High Summer around Yorkshire and Lincs, butterflies at last and returning waders

Well that's another Summer nearly over and, barring a wet spell in June, not a bad one weather wise. I'm looking forward to the autumn colours now, not least because after many months of frustration I finally have my investment property in Hull and will have a bit more time on my hands. Feels like ages since I posted on here back in June and I'd half expected to get all my business sorted, buy a small camper and do a bit of traveling in the UK. No worries, an enforced lapse into mid summer slumber, playing my guitar at campsite socials has been a heap of fun and of course I've managed to squeeze in a few trips out, mainly local plus a 3 day excursion to the Lincolnshire coast. So in no particular order here are my high summer pics neatly themed into butterflies, dragonflies, wild flowers, birds and landscapes.

Banded Demoiselle, Howsham Mill, 20/07/16

Here's my haul of decent butterfly and dragonfly pics with the odd moth thrown in there too

Broad Bodied Chaser, North Cave, 21/07/16

Common Blue (female), Wharram Quarry, 06/07/16

Common Blue (male), Wharram Quarry, 06/07/16

This next one was new for me, much more widespread down south, its an Essex Skipper and almost identical to the more familiar Little Skipper apart from the black tips on their antennae. They're spreading northwards but still scarce in Yorkshire and this one was just across the Humber in Lincs at Donna Nook.

Essex Skipper, Donna Nook (lincs), 27/07/16

Small Skipper, North Cave, 21/07/16

Not a great comparison pic but here's a Little Skipper

Gatekeeper, North Cave, 21/07/16

6 spot Burnett, Donna Nook, 27/07/16

Marbled White, Wharram Quarry, 06/07/16

 This was a sight for sore eyes too, never abundant and a Yorkshire first for me

Small Pearl Bordered Fritillary, Cropton Forest, 12/07/16

Small Pearl Bordered Fritillary, Cropton Forest, 12/07/16

Common Darter (female), North Cave, 21/07/16

Birdies next; July is never a great time for birding but the month had its moments, especially towards the end with masses of early returning waders around the Wash.

Dunlin flock, Gibralter Point, 29/07/16

Greenshank, Gibralter Point, 29/07/16

Whimbrel, Donna Nook, 27/07/16

Black Tailed Godwit, Frampton Marsh, 28/07/16

Nothing better than seeing migrating birds, the Whimbrels above were just a few of maybe 60 or so we saw flying overhead around the Wash. At RSPB reserve Frampton Marsh we had many thousands of waders - Black Tailed Godwit, Redshank, Avocet, Lapwing & Dunlin made up the vast majority but also Little Stint, Curlew Sandpiper, Ruff, Knot, Bar Tailed Godwit, Spotted Redshank, Greenshank and a surprise rarity - a White Rumped Sandpiper

Black Tailed Godwits, Frampton Marsh, 28/07/16

Black Tailed Godwits, Frampton Marsh, 28/07/16

Dunlin, Frampton Marsh, 28/07/16

White Rumped Sandpiper with Dunlins, Frampton Marsh, 29/07/16

Some selected raptors, starting with the best pic - a stunning female Sparrowhawk in the road and stood on top of a recent kill (looks like an ex wood pigeon to me!)

Sparrowhawk, Wharram le Street, 06/07/16

Marsh Harrier, Humber, 21/07/16

During an unsuccessful attempt at tracking down a reported and scarce Montague's Harrier around the Humber we spent a pleasurable few hours watching the comings and goings of birds on the estuary, including at least 5 Marsh Harriers.

Hobby, Gibralter Point, 29/07/16

I photographed at least 4 different Hobby's during the Lincolnshire trip and got lots of blurry grey / blue  shapes always going away but this one sailed right overhead, caught a dragonfly in mid air and I managed an in focus shot of it eating on the wing.

























This time of year there's lots of juvenile birds about and they all need feeding! This Sedge Warbler is clearly a youngster ....

Sedge Warbler (juv), Frampton Marsh, 28/07/16

.... and guess what he's having for supper!

Sedge Warbler (juv), Frampton Marsh, 28/07/16

At any tern colony around this time of year you'll see almost continuous feeding by the adults in order to get their young fledged and flying. I photographed these Common Terns at North Cave Wetlands where both young and old seemed to be thriving.

Common Tern, North Cave, 21/07/16

Common Tern, North Cave, 21/07/16

Reed Warbler, Frampton Marsh, 28/07/16

Yellow Wagtail, Frampton Marsh, 28/07/16

Here's a little floral selection ...

Pyramidal Orchid, Wharram Quarry, 06/07/16

Marsh Woundwort, River Derwent, 20/07/16

Harebell, Fangfoss, 18/07/16

Common Cranesbill, Wharram Quarry, 06/07/16

Rosebay Willowherb, Fangfoss, 20/07/16

.... and here's a few landscapes that captured my imagination during July

Cropton Forest, July, 2016

Donna Nook, July, 2016

Donna Nook, July, 2016

Faxfleet, July, 2016

Faxfleet, July, 2016

Gibralter Point, July, 2016

Gibralter Point, July, 2016

Roe Deer, Cropton Forest, July, 2016

Yorkshire floods, early singers and bloomers, uplifting landscapes and aerial manouvers over the LDV

Up until this last w/e, as far as I can recall, up here in the north, we've had precisely 5 decent weather days since early November - someone might be bothered to check that and hey my memory ain't great, but suffice to say its bin reet gloomy up ere!



