Linacre First - Green Sandpiper!

 Before I write this blog, I need to clarify something about the title. I was at Linacre this morning, and saw MY first ever Green Sandpiper. It may not be the first ever record, as I was contacted last week by someone, who said they'd seen two there last week. Also, one of the volunteers (Pete) said he, and another volunteer (Antony) had, also seen a "sandpiper" on the top reservoir last week. Despite this, I was very pleased to get my first record.

Green Sandpiper

Other species seen were: Lapwing (8 flew in, and landed briefly - the first record since 2023, and the first to land since 2011!!!), Mallard (103), Tufted Duck (30), Mandarin Duck (20), Black-headed Gull (4 juvenile/1st winter birds), Lesser Black-backed Gull (2 adults), Moorhen (6; 5 adults and 1 juvenile), Coot (2 adults) and Cormorant (8).

Lapwings

7 of the 8 Cormorants

Three Ringed Gulls at Rufford!

I know that the title of this post wouldn't come as a surprise to regular readers, as I often blog about ringed gulls here. The reason I've used it though, is because the three ringed Black-headed Gulls are all juvenile/1st winter birds, that have been ringed in three different countries!

The first gull, TCEP (FS70675) is a bird that was ringed in western Poland, right on the border with Germany, as a pullus, on 26th June 2026. This is the first sighting since ringing, and is 1027km from its place of birth.

TCEP

The second gull, this time a Danish ringed bird, had the metal ring number VA9644. Again, I'll update as soon as I hear back.

VA9644 (ringed on right leg)

The third bird, was a Lithuanian-ringed individual. Annoyingly, I didn't manage to get the full ring number, so, I'll have to try and see it again, and get the remaining letters/digits. I managed to see  _ _ _31.260!

Lithuanian-ringed Gull (ringed on left leg)

In addition to these three gulls, I also managed to spot just one (!) of "our" birds; 2V16, which is the second sighting this season.

2V16 (losing its hood)

The last gull I wanted to mention was an adult Lesser Black-backed Gull, that was on the lake. Unfortunately, it appeared to have its left leg tangled in something (presumably fishing tackle). Very annoying!!! It appeared well, despite the entanglement, so, hopefully, it was cope.

Lesser Black-backed Gull

As well as the gulls, there were also 7 Mute Swans (all un-ringed), including one with a wobbly neck, who I've nicknamed Crinkle Neck ( very original I know!!!)

Mute Swan - Crinkle Neck

South Gare - 15th August 2026

After my trip to see the Buff-breasted Sandpiper, I drove up to South Gare, near Redcar (where I'd twitched a Brown Booby back in 2023 (see here). This time, I wasn't after anything in particular, so I had a couple of hours sitting, overlooking the Tees estuary.

There were several (10+) Sandwich Terns flying around, along with a smaller number of "commic", most likely Arctic Terns, a single Kittiwake, Herring Gulls, 5+ Guillemots, Linnets, Black-headed and a couple of Common Gulls.

Common Gull

A few wader species were also spotted: Dunlin (30+), Redshank (6), Oystercatchers (4) and, most importantly, a "year tick" 6 Bar-tailed Godwit (181).

Bar-tailed Godwit and friend!

A single seal was seen, and I'm pretty sure, its a Common/Harbour Seal. Here's a head-shot.

Common/Harbour Seal

Driving down the coast to Redcar, I had a quick stop at the beach car park and photographed a few Starlings that were hopping around.

Juvenile Starlings

Adult Starling (winter plumage)

Rufford Gulls - 12th August 2026

 Yesterday, on the way back from Blacktoft Sands, Jayne and I had a quick, half an hour stop, at Rufford. It was very sunny and 32 degrees, so we didn't hang around too long. There were c.70 gulls present, and we managed to see 6 "darviced" Black-headed Gulls, 3 of which were new for the season.

The three "new" gulls were: 273C,(last seen on 17th February 2026), 225H (last seen on 8th March 2026) and 2V16 (last seen on 17th January 2026).

