Lee Dam, Ringstone Edge & Cromwell Bottom

   Today turned into an excellent day out birding across Halifax with Matt Broadbent. The day started off well with a pleasant morning of thrush migration over Soil Hill, but it only turned into a day out when news broke that the Salvonian Grebe which had been seen on the canal at Todmorden a couple of days previously, but had then gone AWOL, had been relocated on Lee Dam just above the town.

  I headed down there and upon arrival we had the grebe absolutely no problem at all. The reservoir is not large at all, and the Grebe was quite happy to come in close in shore in order to chase fish, sometimes feeding almost directly under us. In the hour we spent there we saw it catch at least two Perch, although it also spent a considerable amount of time asleep in the middle of the albeit small water body. Having seemingly missed out on this bird when it couldn’t be relocated on the Canal, it was a very pleasant surprise to bump into it again here.

  With the weather pleasant, and with no work on the horizon, we then headed off to check some of the other sites around Halifax. A check of Whiteholme for Water Pipit failed to yield any birds, at all, but Ringstone Edge was a little more exciting with a drake Gadwall feeding with the mallards under the trees on the south bank. Presumably this is the same bird that was originally found by PD two days earlier.

  It was already mid-afternoon, so we decided to head to Cromwell Bottom last thing to see if the Scaup found by DJS the previous evening were still on the Ski Lake. From the Italian restaurant we could not see anything except Tufted Ducks and a few Goldeneye, and a bonus pair of Shoveler right at the far end, but we decided to persevere with the Scaup and see what viewing we could get from the canal towpath.

  Once on the canal, and once we had found an opening through the vegetation, we had a another scan of the lake and this time easily picked out the two Scaup. They were now swimming with the group of Tufted Ducks that we had seen before, so where they had been lurking who knows. Viewing remained difficult from the towpath so we returned to the restaurant and from here we had excellent views of both birds showing nicely below us.

  A brilliant day out birding in Halifax, demonstrating the best that this area has to offer! 

-Slavonian Grebe

-Greater Scaup

Species List:

Lee Dam:  Mallard, Common Moorhen, Slavonian Grebe, Great Crested Grebe, Eurasian Sparrowhawk, Common Kingfisher, Eurasian Magpie, Western Jackdaw, Carrion Crow, Coal Tit, Great Tit, Long-tailed Tit, Goldcrest, Eurasian Treecreeper, Eurasian Wren, Common Blackbird, European Robin, Pied Wagtail, Eurasian Chaffinch, Lesser Redpoll, European Goldfinch, Eurasian Siskin,

Ringstone Edge: Gadwall, Mallard, Black-headed Gull, Common Gull, Little Grebe, Great Cormorant, Common Buzzard, Rook, Carrion Crow, Eurasian Wren, Mistle Thrush, Redwing, Fieldfare, European Robin, Pied Wagtail, Meadow Pipit,

Cromwell Bottom: Northern Shoveler, Mallard, Tufted Duck, Greater Scaup, Common Goldeneye, Goosander, Common Wood Pigeon, Common Moorhen, Black-headed Gull, Common Gull, European Herring Gull, Lesser Black-backed Gull, Great Cormorant, Grey Heron, Common Kingfisher, Eurasian Magpie, Western Jackdaw, Carrion Crow, Eurasian Blue Tit, Great Tit, Long-tailed Tit, Eurasian Nuthatch, Eurasian Treecreeper, Eurasian Wren, European Robin, European Goldfinch, Eurasian Siskin, 

Spurn Week 7

Wednesday 04^th October

Despite strong westerly winds, today was a rather enjoyable day birding. This was mainly due to an unexpected arrival of Goldcrests. Although only 450 went down in the log, in excess of 1000 was probably nearer the mark. It is nothing like what a real Goldcrest fall could be like but it was still nice to see. In the afternoon I even got a Spurn tick when the local Tawny Owl was finally found at day roost in the trees in Kew. By no means were they the greatest views I’m ever going to get of this species but it was still nice to see.

Thursday 05^th October

After a week away from it, it was nice to get back to my ringing training today. We caught a few birds, mainly Redpolls and Goldcrests. The steady trickle of birds was more suited to my level and it was useful for me. After lunch Paul and I headed up to the Gas Terminal to try and catch a control Black Redstart that had been lingering on the rocks there. Sadly it evaded capture despite our best efforts. The Wheatears present up there also frustratingly evaded capture, meaning we left with nothing for our efforts.

