Not done much lately due to bad weather and looking after a poorly dog however I managed to get out a couple of times last weekend, I did a couple of hours at Blacktoft Sands last Sunday and although there was nothing major of note I year ticked Reed and Sedge Warblers, there was also a good number of Swifts about one of which was incredibly chased and caught by a Sparrowhawk, a few of the Marsh Harriers were also showing quite well out in front of the hides.

Upon returning home Sunday evening we discovered Izzy, our dog, had taken a turn for the worse and after a sleepless night with her in some distress we decided to call the vet out and 6am Monday morning we put her out of her pain, I had planned a trip to Spurn with Andy that day and decided I would go ahead with it rather than just mope around the house all day but it was a very sombre day with my mind elsewhere half the time. It was a fairly quiet start with most stuff from the day before clearing out overnight but I got a few year ticks such as Lesser Whitethroat, Whimbrel and Little Tern then mid afternoon the forecast showers arrived as I was staking out a Wryneck near the Warren, I retreated to the Canal Scrape hide and fortunately it only lasted an hour or so and when it cleared I returned to find a bedraggled Wryneck perched on the fence, it then showed well for the next half hour feeding along the grassy bank, there was also a Grasshopper Warbler reeling nearby, Andy, who had been in the seawatching hide, rejoined me and we finished the day with a quick look at Sammy's point which was again fairly quiet but I year ticked Yellow Wagtail and Cuckoo.

lots of Wheatears about

Linnets were looking good

Whimbrel in the Triangle

Black Redstart at the Point

Wryneck gave itself up after the rain

Whimbrel and Wheatear at Sammy's

A rainy afternoon

Out after work, it was another miserable wet afternoon even though it had been forecast to be drier and brighter so I headed off to North Cave Wetlands, there are plenty of Avocets at this reserve this year although like most other places there is a general dearth of migrants, Hirundine numbers are good though, last weekend there had been three Black Necked Grebes on the Main lake and one was still present today, I spent most of the afternoon in the hide dodging the showers and hoping it would come close enough for a decent pic but unfortunately it didn’t. The rain finally stopped early evening and I took the opportunity to head off to the Lower Derwent Valley, I had a quick look from Bubwith Bridge, no Terns here today then moved on to the viewing platform at Thorganby, the area is well flooded now and there was a good selection of birds on show including the Black Tern and a big flock of summer plumaged Black Tailed Godwits.

A peek at the Peak District

Me and Mark decided to join the York Bird Club field outing to the Peak District on Sunday. We started with a look around Orgreave Quarry near Treeton on the outskirts of Sheffield, a couple of lagoons have been created here attracting a good selection of Wildfowl and Waders including Little Ringed Plovers and Common Sandpiper, there was also a good number of all three species of Hirundines feeding over the water and lots of Wheatears and Skylarks in the surrounding area. We then headed into the Peak District and the first site was Padley Gorge, we sat out a heavy shower that had started as we arrived then took a pleasant stroll through this lovely wooded valley, a good range of typical woodland species were seen including up to six Pied Flycatchers, a pair of Dippers on the stream and the bonus of a pair of Mandarin Ducks that were flushed by a dog and flew up into a nearby tree. The forecast of showers rang true as we moved to the second site at Burbage Bridge and the heavens opened up again, we ventured out when it eased off and followed a track adjacent to the Burbage Rocks although we got caught in a hail shower half way along but when it eventually passed over several Stonechats and a pair of Ring Ouzel showed well plus two Ravens flew overhead and a Peregrine had a fly round when we got back to the car park, a pleasant day in a nice area just a shame about the weather, we could have maybe visited a couple more sites if not for the rain.

view from Burbage Bridge

Burbage Rocks