Spurn Day 23

The game has changed. At 2.00 this morning I decided to investigate a lone oystercatcher calling. I knew there would be nothing of it, but figured it probably best checking. But there, at the far end of the pond was something shining in the torchlight. Initially I thought it must just be a can or something, but then it began to move. I therefore, moved closer to it in order to get a better view. Whatever it was it decided to clear off without a trace, no sign of it round the corner. Of course it was the long elusive fox, but why had only one Oyk been calling, and why, when I reached the site, was there still a Ringed Plover (Capable of flight) chilling on the shoreline? And where had the fox gone, it can’t have run that fast?

At 3.00 the same thing happened, only this time I remembered to check for tracks. After some searching I found one fresh paw print from a fox. But again, there were few birds calling and no obvious sign of distress from anything…

Besides that the shift passed without incident, though obviously the fox is a pretty big incident. There were not many birds around in the morning, probably because I had scared them all off. The walk back also produced nothing of any real note.

At 11 my slumber was broken by the reports that a clouded yellow was on beacon lane. Oh, how nearly I made it out of bed, but not quite and the next thing I know it was 2.00 in the afternoon. For the day I decided to head along the coast, to beacon lane, round to Kilnsea wetlands and then back down Canalside. It was dead, very dead indeed. Along Beacon Lane I got a few butterflies but nothing much. I recorded Speckled Wood, which is my first time here, and a few Wall Brown and a Painted Lady in full colour. Nothing out of the ordinary though.

-Speckled Wood

-Wall Brown

Along the walk to Kilnsea I had a bit more luck, with Avocet on one of the small ponds, also a Ruddy Darter along the path, but it was still very quiet. Not as quiet as actually on the wetlands. Below I have included a photo with all the birds on the wetlands in…

-Juv Lesser Black-Backed Gull

As if it needs stating, not much time was spent in there. I continued round to Canalside where there was little again. On the estuary I picked up Whimbrel, Black-Headed Gull and Dunlin, the latter being in small numbers as the tide was well, well out.

I returned to the warren having not really got much at all. Shopping and dinner followed but after that I headed up to the Seawatch hide to see what was about. It was a decent showing, but very on and off. There was decent passage of Sandwich and Common Terns, as well as a few far out Arctic Skuas, 2 of which were mobbing a Sandwich Tern. There was also Gannet movement out to sea, so a little more to get excited about. A weather front had moved in and so the Seawatching quickly dried up, the air becoming very humid with the odd rain shower. 

As a consequence the ponds were very quiet, and there was little on the way there. The cloud cover also made it feel very dark, meaning none of the waders could be identified, though there were obviously some dunlin and the Oyks out there.

The Daily Oystercatcher

This morning our Oyks spent most of their time calling at me as I checked relentlessly for the fox. It caused the young to frequently fly though, which they are getting good at now, and is pleasing to see. At one point the adult took them down onto the beach in order to try and get them away from me, but I came back round the beach in order to prevent disturbance to other birds, so that did not work too well.

In the evening it was too murky to really get them, but they could be seen snoozing on their little Crab Pot island. Snoozing that is until I disturbed them with my checking. Its going to be a long night for them I feel.

Species List:

Beacon Ponds: Little Egret, Mute Swan, Dunlin, Oystercatcher, Ringed Plover, Black-Headed Gull, Sanderling, Fox, Migrant Hawker

Walk: Avocet, Mute Swan, Mallard, Linnet, Herring Gull, Pied Wagtail, Black-Headed Gull, Sandwich Tern, Blackbird, House Sparrow, House Martin, Dunlin, Whimbrel, Snipe, Great Tit, Goldfinch, Wall Brown, Meadow Brown, Speckled Wood, Gatekeeper, Common Blue, Large White, Painted Lady, Red Admiral, Ruddy Darter, Migrant Hawker, Emperor Dragonfly

Seawatching: Gannet, Sandwich Tern, Common Tern, Arctic Skua, Common Gull, Linnet, Swallow, Grey Seal,

