Hey T.C.

We enjoyed some very nice days before the snow came down. 

It's been ages since I saw a Treecreeper so I've been scouring the trees for the past week or so in an attempt to find one. Success eventually came near Weatherhill, only a brief sighting and just managed a good image before it flew deeper into the copse.

I can't help it now as it's got so ingrained it happens automatically. What does? Well, the BTO  two digit recording code for Treecreeper is TC; TC from my youth was Top Cat, a cartoon character; the phrase uttered by another character in that show (could have been Benny The Ball) was "Hey T.C."; so if I see a Treecreeper the first thing that comes to mind is that very phrase. Sad init 😂    BTW this one was horizontal for a change as they are usually vertical or upside down.

Hey T.C.

A young Whooper Swan with a broken wing has been at the Mere for some days now and is looking in reasonable health apart from its wing. It is feeding OK and is very mobile, swimming the length of the Mere from KP in the east to Decoy in the west.

Whooper Swan in Decoy

The temperature was warm enough to get numerous flies basking in the sun - most of the fence posts were similarly populated.

Basking flies. Not a species, just a description.

Walking through the fields I could have sworn I was looking at distant snow-capped hills showing above the trees. I wasn't of course, not in the heart of the East Riding!  Normality was restored after a double take and the fluffy white clouds registered.

It's cloud illusions I recall

Along the south side footpath the set aside field is doing its job and attracting passerines to feed. Linnets, Goldfinches, Chaffinches, Reed Buntings, a smattering of Yellowhammers and up to four Greenfinches are there regularly, and there's always the chance of something different like a Brambling or a Redpoll.

Greenfinch

More tidying up. Hedgerow flayed and long grass cut. It's a footpath for goodness sake. Leave some for the wildlife 😡

No caption required

The two Egyptian Geese that have been loitering with the other geese and ducks at KP were present and correct once again. No camera with me on that morning so phone shots only.

Egyptian Geese

As above

We have a single Kestrel that is seen almost every morning along the south side. A grey morning with poor light yielded a similar image.

Kestrel in first field

The stick in the middle of the Mere (we guess it's a mooring pole?) is getting well used and most days there is standing room only. This is the same one often used by a Hobby through summer.

Well populated stick

Fungi keep showing up and I do my best to put a name to most of them. This one is Shaggy Scalycap (possibly).

Shaggy Scalycap (Pholiota squarrosa)

The Borage has clung on well, but it's likely that the snow has seen it off now. I'll have a look tomorrow now it has melted.

Pre-snow Borage

I saw 12 Moorhens at KP one morning which is the most I've seen there, 10 being my previous best.

Moorhen and Common Gull on a KP jetty

Fieldfares have been few and far between around the Mere and Redwings are not much better. There are half a dozen or so over in Wassand Wood that fly through the hawthorns in search of food.

Redwing

The rest of the photos were taken after the snow arrived and the warmth went out of the air. My full cold weather gear was unearthed and I've had it on every day since.

Grey Heron, Goldeneye and Tufted Duck and snow

Roe deer chilling in the chill, eating a chilled breakfast

Barnacle Geese

It snowed in Hornsea you know

No flies on this fence post

Swinemoor

 A pretty ordinary week on the whole, apart from a good visit to Swinemoor to see the Snow Geese at last. I don't usually go to see rarities unless I can walk to them but this was an exception as Snow Goose has been a wish-to-see bird for ages. I haven't been to Swinemoor since June so I was well overdue.

Panorama view of the site - just south of Beverley

I got there as the Pink-footed Goose roost was clearing out so I hoped I wasn't too late. I wasn't.

I could see the two birds in with Greylags but it wasn't a particularly good view. I took a few photos for the record and walked on to enjoy the morning, hoping I'd get better views on my way back, with perhaps flight shots ideally (see later).

Two Snow Geese with domestic geese and Greylags

A decent profile shot of one of the geese

The number of Wigeon at Swinemoor has to be well over 5,000. They were everywhere.

