A few days at Spurn

Got a message from Tim on Thursday asking if I wanted to go for some LSWs. We did and failed but he convinced me to go to Spurn for a few days. I had to come back on the Saturday for a 21st but the conditions looked great and he was confident there would be plenty of birds.

Sadly it did not materialise like that. There were 3 good birds over the weekend, but only 1 of which I managed to connect with; Turtle Dove (Bee-eater and Serin the others). Another Turtle Dove however is always great and appreciated. 

There were good birds about. On the first day I got to see my Little Terns again after a long time apart and spurn-ticked Garganey with two on Holderness fields. An evening walk down the canal yielded Cuckoo, fantastic views of Hobby and Spurns first Spotted Flycatcher of the year. Other year-ticks included Lesser Whitethroat and Whimbrel. 

Day two I decided to do sammies early morning and missed Serin for my troubles. The only decent birds I got in return were Tree Pipit and Short Eared Owl. The day was hot and with no birds grounded it was hard work. A short walk down the point was made but the only notable sighting was a pair of Common Lizards possibly fighting, but looks like a male and female (?), on the road which were very preoccupied and easy to view.

Day three was shrouded in sea fret but a few birds had dropped in. Spotted Flycatchers had increased and I had my first Whinchat of the year. The Turtle Dove was also today, although the view was only brief sadly. Something of a Spurn mega on wetlands with a Canada Goose thats apparently set up for the last month or so...

-Little Tern

-Garganey

-Hobby

-Lesser Whitethroat

-Short-eared Owl

-Common Lizard

-Whinchat

-Spotted Flycatcher

-Canada Goose

-Brown Hare

Species List:
Spurn Bird Observatory: Blue Tit, Oystercatcher, Blackbird, Robin, House Sparrow, Collard Dove, Swallow, Dunnock, Carrion Crow, Whimbrel, Lesser Black-backed Gull, Starling, Mallard, Greylag Goose, Mute Swan, Avocet, Shelduck, Skylark, Pied Wagtail, Little Grebe, Ringed Plover, Little Tern, Garganey, Sandwich Tern, Little Egret, Common Tern, Black-headed Gull, Herring Gull, Black-tailed Godwit, Turnstone, Dunlin, Wigeon, Sand Martin, Gadwall, Yellow Wagtail, Meadow Pipit, Reed Bunting, Linnet, Bar-tailed Godwit, Kestrel, Lesser Whitethroat, Whitethroat, Spotted Flycatcher, Hobby, Cuckoo, Sedge Warbler, Reed Warbler, Reed Bunting, Starling, Short-eared Owl, Wheatear, Tree Pipit, Cormorant, Common Sandpiper, Grey Plover, Jackdaw, Whinchat, Canada Goose,

Kent - Triple Lifer Day

Of course, as soon as I could I made my move for the Oriental Turtle Dove in Kent. It was only right, given its a species I have long wanted to see, seemed predictable in its pattern and was particularly expensive to get to (Less than £50 for a journey into Kent is not bad). Its my first ever visit into the south-east so that alone was something I was excited about. I was very excited for the whole thing in fact.

I set off from my house at 01.00 to get a taxi to Meadowhall to get my coach into London. Once in London I made the short walk from the coach station to Victoria train station where I got a half an hour train to Otford where the dove was residing. I was on site by half 6 in the morning, the earliest I could have realistically been. I swear I only got about two hours kip on the coach, and I did have fears for how my body would hold up, but fortunately I was fine until the train back to London in the evening.

In the three hour morning wait the Dove showed for a grand total of 5 seconds at 7.30. Super looking bird and well worth the trip down, but sadly a little brief. It spent all its time in the garden feeding out of sight. I was obviously a little disappointed at its showing but I knew I was coming back later in the day and fancied my chances then. Plus I'd seen it, and there are plenty of birders who have not. Also on site were a couple of Ring-necked Parakeets, and commoner garden species. 

-Oriental Turtle Dove

It was also great to meet a few of the Norfolk NGB's there, who arrived just in time to see the bird. In total we managed to clock up just over 30 species for the site during the time there.

When it became apparent that the bird was not going to show again I made my move. I had decided to get the train down to Tonbridge and walk along the river, as a couple of European Turtle Doves had been seen there over the last couple of days, and as my biggest tarts tick I felt this needed attention. From Tonbridge, once I connected (or not) with any doves I had planned to go to a country park near Maidenhead for Nightingale but when I suddenly learnt that would take an absurd amount of time I decided instead to walk from Tonbridge to Paddock Wood train station along the river Medway, before getting the train back to Otford for the evening.

