Undisclosed Location

Leaving Spurn is always difficult but I decided to head up the coast to Northumberland to show Lia a few other species not so easy to see at Spurn. On the way up we called off in the Durham moors to see Black Grouse. This was only my second time seeing this species in Britain. At the first location we spotted maybe 25 – 30 individuals in one field feeding among the sheep. And then, as we were leaving the site, we found two more males perched up on the wall next to the road. They were so close I was unable to fit the whole bird into my photo, but still a fantastic experience and a really enjoyable morning.

-Black Grouse

-Red Grouse

Species List:

Undiscolsed Location: Mallard, Common Pheasant, Red Grouse, Black Grouse, Common Woodpigeon, Eurasain Collared Dove, Common Moorhen, Eurasian Curlew, Eurasian Magpie, European Robin, Dunnock, Meadow Pipit, Common Chaffinch, 

Out and About

Back on the patch today, but decided to make it a more extended affair to grab Red Grouse for my yearlist. My initial trip up the hill produced very little, absolutely no additional points for Patchwork Challenge.

I next headed onto Ogden where there was a smart male Goldeneye but again there was not much going on. Along the walk up to the golf course there remained quite little. Once I was up on the moors it did not take long to locate my quarry, with numerous Red Grouse on the moors. Other birds around the moors included Redshank on Fly Flatts and at least 3 Golden Plover on the moors themselves.

-Red Grouse

-Golden Plover

I wandered back and decided to call it a day and head home...

But then everything changed. As I was heading back I spotted an obvious bird of prey flying over the trees down from the patch. Long wings ruled out most suspects and I raised my bins to see a forked tail. RED KITE. Part of me was elated at finding a rare Calderdale bird, but another part of me was gutted that the bird had flown straight through patch, but whilst I was not there. There goes two fantastic points begging...

-Red Kite

Stunned by what had just happened I decided to call in at the patch on the way back. 2 Little Owls were a one point reconciliation, a nice addition to the patch yeartick.

I made my way up to the top and scanned around in the faint hope the Kite would come back. As I scanned I picked up a bird flying towards me. The jizz seemed right but I could not make much out on it as it was flying towards me. As a result I could not call, but I had a suspicion that the bird was a Peregrine, which would have been a patch tick. As it flew its angle changed and I could make out a browish back, so maybe not. I was stood back from the hill so I was frantic when the bird dropped below the hill, out of sight. I rushed to the edge of the hill and started scanning again with the bins. I could not pick it out though, and I wondered if it was the one that got away.

That was until I heard a commotion near me and lowered my bins to see the Peregrine, locked in talons with a short-eared owl. Peregrine was a patch tick, but sadly it did not stick around. No sooner had I seen it but it dropped below the hill and I did not see it again. 

The Owl that had now joined it flew around my head a couple of times before it too dropped, but it did allow me to grab a couple of shots in the low light. To have the bird flying round my head a couple of times was really special. And I was buzzing. A patch tick and a couple of two pointers, what more could I want?

I tell you what. When I arrived back and checked my photos I was stunned to see that it was not a short-eared owl as I had thought initially, but a Long-eared Owl, a patch tick. I had thought about it for a second whilst there and when I checked my photos on site I was surprised by the colour of its eyes, but I still did not expect this. What a result.

Its always a good day when your two patch ticks lock talons about 6ft away from your head.

-Long-eared Owl

I don't know why I ever bird anywhere else to be honest. It cost me Red Kite patch yeartick but resulted in two patch ticks. What a result.

Species List:

Unspecified Location: Blackbird, Chaffinch, Robin, Feral Pigeon, Skylark, Carrion Crow, Meadow Pipit, Grey Heron, Curlew, Stock Dove, Magpie, Jackdaw, Woodpigeon, Little Owl, Red Kite, Teal, Mallard, Peregrine, Long-eared Owl, Lapwing,

Ogden Water: Woodpigeon, Blackbird, Goldfinch, Starling, Mallard, Canada Goose, Common Gull, Black-headed Gull, Carrion Crow, Coal Tit, Jay, Goldeneye, Lesser Black-backed Gull, Robin, Reed Bunting, Great Tit, Meadow Pipit, Greylag Goose, Curlew,

Oxenhope Moor: Meadow Pipit, Canada Goose, Carrion Crow, Red Grouse, Curlew, Lapwing, Stock Dove, Redshank, Wren, Golden Plover, Mallard, Skylark, Grey Wagtail, Woodpigeon, Pheasant, 

Stanage Edge

Today was not a birding day but a nice walk in the peaks with a couple of friends. However, our chosen walk was Stanage Edge, so I had high plans for seeing some rouzels. The walk up to the edge produced very little out of the ordinary; a flyby drake Mandarin and a Common Buzzard being the highlights.

