Spring is almost sprung and its great to hear birdsong in the morning and at dusk again but really only one place to start - the flooding! York copped it mid Feb but just about avoided major hardship due to its flood barriers on the Ouse and the Foss but further downstream parts of Snaith and Cawood were submerged. The most extreme flooding I've seen has been across the floodplains of the Lower Derwent Valley - where its supposed to flood but still quite a sight.
All around me at the moment I see birds coming into full breeding plumage and getting on with it and on the few occasions the weather has allowed me to work I've seen lots of spring like activity at Askham Bog - excitable Great Spotted Woodpeckers, resplendent singing Nuthatch and a cracking pair of Sparrowhawks displaying over the bog.
As I write, the future of Askham Bog is being threatened with a decision on whether to go ahead with a proposed new housing development on nearby land imminent. I hope the powers that be see sense otherwise sights like these may become even rarer than they have become since a nearby park and ride nudged up against its boundaries.
When its not been raining or blowing a hoolie I've been out and about taking location pics for my new website (nearly there 😊, another month or so and I'll unleash!) - mainly forests and other woodland areas, some I've never really explored before and find it kind of satisfying in a geekish sort of way to mark their presence on the site's maps as well as my own mind map!
Pretty confidant I heard a Lesser Spotted Woodpecker at that last one, Birch Wood YWT reserve near Helmsley (repeat visit definitely on the cards) and opposite New Covert & Park Woods near Melbourne I had a small group of the White Fronted Geese that have wandering about the Lower Derwent Valley
At the beginning of February I went up to Argyll & Bute in Scotland for a short break with good mate Rob to stay in one of the log cabins he gets for half price. Great weather for all 4 days we were up there and although we didn't exactly rack up the bird species (barely topped 50) there were a few highlights, the scenery uplifting, the air clean and always good to chill out with a few music evenings. We stopped off at the Solway Firth on the way up and probably saw more birds there than in the whole of Scotland - big flocks of Dunlin, Oystercatchers and Wigeon.
Once arrived, unpacked, fed and watered, this was the view that awaited us from the log cabin the next morning!
Like I said, the birds were in short supply but we did have a brief sighting of a Golden Eagle over RSPB Loch Lomand. Plenty of Hooded Crows around though and had to marvel at their intelect on more than one occasion .. saw them repeatedly tossing mussel shells up in the air and letting them drop to smash open their contents.
On the way back, on yet another gloriously sunny day, and driving down alongside Loch Lomand a mist came rolling down from the high tops and descended over the loch - no doubt a common enough happening for the locals but to us spectacular enough to stop the car and take some pics ...
Earlier in the year I decided to 'twitch' a couple of rarities that had been hanging around Yorkshire for a while - the Lesser Yellowlegs, an american wader, at Nosterfield and the Rough Legged Buzzard, a near arctic hawk, at Stainforth. Both had their appeal and since they'd both been around for a while most birders had already seen them and moved on, in fact I was the only birder on top of that slag heap at Stainforth taking pic after pic of the buzzard!
Well its not exactly blooming out there yet, a few crocus, celandines and daffodills is about all the flowers I've seen but give it a few weeks and it'll all start kicking off and the woodland floors will be awash with anemones and the first of our summer birds will be returning - there's already been been Chiffchaff seen in Yorkshire (they get earlier every year!). Here's a few more of my pics from the last month or so .....
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| Bubwith Ings in flood, 27/02/20 |
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| Bubwith Ings in flood, 27/02/20 |
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| North Duffield, 27/02/20 |
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| Sparrowhawk, Askham Bog, 26/02/20 |
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| Nuthatch, Askham Bog, 08/02/20 |
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| Willow Tit, Askham Bog, 26/02/20 |
As I write, the future of Askham Bog is being threatened with a decision on whether to go ahead with a proposed new housing development on nearby land imminent. I hope the powers that be see sense otherwise sights like these may become even rarer than they have become since a nearby park and ride nudged up against its boundaries.
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| Coming along nicely (Woodland Trust page) |
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| Eastmoor & Riccaldale Forest, 12/02/20 |
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| Raincliffe Woods, 22/01/20 |
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| Allerthorpe Woods, 25/01/20 |
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| Sands Wood, nr York, 20/02/20 |
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| New Covert & Park Wood, 29/01/20 |
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| Birch Wood, 12/02/20 |
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| White Fronted Geese in with Greylags, nr Melbourne, LDV. |
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| Solway Firth, nr Gretna, 03/02/20 |
At the beginning of February I went up to Argyll & Bute in Scotland for a short break with good mate Rob to stay in one of the log cabins he gets for half price. Great weather for all 4 days we were up there and although we didn't exactly rack up the bird species (barely topped 50) there were a few highlights, the scenery uplifting, the air clean and always good to chill out with a few music evenings. We stopped off at the Solway Firth on the way up and probably saw more birds there than in the whole of Scotland - big flocks of Dunlin, Oystercatchers and Wigeon.
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| Sand banks on the Solway Firth, 03/02/20 |
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| Dunlin flock, Solway Firth, 03/02/20 |
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| Loch Long from Ardgarten forest lodges, 04/02/20 |
We saw a Sea Otter in that very same loch but it didn't show again for a picture, unlike this splendid male Eider Duck
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| Eider Duck, Loch Long, 06/02/20 |
The bright sunny days showed off the local scenery in all its Scottish splendour ...
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| Loch Long and Inverary Castle, 04/02/20 |
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| Loch Restil, 04/02/20 |
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| Hooded Crow, Loch Long, 04/02/20 |
On the way back, on yet another gloriously sunny day, and driving down alongside Loch Lomand a mist came rolling down from the high tops and descended over the loch - no doubt a common enough happening for the locals but to us spectacular enough to stop the car and take some pics ...
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| Mist rolling in, Loch Lomand, 07/02/20 |
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| Mist rolling in, Loch Lomand, 07/02/20 |
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| Rough Legged Buzzard, Stainforth, 30/01/20 |
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| Lesser Yellowlegs, Nosterfield, 29/01/20 |
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| Rough Legged Buzzard, Stainforth, 30/01/20 |
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| Lesser Yellowlegs, Nosterfield, 29/01/20 |
The light was just perfect that day at Nosterfield and looking back at my pics makes me realise how important good light is when you don't own a £10k lens!
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| Oystercatcher, Nosterfield, 29/01/20 |
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| Wigeon, Nosterfield, 29/01/20 |
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| Sparrowhawk, Nosterfield, 29/01/20 |
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| Yellow Flag Iris stems poking through, Askham Bog, 23/02/20 |
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| Male Goosander, Elmfield Terr. brickyard pond, York, 01/02/20 |
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| Grey Heron over Loch Fyne, Argyll & Bute, 04/02/20 |
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| Short Eared Owl over Thorne Moors, 19/02/20 |
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| Goldfinch, Elmfield Terr. York, 20/02/20 |
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| Kestrel, Bubwith Ings, 27/02/20 |
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| Lichens & Mosses, Glenbranter, Argyll & Bute, 04/02/20 |
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| Starlings coming in to roost over Aughton church, 18/02/20 |
