A weekend birding around Scotland and, erm, Suffolk - early May 2013

Icebow over Loch Garten, Abernethy, Highland, Scotland - Saturday 4th May 2013

It's May, and so it's time for my annual Spring birding trip to Scotland. I started on the afternoon of Thursday 2nd May, with some birding from the train between Leeds and Stirling. 24 species seen in all, including Red Kite between Leeds and York and nesting Kittiwakes on the Tyne Bridge. Not too shabby, but I reckon I can beat that next time.

5am on Friday morning and we’re already watching three male Black Grouse lekking. Not a bad start. We made our way to Loch of the Lowes nature reserve, picking up Raven, Common Sandpiper, Red Kite, Red Grouse and a pair of showy Yellowhammer on route. From the reserve tower hide, I could just make out the head of the Osprey sitting in the nest – we’d get some much better views. The highlight here was the gorgeous male Wood Warbler singing away by the car park. I could never tire of hearing that song.

We were picking up more birds as we went through the Cairngorms and up to Portsoy on the north coast of Aberdeenshire. We sea-watched from the harbour, soon picking up an adult summer-plumaged WHITE-BILLED DIVER, a lifer for me. A really dramatic looking bird, the plumage closely resembles the Great Northern Diver, but the huge bone-coloured bill, held at an angle resembling the smaller, slimmer Red-throated Diver, was a dead giveaway. Nearby was an adult Great Northern Diver, allowing for a nice comparison. Also present (at least, what I saw) out at sea were Puffin, Guillemot, Razorbill, Black Guillemot, Gannet, Common Scoter, Cormorant, Shag, Herring Gull and Great Black-backed Gull, while three Sandwich Terns flew east. A few Bottle-nosed Dolphins were close in. The rocks below the harbour had Rock Pipit and Eider. Further west at Sandend we got great views of an adult male Long-tailed Duck.

We headed for Grantown-on-Spey for the night, first calling in a Avielochan for views of breeding Slavonian Grebe. The most talked about bird here was my House Martin among the Sand Martin flock, which no one else got on to and which led to me being branded a stringer! We returned the following evening, allowing me to pick out the HM again and make sure everyone saw it. Jeez.

 Slavonian Grebe, Aviemore - Friday 3rd May 2013

After a disastrous attempt at having a meal in the local Chinese (only about half the food we ordered actually arrived, meanwhile we got ever more drunk…), it was suddenly 5am Saturday morning, and we out birding again.

We trailed around Abernethy forest and the Loch Garten area getting some lovely views of the Crested Tit (and Red Squirrel) on feeders. Apparently, they don’t usually come to feeders during the breeding season, but the cold spring has meant their usual diet of seeds and nuts is in short supply. This explains why we could find any Crossbills (of any flavour), due the poor cone crop.

But, none of this matters when you come across views of Capercaillie like this…

 Capercaillie, Abernethy Forest, - Saturday 4th May 2013

 This male was seen from the roadside, about 50 metres away. When we drove by later, it was around 10 metres from the road!

While we were at Loch Garten, looking at a fantastic Osprey stood by its nest, none other than Mr Osprey himself, Roy Dennis, pointed out an icebow right over my head (picture at top).

One of the highlights of the trip was seeing two summer-plumaged Black-throated Diver on Loch Morlich – awesome. They have just the most beautiful plumage. No hanging around though - we were soon halfway up Ben Macdui watching cracking summer-plumged Ptarmigan at close range. Well, I was watching them – someone who will remain nameless flushed them over the ridge before the rest of our lot got to the site. No sure he should ever have bought a camera…

A lovely pair of Ring Ouzel in the car park and a male Snow Bunting and we were off. The day ended with another Osprey, many more Crested Tits and Slavonian Grebes, and a cracking male Redstart. Birding around here is a dream…

Someone’s got a beef with Heatherlea...

Sunday 5th May started at the more reasonable hour of 06:00. A female Capercaillie by the roadside on route to Tulloch Moor was nice. Tree Pipit, more distant Black Grouse, and my first Cuckoo of the year was a good haul before breakfast.

We parked up at the top end of Findhorn Valley and soon picked out a Merlin chasing a Kestrel low over the ground high up the hillside. Another Ring Ouzel was here too. The weather here was lovely and sunny, but very windy. Surprisingly there were some raptors up, though distant: three Golden Eagles, a Buzzard, and half a dozen Kestrels, plus a few Ravens.

