17th April 2022

Summer migrants have continued to come in but generally in dribbles rather than floods with only a single Blackcap so far and one sighting of Swallow - three birds by the river in Morton. There are plenty of Chiffchaffs though… 

and Sand Martins are back in some numbers now…

The first Willow Warbler was in the Magic Garden on the 13th with a marked influx the following day with at least a dozen birds singing around the village…

The warm weather has brought the butterflies out too with Speckled Wood, Brimstone, Small Tortoiseshell, Red Admiral, Peacock, Orange Tip and this, rather battered, Comma all seen this week…

The (Dark-bordered) Bee-flys are also out…

One species that has been notable by its absence this year is the Brown Hare. I had a long walk today right through the heart of the best locations and only saw a single animal. I hope this isn’t as worrying as it appears…

Bird sightings today were also distinctly thin but included three displaying Curlews, a vanishingly rare sight in many lowland areas these days, and still small numbers of Fieldfares waiting to leave for their summer quarters.

I’ll finish with this…

It’s the ‘hand’ of a Mole. Dead of course (in all my years I have yet to see a live one), and vaguely unsettling. You wouldn’t be entirely surprised to see this reaching round the bedroom door in an M.R. James story… 

3rd April 2022

A walk along the river downstream of Morton bridge yesterday tallied up four singing Corn Bunting, six Goosander, four Buzzards (including a mating pair!), two Golden Plover, two Little Egrets…

Five Teal…

And my first Snipe (two) of the year.

Given the very low temperatures it perhaps wasn’t surprising that I didn’t see any Sand Martins (although I had two the previous weekend) but there were small numbers of Chiffchaffs moving through the riverside vegetation…

Best sighting though was a superb pair of Otter. I had heard some splashing and expected to see duck but it was the two animals rolling around each other and swimming into what may be their holt under a fallen tree. Unfortunately, my photos were so bad they aren’t worth including!

When I got home, I had a call from Simon at Nosterfield that a White-tailed Eagle had just flown over the reserve and was potentially heading our way. Jim and I rushed out to the top fields but no luck and it later turned out it had swung east and passed well to the south. This actually wouldn’t have been a new bird for the village as I saw one of these magnificent eagles a few years ago flying over Langlands farm.

Today I walked upstream of Morton bridge and immediately flushed three Green Sandpipers from a shingle spit. Other sightings included two Kingfishers, another two Little Egrets, half a dozen Sand Martins and a flock of 25 Golden Plover.

I’ll finish with a nice portrait of a flying Greylag from yesterday…

6th March 2022

It’s been a very long time since I last posted, a combined result of a corrupted hard disk and consequent loss of files, a second family dose of covid and a rather quiet period. I will try and get back to a more regular routine…

Given their absence at the end of last year it has been heartening to see some good flocks of Fieldfares arrive…

Redwings on the other hand have been noticeably scarce since the new year.

The flooding in late February/March was quite extensive but wasn’t particularly productive although I did see small numbers of Wigeon and Teal and a single Tufted Duck on Langlands. On the Warlaby Lane flood pool today I had two Little Egret, four herons, 100+ Black-headed gull, a pair of Shelduck and my first Gadwall of the year…

Other sightings of note since I last posted included a good wintering flock of Curlew with up to 191 counted by Morton Bridge, 75 Pinkfeet north over Morton, Green Sandpiper on the river throughout January and February, Woodcock on Langlands, two Chiffchaffs were briefly in the holly trees down Manor lane in January and this tailless Long-tailed Tit was in the Magic Garden…

2nd January 2022

Happy New Year!

I managed to add one last species to my 2021 list this week in the form of a cracking drake Goldeneye on the Swale…

When I have had them on the river in the past it has always been associated with very cold weather but that was hardly the case this week! In all the years I have been birdwatching I have never consciously heard the superb sound of its wings in flight (which give it the old Norfolk name of Rattlewing and the nickname The Whistler in America) but this one performed brilliantly as it flew up and down the river.

So I ended up with a distinctly feeble 99 species in 2021. The total for the village including species seen by other people was a rather more respectable 113 species. I missed quite a lot! What it lacked in quantity it made up for in quality with three new species for the parish; Avocet, Pied Flycatcher and my working-from-home bonus - Dusky Warbler!  

