Hornsea Mere and Surrounds

The last few days have been dry and mainly bright and the cold snap is now a distant memory, with cool mornings the norm rather than cold mornings. I've been walking the paths as usual and they are getting increasingly boggy - boots are usually OK but wellies or similar are now getting more use.

Autumn is rolling on and the leaves are gradually disappearing but there are still large patches of green in the trees.

On the top of south cliff I found the reamins of what looked to be a Barn Owl. The pattern and colour together with the fact that the leading edge of the feathers have hooks leads me to think I'm right. There was no evidence of foul play but I suspect it.

Barn Owl feathers/remains

In the wood over at Wassand there's been a good number of birds which is great to see. We haven't had much to get excited about recently so a couple of days when there are lots of common birds to see is almost as good :)

Goldcrests fly in to Britain during Autumn to swell our numbers and I saw two separate small flocks of 4+ and 3+ birds.

Goldcrest

Woodcock Pilot

 In days gone by people didn't believe that a bird as small as a Goldcrest could fly very far. They didn't think Goldcrests could fly from continental Europe to our shores so they invented a story that they arrived here on the back of Woodcocks! This gave Goldcrests the nickname of Woodcock Pilot. Unbelieveable now, but was probably reasonable back in the day :)

As the leaves fall it is easier to see birds up in the trees so Treecreepers get noticed more. I saw 2 within a few minutes.

Treecreeper

The same Treecreeper

A different Treecreeper

Today I walked up the Trans Pennine Trail (the old railway line) to Great Hatfield and back after I'd done the Mere and hide. It was a good day's wandering and my much better half had sent me off with a flask of her chilli to keep me going - was I looking forward to lunch time? Oh yes!!!!!

I stopped for lunch in a small dip along the trail that had a few steps so I could sit down -

As I was eating I noticed a couple of wild flowers still in bloom, one that I recognised and one I didn't. Red Campion is probably known to everyone as it appears everywhere through Spring and Summer here in East Yorkshire. The white flower is an umbel and I had to check the reference book as there are so many of these and they are so similar...it is a Hogweed.

Hogweed

Red Campion

Cowden

I had a good walk around Cowden range this morning in reasonable weather - mostly dry and overcast with a light north westerly breeze.

The number of Blackbirds flying around was immediately obvious and I counted 37 through the morning. The site is enormous though, so as I only covered about 25% of it there were many more I missed.

Down to the south of the site there were good numbers of passerines - Reed Buntings, Tits,  Redwing and finches; together with Pheasants, singing Skylarks and Red-legged Partridges in the fields. It was here in the stubble field that I saw 11 Whooper Swans - 5 adults and 6 juvs.

11 Whoopers

At least 12 Reed Buntings in the hawthorns and hedgerows:

female Reed Bunting

The large pond had 47 Mallards, 4 Teal and a Marsh Harrier took off from one of the partly submerged hawthorns.

Over towards the west pond I flushed a Snipe and also a new species for the site - Water Rail. It took off from about 10 yards to my right and it landed on top of a bramble patch. I almost caught it there but I was too slow getting the camera off my shoulder and all I got were a few shots as it disappeared into the undergrowth.

A headless Water Rail sinking into brambles

Species list for the morning (29):
Whooper Swan - 11
Great Black-backed Gull - 10
Herring Gull -14
Mallard - 47
Teal - 4
Water Rail
Moorhen - 2
Snipe
Barn Owl - 2
Marsh Harrier
Stock Dove
Woodpigeon - 160+
Red legged Partridge - 9
Pheasant - 8
Skylark - 5
Redwing - 7
Wren - 7
Robin - 3
Blackbird - 37
Magpie - 6
Carrion Crow - 6
Dunnock - 8
Tree Sparrow - 5
Long-tailed Tit - 10+
Great Tit - 4
Blue Tit - 4
Goldfinch - 5
Greenfinch
Yellowhammer
Reed Bunting - 13

Chilly and Sunny Circuit of Hornsea Mere

A species list from this morning's walk around The Mere (39):
Little Grebe
Great Crested Grebe - 6
Cormorant - 12
Grey Heron - 2
Mute Swan - 74
Whooper Swan - 6 (3 adults and 3 juvs)
Greylag Goose - c.400
Canada Goose - c.70
Gadwall - 33
Teal - 6
Mallard - c.30
Tufted Duck - c.100
Long-tailed Duck - 1 female type off KP
Goldeneye - 17
Moorhen - 2
Coot - c.50
Black-headed Gull - c.350
Herring Gull - c.40
Common Gull - 3
Wood Pigeon - c.200
Wren
Robin
Blackbird - 15
Mistle Thrush
Long-tailed Tit - 8
Coal Tit
Blue Tit
Great Tit
Jay
Magpie
Jackdaw
Rook
Carrion Crow
Starling
House Sparrow
Tree Sparrow - 6
Reed Bunting - 2
Chaffinch
Goldfinch - c.35

It was a cool day early on with a chilly north west wind which was felt at its coolest on the sea front and at Kirkholme Point and showers blew in a few times but they were never too prolonged. It was noticable that there were no Cetti's Warblers singing as I walked around The Mere this morning, but on Friday there were 6 singing.

Rainbow over a showery South Beach

Long-tailed Duck between KP and Swan Island

I walked along the north side fields hoping to see a few winter thrushes but there were none, although a good number of finches were flitting about in the hedgerows.

