Little Auks and Rutting Deer – must be autumn!

With a brisk North-Easterly wind yesterday it was off to the Humber Bridge to see if any sea birds would be blown off course from their journey down the east coast.  With a handful of Little Auks appearing on the pager Wayne was determined to find our own and after 3 or 4 hours of watching the Humber he finally picked up a Little Auk in the scope but no sooner had he picked it up did it land on the choppy water which made it impossible to locate.  However around 30 minutes later he picked up two Little Auks flying back East up the Humber – these were my first Little Auks on the Humber after 20+years of watching every November for these tiny sea birds – we haven’t checked the records yet but these are possibly the earliest records for Humber Little Auks.  Also at the Bridge was an adult Mediterranean Gull and both myself and a stunning Bittern had a surprise as I flushed it from no more than 10 metres from my feet on the edge of Pit 25 – and on the same pit 14 Goldeneye and a Pintail signified autumn is definitely here.
So to today a beautiful frosty sunny start with lots of winter thrushes in the Yew Tree at the bottom of the garden – 8 Redwings, 2 Redpolls, 3 Song Thrush, 2 Mistle Thrush and 6 Blackbirds with a Brambling flying overhead.  As it was also quite foggy we thought it would be a good day to try to get some better photos of the Red Deer rutting in the Park – things have moved on with up to 5 Stags now contending for top position and my friend with the damaged eye is also hanging on making himself heard – but most of the action today was taking place in the conifer plantation so unfortunately not good for photography as it is in deep shade however a few brave souls wandered into the sun light…….
This Little Auk is not one of our two – this one was found on the beach at Dungeness tonight by my brother down in Kent!





 

Spurn Point

A great day at Spurn yesterday – following easterly winds and high pressure over Scandinavia, Spurn was alive with thousands of birds – literally in their hundreds were; Siskins(running around our feet), Goldcrests, Song Thrushes, Redwings, Bramblings, Chiffchaffs, Robins – in their 10-20’s were Ring Ouzels, Redstarts and Pied Flycatchers and then there were the ‘rarities’ as shown below Great Grey Shrike and Red-Breasted Flycatcher not photo’d were Rustic and Little Bunting.

Red-Breasted Flycatcher

 

Redstart – one of many

 

NORMANBY’S RED DEER RUT UNDERWAY

Great drama in the Park this morning as the Red Deer rut reaches a crescendo – I knew as soon as I walked into the ‘arena’ that things had progressed since yesterday, as I noticed lots of roughed up ground where the stags had been digging their antlers in.  The smell of the grass as I walked through was also pungently strong due to the scent marking of the Stags so…..
here is the group of Hinds which is being carefully watched over by one dominant Stag
























and here he is!

he is exceptionally loud at the moment

and very wary – you have to keep your distance hiding behind trees as they spook so easily

here is one of him ground gouging with his antlers

and here is the contender – I couldn’t understand why this this Stag wasn’t as nervous as the main herd – I kept getting closer and closer but he just didn’t seem aware of me

It was until I downloaded the photos and zoomed in that I understood why he wasn’t nervous – he couldn’t see me! his eye has been badly damaged probably by the dominant stag and the nights activity – obviously a big battle has gone on here but he isn’t giving in – although he is 300-400 metres from the main group he is still bellowing out making his presence heard

I can’t wait to see how the rut progresses – apart from these two Stags there are 3-4 others, currently keeping their distance but who knows when and who the next challenger will be.

Spring/Autumn?

Had a stroll in the park this afternoon - it's that time of year when traits of spring and autumn are in the air.  A beautiful sunny afternoon with lots of funghi on show and an incredibly late Swallow still feeding a nest full of chicks in the old stables.  As soon as I left the house two Crossbills flew over followed by a couple of Jays and at last three separate Nuthatches calling in different areas of the park.
Changing the subject altogether I have just seen Comet Hartley 2 which is showing in a North Easterly direction below the stars of the constellation Cassiopeia – it shows really well through binoculars but my arm is too sore (flu jab this afternoon!) to take any photos.  Also showing incredibly well at the moment is Jupiter and its’ four moons – look for the brightest star in a South Easterly direction.

Guest Photographer!

Well am I having difficulty with blogger – is it just me or are others pulling their hair out.  I have been unable to upload photos even after trying three different browsers so I am now trying windows live writer which touch wood has at least enabled me to upload these photos and I have to say allows you to size the images to whatever you like so no small,medium, large etc… but I haven’t be able to start this text above the first photo.  Anyway all these lovely photos were taken by our friend Neil Drinkall – all digiscoped using a Swarovski scope and a Panasonic LX3 compact – as I haven’t any photos of my own I have resorted to pinching others!

Barred Warbler – Donna Nook  Grey Phalarope – Covenham Reservoir   Redstart Red-Breasted Flycatcher – Donna NookOsprey - Barton

Brimstone Ruddy Shelduck - Alkborough Snipe - Alkborough

Migrant Hawker Alkborough Flats looking back to the village Roe Deer Little Ringed Plover Fulvous Whistling Duck - Alkborough

Why the text above turned red I do not know – and I can’t change it to black!

Where did September go?

Well mostly sat on the settee with a bad back, achy legs, twitchy arms and now deaf in one ear! however new month new outlook so hopefully more posts maybe starting tonight if the skies are clear!