A morning walk in the cemetery

A Sunday morning walk in the General and Western cemetery. I'm hoping for Mistle Thrush and have fingers crossed for Jay.

A Jackdaw pair was just opposite my house, inspecting chimney pots, unsuccessfully.

A commotion of angry calls of crows and magpies led me to discover this male Sparrowhawk in the cemetery.

A singing Mistle Thush (63). I also had a fly-over Siskin (64).

Hull City Nature Challenge - Day 3 - KC Stadium railway triangle, Noddle Hill

I got nice and early and I was ready to go, only to realise I had stupidly forgotten to charge my phone overnight, which meant waiting for half an hour for it to charge before leaving the house. My plan was to head to the KC stadium triangle via the General Cemetery, then to Albert Dock. Not encouragingly it was cloudy and drizzling intermittently. 

I love to record Convalaria majalis, it reminds me of my mum, one of her favourite plants! Small and beautifully formed.

I was up for a lovely surprise as I hadn't even got inside the cemetery when I heard the song of a Treecreeper. This species can be very hit and miss, despite being resident at the cemetery. I recorded the song and then even managed a few record shots. A good start for the day!

I found a great illustration of rewilding at the cemetery (top shot), the Ivy and the Sycamores hugging a headstone, with the lush growth of Cow Parsley on the ground. But must concentrate on recording.

After a good search, I managed a single individual of Discus rotundatus under a log. They don't seem to be doing well, maybe the dry summer and autumn has meant their hiding spaces have declined. The cemetery is one of their hotspots in Hull.

The Wood Anemone, its last flowers all ragged, was hard to find, hidden by the incredible plant growth on the cemetery verges.

I moved to the KC stadium triangle, my aims were Rabbit, Kestrel and Long Tailed Tits, which had evaded me so far.

Rabbit was pretty easy, I found a young one right away, feeding with relish on the fresh growth of Giant Hogweed!

Giant Hogweed on the foreground and KC stadium on the background.

A carpet of Cowslips.

I briefly saw a Kestrel, but it didn't reappear and I got no record.

A view of the site from the mound, currently a Rabbit warren.

Chiffchaffs, Blackcaps and Whitethroats were singing. The scrubby area by the railway line was favoured by Linnets and a singing Sedge Warbler, which I failed to see.

Singing Linnet.

Singing Song Thrush.

The Long-tailed tits were very busy moving back and forth between a patch of brambles and some Sycamores, obviously feeding chicks. I failed to take any photos of them and they were quiet so sound recording wasn't an option. After a long wait, I decided to try and find the nest. I pointed my binoculars to the area where they were getting into the brambles, and luckily found it right away as the nest opening was facing me. My camera zoomed in to the entrance, it was a matter of waiting for an adult to return to get a photo. The Long-tailed Tits nest is very distinctive, so it alone could have made a record. After getting some photos, I left the Long-tailed tits to their busy feeding schedule and moved on. 

Long-tailed tit entering the nest with food.

The beautifully camouflaged, lichen-covered nest.

This Rabbit posed for me for a while.

Male Linnet collecting nest material.

My phone charge was getting low, so I headed back for lunch and a battery recharge at home via Princes Avenue. I made a stop at the Church on the Way to record some ferns, which were looking very fresh.

Wall Rue

Hart's tongue fern.

Maidenhair Spleenwort.

I was meeting MM after lunch for a trip to Noddle Hill Local Nature Reserve. I have blogged quite a bit about this wonderful suburban reserve, a haven for warblers. Blackcaps, Whitethroats, Lesser Whitethroats and Willow Warblers were recorded quickly, as was this Yellow-bellied Slider swimming in the pond.

Roe Deer.

I wanted to record Tree Sparrows, but the hedge at the pumping station where I usually find them up to two months ago had been completely removed. The removal of the hedge revealed these three old nest boxes, one of them without a roof. To my knowledge, this was the last area where Tree Sparrows nested in Hull. The species is Red Listed, and also in the Biodiversity Action Plan of Hull. We can't even give them a hedge and some decent nest boxes, so sad.

Reed Bunting.

Raptor wise we had Kestrels, two Buzzards and two Marsh Harrier flyovers, a species I wasn't expecting to add to the challenge. Yellowhammers are regular there but we missed them too.

Buzzard.

Marsh Harrier.

We walked on the north side of the reserve, and flushed a Fox without getting a photo, a Little Egret flew past and after an enjoyable chat with a very knowledgeable local, we managed a recording of a singing Cetti's Warbler. A nice bunch of species added to the challenge.

