Guano

What have Donald Trump, Medway Council, The Maltese Government and Yorkshire Wildlife Trust got in common?

Trump, leader of the world's biggest superpower, as if you didn't know, is a climate-change denier, sex pest, racist, mocker of the disabled, hatred inciter, and is systematically ripping up environmental and wildlife protection legislation in the States; the second is a local authority supporting the destruction of Britain's largest Nightingale breeding site; the third is a government failing to stop the slaughter of thousands of migrant birds, and the last, my employer, is a nature conservation charity, dedicated to protecting and promoting Yorkshire's wildlife. You could argue that one of these four is slightly out of place among those others mentioned. But, according to Birdwatch magazine, they are all worthy of nominating for an award for the environmental harm they cause.

Let me explain...

Birdwatch magazine/Birdguides runs its own X Factor style Birders Choice Awards to celebrate the achievements of unsung heroes, memorable birding events, best rarity etc. They also have the amusingly titled 'Guano Award for Environmental Harm'. To include Yorkshire Wildlife Trust on this list is disgraceful.

YWT have been included by the editors of the mag for the following reason:

"For going ahead with the controversial siting of the new visitor centre at Spurn, despite local objections." 

So, ok, Birdwatch, where is the evidence of environmental harm here?

I have never written about my feelings about the Spurn Discovery Centre, as it is now known. I was involved for most of the life of the project through my previous role at YWT, but have little to do with it now, having taken a new role midway through last year, which means my focus is elsewhere.

But when I look back on the four years or so I was involved, it is with sadness. I have been passionate about birding and nature conservation all my life. I have worked hard to get a job in a wildlife charity and every day feel privileged to work in the sector, being able to do a tiny bit to help that which I care so much about.

• I never thought I would be directly threatened on email because of who I worked for.
• I never thought my mugshot would appear on a stranger's blog, threatening me with violence.
• I never thought I would witness colleagues around me almost having nervous breakdowns because of the intimidation they were facing daily.
• I never thought I wouldn't be able to go birding somewhere because I wouldn't feel safe to do so.

This hasn't been a happy time and especially because elsewhere in Yorkshire I could see the real threat to Yorkshire's wildlife. Intensive agriculture; the continued illegal slaughter of our birds of prey; developments such as Hedon Airfield which would destroy a very important Curlew roost site, the Hellifield Flash destruction in the Dales, the proposal to build thousands of houses next to Askham Bog, or next to the Tilmire SSSI at York, and so on. These are the real threats to our wildlife. This is the time where we need to stand strong and together. And YWT has stepped up and fought for these places, sometimes in the absence of much support from elsewhere.

And meanwhile, YWT were having to put huge resources into defending what it genuinely thought -whether you believe that or not - would be the right thing to do for the future of Spurn NNR. The suggestion of anything else from profiteering to vanity, was simply bizarre and massively frustrating, and pretty devastating to all those involved. 

And now, with the Spurn Discovery Centre in place, has it changed Spurn? Was all that horrific nastiness worth it? Well, the Centre has changed the look of The Triangle undoubtedly (it is a bit stark, but I think it will bed-in with time), some of the views are altered and undoubtedly there may be a few well-loved paths that are now 'left to nature' but I don't sense it has had any negative impact on the birds or wildlife whatsoever - exactly what the Trust, RSPB, Natural England, Footprint Ecology and the Obs' own data predicted. Day to day, visitors are using the facilities. Families are visiting Spurn more easily. A range of people are being inspired about wildlife. The importance of the wider Humber area and North Sea for wildlife gains more prominence. Great. So, it has changed, yes, and for the better, and I don't think the level and intensity of vitriol was appropriate.

Given these things, Birdwatch editors, please tell me: where is the environmental harm here to warrant YWT's inclusion in this list? 

The terrible situation over the last few years has resulted in a very strained relationship between the Obs and YWT. This is massively sad. I look up the coast and see what Flamborough and Filey Bird Observatories are achieving through working together with YWT and it is great for all parties - but particularly for birds and other wildlife. The recent MigWeek up at Flamborough and Filey was a fantastic success, with YWT hosting many of the lectures, ringing demos and various other things at its Living Seas Centre. This is how it should be!

