Wild at Hull: A busy morning at North Cave Wetlands

Monday, 10 September 2012

A busy morning at North Cave Wetlands

I had the chance to go birdwatching this morning without children and I thought that a site with hides would be ideal - kids have very little patience for hides, and there is always fights for binoculars. I settled for North Cave Wetlands. It was a bit breezy, but quite mild and, although overcast, there were a few brief sunny spells.
I had a long stop at East Hide. There was an enormous mixed flock of Greylag and Canada, with one or two hybrids, a few white ferals and a lone Barnacle Goose. Skeins of geese landed on the water and then all flocked close together, honking non-stop. Lapwings were also in abundance, their squeaking noises reminded me of a frog in distress. A Little Grebe pair with two young fed near the raft, and many ducks in eclipse could be seen. A Snipe flew by, the first I see this year, but there were more to come.
I moved then to Turret Hide, my favourite, as it is surrounded by wetlands with islands and grassy beaches and the views are fantastic. There was plenty to watch, including a group of shy Pink Footed Geese, kindly pointed to me by a young birdwatcher. An immature Common Tern fished around, while a couple of Jackdaws sat on the perches, trying to impersonate Cormorants. On the islands, Common Pochards, a Wigeon and many Shovelers in eclipse. A little flock of six Snipe fed on a grassy beach and a Kestrel hunted over a nearby field. There were also many Gadwalls and the males looked like they had their new plumage on.
Finally, I headed for South Hide, which was disapointing at first, after the hustle and bustle of the previous hides. A pair of Great Crested Grebes, some Pochards and Tufted ducks and a few Pied Wagtails. Then a Little Grebe started hunting by the hide, and the angle of the light was such that I could see it while it was hunting underwater.
Not the highest species count of a visit to NCW, but the second best and what a lovely morning.