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| Little Bunting |
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| Reed Warbler |
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| Wheatear |
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| Common Rosefinch |
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| Whinchat |
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| Fulmar |
Showing posts with label Whinchat. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Whinchat. Show all posts
Sunday, 22 September 2019
Images from North Ronaldsay...
Monday, 20 May 2019
Broad-bill and Red-spots...
With such a quiet spring, we were pretty looking forward to Saturday and the promising weather charts. There's really only one place we go when the conditions look like they did - Holy Island.
We arrived on the island for around 7am, and started at Chare Ends. It was immediately apparent that the fall of common migrants we'd hoped for had not taken place, and in fact, we didn't see a single migrant for our first hour and a half on the island!
Things picked up when we got word of a Bluethroat at the Excavations. We were nearby so headed straight there. When we reached the area, the bird had gone to ground, but after a bit of searching, the male Red-spotted Bluethroat reappeared and showed nicely if briefly.
We continued on and made our way towards the Lough, picking up a Cuckoo and Spotted Flycatcher on the way. On reaching the bushes, a smart male Pied Flycatcher was sat on the fence along with a Redstart. Two showy Lesser Whitethroats were in the bushes by the hide.
The Crooked and Straight Lonnens provided a further Redstart, Pied Flycatcher and a couple of male Whinchats. It felt like there was more to be found so (unusually for us) we decided to stay on the island over the high tide and this proved to be a good decision!
Next, we decided to head to Snipe Point where another male Red-spotted Bluethroat had been found. This bird proved much more cooperative, giving superb views as it sang from a dead log on the beach and nearby dunes.
Just after we left this bird, we saw a message from RA about a Broad-billed Sandpiper he'd found on the north shore near the Snook. This is a bit of bogey bird for me having missed them at Druridge, Teesside and North Yorkshire so I got there as quickly as possible.
Having survived the 800 metre run across the sand, we arrived just in time to look through the finder's scope at the Broad-billed Sandpiper before all the waders started to move around with the incoming tide, and the Sandpiper disappeared. Over the next two and a half hours, it was looking unlikely that we would get any better views, but out of nowhere it appeared right in front of the three of us still scanning. We were treated to excellent and prolonged views down to just 15 metres at times (it was so close we could identify it by the naked eye!!) before it took off and flew north, and it is yet to be seen again. A stunning end to an excellent day!
Just a quick note, my A-levels are rapidly approaching so my blog updates may be a bit sparse over the next month or so. I do have plenty of photos from this spring to go through over the summer, which will appear on here at some point. These include more from Fuerteventura, Black-necked Grebes and butterflies from Yorkshire...
We arrived on the island for around 7am, and started at Chare Ends. It was immediately apparent that the fall of common migrants we'd hoped for had not taken place, and in fact, we didn't see a single migrant for our first hour and a half on the island!
Things picked up when we got word of a Bluethroat at the Excavations. We were nearby so headed straight there. When we reached the area, the bird had gone to ground, but after a bit of searching, the male Red-spotted Bluethroat reappeared and showed nicely if briefly.
We continued on and made our way towards the Lough, picking up a Cuckoo and Spotted Flycatcher on the way. On reaching the bushes, a smart male Pied Flycatcher was sat on the fence along with a Redstart. Two showy Lesser Whitethroats were in the bushes by the hide.
The Crooked and Straight Lonnens provided a further Redstart, Pied Flycatcher and a couple of male Whinchats. It felt like there was more to be found so (unusually for us) we decided to stay on the island over the high tide and this proved to be a good decision!
Next, we decided to head to Snipe Point where another male Red-spotted Bluethroat had been found. This bird proved much more cooperative, giving superb views as it sang from a dead log on the beach and nearby dunes.
Just after we left this bird, we saw a message from RA about a Broad-billed Sandpiper he'd found on the north shore near the Snook. This is a bit of bogey bird for me having missed them at Druridge, Teesside and North Yorkshire so I got there as quickly as possible.
Having survived the 800 metre run across the sand, we arrived just in time to look through the finder's scope at the Broad-billed Sandpiper before all the waders started to move around with the incoming tide, and the Sandpiper disappeared. Over the next two and a half hours, it was looking unlikely that we would get any better views, but out of nowhere it appeared right in front of the three of us still scanning. We were treated to excellent and prolonged views down to just 15 metres at times (it was so close we could identify it by the naked eye!!) before it took off and flew north, and it is yet to be seen again. A stunning end to an excellent day!
Broad-billed Sandpiper - video should be viewed in HD at 1080p
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| Red-spotted Bluethroat - stunning male at Snipe Point |
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| Red-spotted Bluethroat - the other male at the Excavations. Notice the white streaking behind its left eye and much more intense orange breast band compared to the Excavations bird. |
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| Pied Flycatcher |
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| Lesser Whitethroat |
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| Whinchat - male. |
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| Sanderling |
Monday, 28 May 2018
More Holy Island...
Yesterday morning we visited the patch, and the coal road pools were still really good with the waders including Pectoral Sandpiper, Greenshank, Knot and Little Stint, and the Glossy Ibis and 2 Whooper Swans were also around still.
On the east edge of Druridge Bay Country Park, we discovered an unusual warbler singing from some thick scrub. Despite being there for around an hour, it never showed itself, and we were not sure of its identity. This morning I've had the chance to go through some of my recordings, and along with some advice from others, we are almost certain it was a Marsh Warbler, albeit not in full song.
After having some lunch, we decided to get back out and make the most of the good weather and good birding, so we headed back up to Holy Island, as a number of good birds had been reported from there.
