Visit to Blacktoft Sands : 6th August 2013

Visit to Blacktoft Sands : 6th August 2013

We went to the Yorkshire coast at this time of year last year but this time we decided to add in a couple of new sites for us. The first of these was the RSPB site at Blacktoft Sands which has featured on our birding group schedule from time to time but, for one reason or another, has never materialised. In fact the last birding group member to go there said it was a bit of a disappointment. Our experience was quite different, however, and we had fantastic views of some fantastic birds and had the opportunity to add a few ticks to our 2013 year list.
The RSPB site a Blacktoft Sands is located at the confluence of the River Ouse and the River Trent, just as they merge into the River Humber and consists of a small visitor centre and a series of scrapes and ponds set within a marshy context. A straight path runs to the left and right of the visitor centre and there are three hides each side. The view from the hide at the visitor centre was really just a mass of reeds and other vegetation which had grown quite high and there wasn’t much to be seen from there so we moved to the firs hide to the left of the visitor centre, the Xerox Hide where there were some ducks on the water including Mallard, Gadwall and Shovellers as well as Mute Swan, Moorhen and Coot. At the back of the water a pair of Sandpipers showed and we concluded that they were Green Sandpipers. A single Avocet also flew in and there were a few Ruff and what I took to be a Greenshank but couldn’t quite make a certain identification as it was hunched up roosting with its bill under its wing. There were at least ten Snipe showing very clearly wading out in the middle of the water making quite an impressive sight.

This was a pretty good start we thought but when we moved on to the next hide, the Marshland Hide, things got even better with a very good showing, close to the hide, of a Wood Sandpiper. We were also watching a few Snipe when suddenly the birds were all up and flying straight towards, and over, the hide flew a Sparrowhawk ! A Little Egret flew in and there were Black-tailed Godwit and Redshank. As we looked to the back of the water, just as the reeds met the water, we could see a small group of Bearded Tits hopping along the water line at the base of the reeds. These were another year tick and, although they were a bit distant and probably starting their moult, they were clearly Bearded Tits.

We then carried on to the last hide on the left side of the site, the Ousefleet Hide, but this overlooks a water meadow and it had become totally dry as a result of a month of really sunny weather with little rainfall; the vegetation was also quite high. On the water at the side of the hide where there is a blind we did see a Greenshank mooching around in the reeds but coming out enough to get good views. This end of the site was a haven for mosquitoes as well and having recently been quite badly bitten we chose to make a quick return to the visitor centre and then on to the hides to the right of it.
At the suitably named “First Hide” we got views of three Marsh Harriers all perched on the branches of one small tree. Apparently there have been seventeen born this year and this must make it one of the best sites in the North for these birds. We got even better views at the next hide, the “Townend Hide” where we saw five Marsha Harriers at the same time ! Also on the water there were Redshanks and several Spotted Redshanks, the latter just coming out of their breeding plumage but still quite dark in patches. We also watched a Greenshank for a while until another one flew in and joined it.

We could have stayed much longer but we were meaning to go on to North Cave to see that site for the first time and because it was so very hot we decided that we had done very well indeed and this sit has suddenly become a “must see again” site for us. The only problem really is that to do it in a day it is quite a long drive on some very slow motorways that have traffic calming that really slows progress down. Be that as it may we were very pleased we had come and we had seen some terrific birds on a lovely day.

Bird Sightings : Blacktoft Sands

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