Year List 2020 - 175 species

 Well, 2020 is over and we're back in Lockdown!!

This year, despite everything, I've managed to see a reasonable number of 175 species of birds. The last bird of the year being a Red-necked Grebe, at Colwick Country Park that I saw on 21st December.

Red-necked Grebe

The highlight of the year has to be the Bearded Vulture,(my one and only lifer of 2020) that turned out to a be a 2nd year bird (born in 2019) that had flown over 1000km from the Alps in south eastern France.

Other interesting birds included two British ticks, Caspian Tern and Hoopoe, whilst the Grey Phalarope in Derbyshire was also a great record. 

Let's hope COVID is brought under control quickly and we can all get out and about birding soon.

Year List update:

175 - Red-necked Grebe.

Year List Update - 26th October 2020

 I last updated the Year List at the beginning of September. Since then, I've had several trips out and about, and have added 11 new specie, including a "British tick".

The first trip, to RSPB Frampton Marsh on 19th September, added 3 species, numbers 164 - 166. The next bird, my "British tick" was on 4th October, when Jayne and I saw a very confiding Hoopoe, feeding on a cricket pitch on the edge of Leeds!

Hoopoe

Numbers 168 - 171, were recorded at WWT Slimbridge on Saturday, whilst the Great White Egret, was seen at Blenheim Palace lake yesterday.

Whilst eating dinner at Blenheim I saw that a Grey Phalarope had been found on the River Wye at Bakewell. Thankfully, it stayed all day, and I managed to catch up with it just before dark (which was good, because it had gone this morning!)

Grey Phalarope

The final addition was today, with 2 Cattle Egrets that I travelled to see at Cranfield Farm, Long Eaton.

Cattle Egret

Year List update:

164 – Curlew Sandpiper
165 – Little Stint
166 – Pintail
167 – Hoopoe
168 – Marsh Harrier
169 – Russian White-fronted Goose
170 – Bittern
171 – Cetti’s Warbler
172 – Great White Egret
173 – Grey Phalarope
174 – Cattle Egret

Northumberland Birding

 This Bank Holiday weekend I was up in Northumberland with Jayne. We had visits to St Mary's Island (Whitley Bay), Amble and Bamburgh, and recorded some nice birds, including six "year ticks".

We started at St Mary's Island on Saturday in 40 mph winds and driving rain!! Despite the weather conditions we saw many wader species including Dunlin, Sanderling, Turnstone, Ringed Plover, Golden Plover, Curlew, Redshank and Oystercatcher. Other birds seen here were: Herring, Black-headed and Lesser Black-backed and Great Black-backed Gulls; Sandwich and Arctic Terns, Eider Ducks and 5 fly-by Pale-bellied Brent Geese.

On Sunday we had a walk around the harbour at Amble, where we added Mediterranean Gull (1 adult) and Shag to the weekend's bird list. The Shag, a first year bird, was ringed with a darvic XUN, and had been ringed on 20th June 2020, as a chick, on the Isle of May.

Mediterranean Gull

Shag XUN

After a quick walk around Warkworth, we headed up to Bamburgh, where we had a walk around "Stag Rocks", adding Purple Sandpiper (1 bird) to the Year List.

Year List update:

158 – Pale-bellied Brent Goose 

159 – Eider Duck

160 – Arctic Tern

161 – Golden Plover

162 – Sanderling

163 – Purple Sandpiper

Wales 2020

 Jayne and I have just a couple of weeks in Wales, staying in Tenby. It was a family holiday, but we also saw a few nice bits of wildlife, including 5 "year ticks": Rock Pipit, Shag, Sandwich Tern, Manx Shearwater and Chough.

The Rock Pipits and Sandwich Terns (14), were seen in and around Tenby, whilst the Chough (4 birds) were seen about 2 miles out of the town on a headland opposite Caldy Island and the Shag and Manx Shearwaters (100s!!) were seen on a boat trip out of St David's. 

I also had my first Beautiful Demoiselle of the year on the river by St David's cathedral.

As expected, there were lots of Herring Gulls in and around the town, including a metal ringed bird, GC60771, that had been ringed on Caldy Island, 6km away, as a nestling, on 1st June 2010.

Herring Gull, GC6077

Year List update:

153 – Rock Pipit

154 – Sandwich Tern

155 – Chough

156 - Shag

157 – Manx Shearwater

Caspian Tern!

I spent a few hours at RSPB Frampton Marsh yesterday, primarily to see a Caspian Tern that has been present for a few days. I've seen this species once before, in Spain, but this was my first encounter in Britain!

My first sighting was on the main reedbed, viewed from the path to Reedbed Hide, and was quite distant. I did, however, manage to get a record shot.

