March update

While the first Swallows and Willow Warblers are probably arriving at Kelk as I type it was a slower but still encouraging weekend at the end of March. The weather was pretty grey with very poor visibility but mild with it. Here's a quick round up:

Mute Swan - 4

Whooper Swan - 3 flew NE

Greylag - 18

Canada Goose - 3

Shelduck - 2

Gadwall - 14

Teal - 37

Mallard - 50+

Shoveler - 1 drake at Cattleholmes

Tufted Duck - 6

Red-legged Partridge - 2

Grey Partridge - 4

Little Grebe - 7

Cormorant - 4

Little Egret - 1 at Millingdale

Grey Heron - 3 (plus 13 distantly at heronry)

Common Buzzard - 7

Kestrel - 4

Oystercatcher - 3

Lapwing - 70+

Snipe - 1 at Kelk Beck

Woodcock - 1 at Lingholmes

Common Redshank - 1 at Gransmoor Drain

Green Sandpiper - 1 at Gransmoor Drain

Lesser Black-backed Gull - 1 adult at Millingdale (with Herring Gulls)

Herring Gull - 110+ at Millingdale (on freshly cultivated/sown field)

Little Owl - 1 at Kelk

Tawny Owl - 3 different bird heard calling

Kingfisher - 1

Great Spotted Woodpecker - 5

Meadow Pipit - 6

Grey Wagtail - 2 at Lowthorpe

Chiffchaff - 13 singing males noted

Goldcrest - 3

Treecreeper - 4 together at Lowthorpe!!!

Corn Bunting - 1 singing near Kelk Beck

Photos from the visit.

First up, one of the many Chiffchaffs, showing off the dark grey skies (excuses excuses). Hearing the first one doesn't quite have the same 'spring is here' feeling as the first Swallow but they typically start singing on the first nice days when the cold of winter is still all too fresh in the mind. They're loud and distinctive song means you're unlikely to miss them either.

Not as glamorous as some ducks but I'm really fond of Gadwall. They're largely a passage migrant through the area and as such vaguely mysterious - where have they been all winter? Where are they going?

A smart female Kestrel sitting on an electricity post at Harpham.

The commonest resident bird in the area - Rook. I guess most people don't often look closely at them. Odd looking things, but perfectly adapted for grubbing around in fields.

More ducks! The one behind the Mallard is a drake Shoveler. Not an easy bird at all to see in the area, even in a good year. Another passage migrant with the vast majority of records squeezed into March-April and August-October.

It was a good visit for additions to the year list, with 12. This brings it back to something approaching normal.

066 Little Owl

067 Whooper Swan

068 Chiffchaff

069 Treecreeper

070 Tawny Owl

071 Oystercatcher

072 Bullfinch

073 Kingfisher

074 Snipe

075 Shoveler

076 Red-legged Partridge

077 Common Redshank

Getting Otter

Something of a surprise during the weekend just gone, in the shape of an OTTER minding its own business in a ditch at Lowthorpe. The wee charmer didn't appear to notice me and I was able to watch it for 30 seconds or so, long enough even to get a quick snap before it disappeared around a bend.

And here it is again, zoomed in.

Is it too greedy to be disappointed not to get a profile/head photo?

Aside from this excitement it was a reasonable weekend, with plenty of signs of spring. More of that later, though.

Flappy birds

Review for 22-23 Feb.

A windy kind of weekend but at least it wasn't chucking it down. A few good birds including an early Lesser Black-backed Gull, a Green Sandpiper, and a Corn Bunting. However I still haven't seen a Snipe or Redwing - remarkable!

Mute Swan - 4
Greylag - 50 near Gransmoor
Teal - 80+
Mallard - 100+
Pochard - drake @ Kelk Lake
Tufted Duck - 4
Goldeneye - drake @ Kelk Lake
Grey Partridge - 8
Cormorant - 1
Grey Heron - 38 together near Cattleholmes (photo below). 3 others noted.
Sparrowhawk - 1
Kestrel - 5
Buzzard - At least 11 but probably 13 birds
Lapwing - 22
Woodcock - 1
Green Sandpiper - 1
Lesser Black-backed Gull - 1 (an early record, they usually start to appear in March)
Herring Gull - 52
Great Black-backed Gull - 2
Stock Dove - 30
Barn Owl - 2
Great Spotted Woodpecker - 1
Meadow Pipit - 2 @ Harpham
Fieldfare - 6
Goldcrest - 4+
Coal Tit - 1
Chaffinch - flock of 60+ @ Kelk Beck
Linnet - flock of 45+ @ Kelk Beck
Yellowhammer - flock of 34 @ Little Kelk
Corn Bunting - 1 @ Kelk Beck

There were 14 additions to the year list, which climbs to 65. Not great but not terrible.

