Lincolnshire Safari

Grey Phalarope
Grey Phalarope

Grey Phalarope

Short eared Owl

Hen Harrier

female Kestrel

kestrel

I went over to Lincolnshire at the weekend, primarily to see the grey phalarope at covenham, but then I went on for the raptors at Worlaby Carrs.

I set off befoire dawn on Sunday and arrived at Covenham reservoir at about 8.10, quite an impressive place.There were plenty of wildfowl on the water including mallard,wigeon,goldeneye and a single long tailed duck.There were plenty of redshanks feeding along the edge along with grey and pied wagtails.It took quite a while to get to the south east corner and although the sun was fully up it was absolutely freezing.

at firt there was no sign and I feared the worst especially as it had been such a cold night.However after some scanning with the scope i found it nearer the north eastern corner.

Along the way I met Graham catley who runs his blog (Peewit) that makes very interesting reading and we walked towards the bird, the light was very harsh and resulted in some rather contrasting images, very difficult for a decent shot.

great bird though and very confiding.

After about an hour and a half I thought it was about time to go and I set off back towards the Humber Bridge.I headed for Far Ings to check out the smew, it was there but kept its distance in the unfrozen part of Hotel lake.

It was very quiet there so I headed for Worlaby Carrs somewhere I've never been before.

At firts it looked rather quiet but as the afternoon wore on more andmore raptors put in an appearance.First it was a marsh harrier, then hen harrier followed by a kestrel, then a buzzard and sparrowhawk.In thelast hour of daylight the short eared owls put in an appearance.

quite an enjoyable day, the photos weren't up to much but the birds for early December were quite special.

Hessle Bullfinches

Despite the arctic conditions, I wrapped up warm and went out to the Country park at hessle this morning in search of bullfinches.
parking up at the Humber Bridge car park I was encouraged by the soft piping of a male bullfinch right above my head as i was getting my gear ready, it didn't hang around for long so I didn't get a shot.
I went futher into the park towards the small feeding station, on the way I saw a couple of obliging goldcrests but not much else.
On good advice from one of the Birdforum members I took some food and put it on one of the bird tables, one of the robins almost followed me as I sprinkled the food, with a bit of patience I bet you could get them feeding from your hand.
It wasn't long before the robins were joined by a good number of common birds, all extremely obliging.
After about 15 minutes a small flock of bullfinches landed in the bushes above me and they were quite wary at first, the striking red breast of the males was almost dazzling.
It dind,t take them long to get used to me and pretty soon they were taking food from the feeder about 15 feet away.
most times I have seen a bullfinch they have been a grey and white blur as they fly away, but these birds were extremely confiding and along with all the other birds, made for an enjoyable morning despite the intense cold.
A tip for anyone visiting-take some birdseed.
Enjoy.

East Hull Waxwings

I managed an hour on Marfleet Lane this morning to view the waxwing flock.

These really are beautiful birds and the large flock makes quite a spectacle.

They kept flying round from tree to tree and were being chased away from one rowan by a particularly agressive mistle thrush.

There looked to be quite a lot of berries so hopefully they will hang around for a while longer.