30 Days Wild:Day 3 - Looking For Harriers

                                                             

  A slight delay in Day 3 blog as got distracted Mothing last night til after Midnight, and only up now as just emptied the moth trap(more on that later hopefully) :)

  So Day 3, finished work around 2.30pm and then it was time to do something "Wild" so we headed off to RSPB Blacktoft Sands in hope of watching Marsh Harriers.

  On the walk up to reception we checked for bugs in the grass and found this Golden Bloomed Grey Longhorn Beetle and Red Headed Cardinal Beetle.(photos by Majella Fox)

  This was followed by the song of the Cetti's warbler, heard but not seen. First we headed over to Ousefleet hide to meet a friend, fellow Hen Harrier campaigner and this years Hen Harrier Day organiser, Stewart Abbott.Join us to support Hen Harriers at one of the events around the country in August.
http://henharrierday.org/2016-events.html

  Wondering down the trail up to Ousefleet.

  Plenty of Waders on Ousefleet with Avocets, Black Tailed Godwits and Little Egrets.

Also joined in the lagoon by the resident Konik Ponies.

  The reeds and bushes were a hive of activity with Willow Warblers, Sedge Warblers & Reed Warblers all flitting in between the reeds making getting a photo pretty tricky.

  The other lagoons were filled with Waterfowl with Gadwall, Shelducks, Little & Great Crested Grebes, Pochards, a solitary Wigeon and a Mute Swan family all seen.
  Shelduck and Pochard(on the left of the island)

  The main reason for the visit though was the hope of seeing some Harrier action and we were not to be disappointed :)
  At least 3 Marsh Harriers hunted over the reed beds along the river and we even got to see the acrobatic "food pass", amazing stuff and only the second time I have actually seen it :)
  Marsh Harriers

  Just when you thought things couldn't get any better Stewart spotted a female Montagu's Harrier flying low over the reeds to the right as a Marsh Harrier flew left.If Stewart hadn't of being there I would probably of missed it as a was pre-occupied with trying to get a photo of the Reed Warblers in front of the hide, and no I didn't manage to lol
  With Stewart and Lynne(his better half;))just before leaving the reserve.

  We said our goodbyes and left the reserve, us a couple of minutes behind Stewart in his car.On our way back through Adlingfleet I abruptly told Majella to stop the car as I had seen something.
It was a Little Owl in someones garden tree.

A fantastic 3 hours out watching "wild" stuff :)

Probably a Moth blog later unless I end up on a Bat walk tonight ;)

Thanks again for taking the time to read my blog.

30 Days Wild:Day 2 - Robins Amongst The Pigeons

                                                                   

 Day 2, June 2nd and it feels like Autumn.Overcast, drizzle and a strong breeze making it feel like we have missed a whole Season out.Today was a day to clean the garden feeders, bird baths and fill them all up again.I then spent an hour in the garden to see which of my regular visitors would turn up today.

 Not surprisingly the first to arrive were the trouble makers, the feral pigeons that roost on a neighbouring roof.Always scaring the Tits & Finches off the feeders, though only 8 appeared today rather than the usual 20 odd.

One of my favourite garden birds surveyed the area before coming down to claim the peanuts and suet pellets.
Jackdaws

  A couple of Starlings, maybe the ones nesting under our roof tiles were next along with a male Blackbird.
 Starling

 Blackbird

  A chirping sound from the Lilac tree announced the arrival of a small flock of House Sparrows, 5 in total, 3 males & 2 females.
Male House Sparrow

  2 Robins in the garden together, 1 collecting suet pellets while the other fed, hanging on the sunflower heart feeder.

  What I was waiting for finally arrived in a splash of colour.We usually have a flock of around 10-20 of these come into the garden but today I was just graced with the presence of the one Goldfinch.

 The territorial pair of Collared Doves were the last to arrive, they seem to chase everything away from the feeders whether its a Jackdaw or Pigeon.