When I arrived back in Yorkshire after 15 years in the wilderness (well, Norfolk and Cambridgeshire), I was shocked about the situation at Spurn. YWT and the Obs didn't get on very well, the site needed some investement and we were even charging our own members to get in - bonkers!

I pushed to secure free entry for YWT members, the Obs committee and staff and to try and start to build bridges between the two organisations. After all, we all wanted Spurn's wildlife to thrive, even if our objectives were slightly different.

The efforts by Adam Stoyle, myself and others really started to make headway - people at the Obs seemed very keen on this too. I was delighted to be invited to join the Obs committee - a real honour for me! We got involved in the organisation and running of the very first MigFest. I persuaded Chris Packham, Michaela Strachan and the BBC Autumnwatch team to spend a week at Spurn featuring both YWT and the Obs. Spurn on primetime national TV - it was great.

This felt like a new beginning. Yes, some of the old issues were still there - and many of the old characters - but it really felt that the future was bright and many of the problems could be overcome for the benefit of everyone, and especially the wildlife of Spurn, just by working better together.

And then, one afternoon, I was sitting in the YWT office in York and E.ON telephoned my colleague and offered funding for a new visitor centre. A major project began…

As the project rumbled on, the objectors to the centre did an amazing job of generating support from across the birding community. Petitioning birders from across the UK arriving to twitch the Easington Siberian Accentor was a master stroke. Nevertheless, planning permission was granted and the Discovery Centre has been built. 

But I think now is the time to bury the hatchet. The centre is built and doing its job. YWT staff are working hard to inspire visitors to Spurn about wildlife, trying to educate them to have a safe visit with minimal disturbance to wildlife. Exactly what they said they would do. The birds are still there; I see there was a Jack Snipe on Canal Scrape too. No change there then. Things seem to be definitely moving in the right direction, to be fair, but I still see unfair comments being posted on social media frequently. YWT gets the blame for everything, even the westerly winds this autumn!

A Jack Snipe on Canal Scrape, way back in 2013.

So, will anybody vote for YWT to receive the guano award? Of course - lots of birders will. I think there is a fair chance YWT will win this dire accolade, which compared with the catastrophic impact of the other nominees on wildlife, is quite perplexing to me. Think wisely when you vote.

Personally, I would nominate Birdwatch mag for posting out their lovely magazine in plastic wrapping. YWT doesn't do that....

Meanwhile, staff and volunteers at YWT will continue to fight for Yorkshire's wildlife where it is under threat. We will continue to raise money to fund projects to improve our rivers for wildlife. We will continue to restore thousands of hectares of upland peat, trapping carbon, slowing the flow of water into the lowlands and providing a home for upland wildlife. We will continue to increase the area of land we manage to provide homes for Yorkshire's wildlife. We may not have the resources to manage all of these sites to the highest standard, but we will do our best with what we have. We will continue to invest the money generously given to us in new facilities for birders and other visitors at our reserves - like the new hides at Wheldrake Ings, North Cave Wetlands and Filey Dams (coming soon). We will continue to try to be good partners to a wide range of organisations, big and small. We will desperately try to raise the money to maintain our charitable work. We will continue to work for a Yorkshire richer in wildlife for everyone, including Spurn.

Cape Yorkshire Tystie!

I have just about thawed out after enduring this morning's Arctic blast for four hours, complete with sleet, lashing rain and gale-force northerlies at Flamborough Head. Why would I do this? Well, fortune favours the brave and all that, and with the forecast looking terrifying, the prospect of some good birds in the North Sea was too good to miss. So, out east to Cape Yorkshire, meeting Dunc Poyser in a deserted lighthouse car park in pouring rain. Gear on, we headed down the track to the fog station. Remarkably, in the dawn light and dreadful conditions, Fieldfares and Blackbirds were arriving in off the sea. How do they survive this?

We hunkered in behind the fog station wall and began the scan. Ducks were coming north in good numbers, mostly Wigeon, Teal and Common Scoter, the former undoubtedly having been blown south of their intended destinations, and correcting themselves by heading back north into the teeth of the gale.

Common Scoters, battling into the fierce northerly.

