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Aug 07 2013
Visit to RSPB Bempton Cliffs : 7th August 2013
Visit to RSPB Bempton Cliffs : 7th August 2013
On the second day of our visit to Yorkshire we spent the morning at Spurn before driving up to Flamborough where we were staying at the North Star Hotel. We checked in, had a quick sandwich and a drink and headed off to the RSPB site at Bempton Cliffs where we hoped to see some of the nesting sea birds we had not seen at South Stack on Anglesey – principally Gannets and Kittiwakes, the latter of which seemed to have left the cliffs at South Stack already when we visited in the middle of July. We also hoped to see Fulmars and possibly Skuas as they had been reported to be around quite a bit the last few days. Anyway, we had some hits and some misses.
Aug 07 2013
Visit to Spurn Head : 7th August 2013
Visit to Spurn Head : 7th August 2013
On the second day of our visit to Yorkshire we actually got to the coast and we started off by visiting the Yorkshire Wildlife Trust reserve at Spurn Head. Everyone has heard of Spurn Head so we were really looking forward to this trip. We drove down the spit past the pub and cafe (where there is free parking) and down to the visitor centre where there is parking included in the entitlement to drive down to the bottom of the spit (they charge £4). It is worth paying because it is quite a walk down to the end of the spit but it is worth going. We did make a bit of a mistake, however, but more of that below.
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Aug 06 2013
Visit to North Cave Wetlands : 6th August 2013
Visit to North Cave Wetlands : 6th August 2013
Our visit to the Yorkshire coast involved a bit of a stay over in Hull so that we could have enough tome to fit in visits to the RSPB site at Blacktoft Sands and the Yorkshire Wildlife Trust site North Cave Wetlands. This is a continuously developing site with a number of bodies of water and scrapes and fields on either side of a long lane that also has a few hides and some “blinds” along one side of the path. There is sometimes a mobile cafe but it had closed for the day and moved off the site by the time we got there. It seems that the lady who provides the service starts very early in the morning ! At the end of the path you can see the gravel and sand pits that are used for extraction and on one side is a spanking new hide that looks over about a 200 degree view of the surrounding bodies of water. This is quite impressive and very comfortable but we didn’t see a great deal from here except lots of Greylag Geese, Ravens and Great and Lesser Back-Backed and Black-headed Gulls. However when we visited other parts of the site, there were some good birds for us to discover. Continue reading
Aug 06 2013
Visit to Blacktoft Sands : 6th August 2013
Visit to Blacktoft Sands : 6th August 2013
Wood Sandpiper Blacktoft Sands
We went to the Yorkshire coast at this time of year last year but this time we decided to add in a couple of new sites for us. The first of these was the RSPB site at Blacktoft Sands which has featured on our birding group schedule from time to time but, for one reason or another, has never materialised. In fact the last birding group member to go there said it was a bit of a disappointment. Our experience was quite different, however, and we had fantastic views of some fantastic birds and had the opportunity to add a few ticks to our 2013 year list.
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Aug 01 2013
Visit to Moore Nature Reserve : 1st August 2013
Visit to Moore Nature Reserve : 1st August 2013
With the weather set to be a little uncertain for a few days we took the opportunity of a good forecast for the first of August to go out to Moore Nature Reserve. In particular I wanted to take a walk out to the farms at the far side of the reserve to see if we could find any of the birds that can often be found there, though admittedly earlier in the year. In particular I wanted to see if we could find any Yellowhammers. In fact by far the most plentiful wildlife on the reserve were the mosquitoes and, despite wearing repellent, they certainly made a meal of us ! Continue reading
Jul 31 2013
Summary July 2013
Summary July 2013
Garden
July has turned out to be an absolutely scorching month with record temperatures and virtually no rain – the opposite of the first months of the year. We were away on holiday until the 12th and when we came back the garden was like a jungle. As regards birds, we are still seeing some Swifts flying above but we do not see the Mistle thrushes anymore. Finches are almost completely absent and the only garden bird we see regularly are the Blackbirds that come daily to eat and bathe. It is had to tell exactly how many there are since they only even come in pairs. Apart from the bird table the other feeders are hardly touched and the odd Blue Tit or Goldfinch make very little impact on them – a most strange year in the garden. Some rain arrived on the last few days of the month with summer thunder storms and sudden heavy downpours but, even then, the temperature remained warm and was sunny between the downpours.
Some good news is that, whilst not foolproof, out cat scaring device seems to be working and we see far fewer cats in the garden now. Continue reading
Jul 26 2013
Sandpipers at RSPB Burton Mere Wetlands 26th July 2013
Sandpipers at RSPB Burton Mere Wetlands 26th July 2013
After being stuck at home with flu, it was nice to get out for the day and we chose Burton Mere because I had read that there had been sightings of a few Green Sandpipers and a single Wood Sandpiper. So with our hopes raised we drove up there to see what we could see on what was an absolutely glorious day reminiscent of those summer days from childhood; no noise, no wind, blazing sun and the woods and reeds full of butterflies and dragonflies. Continue reading
Jul 19 2013
Visit to RSPB Conwy : 19th July 2013
Visit to RSPB Conwy : 19th July 2013
On our way back from Anglesey to Manchester we stopped off at The Spinnies, Aberogwen, near Tal-y-Bont and then went on to RSPB Conwy. It was another boiling hot day so we were glad of a tea break and a sit down before going round the reserve. The notice board was showing that a Green Sandpiper had been seen so we were keen to see if we could get a year tick on that.
Jul 19 2013
Visit to The Spinnies, Aberogwen : 19th July 2013
Visit to The Spinnies, Aberogwen : 19th July 2013
We visited South Stack, the Fish Harbour at Holyhead and Cemlyn Bay yesterday and we were wending our way back to Manchester slowly so we decided to take the Tal-y-Bont turning and drop in for a quick walk along the beach at the Spinnies Reserve. I had been there on a birding group visit about five weeks previously when there had been huge numbers of Oystercatchers and Curlew and a smattering of Terns. There weren’t so may this time and no Terns at all but it was still full of birds and well worth a visit – as usual. Continue reading
Jul 18 2013
Visit to Cemlyn Bay : 18th July 2013
Visit to Cemlyn Bay : 18th July 2013
Whenever we go to Anglesey we make sure to go to the North Wales Wildlife Trust’s reserve at Cemlyn Bay to see the nesting Terns. Again we were a bit late in the year so we were not sure what to expect but, sure enough, there was no shortage of Terns. As we arrived and parked up we scanned the little lake between the car park and the main lagoon and we saw a pair of Oystercatchers but also the rather grizzly sight of a Herring Gull trying hard to pull apart what appeared to be a chick of some indeterminate origin. It was pretty big and in the end it opted for swallowing it whole; a task that took it quite some time and many failed attempts before finally getting it down ! Continue reading