Awesome Weekend

For now some pics from this weekend, write up to follow...

Local GGS

Up early this morning and headed over to Copmanthorpe to try and connect with the Great Grey Shrike that was reported here yesterday afternoon.


After about an hours searching and being asked if a 'special one' was coming by a passer by!

 I picked it up very distantly! From SE562457 looking at SE570453

We got the OS map out and figured out where it was a tried to get a closer look. A quick chat to a friendly farmer and we soon had stonking views of this stunner!

Cracking bird and a nice bonus for my York area year list!

2 Whoopers over, c500 Golden Plover and 50+ Yellowhammer made for a nice morning!

minimus magic

Video here

Weekend

Did a fair bit of birding in the York area this weekend.


Saturday began with a search for Firecrest around some local parks, starting where one had been reported at the back end of last year proved frustrating being next to a busy road and no access into the area it was reported then I couldn't find Clifton Park and  Rowntree Park doesn't have the right habitat! Frustrating morning so I headed off to Hes East where there wasn't a lot around so got bored and took some photos of a known Snow x Barnacle hybrid!

Nothing of note on the lake, so over the other side of the A64 but still no 
Brambling. A walk from here over the Tillmire produced a large flock of Tree Sparrow, displaying Kestrels and plenty of Goldcrest.

Someone was not phased by the cold weather!

By this time it was 2 o'clock so decided to go on a random drive a short way up the A64 to see if I could find a nice game cover strip with finches to try and find Brambling, found one spot but couldn't park anywhere near it! Feeling pretty frustrated I drove off only to notice a decent sized flock of finches flying round a field, pull over and most of the flock land in an alder tree

Redpolls, score! After about 10 minutes managed to pick out a Mealy, nice larger greyer bird but too distant for photos and dropped out of sight too quickly. A game shoot came through the field scattering the flock and so I headed home.

Sunday was spent around Hes East, Redshank was still on the main lake, 4 Tufted Duck and a new Little Owl sharply spotted by Jack!

After a report last night of a Bar-tailed Godwit at Wheldrake yesterday evening and it being a decent York area bird and one that might be tricky to catch up with for my year list I headed over there this morning.

Plenty of birds still about considering the lack of water there at the moment, but no Bar-tailed Godwits! Searching through the waterfowl for unusual head patterns and vertical stripes also drew a blank

Good numbers of waders included 80+ Dunlin, c15 Ruff, 30 Golden Plover and 26 Curlew as well as the usual couple hundred Lapwing and my first Oystercatcher in the area

In amongst the Greylags and Canadas was a single juvenile European White-fronted Goose.

Not a bad morning all round and always nice to get down to Wheldrake. Managed to read 2 Mute Swan rings which I presume are both from the valley but I'll double check. 195 and 351.

Finally a juv Grey Heron posed nicely in front of Swantail hide, still improving my digiscoping skills!

All in all Mealy Redpoll and Oystercatcher new for my York area year list taking me onto 104.

Year list update

So nearly a month gone on my York Area Year list challenge and I'm up to 102 species managing to add Kingfisher at Redhouse Resv and also more views of the Adult Caspian at Upper Poppleton and a second poss adult! 1st winter YLG was a nice bird as well, tomorrow I'm off to look for Firecrests, Brambling and Mealy Redpolls!


Birds that I should to catch up with by March are;


Brambling
Mealy Redpoll
Woodlark
Chiffchaff
Stonechat
Egyptian Goose


Species that I'm gonna be targeting trying to find are


Glaucous Gull
Firecrest
Bean Goose
Waxwing
Twite
Hen Harrier
Scaup


Apparently Darren Starkey who jointly holds the previous record of 170 with Russell Slack was on 120 by the end of March, so during March I'll hopefully get


Blackcap
Little Ringed Plover
Oystercatcher
Goshawk
Marsh Harrier
Ringed Plover


plus possibly


Swallow
Sand Martin
Lesser Spotted Woodpecker
Hawfinch


So thats a potential 23 species to take me to 125 by the end of March! A couple of unexpected bonuses would be good!

Askham Bog

Went over to Askham Bog this morning 

in an attempt to find Mealy Redpoll or Lesser Spotted Woodpecker for my York area year list, didn't succeed but added Jay finally and played around with the macro on my camera.

Another Caspian

Went down to Poppleton this afternoon where the gulls often linger in this (SE.548.540) field mid afternoon after visiting the tip.
Was hoping for a bit more white-winger action and getting Glaucous Gull on my York Area Year list, didn't manage that but Chris did manage to pick this out!

initially picked up by Chris around 14:30 and was present until 15:15 when it flew off south presumably to the tip. Fairly distinctive bird, with narrow longish straight bill, small dark eye, sloping forehead, high chest, overall leaning foward stance, legs not visible but when bird moved could tell that it seemed to have a broken left leg. Wing tip showed large white mirror to p10 with a narrow black band just short of the tip, could just see some dark markings on p5 beyond the tertial step but didn't show the extent of this despite preening! When it took flight, luckily only with a few birds, could see how long winged and pale in the wing tip it looked.

Also present was an adult Iceland Gull

and an adult Yellow-legged Gull, awesome!


Along with a Grey Wagtail over the house this morning the Yellow-leg takes me onto 98 for my York Area year list.

Caspian Gull

Jammed in on finding a 1st winter Caspian Gull at Wheldrake yesterday, managed to leave my memory card in my laptop though!


Went back this afternoon with my memory card and luckily it was still there and got these record shots.


This weekend involved- adult Med Gull at Hes East, 450+ Pinkies over East Cottingwith, 1w Caspian and 2w Iceland Gull at Wheldrake, 5 Goosander at Castle Howard and 2 White-fronts over Wheldrake.


York area year list is going pretty well, after the bird race last weekend I've since managed to add the above birds taking me onto 95.