BAIKAL TEAL

A drake Baikal Teal is at Flamborough this morning, currently (12.20) on North Marsh.

Wot no spring?

Its been a quiet start to 2013 for the Yorkshire lister with very little quality birds turning up. And of the few things that did arrive, many of them courted controversy, their identification being in hot debate.

The 'Kumlien's' type Gull at Barmston - Justin Carr. Fighting nearly broke out during heated debate of the identification of this bird.

There were a few sub-rarities around to give a bit of incentive to go out such as this Great Grey Shrike:

Great Grey Shrike at Market Weighton in January - Mike Ashforth

And Anglers CP. continued in a rich vein of form:

This Great Northern Diver visited Wintersett, Anglers CP during February - Ron Marshall.  

And of course the Med' Gulls were always available at Holbeck:

One of at least eight Mediterranean Gulls at Holbeck - Mike Ashforth.

Moving into March, a Black Brant obliged at Kilnsea:

'Black Brant' (centre) at Kilnsea - Rich Willison

And you could tie it in with the lemmings of Withernsea - is it really that bad?

Snow Buntings or Lemmings? - Rich Willison

Spring was pretty much on hold with the biting cold weather but the first Little Ringed Plovers are beginning to filter in:

LRP displaying at North Cave Wetlands - Rich Willison

A few eyebrows were raised with the announcement of a possible 'African Chaffinch' at Hatfield Moors. The real deal? Blue flanks apparently suggests not.

The mooted possible 'African Chaffinch' at Hatfield - Justin Carr

This thought 'Continental Stonechat' at Barmston looked a better bet:

'Continental Stonechat' at Barmston at Easter - Justin Carr

Old year out, New year in...........

Bewick's Swans at West Carlton in December - Adrian Johnson

December remained mild until close of play and most of the highlights were wintering birds that had generally been around for a while. West Yorkshire continued to attract plenty of birders with Wintersett CP. in particular fairing well. Birds seen here included the long staying American Wigeon (though it did go awol for a while), the female Long tailed Duck, a drake Smew, a couple of drake Scaup and an impressive selection of roosting gulls including Caspian, Yellow-legged and Glaucous. 

One of the first-winter Caspian Gulls at Wintersett CP - Kev Denny

And with a drake Long-tailed Duck at nearby Pugneys and the Ring billed Gull still visiting Mirfield it not really surprising that many coastal birders were tempted inland. The coast was not completely birdless however, with the odd Bean Goose (three at Cayton Carrs), Little Auk, and Velvet Scoter, among the highlights. 

Velvet Scoter, Hornsea Mere - Adrian Johnson. Well, almost coastal!

A roost visit to Blacktoft Sands RSPB must have been impressive, with a remarkable count of 30 Marsh Harriers as well as five Hen Harriers a stark reminder of how things have changed. And then of course there were Waxwings, hundreds and hundreds of them, the largest flock being a spectacular 470 in Wombwell, South Yorkshire. 

Waxwing at Old Moor RSPB - Keith Pickering. An amazing flock of at least 470 visited nearby Wombwell.

So overall how did 2012 check out for the Yorkshire birder? A decent spring, and a generally disappointing autumn, certainly for rarities anyway? Most Yorkshire listers did manage to catch up with the double dose of Pallid Harriers but most didn't get to grips with the double dose of Gull billed Terns. And nobody who wished could have failed to add Roller to their Yorkshire tally but everybody who wished did fail to add Black Kite despite the fact that there were two multi-observed.  As for 2013...................

Part of a healthy flock of Twite between Ringborough and Grimston in early January - Adrian Johnson

Recent Roundup

Hawfinch in the Worsbrough Valley - Carl Dixon. A few around at the moment.

December in Yorkshire can often be the quietest month of the year and so far there has been little for the Yorkshire birder to get excited about with the exception of shed-loads of Waxwings. These berry guzzling beauties have been pretty much everywhere, but are particularly prominent in South Yorkshire where flocks of up to 400 are carrying out ‘supermarket raids’. 

Waxwing, Hoyland - Pete Garrity. Shed-loads around at the moment!

The odd northerly blow has given sea watchers a little bit of reward with a few Little Auks (mostly Spurn), a Pom’ Skua (Flamborough) and even a Sooty Shearwater (Filey) recently. The main excitement however, was reserved for the fortunate few, with a brief-visiting King Eider at Filey on 8th easily the highlight so far. Wintersett Reservoir remains as good as anywhere at the moment with the returning drake American Wigeon being joined by a couple of Long-tailed Ducks (one still present), a drake Smew and several Scaup, not to mention the odd Caspian Gull coming into the gull roost. And judging by today’s news, a visit to West Yorkshire may need to take in a visit to Mirfield too, as apparently, the adult Ring-billed Gull has returned to Sands Lane Gravel Pits for the third consecutive winter. The odd Hawfinch is getting sighted in the County at the moment, definitely a bird worth looking out for. Bitterns are scattered around, Old Moor RSPB being the ‘best chance site’ and currently and there is the odd Mandarin about too, though as always Hackness Lake near Scarborough offers the best chance of connecting, 27 birds (14 drakes) displaying from in (well up) and around the trees this weekend - a spectacular sight indeed!

One of up to four Bitterns seen recently at Old Moor RSPB - Jeff Wragg

Remains fairly quiet in the County with just a few snippets over the weekend such as Richard's Pipit at Flamborough and Wood Lark south at Spurn. Even the Waxwings have leveled out a bit although bird's moving down the coast suggest plenty more to come. The Glaucous Gull still keeps popping up at Scarborough and one or two Caspian Gulls are there to be had too.

This Caspian Gull (probably a second-winter) was 'phone-scoped' at Orgreave Lagoons this weekend. - Roy Twigg

The National Trust’s High Peak Moors Vision and Plan Project

Red Grouse - Ron Marshall

This is probably a once in a lifetime chance to influence management of this critically important part of our County. It is vital that conservationists offer support and propose specific actions. We all know what goes on! So if you want to see more birds like this:

Hen Harrier - Ron Marshall

And this:

Merlin - Ron Marshall

then please follow the link and take action. You can give your feedback online, or via a form that you can download from the website. The deadline for comments is 30th November.

http://www.high-peak-moors.co.uk/ to view the plan, or call 01433 670368 or email peakdistrict@nationaltrust.org.uk to be sent a copy through the post.

Berry nice!

With the exception of the American Wigeon still in situ at Wimtersett Reservoir the news is pretty much all Waxwings. This selection of photos from Hull kindly supplied by Mike Ashforth.