On the way to Bempton today and a Stone Curlew had been found at Fairburn. It was at the New Flash which meant not even having to spend to long on this detour. I have previously seen this species at Weeting Heath in Suffolk and a vagrant at Lodmoor in Dorset which was also an early July bird.
Some great birding on Saturday 30/06/18 09.00-16.30 with Colin Rushmer
The prime attraction for us was the breeding Spoonbills at this reserve; it's interesting to read Roger Baker's post below and reflect on the trend with this species. The reserve apparently had 12 birds on in total, with a flock of 7 itinerants joining the nesting pair with young. We saw an adult and 3 chicks on the nest first thing, and then had views of single birds feeding at a couple of different spots and a few flight views around the flashes. They are top birds.
However, we didn't realise that there is a strong presence of Bittern onsite in the summer, so it was a pleasant surprise to be able to get 5 superb views of feeding flights during the day, including one view of a bird emerging from the reeds about 25m from us and flying off. In blazing sunshine it was awesome. 2 pretty special lifers for Colin in the bag!
The other great species the RSPB are able to openly talk about onsite is Black-necked Grebe. We saw several young birds with accompanying adults. Interesting to reflect that this is another breeding location [I'm only aware of 4 though] at a post-industrial waterbody site; it can't be a coincidence.
All in all we picked up 59 species and if we'd seen a Robin or a Blackcap we'd have got to 60 which is when you know you're at a great site. Best other birds were probably Green Woodpecker, Garden Warbler and Avocet. We were bemused by a dearth of raptors; one Kestrel and distant Buzzards, I had considered Red Kite and Hobby to be quite possible but there was nothing about at all. Also Bearded Tit would have been nice but when you're watching Bitterns and Spoonbills for fun then you can live with a dip.
The scale of the site and the quality of the habitat was very impressive. There were insects everywhere, loads of space and it felt like a really strong reserve.
9.30-14.00. Had an enjoyable run out to this reserve today with David Morris, first time visiting for both of us. A nice daylist tally of 55 showed the variety of species there to be seen. Highlights were: 2 Willow Tits by the woodland feeder station About 30 Lesser Redpoll in a flock feeding in the Alders along the Riverbank Trail, with the odd Siskin and Goldfinch amongst them A nice male Pintail amongst Pochard, Goosander and Goldeneye on the Main Lake. No Smew for us though; never mind 5 White-fronted Geese down at Lin Dike
It's not exactly proper birding but the feeders here were really nice, loads of stuff was buzzing about
The reserve was a bit different to what I expected as the name suggests a flood plain, but of course this area had been mined for years and a chunk of the site was landscaped from colliery spoil. The area around Lin Dike was more what I was imagining, and we were delighted to pick up the White-fronts which were mixed in with a flock of Canada Geese. This was a lifer for Dave so a nice way to cap off the visit. I would have expected a few Wigeon would be present, which would have been an 11th duck species on the day, but there were some big areas of flooded meadow that you couldn't get to so maybe there were a few about.
Easily a full day's birding here if you had the legs; it would be interesting to come back later in the year and see what summer visitors they get
Sunday 28th Feb. After a disappointing Sunday morning, a report of 3 Smew including a drake at Fairburn Ings in Leeds was a tempting prospect to salvage a dipping outing. Never been to Fairburn Ings before so took the chance on it and it paid off.
From Lin Dike Hide. - Smew 3 (2 redhead, 1 drake) 1 redhead briefly before disappearing. Another redhead giving excellent viewing fairly close to the hide, and the drake Smew was a Lifer for me. He showed well but was a bit more distant.
Other birds of note... - Goldeneye - Teal - Pochard - Tufted Duck - Gadwall - Little Egret - Grey Heron - quick burst of Cetti's Warbler song from reeds at side of path from Lin Dike Hide - small group of Red-legged Partridge opposite visitor centre (not on reserve).
Gave some great views preening ..... fabulous crest ! Had a couple of circuits fly round and then a bit of wading ...... think an adult male (an orange tip to the "spoon" and a really buff breast) ..... was collecting sticks at one stage.
Little Egret. Avocet.
Plenty of activity in the Cormorant colony.
Roger.