In the evening it seemed that the birding for the day had been wrapped up when a radio message came through that there was a Slavonian Grebe on Beacon Ponds. Slavonian Grebe was a Spurn tick so I was pretty chuffed when I got there to see the bird still present, despite the distance and fading light.

-Slavonian Grebe

Friday 06^th October

Today I had the huge pleasure of entertaining Geoff Gamble, one of our Beeeater volunteers from the summer and one of the nicest men I have ever met. I took him and his neighbour around the triangle and then up to the Kilnsea Wetlands and Beacon Ponds. We got to see a few nice bits and pieces, capped off with the Slavonian Grebe.

In the evening I set off round the triangle for a walk to Canal Scrape to see if there were any Jack Snipes on there. There were not, but two lingering coots were something of an unexpected surprise. It wasn’t the biggest surprise of the evening, as a Nightjar was found on Beacon Lane. It took a while to relocate after the initial sighting, and even then I only saw it a couple of times in flight. Still it’s a Spurn tick, and one that I have really been looking forward to. A pretty unexpected end to the day.

Saturday 07^th October

After a late night in the crown I was a little sluggish getting up for ringing. Once up though we had a good time catching Lesser Redpolls. We also had a couple of Goldcrest and a single Garden Warbler to add to the mix. Once ringing had dried up I struggled to find any birds, so spent the remainder of the day typing up log sheets and watching Lord of the Rings. A very good day in my opinion.

Sunday 08^th October

As it turns out, my birding for the morning was dictated to me as I was enlisted to lead a guided walk on behalf of the observatory. I decided to lead my small group of 7 participants around the wetlands, Holderness Field and then round the triangle. As it happened, the first major thrush arrival of the autumn occurred on the same day, despite the continued westerly winds. Still not huge numbers, but a good few Redwings and Blackbirds provided a nice backdrop to my walk. Bramblings, Little Stints and Yellow-browed Warblers were also nice, as was refinding the Slavonian Grebe on Kilnsea Wetlands and a very late Avocet on Beacon Ponds. A Caspian Gull flew past us just as the walk started a first year bird that had been tracked up the Humber from the Warren. A small flock of Crossbills flew north over us, and a group of Seven Whoopers flew the other way. My route took longer than anticipated and just before we started round the triangle we heard that an Arctic Warbler had been seen in Churchfield. As a result we headed over that way. Although we didn’t see the warbler we did get to see some Brambling and Redwing in the hand, which was more than enough.

As it happens, a little later the Arctic Warbler made its way to the end of the Heligoland trap and was caught. It was ringed and shown to a crowd of around 100 people, not ideal but decent for the obs. Once I had wrapped up the walk and had lunch I headed out on my own steam but by this point the birds seemed to have dried up, although I did kick three Jack Snipe of Clubleys, which was the standout moment. I spent the evening watching the England game, so did not bother with the OBP which was found at the bottom of Beacon Lane in fading light.

-Caspian Gull

-Brambling

-Arctic Warbler

Monday 09^th October

The relics of yesterday’s birds remained all around. The morning plan was to help Sarah try and catch some of the bearded tits that had been present in the canal for a few days. Despite the set up looking a little bleak we were able to catch two birds, a male and a female. I ringed the female, whilst Sarah ringed the smashing looking male. Really, what a bird! By the time that we had done everything there it was midday.

After lunch I headed round the triangle, but again with little to show for it. A showy Lapland Bunting on the deck was the best of it, but unfortunately it had to be shared with a crowd of around 30 other birders, so I soon moved off. In the afternoon I headed to Churchfield to ring with Paul. We caught a few Redwings, a couple of Brambling and a few Tree Sparrows, all of which were great fun. Then Adam caught the Cettis Warbler that had been found along the canal in the morning, but which had eluded my attempts to connect with. The bird was brought back to Churchfield, and I was given the privilege of processing and ringing it. This is only the second to be rung at Spurn, and was a Spurn tick for me.

-Bearded Tit

-Cettis Warbler

Tuesday 10^th October

My morning was spent ringing, as per usual, with the afternoon then spent typing up logs, also as is usual. We caught a handful of thrushes in the morning, as well as quite a few Lesser Redpolls, which seem to be one of the few species having a good autumn in terms of numbers. 

