A walk from the Humber Bridge to Hull along the Humber

I wasn't planning a particularly long walk today, but I ended up catching a train to Hessle and walking from the Humber bridge to Hull along the Humber. A lovely, sunny and mild day, the breeze was westerly, the Humber pink and blue, the tide low. The first highlight was a pair of Mistle Thrushes on the grassy bank of the foreshore, the Humber Bridge as a backdrop.

Mistle Thrush.

Common Gull.

Mallard.

Lesser Black-backed Gull.

I walk around the Fleet Drain, where there is a lone Redshank. Then I make my walk around the industrial units following the public footpath to reach the Humber again.

Redshank at Fleet Drain.

Looking back towards the Humber Bridge.

Soon I'm within the Hull City limits. I walk onto the saltmarsh and lift a few logs. Soon I find a few Dun Sentinels, marsh snails that live in saltmarsh, emerging at high tide and retreating under flotsam and jetsam at low tide. The grubbing at the tideline also gives me a few invertebrates, and I find two spiders sunning themselves on a fence. A bumblebee zooms past.

Dun Sentinel, Assiminea grayana.

Some millipedes.

Jumping spider, Salticus sp.

I reach the Makro brownfield site and look west towards the expanse of mudflat. Two Redshank and finally, a Curlew (number 79 for the 100 bird species in Hull challenge) are feeding high up near the reeds.

Redshank.

Curlew, the first of the year.

I continue across the Makro site, not lingering too much. A Linnet sings from atop an elder and two crows chase a Kestrel.

Linnet.

Kestrel.

A view of the Makro site.

I carry on by St Andrews, the Albert docks and return to the station by the marina.

Wilberforce Wood, Foredyke Green and Noddle Hill in February

I take the bus to Kingswood for a morning visit to Noddle Hill, the relative calm after the storm of yesterday, it is a mild day with brief sunny spells. I added Pink-footed Goose (number 77) yesterday morning, as six flew over Pearson Park, and today I added a frustrating Lesser Redpoll (number 78) as three moved calling around Alders and Birch at Wilberforce wood as I made my way to Noddle Hill, but I was unable to find them again.

A displaying female Sparrowhawk near Kingswood ASDA.

Siskin with Goldfinches by the temporary pond at Wilberforce Wood. The pond was full.

The permanent pond at Foredyke Green. Not overflowing like last year, it is possible to walk around it.

One of several Rabbits at Foredyke Green.

Roe Deer buck with new antlers in velver coming through.

This plump frog in the middle of the path up Foredyke Stream was my first amphibian of the year.

I flushed a Kingfisher near the pumping station, but I was unable to relocate it. As I photographed a Reed Bunting I noticed a Barn Owl, perched on a hawthorn. It is unusual for Barn Owls to hunt in the day, but they do if they have been unable to hunt the previous night, which might well have been the case, as it was raining most of it. It watched me for a bit, before getting on with trying to spot breakfast on the ground, until a Carrion Crow spotted it and chased it away.

Barn Owl.

Tree Sparrows, Linnets and a Yellowhammer were at the feeders. I saw a small raptor with the sun in my eyes, being chased by crows, but unsure what it was. Skylarks were singing from the fields, but no signs of Lapwing.

Urban birds at Hull. 40. Red Kite

There are few raptors as distinctive as a Red Kite. Their forked tails and narrow, strongly patterned wings and brick red back and chest, with contrasting pale head are very obvious even from long distances. Red Kites were an abundant species in the Middle Ages, when they were scavengers in cities. In the 16th century, they were regarded as vermin, and bounties paid for them, eventually resulting in their near extinction in the UK. The last historical Red Kites near Hull was seen in Market Weighton in 1850 probably a continental vagrant, the species having declined and become locally extinct since. In 1989 they were reintroduced to the Chilterns, with later releases in additional areas, including at the Harewood Estate in Yorkshire. The reintroduction attempt was highly successful and the species has gone from strength to strength. They were Green Listed in 2015, with many Red Kites being fed in private gardens.

Red Kites at Kiplingcoates YWT NR. 8/08/2015.

At the Warter Estate roost, 12/03/2017.

Status and Distribution in Hull

In the Birds of the Hull area, Richard Broughton tells the story of one of the reintroduced birds from the Harewood Estate in West Yorkshire. One of the released birds, tagged Orange/Black 4, moved east, and on the 3rd of November it was seen near Cottingham, at Risby Park, with an untagged bird. In early 2000, four Red Kites wandering the area between Hull and Beverley. These were the first modern records of Red Kites in East Yorkshire. Breeding was soon proven in the Wolds and a population is now well established there, with other pairs scattered around the Hull valley. Unlike other raptors, Red Kites roost socially. The main one in East Yorkshire is in the Warter estate, where several dozen individuals can be seen as they come to roost.

