Holderness: Roos, Owstwick, Hilston, Tunstall, Sand le Mere

A beautiful summer day with light breeze and warm temperature. I take an early bus to Withernsea. I'm amazed by the colour of the sea, on the falling tide, so clear blue, unlike the usual two-banded sea with the land ward sea brown with the suspended clay. I don't have long to wait for bus 129 to Roos and it is not a long ride. Around 9 am I start my walk. It is a day of U-turns due to poorly kept or impassable rights of way, and, as a consequence I have to walk much of it by roads, but only in the first half on busy roads, thankfully. Screaming Swifts chase at Roos, and I find roadside verges with flowering thistles brambles with many Small Whites and other butterflies. It is nice to have a good day to record insects in Holderness.

Withernsea sea front. Such a blue sea!

At Roos, I spot a fresh Small Tortoiseshell. This summer generation with larger numbers than the spring one.

A House Sparrow with nesting material.

Small White Butterflies on Creeping Thistle.

A bridge over a ditch overgrown with brambles stops me from accessing this Public Right of Way.

A grown oil-seed rape field, where you are supposed to walk across the crop to reach Owswick, with no path cut. I tried for a few minutes and turned round, too hard work and little reward.

I took this quiet road instead, lined with trees. 

This Yellowhammer singing from one of them.

I walk along the hamlet of Owstwick, with farm houses and cottages, and plenty of birds. As I came out, Reed Buntings and Whitethroats sing. Young Swallows are lined on a wire, with an odd young Starling joining their party.

Reed Bunting near The Elms.

I love an old wooden road sign.

At Hilston, I admire Admiral Storr's tower.

It is guarded by some Jackdaws.

Hilston's St Margaret church is a brick building, which replaced the previous church destroyed by a bomb during WWII. It looks peaceful, but look more closely and you'll see a man with a petrol strimmer around the headstones. Although, it was a nice view from my lunch-time bench, it was not so tranquil. 

A dead Common Shrew on the churchyard wall.

A few mares with foals grazed on a ridge and furrow field by Hilston.

With some apprehension, I take Hogsea lane to reach the sea and hopefully, the coastal path. A Chaffinch sings from the hedgerow, and a surprise male Marsh Harrier quarters the field. The only marshy area nearby is old Gills Mere. A Roe Deer watches me from the edge of the mere.

Chaffinch.

Marsh Harrier.

Roe Deer buck.

The end of Hogsea Lane, with a beautiful view.

I can't stop taking photos of the sea.

This time I don't have to turn round, the path goes along Pastures Lane, but at some point it disappears on a section that has fallen onto the sea due to erosion. It is only a short detour to the village of Tunstall.

A fledgling Tree Sparrow near Tunstall, one of the few I've seen in the Holderness walks.

This chicken came to check me out as I tried to get onto another right of way, this one overgrown with nettles, ouch!

Again, I take the road. It's a great view of Tunstall's All Saints church.

I head to Sand-le-Mere and after the fourth or fifth, blocked right of way, I find the restaurant, have an ice-cream, and get my water bottle topped up. I still have some time to wait for the last bus to Withernsea, which I use recording the dragonflies by the ponds next to the bus stop. It's now quite warm and ideal for them. An Emperor dragonfly also patrols the pond, but it's too quick for good photos. No swans, but a Mallard family with ducklings swims about, the ducklings occasionally chasing damselflies.

Southern Hawker.

Black-tailed Skimmer.

Ovipositing Small Red-eyed damselflies.

Four Spotted Chaser.

A Herring Gull poses in front of Pier Tower at Withernsea, while I wait for my bus back to Hull.

 

Alkborough Flats with Hull Nats

A gloomy, windy and cold day, but at least we missed the rain. Six of us met at the bottom car park of Alkborough Flats and did a circular walk though the flats and then along the flood bank on the Trent. As we were about to enter the hide, a Raven flew high above us, my first of the site. Flocks of Lapwing and Golden Plover wheeled constantly on the horizon, flushed by the numerous Marsh Harriers on site. We counted 6 flying together, maybe assembling to roost. The tide was high and there were plenty of ducks on the main pool in front of the hide, Shovelers, Gadwall, Tufted Ducks and a pair of Pintail.

Raven.

Shoveler.

Tufted Ducks.

Gadwall.

Pintail.

Lapwing.

Male Marsh Harrier.

Golden Plover.

We carried on and waded on the flooded stretch of path, my wellies just high enough to keep my socks dry. Then we have lunch out in the Trent hide. It's been a while since I've had lunch in a hide and I wish I brought a thermos with a hot drink. A male Kestrel appears to follow us along the flood bank, staying just ahead and dropping in several occasions. Several Mute Swans fly over. We are very exposed and the wind is relentless, but we are compensated by a large flock of Whoopers on the Trent (top shot and below), they are distant but I count between 40 and 50 with a small group of Mute Swans. Little else of interest on the way back to the car park. A hot chocolate at The Paddocks cafe put a lovely end of a challenging day.

Kestrel.

Marsh Harrier.

Kestrel.

Shelduck.

Whooper Swans.

A group of Whooper Swans with several juveniles.

Mute Swan.

Urban birds at Hull. 54. Common Sandpiper

A small wader of riversides and wetland edges, where it forages for small invertebrates from the water surface, mud or marginal vegetation. It has sandy-brown upperparts and bright white underparts, with a distinctive white 'hook' on the side of the chest, relatively short yellow-green legs and a crouched stance. In flight it shows a thin white wing bar, white sides to the tail, and distinctly bowed wings, alternating flickering and gliding. When disturbed, it usually flies close to the water surface, with its flight call is a trio of high-pitched and piercing and quick notes 'see, see, seee'. When feeding, it walks steadily constantly bobbing its rear end.

27th August 2023. Pickering Park.

Status and distribution in Hull

The Common Sandpiper breeds in upland rivers and lakes in the UK, and winters in Africa. In Hull it is a regular passage migrant, often single birds, occasionally travelling in small parties. Birds can be seen in spring and autumn passage, although the autumn passage is longer and stronger. The species can be expected from mid April to late May and from mid July to mid September. Any place by water, particularly the large lakes at East Park and Pickering Park, Bransholme Reservoir, and along the River Hull and the Humber foreshore at low tide could hold birds.

22 May 2022. Pickering Park.

3 May 2022. Bransholme reservoir.

Common Sandpiper feeding on the exposed mud at the River Hull, by Stoneferry. 1st May 2021. 

Management and conservation

The Common Sandpiper is Amber listed in the UK due to population declines, more marked in the mid 1990s when the UK population declined about 20%. In later years the population, although fluctuating, is more stable, with a recent increase. The reasons behind the decline are unknown. Being a migrant, habitat maintenance to known stopover sites could aid survival during migration.

More information

Common Sandpiper. BTO Birdfacts.

R.K. Broughton. 2002. Birds of the Hull Area. 

(top shot: Common Sandpiper at East Park, 10 September 2019)