January 2011 trip home - 2nd week
Posted 05-02-11 at 02:11 PM by ijwilki
Well I've finally got round to summarising my 2nd week home.
Good intentions to visit Saltholme to see the long eared owls and/or Cowpen Bewley Country Park to see the ring necked duck didn't happen due to family commitments during my visit to Teesside, and even a visit to Fairburn Ings much closer to home didn't materialise (short eared owls) due to lack of time.
My search for waxwings in the York area continued to frustrate me - well I guess I may be lucky next year.
The garden visitors, field behind the house, and Duffield Carr/Bubwith Ings observations were very much the same as the previous week, but long tailed tits, tufted ducks, pochard and reed bunting, Canada goose and Greylag goose were very much in evidence. In fact the neighbouring field must have played host to at least 150 Greylags - their honking was heard in the early hours several mornings. At least 80 whooper swans were seen daily in fields neighboouring North Duffield Carrs. Lapwing numbers were rising dramatically.
On the morning of 21 January I could see literally hundreds and hundreds, if not a thousand ducks on the Ings from the bedroom window. Unfortunatley some of tha adjacent land has shooting rights. I heard a couple of shots and all the birds lifted en mass - it was a fantastic spectacle, but they did not return in such great numbers for the rest of the day.
Fieldfare/redwing/thrush flocks certainly increased to 150+ as the days passed, and I managed to spot a covey of at least 12 red legged partridges. Had at least 5 regular pheasants comng into the garden clearing up all the spilt seed under the feeders.
Flew back to AD on 23 January to read many reported sightings of waxwings in East Yorkshire within 30 minutes drive from my home, and further flocks much closer to home on the Selby - York cycleway.
Thoroughly enjoyed the trip despite the waxwings avoiding me, roll on April 1st when I'm back again.
Good intentions to visit Saltholme to see the long eared owls and/or Cowpen Bewley Country Park to see the ring necked duck didn't happen due to family commitments during my visit to Teesside, and even a visit to Fairburn Ings much closer to home didn't materialise (short eared owls) due to lack of time.
My search for waxwings in the York area continued to frustrate me - well I guess I may be lucky next year.
The garden visitors, field behind the house, and Duffield Carr/Bubwith Ings observations were very much the same as the previous week, but long tailed tits, tufted ducks, pochard and reed bunting, Canada goose and Greylag goose were very much in evidence. In fact the neighbouring field must have played host to at least 150 Greylags - their honking was heard in the early hours several mornings. At least 80 whooper swans were seen daily in fields neighboouring North Duffield Carrs. Lapwing numbers were rising dramatically.
On the morning of 21 January I could see literally hundreds and hundreds, if not a thousand ducks on the Ings from the bedroom window. Unfortunatley some of tha adjacent land has shooting rights. I heard a couple of shots and all the birds lifted en mass - it was a fantastic spectacle, but they did not return in such great numbers for the rest of the day.
Fieldfare/redwing/thrush flocks certainly increased to 150+ as the days passed, and I managed to spot a covey of at least 12 red legged partridges. Had at least 5 regular pheasants comng into the garden clearing up all the spilt seed under the feeders.
Flew back to AD on 23 January to read many reported sightings of waxwings in East Yorkshire within 30 minutes drive from my home, and further flocks much closer to home on the Selby - York cycleway.
Thoroughly enjoyed the trip despite the waxwings avoiding me, roll on April 1st when I'm back again.
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