Early returning wading birds and late flowering flowers, Spotted Redshanks steal the show

 Mid August, Summer is on the wain, fruit is starting to appear and yet it still feels like 'slumber' weather (for me anyway!) and I've had a right Summer lull this year with a very lazy July in particular, mind you the weather was so appalling I don't think I missed much! Enough was enough about mid August, there's a limit to how much cricket you can listen to whilst precious time ebbs away, and finally I decided to put on my walking boots, pack a rucksack, grab the camera and get back out there!

Blacktoft Sands on the Humber estuary is one of my 'go to' places in late Summer, mainly for wading birds that begin to turn up on UK wetlands after their relatively short breeding seasons in more northerly climes.

Spotted Redshank breed mainly in Siberia and like many waders winter mainly in Africa and Southern Europe and increasingly in the UK - it's not uncommon these days to see big flocks of these elegant birds on the Humber Estuary right through the winter months. I love 'em, most birders do - they're just a bit different, a bit exotic, different in many ways from our own native Common Redshank - no wing bar, longer legs, longer more slender bill, and the 'clutcher' is to see one in breeding plumage - almost entirely black with barely discernible white spots. Of the dozen or so at Blacktoft recently at least one was a 'clutcher'!

Spotted Redshank, Blacktoft, 14/08/2023

Spotted Redshank (summer plumaged), Blacktoft, 14/08/2023

Spotted Redshank (winter plumaged), Blacktoft, 14/08/2023

Spotted Redshank, Blacktoft, 14/08/2023

Splendid looking aren't they, and I was pleased to get some good flight shots. Other waders present on 2 visits within a week there included Green Sandpiper, Common Redshank, Black Tailed Godwit, Avocet, Ruff, Snipe and 2 Great White Egrets. 

Ruff, Blacktoft Sands, 11/08/2023

Great White Egret, Blacktoft Sands, 11/08/2023

Green Sandpiper, Blacktoft Sands, 11/08/2023

Ruff, Blacktoft Sands, 11/08/2023

Green Sandpiper, Blacktoft Sands, 11/08/2023

A trip to Skipwith Common, at about the same time, around some of the lesser 'dog walked' areas, produced more signs of the summer season beginning to shift as fruiting bodies from below push up to sniff the air!

Parasol Mushroom, Skipwith Common, 10/08/2023

Parasol Mushroom, Skipwith Common, 10/08/2023

Fly Agaric, Skipwith Common, 10/08/2023

Sulphur Tufts, Skipwith Common, 10/08/202

Above ground not much stirred there, a humid and steamy day, a single Swift overhead was just about the only noteworthy bird until a mixed tit and warbler flock grabbed my interest. Looked in vain for an attendant Spotted Flycatcher, something different, but had to be satisfied with 2 Blackcaps in amongst the Chiffchaffs, Blue, Great & Long Tailed Tits.

A couple of trips to the coast, Flamborough both times, got me a single female Pied Flycatcher along Old Fall hedge along with 2 Whitethroats. Stalked the flycatcher for 15 mins trying to get even a record shot but no joy. There'd been a brief window of favourable migration weather, hence the flycatcher (hell there was more than 20 at Spurn but just couldn't be arsed to drive all the way down there!), no need, if it's happening, if birds are on the move, I'm interested, but I can hang out of my attic window in York and record over 100 Swifts flying south, as I did on the 27th of July, and be a happy boy!

My Skyline, Northeast outskirts of York

But Flamborough seems to be my automatic destination if the winds go easterly. It might not have quite the profile of Spurn but I'll be there several more times than I will be at Spurn this Autumn, it's so handy, and to my mind has a bit more variety in terms of  vistas and habitats, more hedgerows, clifftop fields, wooded areas. One of the days I was there there were 100s of hirundines, House Martins mainly, congregating over the fields - a sod to photograph but I did my best.

House Martin, Flamborough Headland, 18/08/2023

House Martin, Flamborough Headland, 18/08/2023

Another day, with less favourable winds and not much moving, myself and good mate Rob, were treated to a family party of Sparrowhawks over the plantation at Old Fall.

Sparrowhawk, Flamborough, 22/08/2023

Sparrowhawk, Flamborough, 22/08/2023

Yes our latest Summer is way past its zenith, its embers morphing into early Autumn, wild flowers everywhere are enjoying their last flourishes and putting on a late show. Evening Primrose, one of my favourite flowers to photograph, are classic late bloomers and they find the scrubby ground at North Cave much to their liking .....

Evening Primrose, North Cave Wetlands, 08/08/2023

Evening Primrose, North Cave Wetlands, 08/08/2023

The Pocklington Canal is locally famed for for its botanical riches - here's a few along with a selection of other late bloomers.

