Mini break to the Solway Firth

Solway Firth, places visited

 Took myself off for a short break (couple of days) to Cumbria back end of October. Found myself a decent enough B & B on the English side of the Solway Firth at Easton, a few miles east of Bowness on Solway. 

For a change I'd set off good and early and arrived in good time to check out one of several nearby nature reserves - Drumburgh Moss, a raised peat bog managed by Cumbria Wildlife Trust.

Mid afternoon, overcast and spitting with rain, I wasn't expecting much but was hoping for Short Eared Owl which are known to frequent the place in autumn. No joy on that front but I did have a Raven, Curlew, Fieldfare overhead and a couple of Stonechats and I enjoyed having the place to myself for a couple of hours -  covered maybe a quarter of the reserve, it's a big one (121 Hectares) and like most raised mires a bit desolate looking but I kinda like the bleak, wild feel of such places. 

Drumburgh Moss, 25/10/23

A brief look over the estuary at Port Carlisle at dusk was rewarded by a single Greenshank in amongst many Redshank, Dunlin, Lapwing and Golden Plover but way too dark for any pics.

Next day was a bit of a washout until mid afternoon (the forecast was always a bit dodgy), so I just drove around some of the good viewing points around this bit of the Solway. Lots of wading birds - Knot, Golden Plover, Redshank, Dunlin, Oystercatcher and Lapwing all in good (100+) numbers plus a few Black Tailed Godwits, Grey Plover and plenty of Snipe including a flock of 17 overhead as I trudged around the wet fields and bogs of RSPB Campfield Marshes but constant light rain marred my walk and didn't even bother lifting my lens to anything.

RSPB Campfield Marshes, 26/10/23

Around Cardurnock, during a brief break in the rain, I saw masses of Barnacle Geese fly in from the Scottish side of the estuary. Not a common bird my side of the Pennines, the whole population of wild Barnacle Geese of Svalbard (or Spitzbergen if you prefer) winter here on the Solway, generally feeding on the Scottish side and roosting on the English side. 

Barnacle Geese flying into roost, Cardurnock, 26/10/23

Barnacle Geese flying into roost, Cardurnock, 26/10/23

They're such a monochrome bird this one of a small flock against grey skies looks like a black & white photograph!

Barnacle Geese flying into roost, Cardurnock, 26/10/23

I walked a bit of the estuary foreshore at Bowness on Solway, still raining, got thoroughly wet and then it stopped, so I went to the end of the short causeway there that juts out into the Solway. I was hoping for some Mergansers but no joy - plenty of Teal, Wigeon, a few Shoveler, more common wading birds and of course lots of Solway mud!

Solway Firth from Bowness, 26/10/23

The rain stopped mid afternoon and I was able to walk around nearby Finglandrigg Wood, a national nature reserve managed by Natural England. There's supposed to be a small community of Red Squirrels here but not only did I see none of these I spotted at least 2 Grey Squirrels. The two species can't usually co-exist mainly because of the deadly pox that Greys carry, so maybe they've succumbed? Nice spot though and the Solway Coast's largest patch of semi natural woodland.

Finglandrigg Wood, 26/10/23

For the last knockins of the day I was back on the estuary, looking out over the firth from the road that tracks the remains of Hadrians Wall. After a frustrating day with the weather this was a serene ending to the day with the evocative call of Curlews and Redshank, piping Oystercatchers crossing the estuary and distant honks of 1000s Pink Footed Geese on the mudflats. 

Solway Firth, 2/10/23

What a difference a day makes, my last day and glory be the sun was shining! 🌞🌞🌞

High tide was 10.30 and I was on the estuary at Port Carlisle well before that and the morning light was so bright it was almost dazzling!

Solway Firth, looking north from nr Port Carlisle, 27/10/23

Peregrine Falcon standing on a Teal, Solway Firth, 27/10/23

A nice flock of  20 or so Skylarks overhead and then flying low over the tideline was a promising start and then, aware of something of a commotion involving corvids out on the estuary, I spotted a Peregrine Falcon standing on a hapless duck (turned out to be a Teal). It was a way out but edging closer I managed a few record shots. Either me or attendant Carrion Crows disturbed the bird, looked like a juv male to me, and he took off, circled a few times and after taking a few more shots I was relieved to see it return to its kill. Great theatre!

These first few shots aren't that good because of the distance I was shooting at but got some pretty decent captures when it was circling over low and being mobbed by crows.

Peregrine Falcon with Teal, Solway Firth, 27/10/23

Peregrine Falcon, Solway Firth, 27/10/23

Peregrine Falcon, Solway Firth, 27/10/23

Peregrine Falcon, Solway Firth, 27/10/23

Peregrine Falcon, Solway Firth, 27/10/23

Peregrine Falcon, Solway Firth, 27/10/23

Looking at me in this one!

