Bempton Cliffs

A blue sky and warm weather takes us to the cliffs of the RSPB nature reserve, Bempton Cliffs. The reserve includes not only the high chalk cliffs overlooking Filey Bay and Speeton sands, but also fields next to them, which today were covered with a pink carpet of Red Campions (Silene dioica). Buttercups and Gorse were also flowering. Nettles are very abundant, and we see a few peacock butterflies. The main reason to visit Bempton cliffs are the nesting seabirds and May and June are the top months to see them nesting. There are eight breeding species: Kittiwakes, Razorbills, Guillemots, Gannets, Fulmars, Puffins, Herring Gulls and Shags. Today we see them all except for the Shag (the rarest breeder, also tends to nest at the base of the cliff). Kittiwakes make the background noise at the cliffs.

A group of Kittiwakes pulling grass to line their nests.

We have a picnic on a meadow watching a Kestrel hovering over the cliffs.

A Kittiwake, a Razorbill and a Guillemot, the most common breeding seabirds in Bempton Cliffs

Herring gull

A view of the cliffs, at the bottom of the photo a group of nesting Gannets can be seen

The 'What's About' poster at the reserve visitor centre.

Links
RSPB Bempton Cliffs Nature Reserve


Birds of the day

1. Fulmar flying
2. Gannets on nests and flying.
3. Kestrel hovering over the cliffs
4. Pheasant calling
5. Herring gull on the cliffs and flying
6. Kittiwake collecting grass in groups and on the cliffs
7. Guillemot on cliffs and flying
8. Razorbill on cliffs and flying
9. Puffins on flight
10. Woodpigeon
11. Collared dove
12. Rock dove, nesting in the cliffs
13. Swift
14. Skylark
15. Swallow
16. House martin
17. Dunnock
18. Blackbird
19. Whitethroat singing
20. Rook
21. Jackdaw, everywhere, nesting in the cliffs
22. Crow
23. Magpie, one in Bempton the other chasing a couple of starlings (one could be a fledgling)
24. Starling
25. Tree sparrow
26. House sparrow
27. Greenfinch
28. Goldfinch
29. Chaffinch
30. Linnet
31. Yellowhammer
32. Pied wagtail

Map



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Spring at Burton Constable

I can't believe its over a month we went anywhere out of Hull. Today it was a warm day with sunny spells and we went for a walk to the grounds of Burton Constable. We explored the area around the Hall and followed the Waymarker Trail. We found out what a Ha-ha is (intrigued? check here). At one end of it stands an ancient tree, a Sweet Chestnut, with some of its main branches now dead and partially covered by Ivy. It is the most impressive tree I have seen in East Yorkshire, with an enormous girth. As it is near the house and the house was built at the end of the XVI century, it is probably over 400 years old.

A view of the live side of the ancient sweet chestnut

A view of the old chestnut covered on Ivy

The tree trunk (child for reference)

Around the farm houses and stables, House Martins were busy nest building. 

In the North Pond, which used to be part of a moat, Moorhens and Coots were being followed by their hungry chicks. The wooded areas were teeming with insects, although we did not see many butterflies.

A pair of geese flying

Moorhen with chicks

 We manage to spot a Hare.

Tenthredo sawfly

Previously in the large lake I have seen toads mating.
This is today's bird list:

1. 
   
2. Blackbird
3. Crow
4. Woodpigeon
5. sparrow
6. Chaffinch
7. Greylag (pair)
8. Moorhen, with 2 chicks
9. Coot with 1 chick
10. Several mallards with ducklings of different sizes
11. House Martins making nests
12. Swallows
13. Jackdaws on the fields
14. Rooks. 2 with one chick begging
15. Great tit
16. Pheasant
17. Goldfinches singingMap

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Note added: I reported the Sweet Chestnut in the Ancient Tree Hunt website, as it wasn't there, and a couple of days later it was verified by Tony Burgoyne and its girth measured at 7.28 m. Tony said this is the largest tree recorded in East Yorkshire! It now has a record here.

