RSPB Old Moor - 5th September 2026

Jayne and I had a trip over to RSPB Old Moor, on Saturday. We had a few hours there, and managed to add another couple of species to the Year List: Wood Sandpiper (194) and Caspian Gull (195).

The Wood Sandpiper was seen from Wath Ings hide, and was feeding close in with several Ruff and a Greenshank. Other birds seen from this hide included: Green Sandpiper (5), Lapwing (50+), Dunlin (3), Black-tailed Godwit (4), Grey Heron (1), Mallard, Gadwall, Teal, Canada and Greylag Geese.

Wood Sandpiper and Ruff

Greenshank (and Stickleback)

Our next stop was the Wader Scrape Hide, where we spotted a very confiding Common Sandpiper, Wigeon, Gadwall, Pied Wagtail, Mute Swan (2 ringed birds: Y848 and Y812) Lesser Black-backed Gulls and a single Caspian Gull. The Caspian Gull, a 2nd year bird, was ringed with the darvic number PY1X, and appears to be a Polish-ringed bird. I'll update, when I hear back from the ringers. The final bird species of note was Marsh Harrier. We saw two birds, a male and a "cream crown".

Common Sandpiper

Caspian Gull

Gadwall

RSPB Blacktoft Sands - 12th August 2026

Jayne and I had a couple of hours at RSPB Blacktoft Sands yesterday morning. The reserve was quite dry, but that did mean the birds were concentrated onto the wetter areas. We got 1 "year tick"; Green Sandpiper (179), with at least 4 on the reserve. 

Green Sandpiper

Other birds seen included: Black-tailed Godwit, Ruff, Lapwing, Spotted Redshank (1 winter plumaged bird),  Redshank, Snipe, Bearded Tit (showing very well on the mud at the bottom of the reeds), Teal, Mallard, Canada and Greylag Geese, Pied Wagtail, and, best of all, 10+ Yellow Wagtails, which showed very well, in front of Marshland Hide.

Yellow Wagtails

The Konik Ponies, which live on the reserve, to help with "conservation grazing", were also seen.

Konik Ponies

Bonaparte's Gull and Red-breasted Goose - 2 Lifers!

 Its not often that a Lesser Yellowlegs has to play second fiddle on a day's birdwatching in Great Britain, but, on today's trip to RSPB Frampton Marsh, that is exactly what happened!!!

Lesser Yellowlegs (we went back later!!)

Jayne and I decided to drive across, after seeing that an adult, summer-plumaged Bonaparte's Gull (1st Lifer of 2024 and my 144th species of the year) had made a reappearance on the Reedbed Marsh, after being found earlier in the week. We walked quickly past the Yellowlegs (!) and saw the gull more or less straight away, sitting on the water, about 20m away, with several Black-headed Gulls. The bird remained on view all day, and we managed to get a few shots.

Bonaparte's Gull (rear bird), with Black-headed Gull

Within the same view, we also spotted 2 Little Gulls - an adult and a 1st winter/2nd calendar year bird (145). There were dozens (hundreds?) of Avocets around the reserve, along with several Ruff (146), breeding Lapwing, Redshank and 2-300 Black-tailed Godwits. Unfortunately, we dipped the Black-winged Stilt (a female, 2nd year bird), so we'll have to go back again for that one!!

Black-tailed Godwit

Walking up to the sea wall, we heard the first Sedge Warblers (143) of the year, and caught a brief sight of a fly-over Yellow Wagtail (147). Two Garganeys (male and female - 148) were seen (fast asleep), along with 2 Little Ringed Plovers (149) and  a stunning, male White Wagtail (150). Also seen were Little Egret and two Great (White) Egret.

The last new bird of the day was a Red-breasted Goose (151 and lifer number 2), that was feeding with the Brent Geese. Although this is a species of more often seen as an escapee in Britain (as was the bird we saw earlier in the year at Clumber Park), this bird "felt" wilder, and, as it was associating with the Brent Geese, stands more of a chance of being accepted as such. It gave good telescope views, and I managed a half decent record shot. 

Red-breasted Goose (1st winter?)

My 142nd bird of the year, Red Grouse, was seen yesterday, on Stanage Moor, Derbyshire.

RSPB Frampton Marsh

One year ago Jayne, Luke and I spent the day at RSPB Frampton Marsh in 23 degree heat, and gorgeous sunshine (see here). We were back again today, and the weather wasn't quite as kind (12 degrees, grey and overcast), but the birds more than made up for it. In the 5 hours that we were there, we got some fantastic views of the birds, including 2 "lifers" for Luke (Turtle Dove and Grasshopper Warbler, both heard, but not seen), and 13 "year ticks" for me.

