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Yorkshire Birding (17 Viewers)

jimmy2faces said:
WHYS THIS THREAD SO QUIET?

Well I've been all over the past week. I've been to North Cave, Tophill Low, Wheldrake, Fairburn twice, Blacktoft twice. Tomorrow I'm off to the coast, and then off to Filey on Sunday with Keith et al - weather looks good :t:

Seen quite a lot of good stuff, but all the stuff that's been reported so nothing new huh. Wood, Curlew, Green, Common and Pectoral Sandpiper. Greenshank, Spotshank, Barwit, Blackwit, Spotted Crake etc.

Picture attached is a pochard at Fairburn.

I've been quiet because for one thing I couldn't remember my password and it's taken me ages to log back in!

I've been checking out my new "reserve" north of Wetherby - in the absence of any other name and as I'm the only person who works it, it is Loshpott Gravel Pits, (down Loshpott Lane). Had a run in with a local for parking on the solid white line - I was totally in the wrong. I keep getting a few birds but nothing to set pulses. A couple of Common Sands. is the best I've had, although things keep coming and going - Mute Swan, Cormorant etc. I'm hoping winter yields more.

Grounded this weekend so please don't all tell me about your plans!

Anyway Jim, I thought you said you couldn't take sharp prints. if that Pochard gets any sharper you'll cut yourself - nice one!

Have a great birding weekend - there is an easterly airstream coming for those hitting the coast. My brother is on the RSPB trip - first time without me so expect Yorkshire's first Red-billed Tropic Bird!
 
Lawts said:
I've been quiet because for one thing I couldn't remember my password and it's taken me ages to log back in!

I've been checking out my new "reserve" north of Wetherby - in the absence of any other name and as I'm the only person who works it, it is Loshpott Gravel Pits, (down Loshpott Lane). Had a run in with a local for parking on the solid white line - I was totally in the wrong. I keep getting a few birds but nothing to set pulses. A couple of Common Sands. is the best I've had, although things keep coming and going - Mute Swan, Cormorant etc. I'm hoping winter yields more.

Grounded this weekend so please don't all tell me about your plans!

Anyway Jim, I thought you said you couldn't take sharp prints. if that Pochard gets any sharper you'll cut yourself - nice one!

Have a great birding weekend - there is an easterly airstream coming for those hitting the coast. My brother is on the RSPB trip - first time without me so expect Yorkshire's first Red-billed Tropic Bird!

Steve...remember the best thing about a local patch is even common birds elsewhere can be rarities on your patch.
The winds this weekend seem to be from the SE so not the best for migrants really...but you never know.
 
Good day out today;

Hornsea Mere - black tern, over 200 little gulls

Offshore at Hornsea - Loads of skuas, 30 Artic, 10 Great, 1 Pomarine. Was 95% sure i had a long tailed, but i couldn't be sure, which is gutting as it would have been a lifer. Saw it in flight for 5 seconds then it sat on the sea some way out. Also 4 Red Throated Diver, and 30+ Common Scoter Highlight was an adult sabines gull close inshore - a yorkshire first for me, and only my second.

Blacktoft - off chance call in produced a real plethora of birds, 4 little egret, a cracking pectoral sand, the juvenile spotted crake, 12 curlew sands, wood sand and green sand.

Also had exceptional views of a bittern to cap off a superb day in the sunshine

Selected pics attached.
 

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skink1978 said:
I'm sulking because I spent most of last Sunday waiting to see the bloody Spotted Crake at Blacktoft. Needless to say the little bugger didn't show before I had to leave for for a birthday party back in Brid. Last time I waste a whole day for one potential tick! :C

On a brighter note I'm off to Essex tomorrow to see the girlfriend. Plan to have a little drive up to Lakenheath to see if there are any Stone Curlews, Wood Lark or Muntjac Deer about. Problem is the girlfriend doesn't know this yet!

Record shot of the crake - have a good one darn sarf.
 

