Waters Edge 24-10-11

With today starting off at work at 7am and being back home at 7.30am due to the first aider not being able to treat an open wound,so this morning was spent at the doctors and making other appointments for tests to be done on me,with that all done and not being able to return to work Mandy & myself decided on spending a few hours at Waters Edge.
On arriving at the Grebe pool the wind had picked up but was quite warm so we sat on the bank for a hour or so just to see what would come over and was pretty productive with Common Snipe,Redshank,Black-tailed Godwit,Kingfisher and the resident Kestrel being noted.
We then took a walk around looking on various pools with only the usual wildfowl present,we arrived on the Humber Bank where Mandy picked out more Redshank on the shoreline and a single Curlew,as we headed towards the visitor centre I noticed a bird high up next to the bridge which was soaring and after a look through the bins and to my excitement it was a Pomarine Skua and soon after I noticed a pale phase Arctic Skua but Mandy was photographing a darker bird making 2 Arctic's (poor heavy cropped record shots below of all 3 birds),also a single Dunlin & several more Redshank flew past.
With the cloud building and time pushing on we continued along the board walk in front of the centre with a few Common & Black-headed Gulls present,half way along the board walk a Redshank came in and landed for a few seconds before taking flight again.
A pleasant afternoon out with my partner :)
Back to work tomorrow :(

Pom Skua

Pom Skua

Pom Skua

Pom Skua

Arctic Skua (pale)

Worlaby Carrs 22-10-11

With today looking the best day of the weekend and my first chance of getting out due to work we decided on going to Worlaby for the day.
We arrived at Worlaby around 8.30 and walked down to the first car park and sat on the bridge as this was most sheltered from the wind.Fieldfare flew over all day long with a few Redwing and a large flock of Goldfinch hung around for most of the day feeding in the scrub areas.
The Rough-legged Buzzard started it's day off sat on top of a Hawthorn bush but we was looking straight into the sun,then it was seen hunting over the fields around 9.00 and that was the last time we seen it as we was told it was pushed off by Corvids.
A Barn Owl flew along side us and perched up in the hedgerow but was unable to get any photographs as it flew over to the plantation and wasn't seen again,a Marsh Harrier flew along the drain and went behind Mandy which she didn't see and could of got close shots if she hadn't been texting on her phone :(.
Lost of Kestrels present today and I was able to count 5 in one view,as the day went on Mandy and myself walked up to the next bridge to see what we could find lots of Skylark and Meadow Pipit in the ploughed field but no sign of any Hen Harriers or Short-eared Owls,so we headed back to the first bridge and Dean Eades had turned up after going for the escaped White Stork good to see you again mate.
With time running out we had to leave for the last bus home a busy day down at Worlaby with around 30 cars
so god knows how many people were present but a nice warm day apart from the wind good to see new and old faces.
We later found out that 9 Short-eared Owls were seen at dusk.

Spurn Point weekend 14-17/10/11

With Nicknav arriving on the Thursday night later than planned we started the weekend off at The Raj for a very nice Indian and a few pints of Loo Tanfoot to wash it down :)
Friday morning saw us heading off to my local patch so Nick could bag the Ferruginous Duck which took no time at all.
Setting off on a hours drive we reached our destination Spurn Point which I love,we pulled up in front of the Warren as we normally do each year but was kindly asked by the young girl if we could park on the south car park and if we was quick enough we could see the Yellow-browed Warbler that had just been rung.
With Mandy and Nick both getting a lifer and me just getting a mere year tick :(.With that done and dusted we set about emptying the car out and set off down to Chalk Bank.
We set about hunting down migrants when I bumped into another ex Wark's birder being Lee Johnston so we had a chat and a quick catch up on things before he headed off down to the point and we headed back to the Warren for a hot drink,by this time it was getting late so we headed off for a chippy in the dreaded place of Withernsea but nice chips!!!!
After that it was back to base for a shower before heading for The Crown and Anchor for a few drinks.

Saturday morning saw Mandy and myself up and out at first light heading for the narrows just a short walk away to see if we could get some wader shots before breakfast after a hour or so Nick pulled up as he was heading for the point so we joined him. Plenty of Fieldfare and Redwing present and I spotted a lone Brambling. After a walk around we headed back to the trap near the tower and were told that a Black Redstart was hanging around the buildings and it didn't take long before Nick noticed it sitting on a fence.
With that in the bag it was time for coffee and returned back to the warren and decided on what to do next we decided on to take a look around Out Newton where the Radde's Warbler had been seen but no luck,so went on to Hornsea Mere for a look around but not much present and after a couple of hours returned back to base,then decided on a look on the Canal Scrape and bagged 2 Jack Snipe. By this time the light was fading and tummies rumbling so we set off for a shower and change and by this time Mr Maddox had joined us and we returned to the good old faithful Crown and Anchor for a nice Gammon Steak.

Sunday Morning saw us all up early with the first bird of the day being a Merlin sat on a post opposite the Warren on the Marsh and Mandy waited for me to come out so she could tell me bless her,so we rushed over with cameras in hand for some shots but it was a bit distant before flying south putting up the many Waders,news then broke about a Red-backed Shrike at Canal Scrape so off we set and got it in the bag after a few minutes scanning,then we made our way to the bluebell where a female Scaup was present along with a Common Scoter but the Scoter had gone.This brought us to Mandys dream bird and Mr Maddox nightmare bird Red-flanked Bluetail so off we set for Flamborough Head with only 2 reports yesterday and 1 this morning was my blocker going to be knocked off!!!
On arriving at South Landing we could see the group of birders and joined them in the search and after 3 hours or so and no sign we called it a day to my relief :) and headed for North Landing for a cuppa and food.
Now it was time for Mark to find his own Bluetail and we had a search around to see what we could find the answer to that was not a lot apart from Linnet,Robin & Dunnock,so Mark decided on giving south landing another go but as all the birders had gone home so we returned back to the Warren.Better luck next time mate :)
Again our destination was the Crown and Anchor for a refuel.

Monday again we was up early but the wind had also picked right up making birding very difficult,we headed off to Chalk Bank for a Wader watch with Bar-tailed Godwit,Oystercacher,Dunlin & Redshank present with things not looking good we went back to the Warren to load the cars back up and had a quick stop off at Canal Scrape where a Ring Ouzel had been reported but with the wind blasting through we gave up and headed back off home.

All the usual Waders,Ducks & Geese noted over the weekend
Swallows still going through
Yellow-Browed Warblers became a day tick with 2 at The Crown and Anchor car park
Merlin we had 3 on Sunday with 1 female taking a Blackbird in front of Mandy and myself
All the usual passerines going through
A great weekend had by all thanks guys & we all joined Friends of Spurn.

Far Ings 13-10-11

With today being forecast the best day so far this week I decided on revisiting the Ferruginous Duck again
and hoped for better shots with the lighter winds.
I arrived around 10.30 and was straight onto the duck which was good being the only person there for the first 30 minutes giving me chance to creep around and giving the Fudge duck chance to settle down which it did but still about 30 yards away,but managed better shots than my previous visit.
With people coming & going I waited for Mandy to arrive and just as she did a flock of 8 Bearded Tits flew over and came down into the reedbed the flew across pursuit pit and dropped down by the hotel drive.
We had a walk round to them but no sign but picked out a Ruff in with the Lapwing,we ventured round to Ness hide only the usual duck here but added another 4 Bearded Tit 12 in total is great for the reserve after the harsh winter that desimated the Beardies.
With time pushing on and Nicknav making tracks up here we continued our walk through the wood and past Target pit we had a quick look in the hide adding 3 female Wigeon and a Little Grebe to the list,we pushed on and walked the Humber bank back to the Visitor Centre adding 6 Bar-tailed Godwit and then with not being foecast today it started raining when will BBC weather get it right :(
Other birds included
20 Skylark,10 Redwing,40 Black-tailed Godwit,6 Golden Plover,c600 Pink-footed geese,c300 Greylag geese,1 m Marsh Harrier,Sparrowhawk,2 Kestrel,2 Water Rail (1 on Ness pit & 1 on the Western approach pit) & 2 Common Buzzard.

Ferruginous Duck

Bar-tailed Godwit

Far Ings 9/10-10-11

With the Ferruginous Duck showing today on a smaller pit than Ness pit,the decision was made to go and get Mandy a lifer and only my second for britain.
On approaching Far Ings we could see that people had parked on the road at the entrance and guessed it was showing,after a quick 5 minute scan it was located at the north end of the pit tucked up in a corner with 2 Mallard and continued to show for the hour we was there,with the strong wind and dull light conditions we along with everyone else called it a day and left the bird to his own devices.
With only a few record shots hope to do better in the coming week.

Far Ings 7-10-11

With quite a late high tide Mandy and myself decided on going to the local patch and wait for waders to come in as we had seen Bar-tailed Godwits & Redshank on the mud where we could get close.
On arrival we walked through Barton Reedbed with only 2 Goldcrest and a single Treecreeper of note,we made our way to the visitor centre for a drink and sat by the lake side to see what would pass through but after 20 minutes or so we made tracks mainly due to the strong cold wind.After a short walk along the Humber bank we reached our destination by this time the tide had already started coming in but no waders only a few Curlew and a single Bar-tailed Godwit flew by.
With dark clouds coming over us we made off for Ness hide but got as far as Hotel hide before the rain started so we took shelter there for a while in the hope of Bearded tits putting in a show as this was where I last seen them but no luck.
With the rain passing over we continued to Ness hide,we was a bit surprised to see how much mud had been exposed since our last visit 2 weeks ago.Gadwall & Shoveler numbers had gone up,I also notice a female Goldeneye and Mandy spotted an adult Water Rail which came into view for about 30 seconds or so before making off back into the reeds.
We decided enough was enough and took a look at the feeders with the usual tits along with a Willow tit,Gold & Greenfinch,House & Tree Sparrow on our walk back home we added 3 Ruff,1 Black-tailed Godwit and the male Marsh Harrier over Barton Reedbed.
Insects consisted of Migrant Hawker,Common Darter,Large White & Red Admiral butterflies.

Waters Edge

With not much happening today we started off at the local car boot sale where Mandy purchased a Mountain Bike for herself.
With today's forecast looking good we decided to have a ride down to Pit 25 and the sailing club pit.
On our way  Mandy noticed a young dead Badger in the side which had been there for a few days by the smell of it.
On arriving at the sailing club pit we stopped for a sit down and scan the wildfowl or so mandy could have a ciggie lots of Tufted Duck but I noticed 2 Female Goldeneye in with them 1st of the autumn also we noticed plenty of Great Crested Grebes present but not much else,we continued round to pit 25 again lots of Tufties,some Wigeon,Common,Lesser-Black Backed & Black-headed Gulls,we sat at the outflow into the Humber but not a great deal there either a few Curlew,Teal,6 Black-tailed Godwit & some Golden Plover flew over and a few Great-Black Backed Gulls.
We decided to have a look around Waters Edge but not much happening so we sat and took a few shot of the resident birds.

Mandy wondering what to photograph next

Waters Edge 21-9-11

Today saw Mandy & myself at Waters Edge to meet up with Roger Hatcliffe who kindly agreed to let Mandy have a play with his 7D for a few hours.
We set off towards the visitor centre end of the board walk to try and get the Yellow wagtails again,Mandy managed a few shot before they disappeared into the goat field,then we walked upto the haven to try for some flight shots of gulls but none around so we carried on along the humber bank and back onto the park to check out the pools for any waders but failed.
We could hear the Little Grebes calling so gave them a try but too distant so we headed for the dipping pond for some Dragons and found 1 Migrant Hawker resting and a couple of Common Darters.
Having a look on the back pool plenty of Tufted Duck with a few Shoveler & a Great Crested Grebe.
We then headed back to the Little Grebes but still keeping their distance we sat & had a coffee when Roger came & joined us for a while before he headed back off to the board walk and we headed off for the wood,this brought us our first Siskins of the Autumn in with a tit flock mainly Long-tailed & Blue Tit.
We walked along the pool to the back end where a Green Sandpiper took flight and 2 Grey Herons came into land,Mandy carried on ahead leaving me to try and photograph a Migrant Hawker in flight but only managed a couple of ok shots before giving up and catching Mandy back up,we continued with the woodland walk adding Bullfinch to the day list & Great Spotted Woodpecker.
This brought us back up to the Visitor Centre and meeting back up with Roger and handing him his camera back  and had a chat for a while,with the wind picking up we called it a day while Roger decided on staying for another hour or so.

