March 2011 - Blackbird on nest

Tuesday 22nd: A female Blackbird that has moved into the nest near the back door is sitting on 3 eggs. By our calculations, the eggs may hatch next Wednesday. The nest was previously built and owned by the female Blackbird that died last December. The photo below was taken at 5:20pm today. Meanwhile another pair of Blackbirds are nesting in the conifers at the bottom of the garden. The male is a frequent visitor to the kitchen for live mealworms.

Hedgehogs to return to the garden soon. All three have gained weight over the winter months and will go back into the garden for a couple of weeks, soon. Having checked with various sources, the weather has not warmed sufficiently for pre-release. Hopefully we will then transfer them to a friends' garden where they will make the first steps into the wild.

March 2011 - A Grand Tour

Saturday 19th: Another early start to a cold but sunny morning. By 7:25pm we were at Hatfield Moor (North) at Ten Acre Lake. We were there to see the Red-necked Grebe. Well, I needed to walk back to the car to get the tripod for the scope. While I was gone a flock of Whooper Swans flew over the jetty where Sandra was viewing the lake. I heard then but unfortunately couldn't see them! Having set-up the scope, the Red-necked Grebe was soon spotted, not one but two amongst the few Tufted Ducks and couple of Gadwell! We spent a good half hour there mainly watching the Grebes through the scope and the Gadwalls. A male Reed Bunting in summer plumage was seen by us through the scope and caused some consternation as at first were weren't sure what it was! There was another bird that we still can't identify. About the size of a Starling and all grey!

Driving away, I stopped the car st the side of the road to view the hundreds of birds in the stubble fields. A massive flock of Redwings, Fieldfares, Blackbirds, Corn Buntings, a couple of Lapwings and various other birds that we failed to identify, took to the air. Very impressive! Distracted we must've spent another 30 minutes here just photographing the obliging Fieldfare and Corn Bunting there were perched close to the car.

Soon we were at North Cave Wetlands, a short trip up the motorway. Here we were treated to Tree Sparrows and House Sparrows in the hedgerows. Seven Avocets were amongst the waterfowl. But good views of a couple of Snipe, which can be seen on the photo across the water from the two Avocets. Oystercatchers, Shelduck, Greylag Geese and a plethora of Gulls, mostly Black-headed and a pair of Shovelers. A pair of Great Crested Grebes were nest building and performing a wonderful mating ritual. After a quick bite to eat, it was a short drive back down the motorway to Blacktoft Sands.

Unfortunately my camera had discharged its batteries and the spares were also flat! So no images of our visit to RSPB Blacktoft Sands on this occasion! But we got some good showings as we walked around the Reserve. Tree Sparrows, Chaffinches and Goldfinches greeted the visitor to the NR. A Toad was our first encounter outside the Visitors Cabin. From inside, we saw the first Sand Martin of the year for Blacktoft. From a hide further along the Reserve we spent 30 minutes or so observing the Marsh Harriers as they flew low-level over the reeds. I counted 4, Sandra 5. From the same hide good views of 17 Black-tailed Godwits at close quarters together with two Ruff in winter plumage were had and 5 Snipe in the grassy tufts. From another hide we had superb views of a Hare through the scope. We we lucky that it stayed close to us in the grassy stubble near the waters edge. To round-off the day a Song Thrush was singing its heart out from the top of a tree in the car park as the Sun began to set.

March 2011 - Donny Waxwings!

Saturday 12th: The Waxwings are still around in town and this morning I drove into town to see them. Again it was outside the Post Office in the town center. This time we left it late, 08:40am when we got parked-up. Speaking to a couple of chaps there, sightings of 70 and 100 were seen earlier in the week! Sandra came along to try and bag that elusive first sighting and she wasn't to be disappointed! At 08:55am 4 Waxings touched-down on their favourite perch, a TV ariel across the road from the PO. They showed well and were constantly calling, though they didn't make any attempt to feed on the berries across the road! Sanda was "chuffed to bits" at seeing a Waxwing for the very first time. Happy with four, though more is always a bonus we drove over to St George's Minster in the hope of seeing more Waxwings and besides I was getting "edgy" at the sudden appearance of a Traffic Warden "eyeing-up" my car!







