Welcome to my birding blog - first launched 12th March 2012...
15th - 22nd September 2017
Having my cake...
15th-22nd September
September 15th
I'll begin with a fairly crazy day in North Wales. I was on site at Rhos Point near Colwyn Bay by 7am. Getting out of Tiggy I picked up the bins and wandered across the grass to have an initial look round. I immediately saw a fairly distant Leach's petrel wave hopping a fair way offshore. This was followed by two sabine's gulls fluttering past almost in front of my nose!! I went to get the camera. This was, of course, fatal. Later in the morning other birders saw the sabine's again and we spotted a couple of Leach's on the sea but they were very hard to photograph [unlike the experiences of birders at New Brighton over the previous two days].
Steadying myself against a lamp-post I saw this dot!
Let's crop that one.
White rump showing. I suppose it looks a bit like a bird...
When it felt it might be swamped by a larger wave it did this - proving the identification!
This all took time. In between I snapped curlew and sandwich tern in the poor light.
Nearby Conwy RSPB had a grey phalarope so, naturally, I went to have a look.
By text message Sheila asked if I'd be going for chough. The satnav suggested South Stack was about 45 minutes away.
When I arrived I chatted to a RSPB volunteer and asked if chough were being seen that morning. 'Look out of the window,' he said. There was a chough on a bird table!! I got the camera and set off up the hill as he then suggested. The bird table bird had gone. I soon met up with a couple of red-legs.
[In all these chough, stonechat and wheatear photos the blue is the sea not the sky]
Wryneck chough!
A lady said there was a wheatear further up so I continued. I soon spotted this distant bird ahead.
Looked more like a stonechat. Same image cropped much later at home.
Yet as I grew closer a wheatear did appear and I never saw the stonechat again.
September 17th
Another early start for a seawatch at Flamborough Head. Hoping for sooty shearwater as many had gone north the previous few days. Never saw one although a few were reported. Glad to pick up manx shearwaters and arctic skuas as year ticks. I continued mid-morning towards Spurn calling at Hornsea Mere in case a few little gulls were resting on the pontoons.
Parked up at Kilnsea I spotted a group of birders looking at something... I joined them. Spotted flycatcher.
I was especially pleased to also spot a lesser whitethroat there.
Word came of a red-breasted flycatcher at Kew Villa. Pied flycatcher was soon seen. Where was the red-breasted?
It eventually revealed itself.
Last bird of the day: hobby by Easington Cemetery.
End of Part One
Just scroll down for Part 2
15th-22nd September Part 2
Having my cake...
Part 2
September 19th
Mid-morning arrival at Fox Covert, Marske-on-Sea to lie in wait for an oft elusive barred warbler. Eyes constantly distracted by other birds such as goldfinch, reed buntings and tree sparrows. The target bird appeared after about 20 minutes. Say no more.
Ok. Going well. Yellow-browed reported at the outer Bowling Green, Hartlepool Headland.
Fiendishly elusive and much harder to catch in the lens as it moved so fast. Here are my best efforts.
September 22nd
As early as I could manage I headed for Covenham Reservoir, Lincolnshire. Hoping for a red-necked phalarope. The sun was shining, the skies were blue. I walked east along the north shore. Soon I saw ruff and up to 5 little stints.
Dunlin, I think.
A small group of birders ahead made my hopes rise. Red-necked phalarope.
Not sure I've seen one on land before.
More views.
Nice views of a curlew sandpiper.
The curlew sandpiper walked up the sloping reservoir wall and snoozed by a dead plant that had been growing in a crack in the concrete then probably got baked off in the hot weather.
I remain puzzled by this long-legged wader. One minute I think it's a dunlin then I begin to wonder if it's a second curlew sand. Something about its very upright posture.
More little stints. Lovely to photograph that day.
I headed north to call at Alkborough Flats. A marsh harrier drifted over the reedbeds.
A pair of greenshank landed in front of the hide.
Lots of black-tailed godwits occasionally filled the sky.
Some bearded tits were seen but not really close enough for really good quality images. Nonetheless quite nice in the good light conditions.
And so I come to the end of this mammoth posting. It has its own title...
...and eating it!
Little egret shots, that's all.
UK 265 2017
11th September 2017
Return to Ravenspurn
September 11th
Digression: Two English kings landed at Ravenspurn: Henry IV in 1399, on his way to dethrone Richard II, and Edward IV in 1471, on his way back from exile. The port of Ravenspurn was somewhere south-east of Kilnsea and the last remnants of Ravenspurn finally succumbed to the waves in the nineteenth century.