Flowering Rush, Pocklington Canal, 09/08/2023

Marsh Woundwort, Pocklington Canal, 09/08/2023

Sneezewort, Pocklington Canal, 09/08/2023

Yarrow, North Cave Wetlands, 21/08/2023

Tansy, Tophill Low, 24/08/2023

St John's Wort, Tophill Low, 24/08/2023

Marsh Gentians, Strensall Common, 23/08/2023

..... and a few, like these Marsh Gentians on Strensall Common, leave it super late, in fact these are still to open fully, and when they do I'll get a better camera on them - I've got a bit lazy with my smartphone, its more convenient of course, occasionally performs admirably, but is no match for the SLR.

We're super lucky to have these delightful little specimens up here. Increasingly rare in the North of England they are more usually associated with the New Forest, where they grow in relative abundance, and the heaths of Sussex and Dorset. Tricky to find on Strensall unless you know where to look, they're only tiny and nestle in amongst the heather on some of the more inaccessible parts of the Common. 

My exhaustive tramping on Strensall also produced a couple of good birds - a juv Whinchat and a Spotted Flycatcher alongside a single Yellow Wagtail, Green Woodpecker, Whitethroat, plenty of southward drifting Barn Swallows and nice looking male Linnet still in its breeding plumage.

Linnet, Strensall Common, 23/08/2023

Whinchat (juv), Strensall Common, 23/08/2023

I waded in with wading birds at the beginning of the month and I'll wade out to them too. A visit to Tophill Low, a Yorkshire Water nature reserve nr Beverley, was primarily to see 2 Blue Winged Teal that had found their way there - rare ducks, new to me and duly ticked off but nothing to look at since they were both fast asleep! Got a record pic but honestly it's not worth gracing this page - no doubt there'll be decent pics from others on Twitter or the Tophill blog. However I did manage a half decent Wood Sandpiper, one of 3 that were present along with several Green Sandpipers.

Wood Sandpiper, Tophill Low, 24/08/2023

Wood Sandpipers certainly don't winter in the UK, that one will be Africa bound, Turnstones do though - a common sight around our coasts in the winter months, but rarely do they look like this one, still in its resplendent chestnut breeding plumage - probably bred in Siberia, will soon shed its colour like the one next to it and maybe hang out on the Humber until next year. 

Turnstone, South Landing, Flamborough, 22/08/2023

 

All around the Humberhead Levels - late Chiffchaffs, 1000s of waders, Whoopers and Great Egret on Gringly Carrs, and local waterways.

Mid November and a second wave of this blasted pandemic threatening to cause yet more hardship and suffering I found myself 'furloughed' again and spent a good deal of my spare time in and around the Humberhead Levels and Humber Estuary. Don't know about you, but when I think the Humber, I think 'mud' and lots of it - not a great tag line or an advert to draw in the tourists! Suits me but I suspect that I suffer from the same sort of unconscious bias, and although only mere 15 miles away as the crow flies, its far from a regular haunt. I should definitely make more of an effort!

Lapwings, North Cave Wetlands, 12/11/20

North Cave Wetlands, just inland from the Humber is most definitely somewhere I visit a lot, all the better on a sunny day and a convenient place to meet my old birding pal Mark before moving on. 

These Lapwings were looking resplendent with their iridescent plumage catching the light perfectly. Winter duck numbers have been building up nicely there recently with several hundred Teal and Wigeon along with smaller numbers of Shoveler, Gadwall, Tufted Duck and 5 Pochard

Common Teal, North Cave Wetlands, 12/11/20

Lots of Common Snipe there too and strangely enough they were nearly all huddled together on a small island with Teal. Don't bother counting - there were 21!

Common Snipe & Teal, North Cave Wetlands, 12/11/20

Common Snipe & Teal, North Cave Wetlands, 12/11/20

 

Other wading birds present included 10 or so Redshank and at least 3 Ruff. Other birds of note here included Siskin, Stonechat, Whooper Swan and a lot of Greylag Geese.

 

 

Me larkin about, Oak Hill CP. 12/11/20

Next up was a visit to a place neither of us had previously been to - Oak Hill Country Park, a former brickyard pond complex in Goole. A pleasant enough walk around and always good to go somewhere new but nothing much to report apart a Sparrowhawk, Great Crested Grebe and a few Tufted Ducks. If nothing else it was useful to get some location pics for my Yorkshire's Wildlife site. 