Drewton Dale

We walk up Drewton Dale to Weedley Springs and back, a valley in the southernmost fringes of the Yorkshire Wolds, just north of South Cave. The easterly wind has brought us some cloud that failed to lift but despite the cool breeze it feels like spring is here. Many wildflowers on the dale. There are old Ash trees and many Hawthorns and I see some elms. From the Google Earth images, a combination of plantations and old forest is seen in the area. The landscape is rolling and very pleasant to walk and the highlight is the little stream, Drewton Beck, with flooded fields, dams and clear water springs. We see a fresh Peacock and various queen bumblebees (B. terrestris, B. lapidarius) a Vollucella bombilans and a Male Red Mining bee. Flowering plants include primroses -  a large patch growing on an inaccessible bank next to the disused Hull-Barnsley railway tunnel -, Cowslip, Ground Ivy, White Nettle, Marsh Marigolds, Violets, Blackthorn, Lesser Celandine, Daisies and Dandelions.

 We failed to see the Red Kites that breed in the area, but nevertheless the visit to Drewton Dale is well worth it.

Nursery Web Spider, Pisaura mirabilis

Peacock, Inachis io

Polyporus squamosus

Violets

Primroses, Primula vulgaris

Birds

1. Greylag, couple
2. Jackdaws
3. Rooks
4. Pheasants, lots!
5. Mallards, several in the beck and flooded banks
6. Robin
7. Blue tit
8. Kestrel
9. Willow/Marsh tit
10. Lapwing, nuptial flight
11. Chiffchaff, singing
12. Willow warbler, singing
13. Blackcap
14. Blackbird
15. Woodpigeon
16. Swallows, established in the farm buildings
17. HOUSE MARTINS first of year
18. Chaffinch
19. Greenfinch
20. Skylark
21. Moorhen
22. Song thrush

Links
Birdwatching information at Birdnerd
Red Kites in Yorkshire

How to get there


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Full on spring at Oak Road lake

What a fantastic day to start spring. Blue sky, warm and almost no wind. We walk around the lake. The willows were in bloom and many bees and bumblebees were gorging on the catkins. We saw the first Bombus lapidarius and B. pascuorum of the year feeding on them. The nettles are starting to grow in earnest. A pair of Little Grebes kept calling in their 'laugh-like' way and Great tits were singing. We found a flooded site next to the wind turbine covered in frog spawn. No sign of breeding toads though. To end the visit, a Small Tortoiseshell fluttered about and stopped for long enough for me to take some shots.

View of the lake and reedbeds

A beautiful flowering willow

Willow catkins

Poplar catkins

Coot among the reeds

Male swan

Small Tortoiseshell

 Not a lot of birds around today, though.

1. Swan, 1 male

2. Coot (>6)

3. Moorhen (prrr!)

4. Mallards (6 or so)

5. Pair of little grebes (laughing a lot!)

6. Blackbird

7. Reed warbler? (singing)

8. Wood pigeon

9. Crow

10. Great tit

11. Long-tailed tit with feather in beak  flies into the trees

Tophill Low

This morning we went to Tophill Low nature reserve. There was quite a lot of high cloud and we didn't see the predicted sunny spells, but it was a mild day and wonderful for a winter walk. Tophill Low is a purpose-built nature reserve around water treatment works owned by Yorkshire Water. There are two deep water reservoirs (called 'O' and 'D' reservoirs due to their shape), ponds and marshes with islands, reed beds and wooded areas. The diversity of habitats attract a range of bird species (150 are regular in the reserve) and also dragonflies and other insects. There is a visitor centre (now in need of some refurbishment) with a viewing area into a bird feeding station next to a pond and a meadow. There are 12 hides, several of them accessible to wheelchairs (and pushchairs!).
The feeding station was busy today and we had a good look at rabbits chasing each other, a great spotted woodpecker, chaffinches, goldfinches, greenfinches, dunnocks, moorhens and blackbirds. The kids were entranced (the rabbits, specially, were a hit!)
 The mashes were teeming with birds and we saw a range of species. We walked around the 'O' reservoir and the various ponds around it, and also had a look at the Watton Nature Reserve.

