Warbling at Sculcoates

A sunny, warm morning with barely a breeze, I head to the patch hoping for some new warblers for the year. I'm not disappointed as in the usual prime spot I hear the first Whitethroat (number 89) of the year for my Hull list. Blackcaps, Chiffchaffs and Cetti's are also in full song. Again, three Cetti's in song along Barmston Drain, as a couple of weeks ago, appearing to be in their territory. I have a fleeting sight of one of them as it flies across the drain. As I return, I walk by the drain again, and from the cycle path bridge I hear a Reed Warbler (number 90), I even manage some photos. Not a bad day at the patch, with 37 bird species seen.

The first Blackbird fledgling of the year, by Beverley Road.

Whitethroat.

Goldfinch.

Jackdaw, one of three feeding on the playing fields.

A breeding plumage Little Grebe, I also hear trilling.

Blackcap in full song.

Pied Wagtail.

Long-tailed Tit.

Reed Warbler on reeds at Barmston Drain.

Brimstone on the Green Corridor.

Urban birds at Hull. 44. Cetti's Warbler

A species that is very hard to see, as it likes to skulk in dense vegetarion like reedbeds, brambles and thickets, usually near water. Despite these habits its explosive burst of a song, loud and piercing, which can also occasionally be heard in winter, makes it hard to miss where it is present. Cetti's Warbler are small birds with short wings and a medium length rounded tail. They have chestnut brown upper parts and grey underparts with a white throat and superciliary band. The tail is often kept cocked. They are not migratory.

This is a clip of their song:

Status and distribution in Hull

A recent colonist in the Hull area. Still scarce, but an increasing resident species. There is no mention of Cetti's Warbler in Richard Broughton's 'Birds of the Hull area', which indicates that there were no Hull area records before 2002. My own first Hull record is not until 16/05/2020, when a male sung by Oak Road, on the grounds of what was then CRODA. Several records from March to April 2020 came from the Willerby Carr area, but they didn't seem to have led to a population there. Since then, they have gone from strength to strength. What prompted me to write this post was to hear three singing males on territories along the Barmston Drain within my Sculcoates patch. Noddle Hill is the stronghold for the species in the area, with records for multiple males every year since 2021. There are also records from the Humber at Arco and St Andrew's Quay. The River Hull along Oak Road Playing fields and Oak Road lake have also yielded records in multiple years. A single record in 2023 came from an inaccessible site by the Western Cemetery which contains a ditch and small reed bed.

At Tophill Low, 13/12/2016.

Conservation

Cetti's warblers are currently expanding north through the UK with populations growing dramatically since the first colonisation in the early 70s in Kent. In East Yorkshire, the first confirmed breeding was at Tophill Low in 2006. They are now widespread along main lowland water bodies like the Humber, River Hull, drains and wetlands. Survival and expansion requires mild winters allowing individuals to obtain enough food -mainly small insects and other invertebrates - so they are a species benefiting from global climate warming. They are Green Listed and are not birds of conservation concern. In 2016 they were removed from the Rare Breeding Birds Panel.

At Alkborough Flats, 20/09/2021.

More information
BTO Bird Facts: Cetti's Warbler.

Tophill Low Blog. Download the 2006 bird report for details of the first Yorkshire breeding pair.

Note: I normally illustrate these Urban Bird posts with local photos, but I am yet to take a photo of this species in Hull, in fact the ones shown here are most of the ones I have of the species. Top shot: At Cley Marshes, Norfolk, 20/04/2017)

Pickering Park Wetland Bird Survey and the first hirundines

A mild, still and sunny morning, I carry out my belated April Wetland Bird Survey at Pickering Park. On the way there I get my first Swallow (number 87) at Hull, flying over Spring Bank, too fast for a photo. Blackcaps have now been settled for a few weeks and seem to be around in good numbers, unlike Song Thrushes, which I haven't heard from sites where they were regular before. At Pickering Park, some more hirundines, House Martins (number 88), the first of the year for me. Single Common Gull and Black-headed Gull remind me that the winter migrants have mostly left now. The Mute Swan pair are in full courtship and I manage to record the full sequence including mating and the final celebration. I wonder if they are completing their clutch now. 

Singing Collared Dove.

Mute Swan pair courtship.

The last Black-headed gull?

There are two basking terrapins on the dead tree, one is very small, the smallest I've seen. Although a small one might be a sign of breeding, it is possible that it has been released recently.

Four families of Greylags are gathering on one side of the lake.

A fresh Speckled Wood.

A crow flying up rattling towards the Buzzard below, it never reached it as the Buzzard drifted away.

Buzzard over Spring Bank.

