Sandbeach Outflow twitching Red-breasted Goose

   After our success with the Northern Waterthrush we continued on to the Essex coastline where there had been a Red-breasted Goose seen among the rafts of thousands of Brent Geese on the arable fields there. So we spent the rest of the daylight hours here enjoying some very pleasant birding, with a wide variety of species on offer.

  Sadly, despite searching through over 5000 Brent Geese during the afternoon, we failed to find the Red-breasted Goose. It was reported at another location around lunchtime so we headed there, but ultimately failed in our quest. Still, it was very enjoyable and we still had some rare goose action with a Black Brant and a Pale-bellied Brent Goose at the second location we checked. 

  In addition the birding was excellent, with flocks of Corn Buntings being the highlight, a species I see so infrequently in the UK. There were also groups of waders around, especially Golden Plover in the fields. Despite the dip, it was an excellent afternoons birding. 

-Dark-bellied Brent Geese & Marsh Harrier

-Black Brant & Dark-bellied Brent Geese

-Corn Bunting

Species List:
Sandbeach Outflow: Dark-bellied Brent Goose, Pale-bellied Brent Goose, Black Brant, Eurasian Wigeon, Eurasian Teal, Common Pheasant, Feral Pigeon, Stock Dove, Common Wood Pigeon, Common Moorhen, Pied Avocet, Grey Plover, European Golden Plover, Northern Lapwing, Eurasian Curlew, Common Snipe, Common Redshank, Black-headed Gull, Common Gull, European Herring Gull, Great Black-backed Gull, Grey Heron, Western Marsh Harrier, Common Buzzard, Common Kestrel, Eurasian Magpie, Western Jackdaw, Rook, Carrion Crow, Eurasian Blue Tit, Great Tit, Cetti's Warbler, Goldcrest, Eurasian Wren, Common Starling, Song Thrush, Common Blackbird, Fieldfare, European Robin, European Stonechat, Dunnock, Pied Wagtail, European Rock Pipit, Meadow Pipit, Eurasian Chaffinch, Common Linnet, Corn Bunting, Yellowhammer, Common Reed Bunting, 

Fly Flatts twitching Pale-bellied Brent Goose

  I had just reached the bottom of the North Slope on my walk around Soil Hill in the morning when the message came through that Brian Sumner had found three Brent Geese on Fly Flatts. Having never seen one in West Yorkshire, and being only the second ever for Halifax, I cut short my walk and made tracks back home to collect the car.

  On the drive over Andy Cockcroft messaged through that the birds were still present and were Pale-bellied, the subspecies which I have seen least of. Fortunately, we arrived not long after, to find the birds still present. They were on the far side of the reservoir from the road, grazing on the bank. After a short while they entered the water and started swimming around, before returning to the bank for some more grazing and a nap.

  Was good to see a few local birders present, also twitching the geese. There was not a great deal else around on the reservoirs but was good to have my first visit up to the moors with singing Skylark and Curlew both abundant, similar to Soil Hill.

  Great birds to see in Halifax, and a cracking find by BS.

-Pale-bellied Brent Goose

Species List:
Fly Flatts: Greylag Goose, Pale-bellied Brent Goose, Canada Goose, Mallard, Eurasian Oystercatcher, Northern Lapwing, Eurasian Curlew, Lesser Black-backed Gull, Common Buzzard, Common Kestrel, Eurasian Skylark, Pied Wagtail, Meadow Pipit,

Northumberland

For the next part of our trip we spent a couple of days in Northumberland enjoying the landscape and seeing a few different birds to those we had seen at Spurn. We were based in Seahouses and the main reason for that being, of course, the Eiders showing exceptionally well as usual, even letting us feed them by hand

-Eider

On our way up north we called in at Cresswell Pond to see the Long-billed Dowitcher that had been seen there. It was a pain to find amongst the throngs of Common Redshank but we eventually obtained some nice views, my second of this species at this site alone. There were also a few other nice species on offer here, including two Long-tailed Duck on the pond, as well as Scaup and then Twite, Whooper Swans and Barnacle Geese in the nearby fields.

