Humber Bank Revisited

I had a very narrow window of opportunity yesterday, narrow for 2 reasons. One, the forecast was for sunny spells up until lunchtime and two, I had to take my mum to the eye hospital in the afternoon.

I got to my chosen spot pretty early and the first thing I saw was a buzzard then a barn owl with a vole-signs were good!

I got myself set up and waited, firstly a sparrowhawk flew accross apparently oblivious to my presence.

Then a distant marsh harrier quickly followed by a merlin-the raptor count was increasing rapidly!

I thought that given the deluge of rain the day before, the birds would be keen to feed up, however despite getting off to a good start, things were quite often quiet for long periods.

A couple of kestrels were out feeding and had the odd tussle with the buzzard.

the sparrowhawk shot back even closer giving a nice opportunity for a flight shot.

Eventually the hen harriers began hunting. Mostly distant but they came closer on a couple of occasions.

A great white egret flew out towards the Humber and there was a few stonechats still surviving.

A solitary short-eared owl made an all to brief appearance before it was time to go.

The trip to hospital didn’t go without a highlight-9 waxwings feeding on rowans on the approach road as I was stuck in traffic-not a bad day all-in-all.

Until next time.

Sunny Day on The Humber

I used to fish in the now disbanded Withernsea Sea Angling Club in the early eighties. We used to fish mainly around the Withernsea area but we had a couple of fall back venues in The Humber to go to when the sea was too rough.

One of those venues was a place we used to call Robbies. There was a large mudbank off shore and we used to fish the channel between the bank and the mudbank. as the tide ebbed the channel got narrower and the fish were compacted.

The fish we caught were mainly flounder and we had some memorable days there.

Why am I telling you this I can hear you asking.

Well I’ve not been down there in over 30 years and yesterday I went back. I could not believe how much it has changed and if I was to fish there now I would be casting on to dry land!

The mudbank has increased in size massively and the channel has all but disappeared. Of course this has been a massive benefit to the birds. The mudbank that used to be mainly submerged is now a semi-permanent island that only gets covered on the biggest of tides. It has become a winter roost for thousands of pink footed geese. The mud around the edge is also home to thousands of waders.

The landward side is set-aside that has seen a great year for voles and as such is a great place for raptors and owls.

Just lately there has been hen harriers, marsh harriers, common buzzard, short eared and barn owls and a magnificent rough-legged buzzard that has since departed all feeding on the vole bonanza. The raptor fest is heightened by the constant presence of kestrels plus the odd sparrowhawk and merlin.

Who would have known that more than 40 years since I first walked down that track with my fishing rod that Robbies would still be giving as much pleasure today?

Humber Safari

The birds of prey on the Humber have been very special just lately.

The Rough-Legged Buzzard that graced Stoney Creek has departed but gave scintillating views during its 2 week stay.

The spectacle has continued with Short-Eared Owls aplenty. Hen Harriers sometimes flying quite close and getting involved with the odd skirmish.

Other raptors to add to the list include Marsh Harriers, Common Buzzard, Merlin, Sparrowhawk, Kestrel and Barn Owl.

Add to that the spectacle of hundreds of Pink Footed Geese, thousands of Golden Plover and the odd fleeting view of a Kingfisher, you have the makings of your very own safari right on our doorstep.

The Humber is magical at the moment.