April 2026
Kicking off another month with some typical April coolness and in the first few days at least a dearth of new arrivals but a few additions to the patch photo challenge.
But first off the Orange Moon just before it disappeared behind the clouds April 1st
From a quite sunny day in the forest a 2cy Common Buzzard
One of the 2cty female Goshawks with a bird
Adult Goshawk but no sun
Great Spotted Woodpecker on a gnarled old pine remnant
Cropped and zoomed in it loses the character of the tree somewhat
Two males ended up having a dispute on the same tree
Located a colony of c100 male Sandpit Mining Bees and attempted some action shots -
I only had the 200-800 lens with me so I kept having to zoom out to get close enough focus as the close focus is considerably further away at the 800 end
a gang of males
female peeping out of her nest burrow
Back to the patch photo challenge and these 22 Whooper Swans were number 88 for the year
A dead lamb produced a nice year tick and also number 89 on the photo list with this Raven dropping in only to be chased off by a gang of Carrion Crows
My patch year list has rumbled on to 112 but concentrating on Waters’ Edge I have had 90 species there so far and need to work out how many I have actually photographed on that site - Dunnock was probably a new one
Song Thrush carrying nest material on Waters Edge - up to eight males were singing in March but there seems to be less now
Saturday 4th looked like another of those spring days - after a 7 mile hike around the pits the only reward was a single female Common Scoter and no new migrants then this adult Little Gull flew in off the Humber and started feeding on sailing pit - 112 on the patch year list and 90 on the patch photo year list
a couple of boomers this afternoon this the louder of the two
The Canon 200-800 with 1.4x converter attached - always a bit soft so sharpened a bit more than usual
male dropping in to start a challenging boom session - I have so many Bittern images, sorry if you have never seen one, that getting something a little different is always a challenge
A few more Swallows arriving with two back on breeding territories this morning - 9th
Juat lacking the Penduline Tit!
Note to self do not go to Bempton on a sunny bank holiday Monday
But April light is better than June
91 on the patch photo year list - Great Crested Grebe
with a new arrival of Blackcaps around the pits there have been some memorable encounters including three fighting at one point and today two having a song off in the presence of two females - always nice to get a few images while the leaves are bright and fresh
2cy male Sparrowhawk coming in off the Humber - was it a migrant or a local been hunting on the north bank?
Our wintering flock of Curlew still numbers c30 so presumably Scandinavian breeders as British birds would be back on territory now
Fattening up on worms in the wet grass fields
male Brimstone battling a Green-veined White in the air - spring butterfly action hotting up
Always try to get images of butterflies in flight as posed perched shots are a bit boring!
92 Willow Warbler in a willow - a very slow trickle of migrants locally so far with many species still absent but good numbers of Sand Martins and record early totals of singing Reed Warblers
One of several breeding pairs of Stock Doves on Waters’ Edge
In spite of the warm days not seen many butterflies so far - the first Speckled Wood on Wedge today
Good numbers of Sand Martins but as yet not seen double figures of Swallow
Some better images of one of the local Green Woodpecker pair
An an incidental 93 on the challenge list a peasant intervening
Meanwhile my Blackcap challenge also continues - yet to get a shot of a female
This Chiffchaff was wing waving in display to a female
A different individual Chiffchaff - subtle differences in plumage tones are fascinating
same bird as above in slightly different light with reflections from the greenery
Very much a record shot of a Corn Bunting for 94 on the patch challenge - maybe better as they settle into territories
on a hot sort of heat hazy afternoon on 13th in desperation I headed up the Wold edge and was immediately greeted by a Red Kite
Followed by my first Wheatear of the spring
After that first encounter I came across a total of eight birds with this male a stand out - the mantle colour we used to equate with Greenland Birds but I think Scandinavaian breeders can also show it?
