Spoonbills at Alkborough

Last week I visited Alkborough Flats, and was surprised to see as many as 11 Spoonbills.  This is the largest number of individuals I've seen on the Humber.  As you can see from some of the photos several of these were immature birds - the ones with black tips on their primaries.  These birds must have had a wonderful breeding season on the near continent, as prevailing winds can't be responsible for bringing quite so many of these strange looking birds to these shores.
All Spoonbill photos (c) 2016 Jane Robinson
 Ditto
My classes will be resuming towards the end of September and we will be visiting Alkborough, but it is very unlikely that the Spoonbill will still be there, so I let all my 'students' know about the birds, so they could visit to try and find them.  Several people have let me know that they've seen them including Jane, Pat, Dave & Joan from Friday mornings, Simon & Chris from Friday afternoons, and Lynn from Wednesday mornings.  They all saw more Spoonbills than I did, with the record currently standing at 15.
Ditto
 Ditto
 Ditto 
 Spoonbill, Avocet, Black-tailed Godwit & Black-headed Gull
 Ditto
 Spoonbill
Same Species, plus a Cormorant
 Record Shot of Greenshank (c) 2016 Lynn Hall
 The Maze at Julian's Bower (c) 2016 Lynn Hall

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Bits and Pieces of Tolkien

Image
I  haven't had chance to post about Tolkien's time in East Yorkshire recently.  This is mainly because it's been such a hectic Autumn with many venues having to be changed at short notice because of the poor weather conditions. A sign placed on Brooklands Officers' Hospital after WW1 However, this all changed yesterday with a new connection being brought to my attention, about the period just after Tolkien's convalescence.  Phil Mathison, author of Tolkien in East Yorkshire , acting on a tip-off let me know that there may be a plaque concerning Brooklands Officers' hospital in Hedon Museum.  The museum is only open on Wednesdays and Saturdays, so yesterday because it was half-term was my chance.  I asked the elderly gentleman on the desk, and luckily, he vaguely remembered something and took me to a neglected corner of the museum.  I asked him if it would be possible to photograph it.  I was allowed to carefully place the plaque somewhere where it coul...
Read more

Almost Daily Cuckoos, but Others Still Missing

Image
On Tuesday the weather was so good we were able to visit some private lakes near Burstwick.  The Cuckoo showed very well for Saturday's recce, but was only heard during Tuesday's visit.  Some summer visitors were still missing, but highlights included 3 Herons on nests, some Sand Martins, and a smattering of Warblers. There seemed to be a lot of summer visitors noticeable by their absence... The biggest surprise was an Avocet, which flew round south lake three times as we were finishing our meal, and then flew off east.  This was the first known record for the site.  Cuckoo  Ditto  Being Mobbed Whitethroat  - Saturday   Ditto  Disappearing Stoat - Saturday  Heron  Ditto  Ditto  Ditto  Great Crested Grebe  Kestrel  Fish Feeding Frenzy  Roach/Rudd?  Roach/Rudd? Avocet Ditto  After the session I drove round Sunk Island, where there were a Skylark, a Wheatear and a few Yellow Wagtails on...
Read more

Week 8: Round-up

Image
Female Peregrine with young Guillemot? On Tuesday we made our only visit to Allerthorpe.  The vegetation had rioted, and although we saw Willow Warblers and Yellowhammers the only photos I'm left with are flowers.  The birds we encountered included:  Cuckoo, Linnet x dozen, Yellowhammer x 4, Garden Warbler x 4, Willow Warbler x 3, Chiffchaff, Treecreeper etc Heath Bedstraw?   Climbing Cordyalis   Marsh Cinquefoil   Unusual fenced-off plant? On Wednesday we went to Sammy's Point first and found a privet bush  absolutely  crawling with 50+ Red Admirals, 5+ Small Tortoiseshells, a Painted Lady and a Large Skipper.  There was a Willow Warbler flitting among the bushes.  We saw Oystercatchers and 2 immature Herons across the fields.  We then went on to Kilnsea Wetlands.  We discovered that every Avocet chick had perished in the previous 7 days.  On a more positive note there around 40 Little Tern n...
Read more