

As far as smaller birds are concerned I've had some impressive counts of Fieldfares in various fields round and about including appx 440 nr Terrington on the 13th and have been thoroughly entertained by a regular flock of anywhere between 50 & 100 Siskins at Askham Bog whilst out recruiting for YWT

Siskin, Askham Bog, 26/01/2022

Siskin, Askham Bog, 26/01/2022

Fieldfare, Wheldrake Ings, 07/01/2022

It hasn't been a particularly harsh winter so far this year but there have been some impressively frosty mornings around my way and as I've alluded to above, a fair few bright and sunny days to gladden the heart and I can sense the first stirrings of spring. Hazel Catkins have begun to appear and I had my first snatch of  Chaffinch song on the 23rd January at my campsite at Fangfoss. Yesterday at Askham Bog one of several Coal Tits was singing too and presented nicely for the camera. I don't think I've fully appreciated the subtleties of this tiny tit's colouring before - look at that gorgeous sandy orange on its flanks!

Coal Tit, Askham Bog, 26/01/2022

Today during a walk around Strensall Common that yielded no real surprises I saw this Great Spotted Woodpecker busily pecking away at a dead silver birch and it reminded of 2 I heard 'drumming' in the grounds of Sledmere House last week. Both in the same general vicinity and I was struck by the different timbre of each - that's how I knew there were two, probably my earliest record of this early sign of spring.

Great Spotted Woodpecker, 27/01/2022

I'm still finding that my smartphone is more than adequate for landscapes (as long as I don't zoom in too much) and though not ready to give up on my shorter lens SLR set up just yet , I remain very impressed with my S10e's picture quality - and so lightweight! Here's a few from my January ramblings - 

Sunset over North Cave Wetlands, 11/01/2022

Spittal Beck, Nr Fangfoss, 18/01/2022


Pocklington Canal at Storwood, 03/01/2022

Yearsley Moor, 26/01/2022

Oulston Reservoir, 26/01/2022

Wednesday 31 March 2021

Early Spring post - 2 Hen Harriers & Crossbills through York, entertaining Green Woodpeckers, first migrants trickle in whilst the ducks linger whilst spring flowers and butterflies add some much needed colour!

Don't you just love it when those bright green little leaves start appearing on the hedgerows, when the birds start to sing again and the first flowers poke their way up from the ground🌸🌼🌻 - yes we're still in lockdown but Spring is sprung and things are slowly getting better. Here's my round up for March - it was a busy month with many highlights😅

Yearsley Moor, 01/03/21
Howardian Hills. -  a couple of visits to the hills, Yearsley Moor & Wass Bank on the 1st and Coulton Moor on the 9th. These hills are so picturesque, at any time of the year, and great for walking. I've pretty much done all of the well known beauty spots, especially around Castle Howard, but never really explored Coulton Moor and found a path around Yearsley I hadn't walked before, an elevated track with good views of the surrounding woodlands.

A couple of Great Spotted Woodpeckers, both 'drumming', Marsh Tit, Barn Owl and small numbers of Siskin and Lesser Redpoll were the birding highlights here, and then a punishing walk to the top of Wass Bank was rewarded by a highly mobile flock of 18 Golden Plovers

Coulton Moor, 09/03/21
A week or so later around Coulton Moor on an altogether brighter day I had my second Chiffchaffs of the spring, 2 of them, both subdued and I'm yet to hear one 'chiffchaffing'. Also had a nice male Brambling in with Chaffinches, a tantalising flock of big finches over the trees that were probably Crossbills, a nicely posed male Yellowhammer and continuing the 'yellow' theme a few bunches of small Daffodils that to my eye resembled the wild daffs you get around Farndale at this time of year🌻




Yellowhammer, Coulton Moor, 09/03/21


Wild Daffodils, Coulton Moor, 09/03/21

Hen Harrier, Strensall Common, 07/03/21
Strensall Common - 3 visits (7th, 12th & 26th.) Forget the 26th (all I saw of note was a flock of 80 Lesser Redpolls) but on the 7th and feeling suitably self righteous for getting up early and beating most of the dog walkers on 'Strenny' Common, I had a very productive morning. First up and literally my first scan of the common I came onto a 'grey ghost' - a male Hen Harrier gliding along the northern boundary of the reserve. That's a great record for the York area😮




