A frosty walk to Sculcoates in December

 

We've had a few very cold days when the temperature has barely risen over freezing. The Pearson Park pond is one third frozen as I walk past. It is bright and sunny, and Collared Doves and Stock Doves have started singing.

Stock Dove singing atop a chimney pot.

As I walk by the nursery, I find a Blackcap. It is not skulking too much, and eventually I can get some phots. It's been a few years since I've seen wintering Blackcaps. These are a different population from the ones breeding in the UK, and move West to the UK from Germany to avoid the much colder continental winters and the glut of bird feeders in the UK.

Blackcap.

A male Blackbird sub-singing, unusually, in the open. Most commonly they do it from inside bushes.

There's been some tree planting by the cycle path.

It was a couple of hours past high tide, and there was a single Redshank on the usual roost spot. Two others were on exposed bits of mud by the river.

A female Bullfinch called from atop a bush.

These four Coots swam towards an area where ducks were being fed.

I was out at the patch for less than two hours today, but it was very pleasant to be out in the sunshine, and the Blackcap was the day's highlight.

Hull urban birds. 33. Black-tailed Godwit

I took a long walk today to Albert Dock and returned by the river Hull and the Museums Quarter. I got to the River Hull at low tide. As I was counting the Redshanks, scattered along the exposed muddy flats just north of Myton Bridge, I saw an unexpected wader: a Black-tailed Godwit, a species I've only seen once in Hull before. It is a very elegant wader, with long legs and straight, long bill. It breeds in wet meadows and can be found wintering and in passage in wetlands and estuary mudflats and creeks, feeding on invertebrates such as worms, crabs and small clams, which it can pick up from deep in the mud. In flight, they have striking black and white wings and black tail.

Status and distribution in Hull 

The Humber is of international importance as a passage and wintering area for this species, and the 4th area in the UK. The birds migrating through and wintering in the UK mainly come from Iceland and Scandinavia. The Black-tailed Godwit has increased in the UK as a wintering bird since lows in the mid 1970s mainly due to the Icelandic race of the species, but it is very rare as a breeding bird, with just 53 pairs. Roosting and post-breeding moult sites include Paull Holme Strays, just on the edge of Hull and they can be seen feeding around Saltend during passage in good numbers. There are very few recent records in the Hull area, my only ones before were in February and March 2018 on mudflats by P&O Ferry terminal. coincidentally, Erich Hediger had his first record in Cottingham today at the Cottingham and Orchard Park flood alleviation scheme, so maybe there is a small influx due to cold weather.

Black-tailed Godwit, 6 March 2018, P&O Ferry terminal.

The Black-tailed Godwit this morning, took some food to the water to wash it, and then had a good wash and preen session, before resuming feeding higher up on the mud, favouring a small creek, where it kept finding lugworms.

The end of the wash and preen session.

This photo shows the surprisingly flexible tip of the Black-tailed Godwit's bill: opening just the tip to pick a worm...

... and closing it, using the tip of the bill as a pincer.

Conservation and management

This is a rapidly declining species worldwide regarded as near threatened due to changing agricultural practices, mainly wetland drainage and intensification and regarded as endangered in the IUCN assessment. It is also a UK red-listed species, due to population declines, severe range declines and rarity as a breeder. It has been the focus of a targeted conservation program in the Ouse Washes to improve the breeding population and chick survival.                                   

More information

Broughton, R.K. 2002. Birds of the Hull area. Kingston Press. Hull, UK.

Stanbury, A., Eaton, M., Aebischer, N., Balmer, D. & Win, I. (2021) The status of our bird populations: the fifth Birds of Conservation Concern in the United Kingdom, Channel Islands and Isle of Man and second IUCN Red List assessment of extinction risk for Great Britain. British Birds 114, 723–747.

Urban birds at Hull. 32. Black Redstart

Black Redstarts are robin-sized birds. In all plumages the tail is brick red with darker central feathers. Adult males are slate grey, with coal black face and chest, with a white wing panel. Subadult males and females are greyer, with a plainer head and no wing panel. They are a scarce migrant, winter visitor, and rare breeding species in the UK. They have an unusual history as a UK breeding bird. The first record of breeding in the UK was in 1926 in the Wembley Exhibition Centre, London. It is a bird of uplands in rocky sites, slope screes and cliffs, all dry, exposed habitats with little vegetation cover. In the 1850s the species started to colonise urban environments across Western Europe, taking advantage of suitable nest sites in walls and buildings and abundant dry slopes in roofs offering enough feeding habitat. Today, Black Redstarts breeding habitats include cathedrals, museums, power stations, train stations, warehouses, dock depots, demolition sites, railway yards and industrial waste grounds, making this species a truly urban bird! Just a few territories are in coastal cliffs or quarries. Black Redstarts feed on small insects, woodlice and spiders that picks from the ground, seeds and berries. Towns and cities also provide suitable tall singing posts.

