Over the last week there has been a steady flow of migrants arriving in, or passing through this wonderful migration hotspot. Birds passing through the U.K. to go on to Scandinavia or further North, can be seen in the Humber estuary flying over Spurn's peninsula and out into the North Sea. Typical sightings for me were - Bar-tailed Godwits, Curlews and Arctic Terns. Many arrivals spend a short while resting and feeding in the diverse habitat found here. It wasn't long before I saw my first Northern Wheatear, a very welcome sight. This smart adult male was one of three at Sammy's Point, I later found five in Well field and a further seven in the Sheep field. In both the afore-mentioned places, I was quite surprised to find Fieldfares still here in late April. The Sheep field was the best place for Yellow Wagtails with none there in the morning but, arriving birds made up four in the early afternoon. On my recent walks along the Humber, I hadn't found any Whitethroats when Chiffchaffs and Willow Warblers were already in fair numbers. Sammy's Point is an excellent place to see these warblers, singing atop the hawthorn bushes. Lesser Whitethroats have also arrived and quite a few were seen albeit a little more skulking. They were singing particularly well throughout the area. Over at the Warren, a lovely male Common Redstart was found in the morning. I located it later, near the heligoland trap. I found another two, later in the afternoon in the paddocks at Sammy's. Mid-afternoon was a little quiet, some time was spent looking for a reported Firecrest without success. Everything turned out to be a Goldcrest for me! There was some brief excitement when a male Pied Flycatcher was seen, unusually, sitting on a power line before flying off West. A very worthwhile day out to enjoy the arrival of our Summer visitors. A handful of Swallows and three Sand Martins stayed around most of the day and finally, one of several Yellowhammers doing well around Sammy's Point.
This morning I took a run out to Yorkshire Water's Tophill Low Reserve. As migrants seem to be trickling in ever so slowly, this reserve always holds a good count of birds whatever the season. At the gate to the Reserve, I was treated to one of the local Barn Owls hunting up and down the drain. This Owl hunted the field for some twenty minutes, undeterred by my presence and rested frequently in the trees. Once in the woods, my quest for new migrants soon had the familiar song of Willow Warblers ringing out at regular intervals as one after another were seen - invariably high up in the trees. Continuing through the woods there were many Chiffchaffs, Blackcaps and two Cetti's Warblers were heard. All the birds were in great song this morning, least of all the noisy Wrens were everywhere. Both Song and Mistle Thrush were calling, a superb male Goldcrest was one of several seen and even the Treecreepers were evident by their song too. A really nice find was a Willow Tit, becoming rather scarce now. The walk took me on to Hempholme meadow which was rather quiet, other than a few Teal and a Shoveler. A female Marsh Harrier flew around the meadow but there were no more migrants evident, not a single Whitethroat yet. A smart male Reed Bunting. I turned my attention to the large D reservoir and found two Sand Martins and a solitary Swallow. There was no sign of the Yellow Wagtails which have arrived some days ago. A single Great Crested Grebe, three Pochard and a few remaining Goldeneye were on the reservoir along with small flocks of Tufted Ducks. This bathing gull, clearly dwarfing both the Herring and Lesser Black-backed, must be a juvenile Greater Black-backed Gull. At this time, I decided to leave the other half of the Reserve for another day and, call in at Swinemoor near Beverley on the way home. I was still unable to find a Yellow Wagtail here which is often a good site for them. The wet areas of the fields brought a surprising 3 Little Ringed Plover along with 2 Ringed Plover. A Redshank, 4 Ruff and 11 Common Snipe (flushed by some inconsiderate walkers) made up the wader count. Around 40 Teal and 2 Wigeon were seen with a good number of Lapwings.
