That Will Take Some Beating!

 More county treachery this weekend though in this case it was in the company of my brother. Our original plan had been to visit Flamborough Head in Yorkshire for a seawatching festival where we intended to stay and watch Storm Petrels being ringed. As is often the case those plans did not survive contact with the real world and our eventual itinerary turned out to be slightly different. No complaints however as we enjoyed one of our best days out for some time.

Rubbish pics but great birds - White-tailed Lapwing and Black-browed Albatross.

First stop was at Blacktoft Sands near Goole where a White-tailed Lapwing was drawing in a steady stream of admirers. We managed to see the bird without much effort at all and while the bird was always rather distant it still showed pretty well. A few dodgy record shots of this rare wader were duly taken, this was our second sighting of this species having previously seen one at Dungeness a few years ago. Other birds seen or heard at the reserve were Green Sandpiper, Ruffs and Bearded Tits. While we might have been tempted to hang around for a while news that the Black-browed Albatross had returned to the cliffs at Bempton brought about a speedy departure.

Gannets

Bempton was busy though we did manage to get parked and made our way to the cliffs. Good news greeted out arrival, the albatross was still on site and showing distantly. OK scope views and rather poorer record shots were obtained of this rare visitor from the southern hemisphere which seems to have adopted the Gannet colony this Summer. It was a great result in particular for my brother David who had dipped on a previous visit. Plenty of Gannets were still in residence though many of the other seabirds had moved on. A few Fulmars and a Peregrine were seen from the cliffs while there was a good number of Tree Sparrows around the visitor centre.

Tree Sparrow and Flamborough views.

Having enjoyed (or perhaps that should be endured!) a somewhat underwhelming meal we finally made our way to Flamborough where we managed to find some room in the seawatching hide. For the next couple of hours we were treated to a small but interesting selection of birds passing by. Skuas were represented by five Great and two Arctics with most being rather distant though a couple did allow slightly better views. More Fulmars and Gannets made up the bulk of the records though a couple of Red-throated Divers, some Kittiwakes and a few Guillemots were noted. My favourite seabird was a Sooty Shearwater which showed quite well, I hardly ever get to enjoy half decent views of this species. Non seabird highlights included another Peregrine, a Wheatear and a couple of Eiders. One of the highlights for me of the visit was the large number of Grey Seals that were loafing on the rocks once the receeding tide had exposed them. Having started earlier than we would have liked any notion of seeing the planned Storm Petrel ringing session had to be abandoned and we left for home during the late afternoon.

Grey Seals.

Interesting Insects

 A drizzly start eventually gave way to some lengthy periods of sunshine making my walk today a pleasant experience despite a stiff breeze. My wildlife watching matched the weather in that it was dull at the start but got much better as the day progressed. After yesterday's travels I decided to stay local and chose to check out some of the sites reasonably close to my home.

Small Heath, Common Blue and Red Admiral.

A walk around the area next to the town's STW failed to produce the hoped for migrants but there was a good crop of berries which may yet pull something in. From here I wandered along as far as Willowbrook Industrial Estate where another search for any migrants drew a blank for the second time. Happily for me a good selection of butterflies made up for the dearth of interesting birdlife and I spent an enjoyable hour or so gawping at them. Around the pond near the old speedway there was a good number of Common Blues and a few Small Heaths. An egg laying Brown Argus was too fleet of wing for my camera skills and so too was a very fresh looking Small Tortoiseshell. Moving away from the pond where a Brown hawker was patrolling I found a few Meadow Browns and Gatekeepers still on the wing as well as some newly emerged Speckled Woods. A Red Admiral posed nicely and I also noted a few Green-veined Whites.

Willow Emeralds and Small Red-eyed Damselflies.

