Kilnsea Wetterlands

Thought I might catch a migrant or two down at KW this morning. Obviously more water after Thursdays deluge and lots of lovely mud...but completely devoid of birds!

Nice Barn Owl though...

reckon he spotted me in the hide?

Making a difference?

I've just sent a protest letter to my regional MEP's regarding the slaughter of many of our migrant birds as they pass over the Med'. You may wish to join me.

There's a link to Chris Packham's website here. It has all the relevant information to help you. I encourage you to take the time...to make a difference...

Confiding!

Curiosity got the better of my little friend this morning. I consider myself VERY fortunate...

Beacon Ponds

Spent an enjoyable couple of hours there tonight.

Plenty of Little Tern activity...

Gannet fest!

Had a walk down to Old Hive to take a look at the Sand Martins this morning. Eldest lad and wife over with both dogs! Weather dodgy but we made it down onto the beach.

A glance out to sea revealed at least 50 Gannets feeding. Magic...

Like an arrow!

Plenty of action at "old hive". More later...

Potential FIRST for the ABA

BIG BIRD STATESIDE

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Constant flow of Swifts drifting South over the village this evening.

Distant flock

5 Cormorant (H.76) way out over the sea this morning. My first of the year for the village!

Shows how often I seawatch!

It's a funny old game...

I decided to have a day away.

I went "up ont moors". Wykeham to be precise. I've never had much (any) luck with the Honey Buzzards...nothing changed today in 3hrs!

I also tried the Sutton Bank site for Turtle Dove, again no joy. Nice scenery though!

On returning home I took Bud down to the field. Looking back towards the house I saw a Lesser-black backed Gull flying over it! Guess that's a garden tick...of sorts?

Ah well...

Summer?

Glorious view towards With' from Out Newton

A bit of a round up today.

I've updated my (modest) totals at half-time (6 months). If you're interested they can be seen in the right hand column.

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I had a look for the previously mentioned Fulmars this morning at Easington cliff. Not a sniff...BUT...a surprise (very early returnuing) Wheatear?

Failed breeder?

400 yds further north is a small Sand Martin colony...

This is one of three sites between Easington and Withernsea. More good news.

A great morning finished with a nice flypast of Oystercatchers...

Gull obsession?

At the risk of worrying obsession I'm updating still further the With' LBB Gull breeding season saga...

I've found some more young!

That's 2 separate breeding successes in the town for this scarce County breeder. Walking back to the car after work this evening I witnessed a parent vigorously protecting it's 2 young against 4 Herring Gulls. No problem for this elegant yet dominant Gull.

Promise just one more summary later in the summer with hopefully a positive outcome...

Little Owl

No breeding evidence here I'm afraid. Not yet anyway...

LBBG...great news from With!

Quite a few posts on Gulls to say I'm not a big fan? I guess I have a special interest in these birds as I see them virtually daily!

So, following on from yesterday's birds in Hull I can announce breeding success from Withernsea...

Let's hope they don't fall off this year! I've seen 6 adults in the town this summer.

Had an hour out tonight and came across this chap on Snakey lane...not a great image but you get the clear idea of avoidance!

Cracking animals

I've got (at least) 2 singing Blackcaps in my village but trying to get a pic has been a nightmare. They are VERY active and there is very little light in the understory. I did manage a record shot...eventually...

Last image for today comes from the backyard as the local Whitethroat decided to perform...

more breeding evidence!

Breeding birds

Always a sensitive subject!

Disturbance is a major issue. In an ideal world (which this certainly isn't) birds would be left undisturbed to try and top-up their ever dwindling numbers. It's not just disturbance...see below. I qualify this by stating there are some notable success stories out there and I certainly don't want to linger on the many negatives that you read about in the media.

To back this up I'd like to report that I've now found 2 sites with breeding LBB Gulls. Both have young at the present time. Strangely, I'm not a larophile (a Gull enthusiast apparently) although there are some wonderful species of Gull. I certainly don't spend hours grilling large flocks for something "good". I DO however like Lesser black-backed Gulls. Why? I've no idea!! Well, maybe I have a slight inkling...

I find them dominant yet graceful compared to Herring Gull...

They regularly scatter this species when adjacent to their nest site. They are easy to overlook and are very scarce breeders in this area. I also monitor a pair in the street were I work. I actually saw 4 adults together there yesterday?

The site in Hull is on an industrial estate (I don't think that's giving too much away). I'd suspected breeding  and I confirmed this yesterday as I spent an enjoyable hour there watching them. 2 young were seen albeit briefly...

The adults are more impressive...