Once on top the number of birds seemed to take a dramatic hit, with the only species we were seeing were Meadow Pipits with the occasional Red Grouse thrown in for good measure. We were also hit by one of the worst hailstorms I can ever remember. Fortunately, as hailstorms usually are, it was brief. I took a couple of shots of the Grouse, as the walk went on I became more sure we were not going to see a rouzel!

-Red Grouse

As we progressed along the edge, not seeing any rouzels we did encounter a pair of birders. They told us that they had seen a few further down the way we were heading, and I had hope again.

In the vacinity where we were told we did finally connect with a Ring Ouzel. It was a brief view but I got to see that striking chest of a male. I followed it a couple of times but it was scurrying around the rocks and impossible to see without it seeing you first and flying off, so no photos, but 2 reasonable brief views.

That was about it for the birdlife. It would have been nice to get a photo but I'm happy with just seeing them, as they are fantastic birds. The guys I was with were not birders and for their sake it would not be fair if I had ran over chasing the birds for a better view, which I probably would have done were I on my own.

Species List:

Stanage Edge: Red Grouse, Meadow Pipit, Ring Ouzel, Common Buzzard, Mandarin, Kestrel, Mistle Thrush, Great Tit, Chaffinch, Woodpigeon, Jackdaw, Carrion Crow, Curlew, Mallard, Pied Wagtail, House Sparrow, Blackbird,

Padley Gorge NT

Finally free from the curse of exams I was free again to throw money away on public transport chasing birds beautiful areas. On today's agenda was Padley Gorge, but birds was not my priority. That today belonged to the green hairstreak butterfly that inhabits the moors and since it was such a lovely day I decided to go out to see if I could find them.

Things started well butterfly-wise, with numerous Small Heath fluttering around, along with a couple of Large White, Small Tortoiseshell and various moths, mainly carpet and micro moths, some looking very lovely.

-Small Heath

I wandered around the moors for sometime without luck on the butterfly front. On the bird front I managed to find a pair of Curlew, a lone male Stonechat and plenty of Meadow Pipits. That was the case for some time, all the while cuckoos singing from the plantations in front and from behind.

After a bit, exploring moors I had not been that was before. From this position I heard a call I was not familiar with, but very reminiscent of whitethroat. I found the culprit soon enough though, tracking down a stunning male Whinchat, a true stunner. Sadly it was a long way away, and it was very flighty, so I could not get close, and I struggled to get any really good shots, but it was a delight to see.

-Whinchat

It was on my stealth approach of this bird that I got what I had really wanted. Indeed, something green did fly past me, but it was not the butterfly, as finally... FINALLY... after 164 days I managed to see a Green Woodpecker. It flew past me as I lay there, a flash of green. Initially I thought mistle thrush, which are common here, but no, it was the bird that had left the largest blemish on my year-list. I finally managed it. It was only a flyby, but I managed a couple of awful shots. During my wanderings the bird flew past me 3 times, each time giving me a sense of relief and euphoria.

-Green Woodpecker

But that was not the end of what was quite a few minuets, as after the woodpecker departed and I continued to approach the increasingly distant whinchat, I heard a peculiar noise and turned around to see a pair of cuckoos in the tree behind having a squabble. Their stay was very brief as they left to continue their squabble elsewhere, and I was a little slow off the mark for photos, hence why the first one is very poor, but it shows all the cuckoo qualities in a blurred sense.

-Cuckoo

I needed a little while to catch my breath back after these encounters. So I settled under the tree where the cuckoos had been to see if the whinchat would return. It did not but there I noticed a red grouse moving through the heather quite close, but being very skulky and so difficult to photograph.

-Red Grouse

I waited for some time, but the bird did not return so I headed off towards the woods. On the way I called off at the tree where the Stonechats usually are, and I was not disappointed, with one male and one female bird showing, the male showing very well. As well as the stone chats there was a pair of Willow Warblers, which I think had a nest in the tree, so I decided not to approach too close.