Buzzard. An 'average' adult plumage, neither dark not pale.

One, two, three, four, five, six, seven Roe Deer.

Flappy bird!

Part of the gathering of herons. They're all hunched up and leaning horizontal instead of the normal upright stance because they're sheltering from the strong wind which is preventing them from getting to the nests at the heronry.

Fresh looking woodpecker hole.

Spring is nearly here - bring it on!

Slowly January

Capsule review for 25-26 Jan:

Miserable weather. Lost most of Sunday to the rain. Didn't take any pictures.

Greylag Goose - 120+ nr Gransmoor.
Canada Gose - 6 with Greylags
Gadwall - 7
Teal - 45+
Grey Partridge - 24
Little Grebe - 4
Heron - 3
Sparrowhawk - 3
Buzzard - 8
Kesrel - 3
Lapwing - 120+ flock at Millingdale
Woodcock - 1
Stock Dove - 6
Great Spotted Woodpecker - 1
Skylark - 25+ including 2+ in song
Grey Wagtail - 2
Mistle Thrush - 1
Goldcrest - 4
Chaffinch - 25+ flock Kelk Beck
Goldfinch - 22 flock at Lowthorpe
Yellowhammer - 26 flock at Little Kelk

And that's about yer lot. The highlight? Probably the two Grey Wags. But cheer up, the days are getting longer.

New Year list? 51

Je ne Egret rien

Egrets - up to five Little Egrets frequenting the beck at Lowthorpe on several dates around Christmas and New Year. An amazing situation given that no more than a single bird has been noted at any time previously.

Regrets - despite spending 3 days during this period I didn't get a sniff. Bah Humbug! I guess there's still time this winter to catch up with some but it's a tough one to swallow.

Oh but enough of my troubles... here's a quick round up from December (28/29/30). I have a few photos but they'll have to go in a follow up post.

Wigeon - 4
Gadwall - 33 (a record local count)
Teal - 140
Red-legged Partridge - 6
Grey Partridge - 26
Sparrowhawk - 1
Buzzard - 6
Kestrel - 3
Woodcock - 3
Green Sandpiper - 1
Stock Dove - 42
Kingfisher - 5 (probably all different but minimum 3)
Skylark - 30
Grey Wagtail - 1
Fieldfare - 30
Redwing - 2
Treecreeper - 2
Siskin - 8
Linnet - 50
Bullfinch - 8

I'll write a 2013 summary soon. The total species list ended up at 110 (including the egrets) which is equal worst over the recent years, though to be fair it is proving consistent, the best total was 117.

November pictures

And finally...

This was the write up from, ooh, only last week: Winter Corn

1.Great Spotted Woodpecker at Harpham - the woods around there are pretty reliable for this species but they can be tricky to see in the canopy. Probably the best views are had privately from kitchen windows as they will visit bird tables. The lack of red on the head/neck says this is an adult female.

2. Heron from Lowthorpe bridge. This one kindly posed for a while.

3. Snipe. No, really! I couldn't find another pic so this might be the first one I've ever snapped. Typically the birds I see are odd ones flushed from field drains or seen distantly on wet areas. The last couple of years have been very poor for Snipe locally.

4. Corn Buntings in Kelk. Although the plumage is difficult to determine from this poor record shor the outline shape and pose is fairly characteristic of this species. There were a total of 9 in the flock, which is exceptional compared to recent years. One of them even burst into song.

5. Autumn leaves - Field Maple. Not a common tree locally but there are a fair few scattered among hedgerows and they're especially distinctive at this stage.

Let normal service resume... er, hopefully that doesn't mean 'as late as normal'.

October pictures

Five from October. Here was the write-up: "September and October"

1. Long-tailed Duck at Kelk Lake. A complete surprise

2. Slightly better shot of the Long-tailed Duck. Possibly an immature female bird.

3. Part of a large flock of Golden Plover. Autumn is the main time to see this species locally, with a shorter and less predictable passage in spring. They're not a bird you expect to see much of in winter around here.

4. Common Gull in its least familiar '2nd Winter' plumage, showing the characteristic 'smudging' across the outer wing, almost like they could be oil stains. Only a small percentage of birds are in this plumage, most individuals are (long-lived) adults and because mortality rate is high in young birds the majority of immature birds are '1st Winter'.

5. Cock Pheasant. Nothing much to note. October is a Pheasanty kind of month, locally released birds are everywhere before the main shoots have taken place.