Local Birding

Right, no posts for last few weeks due to broken laptop, all sorted now so quick summary of recent birding.


Local birding has consisted of plenty of Iceland Gulls between Upper Poppleton and Wheldrake with a minimum of 4 adults, 3 2w and 3 juvs! Also Adult and Juv Glaucous Gull thrown in for good measure!


Hes East has been pretty quite with varying numbers of diving duck upto 7 Pochard and 5 Tufted Duck. Last week or so a few waders have moved in with 2 Oystercatchers, 3 Redshank, 1 Green Sand, 1 Dunlin and best of all my first Little Ringed Plover of the year which I believe is the first in Yorkshire/North East so far this spring!

Singing away at a potential Lesser Spotted Woodpecker site, fingers crossed for photos of them at somepoint next week!

Last weekend involved a day in the south of the area looking for Lesser Spotted Woodpecker, Woodlark, Hawfinch and Bewick's Swan and a day in the north of the area looking for Goshawk, Firecrest, Green-winged Teal and Dipper but managed to fail on all but one target! Guesses on which one seen?!

Several Fallow Deer around

Elusive fem Brambling, still very scarce this winter!

Been busy with a lovely GIS project on badger sets this week so very little birding done this week! 


Hopefully in the next week or two will see Wheatear, Sand Martin and Garganey in the area, already been an Osprey reported as well as Sand Marts!


After a good January and February my York Area Year List moved onto 112, however March has been pretty rubbish! Only 2 area ticks so far with Black-tailed Godwit and Little Ringed Plover taking me to 114, here's hoping to a better second half of the month!


Birding out of the area has recently involved a weekend in Birmingham involving a day trip out to South Wales to see the Common Yellowthroat that has been wintering there, elusive bird but pretty distinctive when it hoped out of the grass! Also drake Lesser Scaup at Cosmeston Lakes CP, but highlight here was a stunning adult Whooper Swan that had been to Upton Warren! More on that later! Some Pale-bellied Brents in Cardiff Bay were a new ssp for me! 

Stunner!

Showed pretty well, neat bird, now for the self found one...

 Click here for a video of the Lesser Scaup being chased by a Coot!

Cool birds

Style to the Yellowthroat, bird was too elusive for photography!

A day trip around Bradford and Leeds resulted in a dip on Black-bellied Dipper and great views of a drake American Wigeon at Anglers CP and not so great views of a drake Smew and Black-necked Grebe at Witnersett Reservoir.

Can you spot it?

Showed well in nice sunshine but strong wind prevented a proper sharp photo!

Finally, apparently there was a good chance of seeing the Northern lights the other week, too much cloud cover but did have a play with long shutter speeds!