-Long-billed Dowitcher

-Long-tailed Duck

For our full day in the region we headed to Lindisfarne for a days birding. Although there was nothing exceptional on the island we enjoyed some excellent birding in windy conditions. Two Barn Swallows were something of a surprise, flying over the islands pond. We also had some nice views of Red-throated Diver, Red-breasted Merganser and Pale-bellied Brent Geese.

-Northern Lapwing

-Sanderling

-Pale-bellied Brent Geese

Species List:

Cresswell Pond NWT: Whooper Swan, Mute Swan, Greylag Goose, Pink-footed Goose, Canada Goose, Barnacle Goose, Eurasian Wigeon, Mallard, Eurasian Teal, Tufted Duck, Greater Scaup, Long-tailed Duck, Common Goldeneye, Common Pheasant, Little Grebe, Stock Dove, Water Rail, Common Moorhen, Eurasian Oystercatcher, European Golden Plover, Northern Lapwing, Eurasian Curlew, Ruddy Turnstone, Dunlin, Long-billed Dowitcher, Common Snipe, Common Redshank, Black-headed Gull, Mediterranean Gull, European Herring Gull, Great Black-backed Gull, Great Cormorant, Little Egret, Grey Heron, Eurasian Magpie, Western Jackdaw, Rook, Carrion Crow, Eurasian Wren, Common Starling, Common Blackbird, European Robin, European Stonechat, Dunnock, Twite, Chaffinch, Goldfinch, Reed Bunting,

Lindisfarne: Pale-bellied Brent Goose, Mute Swan, Mute Swan, Northern Shoveler, Mallard, Eurasian Teal, Common Eider, Common Scoter, Red-breasted Merganser, Common Pheasant, Feral Pigeon, Common Woodpigeon, Eurasian Collared Dove, Common Moorhen, Eurasian Oystercatcher, Grey Plover, Northern Lapwing, Common Ringed Plover, Eurasian Curlew, Bar-tailed Godwit, Black-tailed Godwit, Ruddy Turnstone, Red Knot, Sanderling, Dunlin, Common Snipe, Common Redshank, Common Guillemot, Black-legged Kittiwake, Black-headed Gull, Common Gull, Herring Gull, Great Black-backed Gull, Red-throated Diver, Northern Gannet, Great Cormorant, European Shag, Grey Heron, Little Egret, Eurasian Magpie, Western Jackdaw, Barn Swallow, Long-tailed Tit, Goldcrest, Wren, Starling, Redwing, Common Blackbird, European Robin, European Stonechat, House Sparrow, Meadow Pipit, Eurasian Rock Pipit, Chaffinch, Linnet, Goldfinch,

Spurn Week 17

Not a great deal happened during the week. Most of my time was spent in Kew doing work, whilst keeping an eye the nets. The number of birds caught was fairly minimal, a few Chaffinch and a Bullfinch being the highlights. A few thrushes coming in off the sea was nice, and there did seem to be a general increase in birds in the area, but we failed to catch any of them

-Brent Goose

The only other birds were on Kilnsea Wetlands, where the two Scaup were still in place along with a very dapper drake Pintail. A fairly slow week on the whole, but given the time of year its hardly a surprise.

Species List:

Spurn Bird Observatory: Wigeon, Teal, Mallard, Shoveler, Pintail, Scaup, Tufted Duck, Goldeneye, Mute Swan, Shelduck, Brent Goose, Moorhen, Coot, Pheasant, Little Grebe, Cormorant, Sparrowhawk, Kestrel, Golden Plover, Ringed Plover, Grey Plover, Lapwing, Knot, Dunlin, Turnstone, Redshank, Bar-tailed Godwit, Black-tailed Godwit, Curlew, Common Snipe, Black-headed Gull, Common Gull, Great Black-backed Gull, Herring Gull, Feral Pigeon, Woodpigeon, Collard Dove, Tawny Owl, Skylark, Meadow Pipit, Pied Wagtail, Wren, Dunnock, Robin, Blackbird, Fieldfare, Redwing, Song Thrush, Blue Tit, Great Tit, Magpie, Carrion Crow, Starling, , House Sparrow, Tree Sparrow, Chaffinch, Greenfinch, Goldfinch, Siskin, Linnet, Lesser Redpoll, Reed Bunting,

Spurn Week 5

Monday 11th July

Back on mornings, meaning early starts but hopefully a few more birds given I'm now working with the tide. The waders were a very similar set to those that have been around previously, but in greater numbers. Dunlin were well over 2000. I counted 2390 but my counting in tens is probably somewhat off and there could well have been more. Other species were much easier to count; 21 Knot, 6 Sanderling, 15 Redshank.

