Appendix 5.6 Winter Birds (Part 3 of 3) Weather: Between the first and second survey dates the area was affected by a period of unsettled weather with the passage of frontal systems bringing some periods of heavy rainfall interspersed between warmer sunny periods. The heaviest rain fell on the 6th with 6cm recorded in some areas and this left standing water in parts of the survey area which had been dry fro several weeks. On the survey date winds were light to moderate, force 3 – 4 from the south-west; showers and a band of heavier rain passed through the region from early morning clearing in the afternoon with temperatures reaching 16C, cooler than of late. There was total cloud cover throughout the survey. Waders and Wildfowl: Some of the fields in the survey area had been harvested and odd stubbles dragged but in general environmental conditions were very similar to the previous week. Changes in field conditions are highlighted in the spreadsheet. Many of the permanent pasture fields were still unsuitable for roosting and feeding waders due to the height and density of the grass. Nine Black-tailed Godwits were feeding with Curlew in field 110, permanent pasture that was being grazed by cattle but this was the only wader species recorded other than Curlew. Only 46 Curlew were found in the fields within the survey area with an additional 23 birds being seen in the extra fields, outside the survey area as shown on the map and described in week one. All of the Curlew within the survey area were feeding on permanent pasture fields or those mown for hay but the stubble field C again held birds just outside the boundary of the surveyed site. The same parties of 14 and 30 birds moved between adjacent fields as shown in the sheet but there were no other notable movements of birds observed during the survey. As it was a high spring tide there was no mud available to waders on the upper inter-tidal and as the vegetation on the foreshore is still long and rank no birds were found on the high tide roosting area with the three Common Sandpipers being present on the base of the rocky seawall. Other observations: A Little Egret was again seen along the Skitter Beck flying north-east adjacent to field number 84. At least three Willow Tits were in the hedgerows between Dawson City and Parker’s plantation but there was no further sign of the pair of Turtle Doves found nest building in the previous week. Likewise al of the Marsh Harriers appeared to have dispersed from the Dawson City area with no observations during the entire survey. Week 3 August 15th – 21st 2009 Survey date August 18th High tide 05:00 and 17:30 mid tide at 6.5m Weather: During the intervening week the weather had been quite settled with occasional light rain but mainly dry with some extensive sunny periods throughout and temperatures reaching peaks of 23C to 25C during the day falling to 13C to 16C at night. At 05:00hrs there was only a very light south-south-west wind, force one, with 2 octas cloud cover and a temperature of 14C. as the day progressed the wind increased from the south- west to force 3 – 4 as temperatures rose to a peak of 21C; cloud cover varied from 3 to 7 octas throughout the day. Waders and Wildfowl: There had been a dramatic change in environmental conditions by the start of week three with harvesting of oilseed rape, wheat and barley changing the bulk of the fields to stubbles; dragging of stubbles was also underway and a number of fields had been dragged and one ploughed. [see excel sheet and map for details of changes in field conditions]. Curlew was the wader found in the most fields but in terms of absolute numbers there were more Lapwing on the surveyed fields, all but one of which were roosting on the dragged oilseed rape stubble in field number 38. The remaining single Lapwing was foraging on a dragged field of wheat stubble, field number 14 where there were also nine Curlew feeding. Over high tide Curlew were found scattered around the stubbles and dragged fields within the survey area but the total number of birds found was only 42 in addition to which 16 remained on the upper inter-tidal. All of the birds found on inland fields were actively foraging as opposed to roosting. In contrast to the previous two weeks there were very few birds on permanent pastures with most birds seeking out worked fields and harvested stubbles. Some birds were observed moving from inland fields towards the estuary as the tide fell and by low water there were a total of 108 Curlew feeding on the inter-tidal mainly on the extensive sand bank off Skitter Ness. Where the additional birds found at low water came from is not clear but there were no noted movements from the north bank and it is assumed that they came from fields further inland or from those fields to the south-west of the survey area. A Greenshank and 9 Redshank were roosting on the pools on the grues at East Halton Skitter moving to the foreshore at the tide fell. As it was not a high spring tide there was some mud available on the upper inter-tidal at high water and a number of waders remained there throughout the high tide period of which 42 Ringed Plover and 86 Black-tailed Godwits were the most notable. Seven Mallard were feeding on the stubbles in field 122 at dawn. Other observations An adult male Marsh Harrier left the roost at Dawson City at 06:14hrs with a juvenile seen at the same time of the adjacent grues. A juvenile was later seen hunting rough fields along the Skitter Beck north of the old railway bridge in field 136 and a male came in off the Humber over the grues late morning. Two juvenile Common Buzzards were in the hay field number 13 with one of the same later seen over Langmire Wood where it is suspected that they bred in 2009. A total of four juvenile Kestrels was feeding over the grues. This Autumn concentration has been a feature of the grues for 40+ years with past peak counts exceeding 15 birds in good years. The attraction is the number of butterflies feeding on the sea aster on the grues but in recent years the area of sea aster has declined and rough rank grass has invaded with the subsequent reduction in the number of Kestrels; this specie sis though also in steep decline at a population level and this will presumably also affect the number of birds using the area in the autumn. Between 06:40 and 06:55 a total of 110 Common Terns and one juvenile Arctic Tern flew west along the southern edge of the Humber on the high tide. A male Quail was calling from the standing wheat crop in field 108 from first light to 07:00. A Little Egret was feeding along the Skitter Beck and the Little Beck between fields 73 and the railway bridge during the morning. A pair of Mute Swans with 5 cygnets was along the Skitter Beck by field 78 / 75 and a Kingfisher in the same area. Three Turtle Doves were in the bushes around Parker’s pond with a further two in the hedge on the embankment by field 130 where a nest was being built in week 1, and singles on the embankment by field 117 and in field 120 making a total of seven birds during the survey. A Willow Tit was in the large hedge over the Little Beck by field 78 / 75. A male and two female Roe Deer were present in field 136 during the morning and a Brown Hare was in the stubbles in field 16. Week 4 August 22nd – 28th 2009 Survey date August 24th High tide 09:20 a high spring tide at 7.4m Weather: Between the two surveys, week 3 and week 4, the weather was rather hot with daytime temperatures peaking at 27C and nighttime temperatures seldom falling below 15C. Rainfall was usually light and amounted to less than the seasonal average while winds were mainly from the south to south-west and typically light to moderate. On the survey date cloud cover varied from 3 to 7 octas with the wind light from the south- west at dawn swinging to a very light south-easterly late morning before returning to the south-west by mid afternoon. Temperatures varied from 15C at dawn to 26C at midday when it became particularly humid. As cloud cover increased in the evening a series of heavy showers passed through the area with winds increasing locally to force 5 around the more intense shower clouds. Waders and Wildfowl A total of 269 Curlew found on the fields at high water confirmed a large increase in the local population from the previous week. In contrast to previous weeks the majority of the birds were feeding on recently harvested stubble fields or dragged stubbles; several of these fields had not been used in the previous survey series between January and March 2009. Most of these birds remained on the fields as the tide fell with a total of 69 birds being seen on the inter-tidal at mid tide. Short movements between adjacent fields were observed in addition to birds commuting to the inter-tidal.