[quote=tophillbirder;1501075]Got the Holme Little Bittern 15.6.97. Went via the Swillington Pied-billed Grebe and Notts Great Reed Wblr on the 14th. Heard it calling but wouldn't show and to add insult to injury a Bee-eater spent the evening at Hornsea Mere. Pretty pissed off and set off back but my mate persuaded me to go back and we slept in the hide and on the opening the flap in the morning the little bugger flew past![/QUOTE]

I remember it well! Spent another 6 hours there after you left but to no avail despite our friends' 'efforts' ;) to see it the previous evening! Went home with the sound of Reed Warblers singing in my ear and wished never to hear or see one again!

I've cleared space in my PM box for those who tried last night. Thanks

Stake out Willow Pool for the black-necked grebes - if you get them you've done better than me as I've missed them on my last two journeys! You'll also get stunning views of jay, great spotted woodpecker, reed bunting, willow tit etc on the feeders. Huxter Well is always good for waders, you'll definitely get little ringed plover and maybe a few other bits and bobs - a couple of yellow-legged gulls and little egrets have been sighted there recently.

It's quite a trek round the whole reserve but good stuff to see everywhere, and seeing as you do a 14-miler every Sunday it shouldn't be too daunting! ;)

Definitely make a return journey in the winter, as you'll be unlucky not to get bittern and water rail with a bit of patience. And if you ever go and need a petrol-money-sharer at a weekend give me a shout - it's a pain on public transport!

Swinemoor Tuesday morning
 

Swinemoor mid-morning today:

Gadwall: 1
Greenshank: 1
LRP

Birdguides is showing a Golden Oriole present in the Keighley area. As I'm too tight to renew my subscription, does anyone have any further details as to this, eg location etc.?

Richard

The report says a male was seen briefly this morning from the towpath in the YWT reserve of Low Wood

BN Grebe
 

Willow pool paid off for me for the Black Necked Grebe on my visit down from Darlington. Did see two birds although mostly just one on the lake - I assume the other was on a nest.

A great day for me at Potteric Carr !

I guess as a beginner its not a hard thing and I came away with 12 lifers ...

Willow Tit, Whitethroat (sadly only a fleeting glance), Black Necked grebe, Herring Gull, Yellow Legged Gull, Lesser Black Backed Gull, Avocet, Little Egret, Sedge Warbler (actually saw one this time as opposed to just heard), Pochard, Shelduck, Sand Martin.

Saw a Kingfisher and another Garganey (2 in 2 days !) Plus loads of other stuff you would expect to see, Plovers, Lapwings, Tufties etc etc

A more experienced guy was kind enough to show me through his scope and helped me with the identification of the different gulls or else I would have missed out on those ! He also pointed out the Whitethroat flying past (goodness know how he knew what it was but there you go)

The 2 Black Necked Grebe were showing well and I got some great views through the bins of the female carrying her young on her back. The hide was being used by a group of young schoolkids the first time around so I was struggling a bit but I went back a little later and the hide was empty ! Got a couple of pics for my records but nothing brilliant though due to the distance.

So .. counting the Garganey and the Teal at Old Moor the day before I have had 14 lifers in 2 days !!

I can see me starting to struggle soon !!

OK, thanks.

I,ll give you a shout Pete the next time I take a trip out there.

Sounds like a fantastic day! Jealous you got the BNG's, only ever managed a distant squint of one. And you've got one I haven't now (YLG)! ;)

All this talk of BNG at Potteric, I'm getting jealous. Here's me having to go to Whitby tomorrow with the wife, when I'd much rather be pottering about the Carr.

As you know Marcus I dipped that one twice.

Anyhow, been checking my dips that are not on the life list, and based on dipping the Great Dot three times, (once when I refused to tick a dot, and twice when it showed much closer but I just missed it) and then dipping the Lancashire bird, and then being all set to go last week only to be thwarted, statistically Great Knot is my new bogey.

Everything else still to get has only been dipped once.

Vespa, don't know how much you remember Potteric as a reserve, if you haven't been for a while being in London. From memory, I seemed to recall the bitterns were viewable from the top of the railway bridge - the higher of the two railway lines after crossing the one that you still cross these days. It might just be the view Look North showed that has stayed with me. I thought that was why they were awkward because you had to trespass on the lines. If they were viewable from a hide, I really did get it wrong!

I'm convinced I was in a small hide, but as you say its a quarter of a century ago ;) However, I do remember crossing railway lines on the reserve. I've just had a look at the site history on the Potteric site and it looks like it became a YWT reserve in 1968. Not sure which part the LBs were on, looking at the map I would guess Low Ellers Marsh. I didnt realise how big it was - 8km to walk the site. I'm up in Yorks on a regular basis so I'm going to make sure I visit again next time. Looks like its still a cracking site from the posts above!

Some of it will seem very similar - the initial walk past the Post Office buildings for example. However, the new visitor centre and the open wader scrapes will make it seem different.

Well, I finally dragged myself into the 20th century and purchased a digital camera for taking birdy pictures.

I'll happily admit I have no idea what I'm doing but I can see why everyone gets hooked on it.

Anyway, you can see the very first results on my attempt at a blog... such exciting creatures as Woodpigeon, Blackbird and Mallard ;)

http://kelkbirds.blogspot.com/

I'm particularly pleased with one of the furry little brown cutie!

Something to read considering recent events.
http://sibg1.files.wordpress.com/200...chers-code.pdf

Any new news on the Red Backed Shrike at Spurn ?

Maybe a nice trip out before football starts tonight :t:

Mal SKelton

Hull Valley Wednesday afternoon
 

Swinemoor 1605 - 1730 Wednesday:

Garganey
Hobby
Greenshank
LRP

Birds seen elsewhere in the Hull Valley by other observers today:

Barmston: 1 Bonxie, 9 Common scoter, 90 Gannet, 200+ Razorbill, 200+ Guillemot, 10s of Kittiwake
Paull Holme Strays: 2 Little egret, 1 Little gull
High Eske: Usual long-staying Goldeneye, 7 Little gull, LRP, 1 Common tern

Nafferton 'students' went on to Blacktoft after today's class & are 100% certain they saw a Purple Heron flying through Swinefleet in the general direction of Howden at 4.45pm. Seen them on holiday in Minorca many times. Nothing on birdguides. May be worth looking out for!

[quote=Dicky Ticker;1501152]Sorry Rich to open old wounds. Was talking to Mark about it a few weeks back. Forgot about the "efforts" until now, but remember the "old dog barking a mile away" call.

Was still in Canal zone this morning so hope you connected.

Tricky bird. There's a large colony close so a juv Grey Heron is likely. Several experienced birders including the then VC recorder kidded themselves with a "strange dark heron" at Tophill in '97 and was avoided going into the next Yorkshire report because an intrepid snapper scrambled thro' D wood to get a few pictures.

Thanks.

Also of use is a list of schedule 1 species:
http://www.naturenet.net/law/sched1.html

Surprised that within a week of the other events we now have BNG stuff being published... don't want to go on about this though... seem to remember we discussed it in detail last year, when the same thing happened.