Oak Hill CP. 12/11/20

Oak Hill CP. 12/11/20

Oak Hill CP. 12/11/20

Looking out over the Ouse at Blacktoft, 12/11/20

We were hoping for a pub lunch at the Hope & Anchor at Blacktoft, on the banks of the River Ouse as it flows into the Humber, but sadly the pub was closed (sign of the times!). Always a good vantage point for watching the comings and goings on the river and views of Blacktoft Sands on the opposite bank, we made the best of the last rays of sunlight. It was cold and getting colder but we were rewarded by some mega Lapwing and Golden Plover flocks with c4,000 and c1,000 respectively, plus 4 Marsh Hariers and c1,500 Pink Footed Geese.

 

Far Ings, 17/11/20

A few days later I decided to pop over the Humber Bridge into Lincolnshire for visits to Far Ings and Alkborough Flats. I've been to both several times before but all too often these have been brief passing visits, so with an early start I was determined to give these two well known birding sites a good going over.

I was really hoping to get a Bittern and at Far Ings, but despite much searching and scanning, I was left empty handed and had to make do with good photo opportunity of a stalking Grey Heron.

Grey Heron, Far Ings, 17/11/20

Wrinkled Club, Far Ings, 17/11/20

Amazingly I noted a few still flowering plants around the visitor centre and wandering around the secluded tracks, a clump of fungi. Not been an especially good year for fungi this year to my mind with very few fungal displays on my regular patch. This one I've seen before, its a small delicate growth called Wrinkled Club.

Yellow Ox Eye Daisy, Far Ings, 17/11/20

The path that skirts the northern edge of Far Ings offers some great views of the Humber Estuary, the Bridge and across the reedbeds of the reserve, and as I was walking and admiring the views, I had a high flying big finch with prominent white wing bars flying over the Humber - a 95% Hawfinch for me but always flying away (one of those!). A few small flocks of Wigeon, Curlew and Redshank over the Humber and passing Pink Footed Geese overhead were enhanced by a lucky spot of a late Chiffchaff in with a tit flock. 

Wigeon, Humber Estuary, 17/11/20

I went into every hide and scanned, and waited, especially after talking to a chap who'd just seen a Bittern fly over and plop down into the reeds, but sadly I left with only record shots of the reserve and the ever present Humber bridge.

Far Ings, 17/11/20

 A brief stop off at South Ferriby en route to Alkborough produced the days best birds with 2 Spotted Redshank in with 40ish Common Redshank, c60 Avocets, 8 Black Tailed Godwit and plenty of Teal and Wigeon, all put up by a passing Marsh Harrier. 

Avocets, South Ferriby, 17/11/20

Teal, South Ferriby, 17/11/20

Pink Footed Geese, Alborough Flats, 17/11/20

Alkborough Flats is a large area of flood plains and reeds that sits on the southern bank of the Humber where the rivers Ouse and Trent merge. A well known Lincolnshire birding site with regular sightings of Bittern, Bearded Tit, Spoonbill as well as 1000s of wading birds. I certainly saw 1000s of waders, Golden Plover mainly and plenty of Pink Footed Geese, but alas not a sight nor sound of a hoped for Bearded Tit. I stayed dill dusk and counted 8 Marsh Harriers going to roost on the opposite bank at  Blacktoft Sands, and took some ok pics of the sun setting over the reeds.

Alborough Flats, 17/11/20

Golden Plover, Alborough Flats, 17/11/20

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Stonechat, Alborough Flats, 17/11/20

 

Sunset over Alborough Flats, 17/11/20

Sunset over Alborough Flats, 17/11/20

Humberhead Levels

 

The Humber Estuary is but a small part of the area known as the Humberhead Levels, some 2,000 square kilometers of flat land extending both and south of the Humber. The moors of Hatfield and Thorne along with Skipwith Common and the Lower Derwent Valley are the best known nature reserves but there are many good spots in between, and a second catch up with Mark in the month took us on a tour of some of the sites around Gringly Carr, Nottinghamshire.

 

 

 

 

 

Bird of the day was undeniably a late Chiffchaff in the late afternoon sun, calling away and feeding on apids in a sycamore tree.

Chiffchaff, near Hayton, 19/11/20

Great Egret, Gringly Carr, 19/11/20

A Great Egret by a drain on Gringly Carr was a notable record but too far away to get decent pic, unlike some of the 240 or so Whooper Swans we saw on wet fields. 

 

 

 

 

 

Whooper Swan, Gringly Carr, 19/11/20

I'm toying with the idea of buying a canal boat as a live aboard and I'm that thought was not lost on Mark as he took me down the Chesterfield Canal for the last part of our tour around.

Canal Boat on the Chesterfield Canal, 19/11/20

Lurker under the bridge, Chesterfield Canal, 19/11/20