-Female Stonechat and Willow Warbler

-Stonechat

Moving down to the forest edge I found one tree pipit singing, but the photos are not included here due to the fact that they add nothing to any previous photos and were not particularly good. As I wandered along the forest edge I spotted a cuckoo that had been resting in the birches. I tried to approach it multiple times but kept loosing it, and then it would fly off while I was still some way off. It sent a Wren absolutely bezerk, and no wonder, because as I was following the Cuckoo I found this lovely wren fledgling in the bracken.

-Wren Fledgling

Having tried and failed about 5 times to track it down, I eventually lost the cuckoo and so headed down into the woods for the specialties in there. Box 8 had been occupied last time I was here, but it was not the case this time, the birds clearly having moved on.

But not to worry as box 4 now had a pair of Pied Flycatcher in it, and they gave very good views once I had settled down. Again the light was an issue but I managed a couple of good ones. In this region there was also a male Redstart and a Goldcrest, the latter being a patch tick for me

-Pied Flycatcher

I decided to cut straight across to the redstart nest, but on the way encountered another nest, this time in a natural crack in a tree. It gave me my first proper views of a female redstart. The light was again too poor for decent photos, but I got a couple and the birds did show nicely, so I can not complain.

-Redstart

I continued up only to find that the box that had been occupied was occupied no longer. I get the impression that the birds must have fledged, as a little further up I found a pair of redstarts mobbing a squirrel, very aggressively, with the male even bombing the squirrel. The squirrel in question seemed completely uncaring, grooming itself on a branch while the birds were going bezerk all around it.

It was in this area that I found a Spot Fly, allowing me to improve on last times appalling photo effort. It did show well but was quite mobile and once again the light was poor. It is odd to observe that I only see these birds here individually, I wonder if they are later breeders than the others.

-Spotted Flycatcher

I returned up to the moors to see if I could track down any butterflies, but did not manage it. I also intended to go back to the whinchat and see if I could get any more photos. When I arrived he was very close to the path, but that was when I was some way down the path, and he did not stay there. I was about 50 meters away when he decided I was too close and he then moved off over the moors and I could not re-locate it.

I decided it was probably an idea to head off for the bus, but quite near to the river at the bus stop I tracked down another male whinchat singing. I had some time and so decided to approach. As I did a squat bird flew up from the shrub by side and landed in the tree next to me. I grabbed some shots, had a quick look and saw a faint red breast, so figured juvenile robin.

However, this bird was not a robin. When I got back and had a proper look I saw a white ring on the face, but it was faint and yet not as faint as I would expect in a juvenile Whinchat, but the white on the wings just visable in the photo below is a big giveaway, that this was indeed a whinchat sat in the tree next to me that I assumed was a robin.

-Whinchat

The male whinchat I had been initially tracking was not better behaved than the one I had seen before on the top moors. As a result I could not get close, despite my commando crawling. Needless to say I was unable to get any good photos, but I managed to double my Whinchat count for my life in a few hours, fancy that.

Species List:

Padley Gorge NT: Whinchat, Meadow Pipit, Curlew, Cuckoo, Redstart, Pied Flycatcher, Spotted Flycatcher, Blue Tit, Great Tit, Stonechat, Willow Warbler, Mistle Thrush, Green Woodpecker, Treecreeper, Tree Pipit, Goldcrest, Robin, Blackbird, Carrion Crow, Swallow, Swift, Woodpigeon, Red Grouse, Wren

Stanage Edge

Today was less of a birdwatching day, as I decided I would go with some friends from church for a walk in the peaks, since one of them had not been yet. She decided to do a walk from Hathersage to Stanage Edge so that she could get into the peaks.

Of course, Stanage Edge has breeding ring ouzels but it was rather early in the season so I did not see one. On the way up there was not much on the bird-front; Meadow Pipits, Curlew, Common Buzzard and smashing views of a Nuthatch pair, which were the highlights. 

Up on the top the weather, which had started nice, began to deteriorate, and the wind was certainly an issue, especially near the edge. The view was pretty impressive though, stunning views of the whole valleys, and this time I had the correct lens

-Stanage Edge

From the edge we decided to go to the Stanage Pole for lunch on the way we had our best birds of the day with good numbers of Red Grouse on the moors. They were reasonable to approach, but I still could not get that close so I only got a few shots

-Red Grouse

After lunch we began to make our way back home. The weather gradually got worse, the wind picked up, then it started to rain, and then finally it began to snow, and then the snow got worse. It was soon snowing pretty badly, with giant flakes. It made it very atmospheric, but since it had been blue sky when I awoke I was hardly prepped for this. Either way it was the first snow of the year, which was nice...

