Yesterday I finally had the chance to go on a twitch since arriving at uni! I woke up to see that my three-hour practical for the day had been cancelled so decided to get straight on the bus and head to Cley! For a change the public transport was quite simple and we arrived mid-afternoon. The Isabelline Wheatear was on view immediately and, as the afternoon went on, started to show even better. It came within metres of us on several occasions, although never seemed to stand side on!
Other highlights during the afternoon included 3 very confiding Snow Buntings, a Long-tailed Duck and a Purple Sandpiper feeding on Arnold's Marsh.
I have also got out birding on a couple of other occasions, managing some nice sightings, even if not quite as rare as the Wheatear! These have included a Pallas's Warbler at Waxham, 8 Cattle Egrets and 3 Great Egrets at Burnham Overy Marshes, and Yellow-browed Warbler, Jack Snipe and Ring Ouzels at Walsey Hills.
When we set off this morning we just hoped to catch up with the adult Bonaparte's Gull at Stag Rocks. We didn't think much else would happen but of course you never know with birding...
On arrival at Stag Rocks, the adult Bonaparte's Gull was the closest bird in the surf and provided some really nice views before it took of with a small flock of Black-heads, circled a couple of times and landed on the sea much further out.
We decided to start scanning the rest of the sea hoping for a grebe or Long-tailed Duck. From the parking area we could only pick up a single Great Northern Diver so we walked north to scan from the lighthouse. There were a couple of Puffins offshore as well as a Long-tailed Duck, but it certainly wasn't our most memorable visit at that point.
However, that changed when I picked up a large diver about half way out to our north-east. The view wasn't great with it slightly in silhouette but something about it demanded attention - I think it was the way it held its bill - exactly like how a White-billed Diver would. After a few seconds it turned to face a different angle and I saw what I thought was an unmarked yellowish bill.
My dad had a look through my scope and was also interested immediately. I rang SS and JWR who were looking from the top of the bank, and it turned out they also had briefly seen a large diver but left it as a Great Northern. However, on having closer views when they joined us by the lighthouse they also agreed that we had a found a White-billed Diver!
After a while, the bird made its way a bit closer and I managed to digiscope a few record shots before it drifted south and further out again. When at its closest the scope views were excellent and we were even able to easily pick out the white spotting on the back of the adult Diver. By the time we left, it was out towards the Farnes but did briefly spend some time alongside a Great Northern, providing a great comparison.
Other stuff offshore included 7 Long-tailed Ducks, at least 2 Great Northern Divers and 3 Red-breasted Mergansers while 145+ Purple Sandpipers were on the rocks. Just as we were leaving a group of 7 Snow Bunting flew south quite high.
Before heading home we made a detour to Newbiggin where a first-winter Red-backed Shrike had been found earlier in the day. We arrived to find it showing nicely around the tank blocks at Church Point, though it did look a bit bedraggled in the rain! This December record is unheard of in the county previously, and looking at birdguides it seems to be just the fourth December Red-backed Shrike since 2001.
Some videograbs along with the videos below...
White-billed and Great Northern Divers - videos should be watched in HD at 1080p
We're four days into 2018 and me and my dad have already spent a couple of days out on the coast. On the first we spent the day on the patch, managing to see 77 species. The main highlight was a Waxwing which flew south past us in the dunes before spending a bit of time around the burn mouth. Other sightings included a Long-tailed Duck, Merlin and 31 Whooper Swans.
This morning we fancied a bit of a change so headed north towards Bamburgh. When we arrived at Stag Rocks the sea conditions looked perfect - flat light and flat water. The birds were very visible including:
1 Red-necked Grebe
7 Slavonian Grebe
79 Long-tailed Duck
3 Great Northern Diver
3 Red-throated Diver
c. 30 Common Scoter
108 Purple Sandpipers were also on the rocks. The usual Spotted Redshank was also in Budle Bay. At Fenham Flats the usual great numbers were out on the mudflats, and 215 Pintail was our highest ever count. A pale redpoll outside the hide with 3 Lessers eventually turned out to be a Mealy Redpoll.
We fancied a change of scene today so decided to head up north to Stag Rocks and Bamburgh for a day of birding in that area. Budle Bay was quiet with only a Merlin in the dunes at the back and a Little Egret fishing in the main channel, so we headed up to Ross Sands for a bit of a walk. A number of Long-tailed Ducks and a couple of Slavonian Grebes were visible towards Holy Island.
Fenham Flats produced around 15 Pintail and the usual good numbers of Pale-bellied Brent Geese. There were really good numbers of seabirds off Stag Rocks especially the 75+ Long-tailed Ducks which were mostly made up of stunning adult drakes. Other birds off here included 9 Slavonian Grebes, 3 Great Northern Divers, 7 Red-breasted Mergansers while 76 Purple Sandpipers were on the rocks.
With an hour of daylight left we decided to call in at Chevington on the way home. Despite no sign of the Bittern was still really nice selection. The Hen Harrier gave a couple of really close fly pasts, while a Kingfisher sat in the reeds, 4 Water Rails were running about in the reeds and 2 Woodcock flew over in the last of the light, providing me with probably my last patch year tick of 2016...
Today was the PWC patchday, and we had a very enjoyable morning trying to see as many species as we could before the weather closed in. In the end we managed a total of 84 species, perhaps slightly more than we expected!
First stop was Hadston Carrs where one of the first birds we saw was a smart adult Little Gull feeding just offshore with the Black-headed Gulls. It was joined by a drake Goosander which landed on the sea alongside 2 Red-breasted Mergansers. Other highlights at Hadston included a Great Northern Diver which flew south before appearing to land in the bay, and a Purple Sandpiper and Grey Plover on the rocks.
A Bittern was the pick of the birds at Chevington which gave two great flight views before flying towards the reeds on the south pool. Other flyovers here included Little Egret and Marsh Harrier.
The Budge Fields at Druridge Pools were once again very quiet apart from the Marsh Harrier which flew south. A look from the dunes added Shag, Kittiwake, Mediterranean Gull and a flyby Arctic Skua to the day list.
The last of the day's main highlights was a few Twite in with the Goldfinches opposite Bell's Farm.
Another quiet morning on the patch today, ticking off some of the commoner species I still needed for Patchwork Challenge. Highlights included Purple Sandpiper at Hadston, Ross's Goose, Peregrine, Black-necked Grebe and Otter at Chevington, Golden Plover from the Budge Screen and 30+ Twite at Hemscott Hill.
At the Long Nanny today there were 30+ Twite, 7 Snow Bunting and a Jack Snipe as well as a MediterraneanGull on the sea off Low Newton and a Woodcock "in off"...
A non-birding trip to Craster today didn't produce many birds because of poor weather. The only migrant was a Crossbill which flew south east over the car park. All other birds seen were on the beach with 2 Purple Sandpipers and 10+ Rock Pipits being seen.
