Wild at Hull: Warbler festival at Tophill Low

Tuesday 25 June 2013

Warbler festival at Tophill Low

I spent the morning at Tophill Low today. Driving in, on the approach road, I saw a roadkill rabbit and a very freshly dead Stoat near each other. I thougth about stopping to fetch the stoat, but a car was driving behind so I thought I'd do it on the way back. Unfortunately the stoat was completely flattened later, so I regretted not having stopped.
On the bright side, the reserve was looking positively fantastic today, so green and lush. The long grassy meadows by the side of O res were dotted with various orchids, Yellowrattle, Bird's foot trefoil, Oxeye daisies and many more. My last visit was in mid Marsh, so the difference was quite staggering.
I decided to head south this time and walk my way around O res.
At North Lagoon, tufted ducks, a Little Grebe a mute swan and a lone male Shoveler. We watched a Buzzard soaring for a long time, and then a Marsh Harrier passing by.A large cloud of Swifts flew low hunting quietly over O res. It is hard to represent in a photo the feeling of being surrounded by a large concentration of Swifts, but my best one is at the top. The background music in the reserve was provided by a veritable summer festival of warblers: Blackcap, Lesser Whitethroat, Whitethroat, Chiffchaff, and Willow, Reed and Sedge Warbler sung at some time or another all around. And I missed the Cetti's, that would have been great!
At Watton I watched the Terns and BH gulls on the raft. A few Sand Martins were present, and many moulting mallards with a couple or three Wigeon amongst them.
It was mostly cloudy, and I saw a single butterfly, a Meadow Brown.
After the round trip to the south part of the reserve (and after missing the back to back hides somewhow, I am not even sure I have been in them), I decided to press on and head north. I made my way through D woods trying not to step on the many Arion black slugs and various snails crossing the paths. The feeders were mostly quiet but for a singing Chiffchaff and a nervous Moorhen and young on the pond. I joined Dave Ware on N Marsh hide, where very quickly a Kingfisher made an appearance and sat on one of the perches. It hung around for a few photos and then dissapeared towards the river. On a second Kingfisher visit it looked shiny green, sitting on a different perch. After a bit of bobbing it prompting caught a fish and hit it a couple of times against the perch before swallowing it. Although my views were partly obscured by the vegetation, it was great to have such close views of a fantastic bird.
Just opposite were I was sitting a large, lanky heron appeared hunting on the shore. It looked very brown for a Grey Heron, especially the neck although it had grey shoulders. I think both Dave and I were wishing for it to become a Bittern, but after some debate we left it at Grey Heron. I was pleasantly surprised to find later that it was no less than a Purple Heron, year and country tick for me. The heron carried on hunting by the pond shore and we lost sight of it, not before Dave got some photos of it. Dave also pointed at a water vole disappearing amongst the reeds.
I moved to Helmpholme meadows, but other than the quartering Marsh Harrier early on, there was little on sight. A big contrast with the full of barn owls and little egret trip back in March.
On the way back through D woods, a couple of Treecreepers and a family of Long Tailed tits.