-Snow on Stanage Edge

After we left the edge though the snow died down and soon it returned to blue sky, which felt rather surreal. On the way down however I did manage to spot my only year tick of the day, a pair of mandarin. I heard a small peep in the valley on the other side of the road, so I wandered over and spotted two orange ducks flying up the river. Initially I thought they were wigeon, but after about a second I realised that was ridiculous and then it hit me what they were. They settled down on the river so I was able to get great views through the binoculars, but I had the wrong lens on so I managed no real record shots. Thats 90 species for the year.

So that was a nice climax for the day, a day in which we had been the victim of pretty much every form of British weather.

Ladybower Reservoir

  So yesterday ended my month stay at home and the return to my uni accommodation, where I would be welcomed by exams and continued revision. However, on the way back, instead of going straight there we decided to make a detour into the peak district for a walk and a meal.
  For the walk we went to Ladybower reservoir, though it was packed it being a Sunday and all. There was not really much going on except at the feeding station at the visitor center. Here there were large flocks of coal tits, chaffinches, great and blue tits but also about 7 rather bold siskins in striking plumage all at one feeder. They were great to watch because I could get so close to them.

  But aside from them there was not much else going on. Except while we were driving to the reser we drove over the moors and I spotted 2 red grouse, so I can safely add them to my year-list now.

Yorkshire Dales Day 4

Its been a while, but I will finally commence the write up of this day, one of the best days of my life. Its only a year late, but still very fresh in my mind.

So after my dad came back from his bike ride yesterday claiming to have seen black grouse this morning I was allowed to be dropped off at the same point and have a go at finding them for myself. I was dropped off on the moorland area past the fields and began my commence of trying to find a black grouse.

First bird I encountered was a lovely red grouse among the heather, looking rather fine.

-Red Grouse

I had hardly gone very far at all when the first major bird of the day showed its face in the form of a stunning male wheatear, my first of the year and looking lovely in full plumage. It seemed weird however to see it, a migrant, in the same area as snow.

-Wheatear

For some reason, even though I had only gone about 100 meters, to turn back to the road. Heaven only knows why but on the way back I spotted in the field across the road a redshank feeding on one of the over sized puddles

-Redshank

So for some reason I ended up wandering down this road back towards the farmland. I can't remember why, maybe my parents had text me telling me they had seen a black grouse down that way, I dunno, but either way I did and just as well, for I myself found a black grouse at the far side of a rather large field. The view was poor but there was no denying it.

I decided to risk trespassing and jump the gate to try and get closer, I made it quite close before the bird disappeared behind one of the many mounds in the field. Stealth would be required...

-Black grouse

I even had birds everywhere in this seemingly void environment during my stealth. I had lapwing and starlings overhead, the starlings in good numbers. The lapwing was probably a given in this kind of habitat but it was still nice to catch up.

-Lapwing

-Starlings

Like a boss I made my way round until the grouse was back in view. I however found another male in the neighboring field before I caught up with the original and decided to try and approach this one. I did not have much success with this and the bird quickly took flight but I got some more shots that I can use to prove my sighting and to enjoy in my retirement...

-Black Grouse

Rounding the side of the mound unfortunately involved the crossing of some lovely marsh. However, during the process of this I flushed a snipe, which was very nice to see, and they were drumming overhead too I began to notice. Today was the day that just kept giving, snipe drumming is one of my favorite noises.

-Common Snipe

I eventually made it round to where the black grouse was and was able to approach it reasonably well. At least in these shots its far more recognisable as what it is in all its finery.

-Black Grouse

Sadly, as is unusally the case with my clumsy birding style, I got too close and the bird took off and flew back in the direction away from the road. I decided to follow, since the other bird had gone that way too. The neighbouring field was more marsh than the first one, and as a result my feet got quite wet, but it was well worth it. I had snipe going up all over the place.

-Common Snipe

But it was not only common snipe going up. I was doing my best to track them where they landed but more and more kept going up. One bird however struck me as being a bit bigger than the others, and the photo below would suggest that I had flushed a woodcock. It seems to tick all the boxes, which was great, but I would have preferred to I.d it on site so I could enjoy it there and then.