Migrant Hawker

Common Darter

Far Ings 19-9-11

With us both up by 4.30 this morning we decided on going to FI for a few hours.
We reached Ness hide around 7.30 just missing out on the Kingfisher so we waited for a while before it re-appeared perching on the posts but to far for me which ended me deleting all the pics.
After a few hours boredom set in and decided to go for a walk around leaving Mandy in the hide,I headed for Chowder Ness where I could hear Curlew calling and knowing the tide was still quite high around 150 Golden Plover,38 Dunlin were the only waders present.
On completing my round trip other birds noted were.
Shelduck,Gadwall,Shoveler,the usual gulls,3 Fieldfare & 1 Redwing.
2 Bearded,Blue,Great,Willow & Long tailed Tit.
Few Chiffchaff & House Martin still present
Green,Gold & Bullfinch.

Spurn Point 18-9-11

With the Nuneaton and District Birdwatchers Club arriving at Barton to pick myself & Mandy up for a day at Spurn.We arrived mid morning at the point and set about going through the Sea Buckthorn straight away I spotted a bird sitting on top of a bush and called Mark Maddox over with his scope and sure enough it was a Whinchat just as I thought not a bad start,Mandy and myself broke away from the group and split up ourselves,I headed for the beacon with not much about only a single Goldcrest flitting about but I got round the corner I spotted another bird sat on the bush top It was a Spotted Flycatcher but only managed a record shot before it flew off.On reaching the beacon there wasn't anything else around so I headed off back towards the rest off the group who where still watching Whinchats and Whitethroats,I then spotted Mandy who had been photographing Wheatear,Whinchat & Common Whitethroat.
Next stop was Chalk Bank where I split from the group again going to the second hide and again a mistake due to missing out on Little Stint.But I managed Sanderling,Knot,Curlew,Redshank,Oystercatcher,Dunlin & a single Common Tern with everyone back on the bus we headed halfway back along the road and pulled in to scan through the large wader flocks which held again Sanderling,Knot,Curlew,Redshank,Oystercatcher,Dunlin,Turnstone,Golden,Grey & Ringed Plover & a few Ruff with that done we headed for the Warren to do a bit of a seawatch and on arriving Mr Colin Green asked the most stupid question of what are we going to see here and Mark replyed well we did have a Barred Warbler once in that bush!!!
Others went their own way and Mandy went back to photograph some Knot & Turnstones with some cracking shots.
From the Seawatching hide Myself,Nicknav,Mark Maddox and Roger Shilton scanned the sea it wasn't long before we picked up a Arctic Skua heading south and a few more shortly followed,also a few Great Skua's went by with 1 bird right along the foreshore also a few Gannets were picked up,with time for us to head back to the bus for our next stop at Kilnsea and a walk upto Beacon Lagoon where 2 Lapland Buntings were hanging around,we set off on our mission only stopping when we caught Bob chip fat Wale & co up who had picked out some duck on the sea which turn out to be 5 Velvet Scoter a lifer for Mandy also a single Red throated diver flew by,everyone headed off to the far side of the lagoon so Mandy and myself headed for the hide as we had noticed the storm closing in on us which we just made it in time but the lagoon was empty apart from a pair of Brent Geese & a few Mallard with the storm passed over we headed back for the bus with no Lapland Buntings seen,On arriving at the carpark we noticed the minibus was missing but I knew that they must of headed for the Crown & Anchor for more waders and I was right with the only new wader present for me for the day was a Greenshank giving nice views.

Spotted Flycatcher

Roe Deer