Species List:

Spurn Bird Obs: Wigeon, Teal, Mallard, Gadwall, Shoveler, Pintail, Pink-footed Goose, Brent Goose, Greylag Goose, Canada Goose, Mute Swan, Red-throated Diver, Gannet, Cormorant, Kestrel, Sparrowhawk, Merlin, Common Buzzard, Moorhen, Coot, Little Grebe, Slavonian Grebe, Grey Heron, Little Egret, Oystercatcher, Ringed Plover, Grey Plover, Golden Plover, Lapwing, Knot, Sanderling, Dunlin, Little Stint, Curlew Sandpiper, Turnstone, Black-tailed Godwit, Bar-tailed Godwit, Whimbrel, Curlew, Greenshank. Common Redshank, Ruff, Common Sandpiper, Caspian Gull, Herring Gull, Common Gull, Great Black-backed Gull, Lesser Black-backed Gull, Little Gull, Woodpigeon, Collard Dove, Feral Pigeon, Short-eared Owl, Ring-necked Parakeet, Skylark, Meadow Pipit, Yellow Wagtail, Grey Wagtail, White Wagtail, Whinchat, Stonechat, Robin, Redstart, Black Redstart, Pied Flycatcher, Spotted Flycatcher, Red-breasted Flycatcher, Wren, Dunnock, Blackcap, Lesser Whitethroat, Cettis Warbler, Arctic Warbler, Chiffchaff, Yellow-browed Warbler, Blue Tit, Great Tit, Bearded Tit, Starling, Magpie, Carrion Crow, Jackdaw, Rook, House Sparrow, Tree Sparrow, Goldfinch, Greenfinch, Chaffinch, Brambling, Siskin, Reed Bunting, Migrant Hawker, Common Darter, Speckled Wood, Red Admiral, 

Hartlepool and Saltholme RSPB

Finally I had a full day of freedom post exams and having weighed up my options during my revision breaks over the past month I knew where I really wanted to go. That was Hartlepool to see the goodies that were up round that way.

Upon arriving in Hartlepool I first made my way round to Jackson's Landing marina to see if the glaucous gull was there, but it was not. I did get a nice year-tick in the form of Red-breasted Mergansers which were feeding the harbor.

I then made my way round to the headland where I went looking for the Shore Larks. It was quite breezy so I first walked the sheltered area of the rough ground they had been favoring, but with no luck. It was at this point that I decided coming was a mistake and that it was going to be one of those days where nothing goes your way...

How wrong I was...

I decided to walk the rough ground systematically and on the far bank, most exposed, I flushed the three Shore Larks. I saw where they went down but they still took some work to locate. I managed to get a few birders onto them in the hour or more that I was watching them. I grabbed some digiscoped shots before trying my luck with my new camera. I'll let the photos do the talking, but I was buzzing.

-Shore Larks

I was intitially going to walk the headland looking for waders heading towards the fish quay for the Slavonian Grebe. I started by seawatching off where the larks were. There were a couple of other birders too but they had spread out looking for Snow Buntings. Whilst seawatching I had yearticks of Oystercatcher, Sanderling, Shag and Red-throated Diver. I was having a field day.

I heard a twittering near me and looked up from my scope to see a Snow Bunting fly past me and land with the Larks that were still feeding behind me. I could see the other birders so whistled them over.

-Snow Bunting

Whilst we were watching the bunting the news broke of a penduline tit at Saltholme. I told the other birds who offered me a lift there. I had turned down a couple of lifts earlier in the day but this news did mean that there was something else to consider for the day so I took them up on their offer.

First call was the fish quay where there were plenty of birds as well as a seal. The Slavonian Grebe took some finding but I eventually picked it up distantly fishing among the boats. There was also the earlier reported Great-northern Diver, another Red-throated Diver, a few Guillemots and Eiders. There were also a few Turnstone along the quay. It was quite a spot for an urban fish quay. 

-Slavonian Grebe

-Great-northern Diver

-Guillemot

-Turnstone

Having gained the full house at the Quay we headed down towards Saltholme. On the way we called of at a local spot for Mediterranean Gull, which duly obliged, chilling on the beach barely two meters away. We also called off at Seaton Snook Road to see if there were any shorties hunting the fields but there was not. However, there was a very obliging Stonechat.

-Mediterranean Gull

-Stonechat

At Saltholme we headed straight to the hide where the tits were meant to be, but it over an hour there I had no joy of a penduline tit nature. However, I had a great substitute when a Water Rail swam across the channel that was being watched. Its one of the best views I have ever had of this species, but it happened so quickly I got no photos. A Peregrine flew over too, and I got a yeartick of Stock Dove.

