10th February

I left the trail camera in the Magic Garden last week, pick of the shots was this one of a pair of Jays. Being normally so wary this is better than any I’ve taken of the species!!

A bit of floodwater in the bottom fields today so a quick walk down there turned up three new bird’s for the year with five Canada Geese, three Shelduck  and a big female Sparrowhawk (surprisingly sending the Black-headed Gulls into a mass panic). Three Buzzards here too.

Carrying on down Greenhills Lane the beet field had a number of birds feeding around the sheeps’ feet. Expecting the usual wagtails and pipits I was surprised to see nearly all the birds were Redwing with about 40 in total in this field.  

In the avenue there were four Treecreepers, mainly feeding low down in the hedgerow, and in the end fields a group of 35 Lapwing, fifty plus Fieldfares and a cracking flock of over 100 Linnets. The first big numbers I have had of this finch for quite a few years.

3rd February

A nice smattering of snow yesterday morning so I went down the river in the hope of birds driven off the local lakes….

No real sign of this but I saw my first Redshank of the year with other year ticks including Little Grebe, a pair of Mute Swans, two Snipe and a Golden Plover. Other birds seen included five Goosander, two Kingfishers and a pair of Teal.

This Great Spotted Woodpecker decided trees were too analogue and has been using the mobile mast again for its drumming post

Best sightings of the day though were hares with at least 15 seen on the walk. Nearly all concentrated in three big open arable fields along Potter Lane...

Last week the Greylags started to disperse from the fields at the end of Greenhills Lane but the last flock did attract a single Pinkfoot. Very poor picture in foggy conditions but only the second one I have seen on the ground in Ainderby.

13th January

Yesterday I did My first walk along the river this year. Highlight was a Barn Owl hunting in the field next to Morton Bridge. A couple of friends at work had mentioned seeing one in this field over the last week so great that it’s still there. This used to be a regular haunt for them before the mysterious disappearance of most of the local birds. Unfortunately the light was appalling so no picture.

Other birds seen included two Little Egrets, up to 28 Cormorants, eight Goosander, half a dozen Teal, 40 Curlew, two Green Sandpipers and a single Oystercatcher.

On Friday night as I got home from work the local Greylags were flying over the village in four great skeins, probably around 500 birds. A magnificent sound and, partly lit by the floodlights on the church, a magnificent sight too. I stood hoping to film them going over last night but they were too high and lost in the darkness.  

Today I added Kingfisher and Jay in the Magic Garden and also watched a group of five Roe Deer feeding down Greenhills Lane…

And talking of the Magic Garden these are a couple of recent images from the trail camera we put in there…

29th December

It’s been a big gap since I last wrote this blog, indicative of too little time and too few birds but given it’s almost the end of the year I need to make an effort. Fortunately this has coincided with a nice find. Yesterday evening I walked down to Langlands to look for a reported ‘rare’ owl which turned out to be only a Little Owl. But whilst looking for this I noticed large numbers of geese moving over from the east and apparently dropping in to roost near Greenhills farm.

So this afternoon I walked down Greenhills Lane. Little en route other than two Buzzards, a Bullfinch and a good sized flock of Long-tailed Tits…

But in the big open fields here there were high numbers of Greylag Geese

I counted around 400 birds and then a further flock of about 50 flew high in from the east and noisily joined the birds on the ground (doing an impression of a Peter Scott painting on the way)

Despite searching I couldn’t find any rarer species amongst them but in trying to get closer I flushed two Woodcock and then heard a vaguely familiar call, Raven! The bird flew across and seemed to be dropping towards the ruined farmhouse before I lost sight of it. This is the first record for the parish of what is still an exceptionally rare bird in the Vale of Mowbray. A fantastic, and timely, way to clock up my 100^th species of the year in the village.

4th November

Pick of the sightings was a Mealy Redpoll in my garden! The bird was so tame that I literally almost stood on it. Unfortunately by the time I had gone back in for my camera the bird, along with all the other garden passerines, had gone. Probably not unrelated to the fact a Sparrowhawk had just flashed through the garden!

On Friday a walk along the river had turned up three more Redpoll, my first of the year. I assume these were Lessers but only heard them and saw them in flight. They were associating with a large arrival of winter thrushes with over 100 Fieldfares in the hawthorns and willows along ‘Migrant Alley’.