Travelling through Nairn I got my only Hooded Crow of the trip – we didn’t travel far enough west to get lots of these. We headed for the east coast to get the much sought after male King Eider at Ythan Estuary. After starting at the bridge (too far upstream) and getting some good views of Whimbrel, Red-breasted Merganser and Long-tailed Duck, we headed down to the seal colony. And there is was, the stunning drake sat with the Common Eiders – my best views of this bird.

King Eider, Ythan Estuary, Newburgh, Aberdeenshire - Sunday 5th May 2013

We ended the night much further south at Mussleburgh, after calling in on the drake Blue-winged Teal in Clyde – again, my best views ever of this bird.

Monday morning we started early with Surf Scoter out among the Velvets on the Forth. Distant, but relatively easy to pick out the ID features. We all needed to end the day further south to get home, so we were soon heading to Northumberland where some good birds had been reported. Most of them had gone to ground when we got there, but watching Arctic Terns on Coquet Island and a nice drake Green-winged Teal at Ashlington were worth it.

We carried on south (actually, a bit too far south for me!), and spent some time watching seven Dotterel through the heat haze in Nottinghamshire. A Red-footed Falcon and Purple Heron were at Lakenheath Fen, so we decided to end our trip there. As you’d expect if you’ve ever visited this reserve, the Purple Heron was going to be very difficult to pick out from the deep, dense reed beds - and so it was. We concentrated on the Red-foot, which put on a great show in the end – a real stunner, but impossible to digiscope.

 Lakenheath Fen RSPB, Suffolk - Monday 6th May 2013

So, another slightly mad trip. Here’s to the next one … at the end of the month.

Harlequin Duck and other northern delights

The drake Harlequin Duck is familiar to all birders. Or rather, pictures of drake Harlequin Ducks are familiar to all birders. Every keen young birdwatcher, member of the YOC, and owner of The Shell Guide to the Birds of Britain (or The Encyclopaedia of Birds magazine series, in my case), would have drooled over the images of the exotic Harlequin, wondering if they’d ever see one. Maybe a captive bird at Martin Mere WWT. Or Slimbridge perhaps? But in the wild in the UK...? Surely not...

The chance for me came when a drake was reported from North Uis on 18th February, and stuck around long enough for me to get my act together and go. This meant working my backside off to clear all my urgent jobs, getting my boss to let me have a day off, and getting my wife to agree to me disappear with our car for 48hrs.

I failed to hitch a lift with anyone else, and couldn’t persuade my friends to take sickies, so I set off just after midnight on Thursday 1st March. I enjoyed the night-time drive up, and the starry sky looked absolutely perfect - perfect for a duck wanting to migrate, I wondered…

I got my first Scottish year-tick (Hooded Crow) at Kyle of Lochalsh, before taking the ferry from Uig (Skye) to Lochmaddy. There was nothing of note in Uig harbour, but Eider, Shag, Common Guillemot, Black Guillemot, Kittiwake, and a around seven Harbour Porpoise on the way over were nice. There may well have been other delights, but I had to have a nap below decks before I drove any further.

We (the other 20 or so fellow ferry-passenger twitchers and I) arrived at Balranald RSPB by 12:00 and after a very brief pause to view a first winter Glaucous Gull, we got to the rocks and were immediately on to the Harlequin. 


It was obviously a drake, remembered from those dusty old books, but the muted colours of plumage confirmed the age as a first-winter. Beautiful nonetheless. The white sickle shape before the eye and the spot behind the ear coverts were clear with the naked eye. The striped head and lovely red/bronze/chestnut flanks looked great through the scope. Bizarrely, it seemed to struggle to keep on the rocks, getting washed off each time a big wave came and scrabbling back on in the most clumsily teenage manner.

 A crap, digiscoped shot of the Harlequin Duck - Balranald, North Uist, Friday 1st March 2013

After an hour or so the fog rolled in. It took about 30 minutes to clear by which time many of the virders had moved on. Under cover of the fog the Harlequin had moved to feed in the floating kelp near some rocks offshore. The plumage made sense now – it really was not easy to pick it out as is turned the kelp, ducking underneath and emerging a few feet away. I really enjoyed watching it feed, and shot possibly the worst video of this duck in an attempt to share the experience.

