Eske and the Leven Canal

So infused with enthusiasm was I yesterday morning that instead of going home after my Swinemoor visit, I continued north up the river Hull to Eske/Pulfin Fen.

On the way up I didn't see too much; a distant male Marsh Harrier was being attacked by two Lapwings and a few Swallows were flying around. A single Swift and 2 House Martins also flew past.

At the lake a number of gulls were resting on some exposed rocks, 2 adult graellsii Lesser Black-backed Gulls, 2 1st winter Herring Gulls, 5 2nd winter Greater Black-backed Gulls and a single 1st winter Common Gull. Plenty of Tufted Ducks and Mallard also on the lake as well as two families of Greylag Geese, one with 5 and the other with 6 youngsters. A male Wigeon still lurking around on the island along with nesting Canada Geese and the pair of Oystercatchers seemed intent on fighting to the death about something. Plenty of Great-crested Grebes too but no sign of chicks yet.

I decided to walk up to Leven canal to see if I could find some warblers and I wasn't disappointed there. 5 Sedge Warblers, 6 Willow Warblers, 1 Chiffchaff, 1 Lesser Whitethroat were all heard and seen along with my first Whitethroat of the year. 5 Swifts were also present and I could hear a very distant Cuckoo. The canal is a nice place and far away from anywhere else for it to be visited by very few people. There is always a lot of wildlife here and yesterday Moorhens, Coots and Mute Swans were busy with nests and lots of flowers were in bloom. Also there were quite a few toads about, and I got a couple of photos of toads in quite contrasting states of fortune.

Back at the lake I decided to walk around to the reedy areas where warblers were everywhere! An amusing sight was two male Blackcaps sitting right next to each other singing like mad. In the reeds I saw my 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th and 6th Reed Warblers of the year. Overlooking the lake from a different angle a party of Swallows, House Martins and Sand Martins had arrived but the highlight was a male Garganey sitting amongst some Tufted Ducks. This is the third year in a row I've seen Garganey here so its obviously a regular stopping off point.

Other species seen were Redshank, Snipe, Carrion Crow, Jackdaw, Robin, Wren, Goldcrest, lots of Reed Buntings, Yellowhammer, Meadow Pipit, Skylark, Greenfinch, Linnet, Goldfinch, Chaffinch, Blue Tit, Great Tit, Long-tailed Tit, Blackbird, Starling, Grey Heron, Dunnock and Rook.

Swinemoor yet again

With more time and energy on my hands than I've had for a while I couldn't resist another look at Swinemoor, from 8.30am to 11am. As I drove past part of the common I noticed the first horses have been put on. However, they haven't made their way over to the birdy areas yet.

Just one Shelduck was present today, but 3 male Snipe were in a mid air drumming battle. Walking along the main drain an Oystercatcher flew overhead and landed at the far end of the common - it didn't stay long though. About 100 Golden Plover were scattered all over the place and two Little Ringed Plovers were obvious - the third one was probably hiding somewhere. The two Wheatears from the previous two visits were still in exactly the same place and two Redshank remain devoted to their ever shrinking patch of water. Redshank watching paid off again as it did yesterday as a very scruffy looking Whimbrel joined them for a short time.

In the sky 3 Swifts circled around and 2 House Martins headed south, quickly followed by 4 Sand Martins. A number of Swallows were also feeding over the common.

Just a single Willow Warbler was singing today, although with the grey skies and intermittent rain I didn't feel much like singing either. All the normal common birds were seen along with a Stock Dove and a Dunnock which strangely I don't see very often here. Also a female House Sparrow turned up right in the middle of the common, which is unusual, they usually stick to the edges where the buildings are.

Not much esle of note around until I was almost back to the car. Alongside the river Hull in the reeds I heard the faint song of a Reed Warbler. I stayed long enough to get a reasonable look but it wasn't being too obliging. A Sparrowhawk and Song Thrush provided a distraction before getting back to the car.

More Spring migration

Yesterday morning I went to Swinemoor Common again hoping for some more spring migrants. Once again I wasn't disappointed despite the rapidly disappearing water - not much more than a few puddles left now.

The first bird of interest was a male Wheatear next to the Beverley-Barmston drain, a different bird than the two I saw previously as it was much more brightly marked. As I approached what is left of the wet areas I heard the screeching of a Swift - the first of the year! It was quickly joined by 3 more and a group of 10 House Martins. 3-4 Swallows were also flying around.