Few seabirds seemed to be in evidence this early. A gang of Flamborough regulars arrived, settling in with us. While this was going on I picked up two small auks heading north. They were tiny; surely Little Auks. I found myself muttering, like the woman on the Jaws movie who sees the shark heading into the 'pond', but didn't quite get the words out; it was too late and they'd rounded the wall. Gone. Doh!  \Move on... A Short-eared Owl came in-off. More ducks. Among the commoner flocks, a dazzling drake Long-tailed Duck, a trio of athletic Pintail, a Tufted Duck, several Red-breasted Mergansers spearheading a Wigeon flock, three chubby Goldeneye and an aloof, solitary Velvet Scoter. It was very cool to see real wild Mallards migrating, looking superb in the morning light.

Flamborough Seawatchers. This may be the last time I seawatch out here - the new seawatching hide is underway!


We nipped off to put tickets on our cars, before returning to the fray. As luck would have it, Craig and Lee had just found a Black Guillemot, which fortunately for us had landed on the sea with a Razorbill. Surely it was still there somewhere! After a bit, I found the Razorbill and staying on it, up popped the Black Guillemot! Great - a new Yorkshire bird for me. After a minute or so, it took off and headed north and I managed a bit of sketchy phone-scoped video:

Tystie (Black Guillemot) heading north off the Fog Station, Flamborough


Seabirds were fewer in number; we had one Sooty and ten Manx Shearwaters, one Arctic, four Pomarine and ten Great Skuas, two Fulmars, and several Red-throated Divers. The group picked up two more north-bound Little Auks but sadly I didn't get on to them. Dunc had a date with a halloween party in Ely, so had to head off and the rest of the gang headed for shelter in South Landing, leaving Johnny Mac and myself to freeze to death on the clifftop. The wind had swung more northeasterly and was beating us up between heavy squalls that piled down the North Sea. By 11am, we'd both had enough so headed round to South Landing. Down at the beach, a smart first-winter Little Gull was feeding among the Black-heads and a couple of Mediterrean Gulls (first and second winter) were also blogging about. A Great Northern Diver was offshore, along with a good flock of Common Scoter. A couple of skuas went south far out, presumably Poms.

Little Gull, top (at the back of the flock), and second winter Med Gull (top left) South Landing


It was still raining and the wind was strengthening even more, so I decided to head for Castle Howard to see if anything had blown in. Duncan Bye beat me to it however, so I diverted to Hes East, which was bereft of birds, save two Snipe, two Pochard and several Tufties. Happy with my Tystie tick at Cape Yorkshire I headed home. I was still cold.

Post Script.
Then, to my simultaneous horror and delight, Dunc picked up two adult Pomarine Skuas heading over Wheldrake Ings just after 4pm. Boom! A first for York and much deserved. Well gripped, as I was in a shop in the Designer Outlet! Cutting short my shopping trip, I checked Hes East again, hoping desperately that the Poms might have dropped in for a drink, or to roost, but to no avail. Maybe tomorrow...

Birding dawn 'til dusk

A long, enjoyable day at Flamborough, partly spent with fellow Bishopthorpian, Paul Brook. Good numbers of Blackbirds were the most noticeable feature, plus three Yellow-browed Warblers, a flyover Lapland Bunting, two Ring Ouzels and c20 Bramblings. Sadly, clear skies last night had enticed the Olive-backed Pipit to head south and the Barred Warbler failed to perform again, despite showing well first thing. The undoubted highlight of the day was meeting up with friends and listening to Captain Terrier Mark Pearson's excellent talk about the Champions of the Flyway, as part of the MigWeek 2018 and our winning of the Guardians award. Great stuff.

 Common Kestrel, New Fall

 Yellow-browed Warbler, Holmes Gut YWT

Ninja Sandpiper!

Check out the Marske Spotted Sandpiper catching sandhoppers with lightning fast reactions like a shorebird ninja!

Birdo Weekender: Flamborough 11-14th October

To be honest, the forecast didn't look great. Very strong southerlies on Saturday and rain and north-westerlies on Sunday. Nevertheless, after a relatively quiet Friday birding the headland (fewer birds than yesterday, though a handful of lingering Yellow-browed Warblers still), Team Birdo (Ben Green, Simon Patient, Mark Hawkes, Duncan Poyser and myself) convened in the 'ultimate luxury' at 3 Firecrest Cove, Thornwick, full of enthusiasm for a weekend birding the Great White Cape, at the start of the Filey and Flamborough Bird Observatories' Migration Week. Surely, these crazy winds would drop something from the south in?

