Birds in the hand, birds in the bush, Owls in the air.... Autumn migration time again at Flamborough

Here's a 'quicky' from Flamborough and Buckton ....a day out birding yesterday with Rob to catch a bit of incoming migration. Given the north easterlie's and associated rain over the past couple of days I for one was expectant of squadrons of Redwings & Fieldfares advancing into the UK over the North sea and a bit of Autumn migration mayhem on the headland.

Didn't quite pan out as planned but hey it rarely does! Equally rarely is there never something a bit 'unexpected' turning up - that's the nature of birds on the move and although we dipped out on a Great Grey Shrike and by all accounts most of the winter thrushes made landfall in Norfolk, we had more than enough to keep us happy throughout the day.

2 caught & ringed Stonechats

You've heard the saying 'a bird in the hand is worth 2 in the bush' .. of course you have, but what does mean? I should know but it's an easy google search so if you're bothered you'll know soon, but by way of a slightly clumsy link here's 2 birds in the hand and 1 in a bush!

1 of many Goldcrests on the headland

The Stonechats are male and female and both immature. They were both caught in mist nets at Buckton (nr Bempton) and then ringed so that we can learn more about their movements in the coming years. Its unlikely and rather a fanciful idea but maybe they're brother & sister from the same brood migrating together?! Like I say, a bit fanciful, but one thing we do know is that as with the vast majority of small birds on the headland they've recently flown across the North Sea from somewhere like Scandinavia.

European Robin

It was good to catch up with Mark Thomas again (the Buckton Birder) - he was the one doing all the ringing and a mighty fine job he does too. The Goldcrest above had evaded his nets for the time being - it was one of about 10 we flushed from a cliff side ravine in which we also disturbed a roosting Barn Owl, but he'd already ringed plenty and there were maybe upwards of 100 that we recorded in the general vicinity. Although we didn't see them, he'd also ringed Whitethroat and Garden Warbler (both very late migrants). The most obvious passage migrants around were of course Robins and I'd guess he must have ringed scores of them as they were everywhere!




Short Eared Owl, Buckton

Little chance of this getting caught up in the mist nets though, a superb Short Eared Owl we watched in off the sea and then get predictably harassed by corvids!

Yeah the light wasn't the greatest!

Back at Flamborough and doing a stint of sea watching from the lighthouse these were a pair of unexpected ducks - Velvet Scoter. Much rarer than the most often seen Common Scoter they're a treat to see so close to coastline. Mainly coastal in their wintering grounds south of the Arctic circle, they're more associated with boulder strewn lakes and wooded shorelines in their breeding grounds of Northernmost Europe




We also had a few Red Throated Divers on the sea here, plus some Common Scoter and someone had recently spotted a Grey Phalarope and a Little Auk on the sea earlier in the morning. The only other thing we saw on the sea were this pair of frolicking Seals ... looked like they were having fun in the warm and mild conditions.
















Other birds of note both here and at Buckton were some impressive numbers of passing Skylarks (200ish), a Wheatear, about 20 Song Thrushes and 200+ Blackbirds, 30 Meadow Pipits, 1 Brambling, 1 Siskin, 10ish Chiff Chaffs and 10ish Blackcaps (one of which, a female with the wind blowing its red cap into a plume I thought for a second was a Waxwing.... one of those slightly embarrassing id moments!) Oh and we did see a few Redwings (about 15) and 2 Fieldfares eventually.

We might not have had the numbers of migrating birds, the weather was maybe too quiet, but always good to be out and about when any birds are coming in from distant lands and moving through in front of you. That Short Eared Owl was the highlight for me ...a good bird to have anywhere.

And you just can't leave the cliffs at Buckton without photographing at least 1 Gannet and hoping that it comes out like one of Steve Race's!

Buckton Gannet

......maybe next time!!

Welcome to Fangfoss! Buzzard county, Owls a plenty and the natives friendly.

All sorted, house sold and me and the van have landed at a treasure of a site called Fangfoss Park.. just outside of York. The site lies adjacent to the old York - Hull railway line and the owners house and site office is the old station masters house. Really nice, easy going and friendly owners they are too, the showers are hot and the local wildlife seems promising. Seriously doubt I'll find anywhere better so this will be my home until December and possibly when I get back from Spain next year.

Here's a pic I've copied courtesy of Robert Ore because it shows the exact location of my current pitch on the site, right next to the old disused railway line and that fab old telephone box!

My current pitch on the site

There's a couple of good bridle paths just off the site (one of which is the disused railway line) with some impressive looking hedges and the fields around and about are not too intensively farmed either. As a local patch its shaping up and already I've had 58 bird species plus a fox, stoat, several deer, lots of rabbits and hares and evidence of badger activity.

Most obvious I guess are the local Buzzards, at least 3 pairs and they're always getting mobbed by Rooks. No sooner do they land and they're set upon by marauders from above!

Like most birds of prey, its an occupational hazard being mobbed in this way. Although it's very rare for Common Buzzards to predate other birds, their main prey being rabbits and other small mammals, but they will take chicks out of nests and most rookeries are accessible so hence the aggro!























With the UK population of Common Buzzards now approaching 70,000 pairs (BTO, 2009) we're all getting used to seeing them glide around the countryside like these, my local ones  ....

Nice overhead shot ... looks almost unreal!

.... and I'm sure they're much happier drifting about the skies unfettered, but before long the Rooks are on the case and this same individual was soon surrounded by winged shapes, like a squadron of black mobsters!

With what appears to be an unusually high but very welcome number of traditional farmland birds such as Yellowhammers, Tree Sparrows and Skylarks in the area at the moment I'm not surprised to be seeing a rather well fed Sparrowhawk which I see nearly everyday but not yet managed to capture. There's also a pair of Kestrels that hunt across the local fields.


Common Kestrel

Little Owl

There's both Tawny and Barn Owls around here (I've heard both) but anywhere you see a Little Owl is reflective of traditionally managed farmland, and I've found one here. Not sure if its one of a pair or just a  youngster seeking a territory but here he (or she) is, typically posed amid a tangle of twigs .. took me ages to relocate after flushing it from raggle taggle field full of rusty old farm machinery ... just the place for one!



















Here's a few random shots of my new patch!



Fangfoss Beck... with the Yorkshire Wolds in the background

Green lane out of the campsite

Spittal Beck again

Apple tree .... one of several 'non' crab apple types

Crab Apples

I had one of those apples and it was bloomin good! Here's the commoner and altogether less tasty Crab Apples that seem bountiful this year.



.... and with Autumn already upon us and fungi beginning to emerge, I'm eagerly awaiting the first falls of Redwings and Fieldfares, both of which will soon be feasting upon all this fruit.



Pleated Inkcap

Willow Warbler

Nice 'shroom that, and as often happens, on the morning I took that pic (October 3rd it was) and feeling the seasons collide as leaves were falling in unseasonally warm sunshine, I had 2 Swallows race over my head due south and then this slender green warbler flitting about in a bush right next to me.

Sure there'll be a few more Chiff Chaffs about into October but this will be last Willow Warbler I see for a while.