Blacktoft Sands RSPB reserve.

A last minute decision to visit this RSPB reserve near the port of Goole on the East Coast was rewarded with the first sighting this year of  Marsh Harriers. In addition some nice shots of some other birds too.

Blacktoft Sands is located on the Ouse estuary area, its a "well out of the way" reserve and attracts a lot of birds including the aforementioned Marsh Harrier, Bittern, Bearded Tit, and a plethora of waders and ducks.

Take a Lunch with you though, there is no cafe. A hot water dispenser and some coffee/tea sachets means you wont die of thirst, but you will starve.

Within minutes of arriving I had seen Goldfinch and Tree Sparrow feeding along the hedgerows and at the feeder station. Collared Dove and a blue Pheasant were later seen at the feeder station too.

Collared Dove.

Pheasant.

The reserve is basically a long straight affair with 7 hides (including the reception area) spread out in a line over a distance of approx a mile. The hides cover a number of scrapes/lagoons of differing style and size. The hides are well maintained and suitable for long lens photography a couple of them are set on two levels and are good for both photography and scoping, Unfortunately as is always the case on RSPB reserves the hides are a little distant from the water in most cases but the two hides I found to be the best were the Townend Hide and the Marshland hide. The Townend Hide produced views of; Common Redshank, Spotted Redshank, Greenshank, Snipe, Curlew Sandpiper, Moorhen, Marsh Harrier, Teal, Mallard, Little Egret, Black Tailed Godwit, Black headed Gull, and Goldfinch. My best acheivements here were these,

Redshank.

Curlew Sandpiper.

and Little Egret.

I also got a couple of very distant shots of one of the Marsh Harriers, this is a heavy crop.

What I really wanted were Snipe shots, but despite the fact that there were 2 in view they were just too far to focus on, so I was most disappointed.

The walk to the Marshland hide was broken with a coffee in the reception hide. I lingered in the hope of seeing the Juvenile Bittern that, for the previous 2 days, had shown well infront of the reception hide, unfortunately he failed to show so more disappointment there.

The Marshland Hide looks out over a lagoon with a number of islands dotted within it. These islands have recently been covered with new lumps of soil and earth so they were very un-photogenic, which was a shame because on one there were a group of three Snipe. I did try to photograph them but because of the distance and the fact that the snipe blended in with the soil I could not get the camera to focus. I satisfied myself with some nice views through the bino's though. I was also kept amused by a young Redshank feeding directly infront of the hide.

A number of Teal, a Shelduck, a Heron and some Lapwings were also present. I was about to call it a day when a movement caught my eye to the right of the hide and imagine my delight when it turned out to be a Snipe. I was shell-shocked, I absolutely love snipe. I am amazed by the size of the beak compared to the body so it was all I could do to contain my excitement for long enough to get some shots. As is always the case it never came completely into the open but with the exception of a few tall strands of cut reed/grass I managed these two shots which I hope you will agree are pretty good. They are only small crops mostly for composition.

Again, typically of Snipe, it wasnt long before he was skulking off to find better cover,so I didn't see him for long. Still I was in my element, chuffed doesn't cover it.

So all in all I had a very enjoyable 4 hrs on the reserve, less wind and cloud might have made it better, but I am not complaining, another bird for the year list (Harrier) and closest ever views of Curlew Sandpiper and Snipe made for a great time and a definate reserve to revisit.

New Places to visit.

My move to S.Yorkshire has meant that I have some new places to visit. One such place was Fairburn Ings RSPB reserve. Situated near Castleford and alongside the river Aire the areas of open water on the reserve were formed by the subsidence of coal workings up to half a kilometre underground, (ok, I stole that bit of speil from the brochure) What I can tell you is that there was an abundance of stuff there to be seen and some good stuff to photograph too.

If you find yourself in Yorkshire and are kicking your heels for somewhere to go you could do a lot worse than visit the reserve. I would advise that you take a packed lunch. The visitor centre has sandwiches, cakes and a drinks machine but the 2 ends of the reserve are 3 miles apart (appx) and the reserve is located smack bang in the middle so realistically its a 3 mile round trip to get from the centre to either end. There are five hides and a few viewing areas, there are 3 feeder stations located near the visitor centre and these attract a wide variety of birds. I saw Goldfinch, Greenfinch, Tree Sparrow, Great Tit, Blue Tit, Dunnock, Collared Dove, Pheasant, Coal Tit and amazingly Willow Tit. How do I know its Willow and not Marsh Tit? apparently the reserve don't get Marsh Tit so it had to be.

