Barn Owl at The Mere

 Despite what some delusional person may put on BirdTrack every day, Barn Owls at Hornsea Mere are not seen every day, nor are they seen every week.

Today's sighting of a Barn Owl in second field and Heslop's is my first sighting for 2 months and I spend a lot of time down there (unlike the afore mentioned person).

They were seen very often a couple of years ago or more, but the three local nest boxes that held owls have been empty all this year and most of last year too.

10 photos of Barn Owl from this morning made into a short video

The owl flew out of second field and into Heslop's behind the trees closest to the Mere so it was obscured most of the time. It reappeared flying along Ouzel Hedge and landed on a fence post by the footpath.

It then flew south along the field hedge towards Weatherhill before returning to the Heslop's fence post. It flew off when a couple of walkers came through, but I had good views for over 20 minutes.

Second field

Heslop's footpath

Not particularly good images as the light was poor and the owl stayed at a good distance, but the main thing is we had a Barn Owl at long last.

And Smew And I

 I paddled through the south side pools of water to the hide this morning. A sunny and dry day again - the third we've had in succession which is a record for the last 2 months!

I watched happily as two Marsh Harriers flew over the north side reed bed and came together twice for quick "I'm bigger than you are" moments before separating and going back to their corners. Distant photos - you had to be there 🤣🤣

Male Marsh Harriers saying hello

As I was watching the harriers through the bins I didn't notice a red-head Smew arrive right in front of me. As I lowered the bins I saw it and it took off, flying left. I grabbed my camera but too late for decent photos. It landed a couple of hundred yards away and swam westwards, joining a couple of Goldeneye in front of the western most reedbed.

Female (red head) Smew taking off

Female Smew, Goldeneye and Grey Heron out west

                                     A distant Smew with Yes playing "And You And I"

Walking back through the wood looking for Woodcock and Treecreeper, I found a Treecreeper at last. Looking back on my records, December is a very quiet month for these birds so I felt lucky to have found one. Four Woodcock around the wood edge too.

December Treecreeper

Over at KP there wasn't much to shout about but a couple of Wigeon and Common Gulls gave me something to photograph.

Pair of WIgeon

Common Gull over KP

Not Wildlife, But They Fly! Red Arrows Over Hornsea Today

 Not often you get a free air show but three of the Red Arrows were over Hornsea this afternoon in the setting sun.

My first view was of patterns in the sky to the south and I thought, someone's having fun 😂🤣

 Then I saw three jets making smoke and followed them around the sky as they gradually moved northwards. Pics and vids taken from Southorpe Road.

Yesterday And Today

 A bright morning today so I was out and about early, happily wandering towards Rolston and all points south.

Unfortunately, although I enjoyed my walk very much, there was nothing to report on the wildlife front. Even the long-staying Stonechats had disappeared from the cliff tops (but they maybe had relocated along Stream Dyke as I saw a pair there today).

Along the sea front the tide was going out and a single Purple Sandpiper was snoozing on one of the groyne uprights. I say snoozing, it was actually watching me very closely as I approached along the prom, even though it had its head tucked under its wing 😂

First sighting of the Purple Sandpiper (600mm)

Full frame 600mm zoom

Yesterday I went to the hide in the afternoon as I was stuck for anywhere else to go 🤣I was not expecting to see anything and I wasn't disappointed - apart from a Water Rail wandering around the grass behind the hide.

Water Rail at Wassand

The fields, woods and paths are waterlogged so seeing rails out and about isn't at all surprising.

Waders On Ice

 Yesterday morning was a bit icy underfoot but there was plenty of snow about so I walked on that where I could. I walked to the hide after Jon had put me onto the two Bewick's Swans he'd found over on the north side of the Mere. We tried to get photos with the cameras but they were too distant so I put the phone onto Jon's scope in the hope I could get some shots that way. No chance unfortunately, the only images I got were unrecognisable.

Two Bewick's Swans on the Mere - honest 🤣

Another shot of the Bewick's, no better!

At the hide there were more birds present than I'd seen in months, with the ice providing loafing opportunities that are not usually available. Great Black-backed Gulls, Black-headed Gulls, Mallards, Goldeneye, Wigeon, Gadwall, Teal, a few Coot and I heard Redshank calling.

On scanning the ice I found 3 Redshank on the north side with another calling from further west.

Redshank

Two Redshank

A third Redshank but didn't get a pic of the fourth

I also spotted a Dunlin on the edge of the ice...

Dunlin

 

Goldeneye, Teal and Wigeon

104(ish) Great Black-backed Gulls

A drake Goosander flew past the hide going west then turned and circled before disappearing west again.

Drake Goosander

The day before I was walking along Southorpe Road and checking the large puddles in the fields for any sign of life. Most of the time there is nothing, but every now and then you get something, like two Snipe and a Dunlin.

View from the road with a 600mm lens

For long enough I thought the Snipe on the right could be a Jack Snipe as it was smaller then the other bird which was definitely a Common Snipe. I couldn't get the central stripe through the crown nor the beak length with the bins, and the photos weren't clear enough until I got home. They were both Common Snipe of course but a bit of excitement is good for you 😀

The following pics are all cropped from images originally like the one above.

Common Snipe

Common Snipe and Dunlin

Common Snipe and Dunlin