May 2025
As spring dashes by a few more images to add to the challenge and some better or repeat shots of species already logged
Common Terns are a constant feature of the pits from now through to July or August with about 14 birds present so far and a few pairs displaying but none settled on eggs as yet - I like to try and capture something a litle different each year
The first two days of the month were hot and with a lot of insects aloft the terns were flycatching
138 on the challenge sheet Common Sandpiper one of the very few passage waders we get on the local patch nowadays as we have lost all our freshwater wetlands and the Humber inter-tidal seems devoid of life
139 - I said I wouldn’t include Pheasant but it is a colourful bird in some nice green grass
One of the local male Cuckoos passed by within range but the beautiful rufous female continues to elude me for year three!
I actually saw a Hairy Dragonfly being dismembered by a Hobby before seeing one in the flesh as it were - recent days have seen an emergence of several damselflies, Azure, Blue-tailed, Common Blue and Large Red as well as Four-spotted Chasers and Hairy Dragons
Common Blue Damselfly
Teneral Blue-tailed Damselflies
Orange-tip mating pair and intruding male - I have a lot of invert photos from the spring that I really need to organise
A cracking couple of hours yesterday photographing four Hobbies locally - will do a blog post on them when I get them processed
One of the local breeding male Swallows - although there seems to be more birds than last year numbers are still well down
140 Swift - although birds have been over the gardemn for over a week this was the first morning I fired off a few shots at the screaming birds - more attempts will no doubt follow
Swift backlit against the early sun
Swifts and skies is one of my photo fascinations
and my favourite of the year so far - we have three birds screaming around the hosue but they are looking at the neighbour’s roof and not our nest box but who knows maybe another arrival will find us
With precious few waders on the local foreshore this Whimbrel was a photographic bonus this morning - 141 on the challenge list
142 Herring Gull at Bempton over the red campion
another Hobby encounter at Searby this time - every one is a moment to cherish
A House Martin closing in an an insect - a few more on the pits in cold weather but still only about 30
143 Little Ringed Plovers
don’t often get the chance to photograph this species so a bonus in the field of view of the BBS
Buff-breasted Sandpiper East Halton displaying male - read the full story with lots of images by clicking the image above - this is the male in display - 144 on the challenge list
a stunning summer plumaged Sanderling at east Halton - bad angle but brilliant bird and rather different to the winter bird featured earlier
brilliant birds even in the Humber cappuccino
a cuddly Mallard brood
a male Turnstone from early in the month getting into decent summer plumage but maybe a younger adult as its not that bright
145 on the challenge list Moorhen - there are quite a few species I just have not taken a decent shot of yet this year
146 Ringed Plover here part of a large flock of Tundra birds heading for the Arctic - there were 380 in this group (not all shown here) but up to 900 on the nearby middle Humber on this day along with three Sanderling, Two Turnstone and a Little Stint plus a few Dunlin
147 Common Crossbill up at Wykeham in North Yorkshire see image below
male Honey-buzzard a shot from an epic day’s encounter linked to a blog post above 148
Don’t think I can get away with claiming this is a representative image of Long-eared Owls - maybe see if they fledge successfully
149 Spotted Flycatcher and particularly that orange base to the lower mandible - we lost them from the local park in 2017 with none since and I struggle to see one on the patch annually now - they hang on in the forest with a few pairs most years
and 150 up with this rather dapper male Redstart - I was tipped off to where this male had been singing for a few days and went hoping for a fleeting glimpse - it sang for about an hour but defied observation then with people and dogs and screaming kids about it came down tot eh ground to feed - I missed the close shot as it was slap behind a tree! but was very lucky to get this as it took off after a ground foray - not had a signing male in Lincs since 2017 yet another breeding species lost from the county in my birding lifetime - Wood Warbler, Lesser Spotted Woodpecker, Willow Tit and now almost Turtle Dove