Norfolk - 31st December 2024

 Today, Jayne and I came down to Norfolk for a few days. We started off our trip with a visit at Old Hunstanton to see a juvenile Glaucous Gull. Unfortunately, the bird had been seen early on, but had been disturbed by other visitors before we got there, so we "dipped out"! Thankfully, for us there were other birds around, including a singe Knot, Oystercatcher, Curlew, Sanderling , Common and Great Black-backed Gull  and best of all, a flock of 6 Shorelarks, that we managed to see.

Shorelark

Afterwards, we drove down to St Anne's Drive (Holkham Hall Estate), where we caught up with a Long-billed Dowitcher (204), that has been wintering with a flock of Black-tailed Godwits. We got great views, despite the strong wind, and even managed a record shot, before the flock got flushed by a Red Kite and a Marsh Harrier! A great bird to end the year on. 

Long-billed Dowitcher

Rufford and Attenborough - 28th December 2024

 This morning, Luke and I went across to Rufford to try and catch up with Hawfinch (202). Whilst there, we also had a quick check on the Black-headed Gulls, before driving down to Attenborough to catch up with a 1st winter male Scaup (203).

The Hawfinch "showed well" within a few minutes of our arrival at 8am, and we counted a maximum of 8, in the trees, around the main car park.

Afterwards, we popped down to the lake, where we spotted 273A, 208B, 280B, 207C, 264C, 255F and a new bird, 276F. 

276F

Our final stop was Attenborough GP, where we were searching for a Caspian Gull. Unfortunately, we didn't have any luck on this occasion, but we did pick up a Scaup and a Great White Egret.

Cornwall Birding - 200th species!

After Thursday's ringing session, Luke and I spent the rest of the day birding around the area. During the time, we added 4 new species to my Year List, going over the 200 mark for the first time in a few years.

Our first stop was Porthgwarra and Gwennap Head, where we had a lovely walk along the cliff tops, spotting Stonechat, a single Wheatear, Raven, Jackdaws, and 5 Chough (198).

Chough

Our next stop was Penzance. We walked down on the seashore, near the railway depot, picking up a single Swallow and this stunning, and, as always, very confiding, Snow Bunting (199).

Snow Bunting

Our final stop was the RSPB's Marazion Marshes, where we manged to find the elusive 1st winter Red-backed Shrike (200th species), a single Great Egret, and, to finish the day, a lovely flock of at least 11 Cattle Egret (201).

Red-backed Shrike

Cornwall Ringing

 Yesterday morning (31st), Luke and I were up early visiting a private ringing site in the Nanjizal Valley in West Cornwall (West Cornwall Ringing Group). Thanks for arranging Luke, and thanks to Kester and Jon for allowing me onto your site.

We arrived at 7am, and got straight on with the ringing. The first bird I ringed was a Chiffchaff (the first of 26 ringed by me that morning!). Other birds ringed were: Blackcap (12), Robin (6), Song Thrush (5), Redwing (3), Blackbird (3), Great-spotted Woodpecker (2;1 new and 1 retrap), Goldcrest (1), Firecrest (3), Cetti's Warbler (3; 1 retrap and 2 new) and, best of all, Yellow-browed Warbler (3 new birds) 67 birds from a total of 80!

The obvious stand out birds were, of course, the Yellow-browed Warblers, the Firecrests and the Cetti's Warblers - 3 new species for me. The Yellow-Browed Warblers were also colour-ringed, as part of a national scheme (see here), to try and find out a little more about their distribution and wintering sites. This site has colour-ringed just over 40, this winter alone!

Yellow-browed Warbler

Firecrest

Cetti's Warbler (10 tail feathers)

The morning was very busy, but we did manage to keep an eye on birds flying over, the best of which was a Merlin (year tick 197).

Falmouth - 29th October 2024

 Today, we spent the day in and around the Falmouth area, with our nephew, Luke and family. We managed another couple of year ticks, Firecrest (195) and Common Scoter (196),   had amazing views of a winter-plumaged Red-throated Diver and saw another couple of ringed Herring Gulls.

We started the day with a walk around the Penryn Campus, where Luke found us at least half a dozen Firecrests.

Firecrest

Afterwards, we popped down to Falmouth, where we found Herring Gulls,W:073 (down on the water' edge) and W:120 (in town).

W:073

W:120

After a quick visit to Pendennis Point, where Luke found me a fly-by Common Scoter, we headed off to Swanpool. On arrival, we (Luke) spotted a Red-throated Diver fishing with a Cormorant and a Shag, about 5-10m off shore.

Red-throated Diver

St Ives - 26th - 27th October 2024

 Jayne and I arrived in St Ives on Saturday afternoon, and, after settling in to our accommodation, we had a walk around the town, enjoying the lovely sunshine and sunshine.

