N.Yorks forests

Osprey

Osprey

Violet (I guess)

God knows but its pretty

w Cowslip ( at Thornwick)

A trip up to Wykeham and Dalby today with Ian M. Plenty of wild flowers and willow warblers singing everywhere. Called in at Ellerburn ponds in the evening for the Osprey .......sorry about the oversharpening of the images of the bird but it was to compensate for distance and failing light. (mike).

S.Landing

Comma

Blackcap

A butterfly and another spring songster. (mike)

Spring on the Head

Common Whitethroat (1st. of year)

Barn Owl

Dancing Swallows

Plenty of common migrants showing up ( see Fwg blog). 1st.common whitethroat plus a good showing of hirundines and a few warblers. Barn Owls doing well - 3 or 4 pairs. (mike)

Friday morning, Westport Mass.

A few migrant shorebirds with a pair of American Oystercatchers  being the photographic pick.

Easter in Buffalo

          Lesser Scaup

          

      
Little evidence of little stuff, Riverside cemetery was largely absent of migrants, but the junction of lake Erie and the Niagara river was a different story, with many thousands of birds enjoying good fishing amongst the thawing pack ice. 1200 Bonapartes Gulls and 2150 Red-breasted Mergansers were mightily impressive, As well a second year Iceland Gull, 14 Long-tailed Ducks provided a bit of quality.

sunday 18th.

chiffchaff

chiffchaff

chaffinch

pied wagtail

A run down Hartendale this evening produced nothing startling though in decent light, a few common birds proved to be willing subjects, except the chiffy which was a little sod!

Very quiet and grey.

female Pheasant

male Reed Bunting

Very little in the way of migrants, or moths for that matter, though the reed bunting had just peeked at the pheasant having sex, that's why she looks so indignant. (mike)

more leps.

Small Quaker

Clouded Drab (this is the purplish colour form, though they can be quite

brown; they are very variable).

2 more moths from the last couple of days. The Small Quaker is only the 2nd.ever for the cape. (mike).

a little beauty

Streamer

Ian caught this last night. (mike).

wolds tour.

Lapwings - "courting in sync"

Great-crested Grebe

Red Kite

Coal Tit

A day out with Tony Ezard saw us visit Nunburnholme (kites), and North Cave wetlands (water birds, gulls and waders). We also had 5 distant Buzzards in the air together there. Have included an image of a Coal Tit taken in N.Yorks. forests yesterday also, simply because its a cute subject. (mike).

Saturday the 4th.

For company on the dunes i had this adult female Northern Harrier. Also in the air Saturday were Sharp-shinned Hawk, Peregrine, Red-tailed Hawk, Turkey Vulture and 2 Osprey.

Weekend birding is crap

            Grey Plover with Dunlins

            Turkey Vulture

             Earthstar

          Male Common Scoter and Male Eider.

A slightly milder but blustery day on the coast failed to produce much of interest, seven species of duck on the sea was about it, after the dogwalkers had done there bit for the nesting plovers.

R & R for wildlife

rook.............paragliding

sand martin....................aerobatics

wren..................... taking a breather from singing to stock doves

stockdove..........................listening to wrens singing

twin-spot quaker...............chilling out on a log

This is how some of our wild creatures relax on a sunny sunday. (mike)

Spring in the woods.

Wood Anemone

Celandine
Woodland flowers alongside Gypsy Race at Boynton responding to the sunshine. (mike)

another moth

1st of 2 Clouded Drabs in the trap this a.m. Other species were Early Grey, Common Quaker and Hebrew Character. (mike).

April Fool's Raptorama!

It's been a part of the last few year's obsessional local patch-watching here in deepest urban Hackney to steal away to one of the nearest open spaces in spring to look for raptors overhead; while it's hardly Eilat or Falsterbo, the spectacle of seeing large birds of prey over inner London (google map search 'Clissold Park, Hackney') amplifies the pleasure.

Yesterday's high pressure, sunny intervals, easterly winds and scattered cumulus clouds looked perfect for an early spring flyover, and with a day off to burn on local birding, I decamped to the park for a few hours sore-necking.

And what a pay-off - six species in two hours. As well as the expected Kestrels and Sparrowhawks, and a Peregrine sparring with a Common Buzzard, two five-star raptors made it a red-letter day. An Osprey headed high and north-west at 1320, and then, incredibly, a Goshawk circled several times before dramatically dive-bombing feral pigeons and disappearing from view (see below).

(Mark)

Another new moth for year

Early Grey

Short-eared Owl

Short-eared Owl

Kestrel

The 1st. early grey of the year in the moth trap this a.m., plus a couple of images from North Marsh. (mike).