Humber Spectacular

Tuesday I did a recce along the access points to this magnificent Estuary in preparation for Haydn's visit on Wednesday. No sign of any Hen Harriers or Short-eared Owls unfortunately.

Maybe we'd get lucky? We didn't but we had a great day checking out the Sites along the Humber. He was VERY impressed and we enjoyed some great Birding and spectacle. It really is a magnificent area enabling huge numbers of Birds to feed in safety.

Today I re-visited some of the Sites after an early start...putting myself through the variable emotions of The Ashes!

I started down at Patrington Haven around 1 where an unusual looking Little Egret was feeding on a puddle by the car park.. Fairly common in the area these days but views like this are not...

I toyed with the idea of walking down towards the pumping station...but not for long! I'm not as quick as I used to be.Instead I headed for Welwick and had the last hour there. Finally I connected with one of the Male Hen Harriers that have been present for some time, albeit mobile. My encounter was brief as the Bird shot West over an adjacent field in a strengthening wind, far to brief a sighting for a photo unfortunately. Still at least I'd seen one. No Owls were seen.

A few more from recent days...

Stonechats

A Starling warming up early morn'...

A local Rare came in the form of this immature Male Goldeneye on Winestead Drain...

I've looked along this stretch hundreds of times over the years and this is a First...

A Buzzard was blending in well on the adjacent plough...

A shout out for the much overlooked Common Gull. Decent numbers on Snakey at the moment...

I've seen a few coveys of Grey Partridges recently which is encouraging...

As I made my way home I was reminded of that I didn't see the "Super Moon" last night due to thick cloud...

Fortunately tonight it revealed itself fully tonight...

A nice finish...

Welcome Back

Looking at the forecast Thursday night I decided to have an early start Friday. I arrived at NDC at 9 to a surprisingly full car park? I gathered my stuff and made my way to the GS Hide. Sure enough it was full. Jono Leadley was present with a York group. We had a brief chat mentioning the recent RTD at Castle Howard and improved access arrangements before they moved on.

I settled in my spot and was extremely pleased to see...Swans...

A Glorious Sight!

Always a landmark moment to see the return of this Iconic Species to my Patch.

Their Site Loyalty is Special. Over the next hour or so I was treated to the marvellous spectacle of extended Whooper Swan action. Birds arrived from the North...

...and leaving to the South...

 

Massive bonus to get the flight views!!!

It proved to be quite a Raptor Fest during my 4 hour stint. A couple of Red Kites were active over the River and one came closer on occasions...

The "pale" Buzzard finally made an appearance...

...as did the young Fox...

It was in view on and off for a good hour and gave great views form different spots around the reserve...

Eventually it attracted the attention of a cc Marsh Harrier...

...then 2...

One Bird paid a closer visit...

Another Buzzard joined the Party...

The Star turn was the return of the Whooper Swans. NEVER to be taken for granted. The fact that they return to the LDV every Year and have done so since time immemorial is testament to their loyalty. May it continue to be so...

Water

Arriving...and lots of it!

Busy Weekend just passed as my Family helped me celebrate my Birthday. Paid a couple of visits to Duff where there is standing water now, which will remain. Far more on Bubwith Ings but that will fluctuate with the rainfall. The Wildfowl haven't moved in yet...but they will. We did see some distant groups disturbed by shooting over the adjacent Farmland. A Barn Owl was an unfortunate consequence as were 4 Pintail. All safe.

The 2 Great White Egrets are still about and show well on occasions. Haydn and I had 2 Water Rails showing briefly on the scrape. The striking Marsh Harrier is still present but there was no sign of the pale Buzzard. 

In the Village there is a Shorelark and 7 Snow Buntings along the Cliff to the North. I set off this morning but it was a tad greasy so "discretion was the better part of valour" on this occasion! I'll try again later...

Recently

Putting my Castle Howard Twitch to one side I made  a couple of visits to NDC. Last Wednesday I had a couple of hours with Haydn before he left for 10 days in Morocco. Just after he departed this pair showed up. This is my first sighting of 2 Great White Egrets...anywhere! On my Patch made it even more special!

One Bird made its way down the River to give much better views...

The lingering Water Rail finally showed up long enough for a pic...

Yesterday Louise had a Dental Appointment in York so I pinched a lift and had an afternoon "sesh"...

Cold but clear and little wind, it was good to be out in the fresh air. Water has finally made it onto the Carrs through the ditches and the River can now be seen. There's plenty on Bubwith Ings also. After around an hour I caught sight of an GWE flying up River from Bubwith...

It landed on the far Bank...

After a short while it continued North.

The seemingly resident pale Buzzard appeared and showed well in the afternoon sunshine...

It hunted the area for a good while as the sun dropped...

It was still present at Dusk...

I also had a brief view of a Peregrine, my first since the Spring. Ala no Owls unfortunately but a very enjoyable afternoon.

The forecast for today wasn't great and it turned out to be accurate. However I managed to get out for an hour before the rain arrived. Yesterday there were large numbers of Fieldfare on Snakey. Of course this morning I couldn't find any! I decided to have a run down the Southern end, as I was passing Rysome Rd I decided on a whim to check the bushes around the Bunker. Glad I did, as there were c200 Birds feasting on the berries...

Fresh in from Scandinavia, I never tire of seeing them arrive...

The rain came and I went for a trim. Love a Thrush. The day was a wash out so it was back to Oman planning...