Team Birdo, Thornwick

A caravan at Thornwick. Ultimate luxury...

Saturday

There was a bit of passage during the morning, with small numbers of Song Thrushes and Redwings 'in off', seven Yellow-browed Warblers in our circuit of Thornwick, plus a Brambling or two and three Ring Ouzels showing well in Holmes Gut.

Brambling

Birding was difficult in the strong winds, and we decided to head north to twitch the Spotted Sandpiper at Marske, just south of Redcar. After a rather arduous drive - thanks Mark - we were soon watching this confiding Yank wader on the beach just north of the village. It showed very well after a while, coming too close to focus my scope on! The bird was happily catching flies and sandhoppers among the detritus on the strandline. It had a curious habit of stalking a particular critter in slow-mo before shooting it's beak out and grabbing the morsel, ninja style. A very distinctive, short-winged, compact bird, with neat white eye-ring, strong supercilium, dark cap and bright yellow legs. Nice to see Mike Pratt at the twitch, Northumberland Wildlife Trust CEO - top bloke.

Juvenile Spotted Sandpiper. Without spots.

Heading back south, we stopped at Holbeck, Scarbados, to mop up an early returning Mediterranean Gull, a smart second winter bird, before returning to Thornwick. We did the northside again, with little new to be found, save a Whinchat and a Redstart. Headed to the site restaurant for beers and snacks. A top night, if not the most bird-filled of days, but great to bird with old mates.

Med Gull, and the lads at Marske.

Sunday...

...dawned golden and magical.

 
This didn't last long and shortly, the temperature dropped and rain arrived. We toughed out a walk round the north side and saw very little, save a single Yellow-brow in Holmes Gut. The highlight was Jim Morgan and Ana showing us some of the birds they had mist-netted, including Lesser Redpoll, Yellowhammer and a Redstart. A real treat and informative too, as Jim explained how he aged the birds. The birds' weights were all good, so Jim assumed they had been present a while and had had chance to feed and replenish their fat stores for their onward journeys.

Redstart

With the wind getting up and the rain getting heavier, we decided South Landing might be a good option. Wrong, it was equally wet and windy. Back to the caravan for much-needed bacon butties and tea, both providing welcome relief. Nothing was being found elsewhere to give us much optimism to brave out the wet for a few more hours, so we decided to cut our losses and head home, earning a few brownie points from our families.

...

A little after getting home, news broke of a Pacific Swift at Hornsea. Dammit! I didn't really have time to get there before the light went, although looking back I might have done it - just. Worse still, a little later, the news came that photos had shown the bird was actually the UK's first White-rumped Swift. What a gripper and a frustrating end to a rather damp day. Birding is just like that sometimes. So, a lesson learned the hard way. If you've got your passport stamped and it's October, stay out until dark- just in case!

The Fall

 

Golf Course Willows, Flamborough

I can't believe that this is only my second trip of the autumn to Flamborough. This year has run a similar course to last, dominated by westerlies and apart from the occasional bit of excitement has been lacking in birds. This feeling of gloom is perhaps exacerbated by the epic autumn of 2016 and its strong easterly flow and torrent of rarities. Last week's trip to Flamborough with Philip was fun, with Short-eared Owl in-off by the lighthouse, a smart summer plumaged Great Northern Diver along with about 50 Red-throated Divers heading south. But as for the land, it was incredibly, exasperatingly quiet.

Today, with southeasterlies and early rain, things looked more promising. I was at Wheldrake Ings for dawn but failed to see yesterday's Bearded Tits, or indeed anything else, save 49 Wigeon, two Tawny Owls and c20 Redwings. Craig showed me a Merveille Du Jour moth he'd trapped - belting!

I failed to find any Golden Plover flocks nearby to grill, so off east I went, via a bacon butty at Fridaythorpe, which showed well briefly (until I ate it).

One of six Yellow-browed Warblers.

At Flamborough, I headed first for the Golf Course willows, where almost immediately, a Yellow-browed Warbler greeted me. My first of the autumn - blimey, it's almost mid-October! The little guy zipped around in blowy willows with a couple of Chiffchaffs and a Blackcap. To my delight, flocks of Redwings, Song Thrushes and Skylarks were coming in-off, along with some small gangs of Bramblings. A Rock Pipit was hanging out with a squad of Meadow Pipits on the fairway. The Fall was happening. The skies cleared and the birds kept coming, along with Terrier captain Mark Pearson who appeared along the clifftop path. Great to see something Bearded at last!!

Rock Pipit, with Meadow Pipit on the golf course.


I headed round to Holmes Gut via the Flamborough chippy, which was even more disappointing than dipping the Bearded Tits. A measly portion of soggy, tepid chips. Poor form.

Ring Ouzel. Always a delight to see these hardy thrushes.

Nice to see some familiar faces at Holmes, and great to meet Tony Dixon, and the birds were piling in here, too. Great birding! Between 1pm and 2.30pm, I/we had four Yellow-browed Warblers, Hawfinch, Great Spotted Woodpecker, three Blackcaps, two Chiffchaffs, c70 Bramblings, three Ring Ouzels, Corn Bunting, c100 Redwings, 10 Fieldfares and 150 Redwings.

A report of a Harrier sp near Old Fall reinforced my plan to visit the plantation before heading home, so I went back round to the south side. I failed to see the harrier, which had made it's way over North Marsh and then over Andy Hood's head who was still in Holmes Gut. In the stretch of hedge between the Old Fall steps and the first perpendicular hedge was another Yellow-brow, Whinchat, Wheatear, Redstart, a Ring Ouzel and a couple of Bramblings. Fantastic Flamborough! Old Fall was surprisingly quiet, with a Chiffchaff and a couple of Goldcrests all it was willing to give up.

Redstart, Brambling.

But today really belonged to the thrushes. It was just incredible seeing so many Song Thrushes coming in off the sea, a passage that continued throughout my time on the Head. It was nice to see a first-winter in the hand at Holmes, courtesy of Jim who was busy ringing. They are just so beautiful. At the end of the day, across the road from Old Fall Steps, 53 Song Thrushes, c30 Redwings, two Wheatears and a Fieldfare fed together with some rather bemused Pheasants, in a tilled field, providing a really remarkable sight. Marvellous. I can't wait to return tomorrow!

Simply stunning Song Thrushes

Beluga!

I never thought I would write a blog post about twitching a Beluga. 

The possibility of seeing one of these white Arctic whales in UK waters was simply unimaginable, so when one was found happily swimming about in the Thames Estuary near Gravesend by Dave Anderson (@Ipterodroma), I could not believe it, but the video on his ecstatic tweet was unequivocal. A Beluga in the Thames. Amazing!

Now, Gravesend is a long way from York, and it was the middle of the working week. My mind whirred. I had long dreamed of seeing this unique species, but a trip to the St Lawrence River or Hudson Bay in Canada was really out of reach for me, at least in the near future. So, to get a chance of seeing one four hours from home was very exciting and too good an opportunity to miss. 

By the evening, a selection of people I know had twitched it and by all accounts the whale was not some hopeless, moribund case like the Northern Bottlenose Whale that sadly died up the Thames a few years ago. An estuarine species, Belugas are very capable of navigating around cloudy river waters, using their pronounced echolocation system to find food. This whale, despite being a long way from home, seemed to be very active, feeding normally and swimming up and down a stretch of the Thames, commuting between Gravesend and Tilbury in Essex. I would not have been as keen to see this animal if it was at death's door, but as this was not the case, I hatched a plan. My old Mark Hawkes from Cambridgeshire was keen to go too, but we decided we'd wait on news, as it would be a long trek. 

Shortly before seven the next morning, the news came that there was no sign of the Beluga despite near perfect viewing conditions. Nevermind, it looked like it was not to be after all. I messaged Mark and we both went to work, although I packed my gear - just in case! 

Then, at 9.12am a tweet announced that it was back! I messaged Mark, said I'd be round his by midday, organised friends to pick up the kids, sorted out a dog walker and then got permission from my boss to have an emergency day off. Fire up the Quattro!

....

Five hours later, Mark and me arrived in Gravesend under a sky the colour of Marsh Gentians, warmed by balmy autumnal sunshine. We had struggled to get recent gen on the Beluga's whereabouts but took a punt on crossing the river to the Kent side; at least the light would be behind us, making viewing easier. As we approached Gravesend, a tweet from an acquaintance confirmed this was the right choice: the Beluga was still showing! Superb! We were getting close.

