Winter gets harder....

The recent wintry weather has given some great opportunities for photography.
I set off for Spurn last Sunday but only got as far as Easington before the snow got too bad.Whilst on the way back I went round Sunk Island and it was here that a row of bushes laden with berries held a flock of thrushes which at times were very obliging. The weather was a mix of snow showers and sunshine and this gave some greatlight.
Next I went for a couple of hours at Allerthorpe Woods. Just the usual common species here, very tame and starving hungry.Unfortunately there were mo bramblings.
Lastly I had a morning at Hornsea Mere there is a small area that is ice free and amongst the mallards and coots there is a small party of goldeneye.
Mostly theye kep their distance but evey now and again they venture quite close and again prove to be very obliging.
There is also a juvenile peregrine falcon and this was causing chaos amongst the gulls although it didn't take anything whilst I was there.
One thing is for sure -all the birds are starving and whilst it helps with the photos, it will be a lot better when it thaws so they can feed up for the next bout of cold weather and with the way this winter is going it won't be far away.

Winter waders

I set off for Spurn this morning for an outside chance of a male hen harrier.The day got off to a good start with a single waxwing perched at the top of a tree in Thorngumbald.
When I got to Spurn I noticed the massive amount of waders feeding in the flooded fields so using the car as a hide I stayed with them for a couple of hours.
Nothing unusual but the curlew,snipe,lapwing,redshank,dunlin,golden plover, oystercatcher, ringed plover and godwits made for some good photographic opportunities. I didn't actually get down to Spurn but called in via Sunk Island on the way home. A single pheasant in a snowy field was nice along with a mixed flock of thrushes including blackbird, fieldfare and redwing and finally a small flock of twite on the roadside.
The conditions are making things difficult for the birds and it looks set to get cold again next week.

Winter Bites!

The recent weather has hit hard and last week I only managed a trip to East Park, most of the wildfowl had disappeared and only common birds were present.
I had a trip up to Flamborough and Barmston today. Neither place held anything special the highlights being a nice barn owl at Flamborough and grey plover and purple sandpiper at Barmston.