Male Crossbill, Strensall Common, 07/03/21
Doubly satisfying for me as I'd dipped out on one of the same that was roosting at the same location over the new year. Minutes later and still feeling mightily pleased with myself I lifted the bins to some fluttering birds at the top of a stand of Scots Pine trees - Crossbills! Not a common bird around here and a first for me on Strensall. There were 9 in total, mostly males, and I spent a good while watching and photographing them.

To cap off a memorable morning I managed to get a decent few pics of at least 2 sing Woodlarks.









Male Crossbill, Strensall Common, 07/03/21

Singing Woodlark, Strensall Common, 07/03/21
 
A return visit on the 12th yielded none of the above star birds but a group of 5 Common Buzzards cruising over the common was a pleasing sight. I'm old enough to still remember when even a single Buzzard anywhere in Yorkshire was a red letter day!

Common Buzzards, Strensall Common, 12/03/21

Strensall Common, 12/03/21

Lower Derwent Valley - several visits throughout the month. 2 weeks after my Hen Harrier on Strensall I was unbelievably lucky again with another male through Melbourne Ings on the 26th. Closer and with better light I got some better pics of this fabulous bird as it flew in from the west and then disappeared over Seavy Carr (possibly following the line of the Pocklington Canal?)

Hen Harrier, Melbourne / Thornton Ings, 25/03/21

I'm not the only one to have recorded Hen Harriers in the York area recently and there's been way more records in Yorkshire as a whole - this can only be good news for this much persecuted bird😀.

Chiffchaff, Bubwith, 06/03/21
Elsewhere in the LDV this early spring I had my first returning Chiffchaff at Bubwith on the 6th, some impressive flocks of Black Tailed Godwit at Wheldrake Ings, drumming Common Snipes over Thornton Ings, a build up of other wading birds such as Oystercatchers, Redshank and Ruff, the usual Marsh Harriers (including several wing tagged birds at Wheldrake, whilst on the duck front, although steadily decreasing in numbers there remain good numbers of Wigeon, Teal, Shoveler, Goldeneye and Pintail across the floodplains and a drake Scaup at Wheldrake on the 13th was a good find.











Pintail & Wigeon, Bubwith, 06/03/21


Shoveler, Wheldrake Ings, 02/03/21

Wing tagged Marsh Harrier, Wheldrake Ings, 02/03/21

Oystercatchers, Bank Island, 13/03/21

Drake Goldeneye, Wheldrake Ings, 13/03/21


Drake Scaup, Wheldrake Ings, 13/03/21

Drake Goldeneye, Wheldrake Ings, 20/03/21

Skylark, Wheldrake Ings, 20/03/21
Pretty obvious from the above pic that it was a fine early spring day at Wheldrake, just look at that green sheen and bright golden eye! A day to lift the spirits after a whole winter of 'lockdown' and what better than a singing Skylark to signal better times ahead!

Whilst the Skylark has been immortalised by many writers and poets, and will be forever associated with the joys of spring and new beginnings, the folklore of owls is the complete opposite in that they're often associated with death and dying💀. We're all going to die of course but on such a fine day the sight of this beautiful Barn Owl flying around Bank Island in the middle of the day certainly didn't summon any thoughts of the grim reaper - I felt glad to be alive!










Barn Owl. Bank Island, 20/03/21

Barn Owl. Bank Island, 20/03/21

Thorne Moor (4/03/21) - Met up with my pal Mark to investigate canal boats and moorings at Thorne and Rawcliffe Bridge. I'm still interested in the idea and there's plenty of boats for sale but available moorings are like rocking horse shit! Afterwards we went onto Thorne Moor and heard a Common Crane, little else about though apart from 4 Stonechat and 3 distant Marsh Harriers.