Other birds along here included Kingfisher, two Little Grebe, Little Egret, a total of eight Goosander…

Green Sandpiper and two Snipe, including this one in ‘threat pose’

Earlier, on a walk down the waterworks lane, I found ten Bullfinches around the Christmas trees, probably the largest group I have ever seen in the parish, and there were up  to four Treecreepers along Warbler Hedge…

And yesterday along Greenhills Lane I had another Treecreeper  near the ruined barns, 60+ Lapwings feeding in the large field here and the first winter gatherings of buntings, mainly composed of Yellowhammers…

Year List to end of October – 98 species.

7th October

I can’t remember an autumn so devoid of birds as this one but at least the first Fieldfares and Redwings moved west over the village this afternoon.

In the secret garden the first Kingfisher was back and other birds there today included two Buzzard, two Jay, Sparrowhawk, Bullfinch and Chiffchaff. A Migrant Hawker was also still present hunting around the fen area…

This golf-tee shaped mark is one of the ways of distinguishing this species

Talking of insects this is, I think, a Hawthorn Shield Bug, photographed in Morton a few days ago…

Elsewhere I had a small movement of Skylarks over the house last night and this morning, all moving south-west. I also photographed this Chiffchaff through the window…

And that was it! Hopefully still time for things to pick up.

Year List to end of September – 97 species.

15th September

The big news is that Hobby has nested in the parish, the first breeding record. I had found a bird a couple of weeks ago in an area I hadn’t visited for some months. The bird was very territorial, aggressively driving off other birds, and I had seen it on every subsequent visit. Then this week I saw it with one, or possibly two, juvenile birds. I wanted to keep my distance so I don’t have any decent pics but at least you can see what it is…

Chris Knight texted me this morning to say he had had Whinchat and Wheatear in Morton. I joined him there, on the path between Morton and Thrintoft, and we turned up at least four Wheatears, my first of the year…

(a Wheatear amongst wheat ears!)

No sign of the Whinchat unfortunately but in looking for it we found three very smart Small Coppers…

Nearby the large arable field along school lane held 119 Curlew.

Earlier in the day I had walked along the river, highlights were single Greenshank and Green Sandpiper, three Snipe, twenty Golden Plover, two Little Egret and a skein of 26 Greylags. I also had a skein in the week…

We always get these geese over in the autumn but I don’t know if these are just short range local movements or part of something more significant.

On Langlands I had my first Little Owl of the year, I normally record them in every month. I don’t know what has happened to them but they are missing from virtually all of the traditional sites this year.

Frank found another Small copper…

And we had Roe Deer and an excellent total of seven Hares…

1st September

Another walk down the Swale today. This time I crossed over from the village, through Langlands and then over to the river and through to Morton bridge. Highlight was a Hobby, my first of the year, hunting over Langlands. The first Meadow Pipits have also returned with birds in the top fields and along the Swale. A flock of around sixty Swallows were feeding over the top fields too.

On the river itself there were at least two Greenshank still present along with Snipe, Redshank, A single Common Sandpiper…

And one (poorly photographed!) Green Sandpiper…

I also had four Buzzards along the river (and later another seven circling above our garden), plus three Little Egrets..

And four Cormorants, including this Angel of the Swale…

Year list to end of August - 93 species (pathetic!)

27th August

Another walk down the river this morning, still two Greenshank present…

But only five Snipe today plus Curlew and a Common Sandpiper.

A group of nine Goosander were the first I’ve seen for a couple of months…

Other birds seen included two Kingfishers, two Buzzard, two Little Egret, three Teal and around 1000 BH gulls and 150 Herring Gulls.

Pick of the sightings though was a cracking dog Otter. I didn’t manage any decent pics…

But I did ring my wife and she was able to get down in time to see it. At long last her first Otter despite looking for them on Shetland, Hebrides etc!

25th August

Been a little while since I’ve posted, a combination of family holiday in Suffolk and, frankly, little to report but today I walked along the river downstream of Morton Bridge.

Highlights were three Greenshank, a very good count for the parish and my first new ‘tick’ since May…

Other waders included two distant Green Sandpipers, a Common Sandpiper, 50+ Lapwings and a good count of 18 Snipe all flushed from the river bank.

Two Little Egret were also on the river…

As well as three Grey Partridge and Kingfisher.

Elsewhere Paul Thompson photographed a Short-eared Owl sitting in a harvested wheat field near Ladyfield Farm last weekend and there were reports of a Red Kite near the river, undoubtedly the same bird that Andy Johnston reported in Scruton last week.

Away from birds I had nice views of Brown Hawker and Common Darter…

As well as my first Wall butterfly of the year…