Spurn Day 12 - LIFER ALERT

Sort of a continuation from yesterday; in the evening Paul was going to try to ring storm petrels and since I had never seen one I gave him a hand. However, nothing happened in yesterday’s half on the night with the exception of a few bats and a Toad. However on this side of the night stuff did start to happen and I picked up another lifer. Not a stormie or even anything alive but I saw my first Shooting Star. The first one I was not expecting and it was the brightest. I was surprised by just how bright it was, clearly adding illumination to the dark seascape as it whizzed overhead. There was a second too but this one was less bright. To say that I was thrilled would be an understatement! Paul even commented that I was easily pleased, which is true, and a good way to be I would say.

We now skip ahead to 5 in the morning as the shift began. It was another lovely morning only this time I was on the right side of it, so would be able to appreciate it all the way. There were no waders in when I arrived but still plenty of stuff around, including a personal record of 5 Little Egrets and both Oystercatcher families.

The morning began to pass with species coming and going. At around half 5 a Common Sandpiper dropped in, which I recognised by the call but only saw briefly. There were the usual assortment of regulars in, Arctic, Sandwich and Little Terns making up the bulk of the lagoon-side birds, plus the Ringed Plover and 5 Cormorants on the raft. At 6.00 I found a Red Knot feeding along the shoreline, but only one, and it soon moved onto the beach to feed.  At 6.10 I found a juvenile Little Gull preening itself on the side of the lagoon too, but again only one.

Things really began to kick off at 6.55. From behind me I heard a few terns call alarmingly and turned around to see a large black gull sized bird flying along the shoreline. It was an Arctic Skua, Dark morph. It moved along the beach very close to where I was sitting, the best view of one I have ever seen. The only downside was that the morning sun was behind it, so all I got of the bird was its silhouette. I was also surprised by how big it was, at least the size of a herring gull, but it has been 4 years since I last saw one. It was great to see, even though it’s my job to keep them away…

-Arctic Skua

The Skua did not stay long, only really passing through. It did cause absolute havoc in the colony, and the Sandwich Terns were probably part of the reason it did not stay for long. Its agility for a big bird while avoiding the terns was also striking, as was the size of terns in comparison to the Skua.

The tide had started to drift out over the morning so once the Skua had left and all had settled down I began to check out the birds on the beach. Most were Sandwich Terns with a few Arctic and Little thrown in. I continued scanning and stumbled across a small gull among the colony. I had a check of the key features and was left in no doubt that I had found myself a Kittywake sat on the beach. Now this may not sound much but this is a personal milestone for me. Ever since the Old Moor kittywake I have wondered if I would have been able to find and i.d a kittywake outside of its regular habitat. And now I had, with this individual on the beach. This self-found bird shows just how much I have improved even over this year.

-Kittywake

But the Gulls on the beach did not stop there. Another quick look and I found myself another unusual gull. Sadly it was quite distant but it was still pretty clear that I had found an adult Yellow-Legged Gull sat on the beach. This is not a species I see very often, though I have seen one at spurn already, but this one was self-found so all the more rewarding. Sadly I could not get any decent photos of it simply because of the distance, but they serve as record shots for this find.

-Yellow Legged Gull

I continued to scan the beach and the sea in case anything should drop in or drift by. I found a Black-Tailed Godwit feeding up near the far end of the beach and a young Gannet flew north at 7.20. The Terns were having a really bad day. Apparently the fox dropped in 4 times last night, then the Skua this morning. Add to that an adult and juvenile Kestrel that came in at 7.50 and a Grey Heron at 8.05 that sent them up. A Brown Hare then set them off, but these are easy enough for me to deal with.

It all settled down for a bit then, with birds coming and going but nothing major really. The next headlining bird to come along was a juvenile Marsh Harrier that drifted over from the north and circled the top area of the ponds. It then drifted west, largely avoiding the colony. It is a patch tick for me though, a nice addition.

