A day of promise that never really materialized ! 19th August,2023.

Well, Storm Betty never seemed to materialize if set against the weather forecasts we'd received. Heavy rain and strong winds didn't appear to be a feature overnight  ( although I did close all windows and sleep soundly !! ).

The flurry of early morning announcements of newly arrived migrants being found never really happened. The best I could offer was coming across two rather tired and bewildered Common Sandpipers running around some large puddles on an area of wasteland used by heavy lorries and fishermen for parking and located immediately north of the Gas Terminal in Easington.  A period of seawatching produced nothing either !

Later I visited again the area near Skeffling that is being developed as a wetland. Again little of interest either over the area concerned or the adjacent Humber. Several parties of Golden Plover winged their way overland towards Spurn, a Greenshank flew south calling and a female Marsh Harrier hunted nearby with the weather proving to be fine but blustery throughout.   

Certainly a much better day ! 18th August, 2023.

Other tasks took me north of Spurn in the morning but sometime after 0900 hours I had the opportunity to do some seawatching. Several flocks of Teal went through and a quite large pack of Common Scoter  along with a gentle procession of terns and Gannets. A single Whimbrel went through before the bully boy form of a Great Skua went south mid way offshore.  After an unproductive interval a single Black Tern went through south quite close in , which lifted my spirits, but proved to be the end of passage for a while. By then time was creeping on so I headed off for some lunch back at my unit at the farm.

With tea and sandwiches made a report on the radio then threw things awry ! Icterine Warbler at the Warren heligoland trap area , so guess which won out !  In fact there proved to be two not one. One bird was noticeably more grey on its upperparts than the other, a more typical specimen with light lemon /yellow on the underparts and a distinct greenish appearance above. It was great to have the time to study them in detail and to get good views from time to time of one out in the open. Not a species that is always co-operative during the breeding season , if seen on the continent, where they can spend time in the tree canopy and be obscured.

Back for what was now a late lunch ! A freshly made mug of tea was then interrupted by a report of a Red-backed Shrike not very far from where I'd been !!!!  So off again to gain what were quite good views of a bird present along the hedgerow line of the drainage ditch running east from the canal zone. The bird was quite mobile, but with a bit of patience it showed well, occasionally making forays out to adjacent areas to secure prey. 

I hung about the area on the off chance something else might turn up (it didn't !! ), but I was rewarded nonetheless by entertaining views of a Barn Owl standing for quite a time in the circular entrance of the nest box which is on an elevated pole not far from the YWT Visitor Centre.  Besides stretching periodically the bird seemed captivated by the Swallows which kept zooming past over the tops of the nearby bushes. By now it was after 1700 hours so time and hunger were creeping on ! 

Reports of some Pied Flycatchers in the tree cover adjacent to the Crown and Anchor pub couldn't be ignored. Sometimes totally lost to view, occasionally one individual of three perched out on a bare branch and provided excellent views.

And so, finally back for what now was moving into a late and  formal teatime treat !!  New cup of tea made, sandwiches devoured, I then confess I sort of  "lost" an hour, but that's another story !!

A good day.

A pretty good morning ! 17th August, 2023.

 Went across to Sammy's Point on Humberside where a brisk easterly wind was blowing across the very "root" of the peninsula below Easington. Clearly birds were cutting across from their southward passage down the North Sea or being deflected by the strength of the wind itself. Noticeable were small groups of terns which kept passing downriver. I kept monitoring those which took short rests on the tank blocks and had some super views of both Common and Sandwich Terns.  A little later, as a small group was shifting around choosing spaces, I went through all those present.  Imagine my delight as , amongst several Common Terns and a couple of Sandwich Terns, a single Roseate Tern stood out whilst preening itself. Soon they were gone to be followed shortly by a call on the radio reporting two Arctic Skuas over the Humber. I managed to find one, which appeared to settle on the water somewhere off Chalk Bank, but confess that I then lost contact. 

Time went on and the tide level began to recede leaving exposed mud where Dunlin and Redshank fed . Later still, and going through the waders present, I found a Little Stint amongst the Dunlin at the same time as a Whimbrel moved through up river. Fairly soon the whole gathering moved off . As time went on gull numbers , chiefly Black headed Gulls , picked over the exposed mud but not before four Little Gulls  revealed themselves. It would have been so easy to miss them as they stood immobile for quite a time until, as with the waders, the whole collection moved on.