273C (born in 2023)

225H (ringed in December 2025, as an adult)

2V16 (ringed in February 2025, as an adult)

The other gulls seen were: 258A, 273A and 255F. These sightings were the second of the season. 

Other birds recorded were: Kingfisher (1 heard), Mute Swan (5 birds) and Greylag and Canada Geese.

Rufford Gulls - 2nd August 2026

 Yesterday, I had a quick 45 minute visit to Rufford. Gull numbers had increased to c.40 Black-headed Gulls, and included the first juveniles of the year (4).6 ringed gulls were seen, including some that I've not had there for quite some time.

258A was one such bird. First ringed in February 2020, this bird has been a regular visitor to Rufford, but yesterday's sighting was my first since January 2026. So far, there haven't been any summer sightings.

258A

273A was ringed, as a juvenile bird in November 2021, and , again, has been a regular winter visitor to Rufford. This sighting was my first since 3rd January 2026. Again, no summer sightings.

273A

207C was ringed on 22nd December 2022, as an adult, and has been reported an amazing 47 times at Rufford. This was my second sighting this season.

207C

258C was ringed on 3rd December 2023, as a juvenile, and has been seen 30 times at Rufford. This is my first sighting since 17th January 2026. Again, no summer sightings.

258C

255F was ringed 30th November 2024, as a juvenile. Yesterday's sighting was only my 5th sighting since ringing, and my first since September 2025. Presumably, it pops into Rufford when it first arrives back, and then overwinters elsewhere. No summer sightings.

255F

2V03 was ringed on 18th January 2025, as an age 5, i.e. born on 2024. Yesterday's sighting was my first of the season, and only the fourth since ringing. I last saw this bird on 2nd September 2025. Again, presumably a bird that overwinters elsewhere. No summer sightings yet. 

2V03

Welcome back 200H

 After school today, Jayne and I had our first visit of the "autumn/winter" period to Rufford. The temperature was a scorching 32 degrees, so it didn't feel very autumnal (!), but we did spot 10 Black-headed Gulls, including our first ringed gull of the season, 200H (looking very smart in full breeding plumage).

First photo of the season

200H

200H was first ringed, at Center Parcs, 2km away, as an adult, on 15th November 2025. This bird was seen five times over the winter, until my last sighting, at Rufford, on 17th February 2026. Unfortunately, there are no summer records yet, so we can't say where this bird breeds. Hopefully, it'll hang around for the full winter.

We only had a quick visit tonight, but we also recorded 4 Mute Swans, 6 House Martins, 3 Swallows and a Kingfisher (heard).

Waders, Gulls, Summer Migrants and a few Ducks!

I had a few free hours yesterday afternoon, so I popped down to Ogston Reservoir to see what was about. As a member of the Ogston Bird Club, I had access to the Members' Hides.

I knew that there had been a Black-tailed Godwit around for a few days, so I was very pleased to find it feeding about 40m away from the hide. They aren't that common in Derbyshire, so to get good views was a real treat.

Black-tailed Godwit

Next up was Snipe. These are much more common than the Godwit, but the Members' Hide at Ogston can often allow you to get some pretty close views. On this visit, I saw 4 different birds, all feeding along the Moat area.

Snipe

Two other species of wader seen were: Lapwing and Oystercatcher. Both species breed on site. I managed to see three of each of these birds.

Lapwing

Oystercatcher

Along with the waders, were four species of gull: Black-headed Gull, Herring Gull, Common Gull and Lesser Black-backed Gull.

Lesser Black-backed Gull

Black-headed Gull

Ducks seen were: Teal, Gadwall and Mallard, including a female with 11 ducklings (my first of the year).

Mallard

Last, but not least, were the newly-arrived summer migrants. Swallows, Sand Martins and a single House Martin were all seen.

RSPB St Aidan's - 9th April 2026

 Today, Jayne and I made our annual visit to RSPB St Aidan's to add a few new birds to this year's Year List.

Our first new bird, Cetti's Warbler (121) was added as soon as we got out of the car, and was heard throughout our visit. Going to the Visitors' Hut, we asked about the Little Owls (122) that are often to be seen around that area. The member of staff there soon found one for us.

