Mark Lawlor's Nature Blog

With a free morning on 18th August, I headed for Flamborough Head for some birding time. The wind direction was not ideal for many migrants from the East but I enjoyed my circuit of the headland. There were a few Willow Warblers in Old Fall hedge as well as two Lesser Whitethroats which showed very well albeit briefly. A couple of flyover Yellow Wagtails were the only visible migrants and I didn’t see anything out to sea with just my bins.

Swallow fledglings - Flamborough, 18 Aug 22

Later that evening, me and Aidan checked out Skerne Wetlands Nature Reserve just southeast of Driffield and I was really impressed. It was so quiet there that I also returned the next morning, on neither occasion did I see another person. It may be because it was down the end of a very anonymous long track, not on the way to anywhere, and also because no dogs are allowed. The river flowing through was packed with trout and there were lots of small lakes and ponds with lots of places to walk. I would like to return earlier in the year when it would be busier for wildlife.

The Kingfishers were a highlight, seeing up to two birds on five separate occasions on my two visits, mostly perched and easy to photograph. Two Marsh Harriers were present and I saw many other interesting plants and insects. I look forward to visiting many times in the future.

The Doom Stone in York Minster - 12th century carvings of demons (one taking a sneaky glance at the camera)

Narrow-leaved Ragwort - Leeds-Bradford Airport Car Park, 20 Aug 22 - even dashing for the plane can yield new species.

On 13th August I took the two oldest to Yorkshire to visit the family for a week. Landing at Leeds-Bradford Airport is so much easier than Manchester and the drive to East Yorkshire is so much easier, it’s a pity that there are not more flights a week there. After seeing 3 or 4 Red Kites in the Wharfe Valley, we didn’t do much else that evening but the next morning I had plans. There had been a Turkestan Shrike at Bempton for ages and ages, late June in fact, and I was very surprised that it was still there after all this time. Turkestan (or Red-tailed) Shrike was part of Isabelline Shrike in old money, a species which has now been split in two. I had seen Isabelline Shrike before, back in the 90s, and, although it has not been officially accepted as such, that bird was clearly the “other” Isabelline Shrike (usually known as Daurian Shrike). So, technically, Turkestan Shrike would be a new bird for me.

As the bird had been there so long I didn’t feel that it was necessary to get there at the crack of dawn but, the temperatures were forecast to be very high again and we didn’t want to go too late. So we had our breakfast and me and Aidan set off for Bempton around 8-ish. Driving there in bright sunlight, expecting a roasting morning, as we drove north out of Bridlington we noticed it getting a little hazy. Approaching Bempton village, it was starting to get quite misty and as we drove up the approach road we suddenly entered a blanket of fog and could barely see ten yards in front of the car. Well at least we wouldn’t get too hot and we headed off towards the invisible sea.

Kittiwake - Bempton, 14 Aug 22 - an unedited pic of the closest bird on the cliffs - somewhat of a foggy day, we never saw the sea!

We soon learnt from returning birders that the shrike was still present and we hurried along the cliff path and cut inland to follow a hedge. We were not sure where along this hedge the bird was meant to be but it soon became clear as we came across a group of birders and photographers lurking in the mist. The Turkestan Shrike was the epitome of “showing well” as it sat in the hedge feeding on insects that it caught by swooping off its perch and pouncing on them. We mainly saw it catch wasps and hold them by the sting until they were dispatched.

Turkestan Shrike - Bempton, 14 Aug 22 - showing well despite the fog

the shrike is the small pale blob vertically above Aidan’s left elbow

Despite the close views it was difficult to get decent photos as it was so dark and dingy. As the morning went on there were brief periods when the fog thinned out and I managed some good photos in the end. I am not one for staring at a rare bird for ages so we headed off before the sun came out. There was surprisingly few other migrants in the area.

The day grew very hot and the kids sheltered indoors, but I went for a walk along the chalk stream that runs through Driffield. The local kids and dogs were jumping in the clear waters so there were very few birds to be seen, although I did see a Green Sandpiper fly over the trees and away. Just beyond the stream was quite a nice meadow with some dried-out ponds which were both full of wildflowers and insects. Common plants such as Meadowsweet, Angelica and Sneezewort were a novelty for me as we don’t get them in Guernsey, and a new species for me was Marsh Speedwell which was growing along the edge of a dried up pond. Also round this pond were numerous Emerald Damselflies and Ruddy Darters, again two species that we do not get in Guernsey. There were a few Cochylimorpha straminea tortrix moths as there was plenty of Knapweed, and I filled a few gaps in the insect list with Alder Leaf Beetle, Common Green Grasshopper and the Bulrush Bug Chilacis typhae.

Driffield Chalk Stream - with all the news of rivers drying up in the heat, the chalk streams around Driffield were still superb. These streams are the most northerly chalk streams in the UK.

Emerald Damselfly - Driffield, 14 Aug 22

Common Green Grasshopper - Driffield, 14 Aug 22

Chilacis typhae - Driffield, 14 Aug 22 - the Bulrush heads had hundreds of these burying their heads into the fuzz

On 15th we spent most of the day in Hull and went to “The Deep” aquarium which was pretty impressive and in the evening to McDonalds in Bridlington which was literally the opposite of impressive. As we have no fast-food chains in Guernsey, in the kids’ eyes any trip to England has to involve visits to these soul-sapping edifices of culinary mediocrity (although, to be honest, the “McPlant” burger was pretty OK!).

The next day me and Aidan went for a walk along the Driffield canal and we were impressed by the amount of Brown Trout in the canal. All the large-enough streams here were chock-a-block with trout. In the afternoon we went on a train to Beverley, mainly for the train ride rather than Beverley due to the absence of trains in Guernsey. Whilst we were there we had a look round the Minster.

Just A Bird

Just A Bird

Mark Lawlor's Nature Blog

Just A Bird

August 2022 - Yorkshire (part b)

August 2022 - Yorkshire (part a)

Just A Bird