The Vicar's Garden was the first place we looked, and eventually the Marsh Warbler there did show itself quite well, although wasn't singing. After seeing 3 Whimbrel fly over, we walked round to the Crooked Lonnen, and the male Red-backed Shrike was sat on bushes and fences to the north. A great looking bird and my first spring Red-backed Shrike in the county since 2013!
Next we walked up the Straight Lonnen, and our third Marsh Warbler of the day was singing in a hawthorn just to the north-east. Although harder to see than the one on the Vicar's Garden, this bird did show occasionally.
Just south of the Excavations we discovered a Whinchat and 3 Wheatears, and eventually located a female Red-backed Shrike sitting unobtrusively on some hawthorns.
With a Red-breasted Flycatcher, 2 Marsh Warblers, 2 Red-backed Shrikes, Icterine Warbler, Pied and Spotted Flycatchers and a Whinchat, the last two days on the island have been really good, and reminded us just why the island is such a good place to go birding!
On the east edge of Druridge Bay Country Park, we discovered an unusual warbler singing from some thick scrub. Despite being there for around an hour, it never showed itself, and we were not sure of its identity. This morning I've had the chance to go through some of my recordings, and along with some advice from others, we are almost certain it was a Marsh Warbler, albeit not in full song.
After having some lunch, we decided to get back out and make the most of the good weather and good birding, so we headed back up to Holy Island, as a number of good birds had been reported from there.
The Vicar's Garden was the first place we looked, and eventually the Marsh Warbler there did show itself quite well, although wasn't singing. After seeing 3 Whimbrel fly over, we walked round to the Crooked Lonnen, and the male Red-backed Shrike was sat on bushes and fences to the north. A great looking bird and my first spring Red-backed Shrike in the county since 2013!
Next we walked up the Straight Lonnen, and our third Marsh Warbler of the day was singing in a hawthorn just to the north-east. Although harder to see than the one on the Vicar's Garden, this bird did show occasionally.
Just south of the Excavations we discovered a Whinchat and 3 Wheatears, and eventually located a female Red-backed Shrike sitting unobtrusively on some hawthorns.
With a Red-breasted Flycatcher, 2 Marsh Warblers, 2 Red-backed Shrikes, Icterine Warbler, Pied and Spotted Flycatchers and a Whinchat, the last two days on the island have been really good, and reminded us just why the island is such a good place to go birding!
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| Marsh Warbler in the Vicar's Garden |
Marsh Warbler singing north of the Straight Lonnen
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| Male Red-backed Shrike (phonescoped) |
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| Female Red-backed Shrike |
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| Whinchat |
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| Skylark |
Friday, 28 April 2017
Mallorca - Birding around Albufereta...
On the morning of day four we decided to have a short look at Albufereta, stopping at the pull in to C'an Cuarrassa on the way.
From the pull in, we were able to look back towards a large hotel and managed to pick up 5+ Spotless Starlings on the roof. Other birds around the small reserve here included a couple of Whinchats and iberiae Yellow Wagtails and our only Meadow Pipit of the trip.
At Albufereta itself a really nice selection of birds included 4 Stone Curlews sat on an island, a Redstart, Pied Flycatcher, Purple Swamphen and 2 more Spotless Starlings sat right alongside a Common Starling. We also got our best views of Booted Eagle of the trip and also had three more flyover Audouin's Gulls.
From the pull in, we were able to look back towards a large hotel and managed to pick up 5+ Spotless Starlings on the roof. Other birds around the small reserve here included a couple of Whinchats and iberiae Yellow Wagtails and our only Meadow Pipit of the trip.
At Albufereta itself a really nice selection of birds included 4 Stone Curlews sat on an island, a Redstart, Pied Flycatcher, Purple Swamphen and 2 more Spotless Starlings sat right alongside a Common Starling. We also got our best views of Booted Eagle of the trip and also had three more flyover Audouin's Gulls.
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| Spotless Starling - sat with a Common in the second photo. |
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| Booted Eagle being mobbed by a Yellow-legged Gull! |
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| Stone Curlew |
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| Iberian Yellow Wagtail |
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| The view from the watchtower at Albufereta |
Saturday, 17 September 2016
RB Fly and a Franklin's
With yesterday's Pallid Harrier at Holy Island that was our first port of call this morning. There was no sign of our target although a showy Red-breasted Flycatcher in the Half Moon Slack was good compensation. A Yellow-browed Warbler was also here. Other birds on the island included 4 Whinchats, a Redstart, 3 Chiffchaff and a Wheatear.
From Holy Island we headed straight to Whittle Dene Reservoir where we had more success with the Franklin's Gull as it was picked up in a field at the south end. The bird lingered for about an hour, giving some good scope views although the light and heat haze ruined any photos. 2 Greenshanks were also around the lakes along with a Kingfisher, Yellow Wagtail and several Grey Wagtails.
From Holy Island we headed straight to Whittle Dene Reservoir where we had more success with the Franklin's Gull as it was picked up in a field at the south end. The bird lingered for about an hour, giving some good scope views although the light and heat haze ruined any photos. 2 Greenshanks were also around the lakes along with a Kingfisher, Yellow Wagtail and several Grey Wagtails.
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| Franklin's Gull |
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| Red-breasted Flycatcher - a very nice bird! |
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| Yellow-browed Warbler |
Monday, 9 May 2016
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...
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...
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| Adder |
Whinchats - the males never cam close!
Singing male Ring Ouzel
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| Chaffinch |
Black Terns - digiscoping terns isn't easy!
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