View from or apartment

As always, I had my eyes peeled for darvic-ringed Herring Gulls, and soon found two new birds; W916 and W918. I'll send off the details, but I'm sure they'll have been ringed in and around the harbour.

W916

W918

We spent the whole of Sunday in and around the town. We started off walking around the town, where we saw W916 and W918 again. A small group of c.40 Turnstones were also around the harbour, along with a single Black-headed Gull and a single Great Black-backed Gull. We then walked up onto The Island and spent a couple of hours in and around that area, adding Gannet (c.10), Red Admiral (1) and, best of all, a female-type Black Redstart (Year Tick 194).We found the bird feeding on rocks below the Coastguards' Lookout. Amazingly, another bird was found a couple of hours later, feeding around the rook of The Guildhall!!

Black Redstart

Walking back along the harbour, we spotted another ringed Herring Gull,W917. This was a new bird, seen on the railings around the harbour.

W917

Norfolk - 5th and 6th October 2024

 This weekend, Jayne and I went down to Norfolk, where we had a lovely walk around Wells-next-the-Sea and around RSPB Snettisham.

We were at Wells yesterday, in a very warm and sunny 17 degrees. We walked down from the town to the beach and back. Species seen were: Redshank, Curlew, Ringed Plover, Oystercatcher, Turnstone, Dark-bellied Brent Goose (c300), Red-throated Diver (1 breeding plumaged bird fishing in the channel), a tern species, Little Egret, Great Egret (2 flying over), Black-headed and Herring Gull and a juvenile/1st winter Wheatear - great spot Jayne! We also saw a couple of Wall Brown butterflies at Old Hunstanton Golf Course later in the day - my first of the year.

Wheatear (juvenile/1st winter - almost in focus!)

This morning, we had a walk around RSPB Snettisham. Unfortunately, there wasn't a very high tide, so we didn't get the flyover from the birds, but we still saw thousands of waders. Species seen were: Oystercatcher, Curlew, Dunlin, Avocet, Redshank, Black-tailed Godwit, Turnstone, and Knot ( year tick 193). we also had 20+ Little Egrets and 12 Spoonbills, including a darvic ringed bird; NF1U. A report has been sent off, and it appears to be a Dutch-ringed bird (see here). I'll update with full details, when I receive them.

Spoonbill NF1U

UPDATE: The Spoonbill had been ringed, as a pullus, at Ventjagersplaten, Lebret, The Netherlands, 294km away, on 28th May 2024. Before my sighting, it had been reported at Besthorpe Nature Reserve, Nottinghamshire on 24th July 2024. It was next seen at Alkborough Flats, Lincolnshire, on 19th August, before spending the best part of September (1st to 29th) at Gibraltar Point, Lincolnshire. My sighting was the latest, so far.

Gibraltar Point Ringing - 28th September 2024

 A couple of weekends ago, I had a morning's bird ringing at the Lincolnshire Wildlife Trust's Gibraltar Point NNR in Lincolnshire. It was the first time I'd ringed here, and it really came up trumps, with 2 fantastic species ringed (including a lifer!).

The first new bird, and the lifer, was a Barred Warbler!!! It was aged as a first winter (i.e. born this year), and was one of the first birds of the day. A fantastic start!

Barred Warbler

The second bird, and one that I got to extract from the nets, was a Yellow-browed Warbler. Although not a lifer, it was the very first time I'd seen one in the hand - another great bird!

Yellow-browed Warbler

Year List update: Bearded Tit (189 - seen at Minsmere in August), Reed Warbler (190 - ringed at Blackburn Meadows in August), 191 - Barred Warbler and 192 - Yellow-browed Warbler.

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!

Spotted Flycatcher - 30th May 2024

 Today is our last full day in West Sussex, and this morning, we popped across to the National Trust's Petworth House. We arrived a little early for the main house, so we parked up in the Deer Park and had a short walk. 

Within a few minutes, we spotted a new bird for the year; Spotted Flycatcher (177) This was quite unexpected, but a lovely surprise, especially as it was nest building!

Spotted Flycatcher

The last bird to mention, is one that we glimpsed briefly as we were driving. We spotted a long winged, long-tailed bird gliding, and at first thought it might be a Red Kite. We then noticed that the tail, didn't have a fork. Our only other thought was a Honey Buzzard! Unfortunately, we couldn't stop the car, so we didn't get any better views. One that got away!!!!

RSPB Pagham Harbour and Kithurst Hill - 29th May 2024

 Today, Jayne and I visited RSPB Pagham Harbour and Kithurst Hill. The first site was a new reserve for us, where we set out to find some terns. The second site, also a new place to visit, was visited in search of butterflies.

