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ZEISS DTI thermal imaging cameras. For more discoveries at night, and during the day.

Yorkshire Birding (17 Viewers)

Always found Kingfishers tricky. They are usually flying downriver at a 100 miles an hour. Or they are sat on a perch posing for photos. Stupid me asked the question at Tophill. 'what are those sticks doing here?'

A few minutes later I was deafened by the sound of digital cameras firing off because the users haven't read the manual.

You can switch off that fake noise. Just do it

Life's too short to to read a camera manual, have you tried? just tell me how ;)
 
They're not fake noises on a DSLR Ken, Power Zooms yes but DSLR has mechanical opening of the shutter hence the noise. It's the beeps that get me. On the subject of Kingfishers, there's a nice shot on Flicker... http://www.flickr.com/photos/42839163@N08/6009799074/in/photostream

Super day yesterday, stopped off at Hornsea where a couple of Little Gull were still knocking about. Spotted Redshank in with the geese, a few Yellow wags and a juv dunlin around the sticky-out bit.

On to Flamboroough, had a walk round Old Fall etc, nowt doing really only a juv Dunlin in the gorse field of note. Took advantage of it being midweek to drop in to Bempton, usual stuff there but always impressive, loads and loads of Kittiwake.

Went back to Hornsea mere and sat on a jetty until the gates closed at 5.15pm By then well over a hundred LG's had turned up, juvs and adults in pre and post moult -ace.
Fish and chips were nice but below par for West Yorkshire standards I then had a quick look at the mere from the other side. By 6.15pm there were many hundreds if not a thousand birds many at the marina but also over a wide range of the mere.

Was going to go for nightjar but with nice light opted for the Brigg, 2 dunlin, 2 ringed plover, 1 purple sandpiper and 1 knot. Plenty of terns flying north to roost, mostly common but a few sarnies in there. Going back to the car I bumped into East Yorks ringing group on their way to get some storm petrels, lovely group of people who let me tag along (thanks again if you're reading). On the brigg until just after 1, 5 birds rung, very interesting.

Slept over in the car until first light and was a bit disappointed to find that the rain had arrived, I was expecting a couple of hours of decent weather so decided to make tracks. A quick stop off at Filey Dams revealed nothing other than a shelduck, couple of teal and a shag in the car park.

Great day, snaps to follow.
 
Had another trip up to Nosterfield today, managed to stay dry in deed the only rain I saw started on the way back as I passed Dishforth.
The crane was performing well on Lingham Lake, although by the time I left to go to the Nature Reserve it had started roosting. 70+ curlew were easily the highest number I've seen in one sweeo of the scope for an awful long time, two greenshank were flighty but landed long enough to admire their dainty high-stepping in the shallows. Other waders here included ringed plover, common sand, dunlin, lapwing, oystercatcher, avocet and ruff. There were the apparently normal high numbers of greylag and canada geese along with at least 2 dozen great crested grebes. A walk to Flask Lake only added mallard and gadwall to the list at the water's side but on the way back I picked up a great spotted woodpecker's alarm call and managed to see the bird before it took flight across the fields.
At the Nature Reserve I had a look at North Lake, best described as North Puddles at the moment. Not much doing at first but those greenshank flew and after only a short time flew on.
Going round to the main hide I picked up a black-tailed godwit along with those greenshank again, with the added bonus of a couple of little ringed plover. The pied wagtails in the area must have had a bumper year as there were at least a dozen young birds around the Main Lake.
All in a good three hours birding in reasonable weather, total species count for the day was 42.
 
Someone may know better but I was told that the gates are open late on Wednesdays, it's a far better spectacle close up - they make a great noise.

I'm surprised they don't organise an open evening for the LG's, quid in, worthwhile surely?
 
Have Little Gulls become more common? When I started birding Seaforth Dock pools were a well known hotspot but not in the numbers recently reported from the Hornsea area.