I found a good place to sit and scan the common; this turned out to be a good idea as a number of birds were moving through. 5 Shelduck were present today along with about 20 Lapwings - many of them on nests now. A group of about 300 Golden Plovers dropped in and began to bathe themselves and a Little Ringed Plover came in very close. This bird seemed to be a first year bird as it still hasn't reached full adult plumage. However, two more Little Ringed Plovers further away seemed so happy with Swinemoor that they began copulating! Two Redshank were foraging in the wet grass and whilst watching them the same two Wheatears in the same place as Saturday made an appearance as did the male Yellow Wagtail.

Two drumming Snipe were very noisily displaying - Swinemoor is a very good place to watch male Snipe perform an aerial battle.

I decided to look around the scrubby areas of the common finding 7 Willow Warblers, a Lesser Whitethroat and plenty of common birds: Starling, Blackbird, Greenfinch, Goldfinch, Linnet, Pied Wagtail, Collared Dove, Meadow Pipit, Skylark etc. The scrubby areas of Swinemoor are a good place to look for plants and I took some photos of some interesting ones:

Water Crowfoot

At the southernmost end of Swinemoor is a very damp and spongy area of grass which attracts Whimbrel every year and yesterday a group of 9 were feeding amongst the Starlings and a male Yellowhammer sat calling in a small bush.

Walking back to the car a few Reed Buntings were noisily calling, two Long-tailed Tits were feeding in a tree and the Lapwings were busily chasing Carrion Crows away from their nests. The last birds to add to the list before returning to the car were 2 first summer Lesser Black-backed Gulls and a giant Mistle Thrush.

Large-billed Reed Warbler seen in the wild!

After the recent rediscovery of Large-billed Reed Warbler Acrocephalus orinus all eyes have been out to see who can be the first to see it in the field (not in the hand). As predicted it has been seen in northern India, not Thailand where it is apparently a vagrant.

Have a look at the photos of the bird: A. orinus

I would imagine that every birdwatcher in South and Southeast Asia is scrutinising every reed warbler they see with unprecedented fervour. Most birders will be eagerly awaiting discovery of the bird's breeding grounds; I wonder if isotope analysis of the feathers taken from the bird caught in Thailand are being carried out to find out where it came from.

Yet more migrants at Swinemoor

Time for a quick walk around Swinemoor this morning from around 11.15 am to 1 pm. Sadly the water levels are getting terribly low, obviously due to the warm weather as the pasture master has not opened up any drains - he hasn't needed to. The good news is that there aren't any horses yet and lots of Lapwings seem to be on nests, at least they spend plenty of time chasing carrion Crows and Jackdaws away.

Some birds are still using what wet areas are left and today 4 Shelduck were present and two Redshank were feeding. One Redshank that has been around for a while now has an unusually long bill and it keeps making me think it is something else, but no, it is a Redshank. Two Little Ringed Plovers still remain, and as much of the mud is baked hard they could be around for a while yet. The only other wader was a single Snipe.

However, as I was scanning across the muddy pools I noticed a female Wheatear and as I went a little closer I flushed a male Yellow Wagtail who gave seemed to blame a Meadow Pipit for the disturbance as he angrily chased it away. The female Wheatear was then joind by a male - these two were my first of the year, spring is such a great time, so many firsts!

I checked out the scrubby areas but found only a Mistle Thrush and two Willow Warblers. A Lesser Whitethroat was heard but not seen. Some common birds were around, Goldfinches, Greenfinches, Blackbirds, a Wren and a Robin, but nothing special.

Over at the river Hull a Common Tern surprised me, particularly as it was following the river southwards. Luckily for me it spotted a fish and dived right in front of me - another first for the year!

On the way back to the car a group of 4 Lesser Black-backed Gulls flew south ( 3 adults and a first summer bird), later followed by an adult Herring Gull. The sun then came out enough to set 2 Skylarks off into song and I noticed two pairs of Swallows checking out nest sites under the eaves of a house the other side of the river.

Another productive walk, I'll try to get back there again tomorrow.

Eske - More migrants

Having finally handed in my degree dissertation it was time to get out and relax. I decided to walk up to Eske/Pulfin Fen in the hope of seeing some spring migrants. Unfortunately the weather wasn't so good, but it was still fairly warm if a little breezy and overcast. Not too much on the way to the lake, but 3 Swallows and a Sand Martin were nice to see. A little further along a Snipe flushed out of a ditch and 4 Linnets sat feeding in some grass. Two House Martins were my fist of the year, but at the lake there were plenty of them, along with Swallows and Sand Martins. There must have been a few hundred with Swallows, Sand Martins and House Martins roughly in the ratio of 2:2:1.

