Iceland Gull

 An Iceland Gull arrived at the Mere yesterday so I went down this morning to see if was still there (also Jon rang me to say it was, which gave me chance to take the scope).

A nice looking juvenile bird giving reasonable views from about 100+ yards - these pics are phone scoped.

Iceland Gull this morning

I took a bit of video footage too for the record.

I went down to KP this afternoon on the off chance that it was still here, and luckily for me it was perched on the end of a jetty. Gave me chance to get better photos with the camera.

Iceland Gull this afternoon

Iceland Gull on the jetty at KP

Iceland Gull flying west at 14:51

 In the group of Black-headed Gulls with the Iceland Gull was an old friend, JM88, that has been seen here over the last couple of years. Well spotted Mark.

Walking into KP there was a Kestrel on a post...

I was a bit busy doing other things today so apart from a couple of visits to the Mere I haven't had time to devote to wildlife. As I walked on the seafront though I noticed a maintenance platform out at Westermost Rough wind farm.

Wind turbines getting a 10,000 turn service

Otter

 Amazingly we still have otters at the Mere, despite the water quality being very questionable. There is an action plan in place to improve the quality of the water but I see little evidence of any action being actually taken. Am I too sceptical? Probably. 

My latest sighting was in Decoy.

It was showing very well for quite a while before this video and the photos were taken, but I had to get my camera sorted first 😀

Otter in Decoy

I continue to watch the set aside field in the hope something new will arrive (I missed a Brambling the other day apparently). Early morning views of the Linnets have fallen off recently but Chaffinch numbers have increased - I saw about 35 this morning.

Chaffinch in the set aside field hedgerow

I've got a new adapter for my phone that fits onto the scope nicely. I was trying it out yesterday from the bedroom window. Not bad results, limited by the phone camera rather than the scope optics I have to say.

Stock Dove

Westermost Rough wind turbines c.16 miles away

I look forward to trying it out on some wildlife in the not-too-distant future.

Good and Bad in Hornsea

 Along the Holderness coast we've had plastic Puffins installed since last summer - "Puffins Galore" is the project name. We have 7 of them here in Hornsea and when they first arrived I snapped each of them, then promptly forgot about them (until some scrote upended one and caused some speedy screwing down of their feet).

As I approached the sea front last week, the sun was just rising and I was behind one such puffin - a good photo opportunity so I took a few.

The sun's a balloon (with apologies to David Niven)

I intended to walk along the cliffs to see if I could catch sight of a Stonechat, as they are usually to be found along there in Jan/Feb.

I was only just starting to look for them when I spotted one in the tall stems of dead vegetation. A few more steps to get the view right and click, click, click - or on the new camera silence, silence, silence as it makes much less noise than the DSLR.

Stonechat

Looking back to the north the sun was shining on the sea front so I took a few images. Looking at them now they don't show Hornsea in a good light at all, despite the photo being physically well lit. The south end near Longbeach looks run-down with the random plonking of concrete tidal barriers, the ugly blue containers for workmen and tools and marked sea walls making for a really dispiriting view. 

God knows what people will think of the town when the English Coastal Path opens and folk walk north from Spurn or Withernsea to Hornsea. It looks horrible in my opinion.

Hornsea sea front - could do better

At the Mere things have settled into a predictable trudge towards spring. I know that sounds negative but that's how it seems with very little change from day to day. Same birds, same mammals, same plants. We need a weather change and luckily that is due to happen today with north westerly winds and a chill setting in. Perhaps that will shake things up and bring new wildlife out to play.

The set aside field is my daily hope for something new...

Counts of Linnet and Goldfinch

Chaffinch

Pied Wagtail

Song Thrush

Local Patch Delights

 The best thing about walking your local patch almost every day is that you know mostly what to expect, and where to look.

Every now and again you get days when things just fall into place and the wildlife is behaving as you wish it would every day.

Half an hour in to my walk and a small flock of Goldfinches are feeding in a small tree. It's always worth checking finch flocks for something different and viola, a Siskin. They feed in alder and birch trees which are quite heavy on the twig front so getting an uninterrupted view is a matter of timing.

Siskin

Another 10 minutes and a Woodcock is flushed from the wood edge - no chance of a photo as they get up and fly off so quickly. The russet rump is a good id guide and most of the time this is the clincher as they fly away from you.

I haven't seen a Treecreeper for nearly 2 months so I've been on the look out for one and as I leaned on a tree one flew onto the base of the next tree along to my right. Perfect.

Treecreeper

Even better, while I was taking these photos a Great Spotted Woodpecker landed on the tree to my left. It provided some close ups that were actually too close.

It moved further up the tree but didn't go into drumming mode as I'd hoped. Too low down I think for the sound to carry and it was busy feeding.

Great Spotted Woodpecker

Through the fields the finch flock was active around the set aside, flying into and out of the plants. Linnets and Chaffinches are there in good numbers and a few Reed Buntings too. One started a song but stopped after a couple of notes. Too early? Yes!

Reed Bunting with a song false start

I finished with a visit to the sea front and was rewarded with c.30 Red-throated Divers about half a mile out.

Red-throated Divers off Hornsea

Yes, it's nice to get off somewhere different every now and then, but you can't beat your local patch. Where everybody knows your name 🤣😂🤣 Cheers!

Last Year and This Year

 Welcome to 2023 everyone. 

Hopefully it will be better than last year, and given it hasn't much to beat, it will be.

Last year I managed to walk over 2,500 miles for the first time - 2,512 to be exact. At just under 7 miles a day I'm very happy with that. I am currently unsure whether this year will be an ongoing quest to improve on that total, or if it could be a goal too far for my advanced years.

I remember last January thinking I couldn't improve on the previous year's total of 2,212 miles but as March arrived I was feeling OK so I just cracked on.    As usual....we'll see.

The year has started slowly with no dramas so the photos I've taken have been local and commonplace, but none the less interesting from my perspective. 

I was intrigued as to why a few crows were so busy feeding that they almost ignored me wandering among them. I couldn't see anything particularly tasty in the grass, but then again I'm not a crow.

Carrion Crow in first field

On the sea front the wintering Sanderlings always provide good photo fodder and this morning was no exception. A bit of early morning (rising sun) light does wonders for a bog standard portrait of a common, but still lovely, bird.

Sanderling on the beach

Over in the planted set aside there were 4 Yellowhammers and 2 Greenfinches in among the Chaffinches and Linnets. We have too few Greenfinches so I'm always glad to see them.

Greenfinch

The Linnet flock looked to be a good size yesterday and they had settled in the trees on the south side so I took a couple of photos to count them at my leisure when I got home. I probably missed a few as I scanned from right to left to get the pics but 172 was a reasonable reflection of their numbers. (The red dots on each bird are just me marking them off on the photo as I count them to ensure I don't duplicate any).

Linnet flock in trees (1)

Linnet flock in trees (2)

The new camera is shaping up well and has a few facilities I'm still getting to grips with, not least focussing and ISO settings. It's a work in progress but I'm happy with it.

A very happy new year to everyone.