Up and running in Norfolk...

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.

Isabelline Wheatear at Cley

Snow Bunting at Cley

Three of eight Cattle Egrets at Burnham Overy

Back again...

On Sunday we planned to spend the morning on the patch. We were at Druridge Pools just long enough to find a Yellow-browed Warbler in the pine plantation before some good birds were reported from Beal and Holy Island.

We decided to head up there and the first couple of hours proved frustrating with no sign of the scarcities at Beal. We moved onto the island where things did pick up, with the best birds including 7 Yellow-browed Warblers and the incredibly confiding Snow Bunting still on the Crooked Lonnen. The counts included the following...

7 Yellow-browed Warbler
1 Ring Ouzel
1 Pied Flycatcher
1 Redstart
5 Chiffchaff
2 Willow Warbler
1 Lesser Whitethroat
1 Wheatear
40+ Brambling
1 Snow Bunting
1 Swallow 
1 Short-eared Owl

Yellow-browed Warblers in Holy Island village

Yellow-browed Warbler at Druridge Pools

Snow Bunting

Lesser Whitethroat

Holy Island

With the morning free, I decided to head up to Holy Island today with the hope of seeing the Woodlark along with its supporting cast.

In the end there was no sign of the lark but it was still an enjoyable few hours before I had to head to school. The best bits included...

3+ Yellow-browed Warbler
1 Ring Ouzel
3 Chiffchaff
1 Mealy Redpoll
1 Yellowhammer
1 Snow Bunting
1 Treecreeper
1 Long-eared Owl

Very confiding Snow Bunting on the Crooked Lonnen

Where to look?!

When we set off yesterday morning we weren't sure exactly where to go - do we try and get better views of the Bee-eater or head north towards Holy Island or Low Newton? Eventually we decided to do neither and went to Chevington instead to have another go at seeing the Cetti's.

There was no sight or sound from the Cetti's in the hour or so we were there, but a Ring Ouzel dropped in providing a patch year tick and a Spoonbill arrived from the south. Moving to Druridge Pools, the Bee-eater was proving mobile and we were only able to get a brief flight view, so we decided to head to Low Newton to try and see the Little Bunting.

Once we arrived the weather had closed in a bit with the wind picking up, and two hours later things we not looking hopeful. However, we were just getting ready to leave when it was relocated in the top of a large tree opposite the tin church. We got some good views of the Little Bunting as it picked insects off the bottom of the leaves, but the lighting wasn't good for photos. Still, it was a smart bird and another county tick! A few Bramblings were also around and a Ring Ouzel flew over.

Still after better views of the Bee-eater, we called in there on our way home and were really pleased to see it flycatching from a fence just a short distance away. We're almost certain this is one of the birds we saw last weekend, but the views were so much better! A really good end to yet another great day on the Northumberland coast.

Bee-eater - video should be viewed in HD at 1080p

Little Bunting

Spoonbill

Unseasonable...

Just after leaving the main car park on Holy Island this morning, I heard an unfamiliar song coming from close by. We quickly located the bird in question, and initial views were of a phyllosc that we thought had just one wingbar and a broad supercilium, which made us think we were watching a Greenish Warbler.

However, as the bird started to show better and sing more, we could see the start of a second wingbar, a hint of pale edges to the tertials and could better appreciate it's compact shape. We were now pretty sure we had found a singing Yellow-browed. Eventually, and after receving some helpful comments online, it started to give the classic call of a Yellow-browed Warbler. Perhaps not quite as exciting as finding a Greenish, but we were still quite pleased, as we were told it was just the third spring record in the county!

A flog around the rest of the island didn't produce anything quite as exctiting, but still a nice mix of common migrants...

7 Spotted Flycatcher
7 Willow Warbler
1 Lesser Whitethroat
1 Tree Pipit
2 Chiffchaff
1 Ring Ouzel
2 Wheatear
1 Fieldfare
1 Blackcap

Hopefully a few more blog posts over the next few days, including the stunning Citrine Wagtail at Lynemouth and our last two days on Mallorca...

Yellow-browed Warbler

Spotted Flycatcher

Baird's revisited

After a disappointing morning on Holy Island today we stopped at Low Newton on the way home for some more views of Baird's Sandpiper on the scrapes. The bird was showing really well, especially when walking around the grass on the close shore. Unfortunately we were looking into the sun, which made photos difficult. 15 Whooper Swans also flew over calling.

Baird's Sandpiper - best viewed in HD at 1080p

Also, here's a few photos from Holy Island last Saturday (15th)...

Siberian Chiffchaff

Ring Ouzel

Lesser Whitethroat

Goldcrest

Redwing

Song Thrush

Great Grey Shrike - best viewed in HD at 1080p

Finally feels like spring!

With a much improved weather forecast yesterday morning we decided to have a family trip to the Harthope Valley, one of my favourite locations to combine birding and a family picnic!

We only stayed around the Hawsen Burn but still saw a nice selection of birds. Here's the highlights...

1 Cuckoo
10+ Whinchat
1 Wheatear
3+ Grey Wagtail
1 Redstart
2 Ring Ouzel
2+  Raven

We were also told about a couple of male Adders which gave great views in among some rocks.

After getting home we headed to Big Waters to try and catch up with a few of the influx of Black Terns. Sure enough a group of 10 stunning adult Black Terns we feeding over the lake and showed well in the afternoon sun. These were my first Black Terns which weren't autumn juveniles. I had to make do with record shots of the Terns as they were slightly too far away for the DSLR and I had to resort to digiscoping...

Adder

Whinchats - the males never cam close!

Singing male Ring Ouzel

Chaffinch

Black Terns - digiscoping terns isn't easy!

Catch up...

On Wednesday we spent the morning on Holy Island hoping that the easterlies and drizzle might have brought some migrants to the island. Sure enough it had, with impressive numbers of thrushes and Bramblings, but unfortunately the day just lacked something rare...

1645 Redwing
504 Fieldfare
648 Blackbird
8 Song Thrush
1 Ring Ouzel
120 Brambling
5 Woodcock
9 Goldcrest
2 Black Redstart - around the Lindisfarne Hotel.
15 Long-tailed Tit
2 Blackcap
1 Short-eared Owl

Later in the day another Black Redstart was mobile around the compound on Newton Point, while the day before a Jack Snipe had been sleeping in front of the south hide on the north pool at Chevington.

Down in North Yorkshire on Thursday the gull roost at Lingham Lake held 2 Caspian Gulls (distinctive first and third-winters), an adult Yellow-legged Gull and a leucistic Black-headed Gull among the thousands of other gulls.

This morning we managed good views of a male Bearded Tit in front of the north hide on the north pool at Chevington (only my second on patch and a much better view than the first) along with 2 Otters there and a Short-eared Owl at Druridge Pools.

PWC 15
Species: 169
Points: 229 

All my photos recently have been pretty poor and my excuse is that the weather hasn't been great!

Bearded Tit

Caspian Gulls - at maximum ISO and one second shutter speeds!

Sleeping Jack Snipe

Spring Migration...

The recent weekend proved to be quite a successful couple of days birding..!

Some easterlies, rain and a high pressure over the continent on Friday night was enough to tempt us to Holy Island for most of Saturday. Despite not getting the scarcity we were after, there was still a variety of common migrants on the island. The highlight had to be the Redstarts, with 13 altogether including 3 stunning males.

13 Redstart
1 Tree Pipit
1 Spotted Flycatcher
2 Ring Ouzel
3 Garden Warbler
4 Blackcap
6 Wheatear
11 Willow Warbler
5 Chiffchaff
2 Whitethroat

A Greenshank was also calling near the Rocket Fields and 44 Grey Plovers were from the causeway, with a couple more in the harbour.

On the way home we stopped at Druridge Pools, where a great selection of birds were on the Budge Fields. A heat haze hampered most photo opportunities.

2 Wood Sandpiper
1 Garganey - drake.
1 Scaup - drake showed well.
2 Ruff - stunning full summer plumage!
14 Black-tailed Godwit
1 Whimbrel
1 Yellow Wagtail
1 Pintail

PWC 15
Species: 138
Points: 177

We expected Sunday to be a rather bird-less day, and so it proved until news of a Red-throated Pipit turning up at Seaton Common on Teesside came in the afternoon. After feeling pretty jealous of the recent Derbyshire bird, I was keen to see this one.

It didn't take long to get onto the brilliant summer plumage Red-throated Pipit once we arrived. At first it was a bit distant, but eventually moved closer allowing some great scope views, but it was too windy for decent photos. A single Yellow Wagtail flew over while we were there.

With the DSLR...

Digiscoped...

Red-throated Pipit along with it's habitat and twitch.

Wood Sandpiper record shot.

Garganey record shot.

Scaup

Garden Warbler

Redstart