May 2012 - Lakeside & other Birds

Tuesday 29th: After finishing at work, a short drive down the road to Lakeside to put my camera through some more tests. Yes, another lovely warm evening. People around, enjoying the late afternoon sun.

This is a photo of contemplation. The Sikh is sat on the pebble beach communing with nature.

A Coot on her nest, resting in the warm sunshine.

A Black-headed Gull, unusually resting and quiet!

Great-crested Grebes often take to Donny Lakeside.

Suspect that this is a Lesser Black-backed Gull.

We get our far share of Herring Gulls too.

Close by, a clutch of Mallard duckings explored a sheltered cove under the watchful eyes of the parent Mallards.

Getting home I took advantage of the sunny and warm evening by sitting in the garden. In the conifers a few feet away was perched one of the Blackbird fledglings that had hatched a couple of weeks earlier. It was waiting to be fed by the male and in between feeds would close its eyes for a moments rest.

Sunday 27th: An early morning midday to Hatfield Moor (North) to test my new camera. Warm day with clear blue sky - great to be out in the countryside! While driving down the narrow country lane, between farms, several Turkeys jumped out in front of the car forcing me to slam on the anchors! Curious, a couple wandered straight towards the car, peering at me all the while! Then joined by others, they wandered into the adjacent ploughed field. This is the first encounter with wild Turkeys that I have experienced. Usually they are on my plate!

Friday 25th: The female Blackbird is not at all worried by the presence of us in the kitchen - she is too trusting! Both Mel and I can get to almost touching distance of her! In fact she tends to stand around if the bowl is empty and flick her wings in order to get our attention.

There's all sorts of wildlife in the garden. This green Weevil with orange legs provided a test of close (macro) photography by Mel.

Wednesday 23rd: Occasionally, a passing Greenfinch will stop off in our garden - probably on it's way to Sandra's!!

Tuesday 22nd: The Blackbirds and House Sparrows are regularly coming into the kitchen for live mealworms throughout the day. The male Blackbird predominately collects a beak full and feeds the fledling Blackbirds,while the female mainly feeds herself! The birds have young to feed and are not at all shy about dashing in to get a beak full of mealworms.

 

 There are still plenty of Frogs in the garden. Most are in and around the pond as is the one below.

Saturday 12th: Mel and I went over to Elizabeth's house to do some gardening and all the time in the front, this cheeky Robin would nip in between Mel and her trowel to grab a tasty morsel. A very confident Robin, it wasn't put off by the constant movement of us and noise!

 

November 2010 - Belfast Lough.

Tuesday 2nd: Yesterday I caught a lunchtime flight to Belfast to fulfill a lecture engagement for Northern Ireland Amateur Astronomy Society (NIASS). So today, while waiting for my return flight from Belfast City Airport, Steve, the Chairman of NIASS showed me around some of the sights and just to complete the trip he took me to Belfast Lough. Well, imagine my delight when he left me to have 20 minutes or so of bird-watching before we had to return to the airport! This is a sea lough and as a consequence, open to the Atlantic! Although reasonably mild, there was a terrific, almost gale-force wind which was so strong that I had to push against it just to keep my feet!

In front of me on the shore was a Curlew, wading in the shallows while sifting the water for food. The wader was so close and didn't seem to mind about all the ramblers close by. A FIRST for me was the close appearance of 3 Turnstones. They looked much smaller than I'd imagined and were constantly on the move.

An Oystercatcher too was close by, along with three different types of Gulls; a Common Gull and Black-headed Gull and a First Winter Black-backed Gull. But another FIRST really grabbed my attention; near two Jackdaws were three adult Hooded Crows. These are a particular rarity as they mostly confine themselves to Ireland and Scotland and only very occasionally turn-upon the English mainland! So in 20 minutes, I twitched 2 types of bird that I never seen before and one of those, the Hooded Crow which in all probability would never see in England!

Half an hour after I arrived home from Belfast, Melanie and I were pleasantly surprised to see this male Sparrowhawk perched in our garden. Is this the same male that Sandra saw in her garden last Sunday? Quite possibly, the chances of two male Sparrowhawks hunting in gardens located 200 yards apart, would be very unusual! The bird didn't catch anything and after an hour, Mel shooed it away as our pet canary was looking decidedly nervous as his cage hangs outside the back door during the day. It was a blustery afternoon and as can be seen below, the wind has ruffled the Sparrowhawks' feathers somewhat!

April 2010 - North Cave YWT & Blacktoft Sands RSPB

Saturday 17th: A glorious sunny and warm day was too good to ignore, so I ventured up the M62 to make my first ever visit to North Cave Wetlands NR. Born from disused quarry pits, North Cave certainly attracts a variety of bird life. A gentle stroll around the site takes around 90 minutes and if you stop off at any of the three hides to view the birds then be sure to add on another hour or so.

As usual with most water-borne sites, Black-headed Gulls were in some abundance and their raucous calls dominated the area. The Reserve is surrounded by crop fields and at the time of my visit a tractor was ploughing a field which attracted a retinue of Black-headed Gulls and Rooks. Sand Martins were continuously zipping around the sky and skimming the lakes.

Great Crested Grebes were paired-up, I counted 4 pairs and saw one on a nest of two eggs (I was informed) at the edge of the reed-bed. There appeared to be a small grouping of about 12 1st-year Lesser Black-backed Gulls. I have heard that they tend to stay inland, in small groups while most of the adults leave and go back to the coast for the Summer.

The immatures who are fending for themselves now, will eventually depart and join their piers. Lapwings, Gadwalls and Mallards numbered amongst other waterfowl. A Mute Swan was seen at some distance on a rather large nest amongst the reeds. I did note two pairs of Great Tits seen at close quarters and not too bothered by my presence.

But it was getting late in the afternoon and I needed to get to Blacktoft Sands. Time for a quick sandwich and coffee before I departed. A pleasant place for birds, though not enough passerines for me. Maybe I need to get there in the morning! Definitely worth another visit and not too far away!

Soon I was on my way back down the motorway making the short trip to Blacktoft Sands, five miles east of Goole. The last time I was here at the beginning of the month, I saw a non-stop display by the recent influx of Marsh Harriers. Maybe because it was late in the afternoon; 5pm when I got there, but I only saw three displaying; an adult male and two immatures. Even so, they were very distinct through binoculars and not too far away.

Up at Ousfleet hide I saw my second group of Avocets of the day... I don't get to see any for over a year and in one day manage to bag at least 32. A fair few Pheasants were seen, particularly males, as the site emptied and became quiet, they all came out into the open, I counted 6 within an hour. Wigeon, Shoverlers, Shelduck, Gadwalls, Mallards and the ever-present Black-head Gulls were on the lagoons in reasonable numbers. One Little Grebe in breeding plumage was also seen. Also on the water and in the adjacent crop field were Greylag Geese. Walking back to the car, the Sun was starting to set and this was the signal for the passerines to start singing from their roosting places. Chaffinches and Goldfinches were very conspicuous in the budding-tree branches while some Reed Buntings and Tree Sparrows were helping themselves to a last snack before darkness fell.