-Marsh Harrier

Luckily the Harrier did not come in close enough for the terns to kick up a fuss. But their troubles did not stop there. At 10.50 the worst of them all came in. I saw the birds all go up but could not make out a threat, but this time it was really bad, as all the birds were calling and in the air. Then I saw it flying straight towards me. It was a male Sparrowhawk that had zoomed through the colony. It actually had the nerve to land in Area A, which meant I had to scare it off, a pity for such a spectacular bird. I did not see it get anything, but it went back south after I flushed it and I lost it, so it’s possible it may have done more damage out of sight. The Terns took an age to calm down, and were on edge for the whole afternoon, often going up for no reason.

The next bird that stood out from the regulars was something special, a self-found lifer. Out my 18 lifers this year only Corn Bunting was completely self-find, so this is pretty special, and long awited. As I watched the dunlin, a small group quite near to the hut I spotted one among them that was definitely not a dunlin, but for the first time it was pretty clear what it was. I had finally found myself a Curlew Sandpiper, at long last. Having seen one now I can safely overrule all the dubious birds during my time here.

It was a young bird, but molting so its plumage was quite blotchy. It really stood out from the Dunlins and was pretty much the spitting image of that in the book. It basically looked like a dunlin on stilts, with a slightly longer beak. I was very impressed by how different it actually looked in real life, having made it difficult for myself over the past few days. I tried to follow the bird as it fed to grab some photos for record purposes. I grabbed 2 in focus, but the bird I photographed and the bird’s plumage I saw looked completely different. It was not until I found a different photo from a different set that I figured it must just be the lighting

-Curlew Sandpiper (Middle Bird)

-Curlew Sandpiper (Central Bird)

I spotted the bird at 11.20 and by 11.40 the small flock of dunlin it was part of had taken off and gone to the beach. As a result when I went to lunch I kept an extra eye open for them. I failed to find any Dunlin but did flush 2 small waders. When I first saw them I considered if they were little stint, but were too red on the face and when they took of the distinct wing pattern showed clearly that they were Sanderling. I have never seen a summer plumage sanderling before so this was a plumage lifer for me, another addition to what was turning out to be a great day.

-Summer Plumaged Sanderling

By now it was getting quite hot, and me with 2 jackets on was beginning to feel a bit of a mug. However, the weather meant that Beacon Lane was alive with butterflies and dragonflies. On the small pond there was Ruddy Darter, both male and female, and Emperor, the latter was ovipositing too. On the butterfly front it was manly whites and browns, of the latter however I got a patch tick in Wall Brown. A species that used to be common back home, I hardly see them anymore, so I was well pleased when I found this individual, very fresh.

-Wall Brown

 On my walk back after lunch I found some more Sanderling on the beach. There were also Dunlin and the Ringed Plover. I had thankfully disposed of my excess clothing and so was feeling fresh for an afternoon perched on my dune watching the birds. If the morning was anything to go by I should be in for a good time.

The afternoon was significantly quieter than the morning, most things probably put down by the heat, as indeed was I. The haze over the pond was bad that I could not distinguish between Dunlin and Redshank in the wader roost. I did manage to distinguish the Black and Bar Tailed Godwits, 1 Black and 11 Bar, as well as count the number of Grey Plover, 13 with 1 summer plumaged ad.

At 2.30 the next treat came in, if only for about 10 seconds. I heard a peculiar call and turned round to see a pair of dark wader with distinctive white rumps drop in. They were Green Sandpiper, or so I take it, as they left almost immediately, before I could get the scope on them to look. I was scouring the bank where they had landed to get a better look, took my eye from the scope to get my bearing to see the birds flying off…

I enjoyed a quiet afternoon catching a few rays while counting terns and other birds. The Terns were still very put out due to the Sparrowhawk in the morning, but they had no real reason to worry despite their constant jittering. That’s until 4.15.

