Yorkshire Birding (10 Viewers)

Went to Wheldrake Ings and Bank Island a couple of days ago. Lots of biting flies as my then sockless ankles testify. Whoops! No water at Bank Island and very little at Wheldrake made for a pretty slow afternoon. Having said that the site of 26 Herons on the main pool was quite impressive. Its the first time ive seen one on there! Also a numbers of Teal seem to have built up a bit. Saw a shoveller with ducklings and 4 pochard going into moult at bank island. Waders were few- a handful of curlew, 2 redshank and an oystercatcher plus the good numbers of lapwing. Nice day out regardless. My ankles itch like nobody's business today though.

Went down to Rodley today, not much new, but plenty of breeding success. The common terns have fledged three young and oystercatchers have fledged two - these represent the first breeding records for the reserve so I'm pleased!

Also common sand and kingfisher on the reserve today. Think a green sandpiper would make my year, and the mud i s looking just perfect fr waders at the moment....

Managed to get a pass out for a couple of hours on Friday evening - immediately set out for Blacktoft Sands.

I knew that it was near Goole, and that Goole is about 35 miles from me - what I didn't expect was that the journey would take me an hour each way !!!

Anyway, pulled up in the car park - busily trying to tell myself that the Spoonbills wouldn't be there and not to get my hopes up. Got to the information centre to discover it closed at 5pm - but the whiteboard said Spoonbills were visible from Townend hide.

Went straight there, opened the hide door and got an immediate view of 2 Spoonbills

Spent about 45 minutes in the hide working on my wader recognition skills - also added Spotted Redshank to my life list

A very enjoyable evening, can't beat seeing new lifers and old favourites like Snipe, Marsh Harriers, Teal, Ruff etc etc

Couldn't have asked for a better outcome

Mal Skelton

I see there is a lesser scaup at hornsea mere. Im tempted.

Hotspur said:

I see there is a lesser scaup at hornsea mere. Im tempted.

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I see on Birdguides it was best seen from the 'members-only hide'. In my Hornsea days it was RSPB but not any more. What 'members' do they mean?

Steve

Decided to go to North Cave Wetlands and Blacktoft Sands today. Not been to North Cave before so it was a nice surprise to find it so stacked with birds. Not a great deal of really exciting stuff but 40 species in 2 hours is good. 2 lifers and a year bird produced;Lots of Little Grebesand Coots. Lapwings aplenty and some VERY loud Black-headed Gulls Plenty of Damselflies and Dragonflies but i have no ID skills in that area. Along the back edge 3 Ringed Plovers which when looking into the sun required a while to be sure of (Still need LRP).Hirundines everywhere. Got to the main lake eventually. As i stood there a Common Tern flew over my head. Year tick (embarrassingly). Only a very brief view. Got into the hide and the first thing i noticed was a small flock of pied wagtails landing on the tern island. All bobbing their tails. Got the bins on them, first four were juvs but something was different about the other 3. They were Common Sandpipers. Lifer. Without the bins their jizz was identical to the wagtails and the distance and colours seemed to aid the illusion. Scanning round the bays to the east end of the lake was another sign of return passage, a single Greenshank, which was another lifer. Don't seem to get these going through my local patch at Wheldrake. After this 4 Terns zipped over the lake but still no great views. Went round to the tower hide, finally getting some decent views of the Common Terns and along with hundreds of Lapwing was a single Black-tailed Godwit. The last bird of note (!) was a Kestrel trying to be a Hobby belting after Hirundines and failing miserably. Had me fooled as it zipped past until it banked and i saw its chestnut back and long tail.
Went down toBlacktoft Sands to see if i could find myself a Green Sandpiper. As i have failed so far this summer. As i got there i went to the wader scrape hide (cant remember what its called). Lots of waders! Another Greenshank (good things come in 2s), at least 6 Spotted Redshank despite what the bods next to me proclaimed (the biggest and best optics in the world compared to my broken cheap bins and still a spotshank needs to be in its summer plumage to qualify as one). Also loads of Ruff, an Avocet dropping in, a Snipe, loads and loads of Godwits, a scattering of Dunlin and the prize for most unlikely wader present goes to the juv Golden Plover that escorted the hordes of Lapwing down to the pools only to realise it didnt want to get its feet wet. Wandered up to first hide. A couple of Little Grebes a juv Great Crested Grebe thats it. Wandered up to the next hide (Townend?). Shock, horror! Spoonbill in none sleeping shock. Id seen this bird beforewith its partner in crime which wasn't present today. It was going for it BIG STYLEE. Little morsels being eaten left right and centre. A bow wave off its bill. Magic. Just in front of the hide were 3 snipe and another bird feeding in the reed fringes. The Snipe were doing their sowing machine bit very close to the hide. The 4th bird was a very scruffy juv Green Sandpiper. 'appy Man was I. Another year bird for the day. Was a few other bits and pieces on there including another couple of Green Sandpipers on the edges of the reeds which i hadn't spotted earlier plus a couple of Grey Herons and another scattering of Ruff. Good day!

Steve Lister said:

I see on Birdguides it was best seen from the 'members-only hide'. In my Hornsea days it was RSPB but not any more. What 'members' do they mean?