A walk in the General Cemetery

A Sunday morning short walk today around the General Cemetery. Just as I arrive I spot a Jay, causing some commotion among the small birds. It poses nicely on a branch for me. Later I see two near Chanterlands avenue, their long crest blowing in the breeze.

Jay, the breeze from its back kept blowing its crest.

Jays.

The Cemetery is a great site for woodland birds. I found a single singing Blackcap and a Chiffchaff along the railway line. A Woodpecker was drumming and chipping. Two Goldcrests were around a yew.

Sparrow calling from a roof on Perth St.

Another cemetery special, Stock Doves take advantage of large trees with holes.

On my way back I spot a Sparrowhawk. It is moving deliberately along a tree top, and eventually it picked a branch and flew to an Ivy-covered tree. I found the male in a branch nearby, he was watching the female intently, showing the fake eyespots at the back of its head. I have kept the last photo even if it is not focused to show the white spots on his back, showing its a young male.

Female Sparrowhawk.

Female Sparrowhawk. Note the fluffled out white feathers under its tail.

Female Sparrowhawk with stick.

Male Sparrowhawk, note false eyespots. A particularly dark individual.

The spotted back of the sparrowhawk indicates a young male.

Urban birding in Hull: General and Western Cemetery in February

I usually go for a walk to the Hull General Cemetery on Sunday mornings. It is very muddy at the moment, but it is usually a great place for a socially distanced walk with a soundtrack of bird song. It was overcast but mild today, with barely any wind. I kept an eye on the grass, hoping to see some Redwings, but they were none. A Song Thrush and a Mistle Thrush, amongst many others, were in song. I approached a Yew and, from its dark depths came the thin high pitched song of a Goldcrest, I got to a second Yew and a second Goldcrest singing! I crossed Chanterlands Avenue to continue my walk on the other side of the cemetery. A largish bird landed on the ground with some swagger, a Jay! I had my camera on the wrong setting, so I only managed some blurry photo before it flew onto a Holly. Last year I heard and saw a Jay in the cemetery, but I never managed a photo, so I was pleased with the record shots.     

 On the way back, on the general cemetery, I heard the song of a Treecreeper, which I managed to locate. The light in the cemetery wasn't great for photography, but here it is, atop a branch.

Two Stock Doves were courting high up on an almost horizontal large bough covered on lichens and moss. Looking through binoculars I felt like I was in some remote old growth forest. There was a lot of alarm calling and then a silence. A female Sparrowhawk landed for just a couple of seconds atop a tree before flying off. They often do this!

Mistle Thrush.

The Jay amongst the headstones.

Snowdrops.

Urban birding at Hull: A November Walk to Pickering Park

A still cloudy day that started less misty than previous days and noticeably milder. I took a walk to Pickering Park, about one hour away from home, passing through the General and Western Cemetery, Spring Bank West, to Anlaby Road through the pedestrian/cycle lane, and next onto Boothferry Road and a small foray to Peter Pan Park. Some of these areas I had last visited in the spring lockdown.

I take a mental note of the plenty of berry-laden rowan trees along the roads in case of a waxwing irruption. Pickering Park is looking splendid with the autumn colours. The occasional flock of Fieldares and Redwings fly high overhead, and also a large Woodpigeon flock. There are no Goosanders yet. 

The extended Mute Swan family is spread around the lake. The two last years young are in the southern side of the lake, whereas two young from this year are in the northern side practicing their courtship skills. One of them eventually gets left behind and it utters its contact call. The third young of the year exercises its flight muscles while on the shore.

I watch a crow chasing a female sparrowhawk.

Collared Doves at Spring Bank West.

A Blue Tit feeding on horse chestnut leaf miner pupae.

A swan mussel shell near the edge of the Peter Pan lake.

A 100+ strong Woodpigeon flock in migration.

The cob Mute Swan.

The sun came out at about eleven, bringing out the colours even more.

One of two Tufter ducks at Pickering Park lake.

The Stock Doves are very tame at Pickering Park and come right next to me as I crouch on an area where people have left peanuts. 

Shaggy scalycap, Pholiota squarrosa, cluster growing at the base of a willow.

A Mistle thrush 'frozen' as starlings and goldfinches take to the wing, possibly due to a Sparrowhawk.

As I walk back through the Western Cemetery, a Woodock took flight and flew around the trees. A very nice addition to my lockdown list and year list!