Despite best efforts nothing else of note appeared other than a couple of parties of Golden Plover moving high over the Humber.  Such proved to be the end of the excitement as an examination of two or three different nearby areas produced nothing of note, but the day left nothing to grumble about ! 

A day of drama ! 16th August, 2023.

 When first created the Spurn Migration Festival was held at Westmere Farm, where I stay. The farmer, Andrew Wells, built an observation platform at the eastern end of "the big barn" mainly, at that time , so that exhibitors of optical equipment could be afforded views over to the North Sea. Since then it's been extended up to another level and provides open views of the whole area.  A morning spent looking out for birds migrating through can be well spent along with a pot of tea to hand.

I'd decided to have a morning session and was able to take advantage of a warm, virtually calm morning with good visibility. The session provided a good selection of bird species including a dispersed party of Whimbrel calling excitedly as they made landfall. But, on this occasion , it wasn't birds that stole the show but a Brown Hare and a Stoat. The hare was feeding on an open area of grass just below the platform, the Stoat put in an appearance and proceeded to stalk the hare using a variety of strategies and cover. The hare seemed oblivious to all this as the drama enfolded.  The whole episode took on a military element of contain and strike except the hare continuously moved its position and frustrated things!  No drama set in the savannahs of Africa could have been as spellbinding as the drama continued, eventually being almost half an hour in duration. The Stoat tried so hard, but eventually the hare moved away into open space even further away  and the whole thing fell apart!!

Set aside the Mustelids and enter the Lionesses !

Well done , girls !  Just as dramatic, I enjoyed every minute.

The afternoon provided a phenomena worth experiencing too. The NE wind had strengthened and a quite dense sea fret had formed over the coast and inland for 200m or so. The alternative was to go on Humberside which, by contrast, was quite hot and produced very little.

A general day. 15th August, 2023.

The weather forecast proved its worth and provided a sunny, warm and pleasant day, albeit with a blustery wind at times.  I decided to take advantage and visit a range of areas within and around the Spurn recording area. 

Called in to the Outstrays development which can be overlooked from the Skeffling pumping station. The site is located between Skeffling and Welwick/Outstrays and will eventually involve the breaching of the Humber embankment to allow the river to enter the various areas which have been constructed/prepared in this vast enclosed area. A large site and one with huge potential for the future and conservation of wildlife.

Again spent the afternoon seawatching and whilst nothing exceptional was seen it was nice to see an almost continuous stream of terns moving south, some waders on the move and numbers of Kittiwake offshore.  By way of an ending a Greenshank flew, calling, over the accommodation unit as I cooked an evening meal, a reminder that I'd never made my visit to the wetlands !

14th August.........the begining !

Sadly the morning proved unproductive as the only opportunity I had coincided with rain, I got wet through and the only " bonus" on Humberside was a Whimbrel !!

Thankfully I had the afternoon free and so could "dedicate" my efforts into seawatching. Located north of Easington I had most of the afternoon and early evening available, which coincided with the high tide and, hopefully, would catch much of the passage of terns moving southwards to their roost in the marshes of north Lincolnshire. 

The time proved absolutely enthralling with a quantity of passage southwards into the strengthening southerly wind. Species I logged in the almost four hours of attendance were as follows ; Gannet, Cormorant, Little Egret, Common Scoter, Whimbrel, Oystercatcher, GBBG, LBBG,  Herring Gull, Common Gull, Mediterranean Gull,  BHG, Kittiwake,  Guillemot , Puffin, ( on the sea ), Arctic Skua , Sandwich Tern , Common Tern, Black Tern ( this latter and the Arctic Skua being the stand out bonus birds)!.

The "formal" counts undertaken by the observatory over the day had a number of wader species on the move and almost 3000 Common Terns heading south.   A spectacle to behold.!!

  

Some general background !

Last week I travelled to Glasgow to attend the World Track Cycling Championships. The journeys to and from Glasgow provided an ample amount of time in which to have a think about various things including resuming Blogging!  Recent times, despite firm intentions, have seen renewed attempts simply fade away and fail.

But , to be quite frank, I've suddenly had an urge to start Blogging again, not simply to relate wildlife experiences, but, given the disgraceful record of our current Government as far as environmental matters are concerned , to use the medium to draw attention to these shortcomings and lend an additional voice of criticism and objection , particularly in advance of the upcoming General Election in 2024.

