I wasn't sure whether to do some local birding today, perhaps looking for some winter grebes or divers, or whether to go further afield to Rutland. In the end I opted for the latter as I'd been to Oakham earlier in the week and fancied a bit of a session round there. Also a Great Northern Diver had been knocking about all week, and the ever-elusive Red-necked Grebe which I always dip had also been regularly seen in the South Arm.
I started by walking the Dam from north to south, stopping every so often to check for the diver, but it didn't appear to be there, and I hadn't seen any recent reports of it... The 3 Red-breasted Mergansers that have been present all week were still there, so that was some recompense, and there were several Goosander about too. It was quite windy and very cold, so I didn't stick around for too long.
I then parked at Old hall and had a look for the Red-necked grebe... another dip. The light was pretty poor and so I could have missed it in the glare, but there was plenty about, including 11 Great white egrets on the south shore, and a flock of 40+ Red-crested Pochard, as well as a few Redshank. Again, it was cold and windy so that eventually forced me to retreat to check out the North Arm. There wasn't much from the small fishermans carpark just outside Hambleton, but the area by Burley Fishponds was crammed with birds, including another 3 Great Egrets. There was a flock of 40 or so Pintail and a fair few other smaller groups, always nice to see, and there was a huge raft of mixed wildfowl, mainly Tufties and Wigeon, which unfortunately didnt hold any hidden gems. I was hoping for a Slav or Black-necked grebe around here, but it wasnt to be, and after a quick check for Smew at Burley fishponds (there weren't any), I went home - a little disappointed for the lack of year-ticks, but it was good to get out nonetheless.
Saturday, 25 November 2017
Tuesday, 14 November 2017
Last coast trip of the autumn?
At the end of October, I engineered a cunning plan to both go on a little break with Michelle and the Dog, Abbie, as well as cram in a bit more Lincs Coast birding. We were staying on the Lincolnshire riviera, in a chalet in Mablethorpe, a short walk from some dunes and the beach, and only a quick drive to some other birding spots.
We arrived on the thuerday and had a quick wander down the beach, picking up a few Sanderlings but little else (still a well overdue year-tick). Much more interesting however was a bird hopping about just in front of the dunes. Without my bins i was a bit unsure, but it allowed close approach and turned out to be a Snow Bunting, a first for me, so not a bad start.
The next day I drove up to Theddlethorpe mid-morning and had a wander round the dunes at crook bank for a couple of hours. Although not completely dead, there was little of interest in the scrub, just lots of Goldcrest and a few tit flocks. An unfamiliar call sparked my interest and I staked out an area for some time, but it came to nothing, I still have no idea what it could have been. However, intermittent Pink-footed goose flocks kept it going, with around 220 going over in small skeins and a group of 100 or so feeding in a rape field.
The next day I spent some time in the morning partaking in a short seawatch - an activity I'm very inexperienced in - but it was quite pleasant sat at the top of the beach and there was a bit of activity. Small flocks of Shelduck were moving North, and there was a frequent passage of Auks and Gannets. Year ticks were provided with a group of 25 Common Scoter and several Brent geese, and it was nice to see a drake Eider moving north. Only one diver was seen, but was too distant to ID.
With the wind strengthening from the northwest, I didn't hold much hope for the dunes,so spent another hour watching the sea on the Sunday before taking Abbie out again. It was a lot quieter than the day before. A lot more Auks were passing, all North, and there were more Gannets about too. Another unidentified Diver flew south and 3 Eiders were seen and that was about it.
So a quiet end to a quiet autumn, but I'm happy that I got myself familiar with some of the sites on the Lincs coast. Whether i get out there again before the end of the year, I don't know, all depends on free time!
We arrived on the thuerday and had a quick wander down the beach, picking up a few Sanderlings but little else (still a well overdue year-tick). Much more interesting however was a bird hopping about just in front of the dunes. Without my bins i was a bit unsure, but it allowed close approach and turned out to be a Snow Bunting, a first for me, so not a bad start.
The next day I drove up to Theddlethorpe mid-morning and had a wander round the dunes at crook bank for a couple of hours. Although not completely dead, there was little of interest in the scrub, just lots of Goldcrest and a few tit flocks. An unfamiliar call sparked my interest and I staked out an area for some time, but it came to nothing, I still have no idea what it could have been. However, intermittent Pink-footed goose flocks kept it going, with around 220 going over in small skeins and a group of 100 or so feeding in a rape field.
The next day I spent some time in the morning partaking in a short seawatch - an activity I'm very inexperienced in - but it was quite pleasant sat at the top of the beach and there was a bit of activity. Small flocks of Shelduck were moving North, and there was a frequent passage of Auks and Gannets. Year ticks were provided with a group of 25 Common Scoter and several Brent geese, and it was nice to see a drake Eider moving north. Only one diver was seen, but was too distant to ID.
With the wind strengthening from the northwest, I didn't hold much hope for the dunes,so spent another hour watching the sea on the Sunday before taking Abbie out again. It was a lot quieter than the day before. A lot more Auks were passing, all North, and there were more Gannets about too. Another unidentified Diver flew south and 3 Eiders were seen and that was about it.
So a quiet end to a quiet autumn, but I'm happy that I got myself familiar with some of the sites on the Lincs coast. Whether i get out there again before the end of the year, I don't know, all depends on free time!
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| Obligatory in situ scope shot |
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