Filey Twitching Surf Scoter

I was occupied the whole weekend with church to put my new scope through its paces, but with Mondays off I was able to have a little twitch to see what it could do. My options were either the long staying black scoter at Berwick (Which would also include long-tailed duck) or the recently found Surf Scoter which was a new find but was showing very well. I eventually decided on the latter at 10.00 the night before.

So the usual pattern of trains, out of Sheffield at 5.30 before arriving in Filey at 9.30 and then arriving on site itself at around 10.00ish. I quickly got out the scope and scanned the brig for birders, there were none. I then scanned the bay, and saw nothing. I should add at this point that it was absolutely teeming down with rain, and the conditions were not great. Not seeing the bird I decided I had wasted my time, but since I still had time I wandered along the brig to see if I had missed anything.

Of course I had! Even when I was close it was hard to pick out, but I did manage to spot the bird and get it in the scope to see the stunning bill and white on the head and neck. It was close given that scoters are usually far out at sea, and you could clearly make out all the features of what was a stunning bird.

I was about to get closer but another birder appeared at this point. I waited until he had got onto it before we both tried to get closer. We got a bit closer but not much as the bird kept moving. At one point it started to come back to us, so we set up to watch it but it stopped and the tide eventually pushed us back. I did get some reasonable shots but due to the bobbing of the water they are only just in focus and not exceptional by any stretch of the imagination.

-Surf Scoter

The Scoter remained in sight all through our time on the brig before being pushed back by the tide. So other birds. I picked up some partridges in flight from the train, which were a yeartick, but I could not allocate them a species so they remain off my yearlist.

On the brig, despite the weather, there was decent movement of birds offshore, including many yearticks; Fulmar, Guillemot, Gannet and a single Red-Throated Diver. In the bay itself there was a small raft of Common Scoters and a solitary Eider, also adding to the yearlist. There were also plenty of cormorants and a single Great-Crested Grebe.

On the Brig itself there were a good few waders. The usual Redshank and Oystercatcher were present as well as Turnstone which were very approachable and a large group of the delightful Purple Sandpipers, some of which we were able to get close to and I snapped a few shots in a more natural setting than the pontoons at New Brighton.

-Purple Sandpipers

-Turnstone

Once the tide had forced us back I headed onto Filey Dams to see if there was anything there. The usual suspects, including a Shoveler, Gadwall and Wigeon. The highlight for me was when a flock of 3 Stock Dove came and landed in front of the hide. Not only are they smashing birds but it was also my first of the year, Sadly the camera had fogged up due to the consistent rain so the photo I managed were very hazy.

-Stock Dove

It nice to meet up with Nick Carter as well, now of the Filey area. It was great to see him again after we both moved away from the Calderdale area. I also bumped into a birder that I had met on Friday at Attercliffe with the gulls. He had mentioned to other birders he knew about 'this lad birding in shorts' so it was a surprise to see him again in a completely different context.

Species List:
Train Journey: Graylag Goose, Common Buzzard, Kestrel, Woodpigeon, Starling, Partridge sp., Herring Gull, Black-Headed Gull, Swan sp., Pheasant, Carrion Crow Roe Deer,
Filey Brig: Great-Crested Grebe, Cormorant, Surf Scoter, Fulmar, Rock Pipit, Gannet, Common Scoter, Eider, Turnstone, Purple Sandpiper, Red-Throated Diver, Guillemot, Oystercatcher, Common Redshank, Herring Gull, Black-Headed Gull, Grey Seal,
Filey Dams: Stock Dove, Tufted Duck, Gadwall, Shoveler, Greater Black-Backed Gull, Herring Gull, Common Teal, Coot, Moorhen, Mallard, Graylag Goose, Sparrowhawk, Robin, Reed Bunting, Wren, Dunnock, Common Gull, Black-Headed Gull, Shelduck, Woodpigeon, Tree Sparrow, House Sparrow, Starling, Blackbird, Canada Goose, Chaffinch, Pheasant,

Gull Watching in Attercliffe

Christened my new scope with a pre-lecture look at the gulls down in Attercliffe trying to see the iceland gull that had been around. It took a while before I could actually find any gulls down on the rooftops but eventually they settled on the tip and I was able to get a good look at them. Sadly no iceland gull but I did see a pretty pale bird that I wondered if could be a hybrid. I messaged Nick who said he thought it was just a pale Herring Gull, and passed it onto Martin Garner who agreed that it was a pretty funky looking Herring Gull.