  I also saw a couple of Swifts over the garden and a Dunnock mopping up the remaining mealworms left by the Starlings and Blackbird thus ending an enjoyable hour in my garden.

  Tomorrow should be a bit more exciting as I hope to be out looking for stunning Marsh Harriers :)
  Thanks for reading, see you tomorrow ;)

30 Days Wild, Day 1: Sparrowhawk,Stone Curlew & Reed Warbler

  Well a whole day at work meant no time to get out and be wild, so a slow and slightly cheating first day for my 30 Days wild Challenge Blog :(
  Luckily for me Springwatch has done all the hard work for us today and so I could relax when I got home and watch the Live Cams on the BBC Red Button.
  Good to hear Chris Packham just agree on Unsprung that watching the Live Cams is acceptable as a #30DaysWild activity ;)
  So here they are Sparrowhawk, Stone Curlew & Reed Warbler.......................on tv live cams.
Sparrowhawk, mainly sleeping and preening.

  Stone Curlew

  Reed Warbler, which moved briefly allowing us to see her 4 eggs.

  Will be a lot more active in the coming 29 days with plans for Skomer, Grassholm, Badger filming, Choughs, Mothing and more so stay with us ;)

Sard's the Star

  I am recently back from a few days relaxing and birding in the wilds of Spurn Point, East Yorkshire.An amazing spit of land between the River Humber and the North Sea that is windswept and wild(and hopefully will be kept that way). It is also one of the best places in the UK to see Visible Migration and a chance of a "lifer" which is exactly what happened to us in the first few hours :)
  Looking out to the North Sea (photo by Majella Fox)

  We had already had a couple of hours wondering around Kilnsea Wetlands, watching Ringed Plovers, Little Egrets, Common Sandpiper, Avocets and a Male Garganey before returning back to the farm with aching feet.
  Little Egrets at Kilnsea Wetlands

  Ringed Plover

Avocet defending their nest from a Little Egret getting a bit too close.

  Back at Westmere Farm I removed my boots from my burning feet with a big sigh of relief, uploaded my sightings to BirdTrack and went to check for any Twitter posts.

  Nooooooo......we couldn't miss this opportunity, so painfully I slowly put my boots back on ans struggled down to the canal path where we found Ian and a few others patiently waiting for the female Sardinian warbler to show itself from its bushy hideaway.I got myself comfy laid down on the grassy slope as I could no longer stand on my feet, with camera ready in anticipation that she would give us a clear view.
Success :) as she briefly came out to the edge of the bush and I managed a couple of clicks before she disappeared again.
  Female Sardinian Warbler

  Before we left her, a Cuckoo was heard calling and Majella spotted it on a distant fence post.
Cuckoo

  It took a while hobbling back to the farm but the pain was temporarily forgotten when we saw this Fox running across the field with its prey, a unfortunate Rabbit.

  Next morning I left Majella asleep at the farm and headed off down the trail towards Sammy's Point at about 5.45am.A bit of a breeze but so peaceful with no-one else around, just me , the Reed Buntings and a few Hares.
  One young Hare seemed to be curious as to why someone else would be up and walking around at this ridiculous hour and proceeded to follow me along the trail.Every time I stopped to turn round and look at him, he stopped too, but then continued following me when I walked on.It was like playing "Statues" with the Natural World, a glorious wildlife encounter.
  Playing Statues with the young Hare.

  We spent the next couple of days relaxing and having 2 or 3 walks a day around Spurn & Kilnsea.There were not a lot of Migrants around but I did see my first Sedge Warbler of 2016 and a stunning Wheatear.
  Sedge Warbler

  Wheatear

  If you want to visit a Birding Mecca in the UK then come check out Spurn Point especially during the Spring & Autumn migrations and come support the Spurn Migration Festival Sept 9th-11th for guided walks, lectures, great company and amazing birds :)

http://spurnmigfest.com/

http://www.spurnbirdobservatory.co.uk/

Thanks for reading and hope to see you at the MigFest :)