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

Two more Ticks

Our base in Northumberland was at the Queen Elizabeth Country Park, on the outskirts of Amble and Ashington.

The lake is a great place, especially in winter, but, whilst there last week, we had a great time looking at the breeding birds, and the summering Black-headed Gulls. Most birds appeared to be 1st summer birds, with a few adults. Many of the 1st summer birds have a full brown hood, but still retain the juvenile feathers.

Black-headed Gull

Another great bird for me was the Whooper Swan (177). This bird appears to be a resident bird, who I first saw here in January 2024 (see here). He/she was present around the site, and was quite tame, allowing some great views from the car park.

Whooper Swan

Other birds seen here were: Greylag and Canada Geese (with goslings), Mallards, Pied Wagtails (juveniles), Mute Swans (13 in total, with at least 6 metal ringed), Herring and Lesser Black-backed Gulls and, perhaps the most surprising, for me at least, Tree Sparrows (adults and juveniles).

Tree Sparrow

Our last stop was in Whitley Bay. We started off at St Mary's Island, where we saw the Grey Seals, along with  a few Terns (possibly Sandwich), which were flying past, and finally, a single Fulmar (178). We then had a few hours on the beach at Tynemouth, where we were lucky enough to watch a pod of Bottlenose Dolphins (including at least 1 juvenile), swimming, feeding and jumping out of the water!!!! The final highlight was a singing Whitethroat, that posed beautifully.

Whitethroat

Linacre WeBS - 9th March 2024

Ringing was cancelled yesterday morning, due to windy and rainy conditions, so instead, I popped down to Linacre to carry out this month's WeBS count.

The morning started well, when the female Mute Swan, 6Y24, was re-found, back on the middle reservoir. She seems to have settled in well, and came readily to seed, even pecking at the surrounding Mallards, to make sure she got her fair share!

Mute Swan

I carried on around all three reservoirs, and, despite the weather, there was an almost spring-like feel to the morning, with 2 pairs of Great-crested Grebes on site, both displaying. Other birds seen were: Mallard (69), Moorhen (10), Coot (7), Tufted Duck (17), Black-headed Gull (32) and Mandarin Duck (8). 

Black-headed Gull

Lots of the woodland species were singing, and I also spotted my first drumming Great-spotted Woodpeckers (2) of the year, my first Linacre Jay record, and a super Common Buzzard perched on the fence by the main entrance.

The big highlight of the morning, however, came just as I was leaving. I was walking along the middle reservoir, when I heard the sound of calling Whooper Swans. Looking up, an amazing 50 birds appeared, flying in low over my head! At first they looked like they might land, but instead they gained height and carried on along the valley. A few minutes later, however, 7 birds re-appeared and landed on the middle reservoir - fantastic!!!! This is my first record, actually on the reservoirs, and not just flying over, since 2016!

Whooper Swans

Northumberland - Days 4 and 5

 During our last few days in Northumberland, we managed to add a few more birds to the "Year List", with trips to Alnmouth and Queen Elizabeth II Country Park.

The first new addition, heard by our accommodation in Shilbottle, was Skylark (87). Whilst in Alnmouth, we added Little Egret (88) and Bar-tailed Godwit (89), on the estuary, along with 10 Ringed Plover, Curlew, Lapwing, Dunlin, Grey Heron, Shag and Herring and Black-headed Gulls.

Bar-tailed Godwit

On our final day, today, we drove down to Queen Elizabeth II Country Park, adding Tawny Owl (90-heard), Grey Partridge (6 seen in a field outside Warkworth; 91), Golden Plover (92) and Little Grebe (93). At the country Park, we had our final additions of the trip; Gadwall (94) and a single Whooper Swan (95).

Whooper (and Mute) Swan

Scotland Trip - October 2023

 Jayne and I have just returned from a family break in Pitlochry. Whilst there, we saw a few new birds and some lovely Red Squirrels.

We visited RSPB Loch Garten, and, after a short while (10 minutes), spotted my first ever British Crested Tit (191). It was feeding on peanuts, by the footpath to the centre. It flew in, fed for about 30 seconds and then flew off!

Crested Tit

Whilst there, we also heard Crossbills (192), a flock of 15 Whooper Swans and a skein of c50 Pink-footed Geese.

We saw Red Squirrels on several occasions, including this photographic individual at Killiekrankie.

Red Squirrel

Our final sightings of the week was a flock of 9 Waxwings (193), that were seen on 3rd at The House of Bruar retail park, and a single Hooded Crow, that was feeling by the A9!

