Back in the Game!

I went to see Ibibio Sound Machine at The Crescent last night, a fantastic gig, and it was good to see fellow York birders Duncan Bye and Mark Fewster there. With Ibibio still ringing in my ears and a slightly fuzzy head, I headed over to Castle Howard to meet Dunc who was going to try for the Bittern. Dunc was in position on the path by the lake when I arrived not long after 8am. He'd been there since 7.30am, but hadn't seen it. A Cetti's Warbler was showing well, for once, feeding along the edge of the reeds, and the female Red-crested Pochard was hanging out with a gaggle of Gadwall, upending in the shallows. A bit of disturbance in the reedy edge proved to be an Otter, but it melted into the reeds so we only got brief views.

As we chatted, I suddenly noticed a Red-throated Diver surface ten metres away, over Dunc's shoulder! Flippin' 'eck!   I pointed this out, much to Dunc's surprise - and delight. The bird, a cracking juvenile casually swam passed us, nonchalantly glancing in our direction; I then did a little dance and high-fived Dunc. 

 

This is the first Red-throated Diver in the York area since November 2012, which I missed, having been away in Munich for the weekend, so I was delighted to find it; a York tick for us both. I had been speculating a little about the possibility of a diver turning up this weekend, due to the lousy weather of the past couple of days and it being a good time for inland divers to be found. I didn't expect this to happen though! We put the news out and then followed the diver along the lake, as it swam east. 

York's 17th Red-throated Diver, and fourth for Castle Howard. The last here was found dead in January 2008, a similar sad situation to the second here, in April 1986; the first was way back in November 1977.

...........

There was no sign of the Bittern at the east end, although we did see a Great Egret, so we headed back, having another long look at the diver, which was showing beautifully. Arriving back at the west end, I immediately found the Bittern sitting in the edge of the reeds, and showing a little better than on Thursday. I got Dunc on it and we then watched it for 15 minutes before it slunk away. 

Three male Pochards dropped in to the Tuftie flock, and immediately began flirting with the lone female Pochard. Eight Goosanders were fishing and the Tuftie flock was back above 100, but contained nothing of note. As more folk turned up to see the diver, I realised that time was getting on, so I headed back to York to pick up my daughter.  Two York ticks in four days; can't be bad!

 

Turning the corner

The successful Bittern twitch lifted my spirits that recently had been in a bit of a dip-ression, having missed a number of good birds this autumn. Last weekend was a case in point, when I dipped Pallas's Warbler, Firecrest and Pallid Swift on Flamborough Headland, despite putting in a lot of effort. A Siberian Chiffchaff and two Yellow-browed Warblers were great, but didn't really do much to cheer me up. 

The Pallid Swift dip had been particularly frustrating. I was down the Motorway Hedge on the Outer Head when news came through of a Common Swift at nearby Bempton. I chatted with Brett Richards about the bird, commenting that surely a Pallid was more likely this late on, but given the Birdguides news was of a Common, I thought that perhaps it had been photographed and identified as such. As it turned out, photos appeared on the Whatsapp group and it was clearly an alien-eyed Pallid after all. Having not managed to see much on the Outer Head, I shot over to Bempton, and missed the swift by minutes. I gave it a good while, but with my departure back to York already overdue, I had to leave empty handed. Within five minutes, the news came through that Johnny Mac had picked the bird up again, feeding over the RAF buildings. I u-turned on the Brid road and gunned the car (which by now was probably very confused) back to Bempton. Again, I missed the bird by a few moments, and after a prolonged scan, decided it was not to be and headed home, feeling a bit sorry for myself. It felt like I had been making too many wrong decisions and this was costing me birds! Time for some soul searching...

 

Anyway, back to today. After enjoying my brief but obscured Bittern, I went east to Flamborough. South Landing seemed a good bet, so I wandered along the top of the ravine in the hope of seeing one of the recent Dusky Warblers that has been hanging out. Nothing was happening in the picnic area, where one had been reported first thing, though several birders were hanging out on the off chance it would reappear. As this area was being well covered, I thought I'd wander away to Highcliffe Manor, where Johnny had seen another bird the previous afternoon. To my delight, as I neared the corner at the end of the path, I heard the distinctive tongue-clicking call of a Dusky. It was in the bushes next to a small ornanamental pond, but frustratingly out of sight. Fortunately, it called frequently, and after a few minutes I got a brief glimpse, before it flew from the pond, across the lawn and into some sea buckthorn bushes, where it disappeared once again. It was still calling, and shortly it flew again, but this time into the hedge by the path. I slowly walked back towards the Whale Bridge and sure enough, the Dusky was right in front of me, feeding in the sycamores.

 

Feeding above head height, it jumped around the yellowing sycamore leaves, grabbing an insect or two, calling continually. I managed a bit of video and a few pics, easily the best ones I have ever got of this usually-skulking species. To my surprise, it moved quite high into the trees, seeking insects among the leaves. 

All the previous Dusky Warblers I have seen have been more or less at knee height, so this was strange, but fab, as it gave great views. After a bit it suddenly flew over the Whale Bridge and towards the picnic site, the last I would see of this little Sibe. 

 

I headed on round the landing, down the steps and back up to the car park, adding three Chiffchaffs, 14 Siskins and a Brambling to the tally. An impressive dark front of clouds lay across the sky to the north, and a big pile of Fieldfares came in from the east, presumably having just arrived ahead of the worsening weather. I decided to go to the Outer Head to see if anything else was arriving. Sure enough, two Woodcocks came in at Bay Brambles, along with more Fieldfares and a few Blackbirds and Redwings. With a tip off from Johnny, I trundled down to the fog station and found a gorgeous flurry of Snow Buntings, feeding on grass seeds along the path to the seawatch obs. I sat down and the flock gradually made its way towards me munching as they went. The lead bird approached to within a couple of metres, completely unconcerned by me, though it did look at me inquisitively when it heard the Camera shutter. Some tourists came along and flushed the birds, so I decided to leave the to their seeds and head home, birding mojo definitely on the mend. 

 

Once Bittern...

I've been visiting Castle Howard a bit recently, to try and see the Bittern that Stuart Rapson found a few weeks ago. My optimism had waned though, with no recent sightings, that was, until earlier this week, when Stuart got a great view of it, feeding along the edge of the reeds at the west end of the Great Lake. With the day off, I got up there fairly early, at about 7.40am. There was no sign of the bird, so I wandered down the path, noting a female Pochard with c65 Tufted Ducks, two Pintails, nine Goldeneyes and nine Mandarins. I decided to go all the way to the other end as there are some more patches of reeds there, plus there are some good stands along the pathside. Still no sign, although I did see a Roe Deer in the reedbed which was kinda weird, and the female Red-crested Pochard. 

I wandered back and decided I'd put in a good stint back at the west end, in the hope it would appear. Time ticked by and I constantly scanned the edge of the water. Five female Goosander were snorkelling along in a group, seeking an early morning snack. Two Moorhens alarm-called and one shot out of the reedbed. Taking this as a sign, I quickly focussed my scope on that area. A slight movement, and yes, there it was, the Bittern! It was mostly hidden but its upper half and head were visible through the reed stems. My first York-area Bittern at last. I moved position to get a better perspective, but it quickly melted back into the reeds. I waited for another 45 minutes and it didn't reappear, which was a bit frustrating, but it didn't take the shine off seeing this cool bird. 

 Can you see it?!