Today saw our annual year listing event - formerly held on the 1st of the 1st, since the charity bird race became 'non-motorised' we've synchronised with the annual Yorkshire Wide Michael Clegg bird race for the good cause.
This year funds raised go towards the Spurn Little Tern colony at Beacon ponds. If you'd like to donate in recognition of efforts then the page is here.
So how did we get on?;
Early efforts with Margaret Boyd and Lee Johnson delivered several hard to get species;
Pink footed goose and goosander on D reservoir. Smew dutifully stayed on both D and Watton NR with the great white egret. Lee's chiffchaff and golden plover at the south end were complimented by some long range house sparrows at Wilfholme pumping station and a transient red kite a nice bonus.
Rob Worsfold and myself tackled the access road (formerly a 5 minute job by car!) so instead we made the long walk yielding numerous buzzards, a nice cache of collared dove at Easingwold Farm and tree sparrows at Angram Farm. The main aim was to relocated the corn buntings seen from car earlier and one was picked up in the hawthorns adjacent to the sunflower seed crop (amongst larger flights of linnet, yellowhammer and linnet). At the WTW entrance a scan of a sisking flock in the London Plane tree yielded a lesser redpoll.
The 10am guided walk led by Amy and Margaret found a full suite of thrushes, curlews, lapwings, cetti's warbler and marsh harriers.
With the majority of wildfowl readily available from the reception hide the pm walk north was slimmer pickings by this stage. A sneak peak of the currently closed to public north end saw three woodcock, tawny owl, jay, another marsh tit (alas no willow today), three snipe in hempholme meadow, water rail adjacent and little grebes on the river with one of several kingfishers.
Treecreeper turned out to be the last species of the day; a fruitless late bid for a roosting redshank or gull exotica with Martin yielded no more.
But the tally took us to a record breaking 86 species! A great effort and still a few omissions like partridges, pintail and the redshank.
Full list;
2. Great crested grebe
3. Cormorant
