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)

RSPB Frampton Marsh - 31st May 2026

 Today, Jayne and I had a trip across to RSPB Frampton Marsh. We had a great walk around the reserve, adding three new species to the Year List, and were also, very pleased to see a lot of young birds running around the reserve and adults with beaks full of insects.

Firstly, the year ticks: Little Gull (167), a first summer bird seen flying over the Reedbed Lagoon, Corn Bunting (168; 1, possibly two singing birds) and Black-winged Stilt (169) - 1 of 2 birds present.

Black-winged Stilt

Other birds seen were: Green Woodpecker (1 seen by the carpark, Spoonbill (3), Cuckoo (1 heard), Mute Swan (a pair with 7 cygnets and another 12 non-breeding birds), Greylag, Egyptian and Canada Geese,  Mallard, Gadwall (adults and 1 brood of ducklings), Shoveler (adults and ducklings), Shelduck, Redshank, Avocet, Lapwing (all with young), Black-headed Gulls (chicks), Great-crested Grebe, Coot, Moorhen, Reed, Cetti's and Sedge Warblers, Linnet, Blue and Great Tits, Reed Bunting (carrying food) and  Yellow Wagtail (1 adult and 1 juvenile on the reserve, and 1 adult on the road in).

Reed Bunting

Lapwing

Gadwall and ducklings

Avocet and chick (1 of 3)

Insects seen were: Painted Lady (20+), Common Blue Butterfly, Large Skipper, Common Blue Damselfly, Blue-tailed Damselfly and Migrant Hawker (2). 2 Red-veined Darters had been reported on site yesterday. We saw a single red darter, but, annoyingly, we weren't able to see it face on, or get a photograph, before it flew off!!! The one that got away?

Painted Lady

Linacre Birds and Ringing - 2 new species!

 Last week, 9th and 11th, I had my first walk and ringing session at Linacre since returning from holiday (more of that in future posts). 

On the 9th, I had a walk around the bottom and middle reservoirs. The top reservoir is still closed off, due to ongoing work on the boardwalk. The following birds were seen/heard, numbers are quite low, due to having no access to the top reservoir: Stock Dove (2), Great Crested Grebe (7; 2 adults and 2 broods of 2 and 3 juveniles), Mallard (106), Tufted Duck (8 adults, no juveniles yet this year), Mandarin Duck (17 adults), Moorhen (7 birds; 6 adults and 1 chick), Coot (2 adults), Cormorant (1), Grey Wagtail (2 juveniles), Grey Heron (3), Lesser Black-backed Gull (9; 3 adults and 6 juveniles)  and House Martin (heard). Because there are works ongoing on the top reservoir, the water levels are lower than normal. As a result, there is more mud exposed, and this has lead to a first record of a Redshank.

The ringing session took place on Sunday 11th. 5 members of Sorby Breck Group ringed 43 birds of 12 species, including a brand new species: Linnet! The Linnet, 11 in total, were part of a much larger flock of between 50 -100, that have been feeding in the neighbouring fields to the ringing site. Hopefully, they'll hang around for the winter!

Totals for the morning were: Linnet 11/0 (all juveniles), Blackcap 3/0 (all juveniles), Willow Warbler 3/0 (1 adult and 2 juveniles), Chiffchaff 3/0 (all juveniles), Garden Warbler 1/0 (juvenile), Great Tit 4/0 (1 adult and 3 juveniles), Blue Tit 3/2 (2 adults and 3 juveniles), Robin 2/1 (all juveniles), Wren 2/0 (1 adult and 1 juvenile), Dunnock 2/0 (1 adult and 1 juvenile), Chaffinch 5/0 (all juveniles, feeding with the Linnet flock) and Great-spotted Woodpecker 1/0 (1 juvenile).

Pied Wheatear!!

 A first winter male Pied Wheatear turned up in a skate park in Whitley Bay last week, so, after a week of umming and ahhing (!) Jayne and I drove up there today to have a look at this new species.

Pied Wheatear!!

When we arrived, the bird wasn't in the Skate Park, but was, instead, hopping about along the seawall opposite The Spanish City. At times, it hopped to within 2m!!! Luckily, the weather was decent, still and sunny, so we managed to get some decent shots.

Whilst there, we also had a walk up to St Mary's Island. The tide was out, so we spotted a few waders on the way up (Redshank, Curlew, Oystercatcher, Lapwing and Ringed Plover) as well as several Pied Wagtails and Rock Pipits. On the Island there were a dozen or so Grey Seals enjoying the sun, and two flocks of Pink-footed Geese flew overhead. A couple of Red-throated Divers also flew past, and Black-headed and Herring Gulls were seen.

Year List update: 

160 - Lesser Whitethroat (1 seen whilst ringing back in September) 

161 - Pied Wheatear

Stag Rocks - 2nd January 2022

Jayne and I were still up in Northumberland on the 2nd, so we had a few hours at Stag Rocks aka Harkess Rocks, near Bamburgh. When we got there, it was nearly high tide, so we sat on the rocks and watched the Purple Sandpipers (100+), Sanderling (50+), Turnstone, Redshank  and Dunlin, feeding on the seaweed. 

Purple Sandpiper and Dunlin

One of the Purple Sandpipers was colour ringed. It was ringed on 20th September 2020 at Filey Brigg, and mine was the first sighting since.

Colour-ringed Purple Sandpiper

Year List update:

56 - Great Tit 

57 - Rook

58 - Common Buzzard

59 - Barnacle Goose

60 - Sanderling

61 - Purple Sandpiper

62 - Goldeneye

Red-necked Grebe - Carsington 2nd April 2021

Jayne and I went to Carsington on Friday and had a few hours walking around the dam wall, Stones Island and Hide area.

The highlight of the trip was a breeding plumaged Red-necked Grebe that we saw by the dam wall. No photo unfortunately, as the blog won't let me upload any!

Other  species new for the year were: Gadwall, Redshank, Willow Tit and Barnacle Goose ( 2 feral birds.

Year List update:

72 - Red-necked Grebe

73 - Gadwall

74 - Redshank

75 - Willow Tit

76 - Barnacle Goose

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

Three New Birds

I was up at Carsington Water for a couple of hours on Tuesday evening (18th) walking around Stones Island. I was on my annual "wagtail hunt", as this site is usually a good place to catch up with passage Yellow and White Wagtails. As it was, I dropped lucky with White Wagtail, but "dipped" on the Yellow.

The White Wagtails (a minimum of 3, possibly more), were feeding around the back of Stones Island, along with several Pied Wagtails. Here's a picture of a male and  a female.

White Wagtail (male)

White Wagtail (female)

Unfortunately, White Wagtail can't be added to the "year list" as it isn't a species, it's just the European race of the British Pied Wagtail, but I did manage to add another 2 species with a Common Sandpiper and a beautiful breeding plumaged Dunlin being seen.

Common Sandpiper

Other species seen included: Little Ringed Plover, Lapwing, Great Northern Diver (breeding plumage, but distant), Black-headed Gull, Coot, Mallard, Canada Goose, Great-crested Grebe, Chiffchaff, Willow Warbler, Blackcap, Dunnock, Oystercatcher (2) and Redshank (2).

Redshank

Year List update:
134 – Common Sandpiper
135 – Dunlin

Scarborough Birds

I was in Scarborough yesterday, with Jayne and Lydia. It was sunny, for an hour or so at least, but cold. Whilst there I managed some nice birds, including a good number of "year ticks".

First up, as always, was a stop at the Holbeck Car Park, just above The Spa, for my first Mediterranean Gulls of the year. There were 2 adult birds feeding on the grass as soon as I arrived, but the number of this species and the Black-headed Gulls increased quickly to about 30 birds, as soon as I got the bread out! In total I saw at least 4 adults, 1 2 year old bird and 2 2nd calendar year Mediterranean Gulls. The birds here come within a metre or so, allowing excellent views and photographic opportunities.

Mediterranean Gull (adult)

2 year old bird (born 2015)

2nd calendar year (born 2016)

Next stop was the North Bay, where two female/immature Black Redstarts had been reported on rocks by the Albert Café. I managed to see one, and it posed briefly for a photo.

Black Redstart

A quick drive back down to the harbour followed, where a Black-necked Grebe, a Great Northern Diver, 1 Shag, Guillemot (1 winter plumaged bird on the sea), Great Black-backed and Herring Gull, Redshank, Turnstone (c.20, including 1 colour ringed bird) and Purple Sandpiper were all on show!!

Great Northern Diver

The last birds of the day were seen on the cliff sides along Marine Drive, where Fulmar and Peregrine Falcon were noted.

Year List update:
59 - Sparrowhawk (1 seen on 21st)
60 – Rook
61 – Mediterranean Gull
62 – Black Redstart
63 – Redshank
64 – Turnstone
65 – Purple Sandpiper
66 – Great Black-backed Gull
67 – Black-necked Grebe
68 – Great Northern Diver
69 – Guillemot
70 – Shag
71 – Peregrine Falcon
72 - Fulmar

Wader Ringing

Since I started ringing back in September 2011 I've always concentrated on passerines, simply because these are the types of birds that are most plentiful in this area, and therefore, form the majority of the ringing carried out by Sorby Breck Ringing Group.

Well, this weekend I decided to spread my wings (pardon the unintended pun), and join up with the SCAN Wader Ringing Group in North Wales, to try my hand at wader ringing. Our first session took place on the Friday night. We met up at 8pm at Llanfairfechan, where we set out mist nets on a nearby nature reserve to catch Dunlin and Redshank. We were successful with both species, and I was able to learn the techniques of ageing as well as to ring both species. Several of the birds were retraps, but 1 of the Dunlin was especially interesting as it also carried a coloured flag. Steve, the leader of the group, thought it was most likely from a scheme in mid Wales. In addition, we also caught 1 Snipe. Ringing finished at about 1am, and we got to bed at 2am.

Saturday morning started with a 7am wake up call, and we were out by 8am. This time we set up a short distance down the coast, and set up 2 canon nets. This type of bird capture was completely new to me, and very interesting to see and take part in. After  a few hours the tide had come in, and there were enough Redshanks in the catching area. This time we caught 53 Redshank and a single Turnstone. The Turnstone was ringed by another member of the group, but I was able to ring more Redshank, and also began to take a few more measurements, such as wing length, length of tarsus and toe,bill length and head and bill length. The latter measurements involved using set of callipers, which, again, was something new for me. One of the more experienced members of the group did the measurements first, and then I measured the same bird. Unsurprisingly, our measurements differed somewhat, so more practise is needed!

After an early night, I was up again at 7am on Sunday, and out to Beaumaris on Anglesey to set up the cannon nets.

Beach at Beaumaris

Unfortunately, the Oystercatchers that we were hoping to catch didn't settle in the area where we'd set the nets, so we didn't catch any. We then tried a different area in Beaumaris for some Dunlin and Turnstone, again without luck. By this time we'd lost the light and the tides had turned, so we called it a day.

As a first introduction to wader ringing, the weekend was a great success and I'll hopefully be back out with the group again in 2017.

Year List 2015- the final figure!

So it's just gone 7pm on New Year's Eve, so I think it's safe to say I won't be adding any new birds to the "year list" for 2015. Following on from the Great Northern Diver earlier in the week, I've managed to see another 2 species, taking me to a grand total of 181 for the year. The last species for the year were Red-breasted Merganser and Common Scoter, both seen today in Northumberland.

Red-breasted Merganser

The Mergansers, 2 males and a female, were both seen on the River Coquet in Warkworth, along with 4 Eider Ducks, 2 Grey Herons, a male Goldeneye, Black-headed and Herring Gulls and Redshank. The Common Scoter, a female, was seen by Stag Rocks in Bamburgh, again accompanied by several Eider Ducks.

Jayne and I also visited Cresswell Pond today, where we saw Tree Sparrow, Goldfinch, Curlew, Redshank, Snipe (4), a Peregrine Falcon, Teal, Wigeon, Little Grebe, c.30 Pink-footed Geese, Black-headed, Herring and an adult Mediterranean Gull.

Herring, Black-headed and Mediterranean Gull

Year List update:
180: Red-breasted Merganser
181: Common Scoter

Scarborough Birding

The weather wasn't good enough for any ringing again this weekend, so instead Jayne and I decided to drive across to Scarborough to look at some Black-necked Grebes that have been reported in the harbour on the Bird Guides website. We parked up and walked along the pier, finding 2 birds swimming just outside the harbour. As we watched, they swam into the harbour fishing all the way, until they were about 10 m away! Another 3 birds were also seen later on in South Bay.

Black-necked Grebe

As well as the grebes, we also saw Turnstones, Redshanks, a couple of Cormorants, Herring and Great Black-backed Gull in the harbour.

