After a successful and enjoyable birding trip the week before to Bempton and Blacktoft Sands we decided to give Alkborough Flats Nature Reserve a try and then Potteric Carr. It was forecast to be a nice sunny day and Phillip was driving.
I suggested we try Alkborough in the afternoon because a rare American wader was present but seemed to be reported more in the afternoon. Phillip did not fancy the 2 hour drive back at the end of the day and I could not blame him. I had seen Stilt Sandpiper at Lunt Meadows in Lancashire. There were only 38 accepted records of this species in Britain. This bird had arrived in mid-July and seemed to be one of a number of American waders found in Western Europe. Quite a few different species were recorded in Britain and Netherlands so they must have been on their way south from attempting to breed somewhere in Northern Europe. As the days shortened it must have decided to give up ad head south.
The day was drizzly and overcast so much for the weather forecast. The hide was full and right in front were a handful of Spoonbills surrounded by Little Egrets, Curlew, Avocets, Black Tailed Godwits, Greenshank, Redshank, Spotted Redshank, Snipe, Green Sandpipers, Ruff, Dunlin, Little Ringed Plover but the star species was not there. As we waited, we had a scan of other birds present which included shelduck, Mallard, Gadwall, Shoveler, Teal, Tufted Duck, Herring Gull, Lesser Black Backed Gulls, Black Headed Gulls and a sole Common Gull -my first of the autumn and a bird which garnered some interest. Grey Herons, Greylag, Canada Geese, Marsh Harrier, Cormorants, Great Crested Grebe, Little Grebe, Coot, Moorhen, Water Rail too. Warblers included Sedge, Reed, Cettis, Whitethroat, Chiffchaff and Bearded Tits pinged I n the reedbeds occasionally popping out onto branches and reeds. Swift, Swallows, House and Sand Martins, Skylark, Linnet, Meadow Pipits, Pied Wagtails, Reed Bunting, Carrion Crows, Jackdaws, Magpies Woodpigeons, Robin, Wren, Blue Tit, Great Tit, Blackbirds and Song Thrush were present. We waited a few hours but realised it was time to move on. We saw a Kestrel, Buzzard and then a Red Kite interacting with a family of newly fledged Marsh Harrier.
We drove off to Potteric Carr near Doncaster, a Yorkshire Wildlife Trust Reserve. I was allowed in free because I was a Lancashire Wildlife Trust member. I could enter more Yorkshire Wildlife Trust reserves for free with being a Lancashire wildlife trust member than in Lancashire,where I lived.
Potterric Carr is a mix of woodland, lakes, reedbeds, meadows, ponds and a big nature reserve. I have been a couple of times before and always enjoyed it. It may not attract the number of rarities some of the wetlands and nature reserves inland Yorkshire seems to attract but it still has a number of rare British breeding species here such as Bittern, Bearded Tits and Marsh Harrier. Probable breeding birds may include Garganey, Little Egret and Black necked Grebes. There are always a good number of butterflies with the rare Silver Washed Fritillary and many dragonfly species. Potteric Carr is definitely a vibrant nature reserve. It was worth the £5 entry free although if you were a Local Wildlife Trust member of another area you had free access. My Lancashire Wildlife Trust membership gave me free access to top quality nature reserves that would be paid for if not a member. The strange thing was in Lancashire I would have to pay for parking at Brockholes and Mere Sands Wood still although Lunt was free, for now. Potteric Carr was a place you could spend the whole day.
On arrival we had some cake and coffee and off we went to see the star visitors f the summer. A pair of Black-Winged Stilts had set up home. This was one of the most Northerly British breeding attempts. Over the last 20 years 2 attempts in Cheshire and an attempt at Martin Mere, Lancashire had all failed. 4 eggs were laid at Potterric and all 4 had grown into almost adult sized birds now. They could fly short distances. The walk to the hide was quite a long one but enjoyable. We saw the youngsters immediately and the parents chasing off any threat ie Lapwings. They were diligent and over protective which was a good thing. Quite often this species failed in the UK so their colonisation was slow. A local was at the hide and he spotted a Bittern for us. I had heard Bittern booming on previous visits but this was the first time had seen one here. It was fun watching the long-legged Stilts strut around like 90s clubbers with platform shoes but more grace and natural elegance of course. The chicks would always move close to another species of bird and that would make the adult chase the other species away. The local told us that at this particular hide, the piper Marsh Hide waders always succeeded in fledging all their young. This family had an interesting timeline once they left the reserve. They were sighted at a reserve in south Lincolnshire and then much further to the north west in south Cheshire. They are one of 2 known families to have fledged in England this year, the other in Norfolk possibly.
At the same hide a Roe Deer and fawn were on view as well as a Bittern spotted first by the local. We walked around to the other hides and saw Marsh Harrier, 20 plus Little Egrets, Bearded Tits, Cettis Warblers, Green Sandpipers, Water Rail.
We also managed to see Dunnock, Reed Bunting, Cormorant, Carrion Crow, Jackdaw, Magpie, Mute Swan, Canada Goose, Greylag, Shelduck, Mallard, Teal, Gadwall, Pochard, Tufted Duck, Bullfinch, Chaffinch, Goldfinch, Kestrel, Little Grebe, Great Crested Grebe, Common Tern, Black headed Gull, Lesser Black Backed Gulls, Herring Gulls, Grey heron, Goldcrest, Sparrowhawk, Buzzard , Skylark, Long Tailed Tits, Great tit, Coal Tit, Blue Tit, Nuthatch, Pheasant, Collared Dove, Woodpigeon, Feral Pigeon, Pied Wagtail, Lapwing, Little Ringed Plover, Pied Wagtail, Coot, Moorhen, Black Tailed Godwit, Curlew, Dunlin, Ruff, Snipe, Redshank, Starling, Swifts, Swallows, House Martins, Sand Martins, Treecreeper, Song Thrush, Blackbird, Chiffchaff, Blackcap, Willow Warbler, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Wren, Sedge Warblers
At 5pm the reserve closed so we decided to visit RSPB St Aidans which was not far away. We had a walk around for a couple of hours and managed to see many of the species we had already seen before as well as Stock Dove, Peregrine hunting, Stonechat and a pair of very early returning Wigeon!
