Bonny Donny

Bittern

Frightening a Coot - shame there aren't more flying Bitterns!
Jay
Lesser Redpoll

Lesser Redpoll

Magpie

Old Man's Beard

Wigeon

Fly Agaric

A Posh Relative of Turkeytails?

One for David & Brenda!

Although still full of cold, and feeling like anything but going outside, today's sessions went ahead as planned. The Jays and rats were amazing at Willow Pool though we just missed a Water Rail (am) & a Bittern (pm) when apparently it came out of the small reedbed in front of the hide & then walked all the way along the bank in full view for several minutes! We did see Willow and Coal Tits here. There was plenty to see in the morning, but the highlight was the Bittern, which came out of a reedbed & posed for 5 minutes. The afternoon was a lot quieter, but was saved by the 12 or so Lesser Redpolls and a single Siskin in the old car park. This was the best venue we've visited for fungi this autumn. Although the Kingfisher refused to appear for the first time in living memory, no one went home diasppointed. The long drive was well worth it

Going Underground

Bullfinch

Bullfinch
Treecreeper
Coal Tit

Record shot of a Goldcrest

Cream-spot Ladybird

Common Ink Cap

Shaggy Ink Caps - delicious, according to 2 of today's participants

Fairy Caps

Bracket Fungus

Sculptural Sycamore roots

What to do when confronted with allegedly gale force winds? - we did the equivalent of going underground. At least here we could find some passerine birds as the strong winds blew over the top of us. Gwyneth had the best view of a Treecreeper she'd ever seen. We saw several Bullfinches around the reserve in the morning, but had a fairly long wait at the feeding station. In the afternoon the Bullfinches couldn't be found in the reserve, but seconds after putting some seed on the table a Bullfinch flew into the Hawthorn bush just above me. These were the best views anyone had previously enjoyed of this species. Liz (pm) found a cracking (blue-headed) male Kestrel in habitat usually thought more suitable for Sparrowhawks. The Goldcrests were more confiding in the afternoon, and both sessions had great views of families of Long-tailed Tits. The Kingfisher we saw last time we visited was absent, probably because there was some conservation work going on around the pool. There was quite a lot of different species of fungi to be seen, and that's despite the lack of available mature trees. Hope the weather improves soon!

Left Out to Dry - I wish!

All pics for today's post (c) 2009 Aileen Urquhart

Little Grebe Great Crested Grebe

Shoveler

Shoveler - standard view

The forecast for today was pretty foul, so we had to abandon our trip to look for possible Rough-legged Buzzards & went to our standby bad weather location. However, the weather was even fouler than expected, although luckily the wind had dropped. On the way here in a small pond near the village church, Anthony identified a Goosander. In the circumstances the class were given the option of driving to the first hide, which the majority accepted! We were able to watch a Little Grebe swimming underwater & catch a fairly large fish, and a Great Crested also swam close by. We had 4 different sightings of Green Woodpeckers, which probably means there were at least 2 birds, but that's as accurate as we can be. A female Bullfinch flew along Dryham Lane, whilst a pair were round the back of the reserve in the afternoon, when the rain had abated & we were able to do a full circuit of the reserve. The morning session drove back to the main parking area & walked in the rain to the largest hide. The best bird here was a Ruff, hiding among Redshank, but we also saw plenty of Snipe & the usual duck species. The Ruff stayed long enough for everyone to note it's salient plumage detail, before it flew off with some Redshank. Again, there were some Barnacle Geese, and hybrids among the Greylags feeding on an unharvested potato crop. There was a riot of Honey Fungus along the main track to East hide. The weather was drier in the afternoon, but it became quite dark, so it wasn't always easy to pick out ID features - again there were plenty of Snipe hiding away, but also small flocks circling the reserve from time-to-time. A small flash of water has appeared on the potato field, which may be worth checking (if it remains) for interesting waders. Hope this crummy weather improves soon.

A Bridge Not Too Far

Bearded Tit (c) 2009 Michael Flowers

Bearded Tit (c) 2009 Michael Flowers
Bearded Tit (c) 2009 Michael Flowers
Bearded Tit (c) 2009 Michael Flowers

All remaining pics (c) 2009 Maurice Gordon

Bittern

This morning's session started very well if you consider one chap waited 5 hours one day, and 3 hours another day to try & see the Bearded Tits, and failed to see them. This morning's group waited a princely 8 minutes! They were still around at lunch time, when I tried to see if I could get some pictures. Unfortunately, they failed to show for the afternoon group who waited 45 minutes without success. However, the afternoon group had compensation in the form of a Bittern which showed very well for c10 minutes right at the end of the afternoon. On either side of these highlights we also had Kingfisher, Cetti's Warbler (heard only), a flying Great Crested Grebe, a Lesser Repoll (pm), Redwing, and large numbers of Pochard, Shoveler, Tufted Duck, Long tailed Tit, with individual sightings of Great Spotted Woodpecker, Reed Bunting, Goldeneye, Redshank, Snipe etc.

What Bad Weather?

Green Woodpecker (c) 2009 Tony Robinson

Whooper Swan (c) 2009 Maurice Gordon
Rook

Rook

Juvenile Moorhen

The weather forecast had been pretty dire for today, so the trip to Brough Haven was altered to North Cave Wetlands. In all we saw 48 species in the morning, but most of them were pretty ordinary. A Siskin flew over the car park before the morning session started. A Kingfisher whistled & took off from the side of Carp Lake & flew towards South hide. We later saw a flock of 30+ Snipe flying high, but failed to see that they had been flushed by a Peregrine! There were plenty of the expected wildfowl, but all pretty run-of-the-mill. The afternoon session had better sightings of the Bullfinches, and eventually had good views of the 3 Whooper Swans which flew off north. The Snipe seemed to have returned to the lake in front of Turret Hide as we saw at least 10. In the little hide back towards the car park a female Green Woodpecker flew past and landed close by, and gave several participants the best views of this species they’d ever enjoyed. It was a fitting climax to the day – and we completely escaped any strong winds or precipitation.

A Bit Crowded!

Just some of the 8000+ Golden Plovers

Brent Goose - unusual at this location

The Golden Plovers gave a great display for both sessions. The reason for the swirling, dancing, pulsating masses of birds during the morning was a female Sparrowhawk. She flew low over the mudflats on 2 occasions, and seemed completely uninterested in the plovers. There was no discernible reason in the afternoon for similar balletic displays. The solitary Brent Goose was an unusal sighting at this location. At least 3 Little Egrets were present, as well as plenty of Redshank, Curlew, Teal, Dunlin, and around 20 Black-tailed Godwit. Skylarks were in evidence, as were a pair of Stonechat, some Meadow Pipits, and a Reed Bunting. A pair of Mute Swans with one elderly youngster were on the car park pond, as was a single Little Grebe, but there were 2 more on the strays - not far from the single Wigeon. The morning group just missed a Barn Owl. It was good to get back to the car park before the foul weather arrived!

Sorry, More Kingfisher Pics!

Bog Standard Kingfisher (c) 2009 Michael Flowers Rear View (c) 2009 Michael Flowers
Entering the Water (c) 2009 Michael Flowers
Hovering (c) 2009 Aileen Urquhart
Flying (c) 2009 Tony Robinson
Little Owl (c) 2009 Tony Robinson

Long-tailed Tit (c) 2009 Michael Flowers

Great Spotted Woodpecker (c) 2009 Aileen Urquhart

[Very] Shaggy Ink Cap (c) 2009 Aileen Urquhart

The Kingfisher performed for both sessions again today, but came closer to the hide in the morning. We almost certainly saw a Cetti's Warbler in the afternoon, but both sessions saw a Smew (Red Head). Other birds seen were pretty much as expected, although the 11.10 am Barn Owl was a bit of a surprise after a dry and still night. A Bullfinch was heard, as were many Goldcrests. Golden Plovers & Lapwings flew over, and one participant had a close encounter with a Buzzard on a building. Unfortunately, he doesn't have a camera! This was our first visit to this location, which failed to secure a view of a Treecreeper. Wildfowl seen: Goldeneye, Wigeon, Shoveler, Gadwall, Tufted Duck, etc. 39 species in the morning with Buzzard & Cetti's extra for the afternoon, plus Tony & Miles had a Little Owl in their lunch hour! The afternoon session was marked 10/10 by Carol.