Waiting for the fog to clear

Ah well. A bit of a relief that the bird was still there in all honesty. Nothing to worry about, this long-distance twithing eh? Well, err, read this great account of twitcher’s recent woes.

After a brief with the Outer Hebs Bird Recorder, Brian Rabbit, I got chatting with some birders from Leicestershire. I took up their generous offer of tagging along with them for the rest of the day, and we were soon at Goular watching an Otter on the kelp-strewn rocks.

We scanned the Barnacle Goose flocks for the reported Richardson’s Canada Goose, to no avail. Each of the small water bodies around here had Whopper Swans, Icelandic Greylag Goose, plenty of Lapwing. The larger Loch Sanndaraigh at Paibeil had a female Ring-necked Duck – a great learning experience for me, having only seen males previously. A pair of Greenland White-fronted Goose (Anser albifrons flavirostris) were on the far bank – another new taxon for me, having only seen European (A. a. albifrons) previously. The flavirostris looked noticeably darker than the albifrons I see in Norfolk each winter, and the black belly marks contrasted less with the darker belly.

We spent the remainder of the glorious afternoon scanning the machair. It was great to see the geese in large flocks, and to hear their evocative calls as they fly overhead. We had Sparrowhawk and Common Buzzard, but the raptor of the day was Hen Harrier. A female quartering the road-side fields gave great views, with a cracking male a little further away on the machair.

I had a fantastic 11-hour sleep in a nice Lochmaddy B&B, and woke to another lovely morning on Saturday.

My main plan was find the errant geese I’d missed yesterday. I headed for the Paibeil area and checked in on Loch Sanndaraigh. The female Ring-necked Duck was still with the Tufties, and the two Greenland White-fronts. Two hours of looking through various Barnacle Goose flocks followed – not an unpleasant way to pass the time. By then I couldn’t resist another look at the Harlequin. It was still in the same area, this time on the slack water just off shore. Still couldn’t a get a decent photo of it. I did manage to relocate the Glaucous Gull though – and get some acceptable (no better then that!) video.

First-winter Glaucous Gull - Balranald, North Uist, Outer Hebrides, Friday 1st March 2013

Before getting heading for the ferry I checked around Baile Mor and fianally got the two Snow Goose, hanging out with some Greylags. I had a good chat with the owner of the farm. He told me of the Snowy Owl and Golden Eagles (Napoleon and Josephine!) he gets on his land, and the Corncrakes in his garden. He invited me to visit anytime and I may well be back there in May looking for Corncrake. Top bloke.

Snow Goose - Baile Mor, North Uist, Outer Hebrides, Saturday 2nd March 2013

Someone got me on to a couple of distant Golden Eagles from Lochmaddy ferry car park (cheers fellas) and we were all treated to excellent views of an adult White-tailed Sea Eagle as it flew almost over the boat. A first-winter Iceland Gull circled the boat a few times not far off North Uist, and I got a Red-throated Diver near to Uig harbour as the sun set.

Sunset over Vaternish Point, Skye - Saturday 2nd March 2013

Phew. Great trip. Just the small matter of driving home (allowing me a few listens to the MBV album before their Manchester gig the following week). Home at 1am, relax, Pot Noodle, then bed. Like I said, great trip.

Norfolk, 18th-20th January 2013

Black-headed Gull - Titchwell, Norfolk, Friday 18th January 2013

You can’t beat Norfolk in winter – I reckon it offers the most compressive winter birding experience in the UK. I spent three January days birding there, and apart from dipping/misidentifying some geese, a terrible few hours worrying about my lost phone, and a couple of terrible hangovers, I had a great time!

Friday 18/01/13

The snow and ice wasn’t as bad as first predicted, but I’d taken it easy on the journey from West Yorkshire, and didn’t arrive at Wiggenhall St. Mary Magdalen until nearly 9am. I was hoping to find the Smew reported from the bridge over the relief channel, but with no luck. Egyptian Geese among the common ducks was a nice year tick to get the trip under way, as were the groups Red-legged Partridge in the surrounding fields.

I moved on to Wolferton, the traditional site for Golden Pheasant. I wasn’t disappointed, getting great views of a male feeding alongside male Common Pheasant under the crossroads sign on the north side of the famous triangle.

