Urban birding at Hull: Sculcoates week 38

In the last few weeks I have only paid short visits to the patch, so today, a wonderful warm, still day, I decided to stay all morning. On the playing fields there was a sizeable flock of starlings, 62, a Common Gull and a Lesser Black-backed gull and several Black-headed Gulls.

Starlings feeding on playing fields.

Part of the starling flock.

Common Gull.

I walked along the drain. A Great Spotted Woodpecker flies onto tree carrying a leaf, which was a weird thing to behold. It holds it deftly with one foot against the branch and pecks at the base. I take a few photos and when checking them at home I notice that the poplar leaf has a gall on its stalk. This is produced by an aphid, Pemphigus spyrothecae. It seems like too much effort to eat a few aphids. Great Spotted Woodpeckers are quite adaptive and resourceful, so it is something quite interesting to watch. I also learned that woodpeckers are adept foot users.

Woodpecker and poplar leaf.

At Abbey Way, I find a dead young hedgehog. As I turn it I find that it has a lot of blood on its head. Maybe it has been mauled by a dog?

The pretty pleated cap fungus, Parasola plicatilis, also at Abbey Way

I walk next to the North Cemetery. There is a good assortment of insects, and a Kestrel is soaring overhead.

Spangled Oak Galls.

Common Wasp, Vespa vulgaris.

Common Darter.

Comma.

Kestrel.

Green Shieldbug, Palomena prasina.

Speckled Wood on the Air Street cemetery.

Small White.

Now is warm enough to look for breeding activity so I explore the drain again. By the cycle track, it doesn't take long to find Willow Emeralds. There are two males that squabble every now and then, then returning to their perches. There are at least three Migrant Hawkers basking.

Migrant Hawker.

I also find Willow Emeralds on the area just north of Sculcoates Bridge, two chasing. As I return to the cycle track patch I find a pair in tandem (top shot). A pair of Migrant Hawkers are mating and Common Darter ovipositing on same stretch of drain by cycle track.

Willow Emerald.

Willow Emerald.

The patch of drain by the cycle track bridge.

I find out that there are actually four horses in the patch. They are let out of their stables and they gallop about.

This stretch of drain now has a think cover of Azolla fern.

I'm surprised to see a Moorhen nest with three eggs. Unclear if it is being incubated.

A Buzzard with a full crop is closely followed by a group of Carrion Crows.

Blacktoft Sands in September

A relatively short early morning visit to Blacktoft Sands with Robert. We were hoping for two ticks: the White-tailed Lapwing that has been in the reserve since the end of August for a lifer and the Bluethroat, which would be a country tick (my previous sighting a lifetime away in Spain's Ebro Delta in 1996!).

 It didn't take long to connect with the White-tailed Lapwing (or Plover). It is a vagrant bird from Eastern Europe and a rarity in the UK, with just about a dozen records. At Townend the White-tailed Lapwing was only visible from the right-hand corner of the hide. There were not too many people and we quickly had a turn to watch it. It was preening and dozing on an island. Its long leges and sandy, uniform upper parts were distinctive.

Other than the White-tailed Lapwing there was a lot of action on the lagoon, with Green Sandpipers close to the hide, and a Great White Egret feeding with some Little Egrets in the distance.

Great White Egret.

Green Sandpiper.

Green Sandpiper.

A group of Bearded Tits put also a show on the reeds nearby. I was surprised to find later that they were also a reserve tick for me, having missed them for years!

We moved onto the western side of the reserve, to Marshland hide, to try and connect with the Bluethroat, which apparently had been seen earlier. It is amazing how many passerines were about on the open muddy shores of the scrape and bathing on the newly created islands. As I scanned for any moving bird near the reeds where the Bluethroat was hiding, Bearded tits landed on the mud, and a Sedge warbler and Cetti's passed through. The Bluethroat made quick appearances, skulking on the bushes the rest of the time. They were distant views, but they allowed us to see it was a 1st winter male, the blue feathers already visitble at the bottom of its chest.

Bearded tit

Bluethroat.

Cetti's warbler

Water Rail.

Sedge Warbler.

Bluethroat.

I would have liked to stay much longer in the reserve, but it was time to head back, a wonderful couple of hours at Blacktoft!

Humber South Bank. 2. Alkborough Flats

 A sunny, still day that started cool but ended quite warm, I headed to Alkborough Flats. I was hoping for a good walk around the reserve and wasn't expecting anything in particular. As I approached the first tide, a birder was photographing some birds on the ground. As I kept my distance and focused with the binoculars, I realised they were Bearded Tits. At this time of the year, they switch from an insect to a seed diet and need grit to help them digest the reed seeds that will be their staple in autumn and winter. Early in the morning, they gather on the paths of the reserve to get some grit. About two dozen Bearded Tits were gritting. I have never seen this before, a true spectacle, they kept coming and going, with constant 'pinging', not 10 m away from three people taking photographs of them. Alkborough is a stronghold of Bearded Tits and one of the places in the upper Humber where you are most likely to see this stunning species. 

I count 20 Bearded Tits in this photo.

A Cetti's Warbler emerged from the reeds and landed on the fence to check what all that pinging was about.

A group of Swallows flied East over the reserve. The Bearded Tit flock dispersed and I got in the hide. There are great views now that the reed have been cut and there are many waders: Redshank, Black-tailed Godwit, 9 Curlew, 2 Snipe, a Dunlin, 120 Avocets, about 200 Lapwing, 2 Ruff and a single Spotted Redshank. As for ducks, a dozen Pintail upend in the distance, Shoveler and Teal are also about. There are many geese, a skein of Pink-footed Geese, Barnacle Geese and Greylag. Two Water Rails make an appearance. Two Marsh Harriers flush the waders several times.

A skein of Pink-footed Geese.

Water Rail emerging from the reeds.

Avocets.

Black-tailed Godwit.

I did a counter-clockwise circular walk around the Trent, but first I walked to the end of the public footpath on the old floodbank near the breach. 

Grazing cows. The Humber and the Wolds in the background.

A large flock of Barnacle geese visible on the Humber mudflats.

Lovely to watch a flock of Curlew.

Pink-footed geese.

Stonechats.

The shallow pool where the Glossy Ibis and many egrets were feeding last time was much dryer. Many geese, including Pink-feet were resting on it.

As I walked towards the Trent, it felt quite warm. Dragonflies started being more obvious. A Ruddy Darter posed for a while. A Brown Hawker was patrolling on the low crossing, which was passable, if a bit muddy today. 

Ruddy Darter.

Bulrush Bug, Chilacis typhae

This was one of my highlights today, a Common Hawker, despite the odd angle, the yellow costa (the vein on the front of the wing) is visible.

Common Darters ovipositing.

This almost dry pool had several pairs of Common Darters ovipositing.

Sheep graze some of the wet grassland of the flats.

I returned to the hide for lunch. A pale wagtail landed in front. I thought it might be a White Wagtail, but no, a Pied Wagtail for me.

Pied Wagtail and Redshank.

Spotted Redshank.

Snipe.

Curlew, Redshank and Black-tailed Godwit.

In the next stage, I'm hoping to walk from Alkborough village to Whitton.