Year List update - 15th April 2023

 Over the last week or so I've had a few trips to catch up with a few more "year ticks", taking this year's total to 132.

The first trip was to the moors just above Sheffield to try and catch up with Ring Ouzel and Wheatear. Unfortunately, my first visit blew a blank, as there was a very heavy mist/fog on arrival! I did, however, manage to see several Red Grouse (126).

The next trip, to Ossett in West Yorkshire was a proper "twitch" to see 2 Black-crowned Night Herons (128) that had appeared on the river there. 1 was seen, initially perched up in a tree, but then feeding- very nice! A Kingfisher (127) was also seen, along with half a dozen Sand Martins, a single Swallow, and my first Orange Tip butterflies of the year (2 males).

Black-crowned Night Heron

My next "tick" was a single House Martin (129) that I saw at Linacre yesterday morning. This morning, Jayne and I had a return visit to the moorlands, where, despite some more mist (!), we managed to spot a hunting Short-eared Owl (130), a couple of Ring Ouzels ( male and female - 131) and a couple of Wheatears (male and female - 132).

Wheatear

Albufera Marsh - Mallorca

If there is one site that you should visit whilst in Mallorca, then Albufera Marsh on the outskirts of Alcudia is definitely the one. It is the largest wetland on Mallorca and has a good network of paths and many hides. Jayne and I had one visit to this reserve and visited just a small section, but, as you can see from the list of "year ticks", it holds some very nice birds.

The first birds we saw when we arrived were Night Heron, Glossy Ibis, Little and Cattle Egret. All four species breed on the site in trees by the main entrance, and can give amazing views.

Night Heron

We walked further onto the reserve and saw Purple Heron, Purple Gallinule, Stone Curlew, Avocet, Bee-eater (12 birds), Common Tern, Black-headed Gull, Kentish Plover, Marsh Harrier and Black-winged Stilt. 

Stone Curlew

Purple Gallinule 

One species that I was very keen to see this visit was a "lifer", namely Red-knobbed Coot. We were lucky enough to see several birds, including 1 feeding young. 

Red-knobbed Coot

The last species I wanted to mention is one that I didn't think we'd see, but, thanks to Jayne's eagle eyes, we managed to get great views of, Little Bittern. We saw one bird, a female I think, fishing from some broken down reeds just by a bridge. Brilliant bird!!

Little Bittern

Year List update:
167 – Night Heron
168 – Cattle Egret
169 – Glossy Ibis
170 – Purple Heron
171 – Stone Curlew
172 – Black-winged Stilt
173 – Purple Gallinule
174 – Common Tern
175 – Bee-eater
176 – Marsh Harrier
177 – Kentish Plover
178 – Little Bittern
179 - Red-knobbed Coot

Night Heron

The Night Heron, or Black-crowned Night Heron, to give it its proper name, is a relatively common bird found on all continents, except Antarctica, but is, perhaps surprisingly, still only an uncommon migrant to the UK. I've never managed to catch up this species in Britain, so when I saw, on Birdguides, that there was a bird not too far from home, on a pond in a park in Shrewsbury, I decided to pop across and see it (thanks Jayne!).

The bird had been frequenting this island in The Quarry in Dingle Park (see here), so, when we arrived, we went straight there, and waited with the half a dozen or so other birders.

We didn't have too long to wait (about half an hour), before the bird walked out of the undergrowth, and stood by the side of the water.

Night Heron

It then walked into the rhododendrons that were hanging over the waters edge and started to hunt. Unfortunately, it didn't catch anything whilst we were there, but we did enjoy great views for 45 minutes. Here's a link to a bit of video I managed to get. A great bird to see, and a lovely addition to the "year list".

Year List update:

145 – Night Heron