Cormorant

After a spot of lunch in the C.A.L.F. cafe, we drove up to the Holbeck Car Park to see if we could catch up with the Mediterranean Gulls that over-winter there. I threw some fat balls out, and within a few seconds there were 3 adult and 2 1st winter Med Gulls, feeding along with about half a dozen Black-headed Gulls!

Mediterranean Gull (1st winter)

Mediterranean Gull (adult winter)

Year List update:
174 - Black-necked Grebe

North East trip adds to the Year List

Although the weather wasn't great yesterday, we decided to have a trip to the coast. We decided on Tynemouth near Newcastle, as this meant we could also combine the beach and some shopping with a little birding too.

 

The day started in Tynemouth itself, where we had a walk along the beach. During the walk we spotted the first "year tick" of the day with a Rock Pipit, feeding along the sea wall. Walking up to castle and Priory we spotted a large, female Peregrine Falcon carrying a Feral Pigeon. She perched up on the cliff side after being harassed by the local Herring Gulls, and then flew off south with her lunch. Also flying around the headland here were a couple of Fulmars. Here's a heavily cropped photo of the Peregrine.

Peregrine Falcon

After a spot of lunch at the café on the beach, we drove up to St Mary's Island, where we spent a hour looking at the waders and managed to add a few more birds (numbers 74 - 82) to the list. As well as these birds there were also about 50 Lapwings, 100+ Starlings and a superb flock of at least 500 Golden Plover flying around the area. Unfortunately, the tide was low, so I wasn't able to find any Purple Sandpipers today.

 

Here's a photo of one of the Ringed Plovers that was feeding around the causeway.

 

Ringed Plover

 

Year List update:

71 – Rock Pipit

72 – Peregrine Falcon
73 - Fulmar
74 – Redshank
75 – Turnstone
76 – Oystercatcher
77 – Curlew
78 – Sanderling
79 – Dunlin
80– Ringed Plover
81 – Eider Duck
82 - Shag

Yellow Wagtails at Carsington

This time last year I went up to Carsington Water to see some passage Yellow Wagtails. I've been checking Birdguides all week, and spotted a few reports coming through, so I drove across tonight and managed to locate 3 very bright individuals on the Water Sports Island. Here's a couple of photos.

Yellow Wagtail

 

Also seen on this island were a Common Sandpiper,  a Redshank and an Oystercatcher, whilst flying around were dozens of Swallows, and a couple each of Sand and House Martins.

 

Year List update:

140 – Yellow Wagtail

141 – Common Sandpiper

North Berwick and Bamburgh

Last day in Scotland today, so I got up early (again) and had a couple of hours on the beaches at North Berwick. The sun was just rising as I arrived and I got this shot of the beach and Bass Rock in the background.

North Berwick beach

Birdwise it was quite quiet, but I did record my first Turnstones of the trip (20+), feeding with at least 3 Purple Sandpipers (year tick) on the rocks below the Scottish Seabird Centre. Other waders present on the beach were Oystercatcher, Redshank, Curlew and a couple of Ringed Plovers. Both Grey and Pied Wagtails were feeding on the seaweed, whilst Starlings and House Sparrows were present on the nearby houses. Out on the sea were a couple of Red-breasted Mergansers, dozens of Eider Ducks, including several males trying to attract the attention of the females with their amazing "oooh,oooh" calls (listen here), a stunning 43 Shags feeding in the bay, along with Black-headed, Common, Lesser Black-backed and Great Black-backed Gulls.

On the drive back home, we stopped off at Bamburgh and had half an hour on the beach by Stag Rocks. I was hoping to catch up with some grebes or divers, and a Bonaparte's Gull that was reported yesterday, but no such luck. I did, however, see 5 juvenile Gannets "plunge diving" into the sea, 20+ Eider Ducks, 40+ Turnstones, 5 Purple Sandpipers and Common and Black-headed Gulls.

Year List update:
186 - Purple Sandpiper

Update: the Bonaparte's Gull was spotted about an hour after I'd left!!!!!

Aberlady Bay and Gullane Bents

I'm up in North Berwick for a few days, so this morning I got up early and drove across to Aberlady Bay in search of a Snow Goose that's been found with the thousands of Pink-footed Geese that overwinter here. I hung around for about 3 hours and watched as the "pinkies" flew out of their roost to feed on the surrounding farmland, but unfortunately, no sign of the "snowie" today.