Waxwings

RSPB Frampton Marsh

RSPB Frampton Marsh in Lincolnshire is a fantastic reserve that I love to visit several times a year. This time of year is great for waders (and lots more besides!), so Jayne and I had a trip there today.

As I said, there are loads of waders at Frampton at this time of the year, and together we spotted: Ruff (50+), Black-tailed Godwit (100+), Dunlin (c40), Green Sandpiper (1), Spotted Redshank (1, in winter plumage), Wood Sandpiper (1, and my 182nd bird of the year), Avocet (c.100), Lapwing (c50), Ringed Plover (1), and Curlew Sandpiper (1, and my 183rd species of the year). Unfortunately, there was some maintenance work going on whilst we were there, causing some disturbance to the birds, and we didn't manage to connect with Little Stint, Greenshank or the Pectoral Sandpiper, that was reported half an hour after we left!!!

Wood Sandpiper

Other birds seen were: Spoonbill (33!), Little Egret (20), Buzzard (2), Marsh Harrier (1), Kestrel (1), Swallow (3), Long-tailed Tit, Blackbird,  Pintail (3), Mallard, Wigeon (1m), Teal, Pochard (1m), Mute Swan, Whooper Swan (1- presumably an injured bird that hasn't migrated?), Greylag and Canada Geese.

Whilst there, we also spotted several insects: Speckled Wood (6), Common Darter (1m), Migrant Hawker (1fm) and, best of all, a single, male Willow Emerald Damselfly- very nice!

Willow Emerald Damselfly

Linacre WeBS - January 2023

 Thus weekend I was down at Linacre to carry out the first WeBS count of the year. It was a cold, but bright, 0 degrees, with approximately 40% of the reservoirs covered in ice.

The main highlight of this month's walk was the sight of 49 Teal on the middle reservoir - my highest ever count at Linacre. This follows on from a site record of 119 back in December 2022. Presumably, both counts refer to harsh weather movements. Another highlight was the sight of 32 Whooper Swans, flying west along the valley - my first sighting here since March 2020.

Whooper Swans

Other birds seen were: Mallard (136), Tufted Duck (42), Mandarin Duck (19), Little Grebe (3, including one in full breeding plumage), Great-crested Grebe (1, in full breeding plumage), Coot (13), Moorhen (14), Cormorant (2), Black-headed Gull (52), Goosander (1 female) and Pied Wagtail (1).

Over the weekend, I also added a few new birds to the Year List: 81) Tawny Owl 82) Whooper Swan 83) Little Owl (in Holmesfield), 84) Mistle Thrush 85) Raven 86) Great-spotted Woodpecker and 87) Fieldfare.

2022 Year List begins

 I was very lucky to start this year's birding with a few hours on Holy Island, Northumberland. My first species seen was Blackbird, followed closely by Robin, Curlew and Grey Heron. Whilst there, I managed a total of 35 species, including Pale-bellied Brent Goose, Red-throated Diver and Red-breasted Merganser.

After Holy Island, I drove to Budle Bay, where I added several new species to the list (numbers 36 - 42). The last two places visited were Warkworth Beach and Amble Harbour, where species 43 - 55 were seen.

Mediterranean Gull (Amble harbour)

Year List 2022:

1 - Blackbird 

2 - Robin 

3 - Curlew 

4 - Grey Heron 

5 - Oystercatcher 

6 - Herring Gull

7 - Black-headed Gull 

8 - Great Black-backed Gull 

9 - Skylark 

10- Rock Pipit 

11 - Pied Wagtail 

12 - Eider Duck 

13 - Starling 

14 - House Sparrow 

15 - Jackdaw 

16 - Carrion Crow 

17 - Redwing

18 - Ringed Plover 

19 - Dunlin 

20 - Redshank 21 - 

Brent Goose (Pale-bellied) 

22 - Shag

23 -  Red-breasted Merganser 

24- Red-throated Diver 

25- Blue Tit 

26- Dunnock 

27 - Little Grebe 

28 - Little Egret 

29 - Lapwing 

30 - Teal 

31 - Shoveler 

32 - Collared Dove 

33 - Pheasant 

34 - Goldfinch 

35 - Chaffinch 

36 - Magpie 

37 - Mistle Thrush 

38 - Mallard 

39 - Shelduck 

40 - Wigeon

41 - Knot 

42 - Lapwing 

43 - Guillemot 

44 - Great-crested Grebe 

45 - Stonechat 

46 - Common Scoter 

47 - Common Gull 

48 - Bullfinch 

49 - Woodpigeon 

50 - Cormorant

51 - Turnstone 

52 - Mediterranean Gull 

53 - Whooper Swan 

54 - Pink-footed Goose 

55 - Feral Pigeon

Year List Update - 15th May 2020

I last updated my year list back in February (see here). At the time, I had recorded 91 species in the UK, and was looking forward to an Easter trip to Majorca!! Obviously, due to the Corona Virus lockdown, the trip was cancelled, as was all other, non-essential travel, and opportunities to see some of my usual spring birds didn't happen.

