March 2026
Having been away for the first week, see below, just catching up but migrants decidedly limited so far on the local patch
Goshawks continue to show - here a 2cy male sparring with a Common Buzzard
a new 2cy monster female
a 2cy male in same area
rubbsih shot but think its the first time I have seen a Gos with Marsh Harrier in Lincs
2cy female again
different 2cy female to earlier in the year with some adult feathers
Nice Crossbills from the same trip
went down the Lincs coast to Theddlethorpe for this male Lapland Bunting - not often you see them well on the deck and getting rarer year on year
a nice flock of Knot on the beach by the Lap Bunt
This Scandinavian Rock Pipit, littoralis, was on the dune slacks nearby and had been widely reported as a Water Pipit
Back on the patch photo challenge Wren is 67
Wren in a tangle
68 Blackcap - I saw what was presumably this female in a neighbours garden weeks ago but this week it came for a couple of our ivy berries - taken through the window - when I went outside after she moved off east I could hear a male singing a couple of gardens away which is what presumably attracted her - a wintering bird meeting a spring arrival
Assume this is the same early male I photographed last year back on the same territory on Waters’ Edge - it was sipping nectar from the blackthorn flowers on a rather cool morning
flying Moorhen
69 Rook - one of the local breeding birds on our neighbours aerial
70 Lesser Black-backed Gulls - formerly a passage bird several pairs now summer around town and there is a thriving breeding colony only about 7 miles away - maybe breed on local rooves out of sight
We still have Bullfinches feeding on bramble seeds
One of the garden Collared Doves
Grey Heron
Local? Jackdaws 71 -on the photo list - birds with variable pale collar crescents occur regularly in the wintering flock of c400-500 birds but there are up to 150 in summer - some may be Scandinavian birds of course
We are still feeding the birds in the garden with high quality food and while I understand all of the arguments against feeding our House Sparrow flock of c20 birds would I feel suffer without garden handouts - where else would they find winter food supplies? arable fields around the town are now all green sprayed to death and devoid of food
Female Pochard complementing the colour of the water - we have c10 females around at present the presumed breeding population
And a cracking drake - one of up to 35
72 on the patch photo challenge Red Kite - I had waited a long time but eventually picked this one up over Waters’ Edge only to see another later in the morning
What does a distant Shorelark look like in coastal murk -
Roe Deer on Waters’ Edge where they are very tame
One of the current Waters’ Edge Woodpigeon nests
Woodpigeon in blackthorn
73 a non too exciting Teal shot
We have tame Tufted Ducks but from a boardwalk where you cannot get low
The female Scaup was nice and close in one day in the week in nice light although asleep for 90% of the time
Not such good light but at least it was awake a couple of days later
the female Scaup in duller light
74 Common Scoter on the pits this week - shot through a thick hedge so far from a good image
75 Feral Pigeon / Rock Dove
76 Gadwall - cleaning up a few of the obvious missing species for the patch photo challenge
77 Shelduck - I had to look through the year list to work out what obvious species were still missing
The total disconnect with nature is well shown by all the people who massacre their lovely lawns but carefully mow round the artificial daffodils - these roosting Redshank are oblivious
Brown Hares on a fruitless search for Corn Bunting and Grey Partridge two species we seem to have now lost
Another of those patch species that I never bother to try and photograph - Skylark 78
Little Owl - 79 - giving me the evil glare
Carrion Crow with abandoned goose egg
Mallard duckling alone it seemed
Its not as if there is a shortage of posing Robins but never got around to posting one - 80
No meadows in sight and sadly another species we seem to have lost as a breeding bird at least from the Humber foreshore - Meadow Pipit 81
A potential Tree Pipit ID error
After yaffling away all winter our Green Woodpecker seems to have attracted a mate
82 Little Egret in less than perfect plumage mode
83 Herring Gull
My total patch year list is currently 107 species so a good proportion photod but some tricky ones missing and some winter birds already gone eg Rock Pipit so that will have to be an autumn catch up
Acrobatic Bullfinch on the brambles
Stock Dove Waters’ Edge
Aliens but a test for the camera’s AF
A slightly more accommodating Common Scoter on a small pond inland at Searby
Performing the penguin pose
classic head down flap
84 on the challenge list a March Swallow - in the 70’s and even 80’s seeing a Swallow before mid-April was an event now March birds are the norm
and 85 Sand Martin - rtather late to the Sand Martin party this year but up to 30 in the last few days
seemed to be finding insects OK in spite of the freezing cold NW wind
summer Black-headed Gull homing in on an insect - nothing different with the gangs of Black-headed Gulls on the pits so far but keep checking
86 one of the local pairs of Oystercatchers
Long-tailed Tit sunning itself after a cold night
Song Thrush in the ivy a prospective nest site
Keeping out of the wind this morning I checked one of the local Sparrowhawk territories - this 2cy male came out of some trees as I approached with undertail coverts fluffed out in display but landed in one of their fabvoured pines - it then moved to this perch where I was able to slowly walk around it getting views from all sides - I eneded up standing watching it for about 40 minutes what a privilege - cracking little bird still mainly brown but with a few grey patches on eg the nape and sides of the head
With the sun in and out exposure was testing but I think the sunlit shots were maybe the best
some nice white feather edges on the upperparts
The beauty of the 100-500 lens is being able to vary your compositions
Not a full frame bird on a staged perch but a bird in habitat and doing as it wants - note the contrasting areas of brown and blue-grey on the crown - nape
87 on the patch photo challenge list - its not as if there are none around but waited until one was over the garden in fact three 2cy birds along with 3 Sparrowhawks togetehr in a very warm spell
First day with a notable Blackcap arrival - at least 8 on Wedge alone
Additionally several new Chiffchaffs in today but still no Willow Warbler