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

 

New Year birding resolutions and flooded landscapes across the LDV

The start of a brand new year and we all hope that by the end of it things will look significantly better and that Covid 19 will be under control and we can all get back to some sort of normality. 

In common with a lot of birders I like a list - garden, local patch, life list etc, but when it comes to the year list (number of birds seen in a calendar year in any given area / location) I always lose interest after a month or two, possibly because I usually have a foreign trip on the horizon, the ultimate distraction methinks! But with no oversees travel for the foreseeable I've resolved to keep a UK tally this year. I have a couple of birding mates who do the same and its a good bit of competitive fun but some birders take it very seriously indeed - check out Bubo Listing and look at some of these guy's (and it is predominantly men) life lists if you are in any doubt about that.

Here we go then - short days, lockdown rules, wet and windy weather - welcome to 2021! Here's my January round up.

Hovingham, 03/01/21, a circular walk around South Wood.

South Wood, Hovingham, 03/01/21

Coal Tit, Hovingham, 03/01/21

Love this part of the Howardian Hills and all the more lovely on a crisp and bright winter's day. I stood and watched about 25 Goldcrests and attendant tit species roaming through the woodland above, heard a Tawny Owl but was really after a Goshawk which do frequent the area. Earlier I happened across a rather nice clump of Velvet Shank fungi.

Velvet Shank, Hovingham, 03/01/21

Green Sandpiper, Southcliffe Common, 07/01/21

Southcliffe Common - 3 trips in the first half of the month to this SSSI and recently discovered area for me south of Market Weighton, one with my good friend Rob, produced some interesting birds including a Green Sandpiper flushed out of a drain, several Woodcock, a Great White Egret, 2 Barn Owls, 2 Green Woodpeckers and at least 2 Marsh Harriers.

Southcliffe Common, 04/01/21

Barn Owl, Southcliffe Common, 04/01/21

Marsh Harrier, Southcliffe Common, 07/01/21

Southcliffe Common, 07/01/21

Carr Dyke Drain, Southcliffe Common, 12/01/21

Lower Derwent Valley / Pocklington Canal - several visits, hampered slightly from mid month by seasonal flooding that left a number of my favourite haunts inaccessible. 

Floodwater pouring onto Thornton Ings, 21/01/21

Thorganby, 06/01/21

Bank Island / Wheldrake Ings, 16/01/21

Greylag Geese, Thorganby, 06/01/21

All the usual wildfowl suspects were still viewable though with thousands of Wigeon & Teal interspersed with Greylag & Pink Footed Geese and smaller but very respectable numbers of Pintail, Gadwall, Shoveler and Tufted Duck.

Best of all for me was a flock of 37 Ruff on the floodwater at Bubwith and a further 16 at North Duffield on the same day in with Lapwings and c40 Dunlin.

Easily my highest ever count of over wintering Ruff in the LDV and great to see.

Lapwing, Ruff & Dunlin, North Duffield, 16/01/21

 Ruff, North Duffield, 16/01/21

Ruff, Bubwith Bridge, 16/01/21

Fieldfare, Thorganby, 06/01/21

With the fields within the valley totally submerged most of the Fieldfares and Redwings seemed to have departed for higher ground but still a few around and about and when the light is good they're one of my favourite birds to photograph ....

Fieldfare, Thorganby, 06/01/21

North Cave Wetlands - two visits (10 & 22/01/21. Got my first Pochard, Redpolls and Green Woodpeckers of the year plus another Green Sandpiper on the 22nd. 2 Ruff and a Marsh Harrier also on the 22nd were other highlights and these slightly comical pair of Tufted Ducks made a good image.

Tufted Ducks, North Cave, 22/01/21

Castle Howard estate - Ray Wood / Great Lake to Easthorpe and back. 23 days into the year and got my first Treecreeper, Nuthatch and Great Spotted Woodpecker (2 of them). No pics of any but one of a small flock of Lesser Redpolls feeding on some of last year's Willowherb seeds came pretty close and made for a nice image.

Lesser Redpoll, Castle Howard, 23/01/21

Peregrine Falcon, Troutsdale, 25/01/21

Troutsdale (25/01/21) - a walk along the top of Troutsdale from Cockmoor Hall towards Wykeham Forest. Looking for a Goshawk but no joy but did get my first Peregrine of the year, a big flock of c200 Chaffinches and a nice hovering Kestrel against a clear blue sky.

Kestrel, Troutsdale, 25/01/21

Oystercatchers, Fraisthorpe, 26/01/21

East Coast (26/01/21) - Flamborough, Buckton and Fraisthorpe beach. Tempted by a reported flock of over 170 Lapland Buntings at Buckton I was tempted to travel further than I perhaps should have done. I dipped out on the Laps and got a parking ticket at Fraisthorpe beach for my efforts (serves me right but lets say no more about it😞). The beach was the best with my first Red Throated Diver, Ringed Plover and Sanderling of the year, and then a poke around Bridlington harbour for a Purple Sandpiper and ended up with 14 of them!

Ringed Plover, Fraisthorpe, 26/01/21

Ringed Plover, Fraisthorpe, 26/01/21

Purple Sandpiper, Bridlington harbour, 26/01/21

Purple Sandpiper, Bridlington harbour, 26/01/21

A walk in the Yorkshire Wolds around the Drewton Estate on the 30th produced at least 4 Bramblings in amongst a monster finch flock of Chaffinch (c200), Goldfinch (c200) and Greenfinch (c50) then on the last day of the month I added Skylark and Grey Partridge around my old stamping ground at Fangfoss Park to end the month on 109 bird species - none too shabby that😀