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

Year List Update - 26th October 2020

 I last updated the Year List at the beginning of September. Since then, I've had several trips out and about, and have added 11 new specie, including a "British tick".

The first trip, to RSPB Frampton Marsh on 19th September, added 3 species, numbers 164 - 166. The next bird, my "British tick" was on 4th October, when Jayne and I saw a very confiding Hoopoe, feeding on a cricket pitch on the edge of Leeds!

Hoopoe

Numbers 168 - 171, were recorded at WWT Slimbridge on Saturday, whilst the Great White Egret, was seen at Blenheim Palace lake yesterday.

Whilst eating dinner at Blenheim I saw that a Grey Phalarope had been found on the River Wye at Bakewell. Thankfully, it stayed all day, and I managed to catch up with it just before dark (which was good, because it had gone this morning!)

Grey Phalarope

The final addition was today, with 2 Cattle Egrets that I travelled to see at Cranfield Farm, Long Eaton.

Cattle Egret

Year List update:

164 – Curlew Sandpiper
165 – Little Stint
166 – Pintail
167 – Hoopoe
168 – Marsh Harrier
169 – Russian White-fronted Goose
170 – Bittern
171 – Cetti’s Warbler
172 – Great White Egret
173 – Grey Phalarope
174 – Cattle Egret

Year List update- 200 species reached!

It's been two months since I last blogged about my "year list". The obvious reason is that it hasn't increased too much, with just 2 new species added; Grey Phalarope and Purple Sandpiper.

The Grey Phalarope was a bird seen at Loscoe Dam on 23rd September. It showed well, but distantly, so no photos unfortunately. It was present for a couple of days, before being eaten by a Pike!!

The Purple Sandpiper was seen this week (thanks Jayne!) on the harbour wall in Brixham.

The other species, which wasn't a year tick, but was good to see, was Great White Egret. Two birds, my highest count in Derbyshire, were present today at Pebley Pond yesterday and again today. Again, they kept a distance away, but I managed to get a record shot!

Great White Egret

Year list update:
199: Grey Phalarope
200: Purple Sandpiper

Year List Update - 7th October 2017

I haven't update  my 2017 "Year List" since August.  There haven't been too many additions since then, but I have added Short-eared Owl (1 spotted in the Peak District in August, at a potential breeding site), Ring-necked Parakeet (dozens seen in Vondel Park, Amsterdam in August) and Grey Phalarope ( at Worsborough Reservoir near Barnsley on 7th October, my first since 2008).

Ring-necked Parakeet

Grey Phalarope

Today, Jayne and I had a few hours at RSPB Frampton Marsh in Lincolnshire and managed to spot a few new species, namely Little Stint (4+), Curlew Sandpiper (2), Pintail (5) and Dark-bellied Brent Goose (200+).  Other birds present were: Black-tailed Godwit (100+), Ruff (1 seen), Dunlin (20+), Redshank (10+), Golden Plover (20+), Little Egret (10+), Grey Heron (1), Teal (100s), Wigeon (100), Shelduck (5), Shoveler (4), Black-headed and Herring Gull, Mute Swan (5), Whooper Swan (1), Canada Goose (100+), House Martin (1), Kestrel, Peregrine Falcon (1 large female eating something on the ground from East Hide), Tree and House Sparrow, Starling (30+), Magpie, Linnet and Goldfinch.

Year List update:
185 – Short-eared Owl
186 – Ring-necked Parakeet
187 – Grey Phalarope
188 – Little Stint
189 – Curlew Sandpiper
190 – Pintail
191 – Brent Goose (Dark-bellied)