Belated BY - 6th year! Herman&Kit

[Kitsafari]

284. Northern Fulmar, Bempton

 

These were tough subjects to photograph in flight as they flew very close to the cliffs, but we had fun trying against the strong winds.

 

 

 

A pair was seen displaying courtship moves

 

[Kitsafari]

285. Razorbill, Bempton

 

Also seen hugging the cliffs in their hundreds were the razorbills which gave the puffins looking for a perch or a potential nesting area a bit of a tough time.

 

 

 

[Kitsafari]

286. Shag, Bempton

 

These stayed in the grey waters below the cliffs, proving to be a challenge to get a good clear photo of them. 

 

[Kitsafari]

287. Eurasian Blue Tit, Forge Valley in north Yorkshire

 

We were surprised to see various spots with feeding stations for birds and we stopped at a small car park to watch the small birds feed. we were lucky we were the only ones but soon a couple of cars came into the area and we had to make way for others. 

 

 

 

Edited November 9, 2023 by Kitsafari

[Kitsafari]

288. Great Tit, Forge Valley

 

[Kitsafari]

289. Marsh Tit, Forge Valley

 

[Kitsafari]

290. Chaffinch, Forge Valley

 

[Kitsafari]

291. Common Linnet, Bempton

 

Not 100% sure about this. 

 

[Kitsafari]

292. Eurasian Nuthatch, Forge Valley

 

 

Juvenile

[Kitsafari]

293. European Robin, Forge Valley

the quintessential English bird for me as it is often cited in olde English poems. 

 

 

[Kitsafari]

294. Common Crossbill, Wykeham forest

 

we had hoped to see some raptors at a viewpoint in the forest, but none flew by when we were there. instead, we settled for a very distant crossbill  - a first for us - and a warbler

 

[Kitsafari]

295. Willow Warbler, Wykeham forest

 

 

[Kitsafari]

297. Yellowhammer, North Yorkshire

 

This species gave us a bit of a wild-goose chase as we made several failed stops at bushes to sight it. Finally, Rich spotted it perched on a wire against a grey sky but we took it happily. 

 

[Kitsafari]

298. Northern Gannet, Bempton 

 

Around an estimated half a million birds gather at Bempton Cliffs to court, mate, nest and breed, and a large number of those birds have to be the northern Gannets. Soaring in the skies, gliding on the strong winds, winging close to the cliffs, these fairly large birds made a spectacular sight when we arrived. The cliffs were just chockful of gannets and the air was filled with their calls. Because there were so many, they provided a lot of photo ops. 

What was so interesting was that most of the gannets spotted the natural blue irises but a few had black irises - the latter an indication that the gannets had survived the avian flu. https://www.discoverwildlife.com/news/gannet-eye-colour-changes-from-blue-to-black-following-avian-flu-infection

 

please excuse me while I post a handful of them. 

 

 

 

 

 

immature

 

[Kitsafari]

299. Bearded Reedling, Titchwell

 

One of our top targets, our first trip to Titchwell Marsh coincided with quite strong winds which kept the birds low and quiet in the reeds. we sat on the bench in the biting winds when we entered but the birds only appeared briefly just before we left. Herman unfortunately missed it as he had gone ahead. So we returned the first thing in the morning on the following day and was rewarded on a less windy morning. we were very happy to see it.

 

 

 

[Kitsafari]

300. Atlantic Puffins, Bempton Cliffs

 

I had to keep this for the 300th. This was the main reason for going to the cliffs and we were lucky with the timing. We had tracked the FB pages for sightings of the puffins in the weeks leading to our trip, and there were only few and far between sightings of the tiny enigmatic birds. we saw quite a few, not in the dozens, but in pairs of small flocks of threes and fours. They were quite disperse and we found at least one pair in a hole, suggesting they were very close to nesting. We also observed another pair that clacked their beaks together. 

We loved the birds - their calls and their flights but they seemed nervous of the other larger birds. 

I've just gotta put up more photos of this iconic bird.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[offshorebirder]

Love the Robin photos!

 

And the seabird photos as well.

[Galana]

Congratulations on a splendid 300 and a very worthy subject with which to record it.

Your Linnet is also 'safely ID too.

Mea culpa for my cross posting. No idea how that happened and thanks for the correction.

[Kitsafari]

Thanks @offshorebirder @Galana

[Peter Connan]

A wonderful 300! Great photos, lovely birds. Interesting about the after-effects of avian flue.

[xelas]

Atlantic Puffin is so worthy to celebrate your #300 birds of the year! But honestly, the gannets are stealing the show! Love is in the air ....

[PeterHG]

Congrats on a beautiful #300! Many great photos in the batch, like the gannets and the bearded reedlings

[Kitsafari]

Thanks much @Peter Connan @PeterHG

 

@xelas thanks - yes all getting ready to mate and nest and breed. a lot of the kittiwakes were already on the eggs.

 

[Kitsafari]

301. Red-legged Partridge, near Titchwell Marsh

 

a pair was quite indifferent to our presence after Chris - having sighted them - stopped the car on the side of the road. the pair was busily feeding on the ground about 50m in front of us on farmland. there was quite a bit of heat haze but the first couple of tries were a fail, so we were happy to get what we got here.

The birds are on the IUCN Redlist near-threatened list. 

 

 

[Kitsafari]

302. Red Grouse, North York Moors National Park 

 

The Red Grouse was a different matter as they refused to come out into the open, and a head was all we could settle for on undulating hills of the Yorkshire heath. We did flush out a couple of chicks but the adult parent was too swift to capture.

 

 

 

Of course I would have to share this peculiar structure we saw while on the heath. The intriguing structure reminded me so much of the TV series Stranger Things, but this is actually the Royal Air Force Fylingdales - a radar station that is part of the Ballistic Missile Early Warning System. It also keeps watch of spy satellites in the sky - so not quite Eye in the Sky but Eye on the Sky.

 

Edited November 11, 2023 by Kitsafari