Having said that, the list has continued to increase, with birds seen over the garden, or on our daily exercise walks, and it now stands at a not- too-terrible 108 species.

Year List update:
92 – Yellowhammer
93 – Chiffchaff
94 – Whooper Swan
95 – Dipper
96 – Skylark
97 - Blackcap
98 – Willow Warbler
99 – Raven
100 – Linnet
101 - Swallow
102 – House Martin
103 – Whitethroat
104 – Garden Warbler
105 – Swift
106 – Pied Flycatcher
107 – Meadow Pipit
108 – Cuckoo (heard)

Birds 92 - 105 were all first recorded in Dronfield and the surrounding area, with the exception of the Whooper Swan, which was a late addition, having been seen over Linacre on 21st March (my last visit before lockdown). Willow Warbler was first recorded in the garden, my first ever garden sighting! Numbers 106 - 108 were seen yesterday, by Jayne and me, on our first car trip since March, when we had an hour at Padley Gorge (4pm - 5.00pm).

Linacre Update

It's been quite a while since I blogged about Linacre, so here's a quick update, including the first ringing session of 2020, March's WeBS count and the first returning summer migrant.

As you will recall, the weather in February was horrendous, with every weekend bring high winds and rain, so our first ringing session of the year didn't take place until the 7th March. It was a quiet session with just 15 birds ringed (new/retrap): Long-tailed Tit 3/0, Blue Tit 9/0, Great Tit 0/1 and Coal Tit 1/0.

The WeBS walk in March (14th) produced the following birds: Mallard (39), Tufted Duck (17), Mandarin Duck (9), Grey Wagtail (1), Cormorant (1), Lesser Black-backed Gull (3 over), Black-headed Gull (16), Moorhen (9), Coot (8), Canada Goose (2), Great-crested Grebe (1 breeding plumaged bird) and Little Grebe (2).

I had another visit on 21st March and heard my first summer migrant of the year, Chiffchaff. In total there were 4 singing around the site. Also present on site were: Goosander (1 redhead), Great-crested Grebe (3 breeding plumaged birds), Mallard (57), Mandarin Duck (19), Coot (15), Moorhen (11), Cormorant (1), Canada Goose (2), Grey Wagtail (3) and, best of all, a super herd of 45 Whooper Swans flying over in a North westerly (Icelandic!) direction.

As I write this post, the whole of Great Britain (and most of the world!!) has gone into lockdown to combat the Corona virus, so I can't be sure when I'll get to visit Linacre again. Instead, I'll post sightings from my garden and local area. Stay safe everyone!!

Linacre WeBS January 2018

This weekend was the date for the first BTO WeBS count of 2019. Luke and I had two hours down at Linacre this morning recording the following birds: Mallard (67), Tufted Duck (28), Mandarin Duck (12), Moorhen (15), Coot (5), Cormorant (1), Grey Wagtail (1), Grey Heron (1), Black-headed Gull (c.35) and best of all.... Whooper Swan (a herd of 8 that flew low over the top reservoir, but, unfortunately, didn't land). This was the first Linacre record since March 2017, and a nice way to get a "year tick" too! Luke managed  this photo as they flew through the mist.

Whooper Swans

Other birds seen/heard around the site included Siskin (year tick), Magpie, Green Woodpecker (heard twice and seen once), Kestrel (1), Redwing (loads!!) and Mistle Thrush (1).

Year List update:
102 - Siskin
103 - Whooper Swan

Linacre Nestboxes - 1st May 2017

Luke and I spent 2 and a half hours walking around Linacre this morning checking on the 80+ tit boxes. 39 were occupied, 21 of which either contained eggs, but no adults, or nests, but no eggs. The nests that contained eggs, but no adults, should hopefully, go on to produce chicks later in the season. The remaining 18 nests had 12 Blue Tits and 6 Great Tits, that were sitting tight when we checked, indicating a clutch of eggs underneath. All the results of today's search will be forwarded to the BTO's Nest Record Scheme.