Peregrine Falcon, Solway Firth, 27/10/23

Peregrine Falcon, Solway Firth, 27/10/23

'Wow' is what I was saying to myself as I strolled away to leave this top class predator to its 'tealunch'!

Barnacle Geese, Solway Firth, 27/10/23

That was the undoubted highlight of the morning on the estuary but as the tide began to rise there was the inevitable rise in bird acivity with more Barnacle Geese over, lots of flocks of passing wading birds - Redshank, Golden Plover, Knot, Dunlin and a distant flock of 15 Bar Tailed Godwits.

Teal were the most common of ducks moving at high tide but plenty of Wigeon too and a few Shoveler. 

Bar Tailed Godwits, Solway Firth, 27/10/23

Teal, Solway Firth, 27/10/23

Lots of Curlews flying about too, I guessed at upwards of 400, but this lone individual with the slopes of Dumfrieshire in the background took my eye ...

Curlew, Solway Firth, 27/10/23

Just before the tide rushed in I heard the roar of a tidal bore moving up the Solway and managed to get a bit of video footage ...

Glasson Moss Info board

Last stop before returning home to Yorkshire was going to be Wedholme Flow but en route I passed another of the large peat bogs in the area - Glasson Moss, and decided to pop in there instead. Along with Wedholme and Bowness Common, it's one of the three sites that form the South Solway Mosses National Nature Reserve. 

All of these wild places have been restored after decades of peat extraction and although rather bleak looking on the surface (Glasson is no exception), lowland raised bogs are incredibly rich and diverse environments, especially plant and insect life, and they trap water thus alleviate local flooding. Rare habitats now in the UK - diminished by 94% over the past 100 years with just 500 Hectares left in England, most of which is here around the Solway and the Humberhead Peatlands in South Yorkshire. 

Glasson Moss from the raised viewing platform, 27/10/23

Glasson Moss, 27/10/23

Yes it may look a bit desolate but it is the back end of October so nothing to see plantwise and certainly very few insects but I had the place to myself for a couple of hours and had some good birds - several big flocks of winter thrushes, mainly Fieldfares, Linnets, Snipe,Stonechats and best of all several migrating Whooper Swans overhead from the north, one of which came right over my head, and as I was leaving a dashing Merlin flew over - too quick to get a decent pic but hey I tried!

Whooper Swans, Glasson Moss, 27/10/23

Whooper Swan, Glasson Moss, 27/10/23

Merlin, Glasson Moss, 27/10/23

And that was it, pretty soon afterwards I was heading back, snarled up in traffic on the M6 and wishing I'd stayed for another day, but there's always another day isn't there? Here's a few more pics from the trip .....

Water Lillies, still in flower in October! Glasson Moss, 27/10/23

Causeway at Bowness on Solway, 26/10/23

Teal, Solway Firth, 27/10/23

Lapwing, Solway Firth, 27/10/23

Red Throated Diver, Solway Firth, 27/10/23

High Summer staying local in Yorkshire - juvenile cuckoo being fed, smart Peregrine, Common Tern and Great Egret, young birds and newly visited nature reserves.

Just before heading down to the Somerset Levels last month I was lucky enough to witness and photograph one of those 'once in a lifetime' nature moments - a young Cuckoo being fed by the surrogate bird who's nest it had presumably taken over. 

Juv Cuckoo, Wheldrake Ings, 08/07/20

One of the oldest tricks in nature's book, the Common Cuckoo lays a single egg in smaller bird's nest and when hatched the naturally bigger Cuckoo fledgling demands and gets more food and then gradually ousts any other chicks from the nest. The bird I saw, quite by chance as I was scanning some fields at Wheldrake Ings, was a young Cuckoo already out of the nest but still demanding food from its tireless surrogate parent, in this case a Reed Warbler. 

Juv Cuckoo calling for food, Wheldrake Ings, 08/07/20

Juv Cuckoo being fed by a Reed Warbler, Wheldrake Ings, 08/07/20

Inevitably after watching for a 2 or 3 minutes, during which our baby Cuckoo received 2 feeds, I ended up spooking the bird as I edged closer. Stupid of me really but the bird was ok, I heard it persistently calling for more food further down the river bank, and of course I had my shots in the can!

Had it not been for my first ever Cattle Egrets the following week that would have been a tough photographic act to follow for the whole summer, but of course, as I pursue a still largely solitary existence in these still perilous times, high summer has brought many highlights.

