Corn Buntings at Wet Wang!

We met a very pleasant couple at Flamborough who were kind enough to give us the location of a good population of Corn Buntings near the improbably-named village of Wet Wang! (You'll have gathered that the species has eluded us on this trip, and was very hard to pin down in past years too)

The site was more or less on our way home, and - to cut a long story short - the very first spot we checked produced maybe eight or ten birds: result!

As usual, we stopped at Frampton Marsh for lunch, where (after coffee) we trudged out to the Reservoir, just in time to see a nice group of nine Spoonbills before they flew off. And so home: another wonderful trip in fantastic company...

Last day in Yorkshire

Another early rise found us at Flamborough South Landing by 07.30: what a beautiful place! Lots of auks and Kittiwakes flying by, as well as several Shags, seven of which perched on a large buoy. Star bird here was a juvenile drake Eider quite close in.

After slogging back up the steep hill, we moved the short distance to Dane's Dyke, walking down the equally steep path to the chalky beach. From here the Shags were much closer, but there was nothing new available, so we  decided to visit the Lighthouse cliffs. After  a cup of tea we  walked to the seawatching hide: close by was a delightful Puffin and lots of seals. A walk right around gave us good views of some decent butterflies and dozens of orchids.

We drove the few miles to Thornwick Pools, where we relaxed and ate our lunch, before passing our old guest house on the way to Hoddy Cow Lane. A long walk in the Sun gave us fleeting views of Lesser Whitethroat Yellowhammer and Linnet, but no Corn Bunting, sadly..

We rounded the dasy off with a terrific Indian meal in Scarborough, followed by an England win in the World Cup!

Moorland and other great year ticks!

A second terrific day in the East Riding. starting at Bempton with a beautiful Barn Owl before moving inland to the River Derwent. With plenty of perseverence and some local help we eventually found both Grey Wagtail and Dipper and enjoyed lunch by the river. A long drive onto the moors near Rosedale gave us the hoped-for views of Red Grouse, Wheatear and Curlew, before we headed home via the raptor viewpoint in the Wykeham Forest. (Just Siskin and Willow Warbler here)

Bempton Cliffs

The Summer Wine Crew (minus Norman) headed North to Yorkshire for our annual tick hunt!
We arrived before midday, enjoying typically great views of the usual specialities: Tree Sparrow, Guillemot, Razorbill, Puffin, Fulmar and, of course, Gannet. An amazing coincidnce: we bumped into old friend Andrew,  who I hadn't met since my Airshow days!

Our 'bijou' digs in Hunmanby turned out to be super and a trip to the moors is planned for tomorrow..

 

G.O.A.T

Greatest Of All Time!  Truly he is! Lewis had some good luck today - of course he did! But that's nothing to the bad luck he's had to accept since he joined Ferrari. But today we saw Lewis in his pomp: magnificent! And an all-Brit podium too!

Odds and ends at Hickling..

...but no Caspian Tern! Linda needed the car to attend a meeting at her group apiary at Lessingham, so offered to drop me off at Hickling for a bash at the reported Caspian Tern. Unfortunately it had flown off (to Hollesley as it turned out!) shortly before we arrived. In the hope it might return I stayed until 12.30, enjoying somewhat heat-hazey views of a Little Gull, a Bittern, several Great Egrets, three Spoonbills and lots of Hobbies.