Evening Stroll

The nice weather prompted a walk round the patch this evening. There was some evidence of a few grounded migrants with 11 Song Thrushes, five Chiffchaffs and eight Goldcrests seen. Around the feeders there was an impressive number of Goldfinch with at least 90 in the bushes near feeder 1. Overhead there were a couple of House Martins and a single Swallow. Noticing some damp in the lab I looked on the roof and found the offending hole in the felt. Fortunately I had a tin of sealant which I applied liberally to the said hole. Having seen the forcast for tomorrow I am pleased I did as another deluge is predicted.

Autumn Jewels

After the deluge of biblical proportions yesterday it was a very plesant surprise to wake this morning and find the Tri and her forcasting buddies finally got it right. A still morning with no rain. So it was action stations at our ringing site with three of us erected three nets to see what was about.

Fifty six new birds and five retraps were captured in a little over three hours mainly Goldfinch (33) but also included our first Goldcrest of the autumn and a brace of Blackcaps and a single Chiffchaff. Goldcrest always means the start of autumn for me as these "Woodcock pilots" start to filter onto our shores from the soon to be frozen north where they are affectionately called "Spruce Louse"


Chiffchaff



Autumn Jewels in cobweb



The always sad looking Spruce Louse

There was quite a few birds about with a trickle of Vis.Mig also with 19 Swallows, 27 Meadow Pipits (s) and about 30 Skylarks (w), nine Song Thrushes also dropped in from the east and after a short while, I guess to reorientate spiralled up and headed off west. A Buzzard also showed well and about 1000 Lapwings were in the fields near WHP. In the bushes there was seven Chiffchaffs, three Blackcaps and about a dozen Goldcrests.

Anglo Norsk scores on the doors

As we enter thr last and sometimes most rewarding last quarter I am still maintaining my lead with 241 but Ticker is putting up a very spirited performance and may well crack the magic 200 for Norway with his current score been 198.

Bishop Monkton "Brucie Bonus"

I felt like some fresh air this afternoon after spending most of last night puking, so feeling a lot better and after much prompting from Kes we went for a walk round our patch at Bishop Monkton. On the way into the village where Mr Winkups boys were busy ploughing and sowing there was an amazing gathering of Common Gulls with 2352 counted along with 17 Lesser Black-backed and 9 Herring Gulls. There was also 29 Lapwing here but despite a good scan there was no Wheatear.

Onto Wetherhills Pond where there was a sizable flock of Lapwings 1057 counted, mixed in with these were two Golden Plovers and the bonus of a Dotterel which is the second record for the area and a very nice bird, alas with no telescopic lense there is no picture. In the afternoon sunshine it was easy to see why the old name for Lapwing was Green Plover, they looked magnificent.

Holidays Over

Well thats me back from my autumn migration watch in Norway. Whilst away I have recieved notification that my camera and lense will be replaced so I hope to be able to bring you some more enlightening illustrations soon. Main highlight was a Lesser White-fronted Goose that appeared to a luck few (me been one) which was not only a Norwegian tick but a lifer to boot. Whoopie, I also got three more Norsk ticks Water Rail, Pomerine Skua and Black-tailed Godwit.

I will bring more news when I get my notebook sorted and the pictures sorted.

Morning Ringing

Light winds at 04:30 prompted an early rise and the opening of nets at our site near Ripon. The wind picked up at about 10 but by then we had caught about 50 birds the bulk of which were Goldfinches but singles of Sedge Warbler and Reed Warbler added some interest as did an adult male Whitethroat which gave Aidan a good mental workout and highlighted the finer points of a bird in this plumage. The main harbinger of autumn was also starting to put in an appearance with eight Blackcaps also caught.

Overhead there was a trickle of vis.mig with three Tree Pipits, two Yellow Wagtails, 21 Sand Martins and a Grey Wagtail all flying south. Other birds of interest included a single Buzzard and four Cormorants. The Green Sandpiper was still on show at WHP and a female Sparrow Hawk was a nice sight as it was harrassed by the local Swallows at Ivy House Farm.

A few butterflies showed in sheltered spots with Red Admiral, Peacock, Speckled Wood, Large White and Small Tortoiseshell all seen.

Disaster at Scarborough

Hi and sorry for the lack of news lately, I have been working away but the main reason for my lack of post is that I am in mourning over the death of my trusty D90. Excellent camera it may be but it and the 300mm that were attached at the time did not survive the fall over the cliff at Long Nab, Burniston. I am gutted, even more so by the fact that my Fruit and Nut was pulverised and impregnated with glass. Typically for me a mishap has occured just before I go on holiday.

Pre roost Hirundines

A quick stroll round Wetherhills Pond tonight revealed a nice Green Sandpiper and a couple of Sedge Warblers whilst over head about 400 Swallows were performing their pre roost flypast.