The above photo shows the remarkable opportunity that exists at this Reserve, to get close to our large sea birds. Each year, I make a visit to Bempton to see the breeding seabirds, although I have to admit, the fact that a Black-browed Albatross passed through the day before did have a lot to do with it! The Northern Gannet is magnificent and I've tried to capture some interesting images on my visit. Constant courtship going on at the moment. A careful arrival at the cliff face. A nice fly past. The Puffins are settling in for the season. I haven't seen one collecting material for its burrow before, so this was something new for me. A 'tubenose' Fulmar passing along the cliffs. A Razorbill showing the yellow tongue.
The sun was quite strong on this morning and quite a few birds were adopting a 'gaping' posture, with the bill slightly open. Also at Bempton were 2 Short-eared Owls and a Barn Owl, showing well in the fields behind the cliffs. There were many visitors on the Reserve, clearly due to the recent Albatross sighting. I was told it had been seen that morning (19th) and photographed but didn't see any subsequent evidence. I was there at 7-00 am and did seven hours watching, it was alarming how many people were shouting 'albatross' at two-year old Gannets!! Additionally, an albatross was reported on the German coast, the same afternoon. It's only half an hour's run from home in the early hours before the roads get busy, so another trip to Hornsea to find the over-wintering Iceland Gull would pass the morning nicely. I caught sight of the Iceland flying down the sea, soon after arriving at the coast but it was at Hornsea's Mere where the gull showed spectacularly. This 1st winter Iceland has been at various locations in the area and recently, has joined other gulls resting at the mere and taking advantage of the inevitable bread diet from the public. At very close range, this was a great bird to study! Never far away from the food supply are the local Jackdaws, looking good this morning. On my travels this morning, warblers were in full song in the most welcome sunshine. Sedge Warbler. Grasshopper Warbler. Grasshopper Warbler. Lesser Whitethroat.
I don't know who was more surprised, when this Barn Owl came into view. A change of venue today was brought about by two things - a complete lack of Swifts where I've been so far and, the possibility of an Iceland Gull sighting. So my destination this morning was Hornsea Mere on the East coast, where it's still cloudy and cold. Poor weather and not school holidays, meant the Mere was quiet and I spent the first hour on my own. Fortunately, it was far from quiet on the birding scene. The water surface was alive with skimming Swallows, House Martins and Sand Martins. Common Sandpipers and wagtails flew from the water's edge as I began scanning the lake's wildfowl. A good number of Tufted Duck are still present and I picked up a larger duck with a grey back among them, looking like a Scaup. Never coming really close, this Scaup? appeared to have a slightly tufted head and the bill markings resembled Tufted Duck more than a Scaup. I've reached the conclusion of Scaup/Tufted hybrid and some images are below. This White Wagtail frequented the shore line all morning with a Pied Wagtail and, in the afternoon, two Yellow Wagtails arrived. Far across the Mere, a Black Tern was flying and feeding, occasionally resting on one of the marker buoys. for a while, it came a little nearer but only for record shots! One of three Common Terns seen, used the same buoy. The hirundines mentioned earlier were quite a spectacle. The Common Swifts which began by flying high, joined the Swallows and Martins over the water surface. Swifts must have numbered many hundreds and were a joy to see after the winter. I attempted to photograph some of the feeding mass! Sand Martins. Common Swift. Swallow. Not pleased with my images today. I experimented with spot metering instead of evaluative and don't like the results! The Iceland Gull which has been seen here recently didn't make an appearance but by chance, I happened to find it on the coast, a short distance away. Really pleased to see this gull and together with two Hobbies later at the Mere, a thoroughly enjoyable visit to the coastal town of Hornsea.
A visit to Spurn this morning to see the Wryneck, which has been feeding along the Kilnsea road. I have seen Wrynecks before in exactly the same place, foraging in the grass verge for ants and being very obliging for those watching. If disturbed, the Wryneck would fly into the hedgerow, sometimes remaining in view for a short time. On my way into Spurn, I called in at Sammy's Point and found my first bird surprisingly, was this lovely Pied Flycatcher. In a harsh NE wind, the flycatcher worked its way round the hawthorns, dropping to the ground for food rather than in the air. Also in the same paddock at Sammy's this morning were 4 Wheatears, 3 Yellow Wagtails, 2 Fieldfares, 1 Redwing and a 'difficult' Ring Ouzel! A Barn Owl and this Short-eared were also hunting at Sammy's Point. Along the roadside at Kilnsea Wetlands, I found another Pied Flycatcher in hawthorn bushes. It didn't remain long before the wind took it over Long Bank. Finally, at Cliff Farm in Kilnsea I had a brief glimpse of what I thought was a Wood Warbler. Judging by the tweets that are coming through now, I guess I was correct!
A thoroughly pleasant morning despite the cold North Easterly, and good to catch up with a Spring Wryneck again. A trip to the Spurn area began at Sammy's Point. The early morning was bright and calm, plenty of birds were singing and I had a good feeling about today. The paddocks weren't as productive as I've seen in early May but, in time I found 3 Wheatears and a colourful pair of Yellow Wagtails. The bushes held a good number of birds. It was nice to hear Whitethroats back and what was more apparent, there seemed to be more Lesser Whitethroats than Common ones. A large thrush 'chacked' as it flew out of a nearby bush and I wasn't sure if it was a Ring Ouzel, or one of the last few Fieldfares - I didn't see it again. A couple of Chiffchaffs were singing, 3 Blackcaps were seen and a Garden Warbler. As I walked the path along the estuary, one of the local Short-eared Owls passed by and small numbers of Sand Martins and Swallows moved through. I met Justin Carr who told me there was a Grasshopper Warbler, 'reeling' away at the end of the bushes, and in the next field. After my unsuccessful attempts at seeing the 'Gropper' last week, I was keen to make contact with this bird and thanked Justin for the information. I could hear the Grasshopper Warbler now, and after standing in two different locations, I was happy I had 'triangulated' the correct hawthorn bush - it was just a matter of waiting! The bird was singing almost constantly and it was a full quarter of an hour before it emerged. Full blast!! Really enjoyed this Grasshopper Warbler performing in the open. On the walk back to the car park, a Red Kite flew in an Easterly direction towards the Wetlands and a Cuckoo began to call. I found the Cuckoo, perching on power lines near Easington. Arctic and Black Terns were still flying out of the estuary and I was contemplating going to watch them when, a report came out that Justin had found a Broad-billed Sandpiper on the incoming tide line. It didn't take long to get there but on arriving, the bird was out of view in the mud channels. The variety of waders being pushed towards us included colourful summer-plumaged Grey Plover and Red Knots. There were Dunlins, Whimbrel and a Bar-tailed Godwit too. Eventually, the BbS showed well for a while on the mud, before the entire wader flock kept being flushed by passing crows. I heard the Broad-billed Sandpiper is the 3rd Spurn record and my 2nd (previous one at Flamborough), so a great bird to see today.
Back in Kilnsea, the Hawfinch which had been ringed the other day, was still in the village and I saw it briefly fly across the road. I caught up with it later, enticed to a feeding station! |
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