Blue Tit incubating

We also managed to record 2 other nests today, namely a Coot on the top reservoir, and a Moorhen that had built in a very precarious site on the overflow on the middle reservoir. Unfortunately, we weren't able to see the contents for a nest record.

Moorhen nest

A pair of Mallards were seen with a group of 7 very small  ducklings on the top reservoir. 2 Mistle Thrushes were collecting food for an unseen nest by the bottom car park.

Whilst walking around, we spoke to a couple who we seen regularly walking their dog around the reservoirs. They mentioned seeing a herd of 24 swans in late March. The timing of the sighting, the number of birds involved, and the fact that they were described as "noisy" makes me pretty sure they were Whooper Swans. Unfortunately, the couple couldn't remember exactly when they'd seen them. Perhaps they were present on 12th March when Luke and I had 2 Whoopers at Holmebrook Valley CP (see here)?

Other birds seen today included 3 Mandarin Ducks, an immature Cormorant, a dead Canada Goose (on the top reservoir- no obvious signs of death), a couple of Great-crested Grebes and a singing Willow Warbler.

Whooper Swans at Holmebrook Valley CP

After walking around Linacre yesterday morning I decided to pop down the road to Holmebrook Valley CP in Chesterfield to check on the ringed Mute Swan and his partner that Luke and I recorded a few weeks ago (see blog post here). The Mute Swans were still there, but what was more of a surprise was the 2 Whooper Swans that were also present!

089, the ringed male Mute Swan, was acting very aggressively towards both birds, driving both of them out of the water, as can seen in this photo. He was particularly aggressive towards one bird, grabbing it by the neck on many occasions.

Whooper Swan and 089

I left at about 9:30am and the birds were reported on another 2 occasions, but they had gone this morning, allowing 089 and his partner time to calm down. Hopefully, the 2 Whoopers  are now well on their way to Iceland.

Whooper Swan

North East Adventure

Every February half term I like to have a day out birding somewhere different. This year I spent a day with Luke travelling around the North East, picking up 2 "lifers", and 21 "year ticks".

The first stop of the day was Skinningrove in Cleveland, where an Eastern Black Redstart had been reported on rocks by the pier. We arrived at 8.30am, and enjoyed a couple of hours here watching the bird as it fed in amongst the rocks. It was a very confiding bird, coming to within a few feet at times. Although, not yet a full species, it's still a great looking bird and very nice to see. See here for details of the different subspecies.

Eastern Black Redstart

Also present here were several Stonechat, 4 Robins, Wrens, Dunnocks, Pied Wagtails, 4 Redshank, 4 Oystercatchers, Rock Pipits and c.20 Fulmars.

Next stop on our day trip was the Northumberland Wildlife Trust's East Chevington Nature Reserve. The main bird we were here to see was a juvenile Pacific Diver. With a little persistence and some help from another birder, we found the bird, swimming distantly with Mute and Whooper Swans. Unfortunately, we couldn't get any photos, so click here for some amazing shots of the bird, taken earlier in its stay. Other birds present on and around the reserve were: Shelduck, Red-breasted Merganser, Scaup (4), Slavonian Grebe (1), Gadwall, Skylark, Goldeneye, Mallard, Coot, Little Grebe, Lapwing, Curlew, Canada and Greylag Geese. Whilst here, we also walked down through the dunes to have a look for some Shorelarks and Twite that had been reported on the beach. Unfortunately, the Shorelarks weren't around, but we did see an amazing flock of c.90 Twite, and a few Linnets. Some seed had been put down by a couple of photographers and the birds kept flying in to feed about 10 feet away from us.

Twite

Ringed Plovers were also running around on the beach along with c.30 Sanderlings, including a colour ringed individual. Hopefully, I'll get the details of this bird, and update the blog later.

The last stop of the day was North Shields Fish Quay, where we hoped to catch up with a couple of "white-winged" gulls. The first species, a 1st winter/2nd calendar year Iceland Gull, was seen flying around as we parked up, but couldn't be found again (!), whilst a 1st winter/2nd calendar year Glaucous Gull was a lot more confiding. The bird flew in to some bread and sat a few feet away begging for more for the whole time we were there. Needless to say, we managed to get some great photos.

Glaucous Gull

Other birds seen around the quay were: Herring, Great Black-backed and Black-headed Gulls, 2 Guillemots, several Shags and Cormorants and 11 Eider Ducks.

