Scarborough Round and About

Scarborough Round and About

18/01/2015

Scarborough

Confirming what a great place Scarborough is, a few photographs of birdlife from around the area over the weekend, including the Castle headland (good luck to the Peregrines and a successful breeding year, though they do look as though they have had an argument), Holbeck Car Park (a great place in winter for Mediterranean Gulls), The Mere (so far a great winter fro Goldeneye, Tufted Ducks, Goosanders, a Red Breasted Merganser, the odd Water rail and Kingfisher and the latest star a Drake Scaup).

 

Forge Valley

Forge Valley Feeding Station

24/01/2015

Forge Valley, Ayton, Scarborough

Another visit this time in better light saw some great usual birds about and I think some better photographs, but cant wait for the sun to be higher in the sky!!!

Forge Valley Feeding Station

Forge Valley Feeding Station

11/01/2015

Forge Valley, Ayton, Scarborough

In very poor light, hence very high camera ISO and grainy pictures, a quick stop at the feeding station with Adele provided excellent views of the regular culprits to the feeding area including;

Great Tits
Blue Tits
Marsh Tits
Coal Tits
Long Tailed Tits
Nuthatches
Chaffinches
Robins
Tree Creeper
A pair of Jays
A Great Spotted Woodpecker
Various Pigeons and Collared Doves

 

A quick walk round the Mere on the way back into town produce views of the general wildlife / fowl along with cracking views of a pair of Bullfinches

 



Drake Scaup

Drake Scaup

17 and 18/01/2015

Scarborough Mere

After a few visits on Saturday and Sunday, I finally managed to catch a better view of the Drake Scaup at Scarborough Mere as the sun set on Sunday afternoon which was a bonus after the duck had been close to eh middle and to distant for my lens on the 3 previous occasions.

Excellent birdlife locally in Scarborough over the weekend, though at distance, so not really great photographs, with;

1) the pair of Peregrines on the Castle headland looking happy in each others company, so fingers crossed for a productive breeding season
2) at the Mere, 6 Goosanders (though more reported by others) 13 Gadwall, 1 Red Breasted Merganser, The drake Scaup, over 25 Mute Swans, Many Tufted Ducks and the other usual Wildlife / fowl
3) at Seamer Tip Ponds, 4 Barnacle and 4 Pinkfoot Geese along with a Shelduck and lots of other Greylag and Canada Geese
4) at Burton Riggs, though generally disappointing 2 Widgeon, 2 Teal and 6 Goosanders, presumably the missing birds from the Mere, mentioned above
5) at Holbeck car park 6 or 7 Mediterranean Gulls with the visiting Black headed Gulls

First Blog of the Year (Local Areas)

First Blog of the Year (Local Areas)

04/08/2015

Scarborough (ish)

First blog of the year sees me writing the same full of cold and inside at home on a sunny day, which is not great when your a restless sort of a person.

With lots of company at home for the Xmas and New Year period, getting out and about was a little problem, but a few wanders round Scarborough Open Air Theatre, The Mere, Seamer Tip Large Ponds and Cockmor Hall at Snainton on the first day back at work provided a good start and selection of birdlife from a variety of Geese, a Water Rail, a Kingfisher and lots of Tits and Finches along with Redwings and Fieldfare, all in all a good start to the year without seeing anything brilliant, but there's plenty of time for that to happen!!!

One of many Mute Swans at Scarborough Mere

Water Rail back wintering behind the Open Air Theatre

4 Barnacle Geese at Seamer Tip Large Ponds with Greylags and Canada Geese

 

Mixed Geese flocks at Seamer Tip Ponds, Greylag, Canada and Barnacle

 

Shelduck, Seamer Tip Large Pond