Once I gathered my bearings in Tonbridge I was soon out into the countryside along the river. I quickly picked up my first Swift of the year, followed by both Sedge and Reed Warbler. Oddly I also had my first Robin and Great Tit fledglings of the year, showing just how much faster things really do move down south.

The river walk was lovely. I was surrounded by singing Whitethroat, Yellowhammer, Wren, Blackbird, Song Thrush, Willow Warbler, Sedge Warbler and Cuckoo, although I failed to see the later species. I was also serenaded by Turtle Dove. I was strolling along and suddenly I picked up on the purring sound coming from the trees across the river. However it stopped too quickly and I lost any location I had on it. It took it 20 mins or so to start again but by then I had already picked it up in the top tree, badly backed against the light and rather distant. Through the scope the views were fantastic but I sadly failed to get that with the camera.

Its so sad to think this is my first ever Turtle Dove, but I guess thats a sign of the times. Its such a smart bird it really is so sad whats happened to them. But I finally connected with one and got to spend a good hour watching it chill in the top of the tree. Given the poor conditions I only included a couple of my record shots, no point using up data.

Double Turtle Dove lifer day...

-European Turtle Dove

The weather was on point today, with glorious sunshine and barely any wind. It was lovely. There were plenty of butterflies on the wing, including Holly Blue, Speckled Wood, Orange Tip and Peacock.

Continuing along the walk I had a bird whizz over my head. It only took a short view to realise it was in fact a Hobby, my first of the year and very exciting too. It circled a couple of times over the field allowing me to get a few nice record shots of what was probably my best unexpected species of the day looking back. A really nice surprise.

-Hobby

I had looked on the Kent Bird Club sightings page before I left and found a few bits and pieces on an old gravel pits near paddock wood at the end of my walk, so I decided to call in there. A few Nightingales were reported there and since I had now ruled out going to Maidenhead it seemed like my best chance of seeing one. The site was really smart, although there were fewer waterbirds than I imagined for the quality of the site. However, the bushes were full song and it did not take long for me to pick out a Nightingale. I headed over to where it had called from and somehow managed to miss it, only spotting its bright red rump flying away from me. However, with some persistence I did manage to get a shot of it sat out in the almost open. Lifer number three. Whilst I waited I also got another yeartick when two Common Tern flew overhead.

-Common Tern

-Nightingale

Although the bird itself proved elusive during my hour trying to get a photo of it, it kept singing the whole time and that song was beautiful, really pleasant to listen to. 

I had not quite realised but the walk between the stations was well over 10km, and with carring the tripod on my shoulder, wearing two jackets as it was cold when I set off and all my gear in my backpack, I was more than a little exhausted when I stumbled into the station. Still, I got half an hours sit down as I made my way back to Otford. On the way I recieved a notification informing me of the bird showing again.

And when I arrived on site it was doing just that, siting out fairly well in an area we could get much closer to it than before. The only downside was the light was against us but that was only an issue for photographers. For me, a good record shot is all I ask and I definately got that. Through the scope I got fantastic views of the bird preening as well as moving round. All in all I got everything I wanted. What a superb bird.

-Oriental Turtle Dove

The Parakeets also kept appearing, with one bird sitting out in the open so much it would have been rude not to take a photo...

-Ring-necked Parakeet

My coach back left London at half 8, so I left the Dove at 19.00 to make sure I was there in good time. By that time the bird had dropped back into the garden and with the light continuing to fade there really was not worth staying for.

I arrived back home in Sheffield at 00.30, by the completely exhausted but so thrilled about an incredible days birding, possibly one of the best I have ever had. Three lifers, year-ticks galore and a host of other awesome birds, more than I could have dreamed of at the start of the day.

Species List:

Otford: Robin, Kestrel, Blackbird, Starling, Oriental Turtle Dove, Feral Pigeon, Ring-necked Parakeet, Magpie, Carrion Crow, Great Tit, Blue Tit, Chaffinch, Woodpigeon. Goldfinch, Dunnock, Greylag Goose, Herring Gull, Jay, Collard Dove, Grey Heron, Wren, Sparrowhawk, Pied Wagtail, Jackdaw, Greenfinch, Lesser Black-backed Gull, Common Buzzard, Stock Dove, House Sparrow, Long-tailed Tit, Mallard,
Tonbridge: Swift, Grey Wagtail, Feral Pigeon, Woodpigeon, Goldfinch, Sedge Warbler, Blackbird, Herring Gull, Blue Tit, Great Tit, Collard Dove, Mallard, Magpie, Long-tailed Tit, Robin, Whitethroat, Reed Warbler, Song Thrush, Blackcap, Yellowhammer, Linnet, Chaffinch, Dunnock, Wren, Swallow, Pied Wagtail, Stock Dove, Turtle Dove, Jackdaw, Carrion Crow, Herring Gull, Common Buzzard, Starling, Chiffchaff, Goldcrest, Bullfinch, Hobby, Skylark, Nightingale, Common Tern, Moorhen, Coot, Great-crested Grebe, Tufted Duck, Mute Swan, Wheatear,

