The Big Dip.....Sunday 19th May 2013.

After hearing late on Saturday night that a cracking male Collared Flycatcher had been found at Sammy's Point at Easington,i made the daft and hope full decision to go and try and see it.After an uncomfortable nights sleep in the car,i was up at first light with the local lads looking for this stunning bird.Unfortunately it soon became apparent that it had done a midnight flit...buggar!.Some nice recompense was had while looking for the Flycatcher,a fine adult female Red-backed Shrike which showed brilliantly down to about 20 feet.She was a pretty old female with a grey crown and nape,nice rusty mantle  and partial mask...which later confused some visitors into thinking the bird was a male.As more people arrived with minimal field craft,the bird soon became wary and stayed its distance.Also seen while searching the area was a smart female Ring Ouzel,which i flushed from a ditch and it was seen on a couple more occasions later on.Other birds in the area included at least 20 Whimbrel,a couple of Wheatear and a hunting Barn Owl and on the mammal front a lovely Fox.After meeting up with Simon,Karen and John we spent the rest of the morning up to early afternoon wandering about the area trying to turn up something else,but sadly nothing else on the rarity front materialised.We did manage some really nice views of Spotted Flycatcher and Cuckoo,with a Cuckoo seen eating a Drinker Moth caterpillar.Other wildlife sightings observed through the day included 3 Roe Deer,a Weasel and a few butterflies in the form of Speckled Wood and Green-veined White.A good day despite the early disappointment.

Adult female Red-backed Shrike,Sammy's Point,Easington.

Adult female Red-backed Shrike,Sammy's Point,Easington.

Female Roe Deer in the 'Triangle',Kilnsea.

MSQ....A cracking day out..12.05.2013.

An early start today,arriving on site at 05.15,certainly paid dividends with some great sightings through the day.I started proceedings in usual fashion by looking at Grebe lake and today...bingo!,not one,but two Otters.I watched them at moderate range,managing a few record shots,but what a great sight to watch.Both animals looked pretty much the same size,but continually fished in close proximity to each other,so i would say they were most probably a female and a well grown cub.One of the animals was incredibly pale for an Otter,being almost sandy brown in colour,certainly an individual i hadn't seen before.After this excellent start i continued my walk,enjoying some nice birdsong which included Reed,Garden and Sedge Warbler along with a distant Cuckoo,which i saw later.After the cloudy start the weather began to break at last with some sunny periods and pleasantly warm sun,a complete contrast to first thing,with me putting on my full winter birding gear.As i reached the heathy area i was very pleased to hear the welcome sound of the 'Pssst tick' call of a Spotted Flycatcher and after Dave arrived we enjoyed some nice views of the bird as it sallied after its flying prey.This was a new bird for Dave and a very welcome first of the year for me.As we explored the heathy area,i began to find some nice insects,which included a Bronze Shieldbug a fairly scarce species here and also nearby,my first Green Shieldbug of the year.We managed several hoverfly species,the best of which was several Leucozona leucorum and Dasysyrphus albostriatus.Find of the day was seen next,when i managed to find a cracking little moth on an Oak trunk,at first i was thinking it was a 'Micro',but after consulting one of my 'Insect' expert contacts,it was id'd as Least-black Arches,a new species for me.After seeing this cracking little moth,we eventually arrived at the main lake.After much scanning we eventually managed to find the Drake Garganey watched feeding around the bottom islands and later gained better views from the wader hide.These are a lovely striking duck and our only summer migrant species,spending the winter in Africa.Also over and around the lake were at least 200 Swift and 30 House Martin,with smaller numbers of Swallow and Sand Martin,providing a stunning spectacle to watch as they zoomed about after flying insect prey.Other sightings observed around the reserve today included my first ever sighting of a Stoat swimming,as i watched 2 animals chasing each other,one shot down the side of a ditch and swam across to the other side,a great piece of behaviour to see.A few wild flowers are beginning to spring into life and included some nice examples of Dog Violet,Greater Stichwort,Meadow Saxifrage and still large amounts of the stunning Marsh Marigold.The day ended with the expected rain arriving,but it was a cracking day out locally at this gem of a reserve.

Record shot of the 2 Otters.

Bronze Shieldbug.

Speckled Wood.

Least-black Arches.

Dasysyrphus albostriatus.

Leucozona leucorum.

Helophilus pendulus.

Female Shelduck.

Wonderfull Whisby.....04.05.2013.

With a full day to ourselves,Dave,Chris and myself headed for the excellent and huge Whisby NR on the outskirts of Lincoln,to see if we could see the stunning Nightingales and what other niceties we could find.We started by exploring Grebe and Coot lakes and enjoyed superb views of our 'First' Nightingales,Common Terns and Garden Warblers of the year and a brief,distant,flyby Hobby.The Nightingales gave unbelievable views and likewise,a personal favourite,the Garden Warblers gave equally good views,with at least 15 being seen by the end of the day.Warblers were a big feature of the day with 9 species being seen in total and they seemed to be everywhere,in one stretch of Blackthorn hedge i saw 7 species,pretty amazing stuff.The many lakes were distinctly lacking in wildfowl with only a hand full of Tufted Duck,Teal and Mallard being seen and this was also noted with regards to Hirundines,it really is a strange spring this year.The man made islands that have been created for breeding waders and wildfowl contained a couple of Black-headed Gull colonies,with 2 Oystercatchers sitting tight on eggs and a single Little-ringed Plover fed around the waters edge.After enjoying the Nightingales etc. the visitor centre was opening at 10,so at 1 minute past ten we were in and ordering our full english!.After a superb brekkie and a nice cuppa we carried on exploring this large reserve,getting a good soaking as well before the weather finally broke into some sunshine at last.As the weather broke we started to see our first butterflies of the day and this included my first Holly Blue,Orange Tips and Speckled Woods of the year.In fact numbers weren't too bad with us seeing 4 Speckled Wood,6 Orange Tip,10 Green-veined White,7 Peacock and singles of Brimstone and Holly Blue.I still could not find a single Large-red Damselfly,despite searching high and low for them.The only mammal sighting of note was a single Weasel watched crossing one of the many tracks around the reserve.A good day despite the cocked up weather forecast....one day they will get it right!.

Singing male Nightingale.

Singing male Nightingale.

Singing male Garden Warbler.

Blue Tit.

Roosting Orange Tip.

Sunny Bonby......30.04.2013.

A lovely afternoon after finishing work today,saw me heading for the 'Local Patch' at Bonby and walking down to the Ancholme and back.On arrival it was apparent that the winter water levels on the fields was rapidly disappearing,but there were still a few pools visible.Duck numbers had subsided as expected for the time of year,but there were still a few Teal,1 pair of Shoveler and at least 15 Gadwall.Several pairs of Shelduck were also present and no doubt we will have some broods at some point in the near future.There were also several pairs of Lapwing and a displaying pair of Redshank which was nice to see.As i got half down to the river i saw 1 female Wheatear,then 2 and by the time i reached the river i had seen 8 birds in total,which included 5 smart males.The best bird of the visit was seen in the same area as the Wheatears...a cracking male Whinchat.It seems ages since i have seen a spring male,so it was a nice surprise to see one sallying for flies from the fence posts.The only raptors i managed today were 3 of the local Common Buzzards and a nice male Kestrel hunting along the river bank.In each of the fields there has been herds of bullocks put down for grazing and this has attracted a good sized flock of at least 40 Yellow Wagtail,which included at least 1 Blue-headed type bird feeding around the cows hooves as they disturbed flying insects from the grass.Other passerines seen included 4 singing male Sedge Warbler and 4 male Whitethroat.A few insects were also observed and included 4 Small Tortoiseshell and at least 10 Peacock.An enjoyable few hours around the local area.

Female Wheatear.

Female Wheatear.

One of the nosy locals.

Humberston - Tetney....Sunday 28.04.2013.

After visiting Grimsby this morning i decided to travel the short journey over to Humberston and walk all the way up to Tetney sluice and back.I saw some nice bits,the best of which was a stonking male Redstart sheltering from the blustery south westerly wind.He was watched in flight and perched on 3 occasions before disappearing,what a lovely bird!.Along the same area of bushes and up to Tetney 10 Whitethroat,20 Swallow,2 Common Buzzard overhead and 5 Whimbrel were seen and another first for the year was seen at the sluice at Tetney,3 Common Sandpiper 'Teetering' along the shore there.They gave nice views,a lovely bird species and i always enjoy to see them whether in the uplands or on migration along the coast or wetlands.On the yacht club pools,a single Sand Martin hawked for insects and a couple of Drake Wigeon showed brilliantly along with a single Dark-bellied Brent Goose.A nice few hours,with a change of scenery.

Drake Wigeon,Humberston Yacht Club Pools.

Drake Wigeon,Humberston Yacht Club Pools.

Male Chaffinch,Tetney.

Swallow,Tetney.

Common Sandpiper,Tetney Sluice.

Mediterranean stunner.....21.04.2013.

After hearing the previous evening that a male Subalpine Warbler had been found at Gibralter Point..i had been determined to put the bird out of my mind,as i needed to add this super species to my Linc's List.So sunday dawned and i was happily working on the computer editing photos from the previous days outing when i received a text from Karen to say it was still there!.So i got the kit together and made the journey over to Gib through all the bloody Sunday traffic,that was entertaining to say the least,the only compensation was a Merlin dashing across the fields near Burgh-Le-Marsh.When i eventually arrived on site,i paid my parking fee and met up with Karen and Simon before we made our way over to Tennyson's north hide were the bird had been residing.Within ten minutes we were watching our first Subalpine Warbler for Lincolnshire.He showed admirably infront of the hide at first before moving further away,giving superb views of the birds salient features,but a nightmare for the AF on the camera to lock on as there always seemed to be branches in the way as the bird fed all the time in buckthorn bushes.I managed to get some record shots all the same.The bird was heard to call and also frequently sang as it looked for food,what a little cracker!!.I'm no expert but the bird looked like it may be a 2nd calendar year and not an adult male due to plumage characters.After getting our fill of this stunning bird,we walked around the reserve seeing and hearing a couple of 'Firsts' for the year in the form of Whimbrel and Lesser Whitethroat and 3 Jay were seen flying south along the dunes.The only other highlight was a 2nd calendar year Med. Gull which was also seen on Tennyson's.A good few hours out and great to see another Subalp.

2nd calendar year Med.Gull.

MSQ......What A Day!,20.04.2013.

As i have often done in the past,i finished nights today,went home had an hours kip and woke up to wall to wall sun,so i decided to head for Messingham again.At last spring had arrived properly and i parked a short way from the reserve to view the sheep fields and new sand workings.Highlights here consisted of two 'Firsts' for the year in the form of a Cuckoo and a lovely male Whitethroat.The Cuckoo was just observed in flight,but the Whitethroat performed admirably,catching insects and sub singing.Also on the nearby fields,several nesting and displaying Lapwings were seen along with 3 Yellow Wagtail,6 Common Buzzard taking advantage of the now rising thermals and a flyover Little-ringed Plover.So after this good start i made the short hop over to the reserve proper.As i parked up,a further 6 Common Buzzard were seen,with some of the birds being the ones i had seen earlier,but great to see in the fantastic light.A quick check on the Grebe lake revealed nothing out of the ordinary,but a little further on just past the dipping platform another 'First' for the year was seen,a singing male Reed Warbler.This bird didn't show particularly well,but later in the day another gave great views from the mound on the way down to the wader hide.Nothing unusual in the plantation today,but on the other side another singing male Whitethroat gave stunning views and i managed to get some great images of this individual.On arrival at the duck hide,i again managed to find the 2 female Scaup,one of which looked like it was paired up to a male Tufted Duck,that should make for some interesting young later in the year.The only other bird of note here was a single drake Wigeon.After a text from Dave we met up and carried on looking around this cracking reserve,eventually ending up down at the wader hide,on route seeing another 'First' in the form of a 2nd calendar year Hobby,my earliest personal record.It was watched hawking fly's,with fantastic aerial prowess,what a superb species they are!.Today was the best day i have had so far this year for insects,with the highlights being provided by my 'First' Brimstone and Green-veined Whites of the year,at least 10 Peacock and several Bee-Fly's.There were quite a lot of Toads active today and i also managed to see a couple of juvenile Common Frogs.So all in all,what a superb day and i returned home a bit tired,but very happy.

Bee Fly.

Defensive Common Toad.

Singing male Whitethroat.

Male Whitethroat.

Peacock Butterfly.

Distant Hobby.

Black-headed Gulls.

Reed Warbler.