Yorkshire Birding (6 Viewers)

[Conorbirda2]

Hi Paul,

It looks like the website has either shutdown or moved. The DDOS is still meeting at the usual place as far as I know.

If you are missing your homeland you can get some local bird news here:
Hatfield Moors
Potteric Carr

Thanks Rich. I have both those sites in my favourites. Are the Little Owls still reliable at Wroot? Im coming back up at the end of the month and hoping to get to Hatfield Moors and Wroot square mile for the stuff we don't really get down here, Quail, Corn Bunt, Little Owl etc.

 

[Chris-Leeds]

Not much of interest in this morning's short dog walk but saw what was likely to have been an albino skylark judging by size, habit and location. Couldn't get a decent view of it though.

 

[andy hood]

Flamborough

Little Egret on north marsh this morning, 1 Coal Tit, 1 Willow Warbler, 1 Male Bullfinch in our garden early this morning also

 

[Pete Mella]

A bit of a tour today - started at Thorne Moors to try and finally nail down turtle dove. After a couple of laps around the rhododendron path we finally heard one, and got quick views of two birds flying overhead. Not brilliant, but got at last!

Then on to North Cave, three avocets were nice to see, but not too much else around, so we moved onto Blacktoft Sands for a quick look, where bearded tits were being particularly playful around the base of the reeds, a good flock of Black-TGs were present, at least 4 spotted redshanks, and a male ruff with the last of its breeding plumage, a couple of little egrets and a marsh harrier.

Another guy in the hide put me on to a possible wood sand right at the back of Marshland, and it looked hopeful but managed to give us the slip before we could fully rule out juv redshank. If anyone saw one there today please let me know!

 

[Chris-Leeds]

Swillington Ings this afternoon had 2 med gulls, yellow legged gull, 4 blackwits, marsh harrier and at least 3 little egrets seen but there are more hidden away.

 

[Simmo1111]

3 of us came away from Agden side feeling frustrated today ..

We had a Raptor in the distance but couldn't decide between us what it was ..

Shape didn't look right for a Buzzard .. Wing shape looked good for a Red Kite but tail was wrong .. Tail still looked wrong for a Black Kite .. It had a light cream head/crown which was very conspicuous against the darker body .. Angle it held its' wings looked wrong for it to be a Marsh Harrier though ..

We had views of the bird twice and it eventually dropped down into a distant field maybe a mile or so away .. We could still make it out through the scopes though due to its very light head ... It decided to just stay on the ground for the best part of 2 hours and was still on the ground when we left ..

Back tomorrow to see if it is still hanging around ...

 

[Mike Richardson]

I had an early evening walk around Hatfield Moor last night. Not much bird interest apart from several Green Woodpeckers and some of the commoner warbler species.

Conditions were not ideal for finding reptiles. The temperature was still in the high twenties and the vegetation was thick, covering most of the basking areas. Reptiles are much easier to find in Spring and Autumn so I didn’t hold much hope.

I managed to find singles of Grass Snake and Adder, although neither hung around long enough for a photograph. The Horseflies were out in force so I made a hasty retreat to my car.

I ended the evening at Fairburn where I hoped for Leisler’s Bat but had to make do with a couple of Soprano Pipistrelles.

 

[Andrew Gibson]

3 of us came away from Agden side feeling frustrated today ..

We had a Raptor in the distance but couldn't decide between us what it was ..

Shape didn't look right for a Buzzard .. Wing shape looked good for a Red Kite but tail was wrong .. Tail still looked wrong for a Black Kite .. It had a light cream head/crown which was very conspicuous against the darker body .. Angle it held its' wings looked wrong for it to be a Marsh Harrier though ..

We had views of the bird twice and it eventually dropped down into a distant field maybe a mile or so away .. We could still make it out through the scopes though due to its very light head ...

...

Cream crown Marsh Harrier ?

 

[Chris-Leeds]

Cream crown Marsh Harrier ?

It does sound that way.