Pinkies leaving the roost

No worries though, because whilst looking for the goose I did manage to watch all the waders and waterfowl. The first wader I saw today was a Grey Plover (year tick), followed closely by a Bar-tailed Godwit, dozens of Oystercatchers, Lapwings, Redshanks and Curlew, along with hundreds of Teal, Wigeon, Shelduck and Greylag Goose. 2 Little Egrets were also present feeding in the channels, a bird that is still relatively uncommon in Scotland. A couple of Tawny Owls were heard in the woodlands behind the estuary and a Kestrel was being annoyed by the local Crows.

On the drive back to North Berwick I dropped in to Gullane Bents and scanned the bay in search of Long-tailed Duck (link here) I managed a couple of stunning drakes, along with several Shags, Eider Ducks and a small group of about 10 Common Scoters (year tick).

Year List update:
180 - Grey Plover
181 - Common Scoter

Carsington Water - January 2013

Following on from yesterday's excursion I spent a few hours out at Carsington Water today. The weather wasn't great, but I had a short walk down to the Visitor Centre Hide where I managed several "year ticks".

First new bird of the year was a Redshank seen running along the shore of the reservoir, followed closely by a over-flying Common Buzzard. Out on the water I managed to locate one of the three Great Northern Divers that were present.

Around Horseshoe Island there were 9 Snipe feeding in amongst c.200+ Lapwings, dozens of Teal and Wigeon, a flock of 22 feral Barnacle Geese and 10s of Mallards. Pochard and Coots were out on the water.

Next to the hide there are 2 enormous bird tables and the final year tick of the day was a Willow Tit that was seen coming in. Also on the feeders was a very impressive flock of between 30 - 40 Tree Sparrows, which made a very good sight, along with Chaffinches, Blackbird, Collared Dove, Woodpigeon and Mallard!

Year List additions:

64 - Redshank
65 - Common Buzzard
66 - Great Northern Diver
67 - Snipe
68 - Barnacle Goose (feral)
69 - Willow Tit

North Berwick birding

I'm away in North Berwick in East Lothian, Scotland, for a few days and had my first bird watching walk this morning. I was out for a couple of hours from 7.30am and managed a fair few birds including my first "year tick" for quite a while, in the form of 3 winter plumaged Red-throated Divers.

North Berwick beach (with Bass Rock in the background)

My walk this morning started off in the harbour area where the first birds recorded were Starlings, Herring and Black-headed Gulls. A couple of Pied Wagtails were flying around and the first of at least a dozen Shags were fishing in the sea. Two Grey Herons flew up from the rocks below and a party of about 8 Eider Ducks were spotted out on the water. There were a couple of winter plumaged Guillemot out on the sea, along with the Red-throated Divers.

Back on the beach there were several waders: Turnstone (c30), Purple Sandpiper (at least 6), Oystercatcher (c10) and 1 Redshank. Several Rock Pipits were also around on the beach, along with more Starlings and House Sparrows. A great start.

154 - Red-throated Diver

Waders, waders and yet more waders!

After yesterday's excitement at North Shields I had a drive up to one of my favourite birding spots, St Mary's Island in Whitley Bay.I love this place because it is one of the best places I know to get super views of a wide range of different waders at very close quarters. As we arrived, the tide was coming in which meant that the birds were even closer than usual and we managed to see a total of 10 species (Dunlin, Redshank, Curlew, Ringed Plover, Sanderling, Turnstone, Knot, Purple Sandpiper, Oystercatcher and Bar-tailed Godwit) along with a Rock Pipt and a Peregrine Falcon that flew through the area on the search for a spot of lunch.

Redshank, Dunlin and Purple Sandpiper

One of the best birds I saw today was a colour ringed Dunlin. It was wearing a white ring with the letters E16 on it. I'll send off the details to the BTO and let you know where it was ringed when I find out.

Today's trip also added 11 new species to the Year List:

89 – Redshank

90 - Bar-tailed Godwit

91 – Sanderling

92 – Knot      

93 – Purple Sandpiper

94 – Ringed Plover

95 – Oystercatcher

96 - Turnstone

97 – Rock pipit

98 – Peregrine Falcon

99 - Song Thrush

One last photo of a feeding frenzy of Black-headed Gulls by the lighthouse.

Black-headed Gulls