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jimmy2faces said:
Good day out today;

Hornsea Mere - black tern, over 200 little gulls

Offshore at Hornsea - Loads of skuas, 30 Artic, 10 Great, 1 Pomarine. Was 95% sure i had a long tailed, but i couldn't be sure, which is gutting as it would have been a lifer. Saw it in flight for 5 seconds then it sat on the sea some way out. Also 4 Red Throated Diver, and 30+ Common Scoter Highlight was an adult sabines gull close inshore - a yorkshire first for me, and only my second.

Blacktoft - off chance call in produced a real plethora of birds, 4 little egret, a cracking pectoral sand, the juvenile spotted crake, 12 curlew sands, wood sand and green sand.

Also had exceptional views of a bittern to cap off a superb day in the sunshine

Selected pics attached.
Think I'd have stuck a different adjective in the first sentence. Like 'brilliant' or 'fantastic' or 'superb' etc........

Gripping stuff!!
 
Keith Dickinson said:
Steve...remember the best thing about a local patch is even common birds elsewhere can be rarities on your patch.
The winds this weekend seem to be from the SE so not the best for migrants really...but you never know.

Keith, you are right. I do start looking forward to my next new bird for Loshpott - Pochard, or Goldeneye or whatever - and I know that regular working will one day produce a wrecked Leach's or Sabine's or Grey Phal, or even a white-winged gull sp. in the roost. Fingers crossed.
 
Gavin Haig said:
Think I'd have stuck a different adjective in the first sentence. Like 'brilliant' or 'fantastic' or 'superb' etc........

Gripping stuff!!

I agree. Nice shot of the Crake! At least I know what I missed now!
 
Went to blacktoft today, no sign of the crake but saw 1 of the pec sands. Perfect plumage, gorgeous bird. Also got Curlew Sand for the year.
 
Good weather...but no migrants

We set off from Leeds at 7.30am, Jimmy2Faces, FrankieB and myself. Off to the East Coast to see what we could find. The itinerary was Filey, Bempton, and South Landing, but we finished the day with a visit to Fairburn Ings on the way home.
In Filey, the Dams was the first place we visited, a nice little reserve overlooking a couple of shallow pools. Other than a handful of snipe there wasn’t too much there of note, so we quickly moved on to the Country Park.
Having parked up and walked down Arncliffe ravine to the beach, we made our way along the Brigg finding a common scoter out in the bay. There were the usual turnstones galore among the rocks with a few purple sandpipers further out towards the seaward end of the Brigg. There was quite a movement of gannets southwards; we counted at least 200 birds in groups of up to 20 or so. Only a few common terns to be found here so we were a bit disappointed as there had been roseate terns in the bay a few days ago.
Following a tiring climb back to the clifftop we made our way along the top and back to the car park in a loop taking in the ‘Rocket field’. We had 3 yellow wagtails fly over and keep right on…no landing so no chance to check out their head colouration.
Having got back to the car we decided to move onto Bempton…where there wasn’t much other than some late gannet chicks and feral pigeons on cliffs. The little feeding station had a good number of tree sparrows and greenfinches, and the dell area had a solitary whitethroat. So it was back into the car and onto South Landing…which was a washout…the woods were almost devoid of birds and the tide was out so not much about. At this point we had a discussion as to where to go next…there aren’t that many reserves in East Yorkshire and those that are there are well scattered. The result of the discussion was that a trip to Fairburn on the way home to Leeds was the thing…check out the new hide at Lin Dyke.
We visited the Visitor Centre at Fairburn and picked up the latest reserve report…2004. How long before the 2005 report is ready I wonder? What a shock we got when we got to the Lin Dyke area of the reserve….the path had been made up with a good layer of hard core and there’s every chance that during the winter months you could get to the hide dryshod for a change. The hide…what surprise…built on some of the rockfilled wire crate thingies we saw a tin shed! About the size of a moderate wagon container, it could house maybe a dozen people without being too cramped, but in strong sunshine it’s going to get very warm in there. Sadly this is just about the only way that a hide will stay in one piece at this end of the reserve, the locals thinking it great fun to torch hides.
Altogether a bit of a disappointing day with only 1 warbler and a total of 60 species seen.