Thorne Moor, 04/03/21

Black Headed Gulls, North Cave, 14/03/21
North Cave Wetlands (14/03/21). There's something about this reserve that just gets me into counting mode. Something to do with the layout of the place I think, with each lagoon having its own hide / viewing area, or maybe I'm just a nerd😂. Either way its a very mindful thing to do but have to admit I gave up on trying to estimate Black Headed Gull numbers - there must be a breeding population of 1000+ here and boy are they noisy, entertaining too though!


North Cave Wetlands, 14/03/21
Most wildfowl numbers had dwindled since my last visit with just c75 Wigeon, c140 Teal, c45 Mallard, c80 Gadwall, c85 Tufted Duck and c45 Shoveler, whilst 24 Pochard and 44 Shelduck were on the up. 9 Oystercatchers, c60 Lapwing, 2 Curlew and 3 Redshank accounted for the waders and I also had 5 Little Grebes, 4 Great Crested Grebes and single Marsh Harrier, Red Kite and Peregrine. The highlight though was an early Sand Martin over the main lake and a pair of highly entertaining Green Woodpeckers from out of the back of Crossland Hide.


Green Woodpecker, North Cave Wetlands, 14/03/21
In my experience Green 'peckers have always been somewhat of a challenge to photograph, so to see a pair of them flitting to and fro from a nearby hedge, feeding on the ground and even taking a drink from the lagoon was a real thrill and with a nice steady base for the camera from the hide I filled my boots and took many shots - here's a selected few of said 'peckers and a few more bird shots from the Cave.


Green Woodpecker, North Cave Wetlands, 14/03/21

Green Woodpecker, North Cave Wetlands, 14/03/21

Green Woodpecker, North Cave Wetlands, 14/03/21


Shelduck, North Cave Wetlands, 14/03/21


Tree Sparrow, North Cave Wetlands, 14/03/21

Pochard, North Cave Wetlands, 14/03/21


Little Grebe, North Cave Wetlands, 14/03/21

Hempholme / Tophill Low (17/03/21). Yet another trip down to the canal boat moorings on the River Hull at Hempholme to enquire about moorings but nothing doing so I walked south along the river and ended up skirting the northern edge of Tophill Low nature reserve - closed of course and strictly speaking I shouldn't have been there but couldn't resist a peek over the edge of O reservoir. Some gorgeous looking Goldeneye, Teal and Tufted Ducks, a Brimstone butterfly along with several Tortoiseshells.
Teal, Tophill Low, 17/03/21

Tortoiseshel, Hempholme, 17/03/21

Pair of Goldeneye, Hempholme 17/03/21

Aire & Calder Canal, 19/03/21
Rawcliffe Bridge and Goole Marina (19/03/21) - yet another canal boat / moorings fact finding mission. I sussed out the location of Goole marina in preparation for a planned visit to view a converted tug, then walked up and down the Aire & Calder navigation from both Goole and Rawcliffe Bridge.

Along the canal tow / cycle path I had 3 Marsh Harriers, 2 Goosanders a couple of singing Cettis Warblers and 2 very distant Common Cranes on Goole Fields.

Marsh Harriers, Aire & Calder Canal, 19/03/21


Common Cranes, Goole Fields, 19/03/21

Rosedale, 22/03/21
Rosedale (22/03/21) - met up with my pal Rob to see if the Ring Ouzels were back at their breeding grounds near Blakey Ridge. We sadly drew a blank but it was a lovely sunny day and a great walk round Rosedale Head. 

Birds were in short supply, plenty of Meadow Pipits though, and with the sun shining, good company, good exercise and the sound of Curlews and Lapwings in the air, what's not to like😁

Meadow Pipit, Rosedale, 22/03/21


Curlew, Rosedale, 22/03/21

Alkborough Flats (24/03/21) - a very productive morning and catch up with Mark yielded another 4 bird species to my 2021 yearlist - Bittern (heard booming), Barnacle Goose (2), Bearded Tit (6), Spoonbill (2) and Spotted Redshank (6). I got reasonably lucky with the Bearded Tits - had my eye on a handsome male flitting in and out of the reeds and though not A1 its comfortably my best shot of one. 
Bearded Tit, Alkborough, 24/03/21
The Avocets were much easier!

