A Few Days Off

With the cricket out of the way, thought I best post something bird related!

In an attempt to keep the youngster entertained this summer holiday we enjoyed a few days in Filey last week. The weather wasn’t up to much but I suppose it beats being at work.



Over the duration I managed to sneak in a few hours birding in here and there, visiting Wykeham Forest, Bempton Cliffs, Flamborough Head and Hornsea Mere. My trip to Wykeham Forest was in the hope of seeing a Honey Buzzard from the designated viewpoint but it was very quiet, mainly I think due to the overcast conditions. I did see a Goshawk though. A few guys hit on a distant bird of prey which they were sure was a Honey Buzzard but the views I had of the bird were non conclusive. There are Common Buzzards regularly in that area too and the range this bird was at I would be guessing if I said it was a Honey Buzzard.

My trip to Flamborough was to do a bit of sea watching, I got there quite early and enjoyed clear blue skies for the couple of hours I was there. I got my chair and scope set up and basically just relaxed. Kittewakes and Gannets were moving in large numbers with the odd Fulmar thrown in but the number of species seen was quite low, the wind direction was wrong though, pushing them out rather than pulling them in. The highlights for the morning were 30 Common Scoters and a single Great Skua all going north.

My chair and scope poised for a few hours sea watching, it was that warm I even took my shirt off! Birding at its most relaxed!



With gloomy but fairly warm afternoons we were always searching for things to do away from the beach and seen as we had already done the rides and arcades in Scarborough we decided to take junior to Bempton again as she’d enjoyed it so much the previous visit. The cliffs were much quieter with only Gannets, Kittewake and Fulmar left. Small rafts of Puffin congregated on the sea and a Corn Bunting sang its heart out from the stubble fields.

Gannet









Fulmar



A nicely marked juvenile Kittewake



This ominous silhouette is a juvenile Peregrine just as it tucked up to stoop on Kittewakes coming in from the sea. Unbelievably entertaining in a morbid way.



The only other place I visited over the few days was Hornsea Mere, a regular haunt at this time of year for Little Gull and it didn’t disappoint either. There were five individuals present mixing with the Black headed Gulls, the number gradually builds during the day as birds come into roost. A local birder said that between 15 and 20 had been present the last week or so but numbers later in the year have been known to rise to around the 800 mark.

Little Gull



Common Terns getting a rest in on their journey south.