Fairburn Ings twitching Ring-necked Duck

 Once again I was destined to spend the week working away down south, which meant I spent the second half of bank holiday Monday completing the long and tedious drive necessary to reach Suffolk. However, it was not a complete loss. As with last week, there were options available in the Aire Valley reserves to have a stop and look, which would break up the long journey. This time it was a very dapper Ring-necked Duck drake, which had arrived the previous day at Fairburn Ings. Presumably, this is the same long-staying bird that has been at Old Moor for the months preceding.

From the description, the best place to view would have been from the hide at Lin Dyke, so that’s where I planned to go. However, its been a long time since my last visit here, and I helpfully overshot the car park there. This actually worked out great, as a few hundred metres further up the road a group of four Fairburn regulars were scoping the New Flash from the roadside. I quickly pulled over and asked if this was the best location to view the Ring-necked Duck from, and they promptly pointed me in its direction, not too far away diving in the company of a group of Pochards.

Over the next half an hour or so, I watched the bird move slowly closer to me, before it once again began to move away. The light was not in our favour, but the bird itself was great, a really smart drake. This is my second time seeing this species in the UK, the other also being in West Yorkshire, on Anglers CP. There was not much of a supporting cast, it being late in the afternoon, but a flyover Marsh Harrier and Red Kite are always appreciated. 

-Ring-necked Duck

Species List:
RSPB Fairburn Ings: Greylag Goose, Canada Goose, Mute Swan, Northern Shoveler, Gadwall, Mallard, Common Pochard, Ring-necked Duck, Tufted Duck, Great Crested Grebe, Common Wood Pigeon, Common Swift, Common Moorhen, Eurasian Coot, Northern Lapwing, Black-headed Gull, Great Cormorant, Little Egret, Western Marsh Harrier, Red Kite, Eurasian Magpie, Western Jackdaw, Carrion Crow, Common Reed Warbler, Common Whitethroat, Common Starling, Common Reed Bunting,

Undisclosed location twitching Black-winged Stilt

Since I was heading down south for the week, for work purposes, I decided to make a short stop at a location where I knew a pair of Black-winged Stilts were lingering. Back in 2015 I did see this species in the UK, but since this pair was so close and on route, it seemed foolish not to make the short detour to have a look at them.

Despite the afternoon haze, I did get to see both birds distantly through the scope. They showed nicely, feeding away, while a cool breeze kept away the worst of the heat. The birds have now been present for the best part of a week, but on the first occasion I did miss them, hidden away in the grasses, so it was good to be actually able to catch up with them this time.  

Species List:
Undisclosed location: Greylag Goose, Canada Goose, Mute Swan, Common Shelduck, Northern Shoveler, Gadwall, Mallard, Eurasian Teal, Common Pochard, Tufted Duck, Common Pheasant, Great Crested Grebe, Black-necked Grebe, Stock Dove, Common Wood Pigeon, Common Swift, Common Moorhen, Eurasian Coot, Black-winged Stilt, Eurasian Oystercatcher, Northern Lapwing, Little Ringed Plover, Common Redshank, Black-headed Gull, European Herring Gull, Lesser Black-backed Gull, Common Tern, Great Cormorant, Grey Heron, Little Egret, Red Kite, Common Buzzard, Common Kestrel, Eurasian Magpie, Western Jackdaw, Carrion Crow, Eurasian Blue Tit, Eurasian Skylark, Sedge Warbler, Common Reed Warbler, Willow Warbler, Common Chiffchaff, Cetti's Warbler, Long-tailed Tit, Eurasian Blackcap, Common Whitethroat, Eurasian Wren, Common Starling, Song Thrush, Common Blackbird, Pied Wagtail, Meadow Pipit, European Goldfinch, Common Reed Bunting,

Bradshaw

Sometimes birding takes an unbelievable turn, and today was one of those days!

With thick fog limiting visibility from dawn, I decided to crack on with work and postpone my Soil Hill visit until the cloud lifted. In the meantime, between work periods, I kept an eye on the weather and occasionally had a scan of the fields with the scope, in case the lifting fog revealed something interesting.

At around 09:20, the fog had lifted just enough to see the newly constructed Bradshaw Pond, a body I had wondered if it might turn up something interesting in the future. On the island I could make out the profile of a large white bird, standing upright, with its back to me. Alarm bells immediately started ringing! This is one of those occasions where you know what your looking at, but can’t actually believe it. Upright posture, long neck, body not hanging down at the rear but being held level; it simply had to be a Spoonbill. Helpfully the bird then turned, revealing a great big black snout, almost as long as the neck itself.

SPOONBILL!

All hell broke loose in my mind. First I’ve got to get a photo! Something! Anything! It’ll be awful through the fog but I gotta do it! That done, its rubbish but its got the beak in, you can tell what it is! Next to put the news out. With so much to do, the message simply read ‘SPOONBILL BRADSHAW POND’ before I sent a terrible phonescope shot to prove the fog hadn’t driven me to madness. Oh yea, I also had to send directions so that anybody else might know what the ‘Bradshaw Pond’ meant.

All that done, shaking like a leaf, I was able to actually watch the bird. The fog was still lifting, so visibility had improved. The bird was actively preening and moving around the island, so the impression was that it would be off as soon as it thought the fog had lifted sufficiently. I gave JJL a call to make sure he had got the news, but he was already in Sowerby Bridge.

About ten minutes later AC arrived. I called from the window that it was still present, before I descended to the road to join him. His timing was immaculate, as about ten minutes later the bird took off. Although it initially looked as though it might pass by over Ogden, it looped back round, right over JJLs house and then directly over our heads, before continuing over the hill towards Bradford.

I have never had as good a view of a Spoonbill as that, never mind a full adult. As I understand, this is the second record for Halifax, and the first to be even close to twitchable. Glad AC made it in time, and apologies for those who missed out. This truly was one of those freak occurrences in birding, where something absolutely bonkers happens, and you just need to be lucky; in the right place and at the right time.

-Spoonbill