We started off walking from the car park, where we had c.10 Swift overhead. We then heard Reed, Sedge and Cetti's Warbler, and a very close Cuckoo (glimpsed briefly by Jayne), before watching 2 breeding plumaged Spotted Redshank, 2 Wood Sandpiper, several Ruff, 1 Greenshank, Redshank, Avocet, Ringed and Little Ringed Plover, Dunlin (1 breeding plumaged bird), Lapwing, Whimbrel (1), Common Sandpiper (1), Little Egret, Grey Heron, Buzzard, Shelduck, Teal, Wigeon, Mallard, Garganey (one pair), Canada, Greylag and Barnacle Geese, Mute Swan, Brent Geese, Swallow, Sand and House Martin, Pied and Yellow Wagtail, Skylark, House Sparrow, Chaffinch, Great Tit, Chiffchaff, Blackcap, Lesser Whitethroat and Whitethroat!

Male Ruff

Phonescoped Garganey

Year List update:

160 – Swift
161 – Sedge Warbler
162 – Reed Warbler
163 – Spotted Redshank
164 – Wood Sandpiper
165 – Ruff
166 – Garganey
167 – Common Tern
168 – Turtle Dove
169 – Whimbrel
170 – Grasshopper Warbler
171 – Little Ringed Plover
172 – Yellow Wagtail

RSPB Frampton Marsh - 16 Year Ticks!!

Today, Jayne, Luke and I went across to RSPB Frampton Marsh in Lincolnshire. We had a superb day in sunshine and 23 degree heat, and managed to see an amazing range of birds including 16 "year ticks" (and an additional one, Hobby, on the drive across). We saw several Linnets here as well, but my first of the year, was seen in Apperknowle on Thursday.

The birds seen are listed below, but the best bird of the day was, by far, the Corn Bunting. It was found by Jayne (thank you, thank you, thank you!!!), and was first in the UK since, well, I can't even remember, that's how long ago it was. The bird in question, was found sitting on a barbed wire fence by 360 Hide, and very kindly sat long enough to get a half decent picture.

Corn Bunting

Other highlights were a stunning male Garganey, 300+ Brent Geese, a day-flying Barn Owl, 2 Whimbrel, Greenshank, breeding plumaged Dunlin, Black-tailed Godwit, Ruff, lots of singing Whitethroats and last, but by no means least a "plastic fantastic" drake Wood Duck!!

Wood Duck

A few butterflies were also flying about, including  2 Peacocks and (new for the year) Speckled Wood and Large White.

Speckled Wood (courtesy of Luke)

Year List update:
123 – Linnet
124 – Reed Warbler
125 – Whitethroat
126 – Ruff
127 – Greenshank
128 – Black-tailed Godwit
129 – Brent Goose
130 – Avocet
131 – Dunlin
132 – Curlew Sandpiper
133 – Barn Owl
134 – Ringed Plover
135 – Little Ringed Plover
136 – Hobby
137 – Whimbrel
138 – Sedge Warbler
139 – Garganey
140 - Corn Bunting

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)

Black-winged Stilts

I haven't seen a Black-winged Stilt in the UK for many years, not since "Sammy", the resident, and possibly escaped, bird that used to live in and around RSPB Titchwell in Norfolk (see article here). When I spotted on Birdguides that 3 birds had turned up in WWT Slimbridge, I thought it would be an excellent opportunity to catch up with this species again.

I drove down on Sunday (with family), and got excellent views of 3 different birds feeding about 10m away in front of one of the hides. Here's a couple of photos and a link to a bit of video (here).

Black-winged Stilt

Other birds seen around the site included: Common Crane (4 birds), Ruff (6 birds, including 2 males in breeding plumage), Avocet, Oystercatcher, Black-headed, Lesser Black-backed and Mediterranean Gull (1 2cy bird), Wigeon, Teal, Mute Swan, Greylag Goose, (with 5 goslings), Little Egret, Shoveler, Mallard, Coot, Moorhen and Gadwall.

Gadwall (male)

Year List update:
142 – Common Crane
143 – Black-winged Stilt
144 - Ruff

Frampton Marsh RSPB

Yesterday I spent 5 hours at RSPB Frampton Marsh with my nephew, Luke. Luke saw 5 new species of birds, and I managed to get 8 new "year ticks".

The first new bird for me was Little Stint. We saw at least 4 different birds, but there have been up to 40 birds present recently. 1 bird in particular came feeding very close in to the 360 hide, and we managed to get some nice photos.

Little Stint (juvenile)

The second bird that I really wanted to see was Curlew Sandpiper. Last week there were over 200 present, but this week the numbers had dropped off, and we managed to see about 6. They were quite distant, but 1 came in close to 360 hide along with a Little Stint.

Curlew Sandpiper and Little Stint

Other "year ticks" were: Green Sandpiper (1 seen), Ruff ( a minimum of 6 seen), Yellow Wagtail (1 flew over), Marsh Harrier (3 seen), Little Ringed Plover (1 seen) and Spoonbill (4 birds).

Spoonbills (1 adult and 3 juveniles?)

Spoonbills and Black-tailed Godwit

As well as these birds we also saw: Avocet, Sparrowhawk, Kestrel, Snipe, Greenshank, Common Sandpiper, Cormorant, Wheatear (1 juvenile), Teal, Little Egret (10+), and Ringed Plover (1 juvenile).

Ringed Plover (juvenile)

It was quite sunny, so we also managed to see a few insects; Common Darter, Migrant Hawker and Common Blue Butterfly.

Common Blue Butterfly

Year List update:

167 – Green Sandpiper
168 – Little Stint
169 – Curlew Sandpiper
170 – Ruff
171 – Spoonbill
172 – Yellow Wagtail
173 – Marsh Harrier
174 - Little Ringed Plover

RSPB Old Moor

I had a day at RSPB Old Moor today in search of a Great White Egret, that has been present for a few weeks. After a few hours, and quite a few "near misses" I managed to connect with the bird when it flew out of the reeds on Wath Ings and disappeared onto nearby Bolton Ings. in total, I saw it for about 30 seconds, so no photo I'm afraid!!

While waiting for the egret, I got another "year tick" in the shape of 2 Common Sandpipers that were feeding close to the hides. Other waders present were: Green Sandpiper (2), Dunlin (4), Ruff (4), Snipe (1), Lapwing (c.300), Golden Plover (3 breeding plumaged birds) and Black-tailed Godwit (3).

Common and Green Sandpiper

Green Sandpiper

As well as the waders there were a good number of ducks, geese and swans present including: Mallard, Gadwall, Pochard, Wigeon, Teal, Mute Swan, Canada and Greylag Geese.  

Shoveler

Last but not least were the small birds. I didn't see or hear many, but the highlights for me were dozens of Goldfinch, a single Marsh Harrier, 8 Swallows and 2 Swifts, which are my latest ever record.

Year List update:
167 - Great White Egret
168 - Common Sandpiper

RSPB Frampton Marsh

I had a drive over to Lincolnshire today to see if I could see a Red-footed Falcon at the Lincolnshire Wildlife Trust's Willow Tree Fen Reserve. Unfortunately, I "dipped", but I did spot at least half a dozen Yellow Wagtails feeding around the cows, a Green Sandpiper, a Kingfisher and 2 Marsh Harriers.

Afterwards, I drove over to RSPB Frampton Marsh, near Boston, to look for some of the many waders that had been reported recently on the Birdguides website. The first species I saw was Black-tailed Godwit, followed closely by Ruff , Snipe, Ringed Plover and Lapwing. Wood Sandpiper was the next species seen with 2 individuals seen. Little Stints (2 juveniles), and a single juvenile Curlew Sandpiper were also seen. I got  a few "record shots".

Little Stint showing white "braces"

Little Stint (face on)

Curlew Sandpiper (juvenile)

Wood Sandpiper 

Ruff (juvenile)

Along with the waders there were also hundreds of Mallards, Teals, Canada and Greylag Geese, as well as 6 Pintail, Black-headed and Herring Gulls and a single, unseasonable Pink-footed Goose!

Year List update:

160 – Yellow Wagtail

161 – Green Sandpiper

162 – Wood Sandpiper

163 – Little Stint

164 – Curlew Sandpiper

165 – Pink-footed Goose

166 - Pintail

Year List tops 150

After a week away in Norfolk I thought it was about time I updated the Year List, especially as I've managed to reach the 150 mark again.

The first new addition, Barn Owl, was actually spotted in Derbyshire a few weeks ago. It suddenly appeared flying over the road as I drove to work through Apperknowle.

The other new birds were all recorded during the last week in Norfolk. Red-legged Partridge was seen in the fields around Sharrington. Sandwich Tern and Knot were seen at the Norfolk Wildlife Trust's Cley Reserve, whilst the two Godwit species (both in breeding plumage!), Spoonbill and Bearded Tit, were all recorded at the RSPB's Titchwell Reserve.

Whilst at Titchwell, I also spotted a juvenile colour-ringed Great Black-backed Gull. A quick check on the internet suggested that it had been ringed earlier this year in Norway- nice! Here's the colour ring.

JT187 

Colour-ringed Great Black-backed Gull

On the way back to the centre, we came across these 2 juvenile Reed Warblers that were sitting in the reeds just 20 ft or so from the path. There was a 3rd young bird lower down in the reeds as well, and whilst stood there, an adult bird came in to feed them.

Reed Warbler

Year List update:

146 - Barn Owl

147 - Red-legged Partridge

148 - Ruff

149 - Sandwich Tern

150 - Knot

151 - Black-tailed Godwit

152 - Bar-tailed Godwit

153 - Spoonbill

154 - Bearded Tit

Northumberland News

After our holiday in Suffolk at the start of the summer (see here and here), Jayne and I went up to Northumberland for a break last week. Although not a birding trip, we did visit a few regular spots, and also managed to add 3 birds to the "Year List".

The first new bird was an adult Caspian Gull (see here), which had been present in the harbour at Amble for a couple of weeks.

Caspian Gull

As you can see, this bird was colour-ringed, which showed that it had been ringed at a Caspian Gull colony in Poland. Nice and easy to identify!! Other birds seen around the harbour included Black-headed, Lesser Black-backed , Great Black-backed and Herring Gulls, Eider Ducks, Cormorants, Common Terns, Shags, Goosander, Mute Swan, Mallard, Redshank, Dunlin, Ringed Plover, Knot , Shelduck and Starling.

On the Tuesday, we went to Bamburgh and Seahouses. Whilst there, we took a "sunset cruise" around the Farne Islands with Serenity Tours. Unfortunately, all the auks had left, but we did see lots of Kittiwakes and Shags, along with several Fulmars one Purple Sandpiper and a couple of Gannets. The Atlantic Grey Seals have also returned to the islands to breed, so we got some pretty good views of them too.

Grey Seals

The final new bird of the week was a Pectoral Sandpiper, that was found on a flash at North Charlton. It was feeding along with 10 Ruff, 2 Snipe, 1 Little Ringed Plover and several Moorhens. Here's a link to a much better photo than I got.

Year List update:
170 - Caspian Gull
171 - Gannet
172 - Pectoral Sandpiper

RSPB Frampton Marsh

Yesterday I drove over to the RSPB Frampton Marsh reserve in Lincolnshire and spent a few sunny hours watching the birdlife, including couple of "year ticks".

On arrival I walked straight down to the Reedbed Hide, where there were a couple of migrant juvenile Ruff, feeding with the resident Mallards, Great-crested Grebes, Mute Swans, Coots and Moorhens. I then went across to the 360 Hide to see if I could spot the Glossy Ibis that had been present throughout the summer. Unfortunately it wasn't in view, but I did manage to find a couple of Spoonbills, including this juvenile bird with a completely pink bill, approximately 700(!) Black-tailed Godwits,  a couple of summer plumaged Curlew Sandpiper, juvenile Redshank, Teal, Wigeon, Canada and Greylag Geese.

Spoonbill (juvenile)

I had a short walk around the rest of the reserve and then returned to the 360 Hide. This time, the Ibis was feeding just in front of the hide, and I managed to get a few photos, showing the glossy feathers that give this bird its name.

Glossy Ibis

Also spotted in front of this hide was a stunning Wood Sandpiper, that I also managed to get a shot of. I'm pretty sure it's a juvenile, due to the prominent supercilium behind the eye, and the  fine streaking on the breast. Please tell me if I'm wrong!

Wood Sandpiper

Driving home I spotted a dead Barn Owl by the side of the road. I managed to stop and look to see if it had been ringed, but unfortunately it hadn't.

Year List update:

164 – Whinchat (a family party seen on Big Moor on 27th July)

165 – Spoonbill
166 – Glossy Ibis

RSPB Blacktoft Sands and Old Moor

I decided to have a drive over to RSPB Blacktoft Sands today in search of waders. As always I was very pleased with the variety of birds on offer, including a juvenile Marsh Harrier hunting low over the reeds and then coming to a rest on the floor, Greenshank, Redshank, Green Sandpiper, Ruff, Black-tailed Godwit, Dunlin, Lapwing, Snipe, a Common Buzzard (my first record at this site) and a "year tick"; Spotted Redshank (20+). There were also a few duck species around, namely Teal (100+),  Wigeon (3), Mallard (loads!) and Pintail (4).

175 - Spotted Redshank

Spotted Redshank

Marsh Harrier (juvenile)

Toad - found walking across the path

 

After Blacktoft I drove over to RSPB Old Moor for a few hours. Again, waders were the highlight, with Wath Ings Hide very busy. Black-tailed Godwits, Green Sandpipers, Ruff, Dunlin, Lapwing and Redshank were all on show, along with this very showy Kingfisher that spent most of the afternoon perching and hunting from a perch by the hide.

Kingfisher (adult male, I believe)

 

There were a few insects about at Old Moor, including a beautiful male Common Blue Butterfly. Here are a couple of shots, the first showing the blue upper wings and the second showing it feeding on a flower of the Bird's Foot Trefoil. Gorgeous!

 

Common Blue Butterfly