Red-backed Shrike

This weekend, Jayne and I were don on Norfolk. We spent yesterday in Norwich, and then went up to the north coast for a spot of birding today.

Our first stop was Marston Quay/Marshes, where we had a quick walk along the coastal path to see a 1st year Red-backed Shrike (198) that had been present for a week or so. We were very lucky, and the bird showed well, along the hedgerow, as soon as we arrived (others had been there looking for it for up to an hour and a half!!). Despite being very windy, I managed to get a few decentish photos.

Red-backed Shrike

Our next stop was RSPB Titchwell. It was quite quiet, but se did get a "Year Tick", Bar-tailed Godwit (199).

Bar-tailed Godwit

Other birds seen were: Sanderling, Avocet, Redshank, Ruff, Oystercatcher, Dunlin, Knot, Lapwing, Golden Plover, Linnet, Pied Wagtail, Meadow Pipit, Skylark, Mute Swan, Teal, Shoveler, Gadwall, Marsh Harrier. Kestrel, Red Kite, Buzzard, Herring and Black-headed Gull.

Sanderling

It was quite sunny, and warm at times (17 degrees), and we also spotted 3 species of butterfly: Large White (1), Wall Brown (1 female) and Red Admiral (2).

Black-headed Gull 269A

 Back in December 2020 I ringed 4 Black-headed Gulls at The Carrs, Warsop, including an adult male, ringed with the darvic ring 269A.

269A (December 2020)

Unfortunately this bird hasn't (yet) been reported back in the UK. It was, however, reported today, in Denmark!! This is the 2nd record of this bird, both at the same site, by the same person. Hopefully, it'll be back in Warsop this winter.

Rufford Gulls - Old and New

I only had chance to spend half an hour at Rufford yesterday, but, in that short time, I manged to see 8 darvic-ringed Black-headed Gulls and a single metal-ringed bird. Along with this, I also managed to add a possible new breeding record for a damselfly species!

The birds seen were: 258A, 245C, 258C, 279C (a new, 1st-winter bird, ringed on Saturday), 215F (the first sighting since being ringed in October 2024),  217F ( my first sighting since February 2025), 239F (first sighting since January 2025) and 2V10 (my first sighting, since being ringed on 1st February 2025). The metal-ringed bird, a 1st winter, was seen, but not identified, as it flew off before I could read the ring! 

279C

215F

217F

239F

2V10

In addition to the gulls, there were also c100 Canada Geese, 4 Greylag Geese, 1 Kingfisher, 5 Mute Swans (Broken Beak, his partner and 3 cygnets), and 3 Willow Emerald Damselflies, including 1 pair egg laying - my first record here!!!

Willow Emerald Damselflies

Rufford - 20th September 2025

 Today's visit to Rufford was a little damp (!), but it did have lead to my highest ever count of Mute Swans, and records of 3 darvic-ringed Black-headed Gulls.

Overall, it was quite a quiet visit, but there were 13 Mute Swans, my highest ever count. There were the usual suspects (Broken Beak, his partner and their 3 cygnets), along with another 8 (all unringed) adults.

There were c70 Black-headed Gulls ( and 1 adult Lesser Black-backed), including 41 juveniles. The 3 ringed birds were all familiar birds: 207C, 258C and 234F.

207C

258C

234F

Other birds seen were: Canada Goose (50), Greylag Goose (22), Little Egret (1), Mallard, Moorhen and Kingfisher (1 heard).

Derbyshire Dotterel!

 This afternoon, I spotted a record of a Dotterel (197), that had been found on Burbage Moor (on the Derbyshire/South Yorkshire border).

Jayne and I drove across (less than half an hour from home!), and after a short, uphill jog (!!), we enjoyed fantastic views, at the bird ( a juvenile) sat on the moor, approximately 20m away!

Dotterel

Lake Nakuru Mammals

 As well as all the amazing birds, during our time at Lake Nakuru, we continued to enjoy the mammals Kenya has to offer.

