North Duffield Carrs

Yesterday I had a rather spiffing day at my beloved NDC. I arrived at 11 and stayed till 4.30. Both hides are now open, and I had the place to myself for the majority of my visit. The visibility was superb with no haze or wind and excellent light. The hides face North which is perfect.

A pair of Great Crested Grebes was a good start. Some displaying was noted but they kept their distance...

The next species of note was Whooper Swan, a surprise as they've usually gone by now. Thoughts turned to injury or illness, so I was pleased to see it fly off over the road shortly after I took this pic'...

A Cormorant (one of 4) had a drying off session...

A sinister silouette glided over...

Peregrine

My excuse for an out-of-focus image. I only had a split second in my defence! I was pleased to see that a pair of Pintail remained on the fast receding flood meadow. The male was hiding behind the bund but I "got him" eventually...

I got a bonus when the male exploded out of the grass and I was ready...on this occasion...

Eventually the pair settled to feed further out on the Carrs...

Subtle plumage of the female but very distinctive jizz. Cracking species in a perfect natural setting.

The Greylag Goose family were high on the "cuteometer"...

A big bonus was a calling Water Rail right in front of Garganey Hide although I couldn't get a view of it. 

I decided to have the last couple of hours in the Geoff Smith Hide. I'd only been there about 15 minutes when a raptor started to glide towards me down the river...

Fortunately it came (slightly) closer...

Red Kite

It then drifted North over Aughton Church and appeared to have something in its talons...

Much more frequent these days but still special.

The hide door then opened I was pleased to see it was Elaine from the Village. I've known her since the mid-eighties. She's lived in North Duffield since 1981. I move to the area in 1986,missing the summering Montague's Harrier here and the tame Corncrake at Wheldrake Ings which walked around the Tower Hide!! I moved to North Duffield in 2003 and had 9 happy years there before moving to Holmpton. History lesson over! She had a hearing dog with her, a real cutie which she'd had longer than normal due to the pandemic. She said it would be harder to give him back. I'll bet.

As we were talking a couple of Yellow Wagtails appeared on the renovated scrape...

At one time there were ten species on view on or over the scrape. Just shows what can be attracted when the conditions are favourable. The icing on the cake was a late flock of c40 Fieldfares that drifted "to and fro" between the scrape and the river. 

54 species

*This morning a Kittiwake (site tick) and a pair of Garganey were present. That's Birding!

A Red-legged Partridge on a hedge on Snakey, as I approached the Village, was a nice finish to a lovely relaxing day...

Texas - on these dates

2003

April 20th

Still in Big Bend N.P at Sam Nail Ranch this time. This is a small oasis with a water pump which can be a magnet to thirsty migrants...if you're lucky!

MacGillivary's Warbler - a western species

April 21st

Big Burro Mesa Pouroff (got to love these names)

Lucifer Hummingbird - I teamed up with a Texan birder and we located a nest in this remote canyon in the park!

Tropical Kingbird

Verdin 

2006

April 20th

Big Bend N.P at Rio Grande Village Nature Trail

Western Screech Owl - a species unsurprisingly found only in the far west of the State. As I was waiting hopefully at the nest hole a couple appeared and asked me what I was doing. Fair enough! After explaining, they told me they were doing the "wilderness thing!!!"

April 21st

Back in the Davis Mountains Preserve

Rivoli's Hummingbird

Steller's Jay