What may have provided a lifetime's interest and enjoyment to many is now being disregarded, if not trashed, in favour of an agenda which seems to have no empathy with the natural environment and to have scant regard for the serious threats which are begining to engulf the planet. To ignore such matters is not just foolhardy, but ignores our contribution to a collective global responsibility which might just have some chance of alleviating disaster. Kicking things into the long grass is a sure route to disaster ! Raising impossible deadlines simply to transfer reality into another administrations term of office is adolescent politics at its most blatant. Sadly, this appears to be the approach which has been embraced on a number of fronts, not just on matters relating to climate change, but also on air quality, water quality, habitat degradation and much more.

So, while the intent and objectives of all of the above might be plain, the decision caused me a dilemma !! Should I create a separate "environmental/political" Blog  or amalgamate more of the latter content alongside the conservation and wildlife focus of Birding Odyssey  ( comments please ).  Finally I decided that, as I was unlikely to stray into social or economic maters very often, I would leave things as they are, although things can be changed.

So, there you have it, the  " new approach ".

However, given I'm staying in Kilnsea, East Yorkshire at present, which is immediately north of Spurn Bird Observatory and adjacent to both the North Sea and the River Humber, I think you can infer the main emphasis will be on birding activities in the immediate future. How long my residing in such an idyll will maintain my being able to resist venturing into commenting on ever deteriorating circumstances remains to be seen!! 

General update as at 11.3.2022.

 Given that President Zelensky appears to be able to successfully lead the defence of his country via the means of a mobile phone I feel somewhat ashamed at my repeated apologies and admissions  of failure when it comes to WiFi and akin technical issues. Perhaps being located in Norfolk was not a help , but there you go !

Following the piece relating to the apparent persecution of a White tailed Eagle and efforts by the local MP to suggest such was unworthy of investigation I did write to the Speaker of the House of Commons and ask if the matter could be taken further. I received a very helpful response explaining that his position demanded neutrality and the means whereby he could take action simply weren't available. It was suggested that I could consider raising the matter with my own MP.  No further information or reports have arisen on the subject.

My time in Norfolk coincided with a period of poor weather  ( Storm Eunice etc ) and was hard work in some respects.  All of the ten days, barring one , saw rain and accompanying fresh to strong winds at times. Such was disappointing and frustrating, but there were still good birds to be seen. I didn't manage to see everything on offer but, nonetheless, had good views of Siberian Chiffchaff,  Great White Egret, Spoonbill, White fronted Geese,  Caspian Gull,  Goshawk and, above all else, phenomenal views of Red breasted Goose plus most of the "supporting cast" of species that we regularly associate with a birding break in Norfolk. Amongst these was Grey Partridge which, sadly , becomes less of a likelihood in my own local area. I had some prolonged views of a couple of birds at Holkham and admit to thoroughly enjoying the whole episode.

I returned home to find the village in absolute mayhem.  The gas supply pipes are being replaced which means traffic controls, excavations, and general disruption,  although it does seem the work is moving forward at pace ( that beloved expression of modern day MP's ). Unfortunately the house I live in is central to the traffic control system, which means parking is no longer available. Hopefully the work will be completed soon, although estimates tend to vary which is not helpful for future planning as , apparently, you've to be around at the point the conversion directly affects your address !!  Happy days.

  

White-tailed Eagle persecution.

