Blacktoft Sands

The day started with some nice sunshine and wasn't too cold to start with, but as usual the sun went in, and by mid afternoon boy it felt cold!  I started off at the bird feeders to see what was around, the rats were there again cleaning up any food spilt from the feeders.

Greenfinch

Magpie

The next stop was Marshland hide where one particular Wigeon was determined to be heard above all the others.

This one was a bit more laid back!

and then they were off...

On the way to the next hide there were quite a few birds feeding in the trees.

Blue Tit

Robin

Siskin

At the next hide Curlew were just flying in

The Lapwing were feeding a good distance away

Shelduck

At the end of the reserve the Konik ponies were grazing in the field next to the hide.

Nearby there was a Blue Pheasant which I have not seen before.

After a spell next to the wood burning stove in the visitor centre to thaw out, I took a walk down to the far end of the reserve to see the Marsh Harriers coming in to roost. There were two or three flying around, but unfortunately all quite some distance away.

Just near the water these two Snipe were having a good snooze!

Wansford & Tophill Low Nature Reserve

Here are some of my pictures from my recent visit to Tophill Low, it was nice to see a good variety of birds on show with some of the waders starting to return. There are also a couple of recent shots from Wansford near Driffield.

I liked this one because of the reflections

Brown hare in a field near Wansford, it is difficult to get near them for a close up

The rest were all taken at Tophill Low nature reserve

Lesser Redpoll feeding near the lagoon hide

Shelduck and Gadwall on the lagoon

The Blue Tits were starting to show interest in the nest boxes in the woods

What's it like in there?

and is the view any good?

Fungus growing on a tree nearby

The Roe Deer were taking the path through the woods

All was quiet at North Marsh except for some Lapwing flying over and an unusual coloured Pheasant on the far bank

On D res there was a male and female Goldeneye

There were Shovelers on the Southern Marshes

with Oystercatchers and a Redshank on Watton reserve

Hornsea Mere

It was a nice sunny day for once so I decided to take a trip to Hornsea Mere, hopefully I could get in this time as last time I tried the gates were locked!

When I arrived there seemed to be a lot more people than usual, and one spot in particular was getting a lot of attention from everyone with a scope or a camera. I went over to see what all the commotion was about and after asking around I was told a Bittern had been spotted in the reeds. He was very hard to spot through the reeds, but after being pointed in the right direction I eventually got a glimpse of him.

It is amazing how good their camouflage is. It was proving tricky to get a good view so I decided to take a look around and come back later as there was plenty of other wildlife to see.

Black-headed Gull

Greylag Goose

Canada Goose

There was a tree on an island with loads of Cormorants resting in it.

My son Oliver promised me a sighting of a Goldeneye as he had seen one last time he was there with his Grandparents. I was beginning to doubt him after an hour of searching, but sure enough he managed to find me one much to his delight!

After that success, I returned to get a better view of the Bittern and I was not to be disappointed.

After a good afternoon, it was soon time to head home.  En route we were lucky enough to see a Kestrel perched on the power lines looking for his tea

and then he was off and so were we!

Bempton

It was our first trip of the year to Bempton which later in the year is a great place to see Puffins, Guillemots, Kittiwakes, Gannets and Razorbills.  I was surprised to see there was already quite a number of Gannets there, pairing up and looking for the perfect nest site.

We started off with a look at the feeders to see what small birds were around.

Greenfinch

Chaffinch

Tree Sparrow

We then took a walk along the cliffs - I saw a Seal, but he was a bit far off to get a decent shot, but it was nice to see the Gannets arriving back.

This lone Gannet found space on a ledge

We then saw a large flock of Jackdaws flying past

Gannets fighting for space

Meeting up again

We hoped to see a Short-Eared Owl on the way back to the car as one had been seen hunting earlier over the fields, but not such luck this time.

After all that walking we decided fish and chips were in order on the way back through Bridlington, although it was a bit dark for birding by now!