Workmen we were expecting failed to turn up for the third day running. To try to rescue a wasted day Sheila suggested we could still go to Spurn even if we didn't set off till late morning. So we went and it was 1.15 by the time we were putting on our coats in the windy car park at Kilnsea Wetlands. A long-billed dowitcher had waited for us, we hoped.
'It's gone,' we were told by a rather well-dressed and abrupt young man. Sheila suggested we walk on to the Beacon Ponds bank. Whilst we walked the pager confirmed it was indeed still present and to cut the story short we saw it distantly roosting on a spit out of view from the hide. Eventually it moved about a bit and showed its bill. A good year tick and it made our day seem worthwhile after the frustrations at home. The abrupt young man arrived after a few moments and stood silently by, a mouthful of humble pie stuck in his throat! Two birders I often meet [it's time I knew your name, please!] told me about the wryneck. We drove to the Blue Bell for a comfort break and then walked up Beacon Lane. Sheila spotted this common darter.
A group of birders were spotted at the northern tip of Sandy Beaches caravan park. We hurried over. The rest is below...
Only a few times each year do I have unforgettable birding encounters - this year I would include the white-billed diver in Lincolnshire on the River Witham, the ptarmigan at Applecross and I think this wryneck deserves its place in the same group.
Subtitled: "Don't go sticking your tongue out at me, mate!!"
At first sight it might be a piece of dried up vegetation...
I think that's enough, don't you?
254 UK 2017
3rd September 2017
''sPECtacular'' birding or ''For better or for WRS!''
Title may make sense in the end!
September 3rd
Sheila wanted a walk at the seaside and suggested Hartlepool. She also suggested calling at Saltholme to see if the pecsands at Phil Stead's were any closer. They weren't really but with different settings and a gentler light I produced these...
The birds were never as confiding as this bird a couple of years ago at Swillington Ings!
Greenshank at Saltholme
There was a seafront festival at the Headland and roads were closed. We stayed away and walked from Newburn Bridge. Here's a few shots from there.
Tuesday 5th September
Afternoon visit to Blacktoft Sands. The best waders had left during a heavy shower but some nice sightings of reed and sedge warblers, a few bearded tits at Marshland along with redshanks, lapwings and snipe. Single greensand at Townend where I ended my visit. Still trying for the marsh harrier photo I can clearly see in my mind! Here are today's efforts.
Thursday 7th September
I went first to Alkborough. A lot of people around and the bearded tits were nowhere to be seen. Apparently over noisy birders had scared the spoonbills off - no great loss! I made do with the bigger picture - quite a spectacle really. A pale headed ruff was quite close.
Something spooked the avocets. Just in case you're thinking there's a marsh harrier coming over the reedbed, right of centre image, it's a lapwing!
I decided to head further east, back to Tetney Marshes RSPB or the yacht club pools at Humberston Fitties to be precise. I had heard that the white-rumped sandpiper was often much closer to the car park than it was when I went the first time a few days earlier. It wasn't really close but it was just about photographable...
Can you spot it? It's pretty distant [left of centre in first picture]
It flew a fair bit closer.
To end the day, I called at Blacktoft. Roe deer. Man in hide said they were red deer. I dared to contradict him so he left. I suppose sometimes people see what they want to see.
29th August - 1st September
I'll be brief...
August 29th: Staveley YWT in the afternoon
Hobby and merlin reported so I decided to give it a go. Public hide enabled me to watch a few dragonflies from quite close and without disturbing them. Here's a migrant hawker - in flight!
Next came the merlin: distant view as it perched for some time in a willow. [Hobby not seen]
Terrifying noise as this came low over the reserve. I wondered if it was about to crash land but it seemed to make it!
Common terns were feeding over the main lake.
I walked to the newer section of the reserve. Storm ahead: by now the light was very poor. Feeling Jurassic?
August 30th: Bempton
By the time I arrived the greenish warbler that had performed well was proving more elusive. I was pleased to get these less than perfect images given how hard it seemed to see the bird at all. The wing bar is diagnostic.
A good year tick!
August 31st Sheila and I ended up [after a family visit in Pontefract] at Humberston Fitties to see a white-rumped sandpiper. Duly seen in my scope but too far for a photo. Probably only my second or third ever, so another excellent year tick.
September 1st: Saltholme
Phil Stead hide for 3 pectoral sandpipers. Two in the first two photos.
Breast band shows well here.
252 UK 2017 - Autumn is starting to happen!