Woolstone Eyes

I intended to spend my Saturday at home working on the dissertation in case a mega cropped up and I had to run off to go see it. So when a mega did break I did just that. I did not leave immediately as the white-crowned sparrow had been caught, and I wondered if it would be seen again. Whilst it was seen after its release, it was only brief, but by then I had already committed to going to the site.

On site there were still a good few twitchers around, but most were chatting away rather than birding, the general consensus seemed to be that the bird was not coming back, as it proved. That being said, there are a number of site specialties, not least the Black-necked Grebes which are very abundant on site. They show nowhere near as well as the birds as Swillington but always a pleasure to see. 

-Black-necked Grebe

But there was one bird I really wanted to see, possibly as much as the sparrow. I had heard rumor of the ducks that will not be named on site. I asked about it when I arrived, to receive negative news. However, once at the hide it was soon apparent a female was present and soon I had it seen. It was distant the whole time and difficult to get a photo of. There is a good chance I will never see this species in this country again, so I did enjoy it. Every cloud...

-The duck that will not be named

Aside from the two obvious highlights there were a number of other really nice species, not least a few very showy spring warblers, e.g. Whitethroat and Chiffchaff. A couple of nice Shelduck near the hide were nice, and there was a very close Common Sandpiper to admire too.

-Common Sandpiper

So despite not seeing the mega, and Halifax Town getting relegated, there was some consolation in the birds that we got seen, including that very special duck.

Species List:

Woolstone Eyes: Common Buzzard, Whitethroat, Blackbird, Woodpigeon, Black-headed Gull, Herring Gull, Little Grebe, Willow Warbler, Chiffchaff, Chaffinch, Mallard, Gadwall, Duck that shall not be named, Tufted Duck, Great Tit, Robin, Canada Goose, Graylag Goose, Mute Swan, Lesser Black-backed Gull, Great-crested Grebe, Grey Heron, Goosander,

Orgreave Lakes

With the dissertation coming together I decided to spend my afternoon at Orgreave in the hope of patch-ticking the Greenshank that had been around for a few days. The only downside being that I was badly caught out in a wintry shower, which was extremely unpleasant. That being said though, there were good numbers of birds to enjoy, and it was a nice afternoon out of the library.

I picked up the Greenshank almost straight away but it was distant and the light appauling so it wasnt until on the way back that I got any photos, even then they were not brilliant. I also got to enjoy a pair of Shelduck, which I can't remember seeing before but I'm sure I must have.

-Greenshank

-Shelduck

There were also good numbers of migrants, which felt a little odd in the falling snow. A wheatear foraging in the snow is not something I ever really expected to see. There were also plenty of Hirundines, including a couple of House Martins. They were perching up on the wooden fences, probably to try and stay warm and dry given the conditions.

Not only Hirundines though, as there were plenty of Warbler singing in the trees alongside the river, including Chiff-chaff, Blackcap and Willow Warbler, plus my first Whitethroat of the year, which was not especially showy

-Hirundines

-Whitethroat

But the highlight of the walk was another self-found patch tick in the form of a solitary Raven that flew over going north. The bird was so tatty it took me a while to be sure I'd got it right, although its fairly clear that it is a Raven. I never expected to get one of these on my patch list here.

-Raven

In addition to these goodies there were also plenty of other birds I did not photograph, including the Yellowhammer again, a couple of flyover Yellow Wagtails and a few very nice Little Ringed Plovers. Other waders included Common Sandpiper, Ringed Plover and an abundance of Redshank.

