Hooded Crows

although now a mega on the east coast still very common in western Ireland

Rock kelp Pipit

blending the rather drab Rock Pipit with its rather more attractive habitat -- all shots Co Kerry October 2008

Med Gull 35L1 in conflict

the Cleethorpes Med Gull seemed to dominate the Black-heads at bread feasts but seldom seemed to actually get any itself

Med 2

Asio flammeus season

winter comes around all too quickly -- there seems to be good numbers of voles but not of owls maybe more still to arrive

Kestrel and Barn Owl

and some late evening bugs

Osprey still here but how many

There have certainly been two Ospreys around the patch in the last week with two seen together on the 16th but knowing just how many birds have used the pits in the last 5 weeks is proving difficult; yesterday a bird with large pale forewing patches (pale coverts?) hunted Far Ings before heading west up the Humber while today's bird (featured above) is clearly not the juvenile male that has been around since September but could be the original juvenile female?

Pinks, pig and rail

several hundred Pinks moving west up the Humber today possibly after displacement further north

waterbirds

pairs of Shoveler and Gadwall, female Shoveler and a hunting Little Grebe

flight oddments

a flock of Pink-feet and the moon, Gadwall and Mute Swan cygnet

extreme flight shots

silly targets but attempting to capture visible migration of passerines -- needs some perfecting

2nd for Europe

whilst scanning through the rare birds in Spain web site looking at the Ruppell's Griffon records I noticed the following: 

African White-backed Vulture Gyps africanus (1) FIRST FOR SPAIN. 2ND FOR EUROPE AND WP
(1) Cádiz On 7.9 one was photographed from Tarifa, Cádiz (Markus Varesvuo). He sent the photos to Dick Forsman on 15.9 who immediately broadcasted the news to this website with this comment:

'To my great surprise the bird is an African White-backed Vulture Gyps africanus, an immature, approximately 18-24months old! The pictures (2) are excellent and the bird is in the company of two Griffons in flight. It was seen and photographed on Sep 7th'

Photos can be seen here and here (opens in another window)

bell rings -- we were there that day -- oops check through the Griffon shots in the library and well there it is 7.9 with 2 Griffons -- not as good photos as Marcus' but clearly the bird --

Spoonbill on a dull day

a brief slightly closer visit by one of the Alkborough Spoonbills to the big wooden hut but the light was dire and then off they went before the sun broke through for its 10 minute session at the end of the day

Western / Semi p Sands

having spent a long time looking at Little Stints in all plumages from juvenile, to moulting birds juv - first-winter to adult I thought I would just remind myself of how easy Western and Semi-p really are -- photos from western Canada August 2008

Golden Plover

numbers starting to build on the Humber -- up to 2000 at Alkborough today reacting to a Peregrine