Steve

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I think that the hide is only available to members of the Hull Valley Wildlife Group.

mudman said:

I think that the hide is only available to members of the Hull Valley Wildlife Group.

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Thanks Mudman. They clearly have an odd idea of the Hull valley!

Steve

Anyone got any idea if the honeys have been seen at Wykeham this year?

Ok, bright sunny day and the obvious potential for colours to look different but driving along Canal Road in Bradford this afternoon I think I saw a kestrel which appeared nearly white. Unable to stop or take a better look due to traffic I asked my wife what colour the bird in the sky was, answer - really pale, nearly white. Anyone else seen or heard of this bird?

Franky70 said:

Anyone got any idea if the honeys have been seen at Wykeham this year?

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Yes they have. Not sure how often but ive been twice and dipped both.

Went down to Rodley yesterday. There was nothing there, should have just watched the garden!

Think i'll try somewhere else today

Wetherby Wetlands

First time posting so bear with me if it goes horribly wrong.

Like the idea of a Yorkshire thread. The new A1 has opened up access to some interesting small pools and channels just to the north of Wetherby. Not sure what life is in them yet for birds, but I'll be checking them out soon. Look like the kind of pools where you could find a Grey Phal swimming about.

There's a significant gravel pit about one mile north, but access looks difficult. You can just see it if heading south on the A1. With the Wharfe and Nidd nearby I'm hopeful for the future when life and plants become established.

Steve

Hi all,

I had a free afternoon yesterday, so thought I'd pay a visit to North Cave Wetlands. I was supprised to find the reserve almost free of people. Possibly too hot for some folk.

Highlights of my leisurely walk around the site are as follows:-

Summer plumage Spotted Redshank, Green Sandpiper and a fly-past by a couple of Oystercatchers.

Several singing Reed Buntings, Yellowhammers and a Skylark.

A pair of Tree Sparrows on the boundary hedge.

A small party of Red-legged Partridge drinking from the lake shallows.

I was hoping to see Turtle Dove or Corn Bunting (would be UK firsts for me). I also failed to come across any raptors (not even the usual Kestrel, never mind a Hobby!!!).

However, without sounding soft, it was one of those days when it was just nice to be out in the countryside, watching our more common birds. I also got to practise my rather limited identification skills.

I returned to my car very hot, but with a great big smile on my face
(at least until I realised I had forgotten to bring a drink!)

jimmy2faces said:

Went down to Rodley yesterday. There was nothing there, should have just watched the garden!

Think i'll try somewhere else today

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Having said that, went back down to Rodley today again, there was abit more about including 5 common gulls, a tail bobbing common spiper, and a Rodley first for me - Grey Partridge. Woo hoo!!

And all wild to boot!

Lawts said:

First time posting so bear with me if it goes horribly wrong.

Like the idea of a Yorkshire thread. The new A1 has opened up access to some interesting small pools and channels just to the north of Wetherby. Not sure what life is in them yet for birds, but I'll be checking them out soon. Look like the kind of pools where you could find a Grey Phal swimming about.

There's a significant gravel pit about one mile north, but access looks difficult. You can just see it if heading south on the A1. With the Wharfe and Nidd nearby I'm hopeful for the future when life and plants become established.

Steve

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Steve, would be very interested to hear what you find out. i work in Wetherby so any newer sites up there would be well appreciated. Let me know the Grid references for what you know :t:

Wetherby isn't a million miles from me so if these places turn out to be gems i may have to take a look.

Went on my first birding expedition this weekend.... Well went with the (bird) camping to Robin Hoods bay with the idea to stop at the Raptor view point in Wykeham forest on the way back. Was there for a couple of hours without seeing much apart from what I thought were a couple of hawks fly past but I cant say what they are, being a complete novice.....

On the way back to Bradford we thought we would stop at Harewood house, while looking for the Kites from the balcony of the gardens we stotted a Buzzard soaring over the fields and woods. I noticed something in one of the trees when I got the binos on it, it was a Red Kite just sitting there looking at us. When I looked up to spot the Buzzard again there were 4 RK`s soaring. Watched them till they booted us out....

A good ending to my first (proper) birding outing.

Does anyone know what Eccup Reservoir is like for watching the RK`s?

RiverRatJimmy said:

Does anyone know what Eccup Reservoir is like for watching the RK`s?

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Eccup is now only really any good for the kites during the winter when they tend to congregate in the woodland to the NE of the dam wall. At other times it is pot luck as during spring and summer the birds tend to disperse quite widely. A pair have nested in the woodland near Weardley, between Eccup and the Harewood to Pool road. The Harewood area is just about the best for them....I have travelled between Leeds and Harrogate about a dozen times this year and seen at least one bird every journey in the air over the Harewood estate.

Keith Dickinson said:

Eccup is now only really any good for the kites during the winter when they tend to congregate in the woodland to the NE of the dam wall. At other times it is pot luck as during spring and summer the birds tend to disperse quite widely. A pair have nested in the woodland near Weardley, between Eccup and the Harewood to Pool road. The Harewood area is just about the best for them....I have travelled between Leeds and Harrogate about a dozen times this year and seen at least one bird every journey in the air over the Harewood estate.

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Thanks for the tip, i`ll pay Eccup a visit in winter then..... Out of interest where is the viewing platform that Yorkshire water have set up?