Twitchy in Yorkshire! 25th May 2019

We had booked a fortnights holiday to the Cairngorms, as usual, a few months ago and I'd been looking to find somewhere to go for a few days on the way up too. Last year we had visited Northumberland for just a couple of days on the way to Scotland and I was keen to repeat that visit. However Mrs Caley and I have become tired of hotels so I hunted online for a short break in a cottage. There wasn't much on offer and I found 3 or 4 that suited but was astounded how expensive just a 2 day break was in that part of the country, it was half term week after all. On further investigation I discovered that the rates remained the same for a 3 day break and even for 4 days. It wasn't long before I'd booked a cottage for the whole week since it was only 20% more expensive than the original planned 2 day break and considerably less expensive than an equivalent stay in a hotel! We'd have a decent looking cottage just 10 minutes from Bamburgh and 20 minutes from Holy Island, both good birding hotspots on the Northumberland coast.

But we wouldn't go straight to Northumberland of course and I'd spent the days and weeks before our leaving day seeing news, via Birdguides, of rare and scarce birds arrive, and depart, in the North East region. The week before we left home the east coast had witnessed a major fall of Bluethroats but sadly none had remained more than a couple of days. More excitedly a Broad-billed Sandpiper had been found on Holy Island just a few days before the 25th and had stuck so I was hopeful of securing a long awaited life tick once we got there.  

The drive north would take us through Yorkshire first and I had identified a couple of twitches on the way to keep us occupied. The first of these took us to Wintersett Reservoir near Wakefield to look for a Great Reed Warbler, a bird that I'd only seen twice before. It was a fine and sunny day as we pulled up into the car park but I was unsure of exactly where the bird was and there didn't appear to be any other birders around so I checked and rechecked the information available. Luckily I had deciphered  the details correctly and found the right track that led down to the area where the Warbler had taken up residence since we met another birder who had just seen the bird and he told us to keep going and we'd hear it singing. Sure enough, long before we even arrived at the reedbed we could hear the loud and varied song from the Great Reed Warbler. I remembered the song from the Paxton Pits bird that we'd seen in 2016.

Great Reed Warbler, Paxton Pits, 28/05/2016

Very fortunately there was a slightly raised platform that overlooked the reservoir through a small gap in the surrounding trees and even more conveniently the Warbler had chosen a spot that could be viewed through the gap. Less advantageous though was that it had chosen for its territory the outermost reeds, about 30 yards away, so seeing it was tricky to say the least! We had to peer through the reeds and had to adjust the scope into a position where we could watch the bird unhindered. It wasn't easy getting a spot where Mrs Caley, being shorter, could get a clear view but eventually we managed it. The Great Reed warbler became the first year tick of the holiday making it #215. I spent around an hour trying to get a decent photo and failed but at least I had a few more record shots of the species to add to my similar images of the Paxton bird.

Great Reed Warbler, Wintersett Reservoir, 25/05/2019

Returning to the car we stopped at a different viewpoint and had clearer but much more distant views. We suffered for them too because some nasty biting flies also favoured the spot and we were both left sporting some very itchy and sore lumps on our arms later that day!

Now we had secured the Great Reed Warbler it was time to chase something much rarer even though it would take us quite a long way out of our way. At least by booking a cottage we weren't tied to any arrival time so it wouldn't matter what time we arrived in Northumberland. A Baikal Teal, a duck that  is usually found way to the east of the UK in northern and eastern Russia, had been seen in Cambridgeshire over the last month or two. Even though the site was less than 2 hours drive from home I had decided against going to see the bird since it required a long walk to get to and views were from a long way off. However in the past few days the Baikal Teal had moved northwards, spending a couple of days at Kilnsea near the Spurn peninsula and just the day before had been found on a lake slightly further north at Hornsea which was around an hour and a half away from Wintersett.

The drive was easy and we neared Hornsea Mere at around 14:00 that afternoon. Hornsea Mere is the largest inland body of water in Yorkshire and we had no idea really of how to access it. In fact from the road it was difficult to see, being screened by large trees. We did spy a couple of birders walking along the road but the traffic didn't allow for stopping and asking questions. I drove through the busy village, pulled up in a quieter spot, and googled a streetmap of the area. There was a footpath to the south of the lake so I made for that place, thinking we'd gain a way to the edge of the lake from there. Luckily there were another couple of birders walking back toward us so I waited for them to arrive then asked them what they knew. The Baikal Teal which had been visible very distantly from the footpath had apparently flown to the west end of the Mere and would now be viewable from a bird hide at a place called Wassand right at the western end. The couple said that we could walk from our current position but it would be much easier and quicker to go from the Wassand estate where you pay a small fee to park and to gain entry to the bird hide. Ten minutes later I was knocking on a gatehouse door to buy a couple of "Birdwatching" tickets for the princely sum of £3 each. This gave access to a small car park, already almost full, and directions to the small hide on the edge of the Mere from where the Teal was purportedly showing.

As we walked towards the hide through mature woodland my mobile informed that the Baikal Teal was indeed showing well from the Wassand bird hide so at least we had got ahead of most other twitchers although we did get overtaken by a car load that had arrived after us. The hide was a two tiered construction with a photography platform sitting on top of the main hide. This elevated viewpoint was full to the brim with 4(!) other birders and their equipment so we joined the queue of another 4, the car load of overtakers, and waited nervously for our chance to see the Teal, which would be a life tick for us, provided it was accepted by the records committee of course. After around 15 minutes our chance came and we managed to get views over the water. The Baikal Teal, #216 for the year, was loafing around in company with 3 drake Wigeon right at the far western end of the Mere and about 100 yards away. More record shot opportunities!

Baikal Teal, Hornsea Mere, 25/05/2019

Despite willing the ducks to swim nearer they were having none of it so we had to be content with scope views, good as usual, and distant photos. There must be a good chance of this Baikal Teal being accepted by the BBRC since it has always shied away from close human contact and has moved northwards. As I write this the Teal moved up to Northumberland, after we left of course, then even ventured into Scotland for a couple of days at a site in Lothian before returning to Northumberland where it remained difficult to see well.

In between watching the Baikal Teal do nothing much more energetic than doze the afternoon away, we were kept entertained by a dynamic Hobby hunting high above the lake, an uncommon bird in these parts according to George the warden who was expertly marshalling the throng of around a dozen birders that had made it. A male Marsh Harrier was also busy on the opposite side scouring the reedbed for prey.

Hobby

Marsh Harrier

The SatNav had informed me that our holiday cottage was still nearly a 4 hour drive away so we had to get going in order to get there before dark.