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

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

Manavilins!

Bits and pieces - originally of food. Titbits. Odds and ends.

A word I learnt from my mother.

December 18th took me first to Skinningrove hoping to find the reported water pipit. I found it quite quickly but it was very shy and difficult to approach. Meadow and rock pipits also around. 

Water pipit

Rock pipit

A couple more from Skinningrove

I tried for the tundra bean geese but no luck. However the taiga bean geese down the Zinc Works Road showed really nicely...

...as did a magpie on top of a telegraph pole!

December 19th: Back up the A19 but starting at Hardwick Hall country park near Sedgefield where a nice drake red-crested pochard had been reported. It was soon located. These dozing goosanders caught my eye. They were close to the pochard which seemed to be endlessly preening and splashing around.

I called at Seaton Carew beach near the water treatment works. The large car park there is toll free in winter and I just wanted a quick look. Lots of dog-walkers but some way from me I saw what must be a large group of resting waders. I walked north keeping to the land side of the sea wall. I was pleased to find a very large group of ringed plover [50+]. Here's just a small number of them.

From there I went to see the tundra bean geese for about the fourth attempt. No luck this trip either whilst the taiga bean geese [very smart birds in my opinion] seemed to be getting more used to the birders and were relatively close to the Zinc Works road.

The light was now very good and I decided to linger as I had heard that the short-eared owls often came to perch on the stockade at the old tip end of the ZWR. Cars line up there so people can photograph the birds from their car and not disturb the birds. I pulled in pointing down the road towards the far end. By pure chance I spotted movement on the 'wrong' side of the road about 100m further down the road. Owl! I jumped out of my car. By now the owl had perched on the fence. I told several people in their cars "There's an owl on the fence!" They looked at me as if I was stupid apart from two young men who seemed to understand. The rest never saw a thing. They never saw this...

Eventually a passing car disturbed it and off it went into the scrub. The birders in their cars were still sitting and watching the stockade in case an owl might land!

Still, that's probably enough shorties for this year!

But I hope there's more next year...

262 UK 2018