-Funky Herring Gull

So that was a little exciting, but did leave me with yet another gull challenge. Also on site was a Grey Heron fishing on the weir and a female Sparrowhawk flew through. Plenty of large gulls did eventually land, but only the usual species.

Species List:

Attercliffe: Herring Gull, Lesser Black-Backed Gull, Greater Black-Backed Gull, Black-Headed Gull, Moorhen, Mallard, Grey Heron, Sparrowhawk, 

Anglers CP

I went to Anglers from Pugneys and arrived at half 1. I went straight to the hide and did not leave until half four, hoping for a good gull roost. As it happened, the gull roost was a little slow, the gulls were a long way away (Too far for my scope) and I was the only birder there. As a result I did not stay long into the roost, also due to the fact that it was freezing cold and I had lost sense in all my digits. It was pleasing to return home to see that no unusual gulls had been seen in the roost, though I know not where these lack of gulls were being reported from.

On the birds that were actually there I had some good stuff, including a skein of 23 Pinkies, a Shelduck (Yeartick), Sparrowhawk went through twice, putting up at least 5 snipe, and plenty of Lapwings. The sheer number of Lapwings actually made quite an impressive din, but its not the most pleasant of noises when heard en mass.

-Lapwing

So overall a good end to the day, just a pity that I could not get more into the gull roost, but we can't have it all.

Species List:

Anglers CP: Blackbird, Song Thrush, Pink-Footed Goose, Lapwing, Canada Goose, Mute Swan, Wigeon, Starling, Goldeneye, Long-Tailed Tit, Oystercatcher, Grey Heron, Coot, Moorhen, Great-Crested Grebe, Black-Headed Gull, Cormorant, Goosander, Gadwall, Carrion Crow, Tufted Duck, Teal, Common Gull, Magpie, Pochard, Woodpigeon, Common Snipe, Herring Gull, Jackdaw, Sparrowhawk, Pied Wagtail, Shelduck, Blue Tit, Mallard, Common Buzzard,

Pugneys CP

Last year I went to go see the Smew at Pugneys and recorded it as a lifer for around 1 min. Given that, and the fact that it would be a yeartick, and (Most importantly) its one of the most dapper and suarve birds on the British list, I decided to head over to Pugneys today to try and find it, and appreciate it with a bit of time unlike last time.

Not going to lie, it is a real pain to locate. After about 2 hours walking up and down the same 500 meter stretch of river I decided to try something new and go upstream of Pugneys, where I have never been. I did this for the first 200 meters the path did not follow the river. When it did join the river I found a small flock of Goldeneye. And then, into the scene but who should drift, the star of the show himself. I grabbed some shots to make up for last time before settling on him with my scope. I got fantastic views for about 5 mins before, for no reason, he took off upstream and I failed to relocate him again. Its obviously a very flighty bird. So here are the record shots of one of the finest birds on the British list.

-Smew

Whilst hunting Smew I got plenty of other nice things. Most notably was a Kingfisher that flew right past me, my first of the year and close enough to actually make out features as opposed to a blue blur. Wildfowl was plenty, mainly Goldeneye, Tufted Duck and Mallard but a couple of Goosander too as well as at least 3 Little Grebe.

Post seeing the smew I added Pink-Footed Goose to the day-list when a skein of around 200 went overhead. I heard them first but struggled to pick them up, though they then went right over my head, allowing me some good views. The only other significant thing was my first butterfly of the year, when a peacock came and landed near me whilst I was watching the Smew.

-Pink-Footed Geese

So that was the mornings work, one of the best birds in Britain and only my second time ever seeing one. What a glorious morning. I decided to head over to Anglers CP for the afternoon to finally go to the gull roost and see what that was all about.