My walk then took me to the A43 pond which was somewhat lacking in the interesting wildlife stakes but did have an Emperor doing its rounds as well as ovipositing Common Darters and a lot of Common Blues (damselflies this time!). The next stop on my rounds was the pond at the Woodland Park which was surprisingly rather quiet from a people point of view. All three hawker dragonfly species were present and I got my first pictures of Migrant. There was a good number of Small Red-eyed Damselflies but these were somewhat overshadowed by several ovipositing pairs of Willow Emeralds as well as a single male. Other odes in the area were Blue-tailed and Common Blue Damselflies and Common Darter. A walk along side the stream completed my walk and also added Banded Demoiselle to my day list.

Migrant and Southern Hawkers

For the second day in a row it was a plover making the bird headlines with a Ringed still hanging out at its potential breeding site. Few other birds were noted though a flock of eighty plus Goldfinches feeding on thistledown at Willowbrook was a good sight.

Is a young Bullfinch called a calf?

I'm Ploving It

 Not for the first time in recent weeks Alan Shorrock and I abandoned the county and headed out to foreign parts. In this case our journey took us to the birding hotspot of Frampton Marsh again which delivered yet another decent haul of goodies. Today's weather was a mish mash of showers and sunshine with quite a strong breeze to contend with.

PGP and Dotterel record shots.

Our first highlight was a distant Merlin perched on a fencepost and seen from the road that leads to the seawall. From there we were once again treated to further views of what is presumably the same Pacific Golden Plover that we noted on our previous visit. Amazingly during the course of its stay this individual had been joined for a short while by a second PGP in what must be a very rare occurrence in Europe. I left Alan to enjoy watching one or two Short-eared Owls hunting over the marsh to have a look back at the pools on the reserve. Not much to report I'm afraid apart from a brace of Spotted Redshanks and many Ruff. A flock of over twenty Spoonbills showed distantly and after an initial bout of activity settled down for what looked to be a marathon kipping session.

Spotted Redshank and Ruff

Having decided to join up with Shozzer again I was delighted to learn that a newly arrived flock of Golden Plovers had a Dotterel in tow with them. Once I'd secured a few distant views I set off at pace to get what I hoped would be closer views from the approach road. My plan succeeded to a degree and I had some fairly good but still rather distant views. From there it was back to the seawall where at one point I was able to get views of both the PGP and the Dotterel from the same spot.

Black-tailed Godwit and Avocet.

Once Alan had finished his lunch we set off for a walk around part of the reserve. Another Spotted Redshank showed very well and we saw decent numbers of Snipe. Best of the other waders was a Little Stint which was accompanying a small flock of Dunlin. There were less Black-tailed Godwits than usual which may have made picking out a juvenile Bar-tailed that little bit easier. There was not much else to add though we did see a good number of Yellow Wagtails during our walk. It was a shame that the Black Stork which has been favouring the area recently didn't show but it didn't take too much enjoyment away from our day. Very little other wildlife was seen though alan did manage to find a Small Red-eyed Damselfly during one of the sunnier spells.

Another view of PGP and Small Red-eyed Damselfly.

Across The Border Again

 Alan Shorrock and I made another hop across the border today with a short trip to Eyebrook Reservoir. Today's weather was cold for the time of year with a strong wind dominating proceedings while several rain showers also put in an unwelcome appearance.

Common tern and Great White Egret.

The Autumn wader migration is underway and we found a few species beginning with the first of three Green Sandpipers. A brace of Common Sandpipers were also noted and there was a total of five Dunlins. Apart from the numerous Lapwings the wader list was completed by singles of Black-tailed Godwit, Little Ringed Plover and Snipe. One of the more obvious birds showing today was a Great White Egret which spent most of its time feeding in the shallow water of the Sharp End. Alan's sharp eyes picked out a fairly distant Osprey and it was also Shozzer that found the eclipse plumage Garganey that has been here for a week or two. Final bird of note in this part of the res was an immature Egyptian Goose which was only my second sighting here.

