Hornsea Mere

Been down to Hornsea Mere acouple of times this week.
The first was just a recce, got some decent views of a hunting barn owl and there were plenty of litle gulls but quite distant.
the second time I went I was better prepared and I managed a cuple of shots of the barn owl.
On the foreshore there was a little more action with lapwing,common tern,common sandpiper and the best bird a wood sandpiper, plus the little gulls were a bit closer and I managed a cuple of shots.
Last night when I went it was overcast so not so good for photography but saw a black tern,greenshank,dunlin,oystercatcher,greenshank,a couple of little terns and again distant little gulls.
the water levels are quite low and if the drought continues and other traditional water holes (Swine Moor) dry out, it might just produce a goodie!
Will be back a few times over the summer to check out.

Summer Waders

I had a superb couple of hours checking out the waders at Blacktoft last night.
I went to marshland hide to start but the sun was almost straight into the hide with not a lot to look at.
The walk back to Townend was pretty uneventful with just whitethroat,sedge warbler and reed warbler.
When I got to the hide the sun and light was perfect although the waders were pretty distant.
A good selection including avocet,snipe,redshank,spotted redshank,greenshank,green sandpiper,lapwing and ruff.
The tide was coming in and after a while the waders came closer to the hide and one particular ruff was spectacular in its summer finery.It also had some rings on each leg, I would welcome any advice on where it miht have come from.
I have checked out a couple of sites on the net but I'll put a couple of shots on BF to see if anyone knows any more gen.
I was pleasantly suprised by the amount of waders on show.
(in total contrast to Paull tonight where there were hardly any).

Spotted Sandpiper

I was on my way to Blacktoft today when news of a spotted sandpiper came on the phone.
A quick diversion and I was there within half an hour of it being found.
Quite distant at first and at one point looked as though it was going to fly away.
It then settled and appeared to go through a routine of island hopping occasionally giving fantastic views as it landed on the island nearest the hide.
A good supporting cast in the form of medtierranean gull and green sandpiper along with a showy stoat and a good crowd in the hide made for a very enjoyable evening.