Other species seen this week included a movement of Pinkfooted Geese with 75 north over Morton yesterday (a nice early addition to the 2022 list) and on Saturday a small skein of 11 birds south along the Swale with another 20 dropping in to a field on the far side of the river...

Flyover pinks are now an annual occurrence but grounded birds are much rarer and I believe this is the largest flock I have seen in the parish.

Talking of geese, up to 250 Greylags have been feeding regularly in the fields around Myer’s Lane and included this hybrid - presumably between Greylag and Canada Goose…

Other sightings of note included 95 Linnet in a field on Potter Lane, a covey of six Grey Partridge on Langlands and a Great Black-backed Gull over, two Shelduck and 11 Cormorant over Morton Bridge, nine Grey Heron in an arable field by the Swale and a Wigeon in with the Mallards on the river.   

12th December 2021

Another very quiet period I’m afraid. Even the winter thrushes have not arrived to enliven the scene with only small flocks of Redwing so far whilst Fieldfares are virtually non-existent. I’ve never known another winter period like this.

On the brighter side a cover crop of radish in one of the large fields down Potter Lane is proving very attractive to Linnets with up to 270 birds in there. This is by far the largest count in the parish for many years and must be attracting birds in from a much wider radius than just the village. However, having followed a few people on Twitter, whilst winter cover crops are very much a positive thing the planting of crops can have unintended consequences. So, for example, radish is good for birds like Linnets that perch up on the plants but really poor for ‘walking’ birds like pipits because of the density of cover.

A walk down the river yesterday proved productive with good views (but no photo) of a huge female Peregrine sending the local Woodpigeon flocks into panic mode. Also along here, despite the high water levels, a Green Sandpiper (only my second sighting this year), Redshank and four Snipe.

On a sadder wader note I found this dead Golden Plover in the top fields last night...

It was under a telegraph wire so I assume it was an unfortunate collision having only thought about bird flu after I got back home (probably just as well I was wearing gloves).

The weather has not been conducive to a lunchtime walk recently but one sunny spell allowed me to have my lunch sitting in the village churchyard. I wasn’t the only one…

The only other sightings of note were an excellent flock of 32 Long-tailed Tits in our garden and a Grey Wagtail in the Magic Garden…

14th November 2021

I thought I had better post something just so people know I’m still alive! It has been an exceptionally quiet period even by the standards of Ainderby! The mild weather seems to have slowed the arrival of typical winter visitors and I didn’t see any winter thrushes until a heavy movement on 4^th November with large groups of Redwing, and smaller numbers of Fieldfare, moving west over the village. That’s the first year I can remember I haven’t seen either Redwing or Fieldfare in October. Numbers remain low though, with no more than a dozen of each seen around the village yesterday.

As if to emphasise these strange times I had both Corn Bunting and Linnet in full song yesterday, wasps and bees still buzzing around a field of ‘green manure’ (wild radish and phacelia) plus, in the garden, a strawberry and a good crop of tomatoes off the outdoor plants!

Along the Swale yesterday it remained quiet but I had Kingfisher, two Buzzard, four Little Egrets, Goosander, Little Grebe and Grey Wagtail…

…A flock of 75 Linnets and 20+ Yellowhammers…

And also this Kestrel which I saw catch a vole and then devour it...

But Rachel had the best sighting this week - excellent views of an Otter including it running along the riverbank (at midday!)

Other sightings since I last wrote included a group of five Whooper Swans over,  a flock of 147 Curlew and 57 Golden Plover in the stubbles on Ladyfield Farm and, unusually, Chris put up more than 60 Canada Geese from the river.

We also managed one final moth trapping session in late October and caught two of my target species, the beautiful Merveille du Jour. Truly a ‘wonder of the day’!

26th September 2021

A few more signs of autumn with a couple of skeins of Pinkfeet passing over the parish, 25 over Ainderby itself and more than 50 over Thrintoft. This was part of an exceptionally heavy movement through Yorkshire on Thursday.

The first Meadow Pipits have been back in the village for a week or more...

and there was a small movement of Teal along the river with five also seen on the Magic Garden pond. Surprisingly the first I’ve seen here.

