Well the blog is back and hopefully you have managed to find us! Its been typical really the blog is updated for a week or so and the birding goes completely crazy! I'm not really sure where to start or if I can do the last week justice but I'll give it a good go! As its the first blog since the change over there may be a few teething problems so please bear with me especially if the pictures aren't quite the right size!
Just a few pink-feet taking off
I suppose I'd better start with the swift that was seen last Friday from Singleton hide by two lucky birders, observed for two minutes or so at times through the scope but in poor light. The bird had from the description a small white rump about 1cm x 2cm but unfortunately because of conditions the finer detail couldn't be seen. This is really quite unfortunate as this means that it cannot be 100% confirmed as either white-rumped or pacific swift! Oh the frustration of birding when two species look so alike. Of course there was a large invasion of pallid swifts and then a little swift recorded in the same period so I suppose you'd suspect that it was white-rumped. But unless new info comes to light then this one will have to go down in the records as a nearly but not quite! It would have been the 2nd record for the UK if the identification could have been clinched!
One thing I add and hopefully this is seen as just friendly advice to all birders is even if the light is poor and the distance is not great try and get a few record shots of any possible rarity that you find, no mater how poor the photo you just never know what features you may see when cropped and enlarged. I know in the heat of the moment its not always possible but It could just be the difference between what if or nailing the birds Identification!
I'll now give a brief summary of the last weeks highlights, the Siberian chiffchaff hung around for a few days but has not been reported recently, there was yet another record of Hawfinch when one flew over my head in the car park, two ravens flew over this side of the river from Alkborough, up to two hen harriers have been joining the harrier roost, there was a possible caspian gull that flew over on Tuesday, and there has been up to 8 water pipits showing superbly in front of the hides particularly First, Townend, and Ousefleet hides.
Siberian chiffchaff at Ousefleet
Siberian chiffchaff call on the video (not the bird!) turn up the volume to hear - hopefully it works!
Ravens are a rare bird at Blacktoft but it looks like these two wintering birds are here to stay?
But there has been so much more passing through as conditions seem to be favourable for a build up of some species around site as well as the building high pressure encouraging passage from the continent.
Birds of prey have at times been extremely rewarding with plenty of marsh harriers about site and then on some evenings the hen harriers have been really rewarding, this morning there was merlin as Singleton and there has been a good showing of buzzards especially around the deer carcass that was out in the middle of one of the fields, an unfortunate victim I suspect of illegal activities but at least it gave some good carrion for the birds of prey and corvids. There is also regular peregrines and on some evenings barn owls.
Buzzard feeding with magpies
Wildfowl numbers are varying with some days good numbers of duck but today many less as they seemed to be resting along the river, earlier in the week there had been a spectacular 5000+ pink-footed geese feeding on the arable next to the reserve but they have now moved on to fresh feeding areas although still quite a few flying over the reserve in the day as they commute to their feeding and roosting areas. A family party of 4 whooper swans were the first for quite a while this morning as they headed south, still a mix of teal, wigeon, shelduck and shoveler on the lagoons, mostly using Xerox and Marshland.
Pinkfeet and greylag feeding in the field next to the reserve
Family party of Whoopers passing through this morning
Wigeon flighting out to feed on the oilseed rape
Pinks out on the estuary landing on a sandbar
Waders numbers have been interesting despite our rather worryingly low water levels which seems to suit them much better then the duck, during what is now turning out to be yet another extension to the 2018 summer drought. 78 ruff this morning was again notable alongside up to 25 black-tailed godwits, 1 green sandpiper, a few redshank,also 28 snipe, and 9 dunlin were on the lagoons but the lapwings and golden plover are using the tidal mudflats out on the estuary with last week 3000 lapwings and 6000 golden plover although numbers weren't quite that high this morning but still 1000+ of each. When they fly up up into the sky they can be quite spectacular.
Ruff
Black-tailed godwit
Green sandpiper
Pinkfeet and golden plover
Stars of the show passerine wise certainly seem to have been the very showy water pipits that can be often found in front of First, Townend, Ousefleet, Xerox or Singleton hide (they can be mobile but I think First is best), backed up by some amazing stonechats with at times up to four birds in front (and I mean right in front!) of Ousefleet hide, even our kingfisher is being a bit shaded by the pipit and chat extravaganza but it was still showing nicely this morning. Interesting that there has been heavy early snow fall in the Southern Alps this year maybe giving an indication of where the water pipits are originating from also it seems that there are good numbers all around England this year of this scarce winter visitor, so a bit of an invasion year for this species too.
A few water pipit images - they show how different light can change their appearance
Stonechats have been superb in front of the hides recently
Visible migration this autumn has just given and given with some great passage of birds from the continent, the brambling invasion continues apace with birds moving south west most days alongside plenty of chaffinch, fieldfare, redwings, starlings, greenfinch, blackbirds, meadow pipits, reed buntings, linnets, goldfinch, siskins skylarks, and yellowhammers, I can't quite decide if the regular bullfinch sightings though are birds moving or just feeding on site but they are certainly are mobile. There has also been a passage of wood pigeon this week mirroring an influx on the coast at Spurn.
Bullfinch in ash tree
Yellow hammer - female
Wood pigeon do come in from the continent
With this mega high pressure building over Scandinavia I'm getting a bit over excited about just what it may bring in terms of birding over the next couple of weeks! Just about anything could turn up!