Y-l Gull, Egyptian Goose and distant Garganey

We moved on to the island where a Yellow-legged Gull made a brief visit before flying off up the reservoir. More entertaining was the struggle between an immature Great Black-backed Gull and up to five Carrion Crows for possession of a large trout. The battle raged for about ten minutes as the crafty corvids tried various tricks to distract the gull with varying levels of success. Eventually the gull carried the fish into deeper water where it proceeded to swallow it. The large meal looked decidedly uncomfortable and after several minutes the gull puked the fish back up. Luckily by this time the posse of crows and moved on and it was free to peck away at the fish in relative peace.

Gull v crows!

Having left Eyebrook behind we paid a brief visit to Willowbrook Industrial Estate. There were no gulls here today and despite the sunny skies we only managed to find a few Common Blue butterflies and an Emperor dragonfly..

Local Wildlife Walk

 Today's weather was not too bad with some lengthy sunny spells helping to off set the effects of a fairly strong westerly wind. My journey took me no further than Priors Hall with a look at Willowbrook Industrial Estate thrown in for good measure. There were no great surprises or scarcities to report but I enjoyed my stroll all the same.

Yellow-legged Gulls (with friends!)

The only birds of real note found on today's travels were three Yellow-legged Gulls at Willowbrook Industrial Estate which is a fairly reliable site for this species in late Summer. Recent groundwork at nearby Priors Hall appears to have all but driven them away from what was a very good spot for them. I couldn't find any migrant chats despite a thorough search so made my way to Priors Hall.

Willow Emeralds.

A Brown Hare was flushed from its hidey hole near the large pond but it escaped before I could get a pic. With no interesting birds on show it was down to insects to save the day. About ten Willow Emeralds were found though there were none at the ponds themselves as they continue to mature some distance away from the water. Other damsels included a male Banded Demoiselle as well as Common Blue and Blue-taileds. The pick was a male Emerald Damselfly though he was too obscured for any photos. A good selection of dragons were found with the two species of darter being the commonest. Other late season specials included Brown and Migrant Hawkers while some of the earlier emerging species still showing were Four-spotted Chaser, Emperor and a Black-tailed Skimmer.

F-s Chaser, Ruddy Darter and Black-tailed Skimmer.

It was good to see a decent number of Common Blues (butterflies this time!) after what seems to have been a string of fairly poor seasons. Also present were several Brown Argus while several new looking Peacocks and Red Admirals were noted. After last month's abundance of browns there were only a few Meadow Browns and Ringlets hanging on though rather more Gatekeepers were found. Large Skippers are at the end of their season but I managed to find three today. Rounding off the list were an assortment of the common whites.

Common Blue, Brown Argus and Ringlet.

Rutland Water Wander

 Alan Shorrock and I made the short hop over the border to visit Rutland Water today where we enjoyed a mix of sunshine and showers. Luckily the hides saved us from being drenched and after a slowish start we managed to assemble quite a decent list of birds.

Small Copper and Ruddy Darter

We began our walk at the visitor centre where a good selection of butterflies included a Small Copper as well as quite a few fresh looking Red Admirals. The best birds seen from the centre were a couple of Great White Egrets. A rather dull period followed in which a few Ruddy and Common Darters were the highlights while Alan saw a Southern Hawker.

Record shot time - Caspian Gull and Common Sandpiper.

Lagoon Four began the revival with a dozen Dunlins showing that were mostly black bellied adults and there was also a Ringed Plover nearby. At least two Common Sandpipers were also present while Shozzer and a couple of the other people in the hide saw a Whimbrel. Gulls featured fairly strongly here too with a few Common Gulls now beginning to appear. Of more interest was an immature Caspian which showed distantly, I took a couple of heat hazy record shots. Also present was an adult Yellow-legged Gull which if anything was even further than the Caspian.

Wader selection.

We moved on to Lagoon Three where two immature Black Terns were showing. A trio of Great White Egrets were feeding here with two of them appearing to be at odds with each other given that there was the occasional bout of squabbling going on. Five Black-tailed Godwits were matched in number by Green Sandpipers and there was also an immature Avocet. Final thing of note was a Snipe, we left not too long afterwards reasonably content with our haul.

Great White Egret and Black Tern views