Trains and Boats and Planes? No, Just Walking

 A most enjoyable week wandering around Hornsea and catching glimpses of the wildlife I take for granted all too often.

The resident birds and mammals are coming into their breeding season and are being joined, slowly but surely, by the migrants that arrive here to breed. 

No hirundines yet (Sand Martins are usually the first to arrive, then Swallows and House Martins). Wheatears will be on their way and Yellow Wagtails won't be far behind. In and amongst, the warblers will sneak in and take up residence along the south side hedgerows and reed beds. Then the mornings will be filled with their songs, eclipsing the resident songsters for a while until I get used to them. Then it's back to remembering not to take these things for granted.

So what's been seen?

On Monday as I walked through Freeport car park (or Hornsea Village car park as it is now) I heard the call of Buzzards overhead. Three of them were circling and two almost merged into one.

One of the Buzzards had a distictive white patch

 There have been a couple of Meadow Pipits in and around first field and one of them perched on the wire just in time for a photo. Having watched them for years and years, I expect Mipits to land on fence posts and wires quite often but these don't seem to do it very often.

Meadow Pipit showing the diagnostic long hind claw

The set aside field has been a real draw for the wintering passerines, particularly finches. They are still there and Reed Buntings are looking splendid in their spring plumage.

A female Reed Bunting, looking for Mr Right?

I have noticed over the last few years that Wrens stop singing and I almost never hear one through January, February and half of March - they have just started singing again 😊

Wren singing again

Brown Hares are seen more often now (well, it's March Hare time isn't it!) with a total of six the other day - one came within feet of me as I rested against a fence post.

This and all below - Brown Hares

We've had frosty, dry and sunny mornings predominantly this last week which has been excellent for walking and watching wildlife.

Long-tailed Tit

I go to the hide every now and then, not often as there is precious little to see most days, but the view is always good. With no wind to disturb the water's surface the reflections were nearly perfect.

Song Thrush is still the loudest voice heard these mornings and we have plenty of them too. The perfect ten has almost been reached a few times, but not quite - nine has been the maximum count so far.

Song Thrush

Joining the thrushes, Linnets have been splitting out from the flocks into pairs and singing from the trees and reed beds. Very slim and upright, the Linnet is a joy to watch.

Linnet singing

Linnet not singing

Linnet singing

Yep, you guessed, Linnet not singing

I saw a Brimstone butterfly in Beverley on Thursday. No butterflies on the wing yet for me in Hornsea, apart from a probably Orange Tip in Seaton a week or so ago. Butterflies have been hard hit and much reduced in numbers over the last year or so - will this year be any better? I sincerely hope so, as they are such a part of our spring and summer lives.

Time Marches On

 We are in the third week of March already! It's amazing how quickly time passes once you get past 40 😂🤣 - as if my memory is good enough to remember that far back.

There hasn't been that much to get the juices flowing over the last week or so, just the usual wildlife with a few added bits to remind me that we are in the best season of all. 

I am concentrating on counting passerines this year. Why? I've been assisting a friend who is writing an update to his book The Birds Of The Lower Derwent Valley - twenty or so years after his first book, and I've noticed that he often mentions how many "common" bird species aren't counted and reported regularly. So that we, at Hornsea Mere, don't have the same gap in our records I'm going to try and include as many common species counts as feasible each day in my BirdTrack submissions. This will augment Jon's daily counts of ducks and other birds seen at the Mere.

Meanwhile life goes on apace with birds now making themselves heard as they seek mates and nest sites. The singing and calling makes it easier to count them as often they are unseen in the canopy or undergrowth.

Coal Tit

The good sized flock of finches that is a feature of the set aside field over winter is reducing quickly, and I counted only seven Linnet there this morning, with two Reed Bunting, a Chaffinch and a Yellowhammer for company.

Linnet in the set aside

Along the sea front birds are starting to move and Red-throated Divers are the most numerous at the moment. Why they are now called Red-throated Loons baffles me, and in my totally old fashioned way I will continue to call them divers until the day I shuffle off this mortal coil.

Two Red-throated Divers off Hornsea

Bright, cold and sunny mornings have been the norm and the good light helps enormously with identifying and photographing wildlife. With a dead reed stem from last year to perch on and the reed bed as a background, this Reed Bunting is a good subject for a photo.

Male Reed Bunting

The uncommon Common Gull (aka Mew Gull - again, it'll always be a Common Gull to me) continues to frequent the Clover Field on the Mere south side, although numbers were down from previous days this morning.

