Photos
Marsh Sandpiper, Spoonbills, Avocets, Little Egret and eclipse Garganey at Blacktoft Sands
June 11th
An adult Black-necked Grebe was present on HGF this morning along with a juvenile Little Grebe. I saw only one Kestrel – the male hunting.
June 12th
Early morning visit to HGF today. The male Kestrel was hunting in the corner near the kennels and two juveniles were mimicking him. Two Little Ringed Plovers were at the pool edge and a covey of 29 Grey Partridges was seen in flight over the south field.
June 13th
An adult Black-necked Grebe was present on HGF this morning along with a juvenile Little Grebe. I saw only one Kestrel – the male hunting.
June 12th
Early morning visit to HGF today. The male Kestrel was hunting in the corner near the kennels and two juveniles were mimicking him. Two Little Ringed Plovers were at the pool edge and a covey of 29 Grey Partridges was seen in flight over the south field.
June 13th
Got called home at lunch – Bill had collapsed. I found him in a right state, constantly falling over and clearly distressed. I thought that was the end for him, however when the vet finally got around to looking at Bill he diagnosed something called Vestibular Syndrome. In the past this condition has resulted in many dogs being put down when in fact most recover. No known cause and no known effective treatment – just wait for the animal to recover.
June 14th
What a difference a day makes. Bill was clearly miles better this morning although he still can’t walk straight, falls over regularly and has to be hand fed because his coordination is all over the place - he can't figure out how to put his mouth near his food bowl! By lunch I was happy to leave Dorothy looking after him for a few hours so I headed over to Blacktoft Sands.
I headed straight for the Ouse Fleet viewing screen where the Marsh Sandpiper was still in residence. The views were disappointing and there was a queue so I decided to head off elsewhere. I spent a while wandering with a bloke whose name I didn’t get but I do know he found the Kentish Plover at Bowness earlier this year. I picked up a calling Yellow Wagtail which soon materialised as we wandered back to the next hide and a fly over Marsh Harrier. There an eclipse drake Garganey was in residence amongst a small flock of Teal.
I spent the next couple of hours just casually wandering around the hides where at least five more Marsh Harriers, two 3cy Spoonbills plus Little Egrets, 15 Spotted Redshanks, 2 Greenshanks, 6 Ruff and various other waders (inc 6 Green Sandpipers) were in residence. I also saw a juvenile Yellow Wagtail chasing one of its parents for food. At one point I was one of six birders sat in the Marshland Hide watching the waders when the flock of Black-tailed Godwits and everything else was spooked into the air by a Marsh Harrier. They soon returned though, accompanied by the Marsh Sandpiper! It gave good if distant views for an hour or so but spent a lot of the time asleep.
On the Spoonbills – aging them can be tricky and am not 100% convinced on these. I used the link below to review these birds:
http://www.surfbirds.com/mb/Features/spoonbill/ageing-spoonbill-0402.html
I age these birds based on small plume, little black on wing tips and dark grey legs. The large yellowish patches on the end of the bills though hints more of 2cy though so not completely convinced.
June 14th
What a difference a day makes. Bill was clearly miles better this morning although he still can’t walk straight, falls over regularly and has to be hand fed because his coordination is all over the place - he can't figure out how to put his mouth near his food bowl! By lunch I was happy to leave Dorothy looking after him for a few hours so I headed over to Blacktoft Sands.
I headed straight for the Ouse Fleet viewing screen where the Marsh Sandpiper was still in residence. The views were disappointing and there was a queue so I decided to head off elsewhere. I spent a while wandering with a bloke whose name I didn’t get but I do know he found the Kentish Plover at Bowness earlier this year. I picked up a calling Yellow Wagtail which soon materialised as we wandered back to the next hide and a fly over Marsh Harrier. There an eclipse drake Garganey was in residence amongst a small flock of Teal.
I spent the next couple of hours just casually wandering around the hides where at least five more Marsh Harriers, two 3cy Spoonbills plus Little Egrets, 15 Spotted Redshanks, 2 Greenshanks, 6 Ruff and various other waders (inc 6 Green Sandpipers) were in residence. I also saw a juvenile Yellow Wagtail chasing one of its parents for food. At one point I was one of six birders sat in the Marshland Hide watching the waders when the flock of Black-tailed Godwits and everything else was spooked into the air by a Marsh Harrier. They soon returned though, accompanied by the Marsh Sandpiper! It gave good if distant views for an hour or so but spent a lot of the time asleep.
On the Spoonbills – aging them can be tricky and am not 100% convinced on these. I used the link below to review these birds:
http://www.surfbirds.com/mb/Features/spoonbill/ageing-spoonbill-0402.html
I age these birds based on small plume, little black on wing tips and dark grey legs. The large yellowish patches on the end of the bills though hints more of 2cy though so not completely convinced.
No comments:
Post a Comment