Snow Bunting

 

Woodcock and Snow Bunting

Snow Bunting

Woodcock

 Thought this was a rabbit at first as it ran through the grass !! ,  not often you see them on the ground and during the day..!!!!!! in Mablethorpe ,and then nearly tripped over this Snow Bunting at last light on the coastal path...
 

Gulls

 

                                                                           

                                                      

Whiteholme Wader Week

 A calm and still week at White holme with an average of 10 species  per visit. It has been another interesting week , ending with the star bird being a winter plumage Knot today. Earlier in the week Redshank , Dunlin , Snipe , Golden Plover and Lapwing. There  was very little vis - mig going on this week except  6 Fieldfare and 2 Redwings south.........7 Widgeon , 2 Mallard and 4 Widgeon   on the water .....No Rock Pipit or Snow Bunting but maybe next week.....and perhaps the most unusual sighting involved a Dunnock amongst the rocks on the far shoreline( a Dunnock at 1250feet above sea level in October  ??)

Ringstone Ducks

 Last few days at Ringstone , 12 Common Scoter all female types , 6 Gadwall , 2 Widgeon , 1 Goldeneye, 1 Pochard , Mallards and 1 common sand still....

European Doormouse Glis glis

 What a surprise this was .............

The world has officially gone mad............Eastern Stonechat (maurus) /Siberian Stonechat @ Walshaw Dean

 

Italy and Slovenia

A fantastic trip to Slovenia via Italy , highlights were Wallcreeper , Alpine Chough , Alpine Accentor , Nutcracker , Pygmy Owl , Three toed Woodpecker , Ural Owl , Eurasian Door mouse , Fire Salamander , Grey Headed , Black and Middle Spotted  Woodpecker  , Golden Eagle , Firecrest, PendulineTit plenty Gulls to sift through and a lot of laughs , cheers Nick Carter and Andy Huyton...

                                                Ural Owl

Three toed Woodpecker

                                                                         Pygmy Cormorant        

Bald Ibis in Italy

Bald Ibis

Bald Ibis

                                                           Cattle Egret

Mount Nanos

 

We spent most of the morning looking for White-backed Woodpecker in the forest slopes of Mount Nanos with very little reward. So we headed up the high road to the top , we got to 3500 feet and had a good look round , good numbers of migrating butterfly's included Clouded Yellow , Red Admiral and Brimstones and around the tracks and boulders we found Wall Brown , Queen of Spain Fritillary and Small Heath. There was a fine assortment of calling grasshoppers and crickets , and a couple of Griffon Vultures drifted west. The view was extraordinary with Croatia , Italy , Venice the Alps including Mount Blanc and the Matterhorn , Julian Alps and the coast of Slovenia

  More Griffon Vulture headed west with 15 individuals seen , 3 Sparrowhawks , 2 Buzzards , 27 Raven, 1 Peregrine  , 1 Golden Eagle , 1 Marsh Harrier  and a surprise Black Woodpecker over high west, 100's of finches headed north mainly Chaffinch and 20 Meadow Pipits were also present with 4 Black Redstarts......

Slovenia...

                                                                   Wallcreeper
 

Ural Owl

Alpine Accentor

                                                                     Alpine Chough

Whiteholme in the fog

 Thick fog hung onto the moor tops all morning at Whiteholme today , but it was still interesting with 2 migrant 2 Song Thrush , 1 Goldfinch , Merlin , Peregrine , Wheatear and 3 Teal

 Dropped down to Withens Clough in the sun for 5 Widgeon , 1 female Pintail and a flyby Red Kite..

Whiteholme Reservoir

 Arctic Skua over at 17.10 today , also Short eared Owl , Merlin and  a couple of Greylags...

Ringstone

 3 Pochard , 12 Widgeon , 1 Shoveler , 13 Teal , 2 Common Sands , Golden Plover , Lapwing , Buzzards,

Whiteholme...so busy....and Lower Gorple back to its best

 Vis - mig mornings at Whiteholme this week so far .......Hard to count the Meadow Pipits there have been so many  all heading due  south and low , wave after wave  , largest group aprox 70 birds but constant for the first 3 hours of the day. 2 Merlin's have been present , 2 Female Hen Harriers this morning moving south also 2 Marsh Harriers over the weekend  , Pink-footed Geese aprox 500 + last few days , Stonechats , Dunlin , Snipe , 9 Ravens , Reed Buntings , Chiffchaffs and a Robin has been about for the last couple of day which is a first for me up here . Its a great day if you get 25 species at whiteholme,,,,,

https://ebird.org/checklist/S275037808

 Lower Gorple , 3 SEO's , 1 Barn Owl ,  Hen Harrier , Marsh Harrier and Merlin still about up there as well.....

                                                                      Star bird

                                                         Hen Harrier at Whiteholme 

                                                                            

                                                    2nd Hen Harrier at Whiteholme

Grey Partridge

 

There is always one local species that you miss throughout the year , glad to see Grey Partridge today...Thanks DJB

Whiteholme

 

Whiteholme Sat morning 8.30 - 12.00

 

1 x Osprey sat on the fence post for 10 minutes before  heading off south west

31 x Ringed Plover

2 x Curlew Sandpiper 

1 x Little Stint

3 x Dunlin

1 x Snipe 

2 x  Kestrel

4 x Swallow

1 x Wheatear

2 x Teal 

2 x Raven

60 + Meadow Pipit , small groups heading south throughout morning 

Whiteholme madness

 I was busy with the family today , but a text message at 09.00 said Curlew Sandpiper at Whiteholme Reservoir so I was off , got some half decent (poor ) views of it and was off to do some painting jobs etc back at home ........I was a bit miffed when the next message said 2 Curlew Sandpipers and Little Stint etc

  So at 4.30 all jobs done I was off to Whiteholme again , weather was a bit unsettled to say the least but I reckoned I had enough time to get there and back without getting soaked (o how wrong I was) .

 The 2 Curlew Sands , Little Stint , Dunlin and 41 Teal showed well and it started to rain and the sky went black, I had the 2 Curlew Sands in the scope at the same time when a small flock of waders flew past and then another small flock. I thought must be the Ringed Plovers , If was now heavy rain and the sky was jet black , I could seen another group of waders on the shoreline  ...9 Bar -tailed Godwits and a Turnstone but my scope was covered in rain and my bins the same, I picked out another Turnstone , but the weather was against me , I had to move out of the wind and driving rain, 

   I could not id the other flock of waders present but looked like a Ruff and 9 Dunlin types but I was not confident under the circumstances, No let up in the rain when PD , LD and MH turned up and the BArwits and Turnstones had moved on.....roll on tomorrow...