Hobby and Garganey at Hornsea Mere

Well the Hobby has been hanging around the Mere for a few days now but it isn't making my life easier by posing for a decent photo. It has been flying quite high catching insects and every now and then coming down to fly over the water. It is a work in progress and hopefully I'll have a few more opportunities to get it right.

Hobby enjoying an in-flight meal

Meanwhile, just to distract my attention, a nice drake Garganey appeared just 30 yards off shore -

One of the few remaining Shovelers was also dabbling just off the reed bed -

Numerous Swifts were feeding high with Swallows, House Martins and a few Sand Martins nearer the Mere surface. With a Cuckoo sounding off in the sycamore trees, Sedge Warblers in song flight in the reed bed and Reed Warblers going about their usual business it made for a lovely morning despite the very cool westerly wind.

Hornsea Mere in a 40 mph wind

The wind at the Mere this afternoon was very strong indeed and made walking hard work. I was after Hobby but didn't hold out too much hope with the windy conditions.

An hour or so in the hide at the East end was largely unfruitful apart from views of the resident Marsh Harriers and hundreds of Sand Martins that had been pushed down by the wind. A Swift made a brief appearance as did a single Common Tern (90% it was Common, not Arctic).

I walked back home via the fields to check for Hobby but no luck, however, the summer plumage Red-necked Grebe was there, showing well and quite close in to the south shore. I never realised they have weird feet a la Coot and Moorhen!

Red-necked Grebe with Sand Martin fly past

There must have been upwards of 500 Sand Martins on the Mere with a scattering of Swallows and House Martins mixed in.

As I neared the last field I saw a Kestrel hovering in the wind. It was doing its best to remain stationary but it looked to be fighting a loosing battle and as I closed in it landed on the shore of the Mere and had a drink then perched on a tree stump to regain some strength. It was probably knackered as it was very accomodating and didn't fly off as I fired off a few photos.

South Side of Hornsea Mere

A dry, sunny morning today but with a cold wind blowing from the East. I decided to don my shorts anyway as I intended to cover a few miles and the sun was good and warm in the lee of the wind.

As soon as I reached the Mere I was greeted with a salvo of song from the assembled Sedge Warblers. There were 4 in close proximity and 2 of them were indulging in their wonderful song flight. 3 male Reed Bunting were fratching but a 4th was singing contentedly from the top of a shrub only 10 yards away.

Mallards, Greylag Geese (with goslings in tow), Coot, Mute Swan and Tufted Duck were all present and provided a great backdrop to the more "interesting" species and migrants on show through the morning. A Song Thrush was singing its heart out in the trees and the sun was shining and I was out and about in the open air - what a brilliant way to pass the time :)

Continuing my westerly walk along the South side of the Mere I could hear a Skylark singing over the fields and a pair of Lapwing were protecting their territory and seeing off corvids. Linnets were flitting overhead and twittering.

As I approached the area which is good for warblers I listened hard for the bird I was after, but although there were more Sedge Warblers and Reed Buntings as well as Willow Warblers and Chiffchaff I couldn't hear the bird I was seeking....yet. Another 200 yards and I stopped to listen, and was shaken to my boots by an explosive burst of song right in front of me! Cetti's Warbler. Great stuff, just what I'd come for. Often heard but seldom seen, Cetti's Warbler is a skulking little blighter but if you watch closely you will be rewarded with glimpses of one. I saw two of them several times but never long enough or clearly enough to get a photo. I stayed an hour hoping to get an opportunity but eventually I gave up and moved on.

Consolation prize - a Chiffchaff

20 yards further and I turned my bins onto the Mere to see what was about other than dozens of Black Headed Gulls and a few Herring Gulls. No terns today but a Gadwall or two and....something else - a Garganey. A drake Garganey showing through the top of the reed bed.

Drake Garganey

Garganey and Gadwall

Sorry for the poor pics. They are heavily cropped but they were the best I could get from my vantage point. Record shots at best. After scanning the remainder of the open water that I could and seeing 6 Shoveler, a few Tufted Duck and a Great Crested Grebe I carried on.

Next along was an area of just-ploughed set aside where I was hoping for Yellow Wagtail but instead I found a splendid male Wheatear feeding:

Time had moved on quickly and I'd been out nearly 3 hours already so I put my foot down and walked through the last half mile of my outward walk pretty quickly, accompanied by singing Blackcaps, Blackbirds, Dunnocks and Robins. I turned for home via fields and a traffic-free tarmac road which has arable crops either side, so I was more than happy to see and hear Yellowhammer, Skylark and Tree Sparrow.

What will tomorrow bring I wonder??

After months away - a new post

We moved from West Yorkshire to East Yorkshire late in 2014 so my time was required elsewhere rather than posting in my blog.

We have settled very well here in Hornsea so I thought I'd try a few blog entries to see how things go.

Yesterday (1 May 2015) I walked around a new area for me consisting mainly of scrubland, but also cliff tops. The weather was fine, sunny and dry but at 07:00 it was very cold (just 3 degrees) so I had to dig my gloves out again.

 I went specifically looking for Cuckoo and after just 20 minutes I heard my first Cuckoo of the year. It was quite distant but repeated calls showed it was approaching. I saw it flying on my left side with a couple of passerines mobbing it to move it on.

The number of Whitethroat in the square mile or so that I covered was impressive - I stopped counting at 20! There were also 2 Lesser Whitethroat singing though I didn't manage to see one.

Other warblers present were Chiffchaff, Willow Warbler and just a single Grasshopper Warbler reeling. Here's a photo of a Gropper taken last week:

After a pleasant and quiet mooch around and another good sighting of the Cuckoo with 6 passerines mobbing it, I left to visit Hornsea Mere.

For those who aren't familiar with Hornsea Mere, it is the largest natural freshwater lake in Yorkshire, which in turn is the biggest county in England. It provides a good mix of habitat with open water, reed beds, woodland at the Western end, fields with grazing sheep and arable fields close by.

I only called in at the place that most people go to when they visit the Mere which is known as Kirkholme Point, although the OS map marks it as Kirkholme Nab. There have been good numbers of wagtails passing through so I was hopeful of catching up with some.

There were 5 Pied Wagtail (but no White Wagtail) and 2 Yellow Wagtail feeding on the putting green - although in the afternoon 7 Yellow and 2 White were seen.

The best birds though were out on the water, with distant views of a female Common Scoter and the male Red Necked Grebe in full summer plumage that has been hanging around for the last week or so. No photos to go with the sightings as they were too far away for my camera.