-- Edited by Roger Baker 3 on Thursday 21st of May 2015 11:29:53 AM
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Blessed is the man who expecteth little reward ..... for he shall seldom be disappointed.
I had a good day out with my Whitefield birding class which produced a total of 53 species, the main event being the 'Smew Quest'. We did a full circle around the Main Bay and Village Bay making a round trip of about three miles. Later we popped in to see Spoonbill Flash.
Highlights included the well-known Tree Sparrows on the feeders (which are great for photos), accompanied by a Lesser Redpoll, male and female Siskin, a Willow Tit and all the usual Tits and Finches. A first for me was seeing a Treecreeper at a feeding station, firstly on a log on the floor under a feeder and then actually on the concrete floor for a while. It was amazing to get so close (1.5m) to the Siskin on the feeders which didn't seem at all bothered - beautiful little birds and again, great for photos.
There were good numbers of Teal, Goldeneye and Pochards as well as some Goosander, Great Crested Grebes, Shoveler and Oystercatchers. A kingfisher was seen by some members of the group (not me - grrr!) and a small covey of Red-Legged Partridges were in the ploughed fields along the road on the way back. We also saw all five species of the 'common' Gulls.
But, not having found the Smew, we decided to call in at the Lin Dike Hide overlooking Spoonbill Flash on the way home. A wise move as we added Little Egret, Wigeon, a bird that must not be mentioned and a male and female Smew - result !!!
Fairburn Ings is a great place and well worth a visit if you've never been. The motorway journey is a bit of a pain at the moment (about an hour and half with bad weather and the roadworks) but don't let that put you off. Here's a link to a map of the reserve:
Very enjoyable visit after sortin mi lado out in Leeds, we also went red kite watching at Harewood and Eccup . We tried the new walk at Fairburn which follows the river and were pleased to see a family of redstarts, hobby,kestrel,buzzard, 6 green sandpipers,2 greenshank,green woodpecker,great spotted woodpecker, 1 lesser whitethrote,willow tit,common tern plus all the usual stuff worth mentioning best place ive been this year for linnet .The walk is flat and easy, alot of work has gone into it and a few rest benches which are always welcome helped along the way. Highlight for me was a fox chasing down a rabbit and right infront of pickup hide but Mary just screamed and shut her eyes. I told her the rabbit escaped well i didnt want to spoil her day now did I.
Long earded owl showing well in usual spot again today, also up to 8 white fronted geese in distance again from lindkye hide, looking far out looking straight over the end of the water then across a field over a fence near a gate and behind it in next field, you will need a scope to see them, also red headed smew seen on the reserve though we missed it, kingfisher flying about, also little egret,
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Did you see it? It was small and brown and flew that way.........................
20.02.11 Very dull and overcast day making visibility poor to say the least. On arrival great close up views of redpol,tree sparrows,willow tit plus all the usual tits and goldfinches on the feeders around the visiter centre.All the usual ducks present with a few hundred lapwings and at least 10 golden plovers were amongst them and the odd snipe .At least 20 goldeneye with some cracking males but no head throwing yet.A bit dissapointed not to find the greenland white fronts which were along way off the reserve but still it was a good Sunday morning stroll with Mary who was trying her best to find some sort of raptor but to no avail Also 4 curlew and some very smart bullfinches about so all in all it wasnt too bad at all
sorry dennis just noted your thread i dont know why the search i did didnt pick it up no doubt Ian will be on my case
20.02.11 Very dull and overcast day making visibility poor to say the least. On arrival great close up views of redpol,tree sparrows,willow tit plus all the usual tits and goldfinches on the feeders around the visiter centre.All the usual ducks present with a few hundred lapwings and at least 10 golden plovers were amongst them and the odd snipe .At least 20 goldeneye with some cracking males but no head throwing yet.A bit dissapointed not to find the greenland white fronts which were along way off the reserve but still it was a good Sunday morning stroll with Mary who was trying her best to find some sort of raptor but to no avail Also 4 curlew and some very smart bullfinches about so all in all it wasnt too bad at all
A bit dissapointed not to find the greenland white fronts which were along way off the reserve but still it was a good Sunday morning stroll with Mary who was trying her best to find some sort of raptor but to no avail