We arrived at Pagham and found out that the tern colony had been badly hit by Bird Flu for the last few years. As a result, there weren't any birds nesting this year! The ranger did say, however, that there still a few birds flying around, so we set off on the on the 1.6 mile walk down to the beach. On the way, we spotted many small birds, including Cettis Warbler, Linnet, and Whitethroats. The tide was out, but we still managed to see a few water birds: Shelduck, Dunlin (c.30), Bar-tailed Godwit (6), Redshank, Mediterranean Gull (2 adults flying over), Black-headed Gull, Little Egret, Sandwich Tern (1 flew over - 174), Whimbrel (2 birds - 175) and Little Tern 3 birds - 176).

Back at the centre, we had a look around the Discovery Area, where a juvenile Tawny Owl was sitting in a tree near the nestbox. We also saw several Broad-bodied Chasers (males and females ovipositing), Common Blue Damselflies (in tandem) and a single male Emperor dragonfly.

Broad-bodied Chaser

After Pagham, we drove across to Kithurst Hill, in search of Duke of Burgundy butterflies. Unfortunately, we seemed to be a little late in the year, but we did spot: Dingy and Grizzled Skipper, Common Blue Butterfly, Small Blue, Cinnabar Moth, Vapourer moth caterpillar, Common Carpet and Common Lizard.

Grizzled Skipper

Dingy Skipper

Common Lizard

Knepp Estate - 27th May 2024

 Today, Jayne and I went to the Knepp Estate, which is a large rewilding scheme, here in Sussex. We went to see the reintroduced White Storks (172), which now breed on the estate, as well as a couple of other key species: Turtle Dove (171) and Nightingale (173).

We walked around the 10km red route, and managed to see the three target birds. The first birds seen were the Turtle Doves. We managed to spot two birds, possibly a pair, sitting in a tree by the first treetop viewpoint, and I got a couple of half decent photos.

Turtle Doves (nearly!)

A bit better!

Shortly after these views, we saw our first White Storks, a distant view of a pair on a nest. We also saw another pair, with two young, and managed to get some photos (taken from a very safe distant and heavily cropped).

White Storks

The third species, Nightingale, wasn't so cooperative, but we did manage to hear at least 2 singing - a fantastic sound.

Whilst walking around the site, we also recorded many other species, including: Whitethroat, Dunnock, Robin, Blackbird, Woodpigeon, Stock Dove, Song Thrush, Wren, Jackdaws, Crows, Blackcap, Chiffchaff, Blue and Great Tit, Green and Great Spotted Woodpecker, Buzzard, Red Kite, Fallow and Red Deer, Grey Squirrel, a vole species, a grasshopper sp, 2 Small Heath butterflies, 2 Mother Shipton moths and a male Beautiful Demoiselle!!

Beautiful Demoiselle

Downy Emerald - Lifer!!

 Jayne and I are down in West Sussex for the week, so we're taking advantage to see  few new species. Yesterday, we visited RHS Wisley, on the way down, and today, we've been to Thursley Common NNR.

RHS Wisley was fantastic, and, with temperatures around 20 degrees, we managed to see a good number of dragonflies, including several new species for the year: Red-eyed Damselfly, Azure Damselfly, Banded Demoiselle and Large Red Damselfly. We also spotted a single Edible Frog - which was quite a surprise.

Edible Frog

This morning, we drove across to Thursley Common NNR. The target species was Downy Emerald dragonfly. When we arrived at the Moat Pond, it was cool and overcast, so we didn't spot any straight away. Instead, we had a walk along the boardwalk, where we eventually managed to see a single Common Blue Damselfly, and, when the sun came out, about 5-6 Four-spotted Chasers. We carried on across the reserve, and found several Stonechats (family parties), a single Green Woodpecker, Linnets, Goldfinch, a singing Woodlark, and 3-4 Dartford Warblers (170).

Walking back to the Moat Pool, the sun had come out, and we found our first of c.6 male Downy Emerald dragonflies. They were pretty easy to see, but impossible to photograph, as they never stood still!!!! Anyway, a lovely new addition to the list of dragonfly species seen.

Year List Update

 As well as the ringing, Jayne and I had a few walks to try and catch up with a few "year ticks".

The first new bird, Garden Warbler, (164) was seen at Linacre on 4th. The next three: Cuckoo (165), Whitethroat (166) and Redstart (167) were all seen at Burbage Moor and Padley Gorge. The final bird, Pied Flycatcher (168) was found at Linacre on 6th. 

Although not a year tick, another bird I wanted to highlight was this stunning male Garganey that had been reported at Manvers Lake, near  Barnsley, for a few weeks. Unfortunately, it has spent all the time coming to bread (!) along with the resident Mallards, so it may well have escaped from somewhere. Nevertheless, it's still a stunning bird, and great to get close to.

Garganey

Linacre Nestboxes - 4th and 6th May 2024

 Over the weekend, I was down at Linacre with other members of Sorby Breck Ringing Group, to carry out another check of the nestboxes. We had a couple of visits, and recorded some new species, and a very nice surprise....!

The first visit, on Saturday, saw the first check of the boxes around the Ranger's Base, and we found 13 new occupied nests. After that we checked on the owl boxes. The first contained Grey Squirrels (!), the second had a female Mandarin Duck on 11 eggs, and the third box contained..... a single Tawny Owl chick! This was a great find, as it was the first chick in the boxes since 2018.  

Tawny Owl

On the second visit, on Monday, we checked the remaining boxes, and found a grand total of 30 nests, including our first Pied Flycatcher (1 egg) and Wren (1 clutch of 6) of the year. There was 1 singing Pied Flycatcher (year tick 168) in another area of the woods and 1 other nest without eggs in it, so I'm hoping we may yet get more than 1 nest this year. The last piece of good news was that the eggs on the Coal Tit nest we found last week had hatched - the first time this has happened in a box.

Walking around the reservoirs, I managed to spot a couple of Mallard broods (2 and 1), my first of the year, 21 Tufted Ducks, 1 Canada Goose, 1 Grey Wagtail, 2 Great-crested Grebes, 1 Little Grebe, 6 Mandarin Ducks (5 males and 1 female), 6 Blackcaps, 4 Chiffchaffs and 1 singing Garden Warbler ( year tick 164).

A few insects were seen on Sunday: 1 male Orange Tip, 1 Peacock, my first Red and Black Froghopper and 2 Dark-edged Bee-flies.

Linacre Nestboxes - 27th April 2024

 Yesterday, I had my first visit of the year to check on the nestboxes at Linacre. The initial few boxes didn't bode well, but, by the end of the session, I had 20 boxes with eggs in them. As always, the boxes were checked under licence, and the results will be added to the BTO's Nest Record Scheme. There are still a few boxes to check, so hopefully, there will be a few more to add to the list.

All of yesterday's boxes contained tit nests, including only my second Coal Tit nest. The highest count of eggs was 13 in one clutch! Unfortunately, there weren't any Pied Flycatchers around at all. I'll keep checking, and hopefully, there will be some nests this year.

After checking the boxes, I walked around the rest of the site, recording my first Common Sandpiper (162) of the year. 

Common Sandpiper

There were also approximately 15 Swallows, 1 House Martin and 1 Sand Martin, flying around the top reservoir. The ringed Grey Wagtail was still present, singing on the top reservoir, and was joined by a female bird. Other birds seen were: 1 Grey Heron, 21 Mallard, 7 Mandarin Ducks, 1 Canada Goose, 7 Coots (1 nest on the top reservoir), 4 Moorhens, 3 Great-crested Grebes,  24 Tufted Ducks, 3 Chiffchaffs, 1 Blackcap, 2 Song Thrushes and a calling Great-spotted Woodpecker. Unfortunately, the female Mute Swan, 6Y24, appears to have left the site.

Swallow

In the afternoon, I was down at The Avenue Washlands, and spotted my first Swift (163) of the year.

Weekend Birding

 This weekend, Jayne and I went up to RSPB Bempton Cliffs, Teesdale and RSPB Fairburn Ings. Over the two days, we managed to spot 10 new species for the "year list".

The first new species was Gannet (152), followed closely by Kittiwake (153), Puffin (154) and Razorbill (155). Back at the Visitors' Centre, we added Tree Sparrow (156).

Tree Sparrow

Afterwards, we drove up to Teesdale, to visit Langdon Beck and the Black Grouse (157). We had two visits, one on Saturday, and one again on Sunday morning. Black Grouse were seen on both occasions, with 27 displaying (lekking) males on the Sunday visit- a very impressive sight and sound. One bird, presumably a young male, by the look of the plumage, wandered up from the lek, right to the car, from where this photo was taken!

Black Grouse

A short while later, this female bird was spotted, posing beautifully. Again, this photo was taken from the car, at a distance of about 15m.

Black Grouse (female)

Other birds seen in the area were: drumming Snipe (158), a male Wheatear (159), Curlew, Lapwing and lots of Meadow Pipits. Driving back to our accommodation, we dropped very lucky, and saw two hunting Barn Owls, and a Red Squirrel!

Barn Owl

Our last stop was RSPB Fairburn Ings, where we added Spoonbill (160) and Common Tern (161).

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.