It was a lovely clear morning now and I popped onto Hunstanton cliffs for a seawatch. Unfortunately, the bitter cold got the better of me and after seeing only the usual gulls, an Eider and several Great Crested Grebe, I decided some birding from the car at Thornham harbour was a better idea. Yep, I am a lightweight.

I first visited Thornham harbour to see the Northern Harrier that over-wintered there in 2010-11, and then again on last year’s big trip. A quiet place in winter, but allowing for good views of the creeks and lowes and over the marsh towards Titchwell. A nice surprise was a Red Kite quartering the marsh to right as I approached the car park. A female Marsh Harrier was hunting further out over the marsh. Before long, group of nine Whooper Swan flew low west over the car. A group of Skylark swirled around, landing occasionally grassy fringes of the track, allowing me to pick out a female Reed Bunting with them.

Plenty of waders in the creeks: Curlew, Redshank, Dunlin, Oystercatcher, Bar-tailed Godwit, Ringed Plover, Lapwing, and Grey Plover; and ducks on the shallows: Teal, Wigeon, Tufted Duck, Mallard, Shelduck, and a lovely pair of Pintail. A Little Grebe and my first Little Egret of the year made up the list.

On to Titchwell, where I bumped into a fellow Rodley Nature Reserve volunteer. He was just coming off the reserve, and warned me about the fierceness of the cold further out. He was right – by the time I’d reached the beach and come back, I realised I was the only birder on the reserve!

The feeders were busy: at least four Brambling (I heard there were many more), Chaffinch, Goldfinch, Greenfinch, Great Tit, Blue Tit, Blackbird, Robin, Dunnock, Wood Pigeon, Moorhen… There was a nice group of Siskin and Lesser Redpoll by the wooded path behind the VC, with a showy Water Rail pip-pip-pipping along the ditch.

 Freshmarsh, Titchwell, Norfolk, Friday 18th January 2013

Once beyond the shelter of the trees, an icy breeze blasted me square in the face. The water in the reedbeds and freshmarsh was completely frozen. A group of ducks and gulls had formed around the small island in the freshmarsh, and amongst them was a lone Fieldfare. The ducks were all Mallards, the other duck species obviously preferring not to stand around on solid ice in a sharp wind. A few Meadow Pipits skated around on the ice close to the path - unfortunately I couldn’t pick out any Water Pipits.

The Volunteer marsh had some open water, and so had some waders, the most notable being the four Spotted Redshank feeding in the wide channel close to the path. Such dashing, elegant birds, even when compared to their relatively graceful cousins - the Common Redshank. A couple of Pintail were sheltering on the tidal marsh.

To the west of the path, just as the boardwalk starts, was the group of Skylark containing a male Lapland Bunting. I needn’t have bothered wondering how difficult it might be pick out; the bird stuck out like a sore thumb, and was one of the closest birds feeding near the path. In a way, the Skylarks were a more interesting ID: they had their feathers so puffed out, making their faces appear flat and their bills seem tiny, I had to double-check they weren’t Twite (they weren’t).

 Lapland Bunting - Titchwell, Norfolk, Friday 18th January 2013

Birding on the frozen beach wasn’t pleasant, but there were plenty of things about: Lapwing, Oystercatcher, Redshank, Golden Plover, Bar-tailed Godwit, and Sanderling. The walk back brought a flyover Little Egret, a couple of very confiding birds: a lovely male Stonechat and a Song Thrush hoping along the gravel in front of me.

I headed to Salthouse in the hope of catching some Snow Buntings, but found only Turnstones eating the seeds put out by the photographers.

 Turnstones - Salthouse, Norfolk, Friday 18th January 2013

Salthouse, looking towards Cley, Norfolk, Friday 18th January 2013

The light was already fading, and the temperature falling, I decided the last call would be on Cley Marsh for hunting Barn Owl. I parked on beach road and watched five Marsh Harriers have a final hunt before going to roost. Then, right on cue, a Barn Owl flew out over the sluice gate towards Wiverton, and gradually made its way towards me. Few more iconic sites in British birding than a dusk Barn Owl hunting over the reeds with a backdrop of Cley windmill.

