Blue skies continued and so did a run of dips during the week. In between climbing ladders to install Swift boxes, I popped down to Acaster to look for migrants. This largely failed, though there were a few Yellow Wagtails about and 'fresh-in' Whitethroats including this pair. The local Barn Owl was flying about enjoying the sunshine, happily flying past at close range several times.
Two mornings looking for rare waders in the LDV left me feeling a little dejected, as Friday's Lesser Yellowlegs failed to reappear, although I did enjoy my morning with old mate Philip yesterday.
Two circuits of the LDV revealed an unexpected Short-eared Owl this morning at Aughton, with a single Whimbrel with 28 loafing Curlews on the refuge at Wheldrake on Saturday morning, Greenshank again at North Duffield Carrs, up to eight Dunlins and two Ruffs there yesterday too, my first Yellow Wagtails and Whitethroats of the spring and a pair of Little Ringed Plovers and Grey Partridges on Church Ings, Acaster.
I failed to find any Ring Ouzels or Redstarts around the Acaster - Bolton Percy area this morning or this afternoon, despite a male Redstart being seen on the airfield this morning! A Great Egret made a statuesque appearance on Swantail this morning and I enjoyed watching Corn Buntings and Lapwings in the bare plough, though I still felt rather dejected under the bluest of spring skies. Dip-ressed clearly!
At the river, I counted over 100 Tansy Beetles in several patches between the first two stiles south of the Naburn swingbridge, my highest ever count.
I was stunned to get a message mid-afternoon on Friday, stating that Duncan Bye and Craig Ralston had discovered a Lesser Yellowlegs at North Duffield Carrs!
Firing up the Aygo, I shot straight there after work. Unfortunately, they had to leave before I arrived and with no eyes on the bird, Tim Jones and myself had a veritable needle in a haystack to find. Nevertheless, with perseverance, we picked up an interesting looking wader, feeding actively in the waterlogged grass. This bird looked good, though views were tantalising in the shimmering heat haze and deep grass. These issues had apparently caused the original observers a few problems too and they hadn't managed to get any photos or video of their bird. We talked ourselves into thinking this was probably the 'legs', but as it came closer, that short, fine bill suddenly looked longer, thicker and even uptilted, incorrect plumage features jumped out at us, and we both realised we were watching a Greenshank.
Had this bird fooled the others too? It certainly looked interesting at a distance (although we had both thought it looked a little big though this was hard to judge), but the others said they had also heard a Greenshank and had seen their bird close to a Redshank, demonstrating it's smaller size, so presumably not.
Time was getting on and I kept finding the same waders time and time again, suggesting we weren't missing anything else. Yet another Lesser Yellowlegs dip in the York area! Bugger. I accepted defeat and drove home feeling gloomy, my rejected Lesser Yellowlegs record from Wheldrake grating in my head and thoughts of last autumn's bird that I had also missed through being away, adding to the misery of this dip.
Greenshank. So near, yet so far!
Spent the day at Ingleborough which was brilliant under azure skies. After work, Frank gave me a lift up the mountain to have a look at a clump of Purple Saxifrage, a rare plant found on the mountain top.
After a bumpy ride and steep walk, we found this exquisite flower growing on a limestone crag top, jutting out of the mountain side, a really stunning location, with the Irish Sea shimmering behind the iconic summit of Ingleborough in the background.
Thanks, Frank!
Back at Colt Park, the white-flowered Rue-leaved Saxifrage was modestly growing on a drystone wall in the car park.
On Monday, I bobbed into Salt Lake Quarry to have a look at the Daphne Mezereum, or Lady's Laurel, that had been discovered recently. A smart little shrub, with pink flowers, growing along the edge of the site. A rare plant in Yorkshire, this was presumably transported here by winter thrushes, that are fond of the berries. Whether the provenance of the berries was a wild plant or a cultivated one is impossible to know.
A big flock of Black-tailed Godwits were feeding in the shallow water adjacent to the 'Cormorant Trees' at Wheldrake Ings on Wednesday evening. Later on, I thought I'd found a Blue-winged Teal, when I noticed a smaller duck flying around with a gang of Shovelers. BWTs often associate with Shovelers when they rock up on this side of the Atlantic, so this looked promising, but on closer inspection, it was 'only' a female Garganey. So, not an American vagrant. Still, my first of the spring and great to see. No Whimbrel came into roost despite an unusually early flock of 23 being reported here the previous two nights.