95 on the patch year photo challenge
One of the accompanying females in severe heat haze
96 a nest building Linnet on wedge
it has taken a long time to get a Cetti’s Warbler shot for 97 but I like this representation of a bird with volume and attitude
From the first local record in 2003 the population in the clay pits has gone through the roof - currently 8-9 singing males on Waters’ Edge alone
Managed a record of a female Blackcap
And one of several new males on territory this week
98 Reed Warbler - in the 1970’s and early 80’s seeing a Reed Warbler before May was a real event now they often arrive at the same time or even before Sedge Warblers and not odd birds but in good numbers - no doubt better images to come but 98 for now
for once the camera auto-focus did not work through the morass of reeds so resorted to manual focus just like the olden days
Grey Heron turning the tables on two annoying Black-headed Gulls
99 Sedge Warbler in an early season short song flight
a boomer in uncharacteristically open habitat
Common tern 100 on the local patch challenge photo list - out of 120 species so far on the patch year list
Never under appreciate the colours of a Magpie
Mallard duckling in hot pursuit of a snack
The returning old female Marsh Harrier at Far Ings this week
male Orange-tip butterfly searching out a female in the Waters’ Edge woods
Not an easy, erratic target and about one in 30 in focus if you are lucky but good fun trying
a bit more standard Speckled Wood
A Tawny Mining bee up on the Wolds - the path it was on had lots of mining bees last spring but very few this year sadly
An obliging Chiffchaff in the bright greenery that has suddenly developed
Need to get more creative with the Common Terns
Not a great shot but good to have Cuckoo back on the patch for 101 photod
There has been a total dearth of passage waders locally this spring but did manage this lone Common Sandpiper for 102 on the challenge
One of a pair of adult summer Mediterranean Gulls that headed east last week
Shelduck trails in the mud off Waters Edge
One of seven singing male Sedge Warblers on Waters Edge thus far - a bird in habitat shot
Moorhen male passing food to female to feed to the bizarre looking chicks
One chick was already out and about but the wings have a way to go
Timing is everything - a day later the brood had moved to another location
I finally managed a picture of a Chaffinch that I was quite pleased with - I find them a tricky species to portray
My fascination with Blackcaps continues - ,mainly because they are present in big numbers and there is little else to watch! three males were fighting over two females yesterday providing some photo opps
This male adopted the tactic of carrying nest material too impress the girls - no doubt flashing his DIY skills
It seems to be a superb apring for Holly Blues and oddly several males have been landing with wings partly at least open making for my best ever images of this species
The regular underwing shot
And an unexpected open wing shot of a male basking on bramble leaves sheltered from the cold east wind
The subtle pumage variation in what we always see as an all black and grey Jackdaw
Nest boxes are vital breeding sites for Kestrels in a landscape with very few old trees
My first odes of the year on Saturday - Large Red Damselfly
103 on the patch photo challenge Lesser Whitethroat - this male has been coming back to this territory for the last three years singing from the same perches and nesting in the same clump of brambles - I actually got a Lesser image before a Common Whitethroat
104 Common Whitethroat
105 stretching things a bit but it was a Whimbrel and so far my only one this spring
And a close up Woodpigeon on the Wedge boardwalk
106 Swift -on the 23rd I had at least 46 Swifts at Barton with three at Far Ings and 43 over the sailing pit - a good total for 23rd
Speckled Wood butterfly males in a teritorial battle - I love testing the autofocus of the camera and my ability to keep up with the action
107 Hobbies are back and hopefully some more action shots to come in the next few days
108 Peregrine been rather a long time coming
Yellow Wagtail 109
I am guessing this bird has some flava genes or is a backcross
Call was identical to the other Yellows
110 House Martin - they have been very thin on the ground locally and this was a poor record shot
Not much better - hopefully more chances later
Sand martins have been by contrast quite numerous on some days and easier to photograph
Evening on 28th it was cold, in fact it was bitterly cold near the Humber with a strong north east wind - for the umpteenth time this week went to the sailing pit in the vain hope of something other than a Common Tern; on arrival the six terns appeared top be the local Commons but then there were eight and two looked like Arctics but conditions were testing with the birds always flying away from me and dipping into the strong wind - above the closest terns always appeared to be Common!!
Most views were like this but at a greater distance - it was getting frustrating and on a big pit there was no way of getting closer
eventually one of the Arctic came a bit closer but then a scan appeared to suggest that one or two had left - I moved to the next pit where I was then looking back into the light and one Arctic was feeding to the east -
About as good an image as I could get given the distance -
As sunset rapidly drew in the number of terns increased to 11 then 18 with at least 14 Arctics present - beautiful watching but always distant for the camera - 111 on the patch photo challenge
Backlit Arctic Tern my favourite shot of the night
The male Cuckoo on Wedge was almost in view this morning
This afternoon was all about Hobbies with three hunting but the light was very harsh and the birds still rather high
All about the tail