A decent end to October...

It felt like quite a while since we'd last been on the patch, and when we set out there this morning we didn't have huge expectations. In the end we did have a decent day...

With good numbers of Crossbills being reported around the county, we decided to start at Druridge Bay Country Park, and it wasn't long before we got onto a group of Crossbills. The group numbered at least 35, although there was probably more and they were as mobile as usual.

We checked the dunes at Hadston for redpolls but with no sign we had a look at the sea. My dad picked up a Little Auk moving north, and 3 female Velvet Scoters were in with the Commons.

Chevington was our final call and I was pleased to pick up a couple of Bewick's Swans among the minimum of 27 Whoopers. These were our first in the county for over three and a half years so we were pretty happy! A Long-tailed Duck had also arrived on the pool with 2 Ruff and 4 Pintail.

Bewick's Swans - videograb hence the poor quality

Crossbills

Parrot Crossbills in Derbyshire...

On Thursday we had a trip down to Howden Reservoir in Derbyshire with the hope of catching up with some Parrot Crossbills. When the sun was out and it wasn't snowing, the 12 birds would show well, along with a good number of Common Crossbills in the area...

Parrot Crossbill

I also managed some record videograbs...

Parrot Crossbills - Videos should be viewed in HD at 1080p

And for comparison...

A Common Crossbill at Druridge Bay Country Park in April 2016

Spring is underway...

Another trip to the bay this afternoon where the birding was finally starting to feel a bit like spring...

At Druridge Pools one of the first birds I looked at from the Budge Screen was a stunning adult Little Gull in full summer plumage. The waders present included 3 Ruff, 4 Black-tailed Godwit and a Dunlin. Also from the screen were 2 Pintail, 2 Mediterranean Gulls and a Wheatear while a flock of c. 65 Pink-footed Geese flew over several times.

A look from the north end of Cresswell Pond failed to produce any wagtails but a look towards the west spit revealed 8 Avocets and a surprise Green Sandpiper feeding in the south-west corner. I don't think I've ever seen one on the coast at this time of the year before...

After parking in Druridge Bay Country Park we walked down to the south end of East Chevington where a Sedge Warbler was singing in the reeds and 3 Marsh Harriers (2 males) were flying about. The north pool held the female Scaup again along with a smart White Wagtail and 5 Common Terns.

While driving through the Country Park on our way out my dad saw 8 Common Crossbills land in the trees which were very confiding at times. A Blackcap was singing nearby.

Bothal Pond on the way home failed to produce anything more unusual than another White Wagtail.

Crossbills

Little Gull

Also today Willow Warblers and/or Chiffchaffs seemed to be singing from every patch of trees and a steady northwards passage of Swallows was obvious...

First twitch of 2014

Yesterday I finally got the chance to see one of my most wanted birds - Two-barred Crossbill. It took a while to find Broomhead Reservoir in South Yorkshire, and even when we did there was a wait before we got on to some Two-barred Crossbills. At first there was a flock of 7 birds, 5 males and a female. Later on in the day we saw some more Two-barred Crossbills (4) with a group of Common Crossbills, and they were quite likely different birds, though we can't be certain. A Woodcock also flew over at one point. Looking back through my photos, I have also found a Parrot Crossbill candidate (see below), which comments would be very welcome on.

A gull roost is also on the reservoir every night, an over the past few days an adult Kumlien's Gull had been reported. It wasn't long before it came in, and showed well for about 15 minutes, before being scared off by some shooting. I also picked up a first-winter Kittiwake in the roost later on.

Two-barred Crossbills

crossbill sp. with a Parrot Crossbill like bill (comments much appreciated)

Kumlien's Gull