Common Gulls on the south side

There are good numbers of Goldfinch through winter around the set aside field but through the rest of the year there aren't that many to be seen. Just two the other day...

One of two Goldfinch in the set aside field

The weather has been mainly dry which has allowed the Mere water level to drop at long last. It does mean though that garden birds have been using the bird bath more often. I had to fill it three times on one day and this female Blackbird demonstrates why 😂

Blackbird emptying the bird bath

Song Thrushes are the outstanding sound most mornings and this morning I had ten along my walk route. A little longer walk than normal today and that got several species' counts above their usual levels.

Song Thrush singing a song

At the hide last week I closed the north and east facing window flaps to lessen the cold wind. As I did I saw the large groups of Harlequin Ladybirds clustered around the hinges. They must have been there all winter sheltering from the worst of the conditions. They are an invasive species and are unwelcome here.

 

From Yorkshire WIldlife Trust: "Originally from Asia, the harlequin ladybird first arrived in the UK in 2004, and has rapidly become one of the most common ladybirds in the country, particularly in towns and gardens. It is one of our larger species and is a voracious predator - it is able to out-compete our native species for aphid-prey and will also eat other ladybirds' eggs and larvae. It can have multiple broods throughout the spring, summer and autumn, which also gives it a competitive edge."

Harlequin Ladybirds in Decoy Hide

This morning as I walked along Southorpe Road I saw four Roe Deer crossing the road in front of me. They were quite a way off so they didn't hurry to move along.

As I reached the end of the road where they had crossed they were just the other side of the hedge and as I passed they dashed off.

Four Roe Deer making themselves scarce

Let's finish with a splash of colour - a nice patch of Greater Periwinkle in flower.

Greater Periwinkle (Vinca major)

A Good Week

 Things are on the up! Warmer winds and lots of sun has even brought out a few insects, with my first bumble bee (unknown sp) and hoverfly seen briefly.

The hoverfly was, I think, Syrphus ribesii. The female has eyes set further apart than the male and has yellow femurs to the hind legs, which I think can just be seen in the photo.

Syrphus ribesii, female

 As we were driving towards Brandsburton yesterday I saw a white butterfly in Seaton! It was probably an Orange Tip given they are the first white butterfly to emerge, but I couldn't be sure.

Birds have been good with my first sightings of the year at the Mere for Red-legged Partridge, Chiffchaff, Whooper Swan and Oystercatcher. Nuthatch and Green Woodpecker have been quite regularly heard if not seen.

Two Red-legged Partridge were seen running up the field edge south of Heslop's - these are the first I've seen at the Mere for almost 18 months.

Two Red-legged Partridge

The Nuthatch is making itself heard most mornings but needs a bit of searching to locate. While I was following it yesterday morning three Great Spotted Woodpeckers flew in to the same tree and chased each other around for a while before flying off again. Spring is setting things moving alright.

Nuthatch in Wassand - looks like it's lying down 😂

Yellowhammers have been singing in the hedgerows and trees which is a sure sign that winter is on its way out. There are fewer than in previous years which unfortunately follows the downward trend for most birds, but it is still early and numbers may yet pick up.

Yellowhammer

Common Buzzards have been showing well too, along with Marsh Harriers, and I've seen at least one each morning for the last five days.

Common Buzzard

Long-tailed Tits are no longer in their large family groups and have separated to start forming pairs, although I had four squabbling over something in a tree that seemed to be drawing them in - probably something tasty.

Long-tailed Tits

I spotted a Barn Owl hunting along a field edge so to get a photo or two I managed to get into a position where it would hopefully fly past. It did eventually 😀

Barn Owl

 Chiffchaffs have been arriving this week and I heard my first one on Tuesday. Today I heard five and saw a couple of them. They will rapidly grow in numbers and counting them will be a challenge that I enjoy.

Chiffchaff singing

So much for the fauna, what about the flora?

Not much appearing yet apart from the obvious flowering "garden" plants such as crocus, daffodil and snowdrop which nicely brighten up the days, but a couple of Red Dead Nettles were a lovely surprise.

Red Dead Nettle

It's good to see the hawthorns showing signs of bursting into leaf, and once they start they take no time at all to turn the hedgerows green.

Hawthorn buds bursting into leaf

Although the next few days are looking a bit cooler than the last five, now that Spring has started in earnest it will continue apace. Lots to look forward to!!