Long time no see

A tale of two halves. Summer. Autumn. Saturday was good, Sunday spoilt by constant rain. Highlights were a first LONG-EARED OWL for nearly two decades, a Great Black-backed Gull was new for the year. Also rans; 40+ Pink-footed Geese, a Great Crested Grebe, a Yellow Wagtail, a Coal Tit and a Spotted Flycatcher.

Saturday 18th September

Morning...

Breezy but quite warm and sunny. A good show of birds in the Harpham/Lowthorpe area - 26 Mallard, 1 Grey Heron, 1 Sparrowhwak, 6 Buzzard, 2 Kestrel, 290 Lapwing plus c300 distantly toward Burton Agnes, 2 Lesser Black-backed Gull, 1 Herring Gull, 9 Stock Dove, 2 Great Spotted Woodpecker, 2 Meadow Pipit, 1 male Yellow Wagtail (a late bird, probably a migrant), 7 Song Thrush, 2 Mistle Thrush, a Chiffchaff, 3 Goldcrest, 1 Spotted Flycatcher at Lowthorpe Church - latest record for area, 1 Coal Tit, 1 Tree Sparrow and 1 Bullfinch.

Surprise of the morning, weekend, and pretty much the whole year so far was a LONG-EARED OWL in Lingholmes Plantation. The bird was flushed at the edge of the wood and flew into the thicket, just enough to get a positive ID but not enough to really enjoy such an elusive bird. Significantly this is only the second or third one I've seen in the area - several sightings in winter 1991/2 were thought to be two different birds but could have been just one. September seems a very early time for a migrant but the alternative, a local resident bird, seems equally unlikely. Could the location be a clue - roosting next to a path - to it being new to the area?

Afternoon...

Gembling / Foston / Brigham Quarry was disappointingly quiet with just 1 Red-legged Partridge, 3 Little Grebe, 2 Grey Heron, 8 Coot, 90 Feral Pigeon, and 40 Linnets. A consolation appeared in the form of an adult Great Black-backed Gull heading toward Tophill Low - a year tick, no less.

Kelk Lake - male Pochard, 7 Tufted Duck, 1 juvenile Great Crested Grebe, 1 Cormorant. A loose flock of 8 Pied Wagtails were feeding on the pasture by the Turkey Farm.

A Common Buzzard was hunting around Green Lane about 6.30pm. Later were c40 Pink-footed Geese flying south along Kelk Beck at dusk while approx 300 Rook and 600 Jackdaw went to roost. A Tawny Owl was heard after dark.

Not many Swallows around, perhaps high double figures over the day, I guess many moved out in the last week or so. No Sand Martins seen all weekend and only a handful of House Martins.

Sunday 19th September

Nothing doing in the morning due to other commitments and the afternoon was almost rained off. However I braved Kelk Beck and managed to find; 4 Mute Swan, 65 Teal and 75 Mallard at Cattleholmes, 3 Little Grebe, 3 Cormorant, 7 Grey Heron, 1 Common Buzzard, 62 Lapwing, 1 Snipe, 4 Green Sandpiper, 3 Meadow Pipit, 1 Grey Wagtail (first since last winter!), 21 Long-tailed Tit, 20 Chaffinch, 30 Goldfinch and 2 Reed Bunting.

Last throw of the dice was a quick scan over the grass fields in Little Kelk. Nothing except more rain. Oh, wait, hang on, there's 4 Pink-footed Geese in among the sheep. Huh? One can only guess they were decked by the rain. Photo to follow.

Aside from birds there's very little to report except a Squirrel at Lingholmes, 2 Roe Deer. Butterflies were only seen on Saturday and little variety to note, just 10 Speckled Wood, 3 Small Tortoiseshell, and 'low double figures' of Whites. There was one big surprise though - a Common Blue at Harpham - the first of the year (none seen last year).

Yearlist...

111 Long-eared Owl
112 Great Black-backed Gull