Little Owl

We carried on walking around the reserve, and soon managed to find our first Black-necked Grebes (123) of the day, with 4 together.

Black-necked Grebes

Whilst watching the grebes, we heard the first "booming" Bitterns (124) of the day, and, much to our surprise, a singing Sedge Warbler (125), which seemed quite early. The last two birds seen were Bearded Tit (126), with 4 seen, our first here, and Sand Martin (127) with a minimum of 20 seen. 

No trip to St Aidan's can go by without mention of the 1000's of Black-headed Gulls that breed there. Although not everyone's favourite, surely no-one can deny the beauty of this bird in full breeding plumage!

Black-headed Gulls

Rufford - End of the Season

 Last weekend (14th) I had my last trip of the winter to Rufford. Unfortunately, there were only 2 Black-headed Gulls present (both 1st winter birds, born last year), and no ringed birds.

On a brighter side, however, I did add a new species to the park list, when a Red Kite flew low over the lake!

Other species seen were: 1 Herring Gull, 8 Mute Swans (Broken Beak and family, plus 3 other, unringed adults), 2 Goosander (1m and 1fm), Stock Dove singing, 7 Canada Geese and 10 Greylag Geese.

Greylag Goose

Two Gulls!

 Over the last couple of weekends I've managed to see a few more of our ringed Black-headed Gulls, at Rufford, and at King's Mill Reservoir.

Last weekend (1st), I had a visit to King's Mill Reservoir, in search of a Scaup (no luck!). Whilst there, I did, however, see Black-headed Gull 234H, a new one for me! It had been ringed, at Center Parcs, as a 3 (born in 2025), in December 2025. This was the first record since ringing.

234H (age 5, born in 2025)

Afterwards, I drove across to Rufford, and spotted 298C, 209H and 225H.

209H

 

Yesterday, I was back at King's Mill Reservoir (still no Scaup!!). This time, I spotted 270C. This was my 7th sighting this winter, but my first away from Rufford. Here's a photo showing a new full, brown hood.

270C

Rufford Gulls - Two Visits

 So far this month, I've had a couple of visits to Rufford, to look at the gulls (1st and 17th).

My visit on the 1st was quite quiet, with c.70 Black-headed Gulls present. Ringed birds were: 280B, 202C, 270C, 298C, 208H and 225H. 13 Goosanders (10 males and 3 females), 1 Grey Wagtail and 1 male Pochard were also seen.

280B

Yesterday's visit was also quite quiet, with c.50 Black-headed Gulls, 1 Herring Gull and 1 Common Gull seen. Ringed birds were: 295A, 280B, 207C, 255C, 258C, 273C, 298C, 200H, 208H, a new bird 224H and 225H.

224H

As you can see, this photo of 224H is quite different from my "normal" ones. It was a rushed shot, that I got just before the bird flew off, but I've kept it, as it looks quite atmospheric! 224H is obviously a 1st winter/2nd calendar year bird (born in 2025), and this is my first sighting since it was ringed at the end of last year. Here's a more "traditional" shot of the same bird.

224H again

Iceland Gull

 Hot on the heels of yesterday's trip to Scarborough, Jayne and I were out again today, adding another 3 species to the Year List.

The first species was Grey Partridge (96), with a small covey of 5 seen in fields by Apperknowle. After this we headed up to Roundhay Park, Leeds to see if we could catch up with a juvenile Iceland Gull (97), that had been present for a week or two. The bird was found quite easily, perched up by the café (!), and allowed some great views.

Iceland Gull (with rower!)

Iceland Gull (showing white primaries)

Whilst there, we also added Ring-necked Parakeet (98), with two seen. I also spotted some ringed Black-headed Gulls. Not ones ringed by us, but birds that had all been ringed there, on 23rd January 2022, as adults, by the Waterbird Colour Marking Group. The birds seen were: 2E85 (25th sighting here), 2E88 (7th sighting here) and 2E93 (17th sighting here). None of the birds had been reported away from Roundhay Park...yet!

2E85

2E88

2E93