Wild at Hull: Migration time at Hedon Haven

Tuesday 16 September 2014

Migration time at Hedon Haven

A not so good forecast for the morning did not bode well for a trip to Hedon Haven, in the outskirts of Hull with Rob Jaques. It was drizzly, visibility was poor and the tide was almost at its highest point, so waders were almost either non-existent or non-visible. A flock of Swallows sat on a ploughed field awaiting better weather conditions. There were also many Meadow Pipits, and a few Yellow wagtails on the grassy bank path. The usual cormorants perched on the wooden posts on the Humber. we reached the haven itself. The drizzle quietly stopped and it warmed up. The swallows took flight and started to feed high as soon as the clouds lifted. The white retreats of Furrow spiders (Larinioides cornutus), glistening with dropplets of water, not all of them occupied, stood out from the dried seed-heads of docks.

We walked up Hedon Haven following the tide. Just a few mallard on the water and two teal. Robert spotted a Little Egret upstream (above shot), which was nice. We disturbed a young Roe Deer at the other side of the fence of the Salt End chemical works.

We crossed the haven and walked downstream. On the brownfield and concreted areas of the works, we spotted two Pied Wagtails and a Grey Wagtail.

On the way back a Wheatear fed on the field with Linnets and Meadow Pipits. A Flock of Golden Plover circled over, seemingly looking for the mud to reappear with the retreating tide.

While we had a bite by the little beach in Paull, a Sparrowhawk flew low over the bank and over the estuary, turning a corner over the ruined barges. It looked like it was a circuit it had practised before to surprise birds feeding on the shore.