-Woodcock

Moorland birds continued to go overhead, like lapwings and curlews, so here is a curlew photo...

-Curlew

But as I have said, I did not manage to I.d the woodcock on site, but there was another snipe species that I did manage to I.d. One bird, seemingly squatter than the rest went up, and on its back were 2 clear gold lines. I was very excited and rattled off some shots of it in the air to see if I could confirm it, the photos did indeed prove that I had found a lovely Jack Snipe, only my second ever

-Jack Snipe

I was probably more excited about this than the Black grouse, even though it was not a lifer. I abandoned the black grouse hunt to follow the snipe as it flushed and settled, in the hope I could find it by my feet as you so often hear stories told. I failed and decided to leave the poor bird in peace, since I had some shots of it. There were other marshland birds around too, such as a pair of graylag geese at the top of the field.

-Graylag geese

I made my way to the final field in this row of three, the final involved jumping some barbed wire fence, but hey, on the far side there were black grouse in good numbers. I was not really prepped for where the birds where, which was on the fringes of the far trees, while I was at the back of the near tree's. As a result the birds all went up before I even knew where they were. Thus follows a selection of shots involving Black Grouse in flight

-Black Grouse

Since I was in this field I decided to wander round to see if any birds had stayed behind, but they had not. There were very few birds in this area, more like what I had expected than what I had got. I then stupidly trod on a patch of snow and went straight through into a bog underneath, leaving me with flooded boots for the rest of the morning. Wonderful!

There were still some birds around, such as this meadow pipit on the fields fence 

-Meadow Pipit

I then had another crisis in that my phone died so I had no way to contact my parents when they returned. With this in mind I decided it would be a good idea to get back to the road so that I could see them when they did return. The return to the road was not as bird filled as the walk away from it, and I had very little around. 

Once at the road I decided to head up the road back to the moors where I had left so suddenly earlier. On the way I passed some of the farmhouses and on the roof of one was perched on oystercatcher looking chilled.

-Oystercatcher

On the moors there were no Black grouse but there were red grouse looking lovely and rather close too, so I took some photos of it next to the path for the record and so I can enjoy the photos when I will not be able to get out and see them.

-Red Grouse

Once more, my visit to the moors was brief and I was soon heading back down the road to see if I could find any more black grouse. On the way I got a smashing day tick with a lovely male reed bunting which was feeding in one of the fields next to the road

-Reed Bunting

I also got great views of lapwings, which were sitting inn the field closest to the road. I was able to enjoy watching them, and then they flew off, but still quite close.

-Lapwing

My walk down the road continued to give me species for the day, and just to show the diversity I have included a photo of what is without doubt the most common bird I saw today, a simple mallard, which I flushed from a dyke in one of the fields.

-Mallards

I returned to the field where the Black Grouse had been, but there were no birds outstanding in it. I decided it would still be safe to look round this field without missing my parents so decided to explore again. I got one for the mammals on my exploration with a brown hare which I spotted from some way off but ran away before I got very close

-Brown Hare

I wandered round the field with little else to show for it, however I had a look back into the snipe field and spotted another black grouse peeking out from the sedge's. This bird saw me as soon as I saw it though and dissapeared into the sedges afterwards.

-Black Grouse

I returned to the road after that was the morning was drawing on and I did not want to miss my parents on their return. However, at the road I got the sight of the day... a Black grouse, up a tree. And not a substantial tree either, more like an overgrown bush in all honesty. It was bizarre to see such a big bird on such a weedy tree, and gave me a chance to get some different shots

-Black Grouse

My parents returned after that and so that ended the rather successful black grouse hunt. A very enjoyable morning to say the least. However, it did not stop there as on the way back my dad offered to go round all the back roads on a quest for red legged partridges. Of course I said Please and with that we toured the farms looking for RLP's. And we were successful, with spotting a few pairs on a barren field. I got some nice shots of them, and was very pleased to have seen such charming birds

-Red Legged Partridges

But where we stopped there was more than just partridges as out from the hedge wandered a shellduck, an adult male and not what I had expected to see in this kind of environment. It seemed placid enough and was able to get some decent record shots.

-Shellduck

But even that was not the end, as when we got back in prep for going home the birdfeeder that has given so much this holiday gave a little more, as a female reed bunting showed up and began feeding. There was been some unusual birds on this feeder, and this may not top tree sparrow but it was certainly something special and a great end to the holiday.

-Reed Bunting