I had a rather rough night in the pub and as such was not up to much at all today. Somehow I got out of bed at 7.00 to find nobody around, but those I did find informed me that I had missed nothing, so that was good to hear.
During my breakfast on the living room window I could see everyone gathered around the ringing hut photographing something, so I staggered across to see what it was, only to be met with a stunning Sparrowhawk in Adams hand, only the second one I have ever seen in the hand. My compact camera was still dead so I only had my big telephoto lens, and the light was poor so I only managed a solitary decent shot.
-Sparrowhawk
After that I went with Barry and Jonnie to look at the moth traps after the news came they had caught an elephant hawkmoth. They had let that one go by the time I arrived but they found another, allowing me to get a quick shot of this species which I have only seen once before and never photographed. I stayed while they sampled the others too, with a superb Drinker being a highlight.
-Small Elephant Hawkmoth
-Drinker
I spent the rest of the day recovering, sleeping or staying close to the Warren. Matt and I headed off to wetlands mid afternoon to try and see some stuff but there was not much going on and we saw nothing of note. The rain looked to be setting in so we did not stay out long, even if we had I doubt it would have made much difference.
After the NGBs had gone I did a little seawatching and recorded year-ticks of Razorbill and Arctic Tern, though Adam Hutt found the terns as mere dots flying along over the triangle. How on earth he does this stuff is beyond me.
After a short while seawatching I returned to the Warren to pack and have a rest. While looking out of the window I noticed a small mouse scurrying round, feeding on the grasses. It looked quite sweet so grabbed a couple of shots. It did not seem bothered about being out in the open, where it would be vulnerable. It made me wonder how long it would last. The answer came soon enough, as after five mins of watching a kestrel came down, landed on the mouse, killing it, and then flew off. It was pretty awesome to see, unless you were the mouse.
-House Mouse
It was not long before I was back up at the seawatching hut, as Adam called out a Hummingbird Hawkmoth, so I raced up to try and photograph it. It was a very active moth and impossible to pin down for a good photo. I tried but did not get anything exceptional. It does mean I have seen and photographed both of the only hawkmoth species I have seen prior to today.
-Hummingbird Hawkmoth
And that was that, with the weekend over we drove back and began to work through the photos I took with a field course in the peak district looming all week.
Species List:
Kilnsea Wetlands and Holderness Field: Little Egret, Avocet, Little Tern, Yellow Wagtail, Ringed Plover, Dunlin, Grey Plover, Mute Swan, Mallard, Gadwall, Woodpigeon, Reed Bunting, Meadow Pipit, Skylark, Black-Headed Gull,
Canal Scrape: Mallard, Mute Swan, Carrion Crow, Reed Bunting, Swallow, Swift, Woodpigeon,
Seawatching: Razorbill, Puffin, Guillemot, Arctic Tern, Sandwich Tern, Little Tern, Gannet, Fulmar, Kittiwake,
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