Some of the mammals seen had already been record in the Maasai Mara e.g. Cape Buffalo, Plains Zebra, Impala and Vervet Monkey, but we also saw 3 new ones.

Impala

Thompson's Gazelle

The first new species was White Rhinoceros. We saw these on the both drives at Lake Nakuru, and were very lucky indeed to see 6, made up of 5 adults and young one!

White Rhinoceros

Adult and youngster (calf)

The second new species was the Black Rhinoceros. This species is much rarer, and we only had one, quite distant, sighting of an adult. It is told apart from the White Rhino, by  a much more deeply arched back and a more delicate mouth, used for eating leaves.

Black Rhinoceros

The final mammal of note was Rothchild's Giraffe. Although not a species of its own (apparently its a ecotype of the Nubian Giraffe), it was great to see. They are rarer than the Maasai Giraffe we saw in Maasai Mara, with an estimated 1,300 adults in the wild, and can be told apart by much paler legs and coat colour.

Rothchild's Giraffe

Lake Nakuru Birds - 26th July 2024

 After our time in the Maasai Mara, Jayne and I drove across to Lake Nakuru National Park/Lake Nakuru Sopa Lodge for an overnight stay. 

On arrival, we drove through the park, stopping off at the Lake for a short (1 hour) visit. The first birds we saw in the park were Yellow-collared Lovebirds, which we nesting in the entrance building!) Variable Sunbirds (male and female) were also seen in this area. Arriving at the lake we spotted Little, Cattle and Great Egret, African Openbill Stork, Black-winged Stilt, Lesser and Greater Flamingo (c.30), African Spoonbill, African Skimmer, Giant Kingfisher (a quick fly-past!), Great Cormorant, Grey Heron, Cape Teal and, the best for me, Grey-headed Gull (3 adults and 1 juvenile).

Grey-headed Gull

Cape Teal

Arriving at the Lodge, we went to out accommodation, adding several new birds to the trip list: Hildebrandt's Francolin/Spurfowl, Eurasian Roller, Hoopoe (Eurasian or African), Red-winged Starling, African Paradise Flycatcher, Common Bulbul, Mosque Swallow, Barn Swallow, Red-rumped Swallow, White-eyed Slaty Flycatcher, Plain Martin, White-rumped Swift, Red-cheeked Cordon-bleu, Little Bee-eater and Speckled Pigeon.

Speckled Pigeon

After a short break, we went on an afternoon game drive seeing: Red-billed Oxpecker, Augur Buzzard, African Pied Wagtail, Crowned Lapwing, Spur-winged Plover, Blacksmith Plover, Lilac-breasted Roller, Grey-backed Fiscal, Hadada Ibis, Kittlitz's Plover, Great White Pelican, Egyptian Goose, Yellow-billed Stork, Grey Heron, Red-eyed Dove, Grey Crowned Crane, Helmeted Guineafowl, Abyssinian Wheatear and Greater Blue-eared Starling. 

Greater Blue-eared Starling

Next morning, we had a quick drive before moving on to Lake Naivasha. Additional species seen were: Brown-crested Eagle, Common Sandpiper, Hamerkop, Pied Crow, Superb and Hildebrandt's Starling, Black-headed Heron and Common (Fork-tailed) Drongo.

Hildebrandt's Starling

Rufford Visit - 2nd September 2025

 Yesterday, I had my first visit to Rufford for a couple of weeks. It was bright sunshine (with a few rain showers) and 20 degrees, and there were about 70 Black-headed Gulls (c.40 juveniles). 7 darviced gulls were seen, and a new, metal-ringed bird was also spotted.

The darviced birds were: 258A (2nd sighting this autumn/winter), 207C (4th sighting since July), 258C (fourth sighting this autumn/winter), 221F (last seen in February 2025), 234F (second sighting this autumn/winter), 255F (first sighting since January 2025) and 2V03 (2nd sighting this autumn/winter).

221F

255F

The metal-ringed bird (EM21570) was a 3, i.e. born this year. It had been ringed, as a pullus, on 10th June, 158km away, at Marlingford Hall, Norfolk. This is, unsurprisingly, the first sighting since ringing. Hopefully, it'll hang around for the winter.

EM21570

In addition to the gulls, I also recorded 7 Mute Swans, including the 2 unringed birds seen last visit, along with 2 more adults (Broken Beak and his partner) and their 3 new cygnets, 2 Kingfishers, 1 House Martin, dozens of Canada and Greylag Geese, 1 Grey Wagtail, Mallards and an adult Lesser Black-backed Gull.

Broken Beak and family

Lesser Black-backed Gull

In addition to those sightings, I also saw a familiar Black-headed Gull in Bakewell on Monday. It was quite a brief sighting, but enough to get the metal ring EW97345. This is a bird I first saw, in Bakewell, back in September 2018. The bird had been ringed, as an adult (at least 2 years old), in Boston, Lincolnshire on 9th January 2010. Monday's sighting was my first since July 2021.

EW97345

Grey Phalarope - 2nd September 2025

 Normal service was resumed today, as Jayne and I set out "twitching" again! This time, we headed up to Edderthorpe Flash, near Barnsley, to see a Grey Phalarope (196). 

We found the bird straight away, thanks to the small group of birders there (!), and got decent, but distant, views, as it fed about 500m out on the water. Here's a heavily cropped image.

Grey Phalarope

Also present were: Canada and Greylag Geese, 3 Greenshanks, 2 Green Sandpipers, 2 Ringed Plovers, 1 Dunlin, and, a presumably summering, Whooper Swan.

Whooper Swan

Gannets!!

 I don't often go out "birding" nowadays, without there being the potential for a "tick", but today was a little different, as Jayne and I headed over to RSPB Bempton Cliffs for our second time this year. The reason for today's visit was to see, and photograph, this year's juvenile birds (something we'd never done, despite saying we would every year!!).

Juvenile

The weather forecast was perfect, and, for once, it stayed perfect, with beautiful blue skies, little wind, and temperatures of 23 degrees. There were still lots of adult birds present, along with juveniles, in varying stages of development, and other, immature birds from previous years. The RSPB also have a great display showing how the birds develop, and change, as they mature.

Very young bird, covered in down

Preening out that pesky down!

3rd year birds?

Most of the other breeding birds had left, but we did spot a few Fulmars, 3 Razorbills (juveniles on the sea). Other birds seen were: Linnet, Goldfinch, Tree Sparrow, Jackdaw and a fantastic brood of 5 Swallows in a nest on the Visitor Centre.

Swallows

Maasai Mara Birds - Part 2

 In addition to the birds already listed, we managed to see many other species whilst in the Maasai Mara. Here are a list of them, with a few photos: Abyssinian Thrush, Pied Crow, Baglafecht Weaver (seen in the hotel grounds in Nairobi)  White-eyed Slatey Flycatcher, Streaky Seedeater, Cape Crow, Long-tailed Fiscal, Ruppel's Starling, Lesser-striped Swallow, Hildebrandt's Starling and Variable Sunbird (seen enroute, in the Rift Valley).

Ruppel's Starling

On arrival at the Sopa Lodge, Maasai Mara, we added a few more species: Cardinal Woodpecker, Red-eyed Dove, Little Swift (nesting) and a possible Amethyst Sunbird.

That evening's game drive added: Common Bulbul, Ring-necked Dove, Yellow-billed Oxpecker, Yellow-throated Longclaw, Little Bee-eater, Helmeted Guineafowl and Ostrich.

Little Bee eaters

Ostrich

The next day, we added: Tropical Boubou, Plain Martin, Grey-backed Fiscal, Yellow-throated Sandgrouse, Common/Fork-tailed Drongo, Red-necked Spurfowl, Wattled Starling, Village Weaver, Barn Swallow, Sooty Chat and African Pipit.

Red-necked Spurfowl

Yellow-throated Sandgrouse