Night Heron

 

A day out with Stu and Catherine. First stop was to look for a night heron. Stu found one almost as soon as we arrived.

A few heavily cropped photos

Seaton Snook was stop number 2. We were hoping to see roseate terns, but no such luck.

Common, little, arctic and sandwich terns. Sanderling, dunlin and ringed plover. Some of which were chased by some of the many dogs people were letting run loose on the beach.

RSPB Saltholme ws our final stop. No sign of the smew today, just 3 great white egrets and lots of black-tailed godwits were the highlights.

Another pleasant days birding, thanks to Stu and Catherine.

Last spoonbill walk.

 

This is the view from Lin Dike hide at RSPB Fairburn Ings this morning. Water levels are low so the birds are at the far end of the water. Seven adult spoonbills were busy feeding. 

Three of the 7 cattle egrets near the highland cattle.

The last of the spoonbill experience walks today. The first one was on June 24th and today was the 18th and last. 

Still young birds in their nest, Some stretching their wings as they get ready to fly and leave the nest.

There are nest at various stages. The young have left some nests, while today we could see the young in two nests. Once they leave the nest the young "teaspoons" are dependant on their parents for food for another few weeks, by then they will have developed the skill of catching food for themselves. The birds will start to disperse after that. Some will remain in the area, while others will slowly travel south as winter approaches. RSPB Arne is a favourite place for some birds over winter, some will cross the Channel. With the wild fires raging in Europe it will be intersting to see if the birds cross the Mediterranean in their search for food and shelter.

I have enjoyed meeting the 200+ people I have met on the walks and look forward to seeing them again next spring when we start the walks again when the Grey herons and Cormorants start to nest.

Birding around Hartlepool

 

My only free day this week so decided to spend it birding around Hartlepool. I arrived at 8am and started with a couple of hours seawatching.

It was high tide at 0830 so I was hoping to see birds fairly close to the shore. Sadly not to be. Lots of herring gulls, cormorants and eiders were close but other birds were a bit further out. A red throated diver was preening not too far away and 4 common scoter were viewable through my binoculars. Everything else was a telescope job. 3/4 of the way to the horizon lots of gannets were plunge diving into the sea and an equally distant manx shearwater skimmed the waves. Sandwich terns were vocal as they went fishing and an arctic skua attacked one of them. After 2 hours I had a walk around the headland. More eiders and a few turnstones on the shoreline.

This was as close as I got to the Pilot pier as there were several fishermen on the end sitting on the wall, so I guessed that there would be few if any birds about.

A few ringed plover, turnstones and oystercatchers at Newburn bridge.

This young gull was in trouble. The incoming waves were too strong for it and it was fored into the rocks by the force of the sea.

For a few minutes all I could see was one of its wings as the sea trapped it between some rocks. However it managed to hop onto a rock and get away from the incoming sea.

Seaton Carew was my next stop.

Lots of little terns on the beach until the lifeguard put his flags there and they flew off. A few birds came back to the fenced off area to feed their young.

I managed to spot a young tern chick.

Saltholme was my next stop.

A great white egret from the Phil Stead hide.

It had a red ring on one of its legs.

In the evening 3 friends and I went to Sutton Bank visitor centre to look for turtle doves.

Great spooted woodpecker and jays were about as were collared dove, wood pigeons and lots of chaffinches. Eventually we saw a turtle dove in a tree above one of the feeding stations. It then flew down onto a fence.

We saw a turtle dove in 3 locations, heard them purring and saw them glide in flight, a perfect end to a long days birding.

Bearded reedlings everywhere.

 

My view from Marshland hide at 0745 this morning. All the white dots are spoonbills.

I counted 16 birds, some feeding while others rested. A mixture of adults and young birds, how many I wondered came from Fairburn?

Cormorants, greylag geese and mallards on the water, plus various waders.

On the mud at the bottom of the reeds were bearded tits. They were on the mud on every lagoon. They were a fair distance away, but allowed the visitors an opportunity to see them. 

These were some of the 35 I counted from the hide at Singleton.

I visited 5 hides and counted just over 100 beardies.

Time to open the visitor hide. A very day with lots of visitors, who all went away happy having seen the spoonbills, beaded tits, spotted redshanks, ruff, greenshank, green sandpipers and black tailed godwits.

Spoonbill feeding time

 Spoonbill experience walk number 10 and I took my camera today, We were able to see the young birds in one nest reasonably well as they are growing quickly. Will they still be in the nest for my last 2 walks next weekend?

Feeding three young must take a lot of effort. I wonder if the adults have been to RSPB Blacktoft Sands searching for food.

Before the walk I spent an hour in the Pickup Hide. Lots of activity from young birds.

Blacktoft Sands tomorrow.

Cattle egret at North Duffield Carrs

 Harvest time and the farmer is busy collecting all the bales of hay. Just a young coot and 2 female mallards on the scrape.

2 red kites were gliding over the area looking for any prey caught up in the harvesting. One kite spotted something on the ground.

 across the river cattle were grazing and a cattle egret was busily feeding on the insects they disturbed.

Some of the cattle did not like the bird and chased it away.

Another spoonbill experience walk tomorrow.