Mainly Wigeon

Wigeon in flight

Guess what

As well as Pinkies, Greylags and Wigeon there were large numbers of Lapwing, Teal and several Shoveler too. In with the Lapwings were a few (10) Golden Plover. My Pied Wagtail count got to four, Little Egret no more than one and Starling got stuck on two 😂

Other species seen and counted were Moorhen (3) Redshank (8) Mute Swan (1) Grey Heron (1), Common Gull (5) and Oystercatcher (2). I heard a Cetti's Warbler too which is a new bird for me here. I didn't count Herring Gulls or Black-headed Gulls or the other commoners.

Along with Snow Goose the highlight was a single Greater White-fronted Goose, keeping itself to itself and away from the hoi polloi Greylags.

White-fronted Goose

Little Egret on the river

Teal

Lapwings

Lapwings with Starling and Golden Plover

Beverley Minster

A couple of Redshank

On my way back a whole host of Greylags got up from the field on the other side of the River Hull - with them were the Snow Geese so I managed some flight shots, even though they were more distant than I'd have wished for.

Snow Geese in flight

A good morning's walk with great birds so I really enjoyed myself. All this with provisions provided by my nearest and dearest - what could be better!?!

Nothing (Much) To See Here

 The week has been unrelentingly similar each day - grey and overcast, dry, with a slight south or south west breeze. The wildlife has largely followed this same pattern, with little change day to day.

Monday 4 November

 On the beach there were eight Sanderling and a single Dunlin. It was particularly good to see Dunlin as we do not get that many on the beach in a year. We probably see more at the Mere than near the sea.

Ignore the S on its breast - it's a Dunlin 😂

Dunlin running

Sanderling running

 

 

While reviewing these photos it struck me how alike the poses were on the shots above of Dunlin (DN) and Sanderling (SS) so I put them side by side...

Side by side DN and SS look to have indentical gaits

 

 A Black-headed Gull in the background of this photo with a Sanderling in the foreground is an opportunity to see the large size difference between the two. The gull isn't particularly big but it looks gigantic with the Sanderling next to it.

Compare Black-headed Gull and Sanderling

That's Monday's sightings covered then!

Tuesday 5 November

A walk along the Mere south aside today. No fireworks on the sightings front but four Whooper Swans, four Bullfinch and a Little Egret did get my heart rate up by one or two beats. Little Egrets have been scarce at the Mere this year - maybe due to the high water levels which prevents them landing and feeding around the shoreline.

Two of the four Bullfinch

Yellowhammer

On the way home three Grey Squirrels were frolicking around the trees near Edenfield. Having nothing else to 'tog I fired off a few shots.

Grey Squirrel

Back home, a Collared Dove was sneaking some food from the feeder outside my office window so a few more frames entered the camera.

Collared Dove

Wednesday 6 November

Another slow day I'm afraid. Although I heard Bearded Tits and Water Rail as usual, there were no photo opportunities. However with the four Goldcrests I heard (and saw just two of them) I managed a reasonable likeness.

Goldcrest

 

More wild flowers in evidence today - Red Campion and White Dead Nettle this time.

White Dead Nettle

Red Campion

Another day done. Uninspiring certainly but at least I'm out and about and still looking for the wildlife that is (hopefully) out there somewhere.

Friday 8 November

A walk to Rolston and then along the cliffs today which was a good old enjoyable leg-stretcher for me. The camera was a passenger for most of the walk but it was a good morning.

A Kestrel along the cliff top hovered for long enough to allow me to get some video and a photo.

In the fields at Rolston the Hebridean sheep kept me amused by walking towards me for a bit. I thought they were going to block my path but they sauntered calmly out of my way as I approached.

They reminded of the stereotypical country yokel with a piece of straw in his mouth 🤣

Also on the cliffs I spotted four Fieldfares at the far edge of the field I was crossing. The distance was great so the image isn't, as it's cropped down as far as I could without losing too much definition.

Fieldfares in the distance

I am hoping for a change in the weather next week as the wind veers more northerly. It'll be cooler, but that's to be expected at this time of year.