September... take 2

Autumn can be very quiet if the birds aren't moving. And so it was to be. Plenty of resident birds about just nothing particularly notable. No additions to the year list.

Even so, a Hobby will be the last of summer while 3 Jays is perhaps a sign of a winter influx. The flock of Goldies mentioned previously was still about. Lots of gulls following local cultivation. A late singing Chiffchaff obviously thought it was summer but the hirundines have that 'we're off' look about them - Godspeed brave travellers!

As with the last couple of years, there's been a bumper sized release of gamebirds on the Agnes estate - there could easily be 1-2000 Pheasants in the area if 330+ were easily visible.

23rd & 24th September 

Mute Swan - 5
Greylag Goose - 20+
Canada Goose - 1
Wigeon - 1
Teal - 40+
Mallard - 60+
Red-legged Partridge - 43 (tame birds from releases)
Grey Partridge - 18 in two parties
Pheasant - 330+ birds from local releases feeding in fields
Little Grebe - 1
Cormorant - 2
Heron - 24
Marsh Harrier - 1
Sparrowhawk - 2
Buzzard - 10
Kestrel - 13
Hobby - 1
Golden Plover - 150+ presumed same flock as early Sep
Lapwing - 3
Snipe - 1
Green Sandpiper - 1
'small gulls' - 3000+ following plough Harpham
Herring Gull - 250+ at Harpham
Great Black-backed Gull - 14 is a good count for early autumn
Kingfisher - 3
Great Spotted Woodpecker - 6
Swallow - 60+
House Martin - 100+
Meadow Pipit - 9
Grey Wagtail - 1
Mistle Thrush - 9
Chiffchaff - 1 singing, plus several others noted
Coal Tit - 1
Jay - 3
Corvids - 1000+ to roost, mostly Rook, some Jackdaws
Goldfinch - 38
Bullfinch - 1 is only the 4th record of the year!
Yellowhammer - flock of 10

Great Black-backed Gulls have been scarce recently. I'll have to check back but this is probably the largest groups I've seen (14, not all in photo) over the last decade.

House Sparrows. Kelk seems to be a good area for them. Between Little & Great Kelk there's probably 100-200 birds this autumn. I'm a big fan.

Local gamebird releases are a feature of September. After many years of not releasing Red-legs the estate has got back in to the idea. At least 43 were noted.

Robin, despite it not being Christmas.

No additions to the year list (104). Getting to the benchmark of 110 could be tricky.

September... take 1

Unable to make a visit in August I tried to compensate with two weekend during September - here's a summary of the first. Lots of birds about, though only Curlew was a year tick!

2nd-3rd September

Mute Swan - 13
Wigeon - 2 at Wansford
Gadwall - 2
Teal - 4
Mallard - 70+
Tufted Duck - 1
Grey Partridge - 31
Little Grebe - 9
Cormorant - 1
Little Egret - 1
Heron - 11
Marsh Harrier - 2
Sparrowhawk - 5
Buzzard - 23
Kestrel - 15
Hobby - 3
Golden Plover - 170+
Lapwing - 1 (just the one!)
Curlew - 1 flew W
Green Sandpiper - 1
'small gulls' - 3000+ together
Lesser Black-backed Gull - 10
Herring Gull - 150+
Great Black-backed Gull - 6
Feral Pigeon - 220+ at Gembling
Barn Owl - 1
Tawny Owl - 1
Swift - 1
Kingfisher - 3
Swallow - 100+
House Martin - 30+
Meadow Pipit - 3
Yellow Wagtail - 2
Grey Wagtail - 1 at Kelk
Mistle Thrush - 33 is the largest flock for years
Goldfinch - 50+


Collared Doves on wires. Less common than they once were but still a very familiar sight wherever there are houses and gardens.

Part of a flock of 3000+ mixed gulls following cultivation. East Yorkshire is very important for gulls in autumn with Common Gulls in particular occurring in vast numbers compared to most other regions.

Kestrel on electricity pole. Seems to have been a good year for them.

Red Admiral. I haven't been keeping a close eye on butterflies recently but it seems to have been a poor year.

Another year another successful swan family on the beck. Five cygnets is a decent result.

So, just the one addition...

104 Curlew