I got a tip off about the Long-eared Owl in Haverton Scrub so I headed that way and was kindly shown it by some local birders. It was quite the bird to see, sitting almost out in the open with its ears erect. What a view, the best I have ever had of this species, and that is saying something. What a beaut. I was able to grab plenty of photos.

-Long-eared Owl

After the owl I headed to Paddys Pond for the female Smew which has been at the reserve for a long time now. It showed only briefly, spending most of its time behind the island, but its still the first time I have ever seen a redhead Smew and another cracking species to add to my growing day list.

In addition to the Smew there was also a nice female Pintail and a few Barnacle Geese mingling with the canadas.

-Smew

I finished off at the main hide where I added Shoveler, Shelduck and Curlew to the yearlist. Sadly there was no sign of the green-winged teal that sometimes shows there but I was not particularly bothered given how awesome the day was.

So despite a slow start today turned into one of the best days birding I have ever had, ever, thats how good it was. What a day.

Species List:

Hartlepool: Shag, Shore Lark, Cormorant, Red-breasted Merganser, Long-tailed Tit, Oystercatcher, Red-throated Diver, Herring Gull, Snow Bunting, Sanderling, Great-northern Diver, Guillemot, Eider, Slavonian Grebe, Mediterranean Gull, Turnstone, Curlew, Pink-footed Goose, Wigeon, Stonechat, Skylark, Starling, Carrion Crow, Magpie, Feral Pigeon, Woodpigeon, 

Saltholme RSPB: Little Egret, Stock Dove, Greenfinch, Common Teal, Chaffinch, Goldfinch, Mallard, Peregrine, Canada Goose, Wigeon, Moorhen, Water Rail, Tufted Duck, Herring Gull, Reed Bunting, Blue Tit, Little Grebe, Gadwall, Sparrowhawk, Lapwing, Common Snipe, Blackbird, Graylag Goose, Pochard, Pintail, Smew, Curlew, Shelduck, Shoveler, Fieldfare, Bullfinch, Barnacle Goose, Jackdaw, 

Cheswick Sands-Black Scoter, Long-Tailed Duck and plenty more besides

Its been a long time coming, but it was well worth the wait. The Black Scoter twitch is one of the best days birding I have had for a long time. Having been tempted by this bird for so long the time finally came to go, to try and get it. I set off at the later time of 7.12 from Sheffield due to Saturday Public transport and arrived in Berwick for 10.30, on the bus to Cheswick at 11.10 and then on the beach at around 11.40.

During my travels I did pick up one yeartick in the form of Red Kite which drifted over the train near Leeds. Plenty of other birds too, including Lapwing, Common Buzzards, Stock Dove, Curlew and Shelduck to name a few.

As soon as I arrived on the beach at Cheswick having fair paced it down from the road, I began to roll in the birds. First up was a small group of Common Scoter, which were joined by 2 Slavonian Grebes. Smashing start. There were not many birders there, only 3, but there had been no news on the black scoter, so it was down to us to find it.

I, however, had other birds to deal with, as some scanning produced my most desired lifer in the form of a flock of 3 Long-Tailed Ducks. I was over the moon and set about watching and trying to digi-scope them (I failed). It turned out that there were an awful lot of them out there, at least 20, but scattered and hard to count. Either way, they were smashing birds and well worth waiting for. Its just a pity they were so far out.

-Long-Tailed Duck

 I could go on about LTD's for a bit, but the next segment is how Black Scoter came to be added to my list. From the point near the car park we could not seen the black scoter, and only a small group of commons to go off. One birder decided to wander up the beach to the rocks but the other two and myself decided to stay put. After another 15 mins with no joy I noticed that the birder on the rocks had now become 4 birders on the rocks, but through bins I could see they were all looking in different directions. They clearly did not have it!

With that in mind I decided to head down the beach the other way to see if there was anything that way. I had spotted another small group of Common Scoters but they were far away and mainly sleeping it seemed so I wanted to check these out. I found them again from my new vantage point but it was clear that the number of birds was going to be hard to work out as they were consistently diving and very hard to follow. Only around 3 birds stayed up for any real length time. However, when there were more birds one did stick out as having more yellow, but it was swiftly lost again. Heart beating frantically I started my search again, but it was around 5 mins later when I picked up the bright yellow again, but once more it was swiftly lost. On the second time though it was clear there were no common scoters that bright (Some drakes had looked very yellow earlier) and with that it mind I raced to the beach to frantically wave my arms at the birders back near the car park.

it took at least 90 seconds before the birders attention had been gained. Now really worried I may have got it wrong I raced back to my scope to try and re-find the bird. That was never going to happen and when I was joined by the other birders I could only tell them what I had seen as I had been unable to track it down. Thank goodness, one of the arriving birders picked it up not long after he had arrived and so began the describing of the location on a sea with no place-markers on it at all.