I met a friend on the way down to Wassand Hide and he told me that 6 Whooper Swans had landed in front of the hide but had then flown west into the furthest corner. Hopefully I'd be able to see them but the reeds are very high and they obstruct the view from the hide.

The drive to Wassand

One of too many Grey Squirrels in the wood

On reaching the hide I opened the window and was met by a strong gust of cold wind! I kept my hat and gloves on I can assure you :)

The Whooper Swans were still there but were almost hidden from view by the reeds. Luckily when the wind blew it flattened them so I could get a decent view. I had the Nikon camera with me so I could zoom in to get a few photos, but the further you zoom in the worse the picture quality is. These are record shots at best of the 3 adult and 3 juvenile Whoopers:

Adult and juvenile Whooper Swan

Long-tailed Duck

It was a cool and overcast day as I set off on my walk and the breeze had a bit of nip to it. Shorts are a thing if the past now and I had gloves and a woolly hat in my pocket just in case. I didn't need them as it turned out though.

On the cliffs there were a few Meadow Pipits and 4 Skylarks but nothing else to keep me interested. Same on the beach, seafront and Stream Dike so I carried on to Kirkholme Point.

The Little Gulls are now long gone though one or two still appear intermittently on The Mere, but not on the jetties. Off the south side of KP I saw a Long-tailed Duck, probably the same bird that has been seen over the last week or so. It was distant and never came any closer than about 200 yards.

female/juv-type Long-tailed Duck

Autumnal wildlife

A wonderfully sunny day and a good long wander around Hornsea to see what's on offer.

South Cliff was a bit breezy but still pretty balmy for 5 October so shorts are still the order of the day :) About 20 Common Gull were basking in the warmth at Hornea Lakes and a small flock of Meadow Pipits flitted around the set-aside field. 7+ Skylarks came in off the sea to add their voices to the morning.

Lark descending

A Dunnock was singing near the cliff top and was very active in and around some old wire

Dunnock

I scanned the sea and beach for anything out of the ordinary but couldn't see anything but the usual Herring Gulls, Black-headed Gulls and Cormorants. A younger and fitter me would have a scope on his back!

Over at KP there was a single Little Gull on the jetty. There were 200+ Black-headed Gulls on the water and the north westerly wind was quite strong, strong enough to raise small waves on The Mere. The water is still too high to harbour any waders on the shore line, although we've had a few Common Sandpipers over the last few weeks.

A lonely Little Gull

A walk on the south side got off to a good start as 13 Whooper Swans flew in past me as I walked through 1st field. I met John L as I carried on into 2nd field and he'd counted 14. All my photos showed just 13 but then John told me he'd seen one on the water over by Swan Island so perhaps one peeled off and landed separately?

Whooper Swans incoming

While I was talking to John a dragonfly flew past and landed in the grass - this was the first of several I saw during my walk.

Male Migrant Hawker dragonfly

A couple of Cetti's Warblers were singing in the willows at the bottom of Snipe Grounds but the hedgerows were strangely quiet today. The expected Linnets, Reed Buntings, Yellowhammers and Tree Sparrows just didn't appear. Even the Goldfinches were absent.

Down by the hide in Wassand where there was shelter from the wind, a few more dragonflies plus a Comma and a Red Admiral brightened up an already sparkling day. A Hornet also buzzed in and started preening (or whatever it's called when insects clean their antennae). This is only the second Hornet I've seen in Hornsea.

Female Migrant Hawker

A worn ,

Hornet

same Hornet as above

2 Jays were making a right racket in the hawthorn bushes, perhaps squabbling over a few berries or acorns?

1 of 2 Jays

same Jay as above but with a slower shutter speed

 On my way to Southorpe Rd through the fields 3 Common Darters and another Comma showed up. This Comma was a much cleaner specimen that the previous one.

another ,

female Common Darter

My final sighting of the morning was of the semi-resident flock of Barnacle Goose. They circled for a while and then landed in one of the fields. I counted 122 and also spotted a Pink-footed Goose in with them.

80+ of the 122 Barnacle Geese

Barnacle Geese with Pink-footed Goose

Gannets, Scoters, Sandwich Terns and a Shrew

Last Saturday we had a bit of a blow from the North along with rain so I went down to the beach to see if anything was passing by.

Plenty of Gannets, most going straight North but some diving to catch fish and then flying North:

juv Gannet and a Cormornat on the buoy

 There were a few Common Scoter too, but not many:

4 Common Scoter going past a Hornsea buoy

The following day was dry, warm and sunny and from the cliffs south of Hornsea I was watching a few Sandwich Terns diving into the sea to catch fish:

I quite like this one, captured just as the tern entered the water

 There are always Cormorants passing overhead going to and from The Mere but today one flew parallel to the cliff allowing me to get a reasonable photo:

A Cormorant on its way to The Mere

Along the hedgerow were a Reed Bunting (nice to see one along here so late in the year) and a Wren, which was feeding in the undergrowth just by the hedgerow:

I called in at KP as I usually do to see if there was anyone or anything about and there were 7 Little Gulls on the jetties. Good to see a juvenile bird as there don't seem to be that many about this year:

juv Little Gull

I hadn't been to the hide at Wassand for some time as not only has there been a dearth of birds there, but also the view to the left over to the willows has become badly obscured by the reeds. Unless something is done the winter wild fowl watching will be a waste of time.

On the way back along the woodland walk I saw something moving in the grass by the path and it turned out to be a Common Shrew. It makes a welcome change to see one very much alive and dashing around the leaves: