Scarborough - 14th February 2026

 Yesterday, Jayne and I had a sunny day in Scarborough and RSPB Bempton Cliffs, adding 7 new birds to this year's Year List.

We started off in Scarborough, where we saw a juvenile Great Northern Diver (89), in the harbour. Apart from that, it was very quiet, with no waders seen! 

Great Northern Diver

After a spot of lunch (it was Valentine's Day after all!), we headed up to Holbeck Car Park, for Mediterranean Gull (90). Three individuals were seen, including 1 adult and 2 2nd winter birds.

Mediterranean Gull

Our final stop of the day was RSPB Bempton Cliffs, where we had amazing views of hunting Barn Owl (3, maybe 4 birds seen), and also added Gannet (91), Fulmar (92), Linnet (93), Meadow Pipit (94), and Short-eared Owl (95), to the Year List.

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

Two more Ticks

Our base in Northumberland was at the Queen Elizabeth Country Park, on the outskirts of Amble and Ashington.

The lake is a great place, especially in winter, but, whilst there last week, we had a great time looking at the breeding birds, and the summering Black-headed Gulls. Most birds appeared to be 1st summer birds, with a few adults. Many of the 1st summer birds have a full brown hood, but still retain the juvenile feathers.

Black-headed Gull

Another great bird for me was the Whooper Swan (177). This bird appears to be a resident bird, who I first saw here in January 2024 (see here). He/she was present around the site, and was quite tame, allowing some great views from the car park.

Whooper Swan

Other birds seen here were: Greylag and Canada Geese (with goslings), Mallards, Pied Wagtails (juveniles), Mute Swans (13 in total, with at least 6 metal ringed), Herring and Lesser Black-backed Gulls and, perhaps the most surprising, for me at least, Tree Sparrows (adults and juveniles).

Tree Sparrow

Our last stop was in Whitley Bay. We started off at St Mary's Island, where we saw the Grey Seals, along with  a few Terns (possibly Sandwich), which were flying past, and finally, a single Fulmar (178). We then had a few hours on the beach at Tynemouth, where we were lucky enough to watch a pod of Bottlenose Dolphins (including at least 1 juvenile), swimming, feeding and jumping out of the water!!!! The final highlight was a singing Whitethroat, that posed beautifully.

Whitethroat

Scarborough - 23rd February 2024

 Yesterday, we had a lovely family day in Scarborough. It was just 7 degree, but really sunny, and the birds put on a good show too.

The first birds seen, Fulmar (125), were up on the cliffs by Marine Drive. From here, we also saw a couple of Red-throated Diver (126), a single winter-plumaged Guillemot (127) and about half a dozen Harbour Porpoise. 

Fulmar

Also seen on Marine Drive was a well-known Herring Gull, YH42. This bird was ringed near Scarborough in 2007. I first saw it in this exact spot, in 2019, and again in 2023.

YH42

Later on we walked down to the harbour, where we spotted one Cormorant, several Great Black-backed Gulls and a juvenile Great Northern Diver.

Great Northern Diver

We also saw 12 Turnstones, including a colour-ringed bird, Green over Yellow. Looking at previous posts, I first saw this bird in 2019, and again in 2020. It had been ringed in the harbour, in February 2019.

Turnstone

Our final birds of the day were 3 Mediterranean Gulls (128), which we saw in Sea Cliff Car Park. Unfortunately, they didn't settle on the grass today, so I didn't manage to get any decent photos!

RSPB Bempton Cliffs - 4th July 2020

Most years, Jayne and I try to get up to RSPB Bempton Cliffs near Bridlington to see the seabird colony there. Normally, we go up around Easter time, but, for obvious reasons, we didn't get there this year, so instead, we went up yesterday.

One of the main reasons for this year's visit was the see a Black-browed Albatross that had been seen on Friday. Unfortunately, there was no sign, so instead, we enjoyed the fantastic Gannets, Kittiwakes, Guillemots, Razorbills, Fulmars, Puffins, Herring Gulls, Tree Sparrows, and two new species for us at this reserve, Long-eared Owl  and  Great Skua.

Gannet (adult)

Gannet (Sub-adult, possibly born in 2019, or 2018)

We don't normally see many mammals here, so a couple of very active Weasels by the side of one of the viewpoints was a very nice sight.

Weasel

Farne Islands

I last visited the Farne Islands in 2011 (see here), so, when deciding where to go away this year, Jayne and I decided to visit this group of islands off the Northumberland coast at the height of the breeding season. We visited on Friday 31st May, and, despite heavy rain for most of the visit (!), had an amazing time seeing all the birds at such close quarters.

We went across to the islands and spent about one and a half hours travelling around them (seeing Fulmar and Gannets), before landing on Inner Farne for an hour long visit. Whilst on the island we walked up through the Arctic Tern colony, passing the nesting birds (and being pecked by them). We also saw nesting Sandwich Terns, Eider Ducks, Black-headed Gulls, Shag, Guillemot, Razorbill and Puffin, all within touching distance of the paths - fantastic!!

Arctic Tern

Eider Duck

Razorbill

Guillemot (including a bridled individual)

Puffins

Black-headed Gull (and chick)

Year List update:

178 – Kittiwake

179 – Puffin

180 – Arctic Tern

Scotland - The Last Few Days

My last post about my recent Scotland trip is one covering a few days, and several different places.

The first place is a forest called Allean, near Queen's View in the Tay Forest Park. Jayne and I had a walk around this site for a couple of hours and recorded the usual suspects (tits, Willow Warbler, Woodpigeons), and a "year tick", Crossbill. Unfortunately, the only bird we saw was very distant, and silhouetted against the sky, so I wasn't able to see if it was a Common Crossbill or another, more exciting, species!! Afterwards, we went to Dunkeld for some delicious vegan food at The Atholl Arms Hotel, where we also saw our first Sand Martins of the trip, and a fly-over Jay.

Next stop was St Andrews on 25th April. We had a walk around the town and the old cathedral, and spotted about half a dozen nesting Fulmars, and 100+ Eider Ducks.

Fulmar

Our last trips of the week were to Cairn Gorm and the RSPB Loch Garten reserve. We visited Cairn Gorm yesterday morning. Unfortunately, the weather wasn't great (windy, raining on and off, and a low mist!), but we did get great views of at least 4 Ring Ouzels, including this male in the car park, a Mountain Hare and a male Wheatear in the small garden area.

Ring Ouzel

Wheatear

We then visited RSPB Loch Garten. There are no breeding Ospreys there this year, but we did see a pair of Goldeneye, a couple of Red Squirrels, many (!) Siskins, but no Crested Tits!!

The last bird, and the latest "year tick", a Cuckoo,  was heard, by Jayne, at 5am this morning, from our accommodation in Killikrankie. Thankfully, she woke me up so I could hear it too!

Year List update:
157 - Crossbill
158 - Cuckoo

Scarborough Birding - 22nd February 2019

I spent yesterday in Scarborough with Jayne and Lydia. Whilst there, I had my annual visit to Holbeck Car Park to see the over-wintering Mediterranean Gulls. As always, they put on a great show, with at least  4 different birds being seen, including this adult bird whose black hood was developing very nicely.

Mediterranean Gull

Black-headed Gulls also came down, as did a darvic ringed Herring Gull (more about that in another post).

Our next stop was Marine Drive and the harbour, where we saw our first Fulmars of the year (approx.20 birds back on the cliffs),  1 Rock Pipit, 1 Shag, 15+ Turnstones, including 5 colour-ringed individuals (another post coming), another darviced Herring Gull, and 4 Purple Sandpipers.

Year List update:
112 – Fieldfare (seen on 3rd Feb)
113 – Willow Tit (seen ringing 17th Feb)
114 – Mediterranean Gull
115 – Shag
116 – Fulmar
117 – Rock Pipit

118 – Purple Sandpiper

Rutland Water - 5th April 2018

Luke and I went to Rutland Water Nature Reserve on Thursday to catch up with the Ospreys that had returned to breed on the reserve. We spent the day there, and got great views of the Manton Bay pair, along with another 4 "year ticks", including a Wheatear, that was quite unexpected. We also a breeding plumaged Mediterranean Gull that had originally been ringed in Poland.

The weather was great, 12 degrees, bright blue skies and sunshine, so we also managed to get our first butterflies of the year; 1 Comma, 1 Small Tortoiseshell and 3 male Brimstones.

The other "year ticks" (numbers 103 - 107) on the list below, were seen at Scarborough on Tuesday (3rd), where I also had a stunning breeding plumaged Mediterranean Gull. Unfortunately, I couldn't get a photo as I'd left my camera at home!!!!!

The Chiffchaff, 4 in total, were seen at Linacre on Wednesday 4th.

Year List update:
103 – Red Kite
104 – Kittiwake
105 – Turnstone
106 - Fulmar
107 – Rock Pipit
108 – Chiffchaff
109 – Willow Warbler
110 – Black-necked Grebe
111 – Sand Martin
112 – Wheatear
113 - Osprey

Year List Update - a Lifer!!

On Tuesday, Jayne and I spent 4 hours on a wildlife watching boat trip with AK Wildlife Cruises in Falmouth Bay. The trip was aimed mainly at cetaceans, but obviously, birds were also seen, including, as the title suggests, a lifer for me!

The first wildlife seen was Grey Mullet, with dozens of these fish feeding in the shallow water around the marina. As we set out on the water, we saw Herring and Black-headed Gulls. Mediterranean Gulls were also seen, including several juvenile birds. Other birds seen during the trip were: Fulmar (1), Razorbill (2; 1 adult and a juvenile), Peregrine Falcon (1 juvenile), Little Egret (1), Gannet, Whimbrel (1), Manx Shearwater ( 50+) and Storm Petrel (2) - a LIFER1!!

Manx Shearwater

The marine mammals were playing a little harder to get, but we did manage to get great views of several Grey Seals that were hauled out on the rocks. We also saw several Harbour Porpoises (perhaps up to 10 individuals), including adults and juveniles. They were very difficult to photograph, but I did manage a few shots.

Harbour Porpoises

Year List update:
176 – Manx Shearwater
177 - Whimbrel
178 – Storm Petrel

Whitby and Scarborough

Last weekend I was up in Whitby and Scarborough with the family. Whitby was quite quiet Birdwise, but I did spot a well known Herring Gull, with a darvic ring 1R1B.

Herring Gull 1R1B

I say, well known, because I saw this bird in exactly the same spot ( the top of a dustbin on the pier) back in July 2015 (see here). There were lots of other Herring Gulls around, along with the odd Fulmar and a pair of Shags. Red Admiral butterflies were present in good numbers (10+), and 4 Small Tortoiseshells were also seen.

Scarborough was a little busier. There were hundreds of pairs of Kittiwakes in and around the town centre and cliffs, including several with growing chicks.

Kittiwakes

Also present were Herring, Lesser Black-backed, Great Black-backed, Black-headed and Mediterranean Gulls (3 of the latter, including 1 adult in full breeding plumage, on the sea by The Spa).

Mediterranean Gull

Turnstones were seen in the harbour, along with a small flock of 10 Redshank, a few more Kittiwakes and a pair of Rock Pipits that were carrying food to an unseen nest.

Rock Pipits

Birthday Lifer

It was my birthday this weekend, so I travelled up to Teesdale and RSPB Bempton Cliffs with my family for a couple of days. High on my wish list was a bird that I've looked for before - Black Grouse. This year luck, and a bit of research, paid dividends, and I got to watch an amazing 22 males and 19 females at a lek site in Upper Teesdale. The birds were seen (and heard) from the road, with the birds about 500m away. After the lekking was over, a female bird and 2 males flew closer to me, allowing a couple of reasonable shots from the car.

Black Grouse (female)

Black Grouse (male and a Curlew)

Driving back down to our hotel in Barnard Castle I managed a couple of lovely photos of 2 other moorland birds; Lapwing and Snipe.

Lapwing

Snipe

Other birds seen in Teesdale were: Red Grouse, Common Sandpiper (1 on the Tees in Barnard Castle), Dipper, Grey Wagtail, Curlew, Swallow (5) and Red-legged Partridge (year tick).

After Teesdale, we drove across to Bempton Cliffs in North Yorkshire, and added another 4 species (Razorbill, Puffin, Gannet and Kittiwake) to the "year list", taking me to 141. It was pretty windy when we got there, and the Gannets, in particular, were hovering just on the edge of the cliffs, and dropping down onto the grass to grab mouthfuls for  their nests, allowing some decent photo opportunities.

Gannet

Other species seen here were: Guillemot, Tree Sparrow, Skylark, Fulmar and Herring Gull.

Year List update:
136 – Black Grouse
137 – Red-legged Partridge
138 – Razorbill
139 – Puffin
140 – Gannet
141 – Kittiwake