Most Red Kites seen in Hull are likely wanderers from the Wolds and Hull Valley breeding populations. I've got just nine records of Red Kites at Hull, the first one in April 2017, flying over Bricknell Avenue, and two with a Buzzard on August of the same year. Most records are from the first half of the year, with a peak in March and April (one of them, an individual over Princes Quay in 2023). They can be seen anywhere over Hull, and with established populations not far from Hull, it is likely that sightings will become more regular in coming years.

A Red Kite flying over Sculcoates Lane, 2/04/2021. Likely the same individual had been seen earlier over Cottingham and was later seen in N Lincolnshire.

Conservation

Illegal persecution is an issue in some Grouse Moor estates in Yorkshire. They can also become secondarily poisoned by feeding on rats killed with rodenticides.  

More information

BTO Bird Facts Red Kite.

Broughton, Richard K. Birds of the Hull Area.

Nelson, T.H. . 1907. The Birds of Yorkshire : Being a Historical Account of the Avi-Fauna of the County. Vol. 1. London: A. Brown.

Yorkshire Red Kite Reintroduction. A dedicated website with a lot of information.

A bracing Bempton Cliffs with Hull Nats

 

Despite the challenging conditions, with a Yellow Wind alert for most of the day, we went ahead with the planned field trip. There were increasingly stronger winds and later drizzle that stung like hail. Overall, we had an excellent day. There were plenty of auks on the cliffs and on the sea, and Gannets and Fulmars were also assembled on their nest sites. The softer light than in the summer, aided with photography, and I was pretty pleased with some of my photos today, including the Guillemot above.

Razorbill pair.

Razorbill flap.

A bridled Guillemot by Bartlett Nab. We saw two. From this viewpoint we watched some porpoises too, but I was unable to take any photos as they were surfacing very briefly.

Herring Gull.

A fencing pair of Gannets.

Fulmar.

Fulmar pair.

Peregrine over Filey Bay.

We sheltered from the relentless wind on he lower stage of Jubilee Corner. The flock of feral pigeons were being regularly fushed and the reason soon became apparent with a Peregrine powering after them. We witnessed no catch but wathching a hunting peregrine is always exhilarating. At that stage, we were all hankering for lunch and a hot drink, so we headed for the visitor centre. While we had lunch, we met with the RSPB site manager Dave O’Hara and birder extraordinaire Will Scott, who were kind enough to show us a woodcock in The Dell. Will has a thermal monocular, which facilitated the task enormously. Even when we knew where the woodcock was sitting, its amazing camouflage made it so tricky to spot! 

I took a photo of the view with the thermal monocular, the hot spot of the Woodcock under the gorse is very obvious.

Can you see it?

I have centred the Woodcock's eye in this photo to make it easier to spot.

After the woodcock we watched the feeders for a while. The RSPB volunteers had gathered there, sheltered from the cold and wind. Some of our members wanted to try for Shag, so we headed towards Staple Newk. We watched Razorbills slow flapping and then whirring wings as they left their nests, which was something I have never witnessed before, maybe to do with the wind? Two members who persisted a bit longer managed to photograph some Shags at sea, so it was only Puffin and Kittiwake that we missed from the breeding sea birds at Bempton, not bad for a February visit, and also, a good excuse to visit Bempton later in the year!

Pickering Park WeBS February

A sunny, mild day with a spring-like feel, I head towards my monthly Pickering Park Wetland Bird Survey. On the way, I find the leucistic male blackbird by Greggs, I'm glad it is still there. It is doing the slow chasing with another male blackbird and it appears to win.

Leucistic Blackbird.

As I watch some Carrion Crows posturing, slow flying and calling I notice a raptor, it's a Red Kite! (number 76 of the 100 birds in Hull challenge). I will blog about Red Kites in Hull in the next Urban Birds at Hull post.

Red Kite, flying south west over Boothferry Road.

Canada Geese on the playing fields. There are no Goosander at the lake, but the Mute Swans are busking around the lake, chasing geese. The female even busks towards me from the middle of the lake, while I record a video, and gives me a mock wing flap!

A magpie picking nest material.

Song Thrush singing.

A male Great Spotted Woodpecker drumming, another responding in the distance.

Goldcrest.

A Lesser Black-back Gull, one of a pair, the second I see this year.

The Lesser Black-backed Gull.