A large flock of lapwings takes flight from South Marsh East

Little Grebe

Flowering gorse

The day's bird list:

1. Little Grebe. South Marsh East (SME)
2. Cormorant. Watton Nature Reserve.
3. Greylags.
4. Canada geese.
5. Shelduck. SME.
6. Mallard.
7. Wigeon. SME.
8. Shoveler. SME.
9. Pochard. SME.
10. Tufted duck/scaup?
11. Buzzard. Flying over Car Park.
12. Kestrel. Watton village.
13. Pheasant. Around visitor centre
14. Moorhen. FS.
15. Coot. SME.
16. Lapwing. More than 100 flushed from South East Marsh.
17. Redshank. SME.
18. Black-headed gulls. Bev rd. one carrying something, others chasing.
19. Woodpigeon. Visitor centre.
20. Collared doves. Singing, one carring stick in Dunswell.
21. Green Woodpecker. Laughing in flight, pair.
22. Great Spotted Woodpecker. Feeding Station (FS).
23. Dunnock. FS
24. Robin. singing everywhere.
25. Blackbird. FS. Also, when we are leaving a singing male from the aerial in front of the house.
26. Song Thrush. FS. Eating of the meadow.
27. Long-Tailed Tit. FS.
28. Coal tit. FS. Feeders
29. Great tit.
30. Blue tit.
31. Magpie. Roundabout.
32. Rooks on nests Woodmansey.
33. Tree sparrow FS.
34. Chaffinches. FS.
35. Greenfinches.FS.
36. Goldfinches. FS.

The Reserve's website, including a map, at Yorkshire Water.

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Humber Bridge Country Park in the snow

After lunch we head for a walk in the Country Park. There is still quite a lot of snow in places, although it feels mild. In the field next to Riverside Cottage, Mistle Thrushes and Redwings feed. We have taken some bird food with us and when we get to the feeding station we put some on the feeders. Almost instantly several Robins fall around us and start eating, followed by Blue Tits, Great Tits, Dunnocks and a pair of Blackbirds. A Song Thrush, oblivious to this frenzied activity, keeps singing enthusiastically from the top of a nearby tree. The Song Thrush singing and the leaves of the Lords and Ladies seem to be the only signs of spring today.

Robin on a feeder

Snowy meadow

Lords and Ladies fresh shoots

To help you get there:

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Big Garden Birdwatch

I have done the Big Garden Birdwatch a few times in my garden. I don't do as much birdwatching as I would like lately and it is a bit sad to spend a whole hour just to see a blackbird and a couple of blue tits (I don't have a very popular garden with birds). So, last year I decided to do the BGB in my local wildlife patch, the Pearson Park Wildlife Garden. The results were encouraging, I even had a magic moment with a very tame robin, who let me take some macro photos of him while singing. Today then,  I wrapped up warm and I headed for the wildlife garden. I took the camera as well, but I wasn't as lucky as last year. It was cold and cloudy, so I had to keep walking around. The pond was frozen solid. My observation time was from 11 to 12 am. It's still so early in the year but many birds were pairing and singing. The great tits were teachering away and a stock dove was booming and a greenfinch singing from the trees. The dunnocks seemed to be courting and chasing each other. I was very surprised to see a warbler, I think probably a chiff-chaff active in the bushes. There was a couple of robins together, the male singing and third one replying from the other side of the garden. It was altogether busy and only a 5 min lull when nothing really happened.

These are my results:

Great tits (2) male and female. Male singing.

Song thrush (1). I've already heard it singing this year, but not today.

Blackbirds (2) Male and female.

Robin (3). Couple and a third male. Two singing.

Blue tit (2) Singing.

Stock dove, booming from high in the trees.

Dunnock (3) Together, 2 chasing each other.

Greenfinch (1) Singing from the poplar.

Chaffinch (1). Male.

Chiff-chaff (1). Most likely, as it's the only occasionally hibernating warbler.

Woodpigeon (5) On a tree.

Magpie (3). As the hour finished.

Total of 12 sp. Not too bad!

Last year's results for East Yorkshire were:

House sparrow 2.64

Starling 2.19

Blackbird 1.48

Goldfinch 1.25

Collared dove 0.93

Blue tit 0.87

Tree sparrow 0.83

Chaffinch 0.69

Woodpigeon 0.67

Long tailed tit 0.65

(source RSPB )