Not Scarborough

On Wednesday last week we didn't go to Scarborough, but went to our standby location, North Cave Wetlands, as Wheldrake wasn't quite the place to go after a lot of rain.  The morning started well with a Green Woodpecker 'laughing' in the large Ash tree on Dryham Lane.  We didn't get particularly close, but a humble bridge camera shows it throwing its head back to laugh!
Marsh Harrier (c) 2017 Tony Robinson
 Green Woodpecker (c) 2017 Aileen Urquhart
 Green Woodpecker (c) 2017 Lynn Hall
One of the most colourful birds seen was a Mandarin Duck which flew off Carp Lake, before returning a few minutes later.   
Mandarin (c) 2017 Aileen Urquhart
However, undoubtedly one of the highlights was the cream crown Marsh Harrier, which hunted within a few feet of the windows of Turret Hide for what seemed like half-an-hour.  It didn't manage to catch anything while we were watching, but it came close.  It was the nearest we've been to a Marsh Harrier at any of the other more renowned Marsh Harrier locations in our area.   By the time the harrier was a few feet away the day had turned very grey and drab, so the photos are amazing considering the available conditions.
Marsh Harrier (c) 2017 Tony Robinson
 Ditto
 Ditto
 Ditto
 Ditto
 Ditto
 Ditto
 Ditto
 Ditto
Towards the end of our time watching it, the Harrier settled on an island before attempting to drown a Moorhen.  It tried this several times, and for many minutes, but the Moorhen managed to escape in the end.  It's rather a shame it wasn't successful with a Coot, which pollute any location in which they are present!
Marsh Harrier (c) 2017 Aileen Urquhart
 Attempting to drown a Moorhen & terrifying a group of Shelduck
 Forcing the Moorhen under water
 Feeding the Wildlife

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