Greater Sand Plover

 On Saturday I made a trip down to Redcar beach to have a look at the Greater Sand Plover which had been frequenting the area. After being disturbed by beachgoers a couple of times, it settled near the shoreline and we were treated to some excellent views as it fed with a small flock of Ringed Plovers, Sanderlings and Turnstones. For a change the light, background and close range made for good digiscoping opportunities. Unfortunately the Red-backed Shrike at nearby South Gare remained more distant and avoided my camera.

Adult Greater Sand Plover - video best viewed in HD

Eleonora's Falcon - Worth Marsh, May 2022

I couldn't turn down an offer of a lift to see the immature Eleonora's Falcon at Worth Marsh, Kent on the 28th of May. After giving us the run around at first, we eventually managed some amazing views as it hunted insects over a meadow just a few metres in front of us. With lots of Hobbies around and a female Red-footed Falcon just a couple of fields away, the afternoon we spent at Worth Marshes has been my highlight of 2022 so far. 

Pale morph second-summer Eleonora's Falcon

Eurasian Hobby

Pacific Swift - East Chevington, June 2021

 Only narrowly beaten by the Albatross for my birding highlight of 2021 was this Pacific Swift at East Chevington on 12th June. After watching it distantly for half an hour, it gradually drifted closer until it was feeding just a few metres overhead. One of my all time birding highlights in Northumberland!

Back to life...

Now that my busy final year of university is over and I'm back in Northumberland, I have decided to restart posting some of my photos on my blog. My posts may not be as regular as they once were but I am hoping to post any notable sightings and images that I get.   

However, for now, here's arguably the highlight of the excellent selection of birds I've been lucky enough to see since my last blog post back in April 2021. I also plan to gradually do more posts with some of the other highlights. There's been quite a few!

Black-browed Albatross at Bempton Cliffs