Species List:

Pugneys CP: Cormorant, Mute Swan, Little Grebe, Wren, Robin, Jay, Fieldfare, Blackbird, Mallard, Goldeneye, Teal, Tufted Duck, Goosander, Woodpigeon, Black-Headed Gull, Carrion Crow, Kingfisher, Feral Pigeon, Common Gull, Moorhen, Coot, Dunnock, Blue Tit, Great Tit, Long-Tailed Tit, Great Crested Grebe, Meadow Pipit, Mistle Thrush, Kestrel, Canada Goose, Smew, Pink-Footed Goose, Goldfinch, Magpie, Reed Bunting, Peacock Butterfly

New Brighton - Avenged

Last time I went to New Brighton it was a great day's birding, but it did lack the bird that I actually went for. Today then I decided to try again, given that the evening of when I originally went the bird decided to show itself again, and then on Thursday showed incredibly well all day. With all this in mind I decided to arrive for almost first light, but as the train drove up the Wirral I wondered if the bird would still be alive, given that there had been an extreme ground-frost.

I arrived on the Promenade and could see a crowd of about 10-15 birders looking out over the beach. They informed that the bird was still there, out on the rock breach but that it was feeding among the rocks. I was so pleased that it was still here, and that it now seemed inevitable I would avenge Wednesdays dip. The bird came out after about 5 mins, but was distant. Through the scope I got to watch it move along the rocks for about half an hour on and off. 

The tide was coming in and the bird was soon forced off the rocks. As we hoped it flew round and onto the pontoons on the Marine Lake. Once it had flown round the small mass of birders all raced round watching it among the wader roost. We got a great view of the bird as it settled down in the roost. Sadly it then spent most of its time asleep, with its head tucked under its wing. When it did wake up though, which it did do often in fairness it showed its characteristics well, such as the long bill and legs which were both deep red. The overall profile of the bird was what really impressed me, it being so sleek and narrow, a really classy bird.

-Laughing Gull

The bird was close, but the light was not brilliant and we knew that we could try and get it closer. Sadly the bird did not like my sandwich, as I forfeited around half of it, and the only bird to flinch was a Herring Gull, and all that did was stand up. However, one geezer on the other side of the pond decided to throw some cake or something and that certainly got the birds attention, so much so that it flew over and started running around within feet of that guy.

As a result we all raced round and joined in the fun, with the bird running around with the pigeons right in front of us. It was crazy to see, but more than made up for my losses last time out. The light remained a bit of an issue but I managed to get some decent shots, almost as good as those I managed of the harlequin. A really nice bird, great profile on it, I'm raving about the profile I realise but it just looked so good.

-Laughing Gull

After a good ten mins running around chasing bread the bird took off and we lost it for some time. It returned briefly a couple of times, once to the pontoons and the other just a fly through, but both times flying right over our heads in a crazy way, allowing us to really see the wing structure.

The bird did come back for some time though but curiously decided to land on the water, not something it has done frequently in the past. It was paddling round right at the base of the wall directly below us. If it could get any crazier, it just did. It swum around there chasing fragments of cake for about 5 mins before flying off.

-Laughing Gull

It was at this point that I had to leave for my train, as I had booked it with the intention of getting back for something in Sheffield, which was then cancelled. Alas, but it was a good time as the bird had just left.

Any other birds? The waders remained a delight, with Purple Sandpipers still among the roost, the Sanderling still there and a bumped 5 Dunlin today, compared to the one on Wednesday. An additional species to the site list was a Skein of Pink-Footed Geese that went over just before we first tried baiting the gull with bread, the first I have seen since the end of exams and really nice to see against the clear blue sky.

-Pink-Footed Geese

So overall it was well worth coming back. The gull showed incredibly well, while it was great chatting to the other twitchers, especially those who had also been on Wednesday and also missed it on that occasion. Laughing Gull is my 3rd lifer this year and my 91st species of the year.

Species List:

New Brighton: Herring Gull, Black-Headed Gull, Feral Pigeon, Laughing Gull, Dunlin, Purple Sandpiper, Redshank, Turnstone, Cormorant, Magpie, Mallard, Sanderling, Pink-Footed Goose, Starling,

Train Journey: Lapwing, Common Buzzard, Mallard, Carrion Crow, Magpie, Woodpigeon, Canada Goose, Feral Pigeon, 

Midhope Moor

Having been out the night before to celebrate the end of exams I did not fancy an early start but thankfully today's trip did not require a ludicrously early start, and so I left the house at 10 to head up to Midhope Moor to see if I could finally life-tick Great Grey Shrike

Its a long bus journey, and a fair walk from the bus stop to the site, but I but made it for twelve. On the way up though the fun really started. Besides the shrike there were also 2 Juvenile Rough-Legged Buzzards in the area, but overnight the weather had taken a turn for the worse and the teeming rain made seeing them very unlikely. Having said that, as I passed a field along the edge of one of the resers on the way up a brown mass in a field caught my attention.

