Springtime at Spurn

Springtime is usually a little later at Spurn than the remainder of the country and its usually well into April before the migrants arrive in big numbers.
However the recent mild weather coupled with an almost non existent winter (in terms of cold temperatures) has meant that there has been a definite showing of signs that Spring has well and truly sprung.
First stop was canal scrape and apart from a couple of coots and little grebes, it was very quiet.
Onward then to Sammy's Point in the hope of a spring migrant (ring ouzel?wheatear?firecrest?) unfortunately on the first pass there was no sign of either although there was plant of bird activity and my first swallow of the year, the only other highlight being a couple of chief-chaffs.
I though I would concentrate on one of the chiff-chaffs for a while as quite often watching the antics of one bird can betray the presence of another, however on this occasion is was not to be.
Idid notice that the chief chaff was hovering quite a bit looking for early insects and I did manage to catch a couple of shots in mid hover that I was pleased with.
I then went back to the Crown and again common birds in the bushes so I went to collect my copy of Spurn Wildlife and it has to be said that this years is the best ever and it reflects in great detail what was a very exciting and eventful year at Spurn.
The wryneck from yesterday was still present but I only got fleeting distant views nothing like the showy birds of the Autumn.
It was at this point I saw a merlin heading south.
I thought I would have a look at Sammy's Point again before heading for home and it was here that I was duly rewarded with my first wheatear of the year.
All in all a very pleasant morning.

Springtime Snake!

I had a trip to a spot on the outskirts of York today in the hope of photographing an adder.The weather at first didn't look too promising with low cloud and mist obscuring the sun and keeping the temperature cool.
On arriving the woods were alive with common birdsong and chief-chaff, wren, robin, blue and great tits were all in full voice.
As I went further into the woods a green woodpecker called loudly on a couple of occasions and nearby a willow tit came close to investigate what I was doing.
Pressing on the next bird on view was a pair of very smart yellowhammers, the male proclaiming his territory for all to hear.
On arriving at the favored spot, it was clear that the temperature was still on the chilly side and there was no sign of the sun, however I began to look carefully in all the likely spots but to no avail.
Overhead a jay flew past and there was quite a few reed buntings and linnet and a single gold crest feeding amongst the gorse-but still no adders.
Eventually the sun broke through and there was almost an instant feel of warmth as the temperature at last began to rise.
After about 2 and a half hours I was ready to give up and decided to head for the car almost immediately I saw a small snake coiled up on the other side of a ditch.
carefully I got a little closer and after initially disappearing (soon to pop back out) it posed quite nicely almost oblivious to my presence.
I was joined for a short while by another photographer with his young family and both his children go very close views of this stunning creature.
Eventually I decide to leave it in peace to catch more rays.On the way back I managed some nice shots of another iconic spring creature a brimstone butterfly-the mild (but not hot) weather kept the butterfly somewhat dormant allowing me to get quite close.
This was the first time I have seen an adder at this spot and after quite a while waiting my patience eventually paid off.

A Trip to Teesdale

I was struggling to find a subject locally in this in-between period as winter ends and spring hasn't quite begun.Since I've never seen a black grouse before and as it is something I have wanted to do for a while I thought I would head for what is apparently the best place to see black grouse in England-Upper Teasdale in Durham.

I set off at 5.45 and arrived at around 8.00 I found the landmark I was aiming for and sure enough within a couple of hundred metres I saw my first black grouse.

Whilst anyone in the farmhouse at the bottom of the valley would have had awesome views, the first encounter was quite distant so I thought I would have a drive round to see if there were any more obliging.

I headed upwards on a minor road and it soon became apparent that this particular part of the country was still in the grip of winter.

It also became apparent that there were far fewer birds 'on the tops' than there was in the valley, however one bird was quite prevalent, the iconic species of remote moorland-red grouse.

A combination of sunshine, snow showers and shooting into the sun made for quite dramatic photos.

I went on on the upland road for a bit further but didn't see much so headed back down to a lower level.

One thing that was apparent was the sheer number of birds around, lapwing, redshank and snipe were all displaying, redwings a single song thrush and a pair of mistle thrushes were feeding in the sheep fields and common species such as robins wrens and chaffinches were abundant at every garden and clump of trees.

I headed back to the original area holding the black grouse and 2 males had come a little closer so managed some slightly better shots.

I doubled back to the high road but after a fruitless search I bumped into 2 birders who I recognized from Spurn and they had seen golden plover at a nearby reservoir so I headed out there-whilst the scenery was spectacular I only managed a single and this soon flew out of view, so I headed back to the original site for a l;sat look before heading home.

The 2 birders had just left a site by the side of a wood with a stone wall running its length to provides good cover.

there were 5 grouse at the bottom of the hill but they were slowly heading towards me in a diagonal direction feeding amongst the tufts of course grass.

Eventually they ended up about 20m away but mostly shrouded by grass tufts, and then without warning took flight and ended up quite distant a couple of fields away.

At this point it was time to head back-I called in for the red kites at Warter but only had distant views.

All in all a most enjoyable day what struck me most was the amount of birds in the area at Teesdale I will most definitely be back to this very special place.

I arrived home very tired but very happy after a most wonderful wildlife experience.