This may be due to lack of knowledge on my part as Yorkshire was another country back then
 
A few more

from my few days off around county.OK,in interest now of protecting breeding birds(or potential) SEO images were from upper Gorpal res.Please go and see if there, with the 12th upon us!!There also was juv green woody, common sand,green sand. Xbills there too,flyovers, but also photo taken near Holmfirth.

Best highlights at spurn were the arctic skua along beach,and roe deer that came within 10 feet;was disturbed at spurn by lack of signs re disturbing birds at high tide, saw numerous disturbances.

Had peregrine there,also hobby...but best bird was a melanistic cuckoo, my first.Saw briefly on saturday during torrential downpour and wasn't sure!Flushed again on sun from reed beds as made way down to Beacon lagoon....one to confuse even a better birder than me!!

Thought they just existed in field guides!!
 

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Spurn

How often are traps checked? This WW was quite distressed!!
 

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Keithg,Noster is doing very well at the moment,the combination of the quarry and reserve makes a good trip.We are there at least once a week,had a juv.Little Gull on Friday our first inland fos a while and the Yellow Wags on the causeway usually show well
 
How often are traps checked? This WW was quite distressed!!

Nobody from Spurn has answered so as an ex-Spurn addict.....

It looks like your warbler photo is in one of the Heligoland traps and it also looks as if you are on the inside of, or at the mouth of, the trap as your picture does not show the bird through the wire.

There are three Heligolands at Spurn - the Warren, Wire Dump and the Point. Birders are asked to keep away from them all - but as with the shore disturbance you have already mentioned maybe more signs are needed. Heligoland traps do not catch birds except when a ringer operates them. Birds get themselves in the narrowing bit of the trap (the actual trapping cage should be separated by a wire door) but soon find their way out again. They cling on to the wire when distressed by birders getting too close and pushing them out of the cover.

Occasionally an odd bird might seem incapable of finding its way out but in the end they manage it.

As to how often the traps are checked - probably not very often as with the door shut birds just go in and out of the wider part all the time and do not get caught. each time the observatory warden goes down the peninsula he will most likely check the traps and maybe 'drive' them when there are birds about. He will also check that the traps have not been tampered with at all.

Hope this helps - and hope it agrees with any reply that comes out of Spurn.

Steve
 
I reckon if the weather yesterday had been a little less windy I'd have had a bigger list. There were hardly any small passerines around as the few I saw were being chucked about all over the place by the gusts. Even the greenshanks were being blown sideways at one point.
Agree about the quarry and the reserve making a good day out, I'll certainly be making more trips there as it's less than 45 minutes from home, better driving time than Blacktoft or North Cave.

Keithg,Noster is doing very well at the moment,the combination of the quarry and reserve makes a good trip.We are there at least once a week,had a juv.Little Gull on Friday our first inland fos a while and the Yellow Wags on the causeway usually show well
 
Nobody from Spurn has answered so as an ex-Spurn addict.....

It looks like your warbler photo is in one of the Heligoland traps and it also looks as if you are on the inside of, or at the mouth of, the trap as your picture does not show the bird through the wire.

There are three Heligolands at Spurn - the Warren, Wire Dump and the Point. Birders are asked to keep away from them all - but as with the shore disturbance you have already mentioned maybe more signs are needed. Heligoland traps do not catch birds except when a ringer operates them. Birds get themselves in the narrowing bit of the trap (the actual trapping cage should be separated by a wire door) but soon find their way out again. They cling on to the wire when distressed by birders getting too close and pushing them out of the cover.

Occasionally an odd bird might seem incapable of finding its way out but in the end they manage it.

As to how often the traps are checked - probably not very often as with the door shut birds just go in and out of the wider part all the time and do not get caught. each time the observatory warden goes down the peninsula he will most likely check the traps and maybe 'drive' them when there are birds about. He will also check that the traps have not been tampered with at all.

Hope this helps - and hope it agrees with any reply that comes out of Spurn.

Steve

Thanks for that Steve;I only entered after watching the bird from outside whacking itself against the wire cage.I managed to usher it out.Thought i was doing right thing, should I have left it alone?
 

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