Let There Be Rockpools

An LSC away-day with Ant leading rockpooling sessions at Runswick Bay - a beautiful cove on the North Yorks coast, near Whitby - this week produced a fantastic array of shoreline wildlife, most notably this surreal, psychedelic and stunningly beautiful Spiny Squat Lobster. My sense of wonder for the contents of our rockpools grows and grows.....

Common Starfish

Shore Crab (with eggs)

Velvet Swimming Crab

Broad-clawed Porcelain Crab

Brittlestar

Red-backed Shrike, Filey - July 2017

A few hours off this morning and after checking the Dams and East Lea (quiet, but it'll come) and driving the Mrs to work I thought I'd check the pines at the top of Long Lane (for what, I couldn't say, at least not without jynxing them). A quick scan over the field towards towards Long Hedge, and voilà - ten seconds of extremely early autumn scarcity returns in the shape of a Red-backed Shrike.

Just as quickly, it disappeared into the hedge, unfortunately refusing to co-operate again (although in wind and rain, who could blame it). After what can best be described as fitful birding here in the Filey area this year, a quality bird this early in the new season is very much appreciated.

Puffin Bombers

A huge pleasure to share our ultra-special local natural history with our dear friends Eike and Andrew over the weekend. They made the mistake of asking for lots of bird-related action, so that's what they got - under blue skies and bright sunshine - including an overload of Puffins, which are present in plague-like proportions here presently, especially at North Landing and along the northern side of Flamborough Head generally. Here's a few flight shots from a spot where they arrive and leave the cliffs, at full speed and at head height ...

Israel 2017 - flava flow

Well, I was warned. Yoav smiled knowingly when I told him I was looking forward to the flava wagtails in southern Israel during the Champions of the Flyway week in late March, before wishing me luck..... As with plenty of other challenging and/or charismatic species, I didn't get as much time as I'd have liked to study them (no matter - plenty more to go at for next time, then), but even with just a comparatively cursory glance they're a colourful, confusing and cracking mixed bag.

The dominant forms are Blue-headed flava and Black-headed feldegg, but it's rarely quite so straightforward and the gene flow between forms - and the variability within forms - made for some enjoyable faux-knowing beard-stroking. I have a lot of questions, among them - Why do so many male feldegg (incorporating superciliaris) show small amounts of pale/white feathering on the crown, (and how much is therefore 'acceptable' in feldegg)? How much variety is there in the head patterns of female feldegg, and do they really typically show a supercilium? How extensive can the dark 'gorget' markings be on immature male flava (there were at least several showing this feature)? Who wants to pay me to go back there and study them?

(Survey) Seasons in the Sun

Pied Flycatcher, Lapwing chick

As June makes way for July, our very busy, productive and enjoyable ornithological survey season is finally slowing down. It feels like between us (happily the majority of the work has been with my good friend and comrade Rich Baines) we've surveyed most of North Yorkshire over the last few months, and we've been particularly fortunate to cover a wide variety of productive habitats to keep us on the ball and on our toes - never a bad thing after 0330hrs starts and long drives in the inky pre-dawn twilight....

Tree Pipits on territory

Whinchat, Stoat

Much of our work was for the Wildwatch project, on behalf of the Nidderdale Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB). Our many transects cut through ancient woodland, in-by, pasture, marshland, moorland, farmland and more, and we were fortunate to find many target species breeding in what were often previously unsurveyed areas. I was also contracted to conduct Breeding Bird Surveys for the North York Moors National Park at Sutton Bank, which were also very productive and a pleasure to complete.

Turtle Dove, Willow Warbler

Fledgling Wheatear and Redstart

There were many highlights, often involving quite common species - being buzzed by just-fledged Wheatears at point-blank range before they were eventually shepherded away by their parents, finding nests of everything from Willow Warblers and Lapwings to Red Grouse and Oystercatchers, etc - but finding the scarcer target species breeding / on territory was a joy. Between us, these included such iconic species as Pied Flycather, Common Redstart, Hawfinch, Whinchat, Common Snipe, Ring Ouzel, Lesser Spotted Woodpecker, Turtle Dove, Tree Pipit, Golden Plover and many more.

Common Snipe, Grey Wagtail

So, back to several days a week at the Living Seas Centre means 'spare time' upcoming, which means addressing the mass of office-based work (including writing/editing the new Filey Bird Report, part of the next Yorkshire Bird Report, and lots of articles for the birding press) which has been metaphorically piling up recently.... and then, maybe even some local birding?

Nidderdale Whinchats

Happily bumped into two families of Whinchats on our Nidderdale surveys last week - such smart birds....