Welcome to my birding blog - first launched 12th March 2012...
20th-26th January 2019
Steady as we go!
January 20th: Pugney's Country Park near Wakefield
We were looking for a female smew: a birder told us it had flown off 10 minutes earlier ''but I expect it's still around.'' It wasn't! I was lucky to see this fellow coming towards me and quick reactions got me some shots of what I'm pretty sure is the Kumlien's Iceland gull.
Making the most of our continued 'smewlessness' I snapped a couple more gulls: lesser black-backed and common gulls.
Wigeon were grazing on the grass just in front of us.
We finished the day at Lemon Royd sewage works where I picked up my first grey wagtail of the year and spent some time trying to photograph the water pipits through the wire mesh fencing. Very tricky as the birds weren't close. Here's one example.
January 21st: Moon and decent birding at Lockwood Beck and Greatham Creek
Wolf blood super moon [or rearrange in any order e.g. Super blood wolf moon] got me up early. Exposure was a problem - I should have used a tripod. Best effort: it's a bit of a wobbly jelly! 7.07 a.m.
By 8.47 the moon was very bright and back to normal
Later that morning I headed north towards Lockwood Beck reservoir and sat at the feeder station with a mug of coffee. Siskins entertained.
Treecreepers gave me my first close encounter of 2019. Very nice.
On to Greatham Creek to scan for the spotted redshank in its pale grey winter plumage. Picked up straightaway - it stands out like the proverbial sore thumb.
Imperfect photo but it shows the differences: no white wing-bar on spotted and the common has a white triangle up its back whilst spotted has a longer narrow white oval; bills are different too.
Further on down the left bank of Greatham Creek I found my first grey plover of 2019. In fact I found three. Here's one of them.
A pair of shovelers flew off as I walked back to the road.
January 25th: another Smew Hunt
We went to Kirkholme Point, Hornsea Mere. Pretty windy I almost gave up but a group of birders arrived so I decided to have another go. Thrilled to be the one to find it. I ran back to Tiggy to get the big lens and left Sheila keeping an eye on it in the scope. Diving continuously as you might expect.
Later we saw fulmars on the cliffs at Bempton - other than that there were few birds to be seen.
January 26th: Alkborough Flats and Kilnsea
I decided to go to Alkborough and scan Read's Island too for avocets. None seen. Hundreds of golden plover on the mud.
Alkborough held many more waders and lots of waterfowl - mainly teal. Hen harrier seen from hide doorway as I left thanks to a birder who had found it quartering a distant hedgeline. Photo shows a marsh harrier.
Later at Kilnsea I saw Brent geese. Also a brand new hide - much bigger then the old one and only installed last week. However it's made of MDF which seems strange. Will it survive everything the wind and tides can throw at it?
134 UK 2019
13th-15th January 2019
From Saltholme to North Lincolnshire to Scarborough
January 13th: a quiet day bird-wise due to the aggressive wind. Highlight for me was the pale Spotted Redshank seen next to a group of common redshanks in a howling gale - I could barely hold the scope still on the Salterns.
Only photo of any merit was a single waxwing at Saltholme visitor centre, just right of the main door!
January 14th: Westwoodside for very distant Bewick's swans. These whoopers were in a nearby field.
From there we headed to Pugney's CP near Wakefield. A glaucous gull was on the reserve lake.
As was this lesser black-backed gull.
We hung around in case the reported Iceland gull dropped in as it tends to do late afternoon. It did and I can understand how a Kumlien's type has also been reported. Were there two birds or was the same bird being reported by some as Iceland and by others as Kumlien's? I don't know. A bit dark for Iceland but by then the light was poor. Record shots of the gull as it was in the middle of the main lake.
January 15th: 3 birds in Scarborough
A very good day.
I began by walking along Marine Drive [free parking till 28/2] looking for fulmars. Any white blobs were checked. Never saw one but whilst looking I found these two by pure chance.
They put on a great flying display landing in various places. I tried to get some flight shots but no luck. However one or two of the perched shots are really pleasing.
Harbour next. I soon found the great northern diver just outside the harbour. Whereupon it swam in giving nice close views.
It caught something tasty!
The morsel is half way down its throat!
I spotted what I thought was a cormorant by the marina access ramp near the Luna Park. Looking more closely I realised it was a young shag! And it was happy to be the centre of attention!
Favourite shot!
124 UK 2019
3rd-11th January 2019
A young ruffian amongst other things!
January 3rd: Sleddale Chevrons
Sheila and I went to the chevrons hoping for the juvenile rough-legged buzzard. Quite a few local birders present. I was lucky to spot a bird land in a tree just right of the bend at the top of the chevrons. Everyone else was looking up the valley. I ran up the hill from where we were parked shouting ''What's in the tree?'' Soon confirmed: rough-legged buzzard. Also seen: 2 reds - red kite pair and red grouse.
