Yorkshire Birding (1 Viewer)

[birdieboy123]

A quiet day in Holderness with this odd bird drifting over at 10.30,

Nice, If I wasn't going to see loads in Scotland next week I'd be jealous

 

[James Thomas]

After a fairly bird free weekend went out this evening. After he watched from a distance for 5 minutes or so this fella came to see me.

 

[Pete Mella]

Just got back from my jaunt in East Yorks. Thanks to BirdFlower for the gen on Sunk Island, it turned up trumps with yellow wagtail and corn bunting in exactly the spots he mentioned, plus added bonuses of red-legged partridge (a nice year tick), a very obliging barn owl, and best and most surprising of all a ringtail hen harrier flying over the shoreline.

Spurn was fairly disappointing bird-wise but a good day out as ever, providing a good number of whimbrel, plus year ticks for common tern and sedge warbler. Also around were good numbers of brent geese, grey plover, both godwits and the usual shoreline birds such as turnstone, ringed plover, sanderling and dunlin. We also got to see a fox prowling around and a couple of roe deer.

There was also another harrier species seen, spooking the assembled waders, which I'm leaning towards marsh harrier with due to its dark colouration and lack of field markings visible against the sky (and higher likelihood of it being there?).

And if one stringy raptor wasn't enough, driving back through Hedon I glanced at what I first thought to be a swift over the roundabout, and realised it was several times too big and obviously a falcon - it seemed way too thin and long-winged for a kestrel, and was changing direction as it flew, rather than hovering - I'm 99% sure it was a hobby but sadly it wasn't seen for long. Does this sound a likely location?

So not the most bird-filled day at Spurn, but very enjoyable, and definitely worth the long trip from Shef...

Blog post and photos coming later...

 

[Keith Dickinson]

Managed to get out to do a tetrad for the atlas today. Got 2 again this year, one's over by the western end of Fairburn Ings and the one I did today takes in Breary Marsh, Golden Acre Park and Adel Dam in Leeds.
Nothing mind-blowing seen but did have my first chiffchaff of the year in Breary Marsh, no willow warblers though. There was a single mandarin drake on the pool at Adel Dam along with a brood of Canada geese, a lone gt spotted woodpecker was welcome sight on the feeders at the Dam as well. There were 171 adult mallard on the lake at Golden Acre Park but I could find only 4 broods of ducklings. Very low numbers of blue tits and great tits though, didn't manage to get into double figures for either. Loads of chaffinches but only 2 greenfinches and no goldfinches at all.
The first tetrad visit that I've done where I have seen no raptors at all, and I've now completed 11 tetrad visits in total, probably due to the wind that got up mid way round the marsh.

 

[briwig]

Going over to Spurn and surrounding area this week-end weather permitting and would like to see and possibly photograph yellow wagtails,can anyone suggest a good location, Thanks Brian.

 

[BirdFlower]

Going over to Spurn and surrounding area this week-end weather permitting and would like to see and possibly photograph yellow wagtails,can anyone suggest a good location, Thanks Brian.

Hi Brian will PM you the details I sent to Pete who found them today!

 

[BirdFlower]

Just got back from my jaunt in East Yorks. Thanks to BirdFlower for the gen on Sunk Island, it turned up trumps with yellow wagtail and corn bunting in exactly the spots he mentioned, plus added bonuses of red-legged partridge (a nice year tick), a very obliging barn owl, and best and most surprising of all a ringtail hen harrier flying over the shoreline....

Glad you saw most of your target birds Pete. Wasn't sure if the Yell Wags & Corn Bunts would play ball in the high winds. Didn't see any where I was, but the Osprey was a nice compensation. Are you sure you didn't see that stringy raptor too!!! :t:

 

[briwig]

Thanks for the info Micheal

 

[James Thomas]

And if one stringy raptor wasn't enough, driving back through Hedon ... I'm 99% sure it was a hobby but sadly it wasn't seen for long. Does this sound a likely location?

Hobby at Sunk Island 12:20 so why not Hedon?

Next week looking good for the coast, NE and Easterlies starting Sunday lasting at least 'til Wednesday.

