Well I spent a couple of days at the caravan over Easter and what a great couple of days it was.
I arrived in rain on Thursday night and not to be deterred I went out for a drive in the hope of finding some inspiration. Unfortunately the rain steadily got heavier. After around half an hour I reluctantly made my way back to the van. just as I opened the gate I saw a small bird flick up to catch a fly and bingo! the first bird I set eyes on was a firecrest!
The rain was easing slightly so I parked up and had a walk round Sykes Field a drumming snipe was a nice sound on what was becoming a quite atmospheric evening. Next a barn owl flushed from a fence post and the resident cettis warbler was sat out on a branch posing nicely.
I wnet for my camera as the sky was clearing and as I watched from Wozza’s bench I was treated to the most wonderful sunset. two hares ran off into the distance and I saw the first bat of the year-all within an hour of arriving and all within 100 yards of the van.
The next morning I was out early hoping for some shots of the full moon. easier said than done-there were hardly any birds over the Humber so I set off to Kilnsea Wetlands. There were a few curlew in flight and I managed one flying beneath the moon-not reallly what I was after but never mind. The water was very still with nice light and some wildfowl made for interesting photos.
Next a barn owl flew past and was hunting at the east end so I set off for the hide. The sun still hadn’t risen by this time. Some deer posed nicely as the first rays of the sun lit up the land scape. The barn owl came back along the bank nicely backlit.
The etlands were pretty quiet so I headed off towards the tank blocks. I spent the rest of the morning hunting firecrests and whilst two of them gave nice views around canal bushes, theye were not the easiest to photograph.
I had a break in the afternoon and went back out on the evening. The resident cettis warbler posed nicely in the evening sun. The sunset wasn’t as spectacular as the night before.
I was up early again the next morning-the sky was clear and there was no wind-perfect conditions.
The highlight of the morning was the barn owl hunting in the early morning sunshine.
There wasnt much doing on the migrant front-a green woodpecker created some mild excitement on an otherwise quiet morning.
This weekend was all about the light-it was as good as it gets and combined with the mixed song of common birds, it made for a memorable trip.
Until next time….