 

[Pete Mella]

Had a frustrating hour with a grasshopper warbler on White Lee Moor on the edge of Sheffield tonight, which reeled like a goodun but remained invisible. Pretty sure I got a brief view as it flitted from one patch of reeds to another, but can't be 100% sure as there were plenty of linnets around to up the LBJ quota... damn my steadfast "no heard-only" policy this year!

 

[Chris-Leeds]

If groppers are still reeling then I'll have to try find our local one again. It's evaded me a couple of times and I'd like to get a look at it.
Gropper and quail are on my birdtrack list for this year and as I've seen neither I'd like to at least remedy one of those.

 

[Dint See It]

If groppers are still reeling then I'll have to try find our local one again. It's evaded me a couple of times and I'd like to get a look at it.
Gropper and quail are on my birdtrack list for this year and as I've seen neither I'd like to at least remedy one of those.

I know its not in gods own, but i had brilliant views of Grasshopper Warbler reeeling and a pair of Turtle Doves singing at Lound Gravel Pits

 

[GRAHAM COLMAN]

Hi All
Possibly Coming Up To Bempton Area This Weekend. Could Anyone Please Tell If There Are Any Other Good Birding Sites Within A 50 Mile Radius Worth Taking A Look At?

 

[Simmo1111]

Cream crown Marsh Harrier ?

That was my initial thought but a guy who was with us, who is a very experienced birder dismissed the Marsh Harrier theory as the bird just wasn't flying as you would expect a Marsh Harrier to fly ... Coupled with the fact that the wings did look very 'Kitelike' ...

Looks like being a 'pass' on this one as it hasn't been seen since so far as I,m aware ..

 

[AlanCh]

I took a little drive from home in Moortown through Eccup and down to Weardley today. Pulled up near the bottom of Bedlam Lane, and looking back to the south there were two Common Buzzards soaring over the ridge, soon joined by a Red Kite. The three carried on soaring together getting higher and higher, with no obvious conflict.

Meanwhile, in the adjacent, very overgrown field, I thought I might have a Corncrake - but that seemed very unlikely. Something was skulking about, moving around in the vegetation, giving a repeated harsh call that I'd not heard before - eventually he decided to come closer and call from the hedge where I could him clearly - Common Whitethroat. Good job I've put together an mp3 CD with the calls of pretty well all British birds that I keep in my car, so I could confirm what I'd heard. And playing it in the car with the door open got him to sing.

On the way back via Black Hill Lane there were another 5 Red Kites, low down and calling.

 

[Pie Face]

That was my initial thought but a guy who was with us, who is a very experienced birder dismissed the Marsh Harrier theory as the bird just wasn't flying as you would expect a Marsh Harrier to fly ... Coupled with the fact that the wings did look very 'Kitelike' ...

Looks like being a 'pass' on this one as it hasn't been seen since so far as I,m aware ..

If it helps a birding colleague of mine had a Red Kite at the side of the Strines Road (Ewden) yesterday.

 

[andy hood]

King Eider at Filey still showing this evening although distantly off the brigg , 5 Common Eiders on the brigg, 4 Manx Shearwaters north, and a few Sandwich Terns about in the bay, 3 Grey Seals in the bay, Barn Owl in our paddock this morning

 

[BirdFlower]

Hi All
Possibly Coming Up To Bempton Area This Weekend. Could Anyone Please Tell If There Are Any Other Good Birding Sites Within A 50 Mile Radius Worth Taking A Look At?

Lots of recommendations were made the other week here: http://www.birdforum.net/showthread.php?t=174951

 

[Mannix]

Still 2 Black Necked Grebes at Broomhill Flash today along with a few Green Sands.

 

[AndyK]

Hi All
Possibly Coming Up To Bempton Area This Weekend. Could Anyone Please Tell If There Are Any Other Good Birding Sites Within A 50 Mile Radius Worth Taking A Look At?

http://www.birdforum.net/showthread.php?t=168008

Have a look at that thread on Bempton. I would definately recommend Flamborough North landing, I went only a few weeks ago and wow! Go down to the beach and follow the cliffs around to the right, when the tide is out you can stand right underneath the nesting seabirds, with fantastic views of puffins.