A few from the weekend

 

Stonechat

A very distant short-eared owl

Rough-legged Buzzard at Stone Creek. Not so many people there so parking was alot easier. But the wind chill was baltic !  Strong wind which kept the buzzard at the far side of the field but we still had decent views. At least 3 ringtails and a couple of short-eared owls aswell.

Goldfinch bath time

Fieldfares. The hedgeline was covered in them, coming and going. Hundreds of them. What a fantastic sight to see.

and all coming down into the field to drink

The hedges were covered in fieldfare

Rough-legged Buzzard and Ringtail, Stone Creek, East Yorks

 

One of three ringtails at Stone Creek along with a couple of short eared owls and the main reason for the trip was to see the rough-legged buzzard. Afraid nothing was really close and parking was certainly not easy. Definately need another visit, hopefully when the sky is blue ! We did have 3 swallows fly over us that I don't think anyone else saw. A very late record. A good day out !

Rough-legged Buzzard, Stainforth

Can't beat a day standing in the mud on a slag heap in Stainforth !! The weather could have been more kind, a misty murky day but it did clear around lunchtime, just before it started to get dark! The temperature hovered around 2 degrees and with thick, gloopy, slippery mud underfoot, good job we had good coffee !  The rough-leg favoured an oak tree in the distance where it sat most of the morning until it flew across the road over the slag bank getting constantly harrassed by crows. The bird seemed to be constantly flying for around an hour, but never close. Eventually seeming to settle among the scrub on the bankings opposite. But, saw it we did !  A very raggy juvenile rough-legged buzzard and only 15 miles from home. If it stays and the sun shines, definately worth another visit. 

Rough-legged Buzzard

What a day !  Karen thought she could have tea in bed this morning and catch up with a couple of chapters of a new book until the pager bleeped. A Blackpoll Warbler at Spurn !  Up like a shot, pack-up thrown in a bag and off we set. As soon as we got there we knew we had missed it, 100's of birders milling about and chatting - definitely not a good sign. So, after mooching along hedgelines for a couple of hours we decided to head to Bridlington for the rough-legged buzzard. No easy way to get there so coast road it was, now why build a straight road when you can put 200 bends in it........

Eventually found the village and within 5 mins we had the rough-legged hovering right above the road, WOW !  No time to park and get camera, we just watched and it was absolutely stunning. Parked up and was ready for it to fly again, the light was perfect but afraid it simply sat in a distant tree. By the time it flew again, the sun had retreated behind thick cloud. Still, it was a pleasure to watch. Hope this bird hangs around, reckon we need to spend alot more time with it, preferably on a sunny day !