Icelandic Blackwits, fuelling up for their big journey north
Lady GarGa with Shoveler
I have walked a fair few miles over the last few days, looking for migrants, with my particular target being Ring Ouzels, which seemed to be turning up all over the country. Nevertheless, it was not to be. I began to think even a Wheatear would have been nice!
Things started well, with a female Common Scoter (see below) being a nice surprise at Wheldrake on Friday first thing, with a flyover Great Egret, and the Black-tailed Godwit flock on the refuge the main highlights, along with my first Sedge Warblers of the year.
Nothing seemed to be moving in the cold weather, so I headed up to the Forest for a Goshawk fix. It is getting on a bit in the season now and I wasn't that surprised that they were not too showy, as presumably some birds are on eggs. Nevertheless, a couple of males performed occasionally above the ridge, one sparring with an immature Peregrine and another with a Buzzard. Just before I headed back to York, two stiff-winged females (an immature and an adult) got up and displayed for a few minutes, even engaging in a bit of a dogfight, complete with grappling talons. The immature shot off into the distance whilst the adult stooped back into the dark of the forest. A Dipper showed well on a nearby river, collecting insects to feed its unseen brood.
Water Ouzel
After another fruitless and snowy (no, really!) search of the nearby fields for ouzels, it was heartening, well, gripping, to hear that Rob Chapman had found a Ring Ouzel at the Heslington Tilmire. To lift myself out of birdless gloom, I twitched it in the evening. Initially, it was found feeding on a tilled strip alongside a hedge at about 500 metres range - standard Ringo distance - but after an icy-cold wait, it hopped all the way towards me, to within about 20 metres and gave great views. A Wheatear was also present along with at least eight Golden Plovers and a Barn Owl flew past, flushing the Ouzel.
Ring Ouzel and Wheatear
Golden Plover.
In other news there have been two Little Ringed Plovers at Acaster Church Ings over the weekend and I collected 19 Swift boxes from Neil all ready to put up around York!
With the warm spell last week, insects were out in force, including this female Tawny Mining Bee and a few solitary Andrena bees (TBC) on the dandelions.
It has been a fantastic passage of Whooper Swans this spring, with large numbers being seen following the Ouse and Lower Derwent Valleys, as they head north for Icelandic breeding grounds. Watching birds dropping on to the ings late in the afternoon, tired after a flight up from the Cambridgeshire Washes was magical. It was clearly thirsty work for the swans, as this herd showed after dropping in a week or so ago at North Duffield Carrs.
It was also a joy to see birds moving off early morning having spent the night locally, fully rested, for the next leg of their migration. Farewell, I look forward to welcoming you and the kids back in October.
Early morning Whooper Swans, Wheldrake Ings.
It is sad that I have to make a real effort these days to see a Lesser Spotted Woodpecker, but it is always an effort that is worthwhile, if indeed it pays off. Today was such a day. Thanks to lockdown, it had been too long since I had got out birding with my old mate Philip, so we agreed to meet up to look for Lesserpeckers, whilst catching up on lockdown antics.
The sun was bright, the icy wind had eased but it was still unseasonably nippy, as we headed out into the forest early doors. Willow Warblers and Chiffchaffs bravely sang; you could almost hear their beaks chattering. A small flurry of wheezing Bramblings was an unexpected treat, as was a Tawny Owl, who looked most miffed by the gang of angry passerines it had attracted. Siskins and Lesser Redpolls swarmed through the birch canopy, Nuthatches sang continuously and both Great Spotted and Green Woodpeckers called unseen amid the trees.
A chance meeting with a couple of other birders proved to be fortuituous; they pointed us towards a large oak where they had seen a male LSW drumming earlier. In such a large expanse of woodland with lots of similar trees, the chance the bird would return seemed fairly low, but we thought we'd try! After 15 minutes, in flew a Lesserpecker, a female, who bounced up a protruding dead branch and began to drum loudly. I had not seen a female drum before, but apparently they do this pretty regularly and in all respects performed similarly to the male I saw in Leeds a couple of years ago - see here.
She seemed entirely unconcerned by our presence, and continued drumming for a few minutes, occasionally pausing, presumably to listen for any replies, or to look out for predators. After a bit, she hopped up the branch, testing the resonance of a few surfaces, before flying off high over the canopy to the north. We didn't see her again.
Later, we met up with the rest of the family and had a nice heathy walk, serenaded by Woodlarks and Stonechats.
Woodlarks have got to be one of the best singers going. Mostly delivered airborne or from a lofty branch, they sometimes sing from the ground, or low perch, particularly if caught out by an intruding male from an adjacent territory. I had been watching a pair feeding in the grassy interface between woodland and heath when this happened; the male immediately jumped on to a nearby dead branch and started to sing a cascade of pure heavenly notes, before catapulting skywards to see off the interloper. Despite setbacks in hard winters, Woodlarks are doing well in the UK, with increases in range and numbers, though there have been losses in some parts of their range too.
Black-necked Grebes used to be a feature of spring in the York area, with a small colony breeding in the Lower Derwent Valley, back in the '90s. With a management regime altered to protect the rare floodplain meadow grassland, water levels ebb naturally. This this has reduced the suitability for nesting Black-headed Gulls, which often host Black-necked Grebes among their colonies. As a consequence, these days BNGs are rare in the York area, although birds still do turn up occasionally in spring. A little to the west, they have established in the Aire Valley and seem to be doing well. A few weeks ago, a pair turned up locally and provided a hint of colour towards the end of lockdown and helped relive memories of these charismatic small grebes.
Plenty of Swallows back in the York area, adding their effervescent twittering to the chorus of singing birds. Several were sitting on phonewires at Bank Island this morning, enjoying the sunshine. Tonight, icy, Arctic air will pour down from the, ahem, Arctic, and I hope these little guys will cope. It will be a touch milder mid-week before going cold again.
Also this morning, 14 Black-tailed Godwits and 20 Dunlins at North Duffield Carrs.
A jet of southerly air mid-week pushed the mercury over 20 degrees and a rush of spring migrants poured into Britain. Early Willow Warblers sang from the greening riverside bushes at Wheldrake, whilst Swallows and Sand Martins caught emerging insects, and I narrowly missed a migrating Osprey on Wednesday evening. The first Tawny Mining Bees and Dark-edged Bee-flies zipped around the blossom and spring flowers in the garden and paused in the sunny spots together with Small Tortoiseshell and Peacock butterflies. The moth trap pulled in several species including Early Grey, Hebrew Character, Clouded Drab and three species of Quaker.
Today though, a cold northerly wind pushed the warmth back south and temperatures plummeted and my early emergence from my warm bed seemed ill-planned. Winter had re-asserted itself and the chill looks bedded-in for the Easter weekend.
Despite this, the birds were still greeting the cold dawn vigourously and the air was buzzing at Wheldrake. A ghostly male Hen Harrier cruised south, accompanied by the black shadow of a Carrion Crow. A good start! More Willow Warblers had arrived; I counted four along the river. 31 Whooper Swans were vocal on the flood and two thirds of the herd headed off north later on. 215 Icelandic Black-tailed Godwits huddled on the refuge occasionally flying around when buzzed by a Marsh Harrier or Buzzard, all pied wings and fiery bellies, before alighting for a frantic bout of preening. A solitary Golden Plover and a few Fieldfares headed east.
The Hen Harrier reappeared as I walked back along the river but didn't hang around. A frenzy of hirundines were feeding in the lee of the trees at Bank Island, including a smart House Martin, my earliest ever record, along with about 20 Swallows and a similar number of Sand Martins. On to North Duffield Carrs, where 20 Dunlin were feeding on the ings. A Great Egret dropped in from the south on to the river and out of sight, having possibly been seen a little earlier over Hemingbrough. I made my way up the east side of the valley, but the ings were mostly dry. I added Egyptian Goose to my York yearlist at East Cottingwith before calling it a day. A great start to April with a fascinating mix of winter and summer migrants.