A male singing from a perch atop a building.

Distribution and status in Hull

As in other large cities in the UK, the Blitz of World War II created favourable habitat in Hull, and the Black Redstart colonised bombed sites. The first Hull record, a possible breeding pair and two males singing at High Street, were in 1949. The first confirmed breeding was in 1973 at a boat on a dry dock. It is an irregular rare breeder in Hull, but records of passage migrants are more frequent. Breeding was confirmed at Saltend in 1986. In the last 10 years they appear to have bred at the Hull docks. Given that their usual habitats are not regularly visited by birdwatchers, some pairs might have been missed. Sightings are from March to December. Black Redstarts tend to migrate south in winter, with a preference to winter at coastal sites.

A Black Redstart on its habitat, with the Humber on the background.

Redstart on metal railing. Black Redstarts quiver their tails quite often, usually after landing, showing their red tones.

Conservation

The Black Redstart is fully protected by the Schedule 1 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, therefore any disturbance to nests or near nests is illegal. There are currently less than 100 breeding pairs in the UK, with between one and four pairs breeding in Yorkshire in the last decade. After a spell as Red listed due to a breeding population declines, populations have recently increased that they are now Amber listed (Birds of Conservation Concern 5, 2021).

A migrating adult male Redstart at Kilnsea Wetlands, 31 October 2019.

A recently fledged Black Redstart in Hull. 2021

Black Redstart, Hull, October 2021.

Management

It is unusual to think about managing a bird that thrives in habitats that we usually dismiss as not valuable for wildlife or are termed 'derelict' or 'abandoned'. Gentrification and site redevelopments appears to be the Black Redstart's main threats in the UK, where the bird mainly uses urban habitats. Preserving or mitigating against feeding grounds and known nesting sites should be the main management strategies. 

• Building Work. It should be avoided between March and July (inclusive), within 300 m of a suspected nest site. Singing males usually chose posts near nest sites.
• Provision of nest sites. These could include ledges on inner walls or integrated nests holes build onto walls.
• Maintenance of pioneer vegetation communities. Redevelopment often results in planting grassland, or trees and bushes, removing the open feeding habitats needed by Black Redstarts. The creation of green roofs on light aggregates on new or existing buildings might mitigate loses of suitable habitats, as it is difficult to recreate the mossy, lichen and light plant cover characterising its natural habitats. Alternatives would be to create gravelly gardens or a light cover of gravel on flat roofs, to be recolonised naturally.
  

A gravelly bed by a footpath is naturally recolonised by weeds and sea pink.

• Retain wooden structures, including derelict boats, when redeveloping sea walls.

Black Redstarts were seen feeding on these wooden posts, the remains of an old pier.

• Survey work. Protection of existing breeding pairs can only be achieved if their nesting sites and foraging areas are known. Potential breeding sites should be surveyed, with singing males, nesting pairs and successful breeding recorded. Any records during the breeding season should be submitted to local county bird recorders.

More information

Birdguides. Black Redstart. Species profile.

Broughton, Richard K. Birds of the Hull Area.

Black Redstart, Phoenicurus ochruros. Bird monitoring methods. RBBP .

Mark Holling and the Rare Breeding Birds Panel. Rare breeding birds in the UK in 2017.

Holloway, S.J. and Glue, D.E., 1999. Site Action Plan for Black Redstarts Phoenicurus ochruros in the Deptford Creek Area, Greenwich, London. BTO Research Report, n. 212. 31 pp.

Black Redstart Biodiversity Action Plan, London.

Acknowledgements

Thank you to Nick Cutts who told me about Hull's Black Redstarts.

A train trip to Bempton Cliffs

The last train trip of the year, I head to Bempton on the 9:21 train. I get to the visitor centre and I'm ready for a hot drink. I was hoping to watch the Short-eared Owls, but the locals inform me that the weather isn't any good for them today, too windy. I was ready for showers, but the biting NE wind was relentless and a bit too much by the cliffs. Fortunately, the Ring Ouzel compensated. I found it by the path near the New Roll-up viewpoint. From the fence it jumped to the ground and started looking for worms. At some point, a brief sunny spell shone on it. I spent a while, sitting on the ground by the fence, watching it. Fluffy foam balls flew over the cliffs.