Gloomy and wet! This flood alert map for the UK was a typical scenario for any given day in the 2nd half of December and just about says it all!




A few choice flood pics later but with a stack of images around re the chaos and havoc reeked in some of our northern towns and cities, including around my home city of York, there's not a lot more I want to add.






So here we are well in January and at last a few bright days and opportunities to get out and about.
The planets are aligned (worth checking out by the way) and so too the off duties of a couple of my good mates and a day tramping around the Lower Derwent Valley brought some pleasing results ...

We met at the old Church Bridge at Melbourne to be greeted by a singing Song Thrush giving it plenty. Its been so mild of late that many birds have been tricked into thinking that it's nearly spring. I've been hearing Great Tits singing for a while now and there's many reports of Daffodils in full bloom. Skip to my footnote for an even earlier bloomer!

Anyway, back to Winter and the LDV. First off were 3 White Fronted Geese in amongst Greylags at Thornton Ings. We never get many of these relatively scarce geese around here but a few turn up every year so always good to track down.


White Fronted Geese, Thornton Ings, 23/01/16

Several Pintails flying around (prob 30ish) in amongst several hundred Wigeon  but you've gotta like Pintails! So graceful and different looking.

Pintails (male and female), Thornton Ings, 23/01/16

Pintails (2 males and female), Thornton Ings, 23/01/16

and check this out ... not the best of pics and I wouldn't normally include this one, but here's the same small flock of Pintail plus attendant Lapwings apparently stopped in their tracks by an approaching Sparrowhawk that none of us spotted at the time.

Pintail spooked by a Sparrowhawk (top left), Thornton Ings, 23/01/16

I guess that's the value of taking lots and lots of pics of flocks of birds - you never know what you might later pick out! Here's another - mainly Lapwings but if you look closer, several other smaller waders in amongst. In this case we reckoned Dunlin and all told maybe 60 in total. You can never rule out the odd Ruff or even Knot in amongst such flocks but I've scoured this pic and pretty sure they're all Dunlin.

Dunlin in with Lapwings, Ellerton, 23/01/16

A few Golden Plover flocks around too, no pics but maybe 150 or so.



Peregrine Falcon (male), Ellerton, 23/01/16

Here's a very distant pic of the culprit in the above mass take off of waders around Ellerton church, a male Peregrine Falcon that had earlier had a go at a careless but on this occasion lucky Lapwing.



















At the same location there were many many Wigeon (1000+) but not as many as on previous occasions I've been down here, but with so much flood water, Peregrines around and Saturday morning boy shooters taking pot shots at tame Pheasants (come on guys, that's such poor sport!) everything gets so dispersed. These Whooper Swans for instance had been pushed right up to the edge of the churchyard by all the shooting (they're usually way over on the far bank).

Whooper Swans (2 adults & 3 juvs), Ellerton, 23/01/16

At North Duffield we had a single male Scaup in with about 100 Pochard and 20 or so Tufted Ducks - too distant for a pic but its my first Scaup of the Winter and good to get a nice male.

Yet another great day out around the LDV!

Ok, as promised a pic or 2 of the recent floods. My home city of York plus nearby Selby and Tadcaster were all drenched with much havoc, media coverage and ...well .. wetness.! All gone now and most Yorkshire folk I speak to just don't talk about it anymore.. "Aye, its 'appened a fore, n reet as rain it'll 'appen again!"

Floods in York, Dec 2015

Askham Bog flooded, 27/12/15

Askham Bog flooded, 27/12/15




Cawood (nr Selby), 28/12/15

..and to round  things off, a few pics from the odd occasions that the sun shone over the New Year period and I managed to get out. Here's a couple of great Redwing images - I've decided that they're far easier to photograph in flight than on the ground or perched when they're sooo skittish!

Redwing, Fangfoss, 24/12/15

Redwing, Fangfoss, 24/12/15

Cot Nabb and nearby Givendale in the Yorkshire Wolds is one of my favourite places to visit and walk around when I want to just get away from it all and clear out my head, you barely see a soul out there and on this particular morning earlier this month all my relatively minor issues in the grand world scale of things were put firmly into perspective!

Cot Nab, Yorkshire Wolds, 11/01/16

Cot Nab, Yorkshire Wolds, 11/01/16

Cot Nab, Yorkshire Wolds, 11/01/16



Red Kite, Givendale, Yorkshire Wolds, 11/01/16

I know they're becoming a little ubiquitous in some parts of Yorkshire (they're all over Harrogate / Leeds area), and I know some folk (well, just gamekeepers really) have little time for them, but there's a reason why they're one of the most photographed of British birds .....


Red Kite, Givendale, Yorkshire Wolds, 11/01/16

Just as uplifting, here's the Mausoleum at Castle Howard viewed from the back way into the estate







The Mausoleum, Castle Howard, 20/01/16

  

 



Footnote
I was out on YWT duty today at Askham Bog, really mild it was and on my way out at sunset I spotted a flowering Lesser Celandine. Yes its an early flowering plant but traditionally it appears late Feb/ early March - this January 24th!

Lesser Celandine, Askham Bog, 24/01/2016