I heard the call of an alarmed tern at sea and looked to see an Arctic Skua mobbing a Sandwich Tern. It was quite far out but it was clear to see through the scope. It’s the first time I have ever seen a Skua undergo this characteristic mobbing behaviour. I have to be honest, its not pleasant to watch, though it is fascinating. This was quiet far out. The Tern got away this time, and the Skua began to approach the shore…

As a result I got the camera ready, but then lost the bird. In fact I lost both, as there two, but only one had been mobbing and only one was coming towards shore. I waited a couple of mins before deciding it must have moved off. I then heard the terns go mad, and spotted the Skua very close to the shore causing chaos. But as soon as I saw it, it began to move back out to sea, so not decent shots as such. It was still a great encounter and a behaviour tick to add to my collection.

-Arctic Skua Mobbing

-Arctic Skua

 The Skua left northwards I think, but I lost it again among the waves. It was almost time to head home too, having clocked up 50 species of bird during my shift today. The only other thing of note was a flock of Common Scoter that went north while I was watching the Skua. I did not follow them as I was busying trying to work out what kind of Skua I had (Poms or Arctic), but I reckon about 35 birds.

On the beach there were a few more Sanderling, this one though was a juvenile and so lacked the colouring on its head that the others I had seen had. I managed a pretty decent flight shot though as it took off.

-Sanderling

I arrived back at the warren at around half 5, absolutely worn out. I crashed onto the sofa for a good ten mins before I managed to muster the energy to cook dinner. 12 hour shifts on 4 hours sleep are not a good idea I have decided.

I had just put my chicken on when another birder, Rob, wandered in to get a jacket and said that there was a Bonxie on the sea. This required immediate attention. Off went the chicken, on went the boots. I made it up there, the bird still there, but it took me some time to actually find it. As we watched, Rob noticed that it was pecking something, which we worked out was an auk, probably a guillemot. The brute was giving it a fair old bash, but was too far out to get any pics.

That was the final bird of the day, clocking up my 3^rd yeartick and second Skua of the day, what a finish. A finish well worthy of the day I would have said.

The Daily Oystercatcher

And of course our update from Spurns star birds. Both chicks with both adults were about when I arrived, feeding along the shoreline. There was also some wing-stretching from the chicks which is a promising sign. Sometimes they were feeding themselves, but other times they were pestering their parents. One chick seems to pester the parent significantly more than the other, and I have also noticed that one of the chicks seems to wander on its own a lot; an independent chick.

But this feature has been going for a few days and I have not yet introduced you to our stars. So this morning when they were fairly close and together I grabbed a few photos. Please note that there is also a Little Egret, one of the 5, photo-bombing this family portrait.

-Oystercatcher (With Photobombing Little Egret)

Species List:

Beacon Pools: Little Egret, Little Tern, Oystercatcher, Avocet, Common Sandpiper, Sandwich Tern, Arctic Tern, Ringed Plover, Cormorant, Mallard, Mute Swan, Woodpigeon, Swallow, Black-Headed Gull, Whimbrel, Lesser Black-Backed Gull, Knot, Little Gull, Skylark, Redshank, Arctic Skua, Kittywake, Greater Black-Backed Gull, Yellow Legged Gull, Gannet, Black-Tailed Godwit, Common Tern, Swift, Kestrel, Grey Heron, Sand Martin, Graylag Goose, Dunlin, Marsh Harrier, Carrion Crow, Sparrowhawk, Curlew Sandpiper, Linnet, Sanderling, Bar-Tailed Godwit, Pied Wagtail, Whitethroat, Grey Plover, Green Sandpiper, Magpie, House Martin, Feral Pigeon, Herring Gull, Common Scoter, Blackbird, House Sparrow, Starling, Grey Seal, Brown Hare, Southern Hawker, Emperor Dragonfly, Ruddy Darter, Common Blue-Tailed Damselfly, Small Tortoiseshell, Large White, Wall Brown, Meadow Brown, Gatekeeper,  Green-Veined White, Small Skipper, Ringlet, Red Admiral, Peacock, Small White,

Soil Hill

 

-Swallow

-Wall Brown

I had a brief walk round the hill this afternoon. It certainly had more going for it than it has done recently. On the bird front there were good numbers of skylarks, around 30 birds flushed, and about 15 meadow pipits to go along with them. There were also a few swallows hunting the road on the way up, as well as a kestrel hunting the fields lower down. There was a flock goldfinches on the thistles again, but they were much flightier today. On the insect front I had two firsts on the year with butterflies: Wall brown which I got a decent view of, as it roosted on a dry stone wall, and painted lady, which I did not get a good view of as it flew around me and then chose not to land, but overall a good day.

