January 2012 - Great Grey Shrike and Whooper Swans!

Sunday 8th: Out and about again to see the Great Grey Shrike. After parking the car and talking with birders who had seen the bird earlier in the morning, I faced a 40 minute walk to it's location. Apparently the bird had been caught in a mist-net earlier and was identified as a Shrike that was ringed at Spurn last year. For more details on this go to the Doncaster Birding Blog. Here you will find a detailed discussion on it's race and some lovely photos.

Looking at it through a scope offered great close views and the familiar black mask across its eyes stood-out immediately. The bird appeared to be fluffed-up when I saw it, probably still had a strop after being caught! A Great Grey Shrike is about the size of an adult Blackbird, so at distance, appears smallish. I took a few photos as it shifted position. Not great but a record. For the next 90 minutes I stayed in the hope of getting a closer photo as it is prone to get quite close. We were treated to three more sightings of it as it patrolled it's territory. But none of these were closer. Is it here for the winter months, who knows? Though it has already been in residence for over two weeks. What a smart-looking bird and a great way to start the new year!

Whooper Swans and Mute Swans  were still on the field at Alderfen and all showing well. As usual 3 Kestrels were seen hovering in the fields around me. As I was walking back along the southern bank of the river Torne, the Whooper Swans took to the air. What a wonderful sight and noisy too as they continually call to each other in flight.

December 2011 - Whooper Swans & Fieldfares!

Friday 2nd: Woke to the first frost of Winter and the temperature at 8:30am was 0° centigrade! Driving round the corner to collect Sandra, I bagged my first sighting of the day. Darting-out in front of the car and alighting on the pavement to my right was a Yellow Wagtail! Wow, fantastic sighting, regaled in all its finery. Sadly no chance or time to grab the camera, but I did stop the car to revel in this splendid looking bird. With Melanie seeing the Grey Wagtail again, for the third sighting this week, in the garden at 10:20am, this has been a good week for Wagtails.

After the initial excitement (on my part), we headed for the Wroot and the countryside. The Sun was up but still it was freezing. We stopped by the river Torne and were greeted by a huge flock Fieldfares. So many that to try and count them was an impossible task, so we agreed that there was 500+. They were everywhere! Many perched on the telephone lines, in bushes and atop trees. Of course these were Hawthorn bushes and trees covered in berries. Two Kestrels were perched on the telephone wires, not taking much notice of the Fieldfares even though they were being crowded-out! The male Kestrel did change locations and even came near us to hunt. But the abiding image must be of the clouds of Fieldfares taking to the blue sky every now-and-then.

A couple of miles up the road, just outside Wroot and in one of the farm fields were what we were looking for. There, off to one side, 70-odd Swans. Wow! Whooper Swans, I counted 34, and 37 Mute Swans.

After chatting to a fellow Birder, he advised us to walk up to the banks of the Torne to get a better view with the scope. He wasn't wrong either, outstanding views! A flock of Lapwing, probably 250 swirled around the sky and descended onto the field. Behind us on the other side of the Torne, Sandra spotted another Kestrel and we watched as it hovered and dove and hovered.

Below is a photo of an adult Whooper and 1st year in the field at Alderfen. This image was captured by Sandra by placing her camera at the eye piece of the scope (digiscoped). Even though the weather was freezing cold and a bitter wind was howling around us, she managed to capture this remarkable image!

Another image from Sandra below is of a flock of Lapwings, 210 in this photo! They may be just specks but I can assure you that they are Lapwings and that there were even more!

Both feeling very cold now, it was time to make for home and a hot cuppa tea. A fantastic few hours of birding.

November 2010 - Hatfield Moor YWT & Blacka Moor YWT

Sunday 7th: An early start to a bright and Sunny day with a visit to Hatfield Moor... well, this was our second visit of the weekend. Sandra and I went over there yesterday afternoon as a Rough-Legged Buzzard had been hanging around for the last 3 days and I need a doctor... I'm turning into a twitcher! Unfortunately we didn't see it yesterday (though a couple of Birders did shout at us to look to the sky as it was airborne)... but I can't be certain I saw it! Lots of formation flying Gulls, hundreds of them. Where did they come from and where were they going? On the lake there wer the usual waterfowl; Little Grebes (the photo below is from Lakesdide a few weeks ago), Pochard,Tufted Duck, B-H Gulls and Mute Swans... not to mention Coots!

Today, we saw high-flying falcons; Buzzard (common), of which I got some questionable photos, Kestrel and another that we couldn't identify. A Roe Deer! After spending 45 minutes with scope at the ready, atop a small hill, we decided to move on. One of the bird hides provided close-quarter photos of Greenfinch, Blue Tit, Great Tit, Coal Tit, Willow Tit and Chaffinch. Sandra saw a Redpoll which evaded me (it would've made an interesting photo). A Common Red Darter obliged for its photo - early November and still a member of the Dragonfly family about, in fact there were two! Then came the Great Buzzard photo shoot... Sandra spotted the raptor high up in the clear blue sky. I immediately took some photos, while she watched it through binoculars slowly circling. It was at the limit of my camera's' zoom! A Ranger believed it could be the Rough-Legged... but another birder confirmed it as Common! Still, a fine image! Time to move on to Sheffield.

