July 2021 Summary

UK Species Year List to July 2021: 120
Total UK Species in July 2021: 78
New “Year Ticks” in July 2021: 17
New “Life Ticks” in July 2021: 1

The first outing of the month was to Burton Mere Wetlands, Parkgate and Neston Old Quay on the 1st July. The highlights here were year tick Spotted Redshanks in dark black, speckled plumage. Usually we see they in non-breeding plumage so this was a great sighting. We also got a decent year tick Common Sandpiper. We went on to Parkgate where must have got at least five Marsh Harriers – possibly more.

We had some work done on the house during the second week of the month so we were happy to have an overnight break and, after our slight disappointment at South Stack in June. We hoped to pick up some of the seabirds we had missed out on. Instead of doing what we do with the birding group, that is dropping in at RSPB Blacktoft Sands, we decided to try a new reserve and went instead to Fairburn Ings and North Cave Wetlands on the 14th July. Fairburn Ings is noted for its population of Willow Tits so this, along with Reed Bunting, Great Crested Grebe and Spoonbill were good year ticks for us and an interesting opportunity to recce a new birding site. It was blazing hot though and a bit hard work. This was the general situation over the two and a half days – red hot and a lot of legwork.

We stayed at The Green Dragon at Welton that night and next day went on to RSPB Bempton Cliffs 15th July 2021 where we got the fantastic life tick Black-browed Albatross. Apart from this sighting we had great views of all the usual cliff-nesting birds but, in particalr, the best views ever of Puffins there. Puffind hovering in the wind a couple of feet beloe you was quite a sight and all the more so since Puffins are usually fairly rare at Bempton and you sometimes struggle to get a view of this species – particularly since they have taken to nesting in the cliffs rather than their own made burrows (in order to avoid predation).

That night we stayed at The Lobster Pot in Bridlington and on our way back, the following morning, we stopped off at another new reserve, suggested to us at Fairburn Ings and a sister site to it being only about six miles apart, St Aiden’s Nature Reserve on the 16th July We didn’t see the Black-necked Grebes that we had hoped to see and it was another hard walk under a blazing sun with no cover. A couple of days later my head started to peel; not just my face but my scalp as well!

We ended the month with two partly disappointing trips to Burton Mere Wetlands on the 27th July and 31st July. Disappointing because we were trying to see the Long-billed Dowitcher which had been showing well since the 25th when it arrived and settled in amongst a flock of Black-tailed Godwits. The only day it wasn’t seen, while it was there , was the 27th when we went first and then ,by the 31st, it appears to have flown so me missed it on two visits. A consolation prize was some Common Snipe and a pair of Ruddy Shelducks, a male and a female. These were both year ticks so that was some reward for our efforts.

So, quite a good month in all and the hides are all opened up everywhere again making birding at reserves more possible again after a long period of closure.

In the garden things have been very quiet with almost all the House Sparrows having disappeared. A few Goldfinches still appear on the feeders but basically the garden is dominated by feral pigeons who, having discovered gardens during the Covid pandemic, have decided to remain even though all the rubbish from restaurants and take-aways is back again. There is more entertainment from filming our Hedgehog who, after the rutting season finished, seems to have won the right to call our garden his territory. We do sometimes see a second hedgehog but the neighbours’ cat has taken to hanging out in our garden overnight and that seems to put him off.

Things are due to open up more on the 19th August so we will see what happens to life then!?

Year Ticks July 2021

No	Species and Location
1	Common Sandpiper at Burton Mere Wetlands 1st July
2	Spotted Redshank at Burton Mere Wetlands 1st July
3	Pochard 14th July 2021 Fairburn Ings
4	Reed Bunting 14th July 2021 Fairburn Ings
5	Willow Tit 14th July 2021 Fairburn Ings
6	Great Crested Grebe 14th July 2021 Fairburn Ings
7	Spoonbill 14th July 2021 Fairburn Ings
8	Sand Martin 14th July 2021 Fairburn Ings
9	Rook 15th July 2021 Welton
10	Yellowhammer 15th July 2021 en route to Bempton
16	Common Snipe 27th July 2021 Burton Mere Wetlands
12	Gannet 15th July 2021 RSPB Bempton Cliffs
13	Kittiwake 15th July 2021 RSPB Bempton Cliffs
14	Tree Sparrrow 15th July 2021 RSPB Bempton Cliffs
15	Whitethroat 15th July 2021 RSPB Bempton Cliffs
16	Common Snipe 27th July 2021 Burton Mere Wetlands
17	Ruddy SHelduck 27th July 2021 Burton Mere Wetlands

Life Ticks July 2021

No	Species and Location
16	Common Snipe 27th July 2021 Burton Mere Wetlands