Bacon Butty and Birds

The title could only mean one thing - North Cave Wetlands Nature Reserve.....  fortunately the mist had cleared by the time we arrived so we could enjoy the hazy sunshine and still waters.   And a walk around the reserve allowed superb if distant views of snipe by the dozen plus varigated ducks plus building up the appetite for that all important bacon and egg butty to end with!!  A lovely morning in the company of some good friends (even if one was wearing some dubious wellies!!).

A trip to Scarborough

Yes, today the East Yorks RSPB Local Group hit Scarborough.....  the weather was amazing which brought the crowds out so the birds were limited but enough to keep us and the passing crowds happy!!

mirror mirror

resting or sulking?

don't know whose dog but it was having fun

the Peasholm Cormorant finding plenty to eat

and the eider were enjoying the sun

RSPB cruise 6 Oct

Didn't take many pics last week as was chumming (throwing bits of fish of the back of the boat for non-birders!)  It was a late afternoon cruise, with good views of Manxies, and a superb sunset on the way back in.  (And by the way I wore my sandals again which could be why I now have a cold!!)  Bridlington does look good at night!!

Back to today - not a brilliant cruise in terms of migrants, but the amazing sight of thousands (I do not exaggerate............) of gulls (varigated) feeding from Flamborough Head to Filey Bay was mind blowing..........  difficult to get a photo to show the extent so just believe me!!

Other highlights  - a puffin losing its 'casing', some of the 500 or so pink feet that flew over, manx shearwater and a distant bonxie - a selection of shots from today.............

Cruise 23 September 2012

Probably the last cruise I will wear sandals for -the sun shone but the wind was cold!!

The birds could ahve done with staying still a bit longer but a Bonxie kept us company, manx and sooty shearwaters came and went.... and more kittiwakes than we have had before - even a summer plumage puffin flew past!!

Cruise 15 Sept

The cruise got of to a good start meeting up with some old friends from my Antarctic adventure - would it live up to the Sooty Shearwaters and Albatross - help!!  No worries, I was assured they had enjoyed with some lifers....  the Yorkshire Belle and RSPB seabird cruises strike again!

Seriously it did get of to a good start with a Pomerine Skua skirting the beach as we left the harbour, a couple of Bonxies and an Arctic Skua kept attention focussed - plenty of puffins (?) - with a close Manx (sorry no pics-  camera jammed!) and finished with a Sooty Shearwater.  Plunging Gannets in the bay provided additional excitement...........

Skua season definitely here!!

todays cruise took place in glorious sunshine - sunscreen a must!! (where was this weather when the puffins were here??). It was hard work at times, gannets plunge diving all around as we started searching, arctic skua flew past, more guillemots - and a black one seen by a few lucky folk, searched and searched but had vanished............

 

 

and then at about 11.15 it got exciting, trying to capture the Scottish Fisheries plane that buzzed us...

 

 

when  a cry from the front of Skua had all lenses rapidly refocusing....

 

and the best views of Pomarine Skua I have had for a long long time - it stayed with the boat, obliged by circling so that everyone got superb views, sat, chased and finally disappeared towards the Headland and Bempton Cliffs....

 

 

 

finally a Bonxie...

 

 

and finished by watching the Flamborough Inshore Lifeboat bringing home a jetskier...