Red-footed Falcon

On the way back from the Blyth's Reed Warbler last week I stopped near the village of Biggin in North Yorkshire. A first-summer female Red-footed Falcon had been frequenting some fields and wires to the south of the village, and I arrived just in time to see it flushed and fly out of view into the distance.

An our later it wasn't looking promising, but then the falcon was picked up flying towards us and it gave a nice flypast before landing back on its favoured wires. Just the second Red-foot I've seen, it was quite a smart bird and nice to see a female after the moulting male at Druridge in 2015.

The location was quite productive for other raptors and I managed to pick up another four species while looking for the Red-foot; Peregrine, Red Kite, Buzzard and Kestrel. Also nearby, a Little Owl was sat on a roof and a Yellow Wagtail flitted around the fields. 

Red-footed Falcon

Yellow Wagtail

Another catch up...

Not much time for words again, so here's a selection of videos and images from the last few weeks...

Videograbs of one of two Honey Buzzards at Wykeham Forest. Also seen were Goshawks, Kestrels, Common Buzzards and a juvenile Marsh Harrier. See the video here. 

Marsh Tit near Scarborough

Videograb of an Osprey at Rutland Water. Other Birdfair birding highlights included Red-necked Phalarope and Great White Egret. 

Wood and Common Sandpipers from Druridge Pools

Phonescoped shot of one of two Scaup back at Chevington today (29th). 2 Spotted Redshank were here on the 27th. 

Harwood Shrike

The Great Grey Shrike was the highlight of a trip to Harwood Forest today. While watching it through the scope we saw the Shrike drop onto the ground and catch a lizard, which it impaled on the top of some dead sticks. The bird flew away so we decided to get a closer look at it's larder to find it had caught a male Common Lizard. By the time we had returned to the original spot we had been watching the Shrike from, it had returned and was eating another lizard which it had also impaled on a different pile of sticks nearby. An awesome experience!

Also in the area were at least 2 Goshawks, 8+ Buzzard, 3+ Sparrowhawk and 3+ Kestrel, along with 2 Stonechats and my first singing Common Chiffchaff of the year.

Great Grey Shrike

One of the Shrike's larders

Raptors...

We took advantage of the sun and warmth this morning and headed to the patch. Despite no migrants being seen yet there were still a few birds of interest...

The raptors were perhaps the most obvious with 2 different female Marsh Harriers, c.10 Buzzards, and twos of Sparrowhawk and Kestrel in the bay. Also on the move were Pied Wagtails with a steady passage of birds heading north.

Druridge Pools still held the Ruff and 4 Pintail with a female Scaup on the north pool, and at Cresswell Pond the Long-billed Dowitcher remained along with 5 Avocets and a showy Water Rail.

Marsh Harrier

Buzzard

Scaup

Teeside

A long day at Teeside today resulted in my first Black-throated Diver in England, which came very close to the edge of the marina at Hartlepool before it was flushed by a boat. At Seaton Snook there was 34 Snow Buntings and 16 Twite. On the tip there was 1000s of gulls but unfortunately I couldn't find any white-winged or Caspian Gulls. I also didn't manage to see the Green-winged Teal at Saltholme. A Barn Owl landed extremely close to the road at Greenebella, though unfortunately we were driving.

Black-throated Diver

Snow Buntings

Red-breasted Merganser

Kestrel