Soil Hill, River Ouse, Bempton and Flamborough Head.

We had a couple of days away this week.

This aft, though, I had a trip up and around Soil Hill.

Soil Hill 14:20 - 16:20

It was good to have a chat to Chris King who was birding on the hill.

The usual stuff up there, for me anyway. A Willow Warbler was singing from the bushes on the bridleway on the way up.

There was a digger working at the bottom on the North Slope, so that curtailed things a bit.

Knocking about up there was:-

Meadow Pipit, Skylark, Lapwing, Pheasant and a Curlew called from Thornton Moor.

Top of the pops was 3 Whitethroat – one in the bushes just below the west hill edge and 2 behind Pottery Cottage along Ned Hill Track.

Naburn - River Ouse.

I did some birding at Naburn earlier in the week.

There were 3 Common Tern flying high, back and fourth, above the river calling. I could not tell that they were Common Tern but another birding type informed me that was what they were.

In the fields here were several Greylag Geese with healthy broods of Goslings,

Also with the Greylags a couple of Geese that looked similar to Greylags but possibly were not!

Whitethroat was seen in the bushes and a Great Crested Grebe was on the water.

Also here a Bat.

Bempton.

A trip to Bempton, on a lovely day, allowed us to take in the ‘usual’ Bempton Cliff birds:-

Razorbill, Guillemot, Kittiwake, Puffin, Fulmar, Gannet and also a real surprise of a Cuckoo.

Unusually we found it more difficult to spot Fulmar that Puffin this year.

I think this is our first trip, out of maybe 10, to Bempton when the weather has been pleasant!

Flamborough Head.

After Bempton we moved along to Flamborough Head.

There were some similar seabirds here to those at Bempton.

A Sedge Warbler was in the reeds behind the Café and both Sand & House Martin were seen.

A birder here reported the sighting of a Hoopoe and gave me rough directions.

It was near the Lighthouse, 4 doors up from the café, in a garden!

Knowing my twitching luck I though that I would not get to see it but we had a tootle down the road to the Lighthouse Car Park and I actually found the house and the hoopoe!

Other birds seen on the trip:-

Linnet, Herring gull, Red Kite, 2 Buzzard, Blackcap.

Soil Hill:

Naburn River Ouse.

Possible White-Fronted Goose.

Common Tern??

Bempton:

Flamborough Head: