Buckton & Blacktoft (Yorkshire) 14/09/21

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Keith and I stayed in Beverly overnight on Monday in order to be at Buckton early the following morning. Parking at Bempton we walked along the coastal path admiring the Gannets on the cliffs. The Green Warbler had originally been found the previous Thursday in a small copse surrounded by arable near Buckton. 

Arriving on site at 7:15 I was surprised and relieved to see it immediately, rather brief views though sufficient to note key features such as the wing bar. I stayed there for 3.5 hours in total, with two other similar views during this period, plus a number of less satisfactory glimpses. The Green Warbler was fairly vocal, with a disyllabic call not dissimilar to Pied Wagtail. A young Willow Warbler was also present, giving some potential for confusion though the Green was a much brighter bird.

I waited too long to make the journey for this bird, though got away with it, seeing the warbler on what proved to be it's last day. As it turned out our visit that day may have been fortuitous in other ways as the number of birders was relatively low, with 15 on arrival rising to 45 by mid-morning. The previous weekend had inevitably seen much higher numbers of birders, hence probably making viewing more difficult.

The weather had been overcast though fairly calm in the morning, though I felt a few spots of rain on the way back. On arrival at the car park it started to rain more heavily so Blacktoft Sands was the convenient next destination. My first visit to this RSPB reserve, with good numbers of birds to be seen from five hides there. The star of the show was the long-staying White-tailed Lapwing, only my second in the UK following the bird at Rainham RSPB in July 2010.

There were good numbers of other waders, notably 20 Ruff, 14 Spotted Redshank and a Green Sandpiper. Also present was a Great White Egret and Glossy Ibis.

There was a bonus in the form of a first winter Bluethroat, found earlier that day, and visible from Xerox hide. A colourful Yellow Wagtail added to the passerine interest.

Gannets

Green Warbler site

Green Warbler (picture thanks to Mark Thomas)

White-tailed Lapwing

White-tailed Lapwing 

Great White Egret with Spotted Redshank in the foreground

Ruff

Green Sandpiper

Bluethroat 




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