Year List update:
80 – Red Kite (5 seen on the journey)
81 – Stonechat
82 – Eastern Black Redstart
83 – Rock Pipit
84 - Shelduck
85 - Pacific Diver
86 - Red-breasted Merganser
87 - Whooper Swan
88 - Scaup
89 - Slavonian Grebe
90 - Gadwall
91 – Skylark
92 - Goldeneye
93 - Ringed Plover
94 - Sanderling
95 - Twite
96 - Linnet
97 - Red-throated Diver
98 - Iceland Gull
99- Glaucous Gull
100 - Eider Duck
101 - Curlew

Linacre Whoopers

I was down at Linacre this morning with Luke. We started off at the bottom reservoir, where we managed to find the 2 juvenile Shags, and also saw a couple of Kingfishers, including 1 perched up on the overflow. Unfortunately, it had moved on before we got near enough to get a photo. We then moved on to the middle reservoir where we found 15 Mandarin Ducks, 5 Goosanders (2 males and 3 "redheads"), and a couple of  Great-crested Grebes, including 1 in breeding plumage.

As we walked up to the top reservoir we spotted a group of large, white birds that turned out to be... Whooper Swans, 13 in total. This my first record since January 2014, when there were 15 present for one day. We watched them for about 45 minutes, before they took off and flew high to the North West. Apparently, 15 were also present yesterday (thanks Amanda).

Whooper Swans

Also present today were 21 Canada Geese that flew in and landed briefly on the top reservoir and a single Greylag Goose that flew over the top reservoir honking loudly! Both species were the first Linacre records of 2016.

Interesting Mute Swans

I like Mute Swans, but they aren't usually a bird that I would describe as interesting. They tend to stay in one place, and, compared to their rarer and more mobile cousins (Whooper and Bewick Swans), don't really do anything! Anyway, as you can see from the title of this post, I've got some interesting news about a couple of Mute Swans I've seen recently.

Firstly, is a colour-ringed bird that I saw at the start of January on the flooded river Severn in Worcester.

Mute Swan

This bird, was, as I said, part of a large flock of Mute Swans (100+), that can be found year round on the River Severn in the centre of Worcester. A good number of these birds are colour ringed, and this one, 95G, was seen on Sunday 3rd January 2016. I reported the bird to the BTO (link here), and heard back that it had originally been ringed, as a cygnet, in July 2013, about 1 km away from where I saw it! It was first reported in the "Worcester flock" on 16th March 2014, and hasn't been reported anywhere else.....yet.

The second interesting Mute Swan, is one that I saw last Sunday, whilst walking around Clumber Park with Jayne. At the time I didn't think much about it, just that it was sitting on the tree trunk and looked quite photogenic! I took a picture, and posted it here, and on Twitter. I received a reply to my tweet, saying that it was a "polish" Mute Swan! I didn't think much about this again, until I read an interesting article in the BTO's Bird News tonight, asking for sightings of "polish" Mute Swans! 

Mute Swan

Apparently, this is the name given to a leucistic version of Mute Swan, which is caused by a recessive gene. The birds are white as cygnets, and, when adults, have greyish-pink legs, instead of the usual black ones. Most birds have been recorded in the south of England, mainly in Kent, Essex, Suffolk and Norfolk, so, if this is such a bird, it might be quite a good record. Anyway, I've sent the details off, and will update when I hear back.

Perhaps Mute Swans are interesting after all!!

One-eyed Blue Tit

Whilst out ringing we sometimes come across birds that are ill or have been injured in some way. Today's ringing session took place at a private site in Chesterfield, and during the 4 hour session, we caught one such bird; a one-eyed Blue Tit.

Here's a couple of pictures of the bird, one showing the good eye, and the other showing the side with the eye missing.

Blue Tit

As you can see, the missing eye seems to have been missing for quite a while. We aged this bird as a 6; i.e. a bird born at least 2 years ago, and it appeared in good health, so it doesn't seem to be struggling too much with just 1 eye. Hopefully we'll retrap it again in the future.

As well as this particular Blue Tit, we also caught and ringed another 64 birds of 10 species this morning (Chiffchaff ,the first of the year; Robin, Goldfinch, Chaffinch, Dunnock, Great-spotted Woodpecker, Nuthatch, Blue, Great and Long-tailed Tit).

During net rounds we also saw and heard the local Tawny Owls, a couple of Jays, and the highlight for everyone a herd of approx. 90 Whooper Swans that flew north-bound over the garden!