Wildfowl were predictably sparse but a pair of Wigeon were still present along with a female Goldeneye that seems to have forgotten to migrate. Other birds on the lake were 7 Great-crested Grebes, 8 Greylag Geese, 2 Canada Geese, 22 Mallard, 28 Tufted Duck, 2 Gadwall, 1 Little Grebe and a pair of Mute Swans.

An interesting sight was a Moorhen with a single chick, the first young birds I've seen this year. However, a number of Mallard seem to be sitting on nests on the island, along with an Oystercatcher which very aggresively chased away a nosey Carrion Crow. Two Redshank seemed to have taken a liking to the location too and remain.

In the scrubby areas plenty of summer birds were present. I got nice long views of a singing Lesser Whitethroat, a Blackcap and lots of Willow Warblers although best of all were a pair of Marsh Harriers circling around. 3 pairs of Teal were also present in the flooded fen.

So, a nice walk with plenty to see, but I had to rush back to collect my wife from work. Still, on the way back I managed to see a pair of Reed Buntings, a male and female Kestrel and another Snipe.

It's great that it is spring time!

Quick visit to a drier Swinemoor

After the Red-necked Grebe yesterday morning I made a brief trip to Swinemoor and was disappointed to see that it is rapidly drying up, this was also reflected in the lack of birds. The three Little Ringed Plovers were still present as were 20-30 nesting Lapwings. Just 2 Redshank and a single Snipe were the only other wetland species present.

In the scrub large numbers of Willow Warblers were still present, but only 2 Swallows were seen compared to the dozen or so on saturday. However, a pleasant surprise were three singing Lesser Whitethroat, although I didn't manage to get a look at any of them, I guess I'll have to wait for my first one of the year!

Sunshine and some more migrants

Yesterday morning I made a quick trip to see the much reported Red-necked Grebe in a fishing pond at Weel, near Beverley. I parked my car in Weel and walked the short distance to the small pond where I very quickly saw the grebe. A very handsome bird, coming into summer plumage and this was most certainly the best view I've ever had of the species as it came to within about 10 metres of me at times. Every other time I've seen this species has been in winter and often at long distance in poor weather, so this was quite a treat. Unfortunately the bird seemsedto be injured. On its right hand side, a number of wing feathers were sticking out at an unusual angle and it was swimming slightly lopsided. When it stretched up to flap its wings it was unable to flap the right hand wing properly.

Lots of Willow Warblers were in evidence and a single Sedge Warbler was singing away and allowed me a brief glimpse. Other birds present were a pair of Reed Buntings, a singing Robin, a male Linnet, 4 Mallard, 4 Tufted Ducks and 7 Coot.

Figham in the sun

In the past all my visits to Figham Common have been in the winter and it has become a place that I have associated with windy and overcast weather. So, today seeing it in bright sunshine and getting quite hot walking around was quite unusual. Unfortunately I chose the hottest part of the day to go out and birdwatching was not at its best. Still, I managed a few site ticks, which was pretty simple due to the arrival of a number of common migrants.

Most notable was the large number of Willow Warblers, with over 30 heard and 4 seen; a single Chiffchaff was pretty lonely in comparison. Two Swallows were another sign of summer, but other species were tricky to find. A small group of 4 Linnets and a singing male Yellowhammer were nice to see and in a nearby pond a few common species were hanging out - Tufted Duck, Greylag Goose, Coot, Mallard and Moorhen.

Walking alongside the Beverley-Barmston drain revealed a pair of Kingfishers excavating a nest hole in the steep sandy bank - I'll have to come back at a later date to see if any young fledge.

A number of Pheasants made themselves noisy as I walked back to the car but the real surprise was in the reeds on the river Hull next to the car park - a singing Sedge Warbler. This seemed quite early to me so I listened for around ten minutes to make sure and finally caught a glimpse, but enough to be sure that I'd identified it correctly by song (well, I don't know what else I thought it might have been!).

Masses of Migrants at Swinemoor

Having arrived back in Beverley at 6pm the good weather drew me towards Swinemoor for a quick look for spring migrants. A quick look turnd into a long look as there were plenty of birds to see.

On the wet grass 20-30 Lapwings were still hanging around as well as about 100 Golden Plovers and I very quickly located the Ruff that has been in residence for a while now - it has now begun to get some ruff feathers, nothing spectacular, presumably it is a first summer bird. Also very quickly spotted was a Little Ringed Plover which turned into two which multiplied further into three! All three birds were quite active, moving around a lot and at times they were making dipping courtship movements to each other. Another very welcome migrant was a beautiful male Yellow Wagtail. Also of interest were a number of Snipe, some of which were nesting and at least two of which were drumming males.