Species List:

Orgreave Lakes: Robin, Willow Warbler, Linnet, Skylark, Meadow Pipit, Kestrel, Blackbird, Reed Bunting, Pied Wagtail, Yellowhammer, Magpie, Carrion Crow, Raven, Gadwall, Moorhen, Coot, Great-crested Grebe, Mallard, Canada Goose, Graylag Goose, Lapwing, Oystercatcher, Ringed Plover, Little Ringed Plover, Redshank, Common Sandpiper, Swallow, House Martin, Sand Martin, Wheatear, Black-headed Gull, Whitethroat, Chiff-chaff, Willow Warbler, Shelduck, Greenshank, Common Buzzard,

Audenshaw Reservoir

Even if I wanted to, today was going to be a difficult day to twitch given I had a meeting at 12.00 regarding my dissertation. In the morning I saw the news of a white stork in South Yorkshire and though it would have been difficult, it was doable by public transport, and it was slightly gripping. Anyway, that bird up and left at 10.00, so any thoughts of twitching it were quickly dispelled.

However, another curveball was thrown from the opposite side of Sheffield, where a Kentish Plover had rocked up on a reservoir in Manchester. This was certainly doable and, waiting on news, was a go ahead after my meeting. Problem was, the site description said permit only, and nobody on twitter seemed particularly keen to give out any news of access. 

That was my only concern, so fast forward a couple of hours and I rocked up to the site at half 2, hoping beyond hope that I would find a way in and see the bird. Fortunately I bumped into a birder who pointed me towards a way in; through a hole in the fence. Nice.

Once inside we had a bit of bother tracking down the bird. Initially we could not find anyone watching it, although a leaving birder said it was still present. He gave us directions so thats where we headed, scanning the far bank to pick it out. The other birder did pick it out but it was so far away, on the far side of the reser.

For some reason, nobody seemed to want to go round, and I was reluctant to go in case, although unlikely, flushed it. In the end though I got frustrated with distant views and headed round, to truly incredible views, the bird really seeming to not give a care. It took a good half an hour before I was joined by anyone else, birders continuing to scope it from at least 400m away.

It was a stunning little bird, showing really well. I managed to get some nice record shots at least. If you positioned yourself right, it would walk along the shoreline past you. That being said, it did take numerous attempts before I had positioned myself right, but when I had was the only moment in the afternoon when the sun came out.

-Kentish Plover

Possibly my favourite lifer of the year so far, fighting with Hoopoe for top spot. It was not a species I expected to see this year, and certainly not on a reservoir in Manchester. But stranger things...

Other birds on site were a little sparse. I did get a full house of Plovers with both Ringed and Little Ringed also present alongside the Kentish. Common Sandpipers were also present. The sky was full of hirundines, mainly Swallows and Sand Martins but also a few House Martins which were my first of the year.

-House Martins

I could have maybe stayed longer on site, but the sudden lack of rain had brought out some serious swarms of flies, and after three hours watching the bird it did not seem worth lingering in the unpleasantness that had suddenly erupted. I left the site at 5.00 and headed home. What a twitch that was.

-Swarm

Species List:
Audenshaw Reservoir: Grey Wagtail, Little Ringed Plover, Linnet, Pied Wagtail, Ringed Plover, Kentish Plover, Swallow, Sand Martin, House Martin, Carrion Crow, Mallard, Mute Swan, Great-crested Grebe, Common Sandpiper, Herring Gull, Lesser Black-backed Gull, Black-headed Gull, Feral Pigeon, Woodpigeon, Starling

Slack, Derbyshire

Its been some years since I saw my one and only Dotterel on Soil Hill. So when one turned up in Derbyshire that was easily doable from Sheffield I decided it would be worth a punt. I decided not to go on the first day, but when it was still present this morning I made my move and was on site late morning. It was a largely sunny day with infrequent clouds drifting over.

I arrived on site to see the bird still present. It showed well, if distant, and the heat haze made everything substantially more difficult. Thats why all the photos I decided to include are under cloud cover, if anyone was wondering. Dotterels are really smart birds, and theres not much left for me to say, so please enjoy what attempts at record shots.

-Dotterel

Obviously just being upland fields there was not a plentiful supply of other species, but there were bits and pieces. The highlight was undoubtedly the fantastic views I got of a male Yellowhammer, although it moved too quick for a photo. Smashing views of a Raven pair getting mobbed by a Carrion Crow was pretty neat too. All in all, a fantastic morning out.

Species List:

Slack, Derbyshire: Yellowhammer, Skylark, Meadow Pipit, Pied Wagtail, Dotterel, Robin, Swallow, Sand Martin, Carrion Crow, Feral Pigeon, Woodpigeon, Common Buzzard, Sparrowhawk, Grey Heron, Wheatear, Kestrel, Linnet, Raven, 

Orgreave Lakes

Another chilled out day with glorious sunshine all morning. I had planned to continue working on the dissertation until I saw Mark Reeder had a Black-necked Grebe down at Orgreave. Without hesitation I set off to go and get it seen. Being a Grebe I had little doubt that it would still be present when I arrived, which was around half 10, and I was not disappointed.

