2021 in 12 pictures

Due to early lockdown and later self restriction this year has been, with the exception of local “green” birding, my worst year since I started birding although I did manage to see a few good birds with the help of a small number of friends, making this year not a total wide out with one lifer [plus an “armchair” tick-Ross’s Goose] and three Yorkshire ticks as well as a new butterfly and several new moths. Hopefully worldwide and personally things will improve in 2022.

January Start the year with my reliable Cottingham Little Owl at Burn Park Farm

February The possible Siberian Chiffchaff at Haltemprice Farm, Willerby. Thanks to Roy Lyon as mine just weren’t good enough. Looked good but never called for us although the finder reported hearing a good call and I heard what I thought was a Bullfinch on site before I knew the bird was present. See below for a full account.

March No contest this month with, a now rare, Hawfinch in Cottingham at Eppleworth Road Cemetery. Unfortunately this bird caused me some grief with the conflicting issues of respect for the finders wishes and the concern over large numbers of birder, particularly those trying for the best picture, in an active graveyard particularly in the times of Covid 19, against informing those who I believed had the right to see it. Doesn’t help when people who tried to reduce the “publicity” of this bird were spotted on site.

April A low flying Red Kite over the centre on Cottingham on the 2nd is this months pick.

May With the demise of my Nikon P520, for a few weeks I was only taking pictures of moths with my Canon IXUS 130 compact and this month was cool with few moth trapped and a Scalloped Hazel [a pretty regular moth] was the best of them.

June Again a moth but at least Pale Prominent trapped on the 10th was a new one followed by a 2nd on the 18th August.

July First of the good birds and my first time out further than I could walk with Oriental Turtle Dove seen on 3rd in Easington (East Yorkshire] being a Yorkshire tick for most. The picture is again thanks to Roy Lyon.

August Added another new bird for my Yorkshire List with a first record of the extreme rarity, White-tailed Lapwing at Blacktoft Sands RSPB which I eventually saw on the 29th thanks to Ricky Fisher. This time my own photograph with my new Nikon P1000. See the full account below.

September Another Blacktoft Sands RSPB bird with Bluethroat taken on the 19th when I went for a second view of the W-T.Plover with John Hirschfield. See the full account below [Blacktoft Sands RSPB and North Cave Wetlands YWT].

October This is a really awful picture but Long-toed Stint on Astley Lake at Swillington Ings on the 9th was my only lifer of 2021. Also little else to compete with it? We choice to view from below the old private hide instead of going to the RSPB reserve which would have involved a long walk and potentially giving closer but limited viewing due to the crowds present. It is in there somewhere but very hard to make out!

November This month I go for Stonechat at Haltemprice Farm, Willerby on the 6th. Photographed this species at this site on countless occasions but somehow despite the distance and obstructing vegetation this one helped by a quantum improvement in camera is one of my best. See the full account below.

December I end the year with a perennial favourite, drake Smew, this one at Tophill Low NR on Watton NR on the 21st. Full account below.

Top ten blog posts

My second viewing of the White-tailed Lapwing as well as a Bluethroat and my only 2021 visited to North Wetlands YWT.

Blacktoft Sands RSPB and North Cave Wetlands YWT

The drake Smew at Tophill Low NR in December.

21/12/21 Drake Smew on Watton NR

Twitching the White-tailed Lapwing

29/8/21 White-tailed Lapwing at Blacktoft Sands RSPB

Some “green’ birding in Cottingham/Willerby.

Birding in the time of Covid-19 Pt2-Braving the mud on Willerby Carr

Potential Siberian Chiffchaff in Willerby.

Possible Siberian Chiffchaff at Haltemprice Farm, Willerby

“Green” birding in Cottingham.

Birding in the time of Covid-19 Pt 1-New Ings, Cottingham

The best of the common bird photographs taken while getting to know my Nikon P1000 during the summer.

Some common birds around Cottingham

Autumn Stonechat at Haltemprice Farm, Willerby.

6/11/21 Willerby Carrs

An account of my moth trapping in the first half of 2021.

First half of 2021

Late August at Tophill Low NR

28/9/21 Tophill Low NR

21/12/21 Drake Smew on Watton NR

Went to Tophill Low NR with RL this morning. The draw was the Smew on Watton Borrow Pit. Once seen in good numbers but now lucky to see just one bird. They have moved from Uk “Birds of Conservation Concern” Green status in 2002 to Red in 2021 as well as IUCN Critically Endangered status but milder winters may also mean they don’t move as far from their breeding range. Access around O res is still restricted, although no sign of any work today, meaning access over the bridge in O wood needing the code for gate, but fortunately got it from some friends returning north who confirmed the Smew was still present although the hide patched. However it wasn’t too bad when we got there with most present the regular Tuesday nest box team and managed to get sat down. SAGE members may have had some concerns above lack of social distancing but at least there was good ventilation 😉. The Smew had flown out of view to the north corner but the Great White Egret was visible although distant and a bit hidden [also the light wasn’t good}. Shortly it got up and after flying north briefly, flew off south.

