Hull Valley Crane

I was out after work yesterday and went off to Arram Carrs by the river Hull to try for the long staying Common Crane, I knew I would need a bit of luck with this bird, the area is a bit off the beaten track and the bird is ranging widely on both sides of the river but it has been favouring Arram Carrs the last few days, I parked up in the little village of Aike, followed a track out towards the river then another track south along the Beverley Barmston Drain to view fields south of the village where a grid reference had suggested it may be, I found a field with a few Mute Swans in which had been mentioned a couple of times but there was no sign of the Crane there nor in any of the other suitable looking fields I could see, a couple of Buzzards were floating around though. I headed back for the village with the thought of dropping down to Arram itself and working north from there however as I reached the track that headed back to the village where I had headed south I noticed the other way led to the river bank which would give me a bit of height and I thought it would be worth giving it another scan from there, my luck was in, I didn’t even need to climb the bank the Crane was in a little field just that side of the riverbank and I sat and enjoyed the bird as it fed and preened for half an hour or more before it eventually flew off over the river. I then went off to nearby Wilfholme where I eventually found my way to the Hide at Watton NR that you can see from Tophill Low, a Peregrine flew over as I made my way there but it was fairly quiet at the reserve, a Green Sandpiper and a pair of Common Terns with chicks being the best of it, a good few Butterflies and Dragonflies were about that afternoon as well.

a bit of smoke billowing across was not to its liking

so it flew off across the river

a good selection of Butterflies

but not the rarer ones

baffled to why the red doesn't come out right on the photo

lounging Cormorants at Watton NR

a few Sedge Warblers feeding away in the vegetation in front of the Hide

A bad Tern of events

I decided on Teesside this morning hoping the White Winged Black Tern from yesterday might still be present at Saltholme, it wasn’t but upon arriving I heard news that the Bridled Tern had been seen heading south at Whitburn, thoughts were it may turn up at Saltholme as it did last year, I kept a watch with a few of the locals then a phone call alerted us that it was off Hartlepool Headland then Seaton Carew, things were looking good unfortunately it seems some things are just not meant to be and it never turned up. By this time Mark, who had done his back in yesterday, had joined me, we went over to Hartlepool Headland just after midday for a little seawatch just in case but apart from a dodgy report of the Bridled late morning and the coming and going of Common and Sandwich Terns there was little else doing. After a couple of hours Mark, who was suffering a bit gave it up and headed home, I headed back to Saltholme, a smart summer plumaged Med Gull was back on his Lamp-post at Newburn Bridge then back at Saltholme I pottered around until closing, a couple of Water Rail chicks were showing from the Wildlife Watchpoint, ten Little Egrets from the Phil Stead Hide and at Paddy’s Hide I hoped to photograph the Roseate Tern thats been hanging around a while now and had been seen this morning but even that had gone missing.

Common Terns had a good breeding season, lots of young about

some of the Little Egrets at Phil Stead Hide

plus Stock Dove

An afternoon on the Moors

I spent Sunday afternoon up on the Moors starting at Tranmire Bogs in Wheeldale, a pair of Whinchat were showing well but it never got bright enough to entice the hoped for Dragonflies out, I was initially going to drop out of the top end of the dale then head back down to Fen Bog but after the heavy overnight rain the streams were very swollen and the tarmac surface of one of the fords I needed to cross was being washed away so I decided not to risk it and turned back and headed over to Bransdale instead, I just went to the Redstart site hoping to get some photos but they must have fledged and moved on already, a juv and adult Grey Wagtail showed well by the little stream though and a Golden Ringed Dragonfly entertained for a while in the now nice late afternoon sun, even resting on my trouser leg at one point.

swollen streams

Bog Asphodel

Water Cress

Bell Heather

lots of these little Moths with only a latin name
Catoptria margaritella

came across this roosting Small Heath

juv Grey Wagtail

being fed

lots of Ringlets when the sun came out but looking rather tatty now

Golden Ringed Dragonfly, I'd been hoping for one at Tranmire Bogs
so it was a nice bonus to get one in Bransdale

devouring a Bee

the essence of summer, sun shining through the trees