Crowle Moors

Today we went back to one of our old haunts Crowle Moor and had some really good stuff including this Green Tiger Beetle, we have never seen so many must easily have been 30-50. We also had loads of Large Red Damsel-Flys and 4 x Four Spotted Chasers - on the bird front we had our first Tree Pipit of the year plus 7 Hobbys, 1 Buzzard, 1 Marsh Harrier, 2 Kestrel, 2 Cuckoos, 1 stunning male Bullfinch, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Garden Warbler and 5 Willow Warblers.

Green Tiger Beetle

Cotton Grass

Click for bigger sharper image!

Four Spotted Chaser

Bluebells and Ramsons

England is famous for its Bluebell woods and right now they are in their prime - the Aconites and Snowdrops have now given way to Bluebells and Ramsons here in Normanby Park continuing a fantastic display of spring flowers.  The first photo is a bit of a quiz - nothing to do with bluebells - can you see anything special?

Trick question - what can you see?

Wild Garlic(Ramsons)

Horse Chestnut candles

Iberian Chiffchaff at Potteric Carr

Managed to combine an hospital appointment in Sheffield with a lifer for us both in Doncaster today and for me a second lifer in three days(Pratincole)  Now despite the Chiffchaff showing extremely well (thanks to some twit who kept constantly playing a tape) I have no photos but did manage to take a few photos of the reserve which is a trainspotters delight as the main east coast line runs straight passed one of the hides!  This photo was expertly taken by my father from a hide which was no mean feat as I estimate the train was moving at over 80mph!  

Oriental Pratincole at Frampton Marsh

An unexpected twitch this afternoon!

Oriental Pratincole at Frampton Marsh - 2 short video clips

Dawn Chorus on Alkborough Flats

We were up at the unearthly hour of 4.00am this morning to lead a dawn chorus walk on the Flats.  Plenty of bird song with lots of Blackcaps and Chiffchaffs and a surprised showing of a Short Eared Owl hunting over the reeds.  Later in the morning we also had a group of 20 Whimbrel moving up the Humber.

The Spring Garden

A few images of plants currently in flower in our garden, it is always at its best in the spring and it is with absolutely no effort from ourselves which is always a bonus.

 Tulips

 Pasque Flower

 Euphorbia

 Auricular

 Marsh Marigold

 Wild Primrose

Purple Saxifrage

Water Avens

 Cuckoo Flower

More Water Avens

 Euphorbia amygadaloides Purpurea

Another Tulip!

Magnolia Stellata

This is where I wish I had kept the blog template with the black background - these Stellata flowers would look so much better - but I still think they are stunning.  Our garden is particularly good at the moment with our Alpines all in flower and the Cherry Blossom at its most magnificent - if only the wind would stop so I could get some sharp images.

Dotterel on Bonby Top

Had a call from a friend who had just found this Dotterel yesterday - it was very hard to photograph as it was blowing a northerly gale with lots of heat haze(not that it was hot!).

Happy to say that the Dawn Chorus walk in the Park went well - met some lovely people and the Park's pair of Nuthatch showed well.  We are helping out with another dawn chorus walk this Saturday(8th) at Alkborough Flats at 4.30am  if anyone is interested tickets are still available from North Lincs Council and includes breakfast at the tea-room.

Annual Normanby Parish Bird Race 2010

Well it's that time of year again when we do our annual Normanby Parish bird race and I have to immediately say we did a whole lot better than last year but not as good as our record years.  Our total this year is 91 but as I write this Wayne is still out there trying to get Great Spotted Wood Pecker in the park - a bird we have never missed before!  I think our star bird of the day has to be an unexpected Grasshopper Warbler at Bagmoor with a Hobby over Burton Hills a close second - for our full list click on the tab link above. We have lost certain birds from the parish such as Bittern and Water Rail (both from Burton brick pit) and Lesser Spotted Woodpecker from Normanby Park which means we have to rely on migrants to get us into the 90's.
Normanby Park came up trumps though with an unexpected Wheatear in the Deer Park, it has been a great couple of weeks for the park if you consider the Ring Ouzels of last week.
At 5.30am tomorrow we are leading a National Dawn Chorus walk in the park and you can bet your life we will have G S Woodpecker!