A nice trip down to Walberswick NNR is Suffolk today, eventually getting good views of our target - the Eastern Yellow Wagtail. We had just arrived back at the car ready to leave when we heard news that it had been seen again so a rapid walk back to the marshes and thankfully it was still showing well. We heard it give the classic buzzy call a number of times too.
Also in the area was a Western Yellow Wagtail, Great Egret, Short-eared Owl, 7 Twite and up to 10 very showy Snow Buntings...
Eastern Yellow Wagtail
Western Yellow Wagtail - notice the plainer looking face with pale lores, and of course the different call!
Yesterday me and my dad fancied a change of scene. A few visits to the patch recently have proved rather quiet so we decided to have a day down on Teesside.
Our main aim was to get better views of the Bean Geese, so we headed there first. We were the first there so the 6 Taiga Bean Geese were close to the road and we were able to get some really good views from the car. They had been joined by a Pink-footed Goose but there was no sign of the Tundras.
While the weather was still good, we drove round to Dorman's Pool. We gave it a while in the top car park but there was no sign of the Bearded Tits. Down at the hide, the drake Green-winged Teal was showing well on the grass in front, even if the light was a bit difficult.
Saltholme also provided a nice selection of birds. One Long-eared Owl was visible from the viewing platform, and the ringtail Hen Harrier showed nicely from the Haverton Viewpoint along with a Short-eared Owl. 3 Pintail and several Little Egret were also around the reserve.
Back at Seaton Common, the 6 Taiga Bean Geese had been joined by the 2 Tundra Bean Geese but unfortunately they were now staying at the back of the field, so photos were impossible with the poor light.
Taiga Bean Geese - with a Pink-footed Goose in the last photo.
Green-winged Teal
Greenfinch - it was good to see these in decent numbers around the RSPB reserve.
Yesterday we spent around seven hours at Church Point, Newbiggin. My target for the day was Pomarine Skuas and we sat through thunderstorms and hail without success. We did manage a nice selection of birds including a Little Auk, Red-necked Grebe and Sooty Shearwater, as well as 4 Scaup among large numbers of wildfowl. Birds in off included a Short-eared Owl and Woodcock.
Feeling a little bit frustrated about the lack of Poms, we decided to head back out this morning, and almost immediately we realised we were in for a better day. 3 superb Pomarine Skuas flew north inside the first ten minutes along with several Little Auks.
Over the next five hours or so, we had another 2 Pomarine Skuas including one superb adult very close in, and at 11:10 I picked up a Leach's Petrel going north about half way out. This was a lifer for me and a bird I've been wanting to see for a long time! Great stuff!
Here's some selected counts 07:15-11:40...
1 Leach's Petrel
5 Pomarine Skuas
37 Little Auk
24 Velvet Scoter
11 Manx Shearwater
1 Sooty Shearwater
6 Great Northern Diver
1 Black-throated Diver
25 Long-tailed Duck
1 Great Skua
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...
Yesterday we headed to Holy Island for our first day of migrant-hunting this year. After easterly wind and drizzle overnight, we hoped there would be a few early migrants such as Ring Ouzels, but it turned out to be a bit quiet, only picking up in the afternoon when 2 Black Redstarts were below the Vicar's Garden and a smart Great Grey Shrike was on the Snook - my first in spring. 3 Slavonian Grebes were also showing well offshore, with two starting their moult into summer plumage. Sadly, despite much searching, we were unable to locate the Black Scoter...
We headed to the Budge Screen for an hour this evening and had a really nice selection of birds on the fields. Most unusual were the Water Pipits with five different individuals walking around on the wet grass. They were starting to moult into summer plumage with a nice pink wash to the underparts visible on some of them.
Also nice to see were a Great White Egret, a brief Short-eared Owl, 3 Pintail, 4 Black-tailed Godwits, a Little Egret, and surprisingly, both a female Goosander and a female Red-breasted Merganser.
Water Pipit - video best viewed in HD at 720p/1080p
Despite the cold, drizzly and dark weather yesterday morning, there were a few signs that spring is finally getting underway...
On arrival at Chevington the rain had forced 8 Sand Martins low over the pool. The Slavonian Grebe was still present on the pool along with 8 Scaup, but it seemed the Pacific Diver had finally moved off. A female Goosander had joined the 7 Red-breasted Mergansers and was my first of the year on the patch.
Whooper Swans were around in good numbers with 128 in the south pool and another 70 in a field just to the south-west. A walk down to the burn mouth produced 4 Shore Larks and a flyover Twite and Snow Bunting, while 3 Velvet Scoters were showing pretty well quite close offshore.
