Down By The River

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F0NjZrPX-l0

 

The weather was predominantly gorgeous for my little trip up to Yorkshire with the girls.  We had lots of little trips out, often alongside a river.  Along the River Ouse at Naburn, where the weir marks the tidal limit of the river, the ever scarcer song of Curlew trembled across the buttercup strewn meadow.  I was taken aback when a Common Seal raised it's head for a minute or so but quickly descended into the murky water again, the excitable yelps of the children evidently too much for comfort.  In my youth I spent quite a bit of time walking this stretch of river hoping that maybe a Guillemot or scarcer Auk may make it's way upriver - I did find a Common Scoter and Red-breasted Merganser over time but had to to wait until I'd moved to Cambridgeshire to find a waif Alcid. The presence of this Seal meant that my theory was at least reasonable. Despite several searches I was unable to find the Great Grey Shrike at Acaster Malbis, another old stomping ground, despite it being reported daily.

 

Along a different River, the Nidd at Cattal, a morning was spent looking at the flora - in particular Wild Tulips and Snake-head Fritillaries.

 

 

 

I was very taken with the meadow which was full of Aconites as well as the Tulips and Fritillaries and when I got home later I had a search to find out more.  I didn't find a great deal but did find an article in the YNU journal from some years ago. 

 

http://www.ynu.org.uk/sites/default/xyzerrt/documents/Naturalist%201087%20complete%20PP.pdf

 

I got quite absorbed in reading various articles including the one on Wild Tulip and was pleasantly surprised when I saw that photo credit for the Wild Tulip pictures were my Dad.  This wasn't to be the only link to this edition of the Journal.......

 

A potter out to Fairburn for Coffee and playpark has, in the past revealed Willow Tit, but not this time.  A Little Gull and a pair Avocet were seen over the water from the play area which isn't bad going. 

 





 

While not seeing Willow Tit I managed to take a poor picture of not 1 but 2 bird table favourites

 

 

Out of character, there was no trip to the coast, opting to look for trinkets and baubles in the boutiques of Northallerton and Helmsley instead.  The customary midday check of bird news told of 6 Waxwings in the car park of County Hall nearby - we had a look before we left.  In total there were 23 tinkling beauties nipping at buds in the car park trees in the afternoon sun, more reminiscent of encounters with Bombicilla  in the Scandanavian summer where the plush pinks and subtle greys sing against the fresh leafed greenery and summer skies.

 

 

 

As we enjoyed the birds several folk came over for a chat including the original finder.  As we talked about blogs a comment about Gilbert White and the parish of Ainderby Steeple rang bells from the YNU journal.  I asked if he was Nick Morgan the author of the article about birds in the parish of Ainderby Steeple I had read just the night before.  Nick's name had stuck for another reason.  As a young man I had spent many hours pouring over the Rare and Scarce Birds of Yorkshire and Nick's name was indelibly bracketed next to a Franklins Gull which briefly frequented (and I spent a cold day trying to locate) Scorton Gravel Pits many years ago.  This record giving him hero status to a young, land locked Yorshire birder.  It was good to meet him, enjoy his Waxwings and read his blog that can be found here.

http://heirsofgilbert.blogspot.co.uk/ 

 

Holiday

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r95tC_RexRc

 

Starting to ease into holiday mode after a few days on the Suffolk Coast and a few more not having to drag my sorry self into work.  Family mode around Minsmere wasn't a bad way to spend an afternoon.  There was booming and pinging in the reedbeds and the Scrape was liberally peppered with Mediterranean Gulls going about their family thing too, well at least thinking about it.

 



 

 

The Easter Duck Hunt at Welney was a good excuse to potter out on the Washes - a lovely duck Pochard on the settling beds and a Pintail close to the observatory set the tome nicely.  A White Wagtail showed well on the furrows and made a good comparison with a grey Pied Wagtail on the Welney bridge which, when facing away shows a fair smattering of black across the darker grey mantle - both interesting birds and worthy of further discussion over a pint.

 

 

 noculars daddy I'm looking for duckies

 

 

Hey good looking....

 

 

OK so what are your credentials??

 

 

A mixed bag it appears....







 

So back to simpler pleasures these are Iceland bound and glorious across the Washes at the moment and just behind them picked one of 5 Great White Egrets that are currently frequenting the Washes.

 

 

 

I'm heading north for a week leaving just enough time at the end of Easter to get out and hopefully catch the Arctic Tern movement, my favourite bird of the spring. 

Springtime Promises

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a4vNwRQTmt0

 

The time had almost passed for a Breckland safari and as a result it took us a little while to connect with a Goshawk this morning but when we did it was a good prolonged view.  Although the wind had a bite there was plenty to amuse during our vigil.  A pair of Stone Curlew displayed and were pretty vocal in the roadside field which also held a Woodlark that serenaded us beautifully for prolonged periods, a Red Kite joined the many Buzzards and a pair of Oystercatcher were setting up territory. 

