Before I get 2011 up and running - next weekend hopefully - here's a recap on last year.
Snow began and ended the year and January sightings reflected these extraordinary conditions - my first
Bittern and second
Little Egret along with
Merlin,
Peregrine,
Water Rail, a couple of
Green Sandpipers, several
Woodcock and the only
Brambling of the year. February was quieter though the
Little Egret put in another appearance and a
Jack Snipe was by Kelk Beck. Two
Goldeneye at Kelk Lake was a good record.
By late March the awful winter was no more, quite the opposite in fact. An early Swallow was noted on 28th - my earliest locally. Two Sand Martin passed through on 27th, though that's a fairly typical date. Several Chiffchaff were already in.
480 Golden Plover resting in a field in Little Kelk is a record count and continues a trend of flocks staging before migration in spring - we get very few in winter. By far the best sighting was the
Osprey heading north - my second following one last April.
Spring migration was in full effect in April including useful sightings of Yellow Wagtail, a
White Wagtail (continental subspecies of Pied Wagtail), an unseasonal
Peregrine, and 75 of the Golden Plover still hanging around. The raptor theme continued with a
Red Kite drifting north west.
More migration in May with a
Grasshopper Warbler at Harpham and a
Ruddy Shelduck at Gembling. Warblers were generally well represented with a very high number of Common Whitethroat, though only a couple of Lesser Whitethroat.
June and July were very quiet. Welcome sightings included one each of
Corn Bunting and
Spotted Flycatcher, both at Foston.
Hobby's appear to have bred at Kelk though no young were seen to confirm this.
More
Spotted Flycatchers in August, two together at Lowthorpe, was very encouraging. Not a lot else going on in August though the local Buzzards seemed to have had a good year - seven soaring together over Harpham was a beautiful sight. It was not a good year for butterflys though 4+ Brown Argus at Harpham represented a new species for me locally.
September turned up a massive surprise in the form of a
Long-eared Owl. Not just a difficult species to observe but thought to be genuinely scarce in the region. Elsewhere two lots of Pink-footed Geese were noted (40+ south, 4 stood in a field), a Great Black-backed Gull was a first for the year, and another
Spotted Flycatcher was seen at Lowthorpe.
October didn't produce much of note - a
Water Rail being the best. Tree-roosting Cormorants were discovered at Kelk Lake in October, the first such recorded locally. They were there again in November, up to 8 birds. Also in November were a
Goldeneye at Kelk Lake and
19 Siskin flying south. A national influx of
Rough-legged Buzzards deposited one in our area - a really cracking bird and one kind enough to let me take a few photos.
December ended the year as it had begun - under a covering of snow. More
Woodcock and
Water Rail were not such a surprise, but it was a delight to have two
Whooper Swan fly over.
I visited on 29 days over the year and managed 114 species, one down on 2009. The Bittern and Ruddy Shelduck were both new species for the area. Which just leaves me to say "2011, bring it on!"
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