Perhaps the biggest surprise of the morning was when a Pale-bellied Brent Goose flew in and started chilling with the waders. Its July? What even! The bird was shot to bits, and chatting to some other birders at Spurn it seems to be a 1st winter age, so probably just stuck around. I put it out on twitter and it soon became apparent that it had spent the morning traveling down the coast, first seen at Whitburn up in Durham.

After my shift I headed down to Numpties where the was a few things moving. Sadly I missed the bee-eater but I did get nice views of Swifts and was a more productive use of the afternoon than a power nap.

-Dunlin

-Pale-bellied Brent Goose

Sightings List:

Beacon Ponds: Knot, Sanderling, Dunlin, Redshank, Greenshank, Common Sandpiper, Common Tern, Grey Heron, Mediterranean Gull, Sanderling, Little Tern, Wigeon, Oystercatcher, Ringed Plover, Brent Goose, Little Egret, Sedge Warbler, Bar-tailed Godwit, Curlew, Swift, Sand Martin, 

Tuesday 12th July

Very much a similar affair on ponds. Dunlin numbers seem to have dropped but as the high tide time now matches perfectly with the time most dog walkers are on the beach that is hardly surprising. A few nice things around the ponds; a Mediterranean Gull flew through, as did 6 Little Gulls. I finally spotted the Gadwall female in long-bank ditch, but only with a solitary chick. I was kind of hoping for a few more than that.

In the evening when heading out to my caravan I was stunned but thrilled to find a Hedgehog on the step up to the door. It did not run or anything, just sat there despite me basically being able to touch it. Its not a species I see very often, my last been also at Spurn two years ago. Its also the first time I have ever photographed one. What an awesome little critter.

-Hedgehog

Sightings List:

Beacon Ponds: Golden Plover, Sanderling, Mediterranean Gull, Knot, Little Tern, Grey Heron, Little Egret, Redshank, Dunlin, Little Gull, Gadwall, Pheasant, Oystercatcher, Ringed Plover, Sanderling, Gannet, Magpie, Carrion Crow, Reed Bunting, Skylark, 

Wednesday 13th July

Another morning struggling to get out of bed. Today was an excellent morning for birds though, not least because I actually saw the two Little Tern chicks that have hatched within the dunes. At least something going right in the project at last.

Today's main highlight was something rather unexpected really, it being the first one at Spurn this year. Mid-morning, scanning through the terns and I stumbled across the most plumage perfect Roseate Tern I could have ever imagined. Its a species I have seen before, but never properly, so to finally see one on the deck, through the scope was really something. And although I hate the term, it is a 'self-found'. It was really pleasing for me to be able to nail the bird at first sight and then not have to doubt myself until it was confirmed. Sadly I was the only observer, as after I managed a few record shots all the terns got flushed and the Roseate flew off north. What a cracking bird.

Today was a good day for birds. The Brent Goose reappeared in the early hours, as did the Little Ringed Plover during the late morning. Sadly the waders were traumatized by the presence of a Peregrine which came through the colony three times. By the third visit there were no waders left, despite it being high tide, such is the impact that the predator had.

In the afternoon I headed down the canal and onto clubleys field to look for dragonflies but failed to find any. In fact the only thing from the whole walk was a smart Barn Owl perched up on a fence post with a mouse. Aside from that it was a very quiet afternoon.

-Roseate Tern

Sightings List:

Beacon Ponds: Redshank, Dunlin, Grey Heron, Greenshank, Ringed Plover, Oystercatcher, Brent Goose, Little Tern, Sandwich Tern, Knot, Sanderling, Roseate Tern, Little-ringed Plover, Mallard, Mute Swan, Peregrine, Kestrel, Sedge Warbler, Skylark, Black-headed Gull, Cormorant, Swift, Swallow, Sand Martin, Common Scoter, Bar-tailed Godwit, Gadwall, Reed Bunting, 

Thursday 14th July

A fairly quiet day at the ponds, although still over 2000 Dunlin came in. I sadly failed to find anything massively exciting among them. The best of it were 4 Sanderling and a Turnstone. Other birds around the ponds included 6 Arctic Tern, the first Juvenile Sandwich Tern of the year and a Barn Owl early morning. That aside, it was very much a similar affair to the last few mornings.

Sightings List:

Beacon Ponds: Sanderling, Turnstone, Little Grebe, Redshank, Little Tern, Dunlin, Arctic Tern, Common Tern, Greenshank, Barn Owl, Sandwich Tern, Oystercatcher, Ringed Plover, Herring Gull, Gannet, Common Scoter, Skylark, Linnet, Herring Gull, Common Gull, Black-headed Gull, 

Friday 15th July

Another day with similar patterns of species seen. Again, 2000 Dunlin came in but I once again unable to find anything lurking among them which was rare. A Golden Plover flyover was the only real difference in the variety of wader species on ponds this morning. 

There were up to 10 Common Terns around the ponds, plus 5 Sandwich Terns, although no sign of yesterdays Juvenile. Little Tern numbers continued to be high at around 70 birds at high tide, all of them sat around doing not very much when they should be breeding.

Sightings List:

Beacon Ponds: Common Tern, Dunlin, Redshank, Little Tern, Bar-tailed Godwit, Greenshank, Sandwich Tern, Black-headed Gull, Sanderling, Ringed Plover, Oystercatcher, Pheasant, Swift, Swallow, House Martin, Sand Martin, Golden Plover, Herring Gull, Common Gull,

Saturday 16th July

Today really was exciting, with a pretty impressive movement of Little Gulls over the ponds. In total 161 birds flew across the ponds to the Humber, mainly in flocks ranging from 20-50 birds. It really was quite impressive and nice to be sat on long bank just clicking them as they came through.

-Little Gull

Other species remained very much the same, although 5 Wigeon at the south end were obviously new. Now up to 3 Grey Herons are frequenting the ponds, and an adult Mediterranean Gull flew north. Dunlin numbers seemed to be down a little bit, with only 1500 coming in, but the tide was not as high and it is possible that they may have roosted in the spartina along the edge of the Humber instead.

Species List:

Beacon Ponds: Little Tern, Little Gull, Greenshank, Common Tern, Sandwich Tern, Oystercatcher, Ringed Plover, Grey Heron, Little Egret, Herring Gull, Lesser Black-backed Gull, Carrion Crow, Great Black-backed Gull, Linnet, Skylark, Reed Bunting, Bar-tailed Godwit, Yellow Wagtail, Black-headed Gull, Common Gull, Whimbrel, Redshank, Dunlin, Kestrel, Wigeon, Mediterranean Gull, Little Grebe, Cormorant,

Sunday 17th July

After the excitement of yesterdays little gull movement, it was perhaps surprising that not a single little gull was seen today. In fact today returned to the much quieter state of ponds, with not much actually happening. A Common Sandpiper was nice, and both Sanderling and Ringed Plover numbers seemed to have increased. 3 of the Grey Partridge family were also seen as I moved through the dunes to the hut.

Still, this will be the last time I get to do any proper birding up at ponds for a while, as I moved onto night shifts tonight. What a pleasant treat thats going to be.