 

At Lynford Arboretum Hawfinch showed well if fleetingly beneath the feeders and also elusively in the bushes and up in the Hornbeams snipping at buds.  They ticked away frequently and the floor was at points littered with handsome Brambling.

 

    



 

 

 

 

 

In the rough field a White Wagtail was feeding actively and a Firecrest sang in the car park but were a bit quieter and less evident than usual.

 

 

 

http://files.biolovision.net/www.faune-rhone.org/userfiles/Documents/THE-SEPARATION-OF-WHITE-AND-PIED-WAGTAILS.pdf

 

At Brandon and Santon Downham we heard 4 more singing Firecrest and saw some of them but all were quite high up in the conifers.  A couple of pairs of Mandarin added some colour along the river and on the pond.

 

 

A quick check of the Washes at Four Balls Farm and Pymoor revealed a couple of Cranes and a drake Scaup amongst a wonderful gathering of wildfowl spread across the washlands.  As we returned home Ben committed a drive by shouting - Parakeet - a great roadside spot and a bit further down the road a gathering of 20 or so Sand Martins told us spring is well into it's stride. 



Roar

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CevxZvSJLk8

A few cumulative hours in the field this weekend.  It can't be a bad thing when Mothers Day request, a day early, is a Saturday afternoon out at Welney.  Everything was springing along with Avocets territorial, Godwits getting brick red and Golden Plover looking very dapper. 2 Great White Egrets drew attention and blimey they are big when next to a Little Egret which is indeed little. My entire afternoon though was accompanied by the warbling of an increasingly tuneful and pop savvy 6 year old.

 

 

 Out on Lady Fen a Grey Plover had joined it's Golden brethren and a Kestrel hung on the breeze.

 

Today I spent a good proportion of time at work but on the way back did call in to Burwell Fen where there were a pair of Garganey amongst the winter duck and at Roswell Pits the Glossy Ibis flew in from the settling beds, Kingfisher were very evident but I wasn't able to locate yesterdays Red Crested Pochard, which I 'm pretty sure would be a new Ely10 bird for me.



 

Just Like Huny

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7EgB__YratE

 

A family trip out to Sunny Hunny for the kids birthdays had a little more avian interest than I might have expected.  I spent quite some time searching out the Med Gulls that should have bee there but weren't.  We got out by the cliffs and rock pools and the Fulmars seemed to be getting lower and lower on their cliff side soirees.  I climbed up a slip and got a bit closer enjoying their very close fly pasts and family shenanigans, all the photo's taken with a little snappy Lumix camera....still amazes where pixels have got to.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Returning to the front the cat mewing call of a Mediterranean Gull drew my attention to a 3CY bird cruising down the front.  In total 4 birds had joined the Larid throng.  None settled for long but did do loads of very close fly by's.  I just love them, one of my very favourite birds.

 

  

light wind

The power cut in the village yesterday amid the raging gale, and as the evening drew near I went down to the beet pits, arriving just as a Peregrine sailed off towards Ely.
I followed the rainbow that lit the back of the pits, and scanned a group of gulls that were battling the angry dark waves. A few Cormorants took to the air and were soon lost overhead in an uncontrolled beat towards the shelter of Roswell Pits.
Over the reedbed, five harriers fared better in the strong gusts. They came again and again, dipping low under the airstream, skimming the tops of the reed heads, wings angled then spread as the wind dropped then blew fiercely. The light caught their plumage, gilding it with evening gold.
Suddenly a huge falcon was above them, tilting downwards briefly before speeding away to the east, unable to face the wind head-on as the harriers were doing.
A group of wagtails, like storm-tossed leaves, gathered below me among the ruins of last years rushes, and waited for the night to hide them.

The Gloss

The water meadows at Ely have been home to a Glossy Ibis for a while now, with the bird that first appeared before Christmas back among the Teal and Black-headed Gulls. I finally made time for it this afternoon, having glimpsed it it passing on two previous occasions. While never particularly close, it seemed unconcerned by human presence, as various doggers and jog walkers passed along the hedgerow path without causing alarm. 

Early Spring ( the blooming snowdrops would seem to suggest the change of season), is perhaps the best time of year to watch the water meadows, as later on they will dry up and lose their attraction to waterbirds. At the moment a good collection of wildfowl is present, and a flock of about twenty Lapwing briefly visited. Other waders are sure to drop in, and it is only a matter of weeks before the first Sedge Warblers of the year arrive to take up the Dawn Chorus already vibrating with the songs of Robins and thrushes.