Almost Daily Cuckoos, but Others Still Missing

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

Great Crested Grebe

Kestrel

Fish Feeding Frenzy

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 a muck heap.

Skylark

Ditto

Female Yellow Wagtail

Wheatear

Ditto

Yellow Wagtail

Ditto

On Wednesday we had our second trip of the summer to one of Lincolnshire's best reserves. In the morning we were sat in Duck Hide when a brown female Cuckoo flew past silently. We tracked it as it flew into the trees around wader hide. We never saw it again. However, after lunch en route to Wader Hide it bubbled from the reedbed to our right before flying in front of us. It remained in this area the rest of the time while we were there. Meanwhile, a male could be heard calling distantly apparently near the sand workings. More photos of the Hepatic Cuckoo are on the previous blog entry. We saw the usual suspects, but two Red Kites heading south were the first of this species in Lincolnshire we've ever seen. 2 Hobbies were observed just before lunch and also during the afternoon session. Another treat was a Garden Warbler posing for a few moments in the open - just long enough for everyone to appreciate its rather nondescript plumage.

Hepatic Cuckoo (female)

Hobby

Ditto

Red-Crested Pochard

Red Kite

Ditto

Reed Warbler

Ditto

Garden Warbler

Ditto

Red-Crested Pochard

Ditto

Egyptian Geese

Ditto

Cormorants

Buzzard with Gosling

Ditto

Blue-tailed Damselfly

Dragonfly Nymph about to Transform?

Speckled Wood

Orange-Tip (c) Maggie Bruce

Damselfly Species

Ditto

Meadow Saxifrage

Petty Whin

Forget-Me-Not

Bird Scarer on the edge of Nature Reserve

On Thursday we were able to make our first visit of the spring to the Yorkshire Wolds. However, it was disappointing to find the Redstarts, Tree Pipits and even the Meadow Pipits completely absent. There were a few compensations - namely, in the guise of Red Kites, Whitethroats, Yellowhammers, and Marsh Tits. A surprise on the isolated pond were a pair of Gadwall, but last year's Little Grebes had also gone. This was the one day of the week in which a Cuckoo was neither heard or seen.

Goldcrest

Ditto

Red Kite

Red Kite mobbed by a Crow

Ditto

Red Kite

Whitethroat

Ditto

Yellowhammer

Ditto

Kestrel

Red-legged Partridge

Gadwall

Ditto

Marsh Tits just after congress

Ditto

Marsh Tit

And a last minute Yellowhammer for the pm group too

Early Purple orchid

Water Avens

Woodruff

Poppies

Tadpoles

On Friday we went to Leven Canal as planned, only to find very high winds, which inhibited the singing of Sedge and Reed Warblers. We did hear a Cuckoo again, and saw it distantly for a few seconds. A couple of Swifts flew over, but there was no sign of a Hobby.

Willow Warbler

Reed Bunting

Ditto

Record Shot of Sedge warbler

Roe Deer

Two Spires - Scorborough & South Dalton?

During the morning the wind deteriorated, which adversely affected the species being seen, so the afternoon session was changed to Tophill Low. We certainly saw a lot more than we would have at Leven Canal, but again the wind was strong at times, but we were able to get out of it at times, and there were some pockets of calm. We heard a Cuckoo, which appeared to be east of Watton Borrow Pits, but we couldn't see it. A Yellow Wagtail was again seen on the approach road.

Swallow