We went on to Lockwood Beck and then Redcar where we picked up some more year ticks.
January 4th: Hartlepool
Hardwick Hall for the red-crested pochard was my first call. Asleep out in the middle of the lake! Then pinkfeet at Cowpen Bewley beet field. Greatham Creek gave me blackwit, greenshank and stonechat. Eider at the Headland and a really close red-throated diver juvenile at Newburn Bridge.
January 5th: Lemonroyd Sewage Works, Swillington Ings and Fairburn
Swillington Ings had half a dozen goosanders on Lemon Royd Lake. A black-headed gull was close and, although often ignored, the species can make a nice image. Fabulous views through the sewage works netting of 2 water pipits, one of which stood still whilst Sheila and I watched the rotating arms go round and round, occasionally obscuring the bird. A very pale specimen - quite a few meadow pipits present too.
We moved on to Lin Dike, Fairburn where we saw peregrine on a pylon and a great white egret popping in and out of the ditches.
January 7th: Ingleby Barwick and Hartlepool Headland
I'd never been to Ingleby Barwick before. Basically it's a new town but its attraction was a group of waxwings at The Rings, just beyond the little co-op car park. Here they are.
Pretty quiet on the Headland. Common seal being typically nosy!
Winter guillemot and red-throated diver present too.
First dunlins of the year at Newburn Bridge - not photographed.
January 8th: Castle Howard Great Lake
Red-necked grebe came reasonably close in fading light.
January 9th: Disappointment at Scarborough and Bempton - finished the day at Blacktoft
Not a fulmar, diver or gannet to be seen anywhere. The cliffs at Bempton were deserted. Just jackdaws. One lonely guillemot in Scarborough harbour.
Distant harriers at Blacktoft plus a barn owl that flew past the hide and took me completely by surprise! Snipe seen too. Sunny greenfinch.
January 11th: Flying Scotsman arriving in York - followed by a trip to North Duffield
Whooper swans. Good to see some juveniles. Also saw black swan, green sandpiper and ruff.
117 UK 2019
January 1st 2019
New Year's Day Snaps!
I suppose it's my own little private bird race. Main target this year was to do better than last year's 64 species. In fact I managed 73, just 2 short of my best year ever which was in 2013.
I started early and met up later with Barry by which time I had over 30 birds under my belt as it were. Parakeets in the park - Ward Jackson park to be precise.
Hartlepool Headland for turnstone, rock pipit, eider, curlew and oystercatcher, red-throated diver, guillemot and Mediterranean gull to mention just a few!
Barry was keeping his total noted down.
Newburn Bridge had a few nice waders in the sunshine.
Saltholme had quite a few more year ticks for us. I had never seen such large numbers of barnacle geese there before.
A cracking start to 2019!
73 UK 2019
27th-28th December 2018
Skininngrove: 27/12
I went to see a friendly slavonian grebe that was just off the pier. As I walked towards the pier [no sign of any bird near the pier] I encountered 2 pairs of stonechats. Although I saw the females they were very nervous and soon dived into the rock armour. The males were happy to pose whilst trying to catch flies.
One male flew across the path in front of me and perched on the undergrowth.
A birder who had seen the bird told me what I needed to do to see the bird... I had to scramble up onto a concrete platform at the end of the pier [just passed a sign saying ''Access Prohibited'']. Not long after I had accomplished this feat the bird swam round to the side of the pier rendering my exertions unnecessary! Oh, well, nice bird anyway.
I was still under the weather so happy to have seen this bird I headed home. Looking back from the 'promenade' the bird was right out in the bay by this time.
Beech Avenue Flamborough 28/12
A group trip: Sheila, Barry and moi. We called at Bempton [which was closed] and walked down to the cliffs. Birds were low down over the water and a long way off. Fulmars, herring gulls, a few gannets.
Nice day, good views: looking south from Bempton Cliffs RSPB
My main target was to try [again] to see the pied crow. We cruised Beech Avenue slowly to the annoyance of other vehicles using the road as a rat run to North Landing. Amazingly we saw the crow almost immediately. Barry said: what's this? Boom! Taken through the windscreen just in case.
In fact the bird is very cautious and all my shots were from the car. We saw it three times but it never perched up for long. Here's a few photos of a bird I've never seen before. Not counting it as a lifer as its provenance is a very grey area. [But counted in my year list because, as they say, it's my list!]
Finally from South Landing a couple of shots - white-faced wagtail with toupee and rock pipits.
On the way back up the slope to Tiggy I saw movement in the bramble scrub below. Eventually I managed to locate a warbler, presumably a chiffchaff. It was very far away and I didn't have my big lens on. Still here's a record shot.
263 UK 2018