In the air at least 12 Swallows were catching midges along with at least 8 Sand Martins. A tip off about a Ring Ouzel led to me examing about 30 Blackbirds in detail, but whilst doing that a flock of 45 Fieldfares flew into a tree and a single Whimbrel landed on the wet grass.

In the scrub Willow Warblers seemed to have turned up in large numbers from the amount of singing I heard, although I only saw 2. Other birds seen in the scrub were Robin, Tree Sparrow, Mistle Thrush, Starling, Blue Tit, Greenfinch and Goldfinch.

Rather foolishly I walked back to the car looking into the sun which made birding over the wet areas difficult, but I was able to pick out 4 Redshank, 7 Mallard and a pair of Gadwall. In the river Hull there were Moorhen, Reed Buntings and a rat.

As I was leaving the sound of Skylarks, Meadow Pipits and cooing Collared Doves along with a rather nice sunset might make it difficult not to come back again tomorrow.

BBQ at Dungeness

Yesterday I went to Dungeness with my wife and younger sister for a barbeque on the beach. Although this wasn't a birding trip at all, it is difficult to sit on the beach at Dunge in spring and not see something.

From 1-6pm only a few birds were seen but all afternoon two Cormorants were performing a synchronised diving session in the sea directly in front of us. Lots of gulls were around, most of which seemed to be Herring Gulls but a few Black-headed Gulls glided past. I'm sure there were other species if I'd had the time to look properly. However, we did see 4 Swallows come in off the sea and a group of 36 Whimbrel also arriving.

Most of the day was spent eating shrimps, beef, squid and salmon, but when we got back to the car there was time for a brief look around. Along with the usual Meadow Pipits, Starlings, House Sparrows and Linnets was a female Ring Ouzel foraging outside the old lighthouse. Just as I said, almost impossible to fail to see something of interest at Dungeness at this time of year.

Hornsea Mere

This afternoon I went, with my wife, to Hornsea Mere to feed the ducks - hardly the cutting edge of ornithology but enjoyable anyway. We took some bread and proceeded to be mobbed by a gang of about 20 Mute Swans with a few Canada Geese trying to get into the act. It was quite funny to see the swans pecking any geese or ducks that got near, not to mention pecking each other quite violently at times. My wife and other duck feeders spent most of their time running away from the swans whilst throwing bread down to divert the unwanted attention.

Once the bread was finished we sat in the car to watch other people feeding the birds. Then I remembered some bird seed that was in the car, so I put this out for them to feed on. The seed was full of high energy grains and seeds - what should be high quality food - but it seems the ducks and swans prefer junk food as they continued to chase the bread-weilding duck feeders.

Eventually they worked out that the grain was good and it was interesting to watch swans, geese, ducks, coots and Jackdaws feeding side by side.

Sitting watching the birds for some time revealed a surprising number of species: Mute Swan, Canada Goose, Greylag Goose, Mallard, Tufted Duck, Coot, Moorhen, Oystercatcher, Cormorant, Grey Heron, Herring Gull, Common Gull, Black-headed Gull, Magpie, Jackdaw, Pied Wagtail, Starling, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Mistle Thrush and House Sparrow.

It was very amusing to watch Greylag Geese taking a bath in the lake - flapping in the water, followed by a dive and then popping up back onto the surface like a cork.

One bird was most noticeable by its absence: a Whooper Swan that is usually resident at Hornsea Mere was nowhere to be seen.

Eske/Pulfin Fen again

A quick walk to the lake at Eske today before a late lunch. The weather was surprisingly windy which meant that many smaller birds were hard to see. However, a patch of uncultivated land with wet patches held a Green Sandpiper along with 5 Lapwings, defending their nesting territories.

Up at the lake the numbers of ducks had dramatically decreased with just abour 20 Widgeon remaining from the winter flock. Around 20 Tufted Ducks were present along with 2 pairs of Great-crested Grebes involved in their neck-twisting dance. 2 Shelduck appeared from nowhere and a single Oystercatcher was feeding on a muddy shore. A final scan across the lake revealed a quite unusual looking duck which turned out to be a female Common Scoter - a new bird for the location for me. I walked around some trees to get a better look and within this time the bird managed to disappear!

