Year List Update - 8th September 2024

 Just 3 new additions to the Year List recently: 186 was the Hobby seen over Linacre on 31/8, 187 was a juvenile Sabine's Gull (1 of 2 present at Redmires Reservoir South Yorkshire today) and 188 - Yellow-legged Gull (1 at Redmires).

The Sabine's Gull was my first in South Yorkshire, my first juvenile bird and my first since 2016 (see label for details). It was 1 of 2 juveniles present. We (Jayne and I) only saw 1, and unfortunately, we didn't manage to get a photo before they both flew off. Next time perhaps!

Year List update- 6 new species

I haven't blogged about this year's "year list" for a few weeks, and, as you can see from the title of this post, I've managed to add 6 new species to this year's list.

The first two species, Grasshopper Warbler and Sabine's Gull, were added at Derbyshire Wildlife Trust's Carr Vale reserve a few weeks back.

The next two species, Sedge and Garden Warbler, were added last weekend, whilst ringing at Poolsbrook Marsh last weekend.

The final two species, Yellow-legged Gull and Little Egret were added this week. The Yellow-legged Gull, a nice adult bird, was reported on the Sheffield Bird Study Group website, as being on playing fields in Low Edges, a five minute drive from home, so I popped along and "ticked" it. The Little Egret was seen today fishing in the Boating Lake on the Esplanade in Ryde, Isle of Wight.

Whilst in Ryde, Jayne and I also spotted 5 moulting adult Mediterranean Gulls. Although not a year tick, there are always nice to see and photograph. Here are a couple of photos.

Mediterranean Gull (back bird) and Black-headed Gull

Year List update:
157 – Grasshopper Warbler
158 – Sabine's Gull
159 – Sedge Warbler
160 – Garden Warbler
161 – Yellow-legged Gull
162 – Little Egret

Derbyshire Sabine's Gull!

It was only last year that I saw my first Sabine's Gull at Pennington Flash, Greater Manchester (see here). On Wednesday news broke that a moulting adult bird had been seen on the Derbyshire Wildlife Trust's Carr Vale reserve.

I couldn't get over until today, so this evening I drive across with Lydia and found the bird feeding on the small flash, south of the main lake. It never came very close, staying about 30m away at all times, but I still managed some decent record shots, one of which I cropped. Unfortunately, no flight shots this time around.

Sabine's Gull

This record is only the 7th of this species in Derbyshire, and the first since August 1997. For me this is not only a "year tick", but it also my first ever Derbyshire record.

Whilst there, I also added Grasshopper Warbler to the year list, with 1 reeling bird, and about 20 Swifts.

Year List update:
157 - Grasshopper Warbler
158 - Sabine's Gull

SABINE'S GULL!!!

When news of an adult, inland Sabine's Gull at Pennington Flash in Greater Manchester appeared on Birdguides earlier this week (see here), I'm afraid to say, my "twitching ears" pricked up, and I decided to drive across and see it. Not only is this species of gull a very attractive one, but it is also a "lifer" for me and one that is not easy to catch up with in the UK, unless you're willing to take a "pelagic" trip, i.e. go out on the sea for many hours, or sit on a high cliff in the South West for many hours staring at the sea!

So it was then, that I drove the 2 hours to Pennington Flash, and stood watching this superb bird, down to just 5m at times, as it fed and mooched  about on the lake in front of me. I took about 800 photos, but here are just five to give you some idea of how great a bird this is. The last photo, showing the amazing wing pattern, is my favourite, but I've also included one with a juvenile Black-headed Gull, to give some idea of scale, and a couple of standard "side on" shots. Enjoy!

Follow this link to find out more about this species.

Other birds seen on site included several Common Terns, the aforementioned Black-headed Gulls and at least 50 Common Swifts!!

Year List update:
155 - Sabine's Gull