Birding around Hartlepool

 Decided to spend the last day of  meteorological spring birding in Cleveland. I arrived at Hartlepool Headland at 8am and joined another birder looking out to sea. Lots of common scoters, tick number 173 for the year, flying north. Gannets, cormorants and eiders also on the sea.

As I walked around the headland I saw lots of cormorants and eiders sat on rocks.

The tide was going out and I assumed that the birds had spent high tide on the rocks. Lots of kittiwakes around the lifeboat station. Newburn Bridge had no birds at all as the tide was well out. Seaton Carew was my next stop where I spent a very pleasant hour talking to Derek, who was the warden on the little tern colony. He had counted 73 birds when he first arrived.

The area is well fenced off to protect the nesting birds. A nice bird for year tick 174. This lapwing was the only bird by the side of the road leading to North Gare car park.

This orchid was growing in a field alongside the Zinc road

the kestrel was looking for its lunch.

As high tide had past there were no seals to be seen from the viewing point and to my disappointment there we no terns on the tidal pool. 

Dormans was my next stop where I added great white egret to my year list. The two birds were near the hide but were on the other side of a 5 bar metal gate and not easy to see.

 Phil Stead hide at Saltholme was next. It was starting to rain as I entered the hide. Light conditions were poor.

Little egret and squabbling avocets kept us entertained until a bittern walked along the outside of the reedbed.

Bottom Saltholme pool was my last stop of the day. From the top deck of the hide I could see 4th tick of the day , a glossy ibis. From downstairs there were lots of birds to be seen. Avocets

the adults were chasing a pair of adult little ringed plovers, who were only trying to protect their own young. A pair of common terns were sat close to the hide.

On the water a fair distance away a little gull  was sat on the water

it did a circuit of the water before settling back on the water, tick number 5 for the day and 177 for the year.

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.