Wild at Hull

Sunday, 12 March 2023

March at the urban River Hull

High tide at 9 am, I head for Scott Street bridge early. I'm entertained along the way by a small group of Siskins feeding on a group of mature Alders at Amazing Community Garden. Incredibly acrobatic, one of them hangs upside down picking seeds from the Alder cones. There is chasing and also chorus singing, something flocks of Siskins engage in like Goldfinches do. It's been a great winter for Siskins in Hull.

Another stop was to try and get some photos of a Goldcres in good light. Always happy to get a record shot!

Crow nest building.

As I get to Scott Street Bridge I notice the stiff southwesterly. A pair of Mallard are courting on the river, and a single Redshank is roosting on the wall.

Dunnock.

I find the Redshank roost at their mooring spot, only that this time some of them are of the barge. They are starting to stir as it is after high tide.

It is not until I return by Scale Lane bridge that I see the Curlew, as it happened last time, so I think that it must be roosting just on the bridge itself. My surprise is when the Curlew starts calling and chases another individual away.

Curlew Calling and displaying.

Curlew Calling.

I return via Queens Gardens, where I find this Moorhen.

Saturday, 11 March 2023

Sunny and icy February at Pearson Park and Sculcoates

I started my walk by a WeBS count at Pearson Park. Helen B. told me she had seen a ringed Common Gull and showed me her photo, orange with 2CAT in black. I told her about the reporting colour rings help page and headed on. The Moorhen was at her nest in the wicker basket, and the new Coot pair appeared to have started their nest. I surveyed the Common Gulls, who were resting on the grass after feeding and spotted JP870 white ring that we saw a couple of weeks ago and 2CAT with orange ring. At home I checked and it was ringed by a scheme near York run by Mike Jackson, most likely during the winter. I think this is the first UK ringed Common Gull I've seen in the park,. There were 152 common gulls in today's count, but others were at the playing field at Sculcoates with a mainly Black-headed Gull roost.

JP870 Common Gull.

Orange 2CAT looks like a young gull, muted grey-blue bill and legs.

Starling singing in usual spot at drain.

The drain was iced up, only a few patches under bridges and at outflows remained free of ice, but it was melting fast.

It was 50 min after high tide, so I headed for the river. 9 Redshank were at the roost. Numbers this year have been of 9 maximum, last year they used to be 12.

This Lesser Black-backed gull was exploring a low flat roof on the spot where I used to be mobbed by them last year.

I took a short walk around the cemetery. Rattling calls of crows and alarm sirens of gulls brought me running from under the trees for a clear view of the sky. A male Sparrowhawk was soaring high. As I walked back I noticed the female.

Sunshine and thermals despite the icy start got the Sparrowhawk pair rising and displaying high over their territory near the drain. The Herring gulls are only thinking about breeding, they have nothing to fear from Sparrowhawks, but they flew in panic, calling plaintively and mobbing the raptor.

The Jackdaw pair who feeds around the gull roost was there. I am very intrigued as to what they are feeding on, but they tend to feed near the gulls. When the roost was spooked, the two Jackdaws struggled to fly up as fast as the gulls.

Back at home, more gull alarms pointed at two Buzzards soaring. A Blackbird couldn't see them as it was in the opposite side of the holly, feeding on ivy berries. It did look up, looking alarmed. This week I've been noticing eavesdropping in birds. Feral Pigeons flew up at the alarm call of a Blue Tit, another occasion to gull alarm calls.

Wednesday, 8 March 2023

Train trip: Bridlington ten puffins

I had planned to walk the headland from Bempton to Bridlington and had my train tickets, had checked tides and the forecast promised a day of sunshine. What a surprise to wake up to dark sky and snow. I took the train and planned a completely different trip, involving ticking all the Puffins Galore in Bridlington. It ended up being more or less the same distance (22 k including the walk from home to the station), but a very pleasant trip. The sky remained dark and brooding with occasional flurries, but they were brief and there was barely any wind, so it wasn't as cold as I expected.

Hull Paragon just before leaving for Bridlington.

At least three Pied Wagtails fed in the pavements in Bridlington.

I walked to the harbour by the Gypsey Race park. No Kingfisher this time, but I added a few common birds to the harbour list, including Robin. I walked on the harbour walls, watching the birds feed on the beach and the harbour mud, the tide almost low.