Unseasonable

The weather this week can best be described as 'unseasonable'. Monday dawned nicely with some sunshine (remember that?) but it didn't last and Tuesday was a complete write-off with torrential rain and gale force winds from the north, which of course at this time of year could produce some good seawatching. Today, the wind was still out of the north and it felt more like November than August. It had dropped a bit by this evening but was still cold.

I was lucky to catch the sunshine on Monday morning before it disappeared (for good?). The sun brought migrant birds and some locals to the sunny edge of the bushes and I counted 12 Willow Warblers and nine Whitehroats including some family parties, Wrens were  also obvious. By the turning-circle there were Reed Buntings, Stonechats, Linnets, Meadow Pipits, a Robin and a Dunnock.

Male Stonechat - all fluffed-up after a good preen

Young Goldfinch on the fence

In the dunes, there were still plenty of the weekends freshly-emerged butterflies. I wonder how many are still alive now? 

Red Admiral - maybe that Stonechat has taken a chunk out of its wing?

Small Tortoiseshell on Mugwort

Less common - a Small Copper

I walked back along the beach and already the clouds intimated what was in store. 

Looking north...

and south

Mondays list

After being stuck at my desk all day in video meetings, I headed out for a seawatch this evening, The wind had dropped and it looked like seabird activity had too going off others' reports from earlier in the day. It wasn't bad for a Druridge seawatch though - I've had worse! Some birds were quite distant. I got onto a Sooty Shearwater almost straight away, flying through the distant pot flags, it was followed by a small group of Manx Shearwaters and then a spoonless Pomarine Skua powered through on the same line as the Sooty.

Another highlight of the afternoon was groups of Brent Geese headed north. The ones I saw I against the sea were all Pale-bellied Brent, I presume the silhouetted birds against the sky were also this race - 67 in total. A couple of Arctic Skuas went north and one hung around to harry passing terns. There was quite a bit if tern activity, I gave up counting them but noted two Roseate amongst the numerous 'commics' and Sandwich terns. 

A nice sight was a bit of a fluke which I could've easily missed. I happened to glance up at the sky from my scope and saw three birds higher in the sky and they weren't gulls - I got the scope onto them, the first two were Bonxies and the third, just behind them was another Pomarine Skua  - an amazing sight to see these three powerful skuas flying together up the Bay. 

Just as I was about to leave, a summer-plumaged Great Northern Diver flew north close in. On the sea, the Scoter flock numbered about 110 and there were three Great-crested Grebes, an Eider and a Red-throated Diver with them.

Full list here

An emergence of butterflies

This morning it was breezy from the south west with sunny spells, I had a walk to the north end of the patch, through the dunes north of the turning circle. The first bit north of the Dunbar burn is owned by the National Trust and the next area is owned by the local farmer. Both areas are grazed with the one to the north grazed much more heavily than the National Trust bit, basically cows are overwintered and supplementary fed on silage. This isn't ideal for dune flora as the feeding and dung enriches the dunes, but, for wintering birds, these dunes are a real mecca. The resultant plants, Mugwort, Fat Hen, Houndstooth and Redshank provide a huge seed resource for finches, buntings and tree sparrows. Additional arable weed seeds brought in with the silage supplement what grows. 

The purist ecologist in me should be horrified, but diversity is everything and these 'wrecked' dunes play an important part in keeping these passerines fed when there is nothing in the surrounding farmland and that is why there are a hundred or so Twite here every winter.

The weedy dunes with mugwort, redshank and fat hen

The birds numbers are already starting to pick up here with 30 Linnet, ten or more Reed Bunting, family parties of Stonechat, Whitethroat and Grey Partridge noted this morning. A single Sedge Warbler was certainly a migrant.

Male Reed Bunting in the Fat Hen

Reed Bunting - This is the best Reed Bunting photo I have ever taken 

A young Stonechat - one of a family part that included three juveniles

He got his eye on this fly - still learning to feed I reckon

The highlight this morning wasn't the birds but the butterflies. As I walked through the dunes, Small Tortoiseshells lifted from everywhere I walked, they all looked really fresh so must have recently emerged, I reckon I saw at least 150 of them in those two areas of dunes alone. Red Admirals, also freshly emerged, were also conspicuous with at least 40 counted. A couple of Meadow Browns and Small Coppers were looking less fresh. 

One of over 150 Small Tortoisehells

Red Admiral - one of about 40-50

I presume this is a local emergence but down on the beach, Small Tortoiseshells were flitting by me from headed inland from the sea.

Onto the beach - it looked wet away to the north

A passing Herring Gull

There was nothing much of note on the sea and the Budge fields were quiet, save for a group of Dunlin and Ringed Plovers. It was too windy for macro photography and I managed one hover with the small camera. 

Hoverfly Helophilus pendulus

This was growing in the one of the cattle feeding areas - It is a Coprinus (Ink Cap family) - I think possibly Coprinopsis narcotica which likes dunged areas.

eBird List here