The Grebe showed incredibly well, swimming fairly close to the bank without much fear at all. I managed to get some fairly reasonable record shots, which I'm happy with. The bird even called at times, which is not a call I'm familiar with, but it was pretty awesome to hear. 

-Black-necked Grebe

The grebe was my 162 species of the year, arriving shortly after my 161st; Common Sandpiper. Sadly the sandpiper was not approachable in any way, flying to the other side of the lake when I was nowhere even remotely close to it. No record shot there then.

Of course, as is often the case with most birds, whenever Wheatears are present they upstage ever other bird on site, and today was no exception. There were Wheatears everywhere, including some birds standing off against each other by spreading their tails. They are just simply such awesome birds.

-Wheatear

There were hosts of other goodies too, including White Wagtails, Redshank, 5 Common Buzzard all in the air at the same time with 2 Sparrowhawks, 1 solitary Yellow Wagtail, Goosanders and two really smart Lesser Redpoll, although sadly they were badly obscured by the trees they were feeding on.

-Lesser Redpoll

Black-necked Grebe was not my only patch tick today though. Whilst on my way back round the small lake, in the hope of getting a shot of Common Sandpiper, I flushed a much rare prize. I missed it until I had already flush it, Green Sandpiper, but fortunately it landed on the island. Distant but still able to get a record shot. They are not common birds here, with only a couple of records per year, so to have stumbled across this one was really nice.

-Green Sandpiper

It was certainly a pleasant morning, and now I have the afternoon to write up some more on the dissertation.

Species List:

Orgreave Lakes: Goldfinch, House Sparrow, Woodpigeon, Great Tit, Skylark, Blackbird, Willow Warbler, Wren, Lapwing, Common Buzzard, Feral Pigeon, Chaffinch, Magpie, Linnet, Mallard, Carrion Crow, Black-headed Gull, Coot, Mute Swan, Canada Goose, Greylag Goose, Gadwall, Redshank, Tufted Duck, Common Sandpiper, Oystercatcher, Grey Heron, Great-crested Grebe, Meadow Pipit, Goosander, Yellow Wagtail, White Wagtail, Starling, Black-necked Grebe, Long-tailed Tit, Blackcap, Dunnock, Sand Martin, Pied Wagtail, Wheatear, Swallow, Common Teal, Green Sandpiper, Sparrowhawk, Moorhen

Greaves' Piece

Work on the dissertation has kept me in for most of the last week, my thinking being if I can keep working on it now, I will be able to go twitching crazy when I need to. Its worked so far, but with the dissertation a third of the way complete and still a month before the deadline I decided to take the day off.

Chosen destination: Greaves' Piece for the gg shrike thats been there for a couple of weeks. It was a lovely day, and I was taking my course-mate with me in the hope to add the shrike to his life list. Sadly we did not see the shrike, be we had a host of other goodies which compensated somewhat.

First yeartick I got was Tree Pipit, but they were very abundant on the moor as we found out, with numerous birds singing and more 'spizz'-ing overhead. Second was a Cuckoo which my mate found. I would have though it a little early but clearly not, although I only managed a terrible record shot before it flew off. It then started calling from wherever it landed, and most of our walk was serenaded by intermittent Cuckoo calling.

-Tree Pipit

-Cuckoo

Without a doubt the highlight of the day was a very vocal Raven soaring above us. Sadly it kept soaring where the sun meant we couldn't see it clearly. It had me for a moment, as its tail was not as forked as I remember for Ravens, and the call not as deep. That being said, its so obviously a Raven I don't know what I was thinking.

-Raven

The warm air meant plenty of Buzzards on the wing, as well as Kestrel and Sparrowhawk. The only additional yeartick was just before we were going to call it a day, when I managed to find a Redstart singing along the edge of the trees. Sadly it did not sit still for a photo but went back into the wood where I lost it. Still, today's additional four year-ticks put me 160 for the year, with plenty of easy species still to get.

Species List:

Greaves' Piece: Swallow, Kestrel, Meadow Pipit, Common Buzzard, Carrion Crow, Tree Pipit, Robin, Wren, Blackbird, Sparrowhawk, Willow Warbler, Raven, Cuckoo, Long-tailed Tit, Chaffinch, Reed Bunting, Great-spotted Woodpecker, Blue Tit, Curlew, Pheasant, Redstart,