I've belatedly decided to tag on this item regarding Chris Packham's recent visit to Malta to protest against the slaughter of migrating birds. After all it IS another extremely significant factor regarding the diminishing number of birds. This article illustrates the problem far better than I ever could. You may or may not be aware of this...you are now!

Please support him...

Metallic Swallow

Day off tomorrow. I'll be checking out a few sites locally.

I've found another breeding site for Lesser-black backed Gull. Granted it's not on my patch. More later...

A wonderfully proportioned Gull

BLACK SCOTER

Managed to finally connect with a new Yorkshire bird on Wednesday!

After missing BAIKAL TEAL, ROCK THRUSH and CASPIAN TERN (last year's US trip), plus this year's CRAG MARTIN (eve of this year's US trip) I like to think I was due one!!

Conditions were choppy as I arrived at Redcar and joined the 3 other intrepid twitchers looking longingly out into the briny. It was very difficult to get a decent view of the bird in the heavy swell but eventually the banana bill stood out! Nice to see Gary Dayes as I hadn't bumped into him for a while.

So, BLACK SCOTER takes my Yorkshire list to 374. Unsurprisingly I didn't manage a picture of note!

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Evening shift today so I had a mooch around locally this morning. There was an early report of a Great White Egret flying over Spurn towards Sammy's so I had a ride down there with Bud (that's a default really).

On the way I bumped into my local Little Owl sunbathing on the farm roof...

No sign of the Egret but a few decent species around including this Yellow Wagtail in a rape field...

Reed warbler's are elusive birds at the best of times so I was chuffed to get a few decent shots including this youngster...

Parents were constantly in attendance providing a constant food supply...

BRIDLED TERN back on the Farnes. How about a visit to Yorks?

Great to see all the poppies around at the moment...

Wing-tagged Marsh Harrier update

I received this e-mail today from the Hawk and Owl trust. Thought you might be interested?

"Sorry for the delay in replying, not enough hours in the day!

BL was ringed and tagged in North Norfolk on 03.08.2013, and was 1 of 2. She was sexed as a female, with her sibling a male. Sexing was done by using the European method of opening the foot and taking the maximum footspan cord.

If you say Patrington is the nearest village, I'll change the OS grid reference to TA3122 to show that. The interesting thing about this sighting is that in April 2013 another Marsh Harrier was photographed spotted coming in off the sea at Spurn, previously having been reported in Portugal. So perhaps this area is a traditional migration route for returning Harriers"

Early start tomorrow as I have a go for the BLACK SCOTER at Redcar. Maybe my Yorkshire listing luck will change?

Cuckoo

It's been a very good year for this species in these here parts. Unfortunately I've been a bit slow grabbing the camera when the opportunity arose to snap one. Like many species they are on the decline but this year has renewed optimism...along with a few other species...come to think of it! There's even been more reports of Turtle Dove!!

Anyway, here's a couple of record shots...

More jizz...

They're still calling, so I've not given up hope of a better image yet...

Rare breeders on the Patch?

A time of high sensitivity regarding breeding sites but without giving to much away I'm chuffed to report a few notable records.

Lesser-black Backed Gull - I glimpsed a chick on the chimney stack yesterday morning. Hopefully, I won't be rescuing one from the local teenagers this year!

Fulmar - I've seen a couple of birds over the last few weeks along the cliffs at Easington, so I took the lad for a stroll along the beach this morning. One of the first birds I saw was this species! I walked up the beach as far as I could (which wasn't very far), I had a few fly-by's but no evidence of landing although they circled a few times?

A jizz shot!

Managed a slightly closer image but they were will-o-the wisp...appearing and disappearing, covering large distances in no time at all...

So, together with the Marsh Harriers at least 3 quality species "present in the breeding season" on the Patch.

Oh...and then there's the Little Terns of course!!! More on them later...

Brief visit

Popped up to Hilston after work to check on a site which held Garganey and a pair of Mandarins earlier in the day (info from Phil Jones). I got a brief view of the Mandarins in flight but no luck with the Garganey...unfortunately.

This is the same spot that held the Temminck's Stint on the 22nd May...

Definitely a site to keep an eye on.

Three days off now, so up with the lark tomorrow, to see what I might see...

Marsh Harrier(s)

Chuffed with the presence of a Marsh Harrier this evening here at Holmpton...

I picked it up on Snakey lane while Bud was doing what he needed to do. This ties in nicely with a tagged bird I saw yesterday in the Patrington area...

Searching online revealed the tags are apparently linked to a survey being undertaken by the Hawk and Owl trust. I've sent them the relevant info'.