Birdquest update 11/35
Monday's birding began with news from the bird information services of two migrating cranes which had taken up residence, as migrating cranes like to, on a newly-sprouting field near Scarborough. In spite of the rather vague directions, I drove to what looked to be the right field, and was happy to see half a dozen blokes parked on the verge all looking down telescepes in the same direction. Tick out of the way in minutes.
Having no other particular migrants to try for in northern England, I took the half hour drive to the seabird colony at Bempton to pick up the breeding sea birds that I needed. Razorbills and kittiwakes were everywhere on the cliffs, but worryingly the staff told me that no puffins had arrived yet. I was a bit sceptical, as I've seen them here in the first week of April before; setting up the scope and pointing it at the sea, I started seaching through the hundreds of guillemots offshore and sure enough there were (at least) three puffins among them. When I told the volunteers at the visitors centre, the told me they 'hadn't looked there'. No of course, who would think of looking for a sea bird on the sea?
It was still only half past ten, so I headed across countrry, back to the A1 and north to Durham, to the well-known black grouse site at Langdon Beck. The black grouse were, as always, easy; they were feeding in the usual field. While I was there, though, I'd also decided to do something about the lack of grey wagtail and dipper on my year list, as the beck has been very productive of these species in the past. For over an hour I wandered up and down the stream in the freezing wind, seeing nothing but pied wagtails and meadow pipits (which I haven't seen feeding among the rocks before, but then I've never seen the stream so low). Eventaully I gave up, as I had to get home in time to visit my mother in hospital. As I was turning the car, my eye suddenly fell on a round white blob sitting in a tree (!) about 2 feet above the water. Jamming on the brakes, I grabbed my bins and...one roosting dipper, all of 30 feet away. I didn't know they did that. Round the corner I stopped the car to take off my sweater and change the CD. As I did so I heard a call from the beck just behid me, swung round and...a lovely pair of grey wagtails, even closer than the dipper had been. So where had they been hiding while I was freezing my fingers off for the last hour then?
Having no other particular migrants to try for in northern England, I took the half hour drive to the seabird colony at Bempton to pick up the breeding sea birds that I needed. Razorbills and kittiwakes were everywhere on the cliffs, but worryingly the staff told me that no puffins had arrived yet. I was a bit sceptical, as I've seen them here in the first week of April before; setting up the scope and pointing it at the sea, I started seaching through the hundreds of guillemots offshore and sure enough there were (at least) three puffins among them. When I told the volunteers at the visitors centre, the told me they 'hadn't looked there'. No of course, who would think of looking for a sea bird on the sea?
It was still only half past ten, so I headed across countrry, back to the A1 and north to Durham, to the well-known black grouse site at Langdon Beck. The black grouse were, as always, easy; they were feeding in the usual field. While I was there, though, I'd also decided to do something about the lack of grey wagtail and dipper on my year list, as the beck has been very productive of these species in the past. For over an hour I wandered up and down the stream in the freezing wind, seeing nothing but pied wagtails and meadow pipits (which I haven't seen feeding among the rocks before, but then I've never seen the stream so low). Eventaully I gave up, as I had to get home in time to visit my mother in hospital. As I was turning the car, my eye suddenly fell on a round white blob sitting in a tree (!) about 2 feet above the water. Jamming on the brakes, I grabbed my bins and...one roosting dipper, all of 30 feet away. I didn't know they did that. Round the corner I stopped the car to take off my sweater and change the CD. As I did so I heard a call from the beck just behid me, swung round and...a lovely pair of grey wagtails, even closer than the dipper had been. So where had they been hiding while I was freezing my fingers off for the last hour then?