In the churchyard, several Thrushes wandered over the lawns with Blackbirds, Wood Pigeons and a Robin, but no Waxwings! A Feral Pigeon flew backwards and forwards to an opening in the walls of the Minster and on each journey it carried one twig, presumably for a nest it was building. The photos below show the Pigeon entering and exiting the nest area. Unfortunately, the photo captures the bird in an Unfortunate position as it enters the opening!

March 2011 - Sandra's Garden

Saturday 5th: Early riser again this morning...another 6am start! I'd arranged to go into town again to view the Waxwings and take Sandra as she hasn't seen these birds yet, herself. Well we got there at 7:10am and who should be there with the same intention? Rich from Work, he's the person who passes on all the tips. He had been outside the Post Office since 6:30am but they hadn't showed yet. I was in confident mood but half-seven came and went, eight o'clock and still no sign of Waxwing! Ten minutes later and three flew over calling probably with the intention of eating the berries on the cotoneaster tree. Well, they never got the chance, a male Sparrowhawk darted out from somewhere, possibly a nearby rooftop and chased the Waxwings! They all shot off at a rate of knots never to be seen again. Disappointed Sandra and myself took a tour up to another location on the other side of town to check of a Waxwing haunt. Another no-show. House Sparrows, Blackbirds, Black-head Gulls and an interesting 1st Winter Common Gull was all that we saw. A quick drive-thru to the Post Office, just to make sure there were no Waxwings about and then home. What a let-down! I'll just have to go for it again next week as they'll be heading off back to Scandinavia soon.

At least Sandra's garden held some surprises. A pair of Great Tits were in the garden and the female was giving some serious consideration to the nest box. We reckon that she was in there a for at least 10 minutes. The photo shows her just squeezing out!

The usual suspects were there; Goldfinches, Greenfinches (no photos), a pair of Dunnocks, a Robin, some Starlings and most surprising of all, a Rook! We'd already seen three Rooks earlier on our way to town but this time the bird actually perched on a post in Sandra's garden! It didn't come down to the lawn for a meal but flew back to a nest atop a tree across the road.

What do you think this bird below is? Maybe an immature Goldfinch?

March 2011 - At last.....WAXWINGS!

Friday 4th: Finally, after months...no, years, I have seen a Waxwing! Following a tip-off from a fellow Birder, I arrived early this morning at 7:15am in town to see these fine birds. Precisely at 7:30am a flock of 33 appeared in the sky above us and descended onto a TV ariel across the road from the cotoneaster tree. But before they could eat, a kestrel made an unwelcome entrance and dispersed the flock. Thankfully this male didn't catch anything but the flock had now gone. Of the 6 of us there to witness this, only myself and another chap stayed till 8am, before deciding that we needed to get to our respective places of Work.

February 2011 - Local Patch.

A walk through two local woods recently, yielded a surprising host of birds. A bright sunny day always helps and though cold, that big yellow ball in the blue sky made for good conditions for us and the birds! Across the road from our estate is a small wood...well, a wooded area beside Cantley Road. In fact on older maps, it is known as Church Plantation.

Earlier this year or late last year Sandra had seen 30+ Redwings here and she was keen to see if they were still in residence. Luckily they were. We're not sure exactly how many but we did see quite a few, 20+. Unless you are almost on top of them, they are not very photogenic as they spend most of their time on the ground amongst the leaf litter and so blend in remarkably well! I did get a few good pics as can be seen here.

A Chaffinch was very obliging and supplied an unusual shot from below. Blue and great Tits along with a few Long-tailed Tits were seen. We did see a Nuthatch but my photo doesn't do it justice as I was shooting into the Sun. A pair of Great Spotted Woodpeckers were conspicuous by their red underparts.

Once out of the wood we walked across the vast expanse of lawn between the flats the wood. Soaring high above was a Common Buzzard. Against the blue sky it made for a pleasant sight. A couple of passers-by were quite interested in what we had seen and asked if we were looking for Waxwings. We were but so far had drawn a blank. I did point-out the Buzzard overhead and that got an "aha!" from the pair.

Walking all the way down the road for about 2 miles, didn't produce anything in the way of birds but after a quick stop at my place we continued on to Kirk Moor Plantation Wood. Here in the mid-afternoon Sun we got superb views of a Treecreeper, so good that I didn't even take photos! At the other end of the Wood by the Pub, high up the top of Silver Birch and Alders were a small flock of what we believe we Lesser Redpolls but on examining the photos, I am 90% sure that there are a couple of Linnets mixed in with them! A great day walking around our local patch and still plenty more to see!