For the following 2 hours or so we watched the bird on and off as we lost it, moved position to get a better view, lost it again, saw it, lost it, gave vague directions, lost it, digiscoped it, watched it and so on. By the end though I had seen it plenty of times and could clearly see it was the bird we were looking for.

When the birds did stay up in a group  the yellow stood out so much. It was so obviously different with a bright yellow blob on its beak. The only real downside was that it was so far away, and I would deffo not have been able to do it with my old scope. Its the first time I have been at a twitch and personally found the bird we were looking for, so that was a great personal milestone to have reached and I was choughed, as were the other birders. I even got handshakes, though I was just pleased to have been able to see it and get the others onto it.

I mentioned my digiscoping...

-Black Scoter (With Common Scoter)

Its my first time digiscoping since my compact camera has not liked any scope I have tried it with except for this one. Just as well really, as otherwise I would have been unable to get a record shot at all with the distance.

There were plenty of other goodies out there besides the LT duck and the Scoters, including all 3 diver species, though the Great Northerns were only fly-bys and there was only one Black-Throat. There were plenty of Eiders on the sea and flying, and also a drake Red Breasted Merganser flew north, which was another yeartick for the day. On the beach itself there were a few Sanderling and a flock of Ringed Plovers, just to add to the fantastic cast of birds.

By around half 3 I decided to walk back to Berwick and save myself a couple quid on the bus. It was a well founded decision and took nowhere near as long as google maps said it would. It started very well, though I got lost in the dunes, but for getting lost I did pick up Stonechat near a small stream with some reeds. Whilst watching the stonechat I noticed something small and blueish move in the reeds and though my view was brief I had spotted my second Water Rail of the year. I had gone for the camera in my bag but I had not been able to get it out in time before the bird melted into the reeds. But still a fantastic record.

To avoid getting so lost I would end up missing my train I headed back to the beach to walk along. On the rocks where the birders had been earlier were a few Turnstones and Purple Sandpipers which were roosting there now that the tide was in. In the late afternoon sun they looked superb and another reason to put up more photos of Purple Sandpipers this year. What simply great birds.

-Purple Sandpiper and Turnstone

The walk back along the coast was beautiful with the early evening sun casting a reddish glow over everything and the general peace of the area. Once back in the Berwick town area I picked up another nice day-tick with a few Goldeneye that were in the harbor. There were a few other birds too, like Rock Pipit, Grey Wagtail and Sparrowhawk.

It was a really nice end to the day, so I will close off with a couple of shots of the area, the first of the beach and the second of Berwick in the evening light. A truly fantastic days birding, with a bonus of 2 lifers. Can't go wrong there!

-Cheswick Beach

-Berwick-Upon-Tweed

Species List:

Train Journey: Red Kite, Magpie, Carrion Crow, Woodpigeon, Kestrel, Black-Headed Gull, Starling, Blackbird, Feral Pigeon, Common Buzzard, Pheasant, Stock Dove, Lapwing, Collard Dove, Mallard, Coot, Grey Heron, Goosander, Curlew, Lesser Black-Backed Gull, Cormorant, Shelduck, Rook, Goldfinch, Mistle Thrush, Herring Gull, Roe Deer, Brown Hare, Red Fox,

Cheswick Sands: Common Scoter, Slavonian Grebe, Long-Tailed Duck, Eider, Great Northern Diver, Black Scoter, Red Throated Diver, Black-Throated Diver, Rock Pipit, Ringed Plover, Sanderling, Turnstone, Purple Sandpiper, Pied Wagtail, Gannet, Stonechat, Water Rail, Oystercatcher, Curlew, Red-Breasted Merganser, Robin, Redshank, Common Gull, Herring Gull, Black-Headed Gull, Mute Swan, Cormorant, Chaffinch, Great Tit, Blue Tit, House Sparrow, 

Berwick-Upon-Tweed: Goldeneye, Grey Wagtail, Mute Swan, Eider, Rock Pipit, Pied Wagtail, Mallard, Herring Gull, Black-Headed Gull, Common Gull, Sparrowhawk, Redshank, Carrion Crow, Jackdaw