Sightings List:

Beacon Ponds: Turnstone, Greenshank, Common Sandpiper, Barn Owl, Little Grebe, Bar-tailed Godwit, Sanderling, Arctic Tern, Ringed Plover, Grey Partridge, Whimbrel, Sandwich Tern, Redshank, Herring Gull, Common Gull, Reed Bunting,

NGB Spurn Weekend Day 3

The first day with any NGBs actually on site. Of course I headed up to numpties first. The sea was like a millpond, incredibly flat. the only time that changed was when a Porpoise breached the surface, which they frequently did. The total count at the evening log was of 12 individuals roaming around offshore. For birds moving on the sea, not so many. Auks were moving in a few good numbers, including my first Puffins of the year, MY 200th SPECIES OF 2016 (!!!), and a Red-breasted Merganser going North. So there was some variety, just not very many species. Bizarrely for May there had been 700 Brent Geese still on the Humber as of Friday, but there was something of a clear-out this morning, as at least 200 birds headed off out to sea.

-Porpoise

-Brent Geese

Perhaps one of the highlights of the weekend was the stunning male Grey Wagtail that was caught whilst we were up at Numpties. In the hand you really got a different perspective on this really beautiful species, for example I never noticed the white markings around the face. What a beautiful bird.

-Grey Wagtail

Yesterdays Red-backed Shrike continued to perform along the canal, but the rarest new birds were a pair of Turtle Dove that Steve found behind the Crown. I jumped in Tims car and we raced up but we had only just left the Warren when news changed that they were now heading south. We swiftly pulled up in time for the doves to fly straight over out heads. We thought that was that but they then circled round and landed on the wires above the Warren before continuing south towards Lincolnshire.

-Turtle Dove

Considering how badly I wanted this species at the start of the year, to have seen four individuals at different points has really been something. These were probably the best view I have had so far, such lovely birds.

Without a radio it was less tempting to go out hunting for birds on the off chance something rare turned up and I ended up missing it. As a result I stayed around the Warren for most of the morning, and this reaped rewards when a dark headed Yellow Wagtail went overhead. I can't claim to know much about Yellow Wagtail subspecies, but this was clearly something. Tim managed to get a good shot of it in flight, but thats when the real problems started. It obviously lacks a Supercillum, seemingly ruling out flava. However, the sub-moustachial stripe seems to rule out thunbergi, and then there is the issue of its apparent chest band. The popular school of thought seems to be a flava x thunbergi hybrid type, but in reality we will never really know the birds ancestors. Also at the Warren was a very smart micro moth chilling on my scope. If anyone has any suggestions to its identification that would be appreciated.

-Probable flava x thunbergi

-Micro-moth sp. 

The winds had looked good, but the bushes were very quiet. The only birds in any real numbers were Spotted Flycatchers, with 18 seen over the day. My wanderings around the canal were fruitless, and with nothing seeming to happen I went for a nap. Not long after I had re-awoken I received a text about 2 Crossbill heading north, so rushed outside on the off chance that they might go over the obs. I yelled to Sims, who was also in the Obs, that they were coming and we waited outside. As soon as we were outside Ollie started about how there was zero chance we were going to see them, and that they could be anywhere. I told him in no uncertain terms, to hush up so I could hear, and that he clearly did not know Spurn well enough. I wish I could have appreciated the dead silence when one Crossbill came over the Obs not 60 seconds later, calling frantically. It then looped and landed in the tree at the back of the Obs, for a short time before it flew off North again. More interestingly was that this was a different bird to the two that had been reported. Still, another yeartick for me. What a result that was. 

Sightings List:

Spurn: Canal and Warren: Swallow, House Sparrow, Great Tit, Carrion Crow, Spotted Flycatcher, Greylag Goose, Little Tern, Sandwich Tern, Bar-tailed Godwit, Gannet, Gadwall, Mallard, Mute Swan, Meadow Pipit, Collard Dove, Magpie, Cormorant, Avocet, Oystercatcher, Kittiwake, Starling, Fulmar, Brent Goose, Common Scoter, Little Egret, Red-breasted Merganser, Goldfinch, Feral Pigeon, Tufted Duck, Sanderling, Skylark, Yellow Wagtail, Swift, Linnet, Red-throated Diver, House Martin, Razorbill, Black-headed Gull, Common Teal, Chaffinch, Puffin, Black Tern, Common Tern, Turtle Dove, Barn Owl, Crossbill

Norfolk Day 1

So my parents decided to go to Norfolk for a week and I of course was not going to decline tagging along. Having travelled down overnight I set off for the first day by heading to the usual Cley Marshes followed by Blakeney for the long staying Lapland Buntings. 

