Being For The Benefit of Mr Red Kite!

A message from the local WhatsApp birding group yesterday tea time informed me that a Red Kite was over the Mere going south. I grabbed my bins and went to the window looking for it. Although it was a bit dim and raining I found it OK, circling over Hornsea Lakes area and visible above the tree line.

Red Kite over Hornsea Lakes, from the bedroom window

Red Kite as above, cropped

A new one for the garden list - thanks Lesley.

Catch Up

Although I went for a walk this morning as usual and covered about 6 miles, the weather wasn't too good so I took very few photos and none of wildlife. Consequently I have nothing to say about today so I will use this update to catch up on the stuff I haven't posted over the last week or so.

Two weeks ago on the top of a gate by the Mere I found an object that I've never seen before. It looked like an owl pellet but when I broke it open it was primarily vegetable matter with a few small stones so it couldn't have been an owl or raptor pellet. I therefore asked my friends at Lower Derwent Valley if they could help me with an id.

They did and Lucy came back with the answer that it is a Rook pellet. Whoda thought? Not me obviously 😂 I Googled this and found that the British Birds journal listed several birds that have been recorded producing pellets, including Rook, Robin, Wood Pigeon and Redshank. The more I learn the more I realise I don't know.

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Rook pellet

Inside a Rook pellet

Also near the Mere, Green Woodpeckers have been seen and heard regularly. I've never seen any more than 2 at any time but that's all it takes to breed and I've wondered whether or not they have successfully bred or not. I was therefore heartened to see a juvenile Green Woodpecker last week, which is my first first recorded sighting of a juv Green Woodpecker, and may be evidence of breeding locally.

juvenile Green Woodpecker

The Lesser Black-backed gulls that usually breed at the Mere have been largely absent this year, with just a handful of sightings from yours truly. Of course they may well have been knocking about every day but not spotted by my four eyes.

Lesser Black-backed Gull

Mute Swans have successfully bred this year with at least 3 pairs raising broods of swanlets aka cygnets. Those I have seen had 1, 2 and 4 young ones but each brood has been dwindling over time with the most obvious being the 4 reducing to just 2. Otters, mink, pike and/or raptors could all take their toll on the families.

One of the remaining Mere cygnets

Over KP the Common Terns were flying quite low in the cloudy conditions so I took the opportunity to get a few photos while they were obliging.

Common Tern over KP with weedy bling

A bit late on getting this tern leaving the water after a dive

Back home as I was waiting for the arrival of workmen I was wandering around the garden and I spotted a large moth near the ivy. I looked it up in my insect book but I was unsure of id, so I called on my guru of almost everything Nick. He took all of a nanosecond to think about it and pronounced it to be an Old Lady moth. I had considered Old Lady but had sadly and unwisely rejected it on unsafe grounds. I live, I learn, I forget 🤷‍♂️

Old Lady moth

Old Lady

Goxhill and The Mere - 7 miles

A really enjoyable walk this morning in the dry and sunny weather. Walked by Rolston through Goxhill and down to the Mere and thoroughly enjoyed every minute today. 

While walking towards the golf course I was watching my feet as a horse had been along the bridlepath so I didn't want to step in any fresh 'oss muck. I looked up and I was face to face with a fox that had appeared from nowhere. Lovely moment that was gone in a blink as the fox ran off along the track and cut into a field.

Lots of Gatekeeper butterflies though there and into Goxhill.

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Gatekeeper

A young Moorhen was paddling in the pond and seemed quite unaware of me watching it.

a Moorhen in the making

Yellowhammers are doing well this year. My maximum count on a single walk has been 12 singing males, I  only saw 7 this morning but still a good number. This one was running out of steam and he could only manage the little-bit-of-bread part of his song - no cheese required on his plate.

Male Yellowhammer with worn plumage

I sat down in the grass for a while and I was amazed at the number of grasshoppers leaping around.

Field Grasshopper

Common Green Grasshopper

probably Meadow Grasshopper

Two Hobby were perched in a tree top as I walked along the south side of the Mere. I took a few photos but they were too far away to be useful.