Caspian Tern

Later during the visit, I got another view, as the bird flew straight over my head! Along with the tern, there were also lots of other species about, and, by the end of my visit, I'd notched up a stunning 14 "year ticks", including a juvenile Black-necked Grebe. In addition to the tern and the year ticks, there were also 14 Spoonbills present.

Spoonbills

It was quite windy whilst I was there, but I did manage to see a new dragonfly species, a Ruddy Darter.

Ruddy Dater

Year List update:
 139 – Caspian Tern

140 – Shelduck

141 – Dunlin

142 – Common Sandpiper

143 – Black-tailed Godwit

144 – Bar-tailed Godwit

145 – Avocet

146 – Spotted Redshank

147 – Ruff

148 – Yellow Wagtail

149 – Black-necked Grebe

150 – Little Egret

151 – Ringed Plover

152 – Knot

BEARDED VULTURE!!!

An immature Bearded Vulture was seen over Alderney on the 20th and 21st May this year. It then appeared to go over to The Netherlands, before reappearing on the 26th June flying over the West Midlands. The same bird then relocated to the Upper Derwent Valley in Derbyshire where it has been present ever since (at time of writing), roosting on a cliff side on Howden Valley (South Yorkshire).

I went to see this bird on 11th July, and found it roosting on the cliff side. I was able to watch it preening and enjoying the afternoon sunshine.

Bearded Vulture

This is the second British record of this species, and is thought to be a bird from either the Alps or Pyrenees.

Year list update:

137 - Bearded Vulture

138 - Wheatear

Year List Update - 5th July 2020

Wow, I didn't realise just how long it had been since I last updated the Year List!! As you can see, it's increased quite a lot since the end of Lockdown. Obviously, the there many "common" species there, but the best one, by a long way has to be the adult Rose-Coloured (Rosy) Starling that I saw, in Barnsley, back on 6th June.

Rosy Starling

Other highlights include the Wood Warbler ( a beautiful singing male seen in Padley Gorge), a reeling Grasshopper Warbler (on Leash Fen) and the adult and juvenile Spoonbills seen at RSPB Fairburn Ings last weekend.

Year List update:

109 – Red Grouse

110 – Curlew

111 – Reed Bunting

112 – Hobby

113 – Sand Martin

114 – Reed Warbler

115 – Sedge Warbler

116 – Wood Warbler

117 – Redstart

118 – Spotted Flycatcher

119 – Little Ringed Plover

120 – Tree Pipit

121 – Stonechat

122 – Rose-coloured Starling

123 – Whinchat

124 – Lesser Redpoll

125 – Grasshopper Warbler

126 – Long-eared Owl

127 – Spoonbill

128 – Common Tern

129 – Tree Sparrow

130 – Gannet

131 – Razorbill

132 – Guillemot

133 – Puffin

134 – Fulmar

135 – Kittiwake

136 – Great Skua

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).

Year List Update

It's been quite a while since I last updated the blog, so here's a post about the bird species I've seen since then.

The first new species for the year are Red-legged and Grey Partridges, which were seen near Rufford and at Apperknowle.

The next bird, a Black-throated Thrush, was a 1st winter bird that has been present in Grimsby for several weeks, and is the second time I've seen since this species in Britain, the first being way back in 1997! Here's a heavily cropped record shot.

Black-throated Thrush

The two owl species, Little and Tawny, were both added within 24 hours of each other! The Little Owl was seen perched in a tree in Apperknowle, whilst the Tawny Owl was heard calling (male and female) from the bedroom.

The last three species were added today in Keithley, West Yorkshire. The Waxwings (15 in total) were seen feeding on a Rowan tree, whilst the Iceland Gull, a juvenile/1st winter bird, and the Oystercatchers (2), were on Redcar Tarn, on the outskirts of Keighley.

Waxwings

Iceland Gull

Year List update:
84 – Red-legged Partridge
85 – Grey Partridge
86 – Black-throated Thrush
87 – Little Owl
88 – Tawny Owl
89 – Waxwing
90 – Iceland Gull
91 – Oystercatcher

Linacre WeBS - 25th January 2020

I carried out the first Linacre WeBS count of the year this morning. The weather was very still and grey, with a temperature of 7 degrees.

Birds seen were: Mallard (86), Tufted Duck (18), Mandarin Duck (30), Moorhen (11), Coot (6), Little Grebe (2), Great-crested Grebe (1 in full breeding plumage!), Goosander (2 redheads), Cormorant (1), Kingfisher (1) and Black-headed Gull (26 , but no rings!).

Many birds were singing in woods including Song Thrush, Blue Tit, Coal Tit, Mistle Thrush, Nuthatch, Green Woodpecker (yaffling), Great-spotted Woodpecker (drumming), Wren, Goldcrest, Robin and Woodpigeon.

