A busy end to May

 I will not bore you with all the domestic jobs that have kept me busy in between bits of birding.

Sunday May 22nd and I was on duty at Blacktoft. My last visit was on May 1st and how the reserve had changed. The vegetation was greener and much higher and sedge warblers singing was the dominant noise.

The ponies were just waking up as I approached them. There was no water in front of Ousefleet hide, which is good as it allows the weeds etc to grow ready to feed the ducks this coming winter. A few tufted ducks and coots on the water on the scrape to the right of the hide.

Lots of avocets on my last visit to Marshland hide, just 2 today. Various predators had eaten the eggs so the birds had flown off to either Witton Sands or Read's Island.

A single shelduck was sat on the island. I presumed that the others were busy nesting. The barn owl returned to its box.

this red admiral landed on the sightings board

the tortoiseshell chose the path.

the woodpigeons were eating the elderberries

coots were busy feeding their young while cormorants had taken over the island in Singleton lagoon.

meanwhile back at home the young starlings are eating their way through 2 insect blocks a day.

Tuesday 24th of May I visited  North Cave Wetlands. I was sat in the East hide when Stuart joined me. After a few minutes I returned to the car and put on another layer of clothing, it was cold in the hides. I met Brian and Mike on my walk around the reserve. Not a lot to see on my walk around so I returned to my car and ate lunch. I then walked around the reserve again and this time I saw lots more wildlife.

Lots of black headed gull chicks

lots of butterflies enjoying the sunshine.

male reed bunting perched on the top of a hedge

grey heron looking for food

at last I managed to get a glimpse of  reed warbler, tick 171 for this year.

a chiffchaff along the west path.

On the way home I called in at North Duffield Carrs. 

Most of the water has now gone and not much activity on the scrape. The mute swans have left and I hope that they have managed to raise young. I decided to walk down to the Garganey hide. As I entered I saw a kestrel hovering just outside the hide.

Despite the lack of water I managed to log 25 species.

Wednesday the 25th and I went to Scarboro to see my grand daughter via Flamboro and Filey.

I hoped to catch up with a woodchat shrike which had been reported from the gorse field. I joined other birders on the edge of the car park. We were all wearing hats and coats as it was so cold. I spent a couple of hours there and saw 19 different birds but no shrike. The tawny owl was still at Filey Dams and had a list of 25 birds. After taking my grand daughter shopping I retuned to York. That evening I attended an indoor meeting organises by York RSPB Local Group. Before the meeting people had a chance to look at photos of previous group trips, as the group was celebrating its 50th anniversary. Alasdair McKee, the Local Groups officer for the North of England presented long service medals to four people and then he presented this painting to me.

Saturday the 28th and Sunday the 29th I was back on duty at Blacktoft. Similar list of birds for both days. In front of reception hide a family of mute swans often use the area to have a rest.

The sides of the ditch are quite steep and the cygnets struggle to climb it. As some of you may have seen on your visits, water voles feed in this area. The water voles make little tunnels in the bank of the ditch which lead to the area of grass. One cygnet could not climb up the bank so tried to use one of the tunnels made by the water voles, but it got stuck. The other three cygnets decided that they had spent enough time preening and sleeping and dropped back into the water in the ditch and swam off. Mum had to follow but did not want to leave the cygnet that was stuck in the tunnel. After she had swam after the cygnets Stu quickly went down to the area and rescued the cygnet.

He quickly put it into the ditch and he swam off to join the rest. About an hour later they returned and this time they all managed to scramble up the bank. The weather was not brilliant in the afternoon with lots of rain showers. In between the showers the sun shone and the birds became active. 3 spoonbills landed at Marshland.

Two of them had rings on their legs. I will try to find out where they were ringed.

From reception hide you can see an elderberry bush and birds often perch in there. During one of the showers a cuckoo landed in it..

Later on in the afternoon a pair of crows were perched on the bush when a marsh harrier flew across and dropped into the reeds at the edge of First lagoon. One of the crows then flew and started to attack the harrier, then a second crow joined in. A second marsh harrier then joined in.

While they were fighting a magpie flew into the reedbed and returned with something in its beak!

Watching Springwatch as I type this. The weather on Mull looks a lot better than it was on my visit.

 

Filey and Bempton.

Visit to the coast to take grand daughter shopping, so fitted some birding in before and after the shopping.

I arrived at Filey Dams about 1030 and found an empty car park. I started at the West hide and a quick scan through my bins showed lots of birds with young. The male mute swan was chasing everything away, even when the bird was not near its 5 young.

he frightened the canada goslings

The latest report is that the swan family has now re located to East Lea, but there are only 3 cygnets, so another 2 have perished.

coots were busy feeding their young. A male shoveler looked good in the bright sunshine

a pair of gadwall were happily feeding until a second male appeared

 after an hour I left the hide and walked towards the central hide. I was amazed to see that the car park was now full, but no one had come into the hide I had been in. Was there a special bird about?

Yes, lots of photographers had turned up to get a picture of this bird

a tawny owl.

From the central hide I saw 3 little egrets together

and a barnacle goose

on my walk to the East hide I heard and saw the following birds

from the hide I could only see some of the birds that I had seen from the other 2 hides. This carrion crow was on the look out for some food

Time to go to Scarborough and shopping. This did not take very long so I was able to do more birding, so decided to go home via Bempton.

a bit cooler than at Filey, so I was glad that I had a coat to wear. Lots of red campion on the reserve

it reminded me of a visit to Shetland when the spring squill was in full bloom. Lots of people had turned up hoping to see the albartross but it had gone out to sea. The gannets were the star of the visit as far as I was concerned.

lots of them were gathering nesting material

I have always assumed that gannets ritual of touching beaks was part of their pair bonding

but then a third bird arrived and the middle gannet started touching bills with it!

perhaps it has several meanings!

Some gannets argued

others were more friendly

fulmars were on the wing

kittiwakes were also gathering nesting material

another reminder of Shetland, Kittiwake Haa on Foula,

razorbills

I did not see any puffins on the cliffs but there were plenty flying at sea. I hope that the people on the cruise had good views.