YELLOW WARBLER

A special Christmas present was delivered early on Christmas Eve, a somewhat inconvenient date to say the least, placing huge pressure on prospective Twitchers. Fortunately I could relax, having enjoyed my adventure to Tiree last year.

Depending on personal circumstances Christmas Day would have brought serious contemplation for some. Important to do the "right thing" if committed I feel. Some things are more important.

Quite a few of my pals still "need" this Species for their Lists. Hopefully it will remain over the Christmas week to enable them to connect? 

A remarkable "Winter" record, although not the first time an American Bird has done this. A massive bonus at this time of Year.

I am tempted to have a Trip down if it lingers long enough. It would be an "English" tick, although that's not a big deal. In the meantime a BOC of "my" Bird from last year...

There were TWO of us present most of the time. The BIG advantage of an Island twitch.

Winter Waterland

Last visit to NDC before Christmas on Thursday (getting busy now). I arrived at 8.15 to a wonderful sunrise...

View from the Platform 

I was soon joined by Haydn and we spent a very pleasant 90 minutes watching what came and went. He had a brief Grey Wagtail which would have been nice and a couple of skeins of PFG passed over. A few Reed Buntings (8) moved West plus a solitary Meadow Pipit which alighted briefly.

A Little Gull (105) had been seen recently at Bubwith Ings and NDC. After around 30 minutes Haydn picked it up from the Platform over the flooded scrape! Of course when we made our way around to the Hide the bird had disappeared. 

The morning session till 1 was very enjoyable. Constant action and plenty of Birds including c1000 Lapwing, c200 Dunlin, c150 Golden Plover. The Whooper Swans were viewable but very distant to the North. Marsh Harriers (3) and Red Kites (3) were also distant but clearly seen in the perfect light.

Duck numbers had increased but were confined to the margins due to the depth of the water. 

As we were packing up, a shout from Haydn..."it's back"!! Sure enough, the Little Gull was straight out in front of us at close range. A great finish...

A Bullfinch in the car park was another notable addition on departure.

Late Year Tick

A day out with the good lady. We arrived at NDC at 9.30 where she left me for 3 hours lol while she headed for the Designer Outlet!

I headed straight for the GS Hide and discovered the flood was extensive...

Garganey Hide is now aquatic!

Chris Gomersall was present and scanning intently. I then noticed a couple of unfamiliar shapes powering across the Carrs from the East before continuing North...a fine pair of...

Goosanders!! (104)

A fine addition to the Year List and my first record since April 21.

I was then joined by Stuart Rapson, it was good to see him once more. He told me he'd been checking out a few local spots and he'd had 40+ Pochard on Bubwith Ings.

Fortunately the Riverbank was still visible providing resting areas and feeding opportunities for various Species. Aerial action was still decent with Marsh Harriers (3), Lapwing (c500) and Dunlin (c50). Wigeon and Teal had increased and were active on the banks and open water. 9 Shelduck sneaked in undetected and the trio of Little Grebes were still present and probably wondering where the Scrape had gone!

The sun came out to enhance the already picturesque scenery. Stuart left to check a couple of other sites and I stayed till just after Noon. I picked up Pied Wagtail (2) and Stonechat around the car park field and enjoyed the Starling show (c300) before we headed for the Pub.

NDC Flood

Storm Darragh has certainly left its mark on my old Patch! As I waited at the lights at Bubwith bridge it was clear that the water has arrived.

As I got out of the car I could hear a roar? Lifting my glasses I could see multiple breeches of the Riverbank and significant amounts of water pouring onto the Carrs.

Good...and bad news. I spent an excellent 3 hours with Haydn in the Geoff Smith Hide enjoying constant action both near and far. Clouds of Lapwing (c500), Golden Plover (200) and Dunlin (c80). Wildfowl numbers had increased dramatically with c40 Pintail now present and Marsh Harriers were making the most of the rising waters, as were the Herons.

A male Bullfinch flew close by and landed briefly for us to enjoy, always noteworthy. Haydn picked up a distant Red Kite and there were at least 4 Stonechats feeding around the scrape that also contained a couple of Little Grebes.

Hundreds of Starlings were feeding on the Riverbank which was now more like an extended Weir! 

A few Mute Swans were present but the presumed Whoopers were viewed distantly on Ellerton Ings

So... what's the bad news?

From experience there's no doubt the flood will be significant and will almost certainly fill the whole area, covering Garganey Hide and limiting resting/feeding areas for many Species. It will become a vast lake!

Yes, it will attract diving Duck and possibly something unusual but I prefer it...shallower! Having said that a drake Smew would be most welcome!

Anyway, we definitely have water now!!! I'll be back early next week to see how it's looking...

NDC Quality

I didn't make it Monday as life got in the way, so I made my way over yesterday, arriving just before Noon.

The Platform and Car Park proved unproductive but I was encouraged by the distant sight of a significant number of Swans. Surely there were some Whoopers... maybe a Bewick's?

I moved on to settle in the Geoff Smith Hide and started to scope the Swans. Sure enough there were Whoopers present. Three scans made me settle at a pleasing 90 which included 12 young birds...

No sign of any Bewick's though.

I was joined by a couple from Howden and we enjoyed Little Grebe, 6 Marsh Harriers (including this male which flew close past the hide)...

Kingfisher (performing brilliantly on the Scape in the sunshine...yes sunshine!) and Stonechat, 

There was an impressive flock of Lapwing present (c500) which included c60 Dunlin...

I also "had" a lone Snipe. However the expected Peregrine never materialized. It was great to see my first Pintail (10) of the Winter and a Little Grebe remained on the "scrape". A lone Fieldfare perched on a lone bush...

...and I had a group of 8 over the River later.

Local pair Chris Gomersall and Oliver Metcalf joined us for a while before heading down to Garganey Hide. Chris said he was after a Merlin for his Year List.

It was now approaching 4 and the late sunshine was still bathing the Carrs in wonderful golden light. Chris and Oliver re-appeared asking "did you see the Short-eared Owl?!!! I answered in the negative and felt a thump in the gut. They informed me it has flown down the River chased by a Marsh Harrier. The sunshine had ceased now and it was getting gloomy, I reckoned I'd had my chips. Then, a shout from Oliver "Alan, it's flying up River left of Aughton Church"! I picked it up in my scope and gave a sigh of relief after thanking him. The Short-eared Owl (103) then landed on a riverside fence post and remained there for some 15 minutes before flying high around the far end of the Reserve giving decent scope views. A memorable moment no doubt.

This was only my 5th record and first sighting for 13 years! A red letter day. I always feel this is a Species I should see more often here. Still, I guess it makes the sightings I get more special! I'm sure you"get it", especially if you're a Patch Birder.

Always a bonus to enjoy an afternoon like this towards the end of the Year...

December

A welcome sight at Bubwith Bridge last week as water returns to the Valley. Always "first on" here but thankfully "last off" Duff! A couple of quiet yet enjoyable visits, which included a nice chat with John Heaton from "up the road". 

The Kingfisher/s are still around the "scrape" and I estimated at least 4 Marsh Harriers present. The Whooper Swan herd have moved up to Ellerton for the moment...unfortunately! Lapwings have started to return to the fringes but Wildfowl is still almost completely absent.

The final month of the Year is upon us. Time to mop up some omissions from the Year Lists.

An American Wigeon has been present in the Valley for some time, having been seen at East Cottingwith and latterly Bubwith Ings. I'm obviously hoping it might end up on NDC? Over tomorrow.

I'll be covering the Coast and Humber during the week...