CATTLE EGRET TOPHILL LOW: Local MEGA

One was seen by Bob on 18th and 19th December at the Little Kelk/Gransmoor area in East Yorkshire just to the north of Tophill, presumably the same bird recorded near Spurn late in the Autumn.

It has not been seen/reported subsequently but whilst visiting my mate Richs house (Tophill Low Warden) he got an email of an 'egret to identify - presumed Cattle' from a local landowner.

The bird was present in a paddock on their land and was considered to be roosting at the Tophill Nature Reserve somewhere unknown. Rich opened the email and we took one look at the picture (below) and were both happy that it was indeed a Cattle Egret! A very good find locally. The bad news however was that access was not going to be able to occur at the time at the request of the landowner, despite Rich's attempts to try and swing access, however now, some 2 weeks later, the news has come out, presumably as the bird can now be view from public rights of way/the Tophill reserve. Please follow the specific onsite access requirements - details here.


Cattle Egret Copyright 2011.

Though not the national rarity it once was 10-15 years ago Cattle Egrets are not fantastically common in Yorkshire, previous records include:

November - December 2011 Various East Yorks (e.g. Sunk Island, Easington, Little Kelk - presumably this bird)
July 2011 - Swillington Ings, West Yorks
March 2008 - Wheldrake Ings, North Yorks
January 2008 - Hellifield Flash, Norht Yorks
November 2007 - Spurn, East Yorks
October 2006 - Fairburn, West & North Yorks
July 2004 - Fairburn, West & North Yorks
October - December 1996 - Thorne, South Yorks
May 1992 - Hornsea, East Yorks
May 1992 - Nunnington, North Yorks (5 birds!)
November 1986 - Adel Dam, South Yorks
September 1986 - Hornsea, East Yorks
March - April 1981 - Duncombe Park, North Yorks

Well done to the person who found it and alerted Rich. Well done to Rich for trying to sort out access.

Some more recent photo can be found here soon...

Lesser Canada Goose - North Duffield...

I popped down to North Duffield briefly this evening with my Dad to try and look for Barn Owls and seeing what else was down there. Unfortunately we didn't see any owls but there was a brief show from a couple of Peregrines, a party of 4 Buzzards were up in the air together and a Kestrel and Sparrowhawk were knocking about too.

Wigeon and Teal were vocal and a few were flying about too. Highlight however was this flock of Lesser Canada Geese, about half a dozen, not sure where they've come from... sorry about quality of pic, taken on phone in almost darkness!



By the way Happy Christmas to everyone! When I'm off during the week I'll write my review of the year - for what has been a very successful year (unless I'm out birding again!)

PS - Don't worry the geese are decoys, but they got me excited for a few moments until I saw the guy in the bushes with his AK!

Black-winged Stilt - YORK

Back on Monday 26th April 2010 I found a Black-winged Stilt on my then local patch, Clifton Backies LNR, York. I found out today, when I checked the British Birds Rarity Committee's Work In Progress list, that my record has been accepted.

According to Wilson & Slack (1996) Rare and Scarce Birds in Yorkshire, there have been 14 records of Black-winged Stilt in Yorkshire (reproduced below) involving 13 birds. Records 6-10 inclusive (May 1991) are considered to pertain to the same bird. Records 12 and 13 (1993) are likewise considered to pertain to the same flock of birds (but different from those in 1991).

1. 1851: Adult and immature shot at Aike Carr, near Beverley;
2. Unknown (pre-1907): A bird procured in late spring at Kilnsea;
3. 1963: One on 1st August at Woodhouse Mill, Sheffield;
4. 1983: A pair observed displaying and mating on 12th May at Blacktoft Sands;
5. 1986: One on 17th August at Wilsic, near Doncaster;
6. 1991: One on 7th and 12th May at Blacktoft Sands;
7. 1991: One on 7th May at Southfield Reservoir (same bird as above);
8. 1991: One on 7th May at Broomhill Ings (same bird as above);
9. 1991: One on 11th May at Flamborough Head (likely same bird as above);
10. 1991: One on 11th May at Filey Dams (same bird as above);
11. 1991: One bird on 7th September at Flamborough Head;
12. 1993: Three birds on 5th May at Welton Water;
13. 1993: Three birds on 6th May at Wheldrake Ings; and,
14. 1995: One bird on 10th March over York city-centre (record now not widely accepted).

The Black-winged Stilt recorded at Clifton Backies on 26th April is considered likely to be the same bird that was recorded within the Nosterfield LNR/Quarry on the 25th and 26th and as such represent the 14th and 15th Yorkshire records (allowing for the deletion of the 1995 York city-centre record).

The Clifton Backies bird represents the 3rd North Yorkshire record after the Filey and Wheldrake records, and the 2nd 'York Ornithological Club recording area' record.

Black-winged Stilt © J.J. Harrison 2011