Sunday 8 January 2012

Out of My Area: "Working" Part 4 - Oldfleet Drain and Killingholme

HAPPY NEW YEAR! *cough* Right that's out of my system.

Seriously though, I hope everyone had a brilliant festive season. I spent mine in windswept Scotland, sans power and heating.... bbrrrrrr! But now its back to work. Here are my pictures from my latest spots on the Humber. Both were wonderfully quiet, if a tad industrial, and I'm sure the blackwits were following me round.

Saturday I was at Oldfleet Drain, a site near Immingham, popular with cod fishermen at the top of tide and used as a thoroughfare by everyone one else. During the day there was a large flock of blackwits, some knot, an endless parade of redshank, a couple of curlew, a few family groups of turnstone, lapwing, a friendly pied wag, kestrel and a hunting peregrine.

Everything looks better in silhouette...

"Argh! this isn't mud, its concrete!"

The Muddy March of the 'Wits

Lift Off!
 Sunday I spent at Killingholme. The first person I spoke to was there to manage the water levels on the SSSI, a really interesting guy (thanks for the chat Mr Smith!), who informed me of the local water vole population and the frequent sightings of short-eared owl. I only saw about 7 people all day, but the birds paraded up and down the mud and, as I looked up from my book after my lunch, something pale was quartering the nearby fields....

Worth an Early Start

Muddy Bills

So that's why I saw no voles...
Hooo? Me?

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