Early Start at Tophill Low

I thought I would get out early yesterday morning and hopefully catch the sunrise at Tophill Low.

As soon as I set off I realised I was already late as the sky went from a gorgeous purple to an even more impressive pink-I was the best part of half an hour away.

Once I got to the Izzard hide, there were already four people there and it was stiii only a quarter to six.

As soon as I set up the photo opportunities were there straight away-snipe, bar tailed godwit and greenshank all in front of the hide. Little egrets squabbling and fishing in the first light of the day. A kingfisher sat on a perch 5 yards away. And they just kept coming, for 2 hours as the sun rose it was non-stop activity.

There is no doubt that the Izzard Hide has made a massive positive contribution to this reserve and its popularity has soared as a result. Credit must be given to Yorkshire Water and the team down there for their vision in creating a unique wildlife watching experience with no doubt a considerable investment.

A superb wildlife experience-we are very lucky to have a place like this on our doorstep.

Early 'Autumn' at Spurn

I’ve not been out much with the camera just lately but I had a cracking trip out to Spurn this morning.

First stop was Canal Scrape in the hope of a close-up wood sandpiper. The first bird to show was a nice yellow wagtail and then along came a wood sand. It stayed on the opposite side of the bank for about 5 minutes and then disappeared. Apart from a few hirundines swooping for a drink, there wasny a lot more activity

I made my way to Kilnsea Wetlands and it was quite busy with waders here. A nice wood sandpiper as well as a few dunlin and a little stint were all on view. The recently reported white-rumped sandpiper was on show for most of the time I was there albeit always distant.

There were some juvenile little ringed plovers close to the hide as well as a few wagtails.Just as it was quietening down, news of some breeding marsh warblers came on the RBA feed. It would appear that a pair had bred nearby and both adults were also present.

I had a quick move and sure enough there was plenty of activity as the adult birds were frenetically feeding the young.

Other than that, there wasnt a great deal about, however given the good views of the waders and marsh warblers, I was more than happy.

Dawn Chorus

Given that today was International Dawn Chorus Day, I thought I’d pay homage to the most revered of Spring songsters the nightingale.

There are no nesting sites for nightingale in East Yorkshire so it was a trip into Lincolnshire to an established breeding site right on the northern boundary of its range. Years ago there were numerous singing males and last year there were eventually 3 and this year there is only one.

I was up at half four to be greeted by our pre-dawn chorus of blackbirds and a distant song thrush and I was out of the door just after 5.

I arrived on site at about 6.15 and was surprised to see about 20 cars there already. No doubt quite a few people had the same idea.

On the way to the area where the nightingale had been frequenting there was an almost deafening sound of black-headed gulls, then some common migrants including wren, willow warbler, chiff-chaff, robin, blackcap and garden warbler, above all of this I could hear the solitary nightingale booming out his song.

At first the light was very poor and it was a special moment to just listen to the wonderful tunes.

Gradually the light lifted to allow some better photographs.

Not a stunning looking bird by any standards, however one of the highlights pf spring. Whilst it was a joy to behold, the visit was somewhat tinged with sadness knowing that the likelihood of a return to the once good numbers is pretty slim and in reality this bird will probably be one of the last at this site