Welcome to my birding blog - first launched 12th March 2012...
1st March to 18th March 2025
Softly, softly, catchee monkey
March 1st: I saw a couple of red-legged partridge at North Duffield but decided to leave for Blacktoft Sands where I bumped into Barry Bishop in Marshland hide. We watched a dunlin fly onto a nearby island.
March 15th: The pond at East Cottingwith proved hard to find initially as my directions were vague and I must have driven past a couple of times before I found it. I was looking for an American wigeon but I was amazed by the number of pink footed geese frequenting the pond. There must have been hundreds.
It took some time to spot the target bird but thanks to another birder who arrived after spotting my car at the roadside we got good views.
March 18th: St. Aidan's, Leeds to try again for the 2 grebes. Just after crossing the bridge over the River Aire I heard and then saw my first chiffchaff of the year.
This reminded me of another bird I had seen at the same spot on 27th February but I had not used the photo of a siskin in the same trees.
Still, the main purpose of today's walk was to try the left hand path round the western reedbed from the crossroads. In only a few minutes I found two black necked grebes.
Eventually I retreated and took the right hand path and came across 2 more black necked grebes. Swimming nearby was a third grebe. It looked longer necked and views in the scope confirmed it was the elusive slavonian grebe. Much further away and beyond the power of my lens. But I had a go!
No sign of the little owl at Odd-job but a kestrel was playing 'I'm over here now!' with a cameraman and his tripod. I tried to just point and shoot from further away.
Tiny OO9 narrow gauge 'Wren' type loco on model built by my son, Ian.
March 24th : Blacktoft Sands I tried the new Reedling hide where there were plenty of birds and I took photos of a marsh harrier but I wasn't impressed with the results! Moving on to Marshland hide where the birds looked a bit more interesting... Within a minute a birder had found a drake garganey and I was on it too until I realised the other birder from what he was saying was on a different garganey to the one I was watching. Two drake garganeys then.
Having seen the garganeys I was happy to relax and take pictures of the black-tailed godwits. Here's a small number I really liked.
104 UK 2025
3rd February to 24th February 2025
A Quiet Start
February 3rd: Swillington Ings
Very quiet but a fine day for a change. Goldeneye and great crested grebes. Couldn't locate the slavonian grebe.
February 13th: Pugney's Country Park and North Cave
Some gulls posing on the jetties and brambling at North Cave
February 19th: Ledston near Fairburn
Upto seven cattle egrets in a field.
February 24th: Albert Park, Middlesbrough, Skelton Pond, South Gare and Newburn Bridge
A busy and varied day! I began with a long walk to the far end of the lake in Albert Park - parking is difficult. A drake pintail was having a winter break in the park to the delight of the Teesside cognoscenti and the locals. The bird keeps its distance but is well within reach of birders' lenses. A blue tit was enjoying the sunshine too.
Skelton Pond was a new location for me. TS12 2FY was the postcode and I ended up in a short cul de sac of modern houses. For a moment I wondered if I hadn't reached my intended destination but a farm gate made me look again. The pond is quite large and I soon spotted the pair of mandarins.
South Gare next for snow buntings. It was quite windy and the birds were very flighty. Eventually the group settled back on the shingle and a half-term family group instead of spooking the birds made them run along until the snow buntings were in front of two motionless birders [one being myself]. Job done!
Newburn Bridge for waders and a pair of my favourite gulls.
A purple sandpiper and a turnstone braving the tide and wind.
93 UK 2025
3 Jan to 26 Jan 2025
A New Year dawns...
Well, I've been ill. Not very ill just a bad cold but it kept me housebound this month for quite a lot of the time. Hopefully it's not too late to begin a good year's birding. So here goes!
Blacktoft Sands: 3rd January
A fairly quiet afternoon. A single whooper swan in the sunshine and the obligatory marsh harrier in the sky. Mustn't take anything for granted - wonderful sights.
Hartlepool area: 26th January
Ropner Park: squirrel; mallard; red crested pochard; goosander; mute swan. A pleasant hour - rather icy underfoot but a lovely bright morning.
Cowpen Bewley feeder station: Jay; great spotted woodpecker; treecreeper; bullfinch.
80 UK 2025
6th November- 19th November 2024
Bagatelles
Just 2 recent visits: Redcar and Hartlepool area
November 6th: Redcar
The promenade area from the Zetland roundabout to Marske is a lengthy walk but I had heard that the snow buntings were mobile but not too far from the little cafe. I soon spotted a few birders so I headed that way. The birds flew off towards Marske before I reached them but after about ten minutes they flew past me heading back to the Redcar end of the beach. They then settled down nicely...
November 19th: Hartlepool Headland and Seaton Snook
A black guillemot had been in the entrance area of the fish dock in Hartlepool for a couple of days. Unfortunately when I went the bird was on the far side near the lifeboat and a bit of a stretch distance wise for my set-up. Still, I tried.
North Gare access road is a good place to wait for the short-eared owls to show. On this occasion they were lying low but I was pleased to spot this one not far from my car waiting in the grass.
I zoomed in a little.
The most important target that day was one of my favourite birds - a little underrated maybe - and a bird I remember photographing when I was new to birding up on the moors near Halifax. Twite.
It was a relief when, as I approached the best location, I spotted little birds on the wire...
202 UK 2024
18th October to 28th October 2024
First of all we'll go to Flamborough Head...
October 18th: to the Lighthouse
The instructions were clear. In the lighthouse compound - not as I first thought the fog station compound where birds often turn up. The lawns were neat, the fencing rather rickety and three birders were peering over the wall into the compound and looking at the far end of the fence. An immobile bird was sitting there. It did move about eventually...
October 28th: Ropner Park, Stockton-on-Tees. A new site for me but thanks to satnav I found it easily and was able to park very close to an entrance to the park. It's a huge place and I was to find out later as I explored that I had managed to park as far away as possible from the lake where I hoped to see a red-crested pochard. The bird was very active amongst the other ducks and it was a lovely sunny morning.
I called at Saltholme but soon moved on and drove down the Zinc Works Road to see if any owls were active late morning. To my surprise and pleasure two owls were showing albeit rather distantly. A crow was intercepting the owls but in the words of a young grandson they were responding with an 'Am I bothered?' determination to ignore the crow.
Stonechat from the car.
Newburn Bridge was quiet at high tide. Just turnstones, oystercatchers, redshanks and ringed plovers. This one looked a bit fed up.
After drifting round the Headland I headed back to North Gare and parked along the access road. Three cars were parked up near the car park with big lenses ready for action. I stayed back about a third of the way along the road. I took too many photos to include them all, so here are a few of my best efforts.
200 UK 2024