A return visit to the same patch meant that I found the 2cy Glaucous Gull, early this morning. Flying in from across the Humber, led me to think the gull may have been at Winterton Tip to feed and it had no sooner dropped on the ploughed field than it went to sleep - for a long time! Photographic opportunities were not as I'd have liked since the Glaucous flew far across the field. In contrast, the Hooded Crow which had been around was not seen this morning, although a large flock of Carrion Crows and the occasional Jackdaw were still in the field and on the foreshore. The lane was producing a wealth of birds again and 2 Marsh Tits, which I haven't come across for a long time, passed through quickly. There didn't seem to be any new warbler species but certainly increased numbers of Chiffchaffs and Blackcaps. A Skylark was singing well and I was impressed with the regular appearance of Yellowhammers along my route. The woodpeckers were mobile again this morning and I found the Green Woodpecker calling much closer than on the last visit. This is a male although the red patch on the black moustache is not showing well in this image It's very encouraging to find good numbers of our 'worrying' species such as the Yellowhammers and these smart Song Thrushes singing beautifully from the tree tops.
This morning I was following up a couple of recent Twitter reports down by the R. Humber, within ten minutes or so from home. The first, at Melton related to sightings of Glaucous Gulls and a Hooded Crow in the same field, adjacent to the estuary. The field held a fair number of resting gulls of various species, including a couple of Great Black-backed Gulls. It was not immediately obvious that a Glaucous Gull was among them, so I spent some time exploring the area along the riverbank. More gulls were on the river, drifting upstream with the tide and a few Redshank were along the shoreline. Along the bank, Chiffchaffs and Blackcaps were calling, my first Whitethroat of the year uttered a few notes as it attempted to get into song. Both Green Woodpecker and Great Spotted Woodpecker were seen flying over the fields. It was while scanning the fields, I saw the Hooded Crow flying in from the West, appearing to drop in the gull field. I walked back and found it feeding with a number of Carrion Crows, not far from the gulls. There was still no sign of the Glaucous Gulls. Hooded Crow - my second this week, having seen one at Easington on Monday. My visit to Welton Waters related to sightings of Garganey and, walking to the lakeside, I didn't realise the female was under a near submerged tree and it was away in seconds. The male was even more elusive, hiding in the far reeds where both birds soon disappeared and failed to show again. It has been a couple of years since I last walked the path to the river and I was pleased the surrounding bushes and trees were still as I remembered, despite the ever increasing housing development in this area. The hedgerow contained some excellent species including two Cetti's Warblers, Bullfinches, Tree Sparrows and a cracking Yellowhammer. I was surprised not to hear a Willow Warbler along here by now but there were four Chiffchaffs in a small distance. The Bullfinches were feeding in the hawthorns, The female showed very well but the male, rather like the Garganey, wasn't obliging at all! The Cetti's was also in the hawthorns, singing frequently. Several Song Thrushes and Tree Sparrows made up a good number of species on a very pleasant couple of hours along the estuary.
It has been four years since I last recorded a Red-necked Grebe on any of my outings. This Grebe has been present on the sailing pit at Barton, Lincs for a couple of weeks now. Practically in full summer plumage, this fine Red-necked Grebe was frequently catching small fish but refused to come within a hundred yards of the bank for me! The walk along the Humber bank and back past the fishing lakes produced more Spring arrivals - Chiffchaffs, Blackcaps, 2 Swallows and 4 Sand Martins.
Possibly the coldest day since my return from the Algarve, around 6C and almost constant rain showers. Despite that, the migrants are arriving and North Cave certainly had a few this afternoon. Two Chiffchaffs were calling with the Cetti's Warbler along Dryham Lane. Further along the lane a male Blackcap showed briefly while attempting its song in the rain. It was surprising how many birds were sheltering in the bushes, particularly Dunnocks, Robins, a Song Thrush and this Long-tailed Tit. On the Reedbed Lake, Oystercatchers are back and two Avocets were looking slightly cold. I thought I had found my first Little Ringed Plovers but closer inspection showed they were Ringed Plover, with the yellow eye ring, black bill and browny legs. There are still good numbers of wildfowl with Tufted Ducks, Gadwall, Teal, the odd Shoveler and many Wigeon grazing on Dryham Ings. Two adult Mediterranean Gulls are settling on an island on the Main Lake. There were four Common Buzzards and a distant Red Kite making up the raptor count, along with Kestrel and Sparrowhawk. It was good to see hirundines back in the air over the lakes, 10 Sand Martins were the most I saw together. In the maize field, the male Brambling is staying on and looking very colourful.
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