Down Mark Lane to the back of the Gravesend docks, park the car and out on to the riverbank path. Out of the car, gear on, I clipped a kerb and went sprawling face-first on to the concrete. My scope whacked me on the back of the head as my knees simultaneously hit gravelly concrete, in a huge clatter of optics and flesh. Two big holes tore in my jeans and searing pain shot down my right leg, along with a stream of blood; my right wrist twisted and grazed along the floor, and people came rushing over to see if I was ok. I think Mark struggled to hold back the giggles! 

Untangling myself from a web of straps, and peeling myself off the concrete, the adrenaline coursing through my body got me over the pain in an instant - we had a Beluga to see! I limped off down the path, the nearby landlord of the Ship and Lobster pub shouting "It's a 20 minute walk, lads" in broadest cockney into the dust we left in our wake. My knee was killing. Scanning through the bins, I could see a crowd of people gathered on the shore about 2KM away. Cripes! 

I suggested we maybe try and catch one of the nearby ponies that were grazing the riverbank to ride down the shoreline. Mark wasn't keen, so I limped on. 

What seemed an eternity later, but was probably 15 minutes, we stopped for a scan, and the shining white body of the Beluga broke the surface, glinting in the afternoon sun. Beluga!!!!!!

The pain vanished, and we scampered on down to the crowd. Within minutes, the whale casually surfaced again, about 500m out in the river. Wow! It blew as the round melon-shaped head broke the surface and a beady eye peeped out of the river, just above a stubby little beak. Three more breaths and the whale dived, with a slightly more arched tail stock. 

Five minutes later, and the Beluga surfaced again, this time really close, only 100m out. Incredible! Mark nailed it with his phone through his scope - awesome work! This was just stunning. The Beluga seemed to be feeding around the large moored barges. It would breath three to five times in succession, sometimes covering barely any distance, other times, actively moving  twenty or thirty metres between breaths. It would then dive and stay down for three to five minutes. Often it would stay in the same general area for several series of breaths and dives, but then moved on and would reappear a way away. Some absolutely massive ships came out of the docks and headed east down the river in the shipping channel, but the Beluga stayed well away, keeping much closer in to the side out of harm's way. Nearby, a rib from the British Divers Marine Life Rescue kept a watchful eye on proceedings, ensuring nothing untoward happened. Nobody seemed intent on coming to look in a boat, so they could relax and enjoy the spectacle themselves. 

A good crowd had gathered, many were birders, but plenty of  'normal' people too, keen to see this intrepid traveller for themselves. Here and there, film crews jostled for position and pestered onlookers for interviews. Meanwhile, the Beluga didn't notice, and happily carried on doing its thing. 

After a couple of hours of soaking up this once-in-a-lifetime experience, we bade farewell to this long-distance traveller that had provided so much excitement and enjoyment and wished it well, hoping it may find its way back north, if indeed that was its desire.

 

The view from Gravesend towards one of the barges.

Little Blue

Some flowers kind of catch my attention when thumbing through Rose. Not sure why, but the gentians are one gang that I have always felt are that bit special. It could be that some are rare, or maybe that they are indicators of really top quality habitat. I have seen plenty of purple Autumn Gentians over the years at various chalk grassland sites, but one I really wanted to see was the bright blue Marsh Gentian. This is a rare plant, an inhabitant of damp heathland, rather than marshes. I had found out that they grow on Strensall and Skipwith Commons near York. With my colleague Bernie, I went looking for them at Strensall Common a couple of weeks ago, without success. Mind you, it's a big place! With some local gen, I gave Skipwith Common a try and this time my luck was in. Well, sort of! It was pouring down and the three flowers I found were all closed-up. Oh well, getting closer! The weather looked more promising this week, so I headed back on Tuesday lunchtime and sure enough a couple of these gorgeous little blue flowers had opened. And what a treat! A really stunning little flower, growing in short, acid turf, among Cross-leaved Heath, Tormentil and a variety of grasses. Stunning!

 

Marsh Gentians, Skipwith Common, near York

The People's Walk for Wildlife - 22nd September 2018

We were part of the 10,000+ people demanding a better future for our wildlife. A fantastic day spent with kindred spirits in the pouring rain.