Urban birds at Hull. 43. Bullfinch

 

Bullfinches are very distinctive birds if seen well, but they are quite shy and skulking in vegetation. Pairs often stay together. When individuals lose touch, one of them might perch in the open (top shot) calling. Their soft contact call, a mournful whistle, is the easiest way to detect them. Both sexes have a black cap, wings and tail, with a white wing band and white rump, and a silver back. Males have an orange-pink chest, whilst female's is brown. They have short and wide bills, reminiscent of a parrot's. Bullfinches feed on a range of vegetable foods, including seeds, which they extract from berries (including hawthorn, rowan and guelder rose) in the autumn and winter, flower seeds like dandelions and forget-me-nots, and buds in the spring. They will also visit bird feeders.

Female Bullfinch at bird table, Humber Bridge CP, 15/02/2016.

Bullfinches will also visit bird feeders. Here a male feeds on sunflower hearts, Sculcoates, 26/03/2023.

Status and distribution in Hull

Bullfinches are a scarce, but widespread resident species in Hull. They like old hedgerows and favour those along the disused railway lines (both Hornsea and Withernsea). They also like scrub and tangled banks with brambles, allotments and overgrown gardens. Good sites to watch them are the Sculcoates Cemetery, Noddle Hill, Foredyke Stream, and Rockford Fields.

A male Bullfinch feeding on bramble seeds, Stoneferry 09/01/2023

Female Bullfinch feeding on rowan seeds, 8/10/2024.

Feeding on green dandelion seed, Bridlington Avenue, 1/05/2023.

A Bullfinch fledgling at Noddle Hill, 22/06/2019.

Feeding on cherry buds, 28/03/2022.

Conservation and management

Bullfinch populations declined sharly in the early 70s. and declines continued until 2000, when populations started to rise and the species was downlisted to amber. Still, population size is about 50% what was in the early 70s. Agricultural intensification is suspected as contributing to the decline, but the causes are unclear. A regime of Hedgerow management more sensitive to wildlife should provide the food resources and breeding cover for the species.

More information

BTO Birdfacts. Bullfinch.

Allerthorpe Common with Hull Nats

A sunny, warm day outing with Hull Nats. I had hoped for adders, but it was late and very warm when we got to the YWT nature reserve,the last remaining area of heath left after the common was planted with conifers. In compensation, we had a pair of Ravens, croaking overhead, which apparently are regular, although not sure if they have bred.  Ravens seems to be slowly spreading east, so hopefully it won't be too long before they arrive at the Hull area. We also heard a Marsh Tit.

The luckiest of us had a fleeting view of a young adder, and most of us did see several lizards and a small Palmate Newt under a log. We checked the May Lily, a few plants with fresh leaves in the enclosure. The heath was bone dry, but Cross-leaved Heath and large tussocks of Purple Moorgrass were present.

The path on the edge of the plantation.

Nursery web spider.

May Lily

Common Groundhopper.

Lunch time at the heath. A lizard scurried away from the bench where we sat.

Wood Sorrel.

Raven.

Peacock.

Brimstone.

April at WIlberforce Wood and Noddle Hill

A frosty and cold morning with clear skies, I take the bus to Kingswood and walk along Wilberforce Wood to Noddle Hill. Wilberforce Wood is looking good, many birds in song including the first Willow Warbler of the year (number 85 of the 100 birds in Hull challenge, number 84 was a Woodcock fly over at Pearson park). Reed Bunting, Blackcap, Chiffchaffs, Robins and Great Tits and more all filling the soundscape. I flush a Green Woodpecker, which dives into the wood. At the Foredyke Pond I fail to see any signs of frog or toad spawn.

Frosty Wilberforce Wood.

Bullfinch.

Great Tit singing.

Reed Bunting singing.

Willow Warbler.

Song Trush.

A patch of Ground Ivy. There are many rabbits in that area and I wonder if they don't like Ground Ivy.

Rabbit.

This Willow Warbler has a 'pollen horn'. Several warbler species feed on nectar to refuel in short stop-overs during their spring migration, and they build up a crust around the bill as the sugary nectar sticks the pollen to the feathers around the bill. 

I carry on to Noddle Hill. On the playing fields, there is a Moorhen, not far from the Foredyke Stream, but looking oddly out of place. I haven't walked far along the stream, when I spot a Barn Owl hunting along the drain and one of the fields of the reserve, the light is just wrong for photos, but I manage some in flight record shots before it goes out of sight. 

Moorhen.

A Barn Owl hunting over the Foredyke Stream.

Grey Heron on one of the pools by the solar panel field.

A buzzard with very tattered wings.

A lone Lapwing on another pool.

Reed Bunting.

The first Blackcap I photograph this year, at the pumping station.

One of four Yellowhammers near the feeders.

Hare.

One of five Gadwall on the fishing pond.

One of the many highlights of the day is to find two Jays at the reserve, the first I see there. A Green Woodpecker was neighing non stop. And Just before I left, a singing Lesser Whitethroat, another year addition to the year challenge, number 86, and a fitting way to finish the trip. A total of 46 species for the day. As I walk back, it has noticeably warmed up, and butterflies are becoming active in the sunshine.

A view of Noddle Hill. 

Mating Speckled Woods.

Wilberforce Wood.