Year List update:
80 – Barn Owl (1 at Apperknowle on 17th)
81 – Song Thrush 
82 – Kingfisher
83 – Goldcrest

Scarborough 11th January 2020

On Saturday, I spent a few hours in Scarborough, with my wife and daughter. As always, I started off the birding in the Holbeck Car Park, where I caught up with my first Mediterranean Gulls of 2020. In total, I saw 3 adult birds and 1 2nd winter bird, including this darvic-ringed bird (PNN5). This bird is a regular winter visitor to the Scarborough area, having been recorded annually since 2013, when it was ringed, as an adult, 1290km away in Poland . I also had a fly-by Peregrine Falcon, whilst watching the gulls.

Mediterranean Gull PNN5

Afterwards, we had a walk around the harbour and South Bay area, where we added Feral Pigeons, Great Black-backed Gull, Turnstone and Red-throated Diver to the list. Four of the Turnstones were colour ringed, and I'll write another post about them later. The Fieldfare (c.100) were seen feeding in fields on the drive home.

Year List update:

73 – Feral Pigeon
74 – Mediterranean Gull
75 – Peregrine Falcon
76 – Great Black-backed Gull
77 – Turnstone
78 – Red-throated Diver
79 - Fieldfare

Year List Update

Last week, Luke and I visited Linacre (see here). Whilst there, I managed to add several birds to my "year list" (numbers 61 - 71). I was particularly pleased with the Woodcock and Pied Wagtail ( 2 species very rarely seen at Linacre).

The final species, Brambling, was seen at the National Trust's Longshaw Estate, where Jayne and I saw a flock of at least 20 birds in the Beech woods by the small pond.

Year List update:
61 – Mandarin Duck
62 – Grey Wagtail
63 – Woodcock
64 – Nuthatch
65 – Treecreeper
66 – Jay
67 – Chaffinch
68 – Siskin
69 - Little Grebe
70 – Green Woodpecker
71 – Pied Wagtail
72 – Brambling

Year List Additions

Yesterday, I had another day out birding and managed to add another 8 species to my Year List for 2020.

My first stop was the Nottinghamshire Wildlife Trust's Attenborough Nature Reserve where I managed to add 4 new species (numbers 53 - 56), including a very cooperative  Slavonian Grebe.

Slavonian Grebe

I then drove down to Alvaston Park in Derby to check for gulls (more on that in another blog), where I added numbers 56 - 58. The Red Kite and Sparrowhawk, were added as I drove to Rufford CP.

Year List update:
53 – Egyptian Goose
54 – Slavonian Grebe
55 – Goosander
56 – Stock Dove
57 – Ring-necked Parakeet
58 – Great-spotted Woodpecker
59 – Red Kite
60 – Sparrowhawk

Rough-legged Buzzard

On Thursday, I decided to go and see a Rough-legged Buzzard that has been present at a site near Doncaster. I arrived on site and saw it hunting low over the fields. I then got excellent views of it perched up in a distant tree.

I also visited a few other sites, including Angler's Country Park and Rufford Country Park, where I recorded the following birds

Year List update:
39 – Kestrel
40 – Rough-legged Buzzard
41 – Greylag Goose
42 – Common Buzzard
43 – Shoveler
44 – Pochard
45 – Teal
46 – Cormorant
47 – Grey Heron
48 – Common Gull
49 – Herring Gull
50 – Redwing
51 – Mistle Thrush
52 - Goldeneye

Year List 2020 begins

Hello, and welcome to the first blog post of 2020. This year's birding began at about 7am, when I was woken up by a singing Robin. followed closely by an alarm calling Blackbird and chirruping House Sparrows. Not a bad way to start a new year!

The next few birds (numbers 4 - 15) were seen in and over the garden, including a very nice surprise of a skein of Pink-footed Geese heard flying above the fog.

The remaining birds (numbers 16 - 38) were recorded in a few hours at Carsington Water. The obvious highlights being a bobbing Jack Snipe on the Visitor Centre Island and a juvenile Great Northern Diver fishing off Stones Island (both species I missed out on in 2019).

Year List update:
1 – Robin
2 – Blackbird
3 – House Sparrow
4 – Carrion Crow
5 – Starling
6 – Magpie
7 – Great Tit
8 – Woodpigeon
9 – Goldfinch
10 – Dunnock
11 – Blue Tit
12 – Greenfinch
13 – Coal Tit
14 – Collared Dove
15 – Pink-footed Goose
16 – Jackdaw
17 – Canada Goose
18 – Barnacle Goose
19 – Coot
20 – Mallard
21 – Tufted Duck
22 – Wigeon
23 – Snipe
24 – Jack Snipe
25 – Lapwing
26 – Redshank
27 – Black-headed Gull
28 – Lesser Black-backed Gull
29 – Mute Swan
30 - Gadwall
31 - Great Northern Diver
32 – Long-tailed Tit
33 – Rook
34 – Pheasant
35 – Great-crested Grebe
36 – Willow Tit
37 – Wren
38 – Bullfinch