Greenshank, North Cave Wetlands, 06/07/20

As early as the first week of July (sometimes even earlier) there is a trickle of wading birds returning to the UK after breeding further north with numbers increasing through Aug and into September. I had Green Sandpiper, a nice looking Greenshank and a very good record of 12 Common Sandpipers in a single flock at North Cave Wetlands.

Common Sandpipers, North Cave Wetlands, 10/08/20

Evolving scrape, North Cave Wetlands, 29/07/20

Still evolving as a nature reserve, North Cave is a regular haunt of mine. It will almost double in size once all the undeveloped scrapes and lagoons are finished but even these areas are already attracting the wildlife with Common Terns, Little Ringed Plover and Avocets all making good use of these emerging habitats.

 

 

 

Common Tern, North Cave Wetlands, 29/07/20

 Even the Hares are finding something to like about these still barren stretches ..

Brown Hare, North Cave Wetlands, 29/07/20

With so many daylight hours to play and not always a lot happening I always find that high summer is a good time to visit new local places, and my new website on Yorkshire's wildlife still requiring lots of location pics, I've got around quite a few.

North Newbald Becksies, 24/07/20

North Newbald Becksies may look like just an overgrown field, but in fact it contains a spring that ensures keeps the ground there continually damp and does wonders for the summer vegetation and wild flowers, many of which I struggled to identify.

Sugar Mill Ponds and Eastrington Ponds are both former brickyard ponds come local nature reserves near Goole with some fishing at both. The ponds at Eastrington held more potential for me with no fishing on some of the ponds and lovely adjacent meadow.

Eastrington Ponds, 25/07/20

Galium Sp. Hedge Bedstraw? Eastrington Ponds, 25/07/20

Sugar Mill Ponds, 06/08/20

Saltmarshe Delph, 20/08/20

Saltmarshe Delph near Howden was another YWT site I hadn't visited before and was rewarded by a Kingfisher and 8 Great Crested Grebes all with several youngsters in tow. Nearby Howden Marsh, a local nature reserve, was perhaps the most interesting though - smallish but densely vegetated with reeds and other marshland plants. Although I didn't see one, Water Voles are regularly seen there and the boardwalk is great for gazing into the water for pond life. I saw several diving beetles, disturbed a probable Elephant Hawk Moth and heard a couple of Sedge Warblers there.

Howden Marsh, 25/07/20

A couple of trips out to the coast in the hope of some early autumn migrants did yield an elusive Pied Flycatcher, 2 or 3 Northern Wheatears, and this nicely posed Peregrine Falcon on the cliffs at Flamborough, one of 3 on the headland that day.

Peregrine Falcon, Flamborough, 18/08/20

Almost as smart but in a different way this Great Egret, still a relatively rare bird in my neck of the woods, seemed to be in playful mood at Tophill Low.

Great Egret, Tophill Low, 12/08/20

Great Egret, Tophill Low, 12/08/20

White (Bladder) Campion, North Cave, 06/07/20

 

Peak time for wild flowers of course, I post pictures of the same flowers year after year. Why? I'm not sure - every picture is a different image though and some of our UK flowers are just beautiful things to photograph and share!

Still can't identify a lot of what I see though - so many species (close on 4,000 in the UK), sub species and many hybrids to boot!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Purple Loosestrife, Wheldrake Ings, 09/08/20

Still to identify this one, some kind of mint species ..

Mint species, North Newbald Becksies, 24/07/20

Juv Goldfinch, Wheldrake Ings, 30/07/20

Just as perplexing at this time of the year are the increasing numbers of juvenile birds, often pale imitations of their parents, confusing us all with their strange calls. I struggled to figure out this drab looking finch at Wheldrake Ings until it turned around and a small yellow wing bar revealed it to be juvenile Goldfinch.

Every young bird is a small cause for celebration but they do pose some identification headaches, especially out of context - this juv Stonechat for instance was flycatching from the top of a tree and I had it down as juv Spotted Flycatcher at first.

 

Juv Stonechat, Thornton Ings, 24/08/20

Juv Common Tern, North Cave Wetlands, 21/08/20

Juv Little Ringed Plover, North Cave Wetlands, 29/07/20

Sedge Warbler, Wheldrake Ings, 30/07/20

With the summer nearly over my thoughts turn to the autumn and I hope and pray for an end to all this Covid business and who knows, a long overdue trip abroad may still be on the cards. Here's a few more of my photo memories of high summer 2020.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Rosebay Willow Herb, North Cave Wetlands, 06/07/20

Peacock Butterfly on Budlea, Wheldrake Ings, 30/07/20

Reeds at Wheldrake Ings, 30/07/20

 

West Beck at Skerne Wetlands, 26/08/20

Marsh Harrier, Tophill Low, 12/08/20