Other birds seen recently include 5 Avocets at Cresswell, several Chiffchaffs, 3 Scaup at Bothal Pond and a Short-eared Owl and 61 Whooper Swans at Longhirst Flash last weekend. My dad had a male Wheatear here this afternoon.
Yesterday morning saw me and my uncle heading down to Beeley in Derbyshire to try and see the Dusky Thrush which as been hanging around there. We arrived before it was light and started to wait for the bird to appear...
At around 08:20 the first-winter DUSKY THRUSHreturned to feed on the apples in the 'orchard'. Through the heads I was able to get some good scope views before it flew off. It was just after twelve when we eventually saw the bird again. Some brief but really good views of it in the orchard again before it flew to the fields over the back where it showed for a couple of minutes sat in the tops of trees. Other birds seen included a Peregrine and a couple of Ravens nearby, while Tawny Owls were calling from the woods.
From here we decided to head east to Welwick Saltmarsh in East Yorkshire for hopefully my second lifer of the day. Within just a couple of minutes of getting out of the car we had seen a Short-eared Owl chasing a male Marsh Harrier and then our target - the juvenile Pallid Harrier. We were treated to a number of awesome flybys from the Harrier over the next hour or so, while another Short-eared Owl appeared along with another Marsh Harrier. At least three Water Pipits were also flying around, though I suspect there was more. Sadly getting good photos was impossbile in the fading light.
A great end to a brilliant day - one we'll remember for a long time! Surely there can't be any more surprises before the end of the year..?
Saturday proved to be one of those classic days on Holy Island with loads of common birds and a few more interesting species. We arrived before the sun had risen so waited in the car for a while before looking around the village. As soon as it got light the large numbers of Goldcrests and Robins on the island were impressive, and we soon heard our first Yellow-browed Warbler and Brambling of the day. On reaching the Vicar's Garden another Yellow-browed Warbler was showing and a late Sand Martin flew over.
After this we walked down the Straight Lonnen, seeing an extremely smart Great Grey Shrike and 2 Black-tailed Godwits just to the east. My dad also found a mobile Red-breasted Flycatcher in one of the elders beside the path. We kept on walking and another Red-breasted Flycatcher was in the willows at the north end of the Straight Lonnen, with this bird being much more obliging, showing down to just a couple of metres and calling a lot. A Short-eared Owl also flew over.
We had a thorough search of the dunes around the Quarry and Excavations but were unable to find yesterday's Little Bunting. However another Yellow-browed Warbler was feeding in some tiny hawthorns, 2 Redstarts were around Chare Ends and a Goldcrest landed on my tripod leg! We then heard news of a Pallas's Warbler in the Vicar's Garden so headed there next.
On arrival the garden was a hive of activity with numerous Goldcrests, several Blackcaps and a Garden Warbler. It took a while, but eventually the Pallas's Warbler was relocated and we got some brief but good views of this stunning bird. We waited another hour to see if the bird reappeared with little success but two Yellow-browed Warblers appeared alongside each other. We headed back to the car but decided to stop at the Snook on our way out.
This proved to be a great decision as on reaching the Snook House Plantation my dad got a brief view of a wing-barred phyllosc which he assumed was a Yellow-browed. However, I soon got onto the bird and noticed a very distinct central crown stripe. I told my dad that I thought it was another Pallas's Warbler, who quickly realised I wasn't joking when it flitted upwards revealing a striking bright yellow rump! A great bird to add to our self found lists!! Another Yellow-browed Warbler joined the Pallas's, with a further 2 YBWs on other parts of the Snook, along with a Redstart, Short-eared Owl and Merlin. Here's our final migrant totals...
2 Pallas's Warbler - hadn't had a decent view of one before today so nice to see two well in a day, and even find one!
2 Red-breasted Flycatcher
1 Great Grey Shrike
7 Yellow-browed Warbler
165+ Goldcrest
125+ Redwing
45+ Blackbird
50+ Song Thrush
2 Fieldfare
70+ Robin
1 Barn Owl
2 Short-eared Owl
15+ Chiffchaff
6 Blackcap
4 Brambling
1 Sand Martin
2 Lesser Whitethroat
2 Black-tailed Godwit
3 Redstart
1 Garden Warbler
1 Merlin
c.1000 Brent Goose
50+ Barnacle Goose
2 Little Egret
Self found Pallas's Warbler at Snook House
Pallas's Warbler in the Vicar's Garden
Red-breasted Flycatcher in willows at north end of Straight Lonnen
