Raptors have provided the highlights over recent days, with a Rough-legged Buzzard reported heading south this morning (SC, JS) and an Osprey heading north across a foggy bay from the Gap on 28th (KC). A Great Northern Diver went south and a Cuckoo was in Long Lane on 30th, but otherwise it’s been fairly slim […]
A slow few days, with an unhelpful northerly airflow setting in and new arrivals thin on the ground. A Cuckoo to the south of Primrose Valley today was the first of the year, while hailstorms brought 140+ Swallows to the Dams yesterday; several more Whitethroats are now on territory alongside good numbers of other warblers […]
Another quiet couple of days enlivened by the year’s first Osprey powering into the cold northerly wind along the cliffs this afternoon (MJP); otherwise, very much as you were, with trickles of hirundines, Yellow Wagtails and other expected migrants in the log.
High pressure settling over us at this time of year usually means a dearth of interesting visible movement (conversely because conditions are ideal for high-flying, pit stop-free migration) but a healthy arrival of expected, often local breeders, which has been just the case over the last 48 hours. Warblers are out (or rather, in) in […]
The pick of a mainly dull day with a brisk, cool north-westerly was another Marsh Harrier north-west over East Lea / North Cliff late morning, the same route taken by three more Common Buzzards (all of which were ‘non-local’ birds on photos). A pair of Little Ringed Plovers were at East Lea, as were single […]
Cool northerlies hardly inspired much enthusiasm today but a few new migrants arrived, notably a Marsh Harrier high and west over North Cliff, a Reed Warbler and a Lesser Whitethroat at the Dams (both firsts for the year), three Bramblings in the Rocket Pole Field and male Redstarts at the Dams and at the Tip. […]
Today is, remarkably, the four-month anniversary of the arrival of the immature male Surf Scoter in the bay, which is still showing no inclination to return to the homeland (much to the dismay of the local razorfish population). Other highlights consisted of an adult Yellow-legged Gull on this morning’s sea-watch (JS) and a Ring Ouzel in […]
On the Trail of Filey Rails Currently almost all ringing effort in Filey has been centred on passerines or near-passerines, with occasional wader and storm petrel ringing. To try and gain a more holistic view and gather important data on other species particularly wildfowl and rails (both of which receive relatively limited ringing data in Britain) […]
Recoveries January 2016 January 2016 has two recoveries of note (returned to us by the BTO (British Trust of Ornithology) in January rather than recovered in January). Recoveries will become a common theme on this blog and basically concern the recovery of a ring on a bird which has already been rung. So this could […]
Return of the Greenfinch In recent years you may have noticed that there are far fewer Greenfinch Chloris chloris around, or in fact a distinct lack of them. The population has seen something of a crash both within the Bird Observatory and nationally. Greenfinch numbers ringed at Filey have always been relatively chaotic showing rapid […]