A pair of Grey Wagtail were on the river, the first since early spring, and, after an exceptionally poor year for them, Kingfishers are being regularly seen again on the Swale. Blackcap still calling this morning and still numbers of Chiffchaffs about (including singing birds) but no other migrants seen.

John set up a couple of moth traps in The Hall last night, catching 129 moths of 20 species which is not too bad for the time of year. These included one new moth for Ainderby – Large Wainscot…

And two species that were only the second records for the village, Blair’s Shoulder Knot and this Brick…

The catch also included both Hawthorn and Birch Shieldbugs, the latter a new species for the parish.

Talking of shieldbugs, this little creature is a nymph of Pied Shieldbug which I found on Red Deadnettle on the path to Thrintoft.

This is a largely southern species but is another one which seems to be moving north. This represented  the most northerly Yorkshire record to date.

12th September 2021

Another rather quiet week bird wise with one exception; Chris photographed what seems to be a small flock of Grey Plover flying south over the river. I’m just waiting to see the actual images but this would be unprecedented (although surprisingly this wouldn’t be a new species for the parish as I had a single fly-over bird more than a decade ago).

Otherwise signs of departure with more than 100 Swallows gathering on the top wires and around the house on the ridge…

I assume the birds in the second picture (part of a group of over 20) are sunning themselves?

Walking along the river yesterday I had only my second sighting of Kingfisher this year plus a Snipe, four Little Egret and six Goosander.

A small movement of Jays over was noticeable and seems to be an increasingly regular feature of autumn now.

This lovely patch of ivy in the village was absolutely alive with insects this morning,

there can’t have been less than 500 bees/wasps/flies on here, a fantastic sight and sound.

The hoverflies here included Common Flower Fly (Syrphus ribesii)…

And Death’s Head Fly (myathropa florea)

Named for a supposed similarity of some of its markings to a skull.

I’ll finish with this huge, and rather splendid, fungus, the Giant Polypore…

5th September 2021

I’ll start with this picture from last weekend, a Little Egret perching ahead of a storm, just because I like it! Seeing them against the corvids really shows how small they are…

I photographed the same tree yesterday and it still had plenty of crows…

but this time their focus was a buzzard. I thought they were preparing to mob it but it seems they were just after the offcuts!

Migration doesn’t feel as though it has got into full swing yet but there were one or two decent sightings since I last wrote. On the wader front I had Whimbrel flying over the Swale and Andy heard a Greenshank calling as it followed the course of the river. Curlew numbers are also starting to rise and John and Anne had more than fifty birds in one of their meadows on Langlands.

Andy had a Hobby last week and Chris was lucky enough to spot a Red Kite over Warbler Corner this morning. It’s perhaps surprising, given the growing population not that far to the south of us , that this is only the second record for the year (less surprising that I have missed them both!)

Chris also found, and photographed, this young Redstart on the path to Thrintoft this morning. 

That stretch of fence and bushes seems to be the place for migrant chats…

Lots of phylloscs on the move during the week and I had double figure counts of both Chiffchaff and Willow Warblers in the Magic Garden…

Along with at least one Sedge Warbler (depressingly my first of the year).

It has also been a relatively good week for dragonflies with Brown and Southern Hawker in the Magic Garden along with at least half a dozen  Migrant Hawkers…

And I also had at least ten Common Darters, making the most of the sun…

It seems to be a particularly good second period for Speckled Woods this year and I had 40-45 in the Magic Garden this morning. For some reason they really dislike Migrant Hawkers!

Finally, at one site along the river the farmer has put up a single strand wire fence, to stop the cows swimming across the river to eat the willows and Giant Hogweed(!), but this protection from grazing has meant the plants have had a chance to grow. There are no rarities here but compared with the usual bankside vegetation of a few nettle and thistles it is much more interesting. Amongst the plants were Common Restharrow , masses of Tansy, Water Forget-me-Not…

...Marsh Woundwort, Amphibious Bistort, Goldenrod, Yellow Loosestrife and Soapwort. This is the only place I have seen the latter two species in the parish. It feels quite heartening that a small change in management can have this effect.