Off to Blacka Moor on the edge of Sheffield to see if we could find a Great Grey Shrike... I am turning into a twitcher! Well we eventually got there no thanks to the Sat-Nav! Looking for one little bird amidst a vast Peak-District Moor is impossible but that's the sport of Birding! Needless to say when we got there it was late afternoon. The light was beginning to fade, made even more gloomier with the ever present storm clouds. We did see a Dunnock, missed a pair of Bulfinches but spent a lot of time watching an unusual Kestrel through binoculars as it was pale in colour and I'd decided to leave the scope in the car! Well I started trekking out over the moor in an effort to get closer and that's not to be recommended as the light was fading and the ground was very uneven and boggy! Below is the best long-long range image of the "Kestrel". Needless to say, no Shrike... well it is a very large moor! All-in-all a good day out!

Below are two silhouette images of what is probably a Kestrel - the Sun is behind it and beginning to set. The other three images show a pale and grey bird in a small tree about 200 yards away... is this also the same Kestrel? Is it a Kestrel? The Sun is low and to the right.

September 2010 - Fairburn Ings RSPB

Friday 24th: It's true what they say; "what a difference a day makes"...or two! Last Wednesday, myself and Sandra went to Old Moor RSPB and the weather was warm and even sunny at times... so warm that shirt-sleeves was all that we needed. But today...today here in Yorkshire it was blowing a right old gale! Heavy rain all the previous night only relented at around 8am this morning! A grand day to spend outside watching birds! So fleece and jacket was required but the gloves were left behind and were sorely needed at times. We drove up to North Yorkshire to visit Fairburn Ings RSPB near to Castleford. Setting off early we got caught up in the "rush-hour" traffic but by 9.30am we were parked in a bleak wind swept car park wondering; "is this worth it".

Well we needn't have worried, within the first 30 minutes we had already twitched a Kingfisher at close-quarters that obliged by constantly fishing and gave us around 20 minutes of breath taking views. Marvelling at the antics of Goldfinches, Chaffinches, Greenfinches, Tree Sparrows, Marsh Tit, Coal Tit and others on and around a closely situated bird table. After all this, anything else would be a bonus. Well during our long and wind-swept trek around the NR we were to get that bonus!

On our trek down to the village-end of the lake, the usual suspects were seen; Cormorants (17), Mute Swans (lots), Mallards (quite a few), Coots (too many to mention) but also Shovelers, Gadwalls, two Herons, eight white Geese that were probably farmyard related and Grebes, both the Little variety and Great Crested of which we saw five adults and one adult shepherding three immatures that were probably about 3 months old! But the bonus was another two Kingfishers that flew in front of Sandra and the female Goosander sitting on the bank of a lake that I would have walked right past if Sandra hadn't motioned to me!

Having slogged back to the car (at least 3 miles were covered in total) we ate a hearty bunch of sandwiches and drank tea while watching the Tree Sparrows on the feeders. House Martins wheeled overhead in the steadily bluer skies and out of the blue glided a Buzzard! We watched through binoculars as it slowly wheeled around in the sky - what long wings it has!

We had a quick tour of the feeders by the Visitor Centre and over at Pickup hide we watched in amazement as a Kestrel was mobbed for some 10 minutes by three Carrion Crows! To finish the day, we drove up to Spoonbill Flash, but alas no Spoonbills! Here were lots of dabbling and diving ducks, the usual suspects a Black-tailed Godwit and two other waders that have yet to be identified but what was to be the last highlight of the day was the Kestrel that spent some time in front of our hide hovering and dropping to the ground in its search for food. And we got some good close views as it wheeled in front of the hide...binoculars weren't needed it was so close! But the very last highlight was when we got back to the car and Sandra nervously fed a band of Mute Swans tuna sandwiches!

April 2010 - Blacktoft Sands RSPB

Friday 2nd: Another day, another field trip to view birds. This time I'm at Blacktoft Sands RSPB, a small Reserve situated at the convergence of two rivers; the Ouse and the Trent at the mouth of the Humber. This site provides a necessary stopping-off point for a variety of waders to feed and nest. I was hoping to see some Avocets and maybe a Bearded Tit or two. Alas...none were forthcoming. But I was in for a day of remarkable displays by the Reserve's current influx of Marsh Harriers. For I had arrived at just the right time as the males vie for the breeding rights to the sitting females in the reeds.

Now I've only ever seen one Marsh Harrier before and that was a good few years ago! Here today, I would be witness to five individuals in the sky at the same time! And remarkably, no sooner had one descended into the reeds, another would take it's place in the air. In fact I must've spent 70% of my time there, just watching and videoing the Marsh Harriers. I lost count of the number of individual Harriers but I believe that there were easily in excess of 12! These raptors would slowly cruise the sky with lethargic wing-beats and glide into steep turns and swoops towards the reed-tops. The individual colours and markings could readily be seen with the unaided-eye and through binoculars or my scope, were truly amazing! The video below shows one such display by a lone male.

Other birds of note were a Kestrel, hunting on the edge of a field, 40-odd Black-tailed Godwits on an island resting amidst all the cacophony from the Black-headed Gulls and mild indifference from a pair of Oystercatchers and 3 Wigeon. A large group of Shelducks and Shovelers shared the pool seen from Ousefleet hide along with a pair of smartly-looking Pintails. Various passerines such as Willow Warbler, Chaffinches, Reed Buntings, Tree Sparrows and Pied Wagtails to name but a few.