Another Normanby Park First!

I can hardly believe it but I have had another first in the Park this morning that's 2 in a few weeks who would have thought..anyway today's bird was a female Goosander down at the fishing lake.  I can't imagine it will be there long as it is very skittish and took off as soon as it saw me however it came back a couple of minutes later when it presumably thought the coast was clear.

Great Northern Diver

A few stills..

Great Northern Diver, North Lincs

One of those occasions when the light is non-existence and the bird is just too close - almost tame!

Great Northern Diver (1st Winter)

Christmas Greetings from Normanby

We would like to send Christmas Greetings around the world from here in Normanby and wish everyone a peaceful and nature filled 2013.

Scunthorpe Waxwings

Just driven back from Scunthorpe and had 13 Waxwings along the side of the Li-Lo factory on Normanby Business Park - no camera so no photos!

Another Waxwing tragedy

Click on this link http://theshadoxhurstgarden.blogspot.co.uk/2012/12/waxwing-roadside-casualty.html

I can only say drivers need to slow down particularly on the road from Normanby through to Burton, Coleby, Thealby, West Halton and Alkborough.

A deceased Waxwing!

Whilst watching a couple of hundred Waxwing between here and West Halton we were dismayed to see this first winter male taken up into the air in the updraught of a car and then fall into the side of the road - it wasn’t hit by the car but was dead non the less.  They are easy pickings for drivers and Sparrowhawks as they seem to have no fear or road sense.

Waxwings

Well they’re still here in ever increasing numbers - these images were taken by my father this afternoon.

More Waxwings

Our local Waxwings are still around and we estimate there to be around 250 having said that they were a little elusive today and seem to have broken up into smaller groups - this group were settled until a Fieldfare took fright and spooked them - the local Sparrowhawk is still stalking them also and must be taking a couple a day!

Black hairy thick-tailed scorpion (Parabuthus villosus)

We think we have just identified this scorpion which we took 6 years ago in Namibia - I found it just about to climb on to my sandal!  It has just been featured on the channel 5 programme Wild Things with Dominic Monaghan and is the deadliest Scorpion in Southern Africa and apparently could kill a child/elderly person.  I remember at the time Wayne telling me not to worry as the bigger a Scorpion is the least dangerous it is!

100+ Waxwings minus one!

Over 100 Waxwings in Burton Upon Stather this morning but there is now one less thanks to a hungry Sparrowhawk!  Yes there is a Waxwing in this first picture, it is under the talons of the Sparrowhawk - all pictures taken from the car in very low light and gale force winds.

Long-tailed Duck at Messingham

Plenty of birds around today including this 1cy Long-tailed Duck - also at Messingham 4 Scaup, 60 Siskins and 10 Redpoll.  Unfortunately no Waxwings at West Halton today but apparently some at Burton!

Waxwings at last!

This autumn has seen an eruption of Waxwings into the country with flocks of up to 1000 strong being seen in the Highlands and around 300 just over the Humber in Hessle, so with that in mind we have been keeping our eyes open - so driving up to Whitton late this afternoon I noticed out of the corner of my eye a smudge of grey in the middle of a Rowan tree ,  we were driving up the main street of West Halton so I quickly got Wayne to stop the car and with a quick bit of reversing we soon found a couple of Waxwings but could hear many more - although these birds are instantly recognisable and charismatic they can certainly hide for example in the first image below there are around 52 Waxwings in the top of the two Poplar trees!  The only camera we had on us was an old Panasonic FZ20 so I quickly took a few shots but within minutes the whole flock was spooked by a Sparrowhawk and we were unable to relocate them and by 3.30 the light was fading and these birds are notoriously early roosters but who knows they could be back tomorrow to finish off the berries.

More autumn shots in the Park..

Another glorious autumn day with little wind but no further sign of the Kingfisher down at the fishing pond but still Siskins flitting around and a small party of Red-legged Partridges.

Two new birds....

Two "firsts" for me today - a new garden tick and a new park tick - first a Kingfisher down at the fishing lake this morning took me by surprise, I know they have been recorded in the park before but infrequently, and secondly whilst in the garden this afternoon 3 Whooper Swans flew over the house heading south bringing our "seen in or over the garden list" to 92.

Autumn colours intensify

Rushed out this morning in the hope of catching up with a Harrier which I watched fly over the garden and head into the park - I was unable to get anything on it  as I was looking in the direction of the sun but it would probably have been a Marsh Harrier - I never did catch up with it!.  Lots of Siskins flying around the park and the Jays are busy building up their winter larders, I also heard a Green Woodpecker and there is a sizeable flock of Long-Tailed Tits and the odd Nuthatch but other than that the park is devoid of birds at the moment.  The tree colour at the moment is dramatic - the Copper Beech have progressed from their reddish hue of last week and have developed a beautiful golden colour.