Willow Tit:

On the reserve I wasn't disappointed either, Greenshank, Green Sandpiper, Wood Sandpiper, Kestrel, Kingfisher, just to name a few. The weather in the morning was disappointing, the cloud cover was almost constant and a few spells of quite heavy rain, during one lull in the rain a Kingfisher came to the front of the Pickup hide, I managed only two frames.

and

He returned some 20 minutes or so later and I managed another 3 frames, this was the best.

I decided not to wait any longer and set off to explore. Back outside the visitor centre I sat and waited for the Tree Sparrows, I wasnt disappointed.

It was starting to rain so I only grabbed a few shots. Tree Sparrows are a bird that I used to see a lot when I was a kid but they are not so common now.

They are so characterful aren't they?

I'm quite pleased with the results. Around the reserve there were lots of birds, at the Lin Dike hide I was advised there was a Wood Sandpiper. I have to take the word of the three other birders with scopes who assured me that, that was what it was. I'm going to include it as a yearly tick because over the last few days a number of birders have idetified it as such, so thats good enough for me (or is it?) There were some examples of my favourite cattle on the reserve. Yes you guessed it Highland Cows.

Again so full of character.

I got a shot, albeit from a distance, of a Greenshank.

and another of a Green Sandpiper.

Or is it? I think it is, I saw the white rump when it flew off but it looks nothing like this Green Sandpiper I saw at Old moor the other day

and here it is the very distant shot of the Wood Sandpiper, or is it? you tell me?

I have no idea what it is, but I do know its not the same bird as the Greenshank above they were 150 yards apart. Is it another Greenshank or a Green Sandpiper? I really would like to hear your views, you can leave a comment on this post or email me at b_davis20@live.co.uk

I did manage to get some other stuff, a Common Darter dragon fly.

and a Hawker, which I believe is a Migrant Hawker.

I was amazed at how close it let me get this next shot is the camera's full frame (yes I know the camera is a 1.3 crop Chris).

All in all I had a great day, I met a really nice old chap who was so full of info about the origins of the reserve and how he'd seen the area change since the 60's. Would I go again? You bet I will.

Making the effort

I made a determined effort to get out and about this week, I took advantage of the gorgeous weather to force myself out with the camera.

Old Moor RSPB reserve was my first port of call, surprisingly there wasnt as much about as I had hoped but the Wath Ings hide produced some good stuff, including a Curlew Sandpiper. I wasnt able to take photos due to the distance of the bird and an impossible heat haze, but a gentleman kindly allowed me to view the bird through his Scope and get another tick for the year (143 so far).

The water levels are very low and this meant that some nice stuff came close to the hide, there were several Herons both Juv and adult present.

Juvenile Heron.



Adult Heron.


Also present were at least four Greenshanks.

and Green Sandpiper, note the difference between these two pics, the sun is not out for this first one,

whereas it was for this second.

A trip the following day to the Anglers Country Park between Barnsley and Wakefield also proved very interesting. The main hide is an excellent place to see most of the birds that visit the lakes, the Lapwings were there in high numbers.

Half a dozen Cormorants were also present. This is a cropped shot of one doing a low fly past.

whilst this one was sunning itself on the rocks. This looks better in larger form and clicking on the pic should open a new window to show it.

The star of the trip, for me was this Juv Great crested Grebe, it came pretty close and the two following pictures are only small crops.

It was a lovely bird and surprisingly was alone, clearly making its own way in the world.

I have some more shots to post of the 2 days activity and will do so shortly.

Small is beautiful.

I have no desire for photography at the moment as I have slipped into yet another period of deep depression. I have only these small things to show you.

Hoverfly,

Wasp,

Greenbottle.

I am thinking of giving up photography, I am no longer enjoying it. I am no longer enjoying life though so perhaps the two are linked. I will eventually sell my kit if my mood does not improve. I will advertise it on here first.

I am not looking for sympathy, nor do i want messages of support. I merely feel that as this blog is a big part of my life I can use it to express my feelings. I have struggled with Depression for many years and last year decided that I will no longer use tablets to keep my life balanced. I do not want to spend my time in a false world of medicine induced happiness, not that the pills ever made me feel that happy anyway. I will try and get through it in my own way.

I'm a crap photographer anyway so its no great loss. I much rather enjoy looking at photos in others blogs and websites.

Happy Days.

No wildlife shots today, I've been busy with the wedding of my daughter, Lesley and my son in law, Matthew. I only have the one daughter and I was so proud to see her get married, It was a great day and lots of fun.

Back soon with some more wildlife shots, promise.