Total List
Little grebe
Great crested grebe
Fulmar
Gannet
Cormorant
Shag
Grey heron
Mute swan
Greylag goose
Canada goose
Shelduck
Teal
Mallard
Shoveler
Tufted duck
Ruddy duck
Common scoter
Kestrel
Moorhen
Coot
Oystercatcher
Ringed plover
Lapwing
Knot
Purple sandpiper
Dunlin
Snipe
Redshank
Turnstone
Black-headed gull
Herring gull
Great black-backed gull
Common tern
Guillemot
Wood pigeon
Collared dove
Swift
Swallow
House martin
Meadow pipit
Yellow wagtail
Pied wagtail
Wren
Dunnock
Robin
Blackbird
Whitethroat
Blue tit
Great tit
Magpie
Jackdaw
Rook
Carrion crow
Starling
House sparrow
Tree sparrow
Chaffinch
Greenfinch
Goldfinch
Linnet
 
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Keith Dickinson said:
We set off from Leeds at 7.30am, Jimmy2Faces, FrankieB and myself. Off to the East Coast to see what we could find. The itinerary was Filey, Bempton, and South Landing, but we finished the day with a visit to Fairburn Ings on the way home.
In Filey, the Dams was the first place we visited, a nice little reserve overlooking a couple of shallow pools. Other than a handful of snipe there wasn’t too much there of note, so we quickly moved on to the Country Park.
Having parked up and walked down Arncliffe ravine to the beach, we made our way along the Brigg finding a common scoter out in the bay. There were the usual turnstones galore among the rocks with a few purple sandpipers further out towards the seaward end of the Brigg. There was quite a movement of gannets southwards; we counted at least 200 birds in groups of up to 20 or so. Only a few common terns to be found here so we were a bit disappointed as there had been roseate terns in the bay a few days ago.
Following a tiring climb back to the clifftop we made our way along the top and back to the car park in a loop taking in the ‘Rocket field’. We had 3 yellow wagtails fly over and keep right on…no landing so no chance to check out their head colouration.
Having got back to the car we decided to move onto Bempton…where there wasn’t much other than some late gannet chicks and feral pigeons on cliffs. The little feeding station had a good number of tree sparrows and greenfinches, and the dell area had a solitary whitethroat. So it was back into the car and onto South Landing…which was a washout…the woods were almost devoid of birds and the tide was out so not much about. At this point we had a discussion as to where to go next…there aren’t that many reserves in East Yorkshire and those that are there are well scattered. The result of the discussion was that a trip to Fairburn on the way home to Leeds was the thing…check out the new hide at Lin Dyke.
We visited the Visitor Centre at Fairburn and picked up the latest reserve report…2004. How long before the 2005 report is ready I wonder? What a shock we got when we got to the Lin Dyke area of the reserve….the path had been made up with a good layer of hard core and there’s every chance that during the winter months you could get to the hide dryshod for a change. The hide…what surprise…built on some of the rockfilled wire crate thingies we saw a tin shed! About the size of a moderate wagon container, it could house maybe a dozen people without being too cramped, but in strong sunshine it’s going to get very warm in there. Sadly this is just about the only way that a hide will stay in one piece at this end of the reserve, the locals thinking it great fun to torch hides.
Altogether a bit of a disappointing day with only 1 warbler and a total of 60 species seen.

Total List
Little grebe
Great crested grebe
Fulmar
Gannet
Cormorant
Shag
Grey heron
Mute swan
Greylag goose
Canada goose
Shelduck
Teal
Mallard
Shoveler
Tufted duck
Ruddy duck
Common scoter
Kestrel
Moorhen
Coot
Oystercatcher
Ringed plover
Lapwing
Knot
Purple sandpiper
Dunlin
Snipe
Redshank
Turnstone
Black-headed gull
Herring gull
Great black-backed gull
Common tern
Guillemot
Wood pigeon
Collared dove
Swift
Swallow
House martin
Meadow pipit
Yellow wagtail
Pied wagtail
Wren
Dunnock
Robin
Blackbird
Whitethroat
Blue tit
Great tit
Magpie
Jackdaw
Rook
Carrion crow
Starling
House sparrow
Tree sparrow
Chaffinch
Greenfinch
Goldfinch
Linnet

Great report Keith, and it was good to spend time with you and Frank! Not he birds we'd hoped for but the company was excellent! We also picked up another yellow wagtail at Fairburn if memory serves me correctly.