Year List update:
87 - Whooper Swan

WWT Welney

I was out and about with the Chesterfield RSPB Group at the weekend, visiting the Wildfowl and Wetland Trust's Welney reserve.

At this time of the year the highlight of a visit is the wintering Whooper and Bewick Swans. During our visit we saw lots of Whoopers, both in the fields and on the reserve itself. Many of the birds are colour ringed including the female bird of this family party(far right). The female bird, U5D, was originally ringed at Martin Mere, another WWT reserve in Lancashire, 9 years ago, and is paired up with an unringed male bird. As you can see, the pair have managed to raise 3 young this year.

Family of Whooper Swans

Unfortunately, the Bewick Swans weren't playing during our visit, and we didn't see any on the reserve. We did, however, see several hundred swans flying onto the reserve to roost as we were driving home. Some of these were most likely Bewicks!!

As well as the swans, we also saw very good numbers of other waterbirds, including Pochard, Shoveler, Mallard, Teal, Wigeon, Gadwall, Tufted Ducks, Canada and Greylag Goose, and several species of wader; Black-tailed Godwit (c.600), Dunlin, Redshank, Lapwing, Golden Plover and Snipe.

Birds of Prey were represented by a couple of Marsh Harriers that kept flushing all the birds, and a stunning Barn Owl that was hunting along the ditches of the reserve.

Whoopers at Linacre

Yesterday morning I got a text from Kathy, a member of the Chesterfield RSPB Group and regular WeBS counter at Linacre, letting me know that she had seen a herd of approximately 15 Whooper Swans on the middle reservoir at Linacre when she arrived. She said there were still 5 present when she left. I dropped everything, including the hoover, and drove straight down. When I got there there the 5 birds were still present and I was very pleased to see them, as they were my first at Linacre since 2008. As a group, we've only had 2 records (33 flying over and 27 on the reservoirs in March 2008 and 4 flying over in 2013), so any sightings are well received.

Whooper Swans

On the way back to the car I spotted a Song Thrush on the wall by the car park, which was my first of the year.

Other year ticks from yesterday and today are House Sparrow and Lesser Redpoll which were seen in the garden today (along with a Nuthatch, my first garden record for over a year, but not a year tick). All good records for the BTO's Garden Birdwatch Scheme. I also saw Kestrel and Sparrowhawk whilst driving to Castleton this afternoon, and Feral Pigeon, which I forgot to add on the other day!

Year List update:
65 -Whooper Swan
66 - Song Thrush
67 - House Sparrow
68 - Lesser Redpoll
69 -Kestrel
70 -Sparrowhawk
71 - Feral Pigeon

25 Year Ticks

The best thing about birding at the start of a new year is that just about anything you see is a "year tick". Today I went out birding with my nephew and we decided, after a trawl of the Birdguides website,  to do a tour of the local area to see how many new species we could find.

First stop of the day was Steetley Quarry, near Worksop, where a first winter Velvet Scoter has been  present since December 2012. The bird was found quite quickly on the largest lake and was "showing well". Other sightings in this area included several year ticks (numbers 36 - 42).

Next stop was Angler's Country Park near Wakefield, where again we spotted a long-sytaying Long-tailed Duck. This bird, a female, wasn't quite as good looking as last year's males in Scotland, but nevertheless, a very good inland tick. Also present here were a herd of 14 Whooper Swans (5 adults and 9 juveniles) and many other lovely birds (numbers 43 - 53).

Right next door to Angler's is Wintersett Reservoir. We had a walk across and picked up 2 drake Scaup in amongst many other wildfowl.(Numbers 54 -55).

The last stop for the day was the RSPB's Old Moor reserve, where we spent  a few hours enjoying the hundreds of Lapwing and wintering duck, as well as adding our last "year ticks" of the day (numbers 56 -61).


All in all, a very enjoyable day out!

36 – Grey Partridge

37 – Velvet Scoter
38 - Greylag Goose
39 - Tufted Duck
40 – Great-crested Grebe
41 – Mute Swan
42 – Feral Pigeon
43 – Long-tailed Duck
44 – Whooper Swan
45 – Pochard
46 – Herring Gull
47 – Pied Wagtail
48 – Goldeneye
49 – Wigeon
50 – Teal
51 – Tree Sparrow
52 – Reed Bunting
53 – Kestrel
54 – Cormorant
55 – Lapwing
56 – Scaup
57 – Gadwall
58 – Waxwing
59 – Shelduck
60 – Common Gull
61 – Linnet
62 – Pink-footed Goose
63 - Kingfisher