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Wildlife Sightings - December 2015
Wed 6th Jan, 2016
The mild winter continued throughout December with temperatures in Scarborough remaining between 6° and 8° the whole month. At Flamborough birders reported 13° on the 1st! It was the wettest and warmest December in the UK since records began and by the year end the Met Office were reporting 2015 as one of the top 10 wettest years since 1910. The theme of the month for Yorkshire coast birding was late migrant/overwintering Siberian songbirds taking full advantage of the mild weather!
The first few days of December belonged to waterfowl with birders concentrating on the coast. The 3 Black-necked Grebes remained in Scarborough Harbour but the rarest birds in this area were 3 Bewick’s Swans on Scalby Lodge Pond on the 1st, the first recorded in the Scarborough area for 2 years. 7 Whooper Swans flew south the same day and over the next week small numbers were seen down the Yorkshire coast slowly bringing the excellent late autumn migration to a close. A Little Auk flew past Flamborough on the 1st. At Spurn the Black Brant remained in the Easington area joined by a second bird on the 4th. At Hornsea, Long-tailed Duck and single Black-necked and Slavonian Grebes graced the Mere early in the month.
Black-necked Grebe - Scarborough Harbour Dec 2015 © Steve Race
There were then two surprises for birders in store. On Filey Brigg a Bittern was flushed by bird ringers on the evening of the 3rd and at Flamborough a Richard’s Pipit was found on the 4th feeding in the Yorkshire Wildlife Trust cliff top grassland. With no reports thereafter many birders would have presumed this bird was a very late migrant however 2 Richard’s Pipits were then found in the same area on the 27th December remaining to the end of the year so maybe they will be spending the winter here! Amazingly on the same day at least one Richard’s Pipit was also seen at Hayburn Wyke in North Yorkshire.
Richard's Pipit - Flamborough Dec 2015 © Dave Aitken
Thornwick Pools held on to its best small nature reserve for Snipe trophy with 8 Jack Snipe here on the 2nd along with 19 Common Snipe which just shows if you create the right habitat the birds will find it! Not to be outdone a further 8 were seen at one site in the Scarborough area on the 7th. A smart male Pintail was also present mid month.
Pintail - Thornwick Pool Dec 2015 © Craig Thomas
Strong south-westerly winds on the 6th brought a few seabirds to Flamborough with 44 Divers flying past including 40 Red-throated, 3 Great Northern and 1 Black-throated Diver. Also seen were 2 unseasonal Manx Shearwaters a Great Skua and a Little Gull.
Red-throated Diver - Scarborough Harbour Dec 2015 © Steve Race
Waxwings have been very scarce this winter so far. A light arrival occurred in December with 3 at Spurn on the 7th, 1 at Flamborough on the 8th and 1 south at Hornsea on the 19th. On the 10th a Marsh Tit visited a garden in Flamborough village. This was only the third record for Flamborough Bird Observatory. Another great record at Flamborough this month was the first Yellow-browed Warbler ever to have been found in December at South Dykes on the 20th and seen again on the 23rd. A good example of how migrant birds from as far away as western Siberia can survive the winter here given mild temperatures.
Yellow-browed Warbler - South Dykes Flamborough Dec 2015 © Craig Thomas
Filey Bird Observatory stole the show during the middle of the month though with a red letter day on the 15th. A young male Surf Scoter found in Filey Bay (staying until at least the 29th) and a Pallas’s Warbler nearby. Down at Spurn 156 Siskin migrated south on the 18th (the third highest winter count).
Surf Scoter - Filey Brigg Dec 2015 © Mark Pearson
A Great Grey Shrike was found at Lun Rigg, Landgdale Forest on the 27th on what proved to be a very productive birding day in the Scarborough area with the Richard’s Pipit at Hayburn Wyke and 2 Lapland Bunting at Long Nab also being seen.
Moths and butterflies were also braving the winter and temporarily benefiting from milder temperatures. Regular moth trapping sessions in the North Yorkshire Forests by the local Butterfly Conservation group produced a good selection of species including Mottled Umber, Dark Chestnut and Winter Moth. Also on the wing was a small number of Comma butterflies reported from several locations. A dead Fin Whale was washed up at Spurn on the 13th.
Richard Baines YCN
For more wildlife sightings visit these great web sites!
Spurn Bird Observatory, Flamborough Bird Observatory, Filey Bird Observatory and Group, Northern Rustic blogspot , Scarborough Birders, Butterfly Conservation Yorkshire Branch Yorkshire Nature Traingle