A Beach Walk to Barmston - 11 miles

I decided to go off on one today and wander up to Barmston to see if I could see the Hooded Crows and Twite that have been hanging around for a while.

It was a dry and mild morning with a temp of 5 degrees C, so after checking the tide times I set off from home at about 08:30. High tide today was at 08:43 so I reckoned that by the time I reached the beach the tide would be falling and would leave enough sand between the cliffs and the surf for me to walk on.

All went well and I got past the slipway for the boat club at the end of Cliff Road without any mishap with the tide.

2.5 miles in and all OK

Enough sand to walk on and getting wider

The cliffs have loads of fossils embedded in them and they get exposed as the cliff erodes. If you're lucky you can see them before they fall to the beach and get submerged by the sea. Some are bog standard trilobites, other are just bog standard 😂

A fossilised item for The Time Team to investigate?

Off the coast was a Buoy Laying vessel, The Galatea. The crew was busy doing something  but I couldn't see just what is was. Perhaps retrieving one or putting a new one in place.

Plain sailing for me too along the beach so far. However, a little way further north things came to a halt as the sea had not receded far enough for me to get past the eroded cliff face. I found a dry bit and stood to wait...

I killed some time by looking out to sea in the hope of seeing some passing birds, but instead I saw a cetacean going south. It breached several times and I tried to get a photo but it was too far out and it surfaced in an unpredictable way and by the time I got the camera onto it and focussed it had gone again.

The Galatea's crew finished whatever it was they were doing and it sailed off and away out to sea.

The way back looked inviting

The tide was being very lax and just wouldn't ebb any quicker at this deeper section of my walk. I lost patience after three quarters of an hour waiting around and reckoned I could get past the narrow bit if I timed it right - obviously I was wrong because as I was half way round, a big incoming wave got me and made sure the rest of my walk would be made with wet feet 😒 It wasn't too bad really as the day was pretty mild so I wasn't cold at all.

Barmston was getting closer with every soggy step now, or at least it seemed to be through the long lens on my camera.

Barmston caravan site and Fraisthorpe wind farm behind

Flamborough Head

Barmston jetty was reached without further dampening of the boots and the bird life all of a sudden jumped up to meet me.
36 Sanderling
5 Oystercatcher
50+ Ringed Plover
2 Dunlin
13 Redshank

Oystercatchers

Ringed Plovers

Ringed Plovers and 2 Dunlin

Sanderling

One of the Sanderling was colour ringed so I took several photos. I reported the sighting when I got back home and I'm waiting for details of where the bird was ringed.

Colour ringed Sanderling

I left the beach temporarily as the tide hadn't cleared the end of the stone jetty so there was no way round.

Through the caravan park and out onto the beach again at the north side, I looked for the Twite and Hooded Crows in the rough grass and crop field just behind the small sand dunes - the crows were sighted straight away on the beach but the Twite never turned up even though I wandered around the area where they have been seen.

One of two Hooded Crows

Hooded Crow

As it was 12:45 now and time was gettig on, I turned my mind to how I should get home. I looked at the bus timetable on the EYMS website and guess what - the next bus was at 13:30 but was going to Bridlington and the connecting bus to Hornsea would get me home at 16:58 😨😨😨 I wasn't expecting that as buses were regular through the morning! In retrospect I should have got the bus to Barmston, looked for the Twite and Hoodies then walked back home. The tide would have been well out by then too.

After a call home and a laugh about me being stranded on a desert island, my much better half volunteered to come and rescue me. I'm a lucky man - thanks Lin XX

Christmas Eve

A lovely start to Christmas Eve here on the east coast, sunny and cold with a temperature of 2 degrees C on my nose end, making me look like Rudolph 😊

A walk down to the sea front got the blood going and I soon warmed up. Nothing on the beach again except for a Pied Wagtail and the usual gulls. The sun was getting its act together though...

Sun getting into gear at 08:54

The Sanderlings that used to be seen most mornings running along the shoreline are now to be seen further north, past the promenade end. Had 26 the other morning up there. One or two stray down the south end but the beach has changed since the Beast From The East and the sand hasn't fully come back yet. Give it time though and the beach will recover.

Along Stream Dike the water was flowing quickly - given the rain we've had over the last week this isn't surprising. A Little Egret flew off as I climbed the steps to get onto the grass and follow the stream towards the Mere.

Unsurprisingly KP was closed today:

Walking up from the gated KP to the south side only took about 10 minutes, so I didn't feel as though I'd wasted my time going there first as I half expected it to be closed. On into the fields then and I had a chat with a few locals walking their dogs - they are friendly (the people that is, some of the dogs aren't!).

Two of the four Scaup that have been here for weeks were showing nicely in the morning sun, but distantly.

A long-staying Scaup

The Great White Egret was on the shoreline earlier apparently, but I missed it by doing the hated early morning Christmas Eve shopping trip to Tesco before I came out for a walk. Still, has to be done I guess.

Mooching along the footpath towards the hide I was struck by the regimented pattern of the crops in the field:

No brown hares in there so I walked on. I could hear the Barnacle Goose herd at the top of the next field so I wondered if I could get all of them into a photo in order to count them. There are usually between 120 and 130 dependng on what view you get of them, so what will the count be today? 124 was the answer and I had a good clear view. Maybe one or two have fallen by the wayside or maybe they were in another field?

At the hide there was almost nothing but Mute Swans, Tufted Duck and Goldeneye for ages, but then 3 Goosander flew in to the west end.

They landed and swam to the edge of the reed bed where they stayed for about 15 minutes before flying off and continuing their westward journey.

2 drakes and a female Goosander

Meanwhile the Red-necked Grebe that had been seen earlier swimming east towards 1st field dropped into Decoy Channel.

Red-necked Grebe

Red-necked Grebe

Red-necked Grebe photobombed

It then took off and flew to the western reed bed that had just been vacated by the Goosanders.

Red-necked Grebe going up west

Goldeneye numbers are pretty good this year at The Mere and I counted 86 today. I think the highest number seen to date this winter is 145, but I may be wrong. As I had been stood on the viewing platform for an hour or more I was getting pretty cold and my fingers were going numb, so I decided it was time to get moving again and set off home. The usual flock of Long-tailed, Great and Blue Tits were in the wood and a Treecreeper was with them. As I watched them move through the canopy a couple of Great Spotted Woodpeckers were chipping away somewhere close by.

On the way back I followed a Kestrel along Southorpe Road as it landed and flew on then landed again, but it was flighty and didn't hang around close enough to be photographed.

It was good to get back home into the warmth and thaw out, although by this time the sun was feeling warmish and I'd taken my wooly hat off!!

A sunny walk to Decoy Hide

A lovely sunny morning today with a slight southerly wind and a sharp 3 degrees C temperature. Ideal walking conditions.

I went straight to The Mere instead of going to the sea front for a change, and after a brief chat and a glimpse of a female Scaup from 1st field, I headed west towards the hide before the morning sunlight disappeared.

Just past Snipe Grounds I spotted 3 Roe Deer in the field. They watched me walk along the footpath quite unconcerned, but once I stopped to take a photo they were off,

A Marsh Harrier flew south over the next field in front of me, adult male I reckon, and there were 5 Marsh Harriers seen later in the day.

At the hide I spent an hour or so watching from the viewing platform but nothing appeared other than more Mute Swans and Cormorants. Even the Great White Egret was absent - maybe the water level is too high for it to feed now so has moved elsewhere?

I walked back through the wood and saw a good sized flock of Long-tailed Tits with a couple of Coal Tits and several Great and Blue Tits. As usual a Treecreeper was following in their wake. It was very elusive though and as it went up the tree trunk another joined it. As I got the camera focussed, off they went :)

While I was missing the Treecreepers, a bird moving in the undergrowth caught my eye. It turned out to be a Chiff Chaff. I know they are now over-wintering here but I haven't seen one up to now.

Chiff Chaff in Wassand wood

Also seen were 3 Great Spotted Woodpeckers and a Jay before I left the wood and approached the pines.

I walked very slowly past the pine trees in case a Goldcrest ot two were about, but I had to content myself with the beautiful sight of these wonderful trees against a vivid blue sky.

Mid afternoon I received a message saying there wasa drake smew just off KP. I walked down to The Mere and found it straight away, just off the north side of KP. We had one at the beginning of December but that bird never came as close as this one. What a fantastic looking bird and a real treat to get good views.

drake Smew off KP