 

[Pete Mella]

I didn't realise about the Sunk Island hobby sighting today, inches it up to 99.9% certainty. I really can't imagine it being anything else, it was textbook hobby shape, and it definitely wasn't a kestrel... just wish I'd have had a glimpse of a few field markings!

 

[trappeddownsouth]

ive had two pairs of yellow wags on the farm all week, and corn buntings are pretty regular on the wires, lesser whitethroats in the hedges, plus the usual owls recently and kites and buzzards, not too shabby round tadcaster who would of thought it..

 

[liverpool_bob]

And if one stringy raptor wasn't enough, driving back through Hedon I glanced at what I first thought to be a swift over the roundabout, and realised it was several times too big and obviously a falcon - it seemed way too thin and long-winged for a kestrel, and was changing direction as it flew, rather than hovering - I'm 99% sure it was a hobby but sadly it wasn't seen for long. Does this sound a likely location?

It's not exactly a typical location - so close to houses - though I've had one as a house tick so you never know :t:

HVWG used to have Hobby as a description species - no doubt more due to the number of reports of glimpsed birds than their scarcity.

 

[BirdFlower]

On another note, i've still yet to see my first whitethroat, are they running a bit late this year?

mark.

The Lesser Whitethroats seemed to be at least 10 days earlier than the Whitethroats this year. Don't remember such a wide gap in previous years. The Whitethroat numbers seemed to be up to normal strength yesterday, so shouldn't be long before you hear/see one.

 

[Marcus Conway - ebirder]

Yeah I've had four or five lesser whitehtroat. I even heard one from the car somewehere on the A58 - just heard the death rattle.

Some very easy ones at Fairburn currently showing down to a couple of metres. I gave someone directions to the exact bush and it was there as predicted.

 

[Pete Mella]

The Lesser Whitethroats seemed to be at least 10 days earlier than the Whitethroats this year. Don't remember such a wide gap in previous years. The Whitethroat numbers seemed to be up to normal strength yesterday, so shouldn't be long before you hear/see one.

Absolutely loads of whitethroat at Spurn Point yesterday, and two seen on my travels round Sunk Island.

 

[garry1366]

hobby is fairly regular anywhere in the hull valley and holderness these days, had them thru my garden in beverley quite a few times including one last week. As for corn bunting they are around in hull valley just a bit localised, i had 9 territories on a single farm on the wolds whilst doing a survey two years ago. For yellow wags try sammy's point horse fields or swinemoor

 

[Andrew Gibson]

Very little out of Spurn recently and it's a pity too travel so far for nothing. Spurn can be a soulless place when nothings moving!

Take it you will not be gracing us with your presence regularly.

For any new to this thread or birding, Spurn is the best place in Yorkshire and arguably Britain for scarce and rare birds.

As a regular to the area for a few years it has boosted my Yorkshire list into the 380s of which 300+ have been seen at spurn.

The reason many find spurn hard work for birds is because of the constant change on the site and the amount of stuff that folk miss on a day visit as many birds pass straight down the reserve, south.

If you take the time to look at past reports for the area and take into account weather systems, spurn will provide you with some fantastic birds and the opertunity to expand your id skill.

 

[Missyburd]

Definitely will be keeping an eye on this thread, I finish uni in a month and will be moving back up to Yorkshire where I have had no contact with birders at all! Lots in Wales but would be great to meet some like minded people oop norf so I can carry on adding to my knowledge ||

 

[Marcus Conway - ebirder]

spurn will provide you with some fantastic birds and the opertunity to expand your id skill.

:t: Agreed! And I have always found the chaps onsite to be quick to share news and try and enable anyone onsite to get onto birds quickly.

It also provides me with my only Yorks blocker on Lawts too! Oh other than the Amur

 

[Hotspur]

Dipped the Serin today - arrived half hour too late but did notch a couple of mini terns having a mini adventure at Beacon Ponds - a county and year tick no less. Also 4 Whimbrel around and about, a cream crown Marsh Harrier which was very small so probably imm male. Greenshank and Common Sand were year ticks. A heard only Garden Warbler hid in the bushes at the warren.