After a break of a few weeks I went for a walk to the lake at High Eske. Unfortunately strong winds made the walk a little chilly, despite the sunshine, although in places with some shelter the sun was pleasantly warm.

Interesting birds were few, with a group of 4 Meadow Pipits on the River Hull flood defences the only notable birds on the way up. At the lake 34 Black-headed Gulls were hanging out with 4 Common Gulls and a single Black-tailed Godwit with a limp was feeding in the shallows. 10 Great Crested Grebes were also on the lake along with lots of Greylag Geese, Mallard and a few Tufted Ducks; 3 Teal were also present as were 2 Grey Herons and 5 Cormorants.

Attempting to get out of the wind I lurked around behind a bank and found a lingering Willow Warbler, 5 Greenfinches, a Reed Bunting, a Goldfinch, a Blackbird and 8 Tree Sparrows, all obviously doing the same as me. A good number of insects were also taking advantage of the shelter and sunshine of a large bramble with lots of Craneflies, a few Dragonflies and plenty of Small Tortoiseshell butterflies. Large White butterflies were also plentiful and I found a few rather battered Common Blues and a lone Green-veined White which I got a single dodgy picture of.

Whilst rummaging around in the undergrowth I noticed a number of plants still flowering: some type of yellow vetch, a few teasle and Black Knapweed. I also noticed that the Hawthorns had huge clusters of berries waiting for the winter thrushes.

Making the most of the insect abundance was a group of about 30 House Martins and 20 Swallows presumably gathering energy for their forthcoming migration and as I walked back to the car I located a male Yellowhammer and heard a calling Red-legged Partridge.

Hopefully a little less wind will make for some nicer walks soon.