Cuckoo Time Again !

East Yorkshire - 11. 5. 21

Another post I'm catching up on !

The adult Cuckoo is only present in the UK for a few short weeks doing what it needs to do and by the end July it will be well on it's long migration back to Africa leaving it's offspring in the care of surrogate parents, how the young Cuckoo's find it's way to it's winter destination in Africa is just amazing.

This is the second year having a couple of sessions in Mark Hughes hide in Yorkshire hopefully the action fast and furious just like the film ! It's a 4.0am start to be in the hide around 6.0am, as soon as we arrive the males can be heard calling and no sooner than we are set and ready to go...boom its all action.

More words to follow !

Cuckoo - male

Cuckoo - female

Swilly Time !

Swillington Ings - 4. 6. 21

Recently I needed to venture into Yorkshire to collect a camera lens that I had foolishly left behind on a shoot and being near Swillings Ings only about five miles from the collection point I thought I'd call in to see how things had moved on from my last visit in April.

Swillings is a cacophony of noise mainly from the masses of Black-headed Gulls that breed amongst the reed beds, together with the Greylag Geese it's deafening, but Im interested to see how the Black-necked Grebes have got on. First impression is the vegetation has grown to a hight that you can no longer get views of the water channels that the grebes cruise, in fact I only hear one call never seeing any during my visit.

Swillings is a massive place to big to cover in a single day so I'm opting to try and get some images of the some of the summer warblers that occupy the reed beds. Fleeting views of a group Bearded Tits is all I've managed, the Reed Warblers are darting around keeping low, the Sedge Warblers are keeping well out out the way, thats how it goes sometimes !

Now at my furthest point on my visit I see a Sedge Warble thats favouring a small bush, might be worth sitting for a while and see what transpires. Over the next hour or so I'm getting some good views, the only issue is I'm attracting other people with cameras...hey ho !

Note...Viewing the image as seen on the screen would appear to be "compressed"...clicking the image to view makes an enormous difference to image quality.

Sedge Warbler

Reed Bunting

Common on the reserve but you have to be a bit sneaky to get near or just plain lucky, I'm lucky ! 

The Farne's Are Open

Inner Farne, Northumberland - 9/10. 7. 21

After a period of closure for well over a year the National Trust have reopened the Farne Islands, well at least Inner Farne and only for one hour. Having booked accommodation at the start of the year it was looking like I would have to cancel all my bookings as access for a second year was looking unlikely, on the other hand with foreign travel all but restricted I thought I'd keep the booking....well its a weekend break away !

I'm doing a little inter web surfing and I'm on the Billy Shield website and low and behold its says the National Trust are opening Inner Farne Islands all be it for a one hour slot the week before I'm due up in Seahouses,  no time time to delay I'm straight on the bookings page and book three slots........I'm on my way !

Landing on Inner Farne what's very noticeable straight away is where are the Arctic Terns ?...none..they have all failed to breed on the island reportedly preferring non accessible outer islands due to the hight of vegetation on Inner Farne, previously the NT wardens would cut down the vegetation before the terns arrive to encourage the terns to breed. 

The next "shocker" is you only have one hour on the island, it's like a competition..."you got a one hour slot...get ready...go" ! Even more a bummer is you only get ten minuets to stay at the lighthouse rocks due to social distancing before your turfed off....but hey...we'er on the island which is completely unexpected.

Atlantic Puffin

Puffling

Now later in the season the young Puffins (Puffling) are beginning to venture out of burrows, very this stage still cautious but with a little patience you can get a view

Guillemot

Guillemot....("Jumpling")

Young guillemots like puffing are beginning to leave the breeding ledges on the islands, this one calling to the parent bird after it had dived startled by the boat

Eider Duck

Albert's Back !

RSPB Bempton Cliffs - 5.7.21

So I get a text message..."the Black-browed Albatross is back"...I'm up at Malham photographing the Peregrines that had recently fledged, I'm never in the right location.

It was around this time last year that a Black-brown Albatross was see on the cliffs around 4.30pm at Bempton, I was sat in the carpark having a last bite to eat before setting off for home, as the phone signal is intermittent at Bempton it was only when I got home that I'd found out I had missed out seeing this rare ocean wanderer from the southern hemisphere. Rewind twelve months on and the BBA is back again at Bempton but only staying for a day and again seen over the last few days.

Should I or should I ?....well I did ! 

It's a 1.0am early start as the last time I visited I was turned away as the carpark was full at 9.0am. Arriving in the carpark at 3.30am there are already a few cars but its still dark so I grab a couple of hours sleep before I venture down to the cliffs. It's 6.45am and there's already a crowed both birders and togs on the look out along the grass cliff occupied by part of the Gannet colony but thats all long range stuff heading down to Staple Newk managing one of the last spots platform, now the wait

The call goes out..."Albatross" it's picked up coming from the direction of Flamborough, closer and closer it's glides up and down the cliff looking to land only to be sent packing back the aggressive Gannets. And thats the action over the next hour and intermittently for the rest of the morning until it departs north towards Filey.

Happy with the images after a couple of dips (missed opportunities) but I can feel another trip on the cards in a few weeks !

Black-browed Albatross