The moment I realised it was a bird, said bird took off and flew to the far side of the field. It was a big raptor, with white on the tail and white underwing with the exception of a large dark patch. Incredibly I had stumbled upon one of the RL Buzzards. It landed on a hay bale further away. I moved along the road to get a better view but despite my distance the bird took off again and enter a wood, where I lost it. Therefore sadly no photos, and only a brief view, but still an outstanding bird to see and a great record.

 As I walked along the road to the watchpoint I saw an awful lot of Red Grouse, which is a yeartick. No sooner did I arrive on site than a car stopped next to me and the driver told me that the bird was just over the wall on a bush. I scrambled up and indeed it was, a little far away but still there. Through the scope I got great views and its just a little unfortunate that I could not photos to reflect this. I did not get to see it butcher any passerines, but apart from that I got to see the best of the bird, as it perched up high preening. Given this is Britains largest shrike I was still a little surprised by how small it was, not as big as I had imagined. In the end I got to watch the bird for around an hour before it must have flown down into the valley and I lost it.

-Great Grey Shrike

So thats lifer number 2 of 2015. A bird I have really needed to see for a long time and well worth the effort involved in getting to it. On the way back I also saw my first Jay of the year, and Goldeneye on Midhope reser and Great Crested Grebe on Underbank reser. A smashing days birding all round!!

--Update--

Sadly the Rough-Legged Buzzard was deemed inconclusive on description by the SBSG, which is fair enough as the views I got were not the best. As a result, I chose to withdraw the record rather than persue it further, so it will go down on here as a Pale buzzard sp.

Species List:

Underbank Reser: Mistle Thrush, Grey Heron, Robin, Blackbird, Bullfinch, Buzzard sp., Great Crested Grebe, Grey Wagtail, Cormorant, Mallard, Black-Headed Gull,

Midhope Watchpoint: Mistle Thrush, Chaffinch, Blue Tit, Red Grouse, Bullfinch, Great Grey Shrike, Pheasant, Jackdaw, Mallard, Long-Tailed Tit, Woodpigeon, Kestrel, Goldcrest, Jay, Goldeneye, Carrion Crow, 

New Brighton

I decided to go straight for the laughing gull the day after the news broke. I was confident I would not see it, and so it turned out, as the bird was there 20 mins before I arrived and then turned up an hour after I left but not through the 4 hours that I was there.

Having said that, I had a fantastic days birding mainly due to a rather impressive wader roost on the pontoons. I say impressive, but I have never seen one on a man made structure, and never this close. There was also an impressive diversity within the roost. At first glance it looked to be made up of Redshanks and Turnstones. There was a rather distinct pale Sanderling right at the front which stood out like a sore thumb. Next birds I spotted were a group of my favourite none snipe waders, Purple Sandpipers. Having not had a good view of this species for so long I was thrilled to be able to see these right down in front of me. I was even able to get some reasonable photos though they did spend most of their time asleep. Filtering through the masses I picked out another wader species, in a lovely Knot. When it was asleep (Most of the time) it was difficult to separate from the Redshanks, but one it looked up it stoop out rather nicely. But the flock still had another species. The final species was a Dunlin which must have steadily made its way to the front of the pack before I noticed it. It was great to see so many species all in the same space and all so close.

-Wader Roost

-Knot and Sanderling

-Dunlin

-Purple Sandpipers

And it was not a complete loss for gulls either, as there was a stunning adult Mediterranean Gull around, which flew right over the heads of the massed twitchers, its white wings looking smashing in the sunshine. I only managed a couple of shots as I spent most of its appearances admiring the beauty of the wings. It really was a smashing bird.

-Mediterranean Gull

So no laughing gull, but since it seems to have stuck I may give it another go at some point. I had a fantastic days birding. And on the way back I even spotted a fox sunbathing on the rail banking. What a great day!

