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

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