Dartford Waffler

Today provided a welcome break in the dull, dismal weather this week and I took a much needed walk to Eske, near Beverley. Walking along the river I saw very little; at this time of the year the vegetation is very low and the few bushes along here are bare and offer little shelter, although […]

Cold and grey sums the day up really, very miserable weather indeed! Walking around Swinemoor most of the regular birds were in their regular places. A few more small passerines were viewable today, mostly feeding in the mud. The increased water level seems to have pushed a number of soil dwelling creatures to the surface […]

I had an enquiry about the flora occurring on Swinemoor Common. Whilst I am more of a birdwatcher than a botanist I have taken note of a number of plants I have seen on the common and even photographed a few.
Swinemoor is quite a large area of species rich, semi-improved grassland which hasn’t been ploughed […]

Another sunny morning saw me following up a tip about a Short-eared Owl at Figham Common, Beverley. Unfortunately I didn’t see any owls and apart from large numbers of Redwings, Fieldfares and Blackbirds, birds were a bit thin on the ground.
A few Moorhens were on the river and a single Teal and a Snipe flushed […]

Today I had company for my morning walk to Eske: Julia Foster, one of my friends I did my degree with. The weather was really nice with bright sunshine and little wind making for a pleasant temperature.
On the walk to the lake we came across a few Meadow Pipits and a number of Fieldfares along […]

A lovely sunny morning saw me out on Swinemoor again. Although it was cold, with little wind it was quite pleasant after a little walking had warmed me up. A large flock of Fieldfares and a few Redwaings greeted me as I came on to the common and a few Woodpigeons flew out of the […]

I needed to get out for some fresh air and to stretch my legs today so I took a walk to Eske, despite the strong winds. Well, it was freezing with a brisk northerly wind making it uncomfortable to hold my binoculars. As a result the only birds I saw on my walk to the […]

Another bright morning beckoned me out for a short walk on Swinemoor Common. The wind was brisk and quite cold though and made my eyes water a little - it certainly felt like winter is arriving.
Not so many birds around today with about 40-50 Lapwings and just a couple of dozen gulls: Black-headed and Common […]

Some worrying news has appeared on the Birdlife International website about the drug diclofenac being found for sale at a vets in Tanzania. This drug has been the driving force behind the population collapse of vulture species that were formerly common in Asia - resulting in them being critically endangered now. The drug has now […]

This morning I took a short walk around Burton Bushes, a small area of semi-natural ancient woodland on Beverley’s Westwood Common. It isn’t a particularly rich area in terms of birdlife or ground flora, although there is a little of each characteristic of woodlands with the best bird being Marsh Tit which breeds there.
Today however, […]