Dumfries and Galloway Day 4

Day four was very sunny and so we decided to go and have a look at Glenwhan Gardens which was lovely the first time we went. The last time we were there we saw loads of Golden-Ringed Dragonflies, but we were too late in the season for them this time.
  As soon as we arrived I headed onto the "moors" bit, because I had not spent much time there last time, and that was where the dragonflies. The first pool was exactly how i remembered it, and looking in the grasses alongside it I spotted my damselfly of the day, which was a blue-tailed damselfly. 
-Common Blue Tailed Damselfly
further exploration found my first Emerald Damselfly of the holiday. It was the perfect habitat for them, so I was not very surprised. It was a female, and was resting on the sedge alongside the pool.

-Common Emerald Damselfly
After looking round the first lake I decided to look up on the higher ground to see what heath land birds were around. It did not take long before I found my first yellowhammer of the holiday, a stunning male hiding in a shrubby tree.

-Yellowhammer
and even further away from the pool I stumbled across a pair of siskins in a distant tree, so I was unable to get a good photo.

-Siskin 
There were many more ponds than I remembered, though the second one I found was not buzzing with wildlife, as the only thing I found on it was this male emerald damselfly

-Male Emerald Damselfly
Back up on the gravelly path near the entrance after my loop I began to see more things, I flushed a common hawker which made a speedy get-a-way, and also found a lovely wall brown butterfly resting on the path.

-Wall Brown
I went down another path which I had missed out to incorporate my loop, and found a smaller pond rather than a lake on my left hand side, with a much larger lake about 10 meters to the right. On the small pool were two common hawkers hunting, and I spotted on some bracken nearby a lovely male black darter, my first of the year, and one that was really easy to photograph. It looked lovely in the afternoon sunshine.

-Male Black Darter
There was also a toad on the path further down. After that I headed back to the mown area near the top, next to the main lake and entrance. Here I found a common darter sunbathing on a large flat rock. I flushed it and it moved off to some cut shrubbery. Here I could see that it was incredibly dark on the underside and on the frons. It would be a bit too south for a highland darter, making this a menalistic common darter. 

-Common Darter
In the same region as the "highland darter" I spotted a female black darter, which was a nice addition to the nice growing list of species for the gardens. it was very docile and therefore very easy to photograph.

-Female Black Darter 
So without doubt the best day of the holiday. We spent the afternoon in Stranraer and then went swimming in the afternoon, because it clouded up.

ogden reservoir-in pendle country

For a lack of anything to do today we went to pendle country for a walk. when we got there we decided that we would walk to Ogden reservoir high in the moors. Bird life was, rather sadly, quite poor but I did manage to find some goldfinches feeding on some thistles.

Luckily I managed to find a butterfly That I had been seeking for some time now, wall brown. I have needed a photo of these to help complete my butterfly photo collection. They used to come into the garden occasionally but since I realised I have needed a photo, As so often happens, the wretched things disappear, just like magpies. Luckily, wall browns are much nicer than magpies and this one sat sunbathing for me to take some photos, although it flew away pretty swiftly!

Halfway round the reser My dad noticed a thistle that was covered in moths. Although they are rather shabby compared to the ones we trap, you can clearly see that these are antler moths, turning into rather a local speciality.

And as you can see, there were an awful lot of them. From what I know, I would not say that these were day flying moths so what they were doing risking and appearance here quite beggars belief.

overall quite a poor day but catching the wll brown before the season ends was a big bonus, leaving only orange tip to get of the species that I have seen, and their season is already well over. I could also do with brimstone, painted lady and holly blue photos seeing as those I already have are quite poor. But thats really the point of record shots, for them to be rubbish!