Around a week ago a report was issued on Raptor Persecution's web site giving details, based in turn from a report issued by the Dorset Police and an accompanying appeal for further information. Essentially a White-tailed Eagle had been found dead in suspicious circumstances on one of the large estates in Dorset. The bird was one of those released under the Isle of Wight scheme and, sadly, joined another of its counterparts also found dead in Sussex last October. To my knowledge neither of these has yet had the routinely associated post mortem or toxicology reports placed in the public domain. Such follows a now almost regular litany of similar reports on bird of prey persecution, many of which are associated with shooting estates, although, in this case, there is nothing which has emerged which connects the estate in question with the incident. No doubt further information will be reported on in due course by the Police following their investigations. But that is when the whole scenario assumed a rather unfamiliar twist. The local Conservative MP, a Mr Chris Loder, put out public comments on his Twitter account advocating that he did not wish the Dorset Police to investigate what appears to be a criminal incident. Sadly he fell back on what has become a familiar stream of comments based on hysteria and predjudice stating that he didn't want eagles "killing our lambs or plaguing our farmers" and that he felt investigating county lines drug distribution activities were of more importance. I doubt anyone would argue against the need to carry out work on the latter, but it should not be assumed that investigating wildlife crime takes away resources from other section of the police force, a major aspect he appears to have overlooked. Wildlife Crime investigations are carried out by dedicated Wildlife Officers, a function I am sure he would support ( or would he? ). It has been reported that the wealthy owner of the estate in question has been a prominent supporter of the Tory Party and that his wife is involved with the Countryside Alliance, also that Mr Loder himself is a tenant farmer in the county. Whilst there is nothing in any reports to signal any connections with the incident, there is clearly a justification for concern to be expressed when such a clear case of suspected criminality is openly advocated by the local MP to be set aside and ignored. Whether such arises from utter naivete or other reasons is immaterial as, in my view , this is not an activity one expects from an MP. A colleague of mine recently contacted Mr Loder's office (01305 818446) and was advised that various complaints on the matter had been received from outside the constituency. Similarly the Crime Commissioner for Dorset (01202 229084) had received various contacts on the same subject. I feel the subject deserves airing more widely as there are obvious matters of principle involved given the scenario involves a serving MP. I would remind people that when the Prime Minister sought to "protect" the lobbying activities of the then serving MP, Owen Patterson, the whole sorry episode ended in tears. Here we have a serving MP openly advocating that an active police investigation into a potential criminal activity should be abandoned !! Not a responsibility I was aware MP's were invested with! Whilst it is clear Mr Loder openly opposes the release scheme on the Isle of Wight of White tailed Eagles , an open advocation that criminal activities against such birds should be, by implication, openly tolerated, encouraged and decriminalized is a step too far in my book. I have today sent an E-mail to Sir Lindsay Hoyle, the Speaker's Office ( Houses of Parliament, Westminster ) drawing the matter to his attention and asking that he refer the matter on to whichever authority within the House of Commons it is that deals with such matters. I make no secret of the fact that, personally, I support conservation initiatives and worked in that sphere for many years and that I accept that the opinions and views of others should be considered equally, however, open advocation that the rule of law should be set aside in the cause of predjudice is not an initiative to be tolerated whether promoted by an MP or not! If other people feel similarly I would encourage you also to E-mail the Speaker ( speakersoffice@parliament.uk ) or,indeed, your own constituency MP. Thank you.

The Dawning of the Age of Aquarious.

I'm aware that, on various occasions in the past, I've "announced" my intention to start Blogging again. Admittedley this has usually been at the cessation of a period of lockdown associated with Covid, or in one case, after an injury and period of recuperation. The honest truth of the matter is that, whilst there was serious intent in the announcements, they never ended up with any continuity attached to them despite regular birding activities. Can do better was an understatement. Will this one be any better? Well, I hope so as Covid restrictions are being wound down or close to being withdrawn altogether. Admittedley, whilst the situation does seem to be improving, it's still more than a little patchy and, from a personal viewpoint, I think there's every reason to put effort into what might best be described as "personal caution". But, in my case, there's another reason why I hope things proceed differently. As the title of this Blog suggests ( and do forgive the pun ) I reached my 80th birthday on the 24th January and so fall within the Aquarious star sign. That's simply an unavoidable fact, not something to which I attribute any direct relevance ! But, given that I'm healthy, full of good cheer and free of restrictions I think there's every good reason to make an effort and set out what can happen in "one's personal autumn" given a little focus and concentration is applied to life! The strategy to be followed, as you might imagine, is not markedley different to anything that's gone before. Travel and birding, family and friends, and generally getting around and enjoying things. So it seemed the obvious addition to all of that was to share the enjoyment and provide a regular account of how things were going, the quirks encountered and the successes enjoyed. So, the eighth decade is born and, hopefully, will provide an encouraging testament to what can be achieved, post 80, and underscore the idea of picking up the baton and continuing ambling!! I've various UK trips arranged but, as yet, have made no firm arrangements to travel abroad as I don't yet believe "the Covid situation" is under absolute control. I'm sure some would disagree but, after enjoying various "domestic" holidays within the last couple of years, I'm more than prepared to extend the approach a little further. I can't speak for everyone, but I've also found that I've managed to save money within the lockdown periods too. So, I've effected a complete conversion to Swarovski. Having traded everything else in I'm now equipped with a pair of 10x56 binocuars and the new 115mm scope with binocular eyepiece attachment. Yes, the latter is heavy, but I'm not doing as much rampaging about the uplands as in the past and suspect a practical approach will soon emerge to cope with the problem. And so, despite the imminent weather forecasts, I've a trip to Norfolk planned and will put all of the above to the test. Watch this space.