First port of call were the hides at Cley where I picked up some wader species for my yearlist, namely Avocet, Ruff and Green Sandpiper. I also had nice views of Marsh Harrier which was also a yeartick. Species all familiar to the site but ones which I had not seen overwinter, so was pleased to see again.

-Avocet

-Ruff

-Marsh Harrier

The reason I did not start my day at Blakeney was simply because of the weather being awful, but as it began to clear late morning I decided to just take the hit and go. After all, the birds had reduced from around 8 being present a week ago to only 2 the last I heard. Along the walk through Cley-next-the-sea and Blakeney Freshmarsh I picked up my first Swallow of the year. They were quite abundant already this far south but none had really appeared up north so this was quite exciting.

-Swallow

Blakeney freshmarsh was a fairly standard affair, fields with pools, but I did pick up my first Brent Geese of the year, which initially only looked to be a few individuals until something spooked them, or the tide moved them and the sky was suddenly full of Brent Geese. Quite a site really, a really smart bird to look at.

The highlight of the walk along the marshes though has to be the really nice White Wagtail that was knocking about. A real stunner, and although they turned out to be fairly abundant during the day, there is something special about this European visitors.

-Brent Geese

-White Wagtail

And so I arrived at the location where the Lapland Buntings were meant to be. I picked one up, a female, distantly almost immediately but it soon vanished into the undergrowth and I could not find it again for around half an hour. 

I made a move past the gate where most people have been watching them from, and began to walk down the track to relocate it. I was able to, but it now seemed that only this female remained. I tried to get some photos but the bird was quite skittish. After a while I returned to my scope and tripod set up at the gate and scoped out the marsh whilst decided when to give the bunting another try. But I need not have worried, for whilst I was scoping the bird flew onto the fence next to me, before coming down and feeding around my feet. I only wish the light had been a bit better because the view I got was otherwise unparalleled. It was really something. It was so close I could have reached out and touched it. What a real treat. 

-Lapland Bunting

After that I was obviously buzzing. The bird flew off into the marsh and I decided to take my leave. I headed back to Cley and walked along the beach side where I was treated to nice views of a few smashing Wheatear. Willow Warbler was another spring migrant of which was my first of the year. I also yearticked Sandwich Tern flying up the coast, something of an expected yeartick but still a much welcome one. A really nice bird to see. I also year-ticked Sand Martin and a few other waders; Grey Plover and Knot.

-Sandwich Tern

So an excellent start to the week, with a host of yearticks and other awesome species, and of course the Lapland Bunting being the real highlight, even if there was only the one bird left.

Species List:

Cley Marshes NWT: Avocet, Wren, Pied Wagtail, Wigeon, Teal, Gadwall, Egyptian Goose, Greylag Goose, Meadow Pipit, Marsh Harrier, Coot, Moorhen, Mallard, Mute Swan, Shoveler, Dunlin, Ruff, Redshank, Reed Bunting, Shelduck, Black-tailed Godwit, Common Snipe, Black-headed Gull, Little Egret, Green Sandpiper, Lapwing, Woodpigeon, Herring Gull, Ringed Plover, Pochard, Carrion Crow, Rook, Starling, Collard Dove, Pheasant, Jackdaw, Swallow, Willow Warbler, Greenfinch, Sandwich Tern, Brent Goose, Sand Martin, Wheatear, Kestrel, Grey Plover, Bar-tailed Godwit, Knot,

Blakeney Freshmarsh: Wheatear, Mute Swan, Greylag Goose, Mallard, Black-headed Gull, Skylark, Jackdaw, Meadow Pipit, Oystercatcher, Linnet, Redshank, Canada Goose, Avocet, Gadwall, Teal, Cormorant, Curlew, Shelduck, Shoveler, Moorhen, Black-tailed Godwit, Little Egret, Swallow, White Wagtail, Brent Goose, Marsh Harrier, Lapland Bunting, Lesser Black-backed Gull, Red Kite, Rook, Pheasant,