Species List:

New Brighton: Feral Pigeon, Pied Wagtail, Sanderling, Turnstone, Redshank, Cormorant, Mediterranean Gull, Carrion Crow, Purple Sandpiper, Knot, Black-Headed Gull, Dunlin, Common Gull, Oystercatcher, Starling, Greater Black-Backed Gull, Magpie, Woodpigeon, Collard Dove,

Old Moor RSPB

First full no exam day and with nothing on the cards I decided to head over to Old Moor for a spot of casual birding. Reports of a Brambling in the 'tree sparrow farm' had caught my attention and I was keen to catch up with this bird as well as some other species I had not managed yet this year.

I first went to the bird feeders where there was plenty of nice things, Long-Tailed Tit and Bullfinches, as well as yearticks of Tree Sparrow and Willow Tit, the latter being something of an unexpected surpirse as they are not as common here as they are at other RSPB reserves.

Next I headed to the 'tree sparrow farm' which lived up to its name of having ample tree sparrows but also an incredible number of Reed Buntings, more than I can recall seeing anywhere else. I made 3 visits to the farm during the day. On the first visit I was rewarded with the star of the show the brambling itself, distant at first before I lost it, only to realise a couple of other birders had been watching it right in front of them... Anyway, I managed to get some cracking views of it, possibly the finest brambling I have ever seen. There was also a Yellowhammer on the first and last visit, though it showed much better on the last, and an incredibly showy Redwing on the second and third visits, showing to within a matter of feet of the hide, a really smashing view.

-Brambling

-Redwing

-Yellowhammer

The mere and ponds were mainly frozen so all the birds were concentrated. I year ticked shoveler at this point, as well as seeing plenty of the usual wildfowl. The wigeon especially were giving fantastic views as they fed on the grass in front of the main hide. One female bird caught my attention as it had a striking white eye ring which I do not recall seeing in these birds before. Curious.

-Wigeon

At the end hide there was a really nice surprise as a couple of Barn Owls were roosting in the willow trees at the back. They were obscured and distant but clearly owls and an unexpected yeartick. Its just a pity they did not show better as it would have been nice to get a proper profile.

Species List:

Old Moor: Yellowhammer, Song Thrush, Willow Tit, Tree Sparrow, Bullfinch, Collard Dove, Blackbird, Robin, Chaffinch, Goldfinch, Dunnock, Blue Tit, Great Tit, Woodpigeon, Long-Tailed Tit, Greenfinch, Pheasant, Moorhen, Reed Bunting, Brambling, Common Buzzard, Wren, Wigeon, Canada Goose, Herring Gull, Lapwing, Grey Heron, Common Gull, Common Teal, Gadwall, Jackdaw, Pochard, Tufted Duck, Goosander, Goldeneye, Shoveler, Coot, Cormorant, Snipe, Mute Swan, Carrion Crow, Graylag Goose, Barn Owl, Kestrel, Magpie, Great-Spotted Woodpecker, Starling, Redwing, Little Grebe,

Orgreave Lakes

Exams finally finished and so to celebrate I spent the afternoon at an incredibly cold Orgreave. Man it was cold. Very nice conditions for the snow bunting... if there had not been a photographer chasing it around the mounds. I decided to settle down and have a look at the gulls while waiting for the bunting to be flushed closer. In the end it come reasonably close but not close enough for a great shot.

-Snow Bunting

Other birds on site included a patch tick of Peregrine when it flew over me and the usual suspects. I tried going through the gulls since my revision breaks have mainly been spent going over gulls to try and improve myself in that area. There was one which caught my eye, but I decided to was a herring, until I got home and had a look at the photos. Anyway, I threw it out on twitter and the response I got agreed that it was a herring.

Apart from that I also patch ticked Bullfinch with a striking male bird which was in the trees on the bank of the river. It was distant but if the first I have seen here and this year. A great end to my afternoons birding.

-Bullfinch

Species List:

Orgreave Lakes: Peregrine Falcon, Kestrel, Herring Gull, Greater Black-Backed Gull, Lesser Black-Backed Gull, Black-Headed Gull, Cormorant, Coot, Tufted Duck, Pochard, Mallard, Wigeon, Gadwall, Linnet, Skylark, Snow Bunting, Blue Tit, Great Tit, Blackbird, Lapwing,