Just as I'd given up finding it I noticed a large bird flying over the farmland behind me which turned out to be a male Marsh Harrier, the first I've seen here since last autumn.

Not much on the way back apart from two male Yellowhammers in song; the wind had got much harder and it was quite pleasant to get back to the car.

Swinemoor, 11.30 am

A quick look to see what was out on the wet areas revealed that the Ruff was still present along with about 1500 Golden Plovers. Just 2 Redshank present but about 20 Lapwings were busy defending nests and incubating eggs. Also one Snipe seen but I'm sure plenty more were hiding in the grass.

Swinemoor drying up!

At about 5pm I went to check out Swinemoor again to see if any more migrants had turned up. The answer was no, but yesterday's Ruff was still around and a large flock of about 700 Golden Plovers were getting ready for the night. 2 Snipe were busy nest making and the Lapwings were invloved in all sorts of breeding behaviour, including chasing away Carrion Crows attempting to raid their nests. The only other waterbirds were 5 Redshank, 4 Black-headed Gulls, a few Mallard and some Moorhens.

The most alarming thing today was how the water level had gone down in just one day. Although a lot of wet habitat remains, the amount of open water had decreased by about 50% since yesterday. I guess the pasture master must have opened up the drains to prepare the area for the horses which will arrive soon.

Some Spring migrants

The warm sunny weather was far too attractive to spend all day indoors working on my dissertation so a quick walk around Swinemoor was in order. Good levels of water still there and no horses yet to trample the grass and disturb the birds.

Singing Skylarks and Meadow Pipits, along with the sun, made it feel more like summer than anything else. Fairly soon after my arrival I heard my first Willow Warbler of the year. I managed to track it down into a hawthorn bush when a passing dog-walker flushed it.

A quick look at the wet areas revealed 2 Shelduck which I assume will probably spend the rest of the spring there as they usually do.

Also on the wet areas were 3 Redshank, 8 Golden Plover, 13 Snipe, around 30 Lapwings and the star of the show - a first summer male Ruff. At least 3 Lapwings seemed to be sitting on eggs as they remained seated even when I got within about 20 metres. Also a pair of Snipe appeared to be nest building.

Other interesting birds included 3 Dunnocks involved in some sort of threesome activity, a Kingfisher, a Moorhen on a nest, a male Reed Bunting with nest material and a Pied Wagtail.

Interesting to note that today there were lots of people and dogs on Swinemoor, but they all stuck to the paths, staying off of the wet areas that the birds love. This suggests that it is the horses that arrive on Swinemoor around mid to late April that cause most of the Lapwings to desert their nests and not humans.

Nice lunch, nice walk

After a nice lunch in the pub, my wife and I decided to make the most of the warm, sunny weather by going for a walk to the lake at Eske/Pulfin Fen. The warmth had made most of the birds rather lazy at this time of day, but a few Skylarks were singing away, making it feel like summer. A little way along the river a distant dog walker disturbed a small bird which settled in the vegetation next to the river, about 10 mentres from where we were standing. My immediate impression was that it was a Jack Snipe. This was confirmed by tracking it down and observing it from about 3 feet until it finally flew away south.

An old boggy patch of set-aside land further down held a number of Redshank and Lapwings but my attention was drawn by the call of some Fieldfares; 5 birds were seen flying north along with a flock of Starlings.

At the lake a Chiffchaff was in song, quite probably the bird that I've seen a few times over the last few months, but this really made me feel like spring is here. On the lake there were still around 100 Wigeon left over from winter and 20-30 Tufted Duck, a few pairs of Gadwall, a lonely male Pochard a few Teal and a couple of dozen Mallard. Plenty of Mute Swans and Greylag Geese were hanging around as well as 4 Canada Geese. A pair of Oystercatchers were noisily defending a territory from some encroaching Redshanks and 2 Shelduck were relaxing in the sun on the island in the lake.

Plenty of other birds were around but a male Great Spotted Woodpecker was the most noteworthy. However, 4 species of butterfly and lots of flowers were also very pleasant to see.

Gulls in Bridlington Harbour

A brief shopping trip to Bridlington allowed me to check out the birds in the harbour. With the tide in there were not too many species around, just large numbers of Herring Gulls of all ages. A single Lesser Black-backed Gull, a few Common Gulls and a lone Black-headed Gull provided some variety and the only waders present were about 20 Turnstones feeding on scraps left over from the day's visitors.

The birds come so close that even someone with the poor photography skills that I possess can manage a few decent pictures. Here are a couple of the best ones that I managed.