Small Copper butterflies were showing well in first and second field. They are brilliant butterflies but as their name suggests they are small and quite difficult to follow around until they settle.

Small Copper

Small Copper

Small Copper

Small Copper

the final Small Copper photo for this post

As I walk around Hornsea and its surrounding villages I see some amazing wildlife, but I also see some wonderful man-made structures that are sometimes awe-inspiring. Just think of the time and skill required to construct this farm out-building, not a house, just an out-building for animals or a goods store...

fabulous brick work in a farm building

Hornsea's Sparkling WIldlife

A fine few days collecting memories of the wildlife in and around Hornsea. Not much of a narrative needed from me as the wildlife speaks for itself...

5 Spot Burnet moth

Sedge Warbler singing in the set aside

Same Sedge Warbler, same song

Reed Bunting, same set aside

Poppies on the edge of a barley field

Meadow Brown butterflies sharing a thistle

Soldier beetles sharing an umbelifer

2 young Kestrels, one struggling to land safely

made it

Kestrel family group photo

A young Moorhen off for a wander

Large Skipper butterfly

Small Skipper butterfly

Gatekeeper butterfly

Crossbills

I had a nice surprise yesterday morning as I was walking past the pine trees on my way from Decoy hide. I heard a call that sounded like Crossbill so I backtracked a bit to get a better view and scanned the treetops.

I saw a couple of birds that looked promising and a minute later a bird landed on a lower branch. A juvenile Crossbill no less. A new entry on my Mere list 😊

Fledglings and Butterflies

The strong winds experienced over the last couple of days have died down so today's walk was a bit more pleasant. I set off later than usual as the weekly lockdown shopping trip had to be done first.

On checking first field for waders I found 3 Common Sandpipers. It isn't easy to view the shoreline as the vegetation is fully grown now but it is do-able.

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Common Sandpipers

The fields are now teeming with Meadow Brown and Ringlet butterflies, and Common Blue Damselflies are growing in number day by day. I look forward to the days when you walk along and a veritable blizzard of blue damselflies rises up before you.

Ringlet and Meadow Brown sharing a thistle head

Ringlet and Meadow Brown

Walking past the wood there were young birds in abundance. Three young Chiff Chaffs, two young Robins and a juv Wren, plus at least four young Whitethroats were zipping around the fence line and hedgerow.

Juvenile Chiff Chaff

Juv Chiff Chaff

Juv Robin

I didn't manage to get a pic of the Wren this time as the brambles got in the way. As for the Whitethroats, they were even harder to get a photo of as they stayed pretty much in the foliage.

Some of the field margins have been cut again, along with the sides of the footpath up to the fence and hedgerow on the south side footpath. I'm not sure this does anything for our wildlife, especially the invertebrates that provide the food for birds and some mammals. The countryside isn't a garden for goodness sake so why trim it and make it neat? Just leave the bits that don't need cutting and let wildlife prosper.

On the edge of a barley field there are poppies growing which add a brilliant splash of colour to the greens and browns. 

Poppy and an ear of barley

In the set aside field, half of the growing wild flowers/thistles has been mown. Again, I'm not an ecologist or farmer or knowledgeable enough to understand why this is done. Why not leave it growing?

Mown set aside

In the growing section there's loads of prickly ox tongue, red clover, thistles, common mallow, musk mallow, corn sowthistle, tufted vetch and a single stem of what looks to be a melilot (possibly golden melilot).

Corn Sowthistle

Possibly Corn Melilot

Musk mallow

Prickly Sowthistle

Tufted Vetch

I do worry about what is to become of our countryside flora and fauna when I see acts of wanton vandalism like grubbing out hedgerows, taking out 30 yard-wide thickets of bramble, briar and hawthorn and cutting down perfectly healthy mature trees. For what reason? To make the fields and woods look tidier for God's sake?? I cannot see any reason why doing this is a good idea. Maybe I need educating.

Anyway, at least the sheep are cooler now and I can see many good reasons why sheep are sheared this time of year. It certainly makes reaching for that extra tasty leaf much easier 😂