I walked north with a few birdwatchers that had stopped to see the Ouzel. The highlights were a Brown Hare and two Stonechats.

Stonechat.

Circling Fulmar.

Fulmar pair.

Fulmars on Kittiwake nest.

A rainbow over Filey Brigg. Brief showers added to the weather.

Gannet.

Tree Sparrows.

Chaffinches and Blackbirds under the feeders.

After a hot lunch, I went to see the Ring Ouzel again, and then headed for the station for the 14:31 train to Hull.

A train trip to Bridlington

I hadn't been to Bridlington for a whole year and this had to be addressed. Bridlington is a short, 45 min trip away in the train. The harbour area and the beaches are a must visit, where I usually search for the local Purple Sandpipers and Sanderlings, and can enjoy the Great Black-backed Gulls, present year round. Today, a cold, grey but still day, I was keen to explore the relatively new Gypsey Race Park, opened in 2019. the Gypsey Race is an intermittent river, fed from springs in the chalk of the Yorkshire Wolds, which runs on the Great Wold Valley. It is a permanent stream from Rudston, but upstream of this village it only runs on the surface in wet years. The stream crosses Bridlington and ends at the harbour, although it is culverted in several stretches in the town. The Gypsey Race Park is a renaturalisation scheme funded by the EU regional development fund, around the chalk stream, making it into a wildlife corridor, improving its flood resilience and making it more wildlife friendly. It is a regeneration scheme, improving access and acting as a focal area to enhance community use. Several areas around the stream have been made into green space. As I left the train station, I felt like I was stepping into a completely new place, the area in front of the station has been converted into a plaza, linking with the new park, just next door. The new park stretches along Hilderthorpe Road. 

I explore west first, towards B&Q. The stream wasn't running very high, but it was running over its chalk bed, and the marginal vegetation is natural. There are a number of good quality information panels, illustrating the fauna that lives in the Gypsey Race, the various trees planted along its margins and the history of the Gypsey Race in Bridlington, including the several water mills that were by its banks.

A Sparrowhawk soaring over the new park.

An example information panel. 

One of the stretches by Station Road, with new tree planting as part of the new retail park adjacent to the park.

A bridge over the Gypsey Race.

As I look from the bridge, a Kingfisher flies onto a plastic pipe!

Female Kingfisher. This was the cherry on the top, my first Kingfisher in Bridlington!

The white building is Victoria Mill.

Great Black-backed Gull, another Bridlington staple.

I am very impressed with the Gypsey Race Park. It changes completely the feel of the town as you step out of the train station. This will be my new favourite route to Bridlington harbour!

The harbour

I get to the harbour an hour after high tide. I walk to the south pier and spot some Purple Sandpipers feeding on the launching ramp. They seem restless, and they wait for waves to recede to go on the base of the sea wall to feed.

Purple Sandpipers looking on to the sea.

Purple Sandpiper feeding on the sea wall.

House Sparrow on the harbour gardens.

There are many Turnstones about, mostly running around in the fish landing area, picking scraps, but also on the beach and harbour. This one, though, was sleepy and it struggled to open its eyes to peek at me.

The Dunlin and Redshank were all at roost. On first sight it looks like they are all sleeping, but there are always some individuals with eyes open. 

I count 15 Dunlin and 76 Redshank on their roost on the outer wall from the N pier. 

There is a diver diving off the harbour and I struggle to take a photo of it on the water. This is the best I manage once it flies off, a Red-throated Diver.

The Beach

After a walk around the harbour, the tide is low enough for a walk along the south beach. There is a lot of seaweed on the tideline. This includes a lot of food, which is being exploited by a range of birds.

A beach Carrion Crow.

Common Gull.

Edible crab, Cancer pagurus.

The tail of a lobster.

An Otter shell, Lutraria lutraria and a Razor clam, Ensis 

A view of the tideline with the harbour in the background.

Two Pied Wagtails fed on the beach too.

Two Sanderlings were running along the beach, picking surface tidbits, they are very entertaining to watch, but their speed makes them tricky to photograph. This one has picked an item of food.

This one stopped to preen for a few minutes.

And I leave you with my favourite Puffin today, 'Kelp' by Hannah van Green.