Couple of pics attached - would be interested in your results too Keith. Thanks for the trip! My turn next time.
 

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Loshpott Gravel Pit

Loshpott was "alive" last night (by Loshpott standards):

A record count of 92 Tufted Ducks
1 Pochard, 11 Wigeon, (both new for reserve)
1 Cormorant
4 Little Grebe
1 Common Sandpiper
Large mixed flock of Greylags and Canada Geese
Mixed gull flock including Black-headed, Common, and Lesser Black-backed
2 Lapwing

Hopefully it is shaping up to have one of the key ingredients of a good local patch - birds that pass through.

My previous local patch, close to my old house was an inland man-made water, not close to any river systems and it had the same regular birds, usually sat in the same places - I was just about on first name terms with them all.

At Loshpott, (being relatively close to the Nidd and Wharfe), it looks like it will be refreshed with different birds coming and going.

All I need now is a decent scarce bird and I'll be made up! :bounce:
 
But Steve...the pochard and the wigeon are scarce birds in your patch.
I know what you mean though....be nice to get a smew or something like that eh?
 
Had a day on the east coast today, seawatch and bush bash at flamboro. Wander down south landing. Bobbed into bempton and a stroll along filey brigg. 1 skua all day, must have been a mile out and moving away, dark phase Arctic Skua. Other than that not a lot on the seawatch except a couple of summer plumage Red-throated Diver. Thats good birds over with ;) No passerine migrants although saw 30 Lapwing come in off. Other than this a few Common and Sandwich Terns, some Dunlin that were happy to run between my legs at Filey. Great Spotted Woodpecker and Blackcap at South Landing. Not a lot at Bempton, oh and some Mallard pretending to be Eiders, which were also present. All in all 56 species, although most quite common.
 
Keith Dickinson said:
But Steve...the pochard and the wigeon are scarce birds in your patch.
I know what you mean though....be nice to get a smew or something like that eh?

Certainly would Keith.

I'd love to find a good bird myself...anywhere! It must be a great feeling to find a really rare bird. My best personal finds are Waxwing, Little Auk and some of the rarer grebes at sea, (but not quite the same as inland)! Limited time finds me always chasing someone else's birds.

What are your best finds Yorkshire Birders???
 
Lawts said:
What are your best finds Yorkshire Birders???

Sabines Gull - Hornsea
Ortolan Bunting - F'borough
Lapland Bunting - Bempton
Hoopoe - Spurn

Best of all

Whimbrel - Rodley

Outside of the region;

Shore lark - Bacton
Tawny Pipit - Marshside (not accepted :-C )
Little Egret (back in the day was quite something!)
Blue winged teal - martin Mere
 
Best finds

GND- Filey
Pied Flycatcher- Bank Island
Med Gull- Spurn
Black Tern- Filey
Buzzard- Wheldrake Ings
SEO- Bempton
Waxwing- York Uni & York Cemetary
Nowt flash but not three bad for just 2 years birding.
 
Hello Yorkshire birders! Newish to the forum, and first posting on my 'local' thread.

Steve, Have you got a grid reference or full directions for Loshpotts? I'm in Chapel Allerton so your patch is no distance for me. If I've only an hour or so to fit birding in only Eccup and Harewood are within easy reach. Although I should really have a proper look in Gledhow Valley as my "own" patch.

Anything else is too far away for a real "quicky". Swillington Ings etc. 20 mins, Fairburn 30, and once I'm going that far I'm too tempted by Blacktoft and so I keep going. As mentioned so much here, Blacktoft is a proper good site, but nigh on impossible to make your own finds.

Graham
 

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