Great White Egret on Watton NR

Also two drake Pintail were present near the island.

Pintail with Greylag Geese on Watton NR

I noticed the ducks were moving out of the north corner and were happy to see the noisy dog that had annoyed us earlier walking from the house and past the lagoons, but now giving us the chance to see the Smew.

Drake Smew on Watton NR

Also a female-type Marsh Harrier over.

Moved on to South Marshes. Only Mute Swan, Mallard, Coot and Gadwall on South Marsh West with even less on South Marsh East [not unusual in winter though] and no sign of the recent three Egyptian Geese . Did get a look at O reservoir from L-shaped though with the viewing screen currently inaccessible. Good numbers of Wigeon, Coot, Goldeneye and Tufted Duck with a couple of Great Crested Grebe and I found the three Red-crested Pochard unfortunately at maximum range below the screen [also mostly asleep].

Two of the three Red-Crested Pochard on D res [2nd male also present].

Had a look at D reservoir. Good number of common wildfowl including the only Little Grebe today but no sign of any of the recent Scaup or any other rarer ducks or grebes.

I find this image on Watton NR strangely seasonal. Happy Christmas everyone with hopefully a better year to come with no restrictions on site and plenty of good birds.

Footnote

The bird services are giving directions from Wilfholme Landing. I would suggest only using this route if you know the area, otherwise you may end up somewhere where you can’t actually view the site [the hide on the west shore is locked] or trespassing on the reserve and flushing everything. From the public footpath along Barmston you have a restricted view through trees and at a lower level than Tophill Low NR. In the end Tophill Low NR is worth the entry fee even with out a Smew on site. However from 6th January Watton NR hide my be closed. More detail on the Tophill Low Blog and best to check with the wardening staff on site. The latest information on birds was a Slavonian Grebe on O and Red-necked Grebe on D res with but no sign of the Smew on the 4th.

Ross’s Goose added to Cat A [8/10/23 update]

“An adult at Plex Moss, Lancashire, from 5 December 1970 to 17 January 1971 becomes the first record for Britain. The same bird spent consecutive winters at the site until January 1974.

Ross’s Goose had been placed in Category D of the British List for many years, as there have been uncertainties about the origins of birds found in Britain because the species is kept widely in captivity and escapes are known to occur.

However, the species is a long-distance migrant in North America and there is much precedent for Nearctic wildfowl, including geese, to cross the Atlantic naturally and be found in Europe. Furthermore, the very significant growth and expansion of the population of Ross’s Goose since the 1950s has increased the probability of such trans-Atlantic vagrancy.

Part of the BOURC remit and procedure is to periodically re-examine species in Category D. Following published BOURC guidelines created to judge the status of wildfowl (British Birds 113: 46-53), BOURC considered a number of records of Ross’s Geese. Following these criteria, this 1970 Plex Moss record was found by the majority of BOURC (7:1) to be eligible for Category A. This record occurred during a period of rapid population growth of the species, and in circumstances highly suggestive of wild origin. Another important part of the process was to confirm the identification of this 50-year old record on the basis of the original field notes along with photographs. These documents were located and BOURC decided unanimously that the identification was secure. Hence the 1970 Plex Moss was accepted as the first British record and the species accepted to Category A.

Ross’s Goose breeds in northern Canada and migrates to winter in southern and western USA and northern Mexico. A significant and dramatic increase in the population has occurred since the 1950s, an estimated 8900% over the past 40 years, with the species now classified as Least Concern by IUCN.

Upon publication of these changes, the British List stands at 628 species (Category A = 610; Category B = 8; Category C = 10).”

Following the above BOURC statement that puts my British List on 499. Pre-Covid 19 I was realistically expecting to reach 500 for Britain by the end of 2020. However a combination of legal restrictions and a current lack of personal transport and lack of desire to use public transport or get a lift has seriously limited my twitching as well as avoiding crowds with only Long-toed Stint added since early 2020. My first Ross’s Goose was at South Ferriby Lincolnshire 10/11/02. This is assumed to be the same bird I saw in Norfolk at Wighton on 5/1/03 which had moved north because of bad weather in Norfolk. As far as I’m aware this is as close to Yorkshire as this species has got although there was a feral bird seen at several sites including Paull on 29/7/07 [the date doesn’t help!]. Also i’ve seen a Ross’s Goose hybrid on a later date at Tophill Low NR. Prior to my first record I attempted to twitch one at Caerlaverock WWT with RL [can’t remember the date!!] which was identified as a known escapee before we got there. I don’t remember whether we actually saw it but do remember fortunately taking the Brough/Scotch Corner route back despite a weather warning and avoiding major snow related delays on the M62. Yorkshire doesn’t have a good record for rare geese with the only good Lesser White-fronted Goose in early 1996 at High Eske NR then Hempholme as well as visiting Tophill Low NR, initially accepted by BBRC then removed in a later report, although still accepted by the YNU. A similar thing happened to a Red-breasted Goose seen at Tophill Low NR which was initially accepted in Cleveland but not at Tophill Low NR before BBRC realised the ambiguity and deleted the record. However a Red-breasted Goose in north Lincolnshire did do a fly past for the lucky few at Spurn Point. With the annual movement of Pink-footed Geese between Scotland and Norfolk there has to be the possibility of Ross’s Goose being picked up over flying the county and with large numbers commuting between the Wolds and the Humber maybe one will make it onto the Yorkshire List some time.

A full article on “The Ross’s Goose in Britain’ was published in British Birds Vol,116 p12-25. My sighting in Lincolnshire and Norfolk was included under “Potential wild birds in Britain” and presumably will appear in a future BBRC annual report.

Ross’s Goose near Paull Holme Strays

BOURC does seem to have taken a more favourable attitude to wildfowl in recent years. Hooded Merganser is given a sympathetic consideration although most records still are dismissed fortunately not mine at Barr Loch, Renfrewshire with GD on 21.1.17 which got through.

Hooded Merganser-Bar Loch, Renfrewshire

However still not made onto the Yorkshire List including a bird seen early this year at Hornsea Mere and Tophill Low NR which despite being considered the ringed bird seen at the first site in early 2019 gave many a false hope before it was confirmed to be the same bird at the latter site. Hornsea Mere is a plastic magnet not helped by the collection at nearby Strawberry Gardens with a earlier Bufflehead which, not helped by it being distance, was pencilled in before relocating to Bransholme sewage works where it’s ring was seen. This leads me to Baikal Teal which I twitched, more for the day out, at Minsmere RSPB on 25.11.01. This remained in Cat D until isotope analysis of a Baikal Teal shot in Norway made wild origin likely, led to BOURC upgrading it to Cat A with the more cautious not waiting long for one at Flamborough Head on 15.4.13. However this species has spoilt itself with one seen at various site including again Hornsea Mere in spring/summer 2019 deemed “uncertain or not to be wild”. I missed this bird as it clashed with a trip to Romania where my serious concern was it following the pattern of several previous rare ducks and moving Tophill Low NR. Another one turned up at Hornsea Mere [found by Dale Middleton] on 9/1/22 then relocated at Tophill Low NR by Roy Lyon at 12/1/22. It was seen on Swine Moor, Beverley on 13/1/22 where it was seen to be un-ringed and fully winged, then back at Tophill Low NR on 14/1/22. 15/1/22 was foggy and it wasn’t reported. For further updates check here.

Baikal Teal-Tophill Low NR

Falcated Duck has also been upgraded to Cat A but I’ve not seen this species with no good examples being seen in my active twitching time. The next will be popular.

Continuing with the more lenient attitude to wildfowl, BOURC are assessing records of White-headed Duck and Ruddy Shelduck. No Yorkshire records of the former and the BOURC review came out rather ambiguous with the likelihood of a wild birds not dismissed but none of the current records accepted [see here]. The latter has a habit of turning up with post moulting Shelduck, with several personal records on the Humber at Brough Haven. Also one seen at Tophill Low NR in 1995 at least. Whether this gets on the site list is questionable although as the current “keeper of the list” I may have to make the final decision. Two mobile birds have been around East Yorkshire since 2021 spending some time at North Cave Wetlands YWT as well as Pickering Park in Hull. I finally saw them in March 2023, initially on the 7th on Priory Road, Cottingham, but don’t have good credentials for me unless from a self sustaining Continental population [if such a thing exists!]

Ruddy Shelduck-Tophill Low NR by John Harriman [copied from Tophill Low Wildlife Group Annual report 1995]

However a lot of dubious records as well as other pure and hybrid Shelduck species about including Cape and Australian, but even if none pass the test in Yorkshire I still hold out for some I saw in Cornwall.