2014 catch up... Nov-Dec

Let's make this quick, I've already done my January visit.

November highlights

Mute Swan - 17
Pink-footed Goose - 500+ south on morning of 23rd. A record day count.
Teal - 170
GOOSANDER - 1 female on beck. Only a couple of previous records.
Cormorant - 2
Little Egret - 1
Grey Heron - 6
Sparrowhawk - 1
GOSHAWK - 1 seen well in flight at dusk. Two previous records.
Buzzard - 7
Kestrel - 5
Golden Plover - 40
Lapwing - 700+. A very high local count.
Green Sandpiper - 1
Little Owl - 2
Kingfisher - 2
Grey Wagtail - 1
Fieldfare - 24
Redwing - 40+
Dipper - 1 still at Harpham/Lowthorpe
Jay - 1
Starling - 900+. An excellent local count.
Chaffinch - 110.

December highlights

Mute Swan - 10
Pink-footed Goose - 5
Bean Goose - 3
SNOW GOOSE - 1 adult white-phase bird. Photo below.
Gadwall - 3
Teal - 250
Grey Partridge - 19
Little Grebe - 6
Cormorant - 2
Grey Heron - 8. It's been a good year for this species.
Sparrowhawk - 1
Buzzard - 9
Kestrel - 9. Also a very good year for this species.
Peregrine - 1
Lapwing - 100+
Snipe - 17. Otherwise it's been a very poor year for this species.
Woodcock - 2
Green Sandpiper - 1
Little Owl - 1
SHORT-EARED OWL - 1. It's been a long wait since my last in 1990s!
Kingfisher - 2
Grey Wagtail - 1
Fieldfare - 36. A very slim year for this thrush.
Redwing - 6. Ditto - where were the winter thrushes this year?
Dipper - seen further down at Lowthorpe bridge this time.
Jay - 1
Yellowhammer - 35. A good flock for recent years.

Also seen were 3 otters together - one large and two small (young?). They didn't seem too fazed by me standing on the bank not far away, as the pictures below suggest.

And with those surprise additions the year list bumped upward to 110, the joint lowest total in recent years but not bad considering the very poor half-time score. Ok ok 109 without the goose. Shh!

106 Goshawk
107 Snow Goose
108 Bean Goose
109 Short-eared Owl
110 Goosander

Totally wild geese. Well most of them certainly are. Probably. The Snow Goose is bottom left and the 3 Bean Geese are in there somewhere (hard to id from this dark/crap photo). I read that a Snow Goose made the trip down the east coast every autumn with Pink-feet in recent years, occasionally being seen in Yorkshire. Of all the birds it has the best credentials for being wild, but, who knows. In it's favour, the bird here is with presumably wild geese, and it was VERY wary (I'd just accidentally flushed them when I took this). On the down side, possibly the same bird appeared down the road at Tophill and has been hanging around with the tame feral Greylags. Damn!

Otter! There were three together, rather unbelievably.

Despite the amazing views I completely failed to get more than one in shot.

January review shortly...