Avocets, Alkborough, 24/03/21

Hotham Carrs (28/03/21) - having recently followed one of the public footpaths from the Carrs to the Market Weighton Canal, this was the other one (always good to join these walks up😊). A pleasant walk on a dull day across fairly low intensity farmland was quite productive with a small herd of Whooper Swans (6), Oystercatcher, 8 Curlew, Barn Owl, Grey Partridge, lots of finches and Yellowhammer, 2 Corn Buntings and I'm 99% sure I flushed a Jack Snipe out of the canal - small, pale, no zigzag flight pattern and it didn't make a noise when it flew off. I'm having it!
Corn Bunting, Hotham Carrs, 28/03/21

Askham Bog - from the end of the month I was off furlough and back to work for YWT recruiting at Askham Bog (hurray!). I'm so lucky to not only have a job to return to, but one that I actively enjoy and look forward to  - a lot of folk have lost jobs and found it tough during the pandemic, so I'm always mindful of just how lucky I am. 
Back recruiting, Askham Bog, 30/03/21

















Askham Bog, 29/03/21

It felt so good to get back in the saddle again, the sun shining and plenty of people about to talk to; my usual place by the bridge, part of scenery again! So good I worked all of the available days in March (29th - 31st). I can walk around the reserve at the end of the day when I've packed up but to be honest, most of the best wildlife I've seen there has been from within 50 yards of that stand on the pic. 





Wren, Askham Bog, 30/03/21
The days I was there I had 5 butterfly species - Comma, Tortoiseshell, Brimstone, Orange Tip and Peacock, and although not seen by me there were Smooth Newts rising in the pond and I even managed to see some species of dragonfly larvae moving about in the watery depth of the main dyke. To my mind the numbers of resident birds on the bog seem to be decreasing, imperfectively to the casual visitor perhaps but when you've worked a patch on a regular basis for nine years you notice these things. Just one sighting of a Willow Tit in 3 days ain't good for a place that's supposed to be a stronghold for them. No Marsh Tits and no Great Spotted Woodpecker - not good. Plenty of Wrens still though and a pair of Long Tailed Tits have decided to build a nest less than 6 feet away from where I stand - bugger to get anything like a decent pic because of so many twigs in the way - still trying!

Common Frog, Askham Bog, 15/03/21
A couple of weeks before I returned to work I popped in for a recce and was watching a flock of 20 or so Redpolls by the pond and was suddenly aware of a faint croaking - thankfully it wasn't my last dying breath😁 .. noo, it was Frogs of course🐸. As soon as I investigated further they all scurried off and submerged but I got lucky on one and found tons of frogspawn.







Frogspawn, Askham Bog, 15/03/21

On the banked sides of the path into Askham Bog there's always a nice display of Lesser Celandines at this time of the year, one of my all time favourite flowers - to me they're the absolute embodiment of spring with their massed ranks of yellow petals all straining to catch the rays of the sun! 

Lesser Celandines, Askham Bog, 30/03/21

Common Buzzard, East Cottingwith, 08/03/21

Off to Wales next month for a week or so, Ynis Hir and then Anglesey, first trip away since Northumberland last November and really looking forward to it. Not sure what I'm up to in terms of  bird species for the year, somewhere northwards of 130ish I think but still on it and with new birds arriving daily and another road trip in the offing I fully expect to top 160 by the time I next post! In the meantime here's a few more pics from March.



Red Kite,Pocklington Canal, 08/03/21


Singing Dunnock, Askham Bog, 30/03/21


Peacock Butterfly, Askham Bog, 30/03/21


Treecreeper, Askham Bog, 31/03/21


Bubwith Church, 06/03/21


Coltsfoot, North Cave Wetlands, 14/03/21