Then it was off to the excellent Providence Place for the night…

Saturday 19/01/13 

My host Chris made me possibly the best breakfast ever, and I wouldn’t need feeding again for around seven hours! [Note, this is ones of those birding blogs where the breakfasts get a mention].
Chris joined me for a full day’s birding in the east of Norfolk, with the first stop being Whitlingham County park. A couple of Bittern been seen here over the last few days, but we (and the many other birders there) could find any this morning. Fortunately, a Slavonian Grebe was on the far end of the Great Broad, and we got some great views of this beauty. A Goldcrest, low down in the brambles with its bright crest blazing against the snowy backdrop, was a great sight. As was the large flock of Siskin over our heads. While scanning for the elusive Bittern and Ring-necked Duck, I came across a Water Rail running along the far bank. Before leaving, I inevitably crossed paths again with Pete, the Rodley Nature Reserve volunteer.

On to Buckenham for (Taiga) Bean Goose. I’d seen them here last year so thought it wise to go there again. I didn’t want a repeat of the two-mile hike through mud from Cantley that I did in in 2011. Well, I wish I’d gone to Cantley now. We walked out from Buckenham Station across the pristine snow-covered grazing meadows. Loads of Fieldfare about, and the odd Lapwing. The most numerous bird was the Wigeon. Everywhere. Tens of thousands I reckon (one birder we met said he felt he’d seen “about a billion!”). The only geese appeared to be a flock of feral, Cat C, Barnacle Geese way off south. Not easy to pick up in the snow.

 Buckenham, looking towards Cantley, Norfolk, Saturday 19th January 2013

Wigeon - Buckenham, Norfolk, Saturday 19th January 2013

Chris then found some grey geese off the south west. I got my scope on them and started ticking off the Taiga Bean ID points. Dark head and long-ish neck, a decent-sized bill with a noticeable amount of orange, orange legs (I thought…) and no black lines on the belly. Surely the Beans… The distance, the wind shaking the scope, the weird light of the bright snow with a dark sky, the temperature, my watery eyes, combined with my over-confidence, ending up with me saying, “yep, that’s them”. But by the time I’m got back to the car, I was doubting myself. I hadn’t got a good enough view to be certain they were Bean Goose. I wasn’t sure I’d seen the legs properly at all. Chris, on the other hand, was full of misplaced confidence in my skills (bless him).

After pushing another birder’s car up the track, and skidding like crazy ourselves, we drove to Great Yarmouth. Loads of Pinkfeet around as we passed Berney Marshes (I can ID these at 1000 paces, while driving …I think), and plenty of Med Gulls by the pier. While sat having a coffee I realised I’d lost my phone. No, it wasn’t in my pocket, it wasn’t in the car, it wasn’t by the pier… erm. By the time we set off to Horsey (to look for raptors and cranes) I’d forgotten about the geese ID, and was in panic mode about my phone. Then our friends rang to ask where the Bean Goose flock was, and Chris answered saying the indiebirder “is certain he saw them at Buckenham, so don’t go to Cantley”. He hung up before acknowledging my protestations, “I’m not sure they were Bean Geese!”, I shouted…

A half-hour later we received the call: “I can see a flock of Greylag; where are these Beans then…?” Groan… My goose was cooked, my gossamer-thin reputation in tatters.

On a brighter note, someone had found my phone and rung my wife with their address! We stopped to turn round, and watched a beautiful ringtail Hen Harrier hunt by the roadside. Things were looking up.

Stubb Mill is the place to see Common Crane coming in to roost in winter (even my friend from Rodley was there), and despite arriving late I saw two come in from the east. A great view of a Woodcock in front of the car too. Our friends, who had refound the Bean Goose flock at Cantley, arrived later still and just about got some Crane action in the dark, and joined us in the pub for a meal and a few drinks later. I kept my head down. The shame…

We called into a petrol station on the way back, and Chris took the opportunity in the shop to help me identify some beans…

Taiga or Tundra?

Sunday 20/01/2013

We were at Salthouse beach car park at dawn (after another great breakfast – mustn’t forget to mention that). There had been fresh snow overnight, and the biting wind meant this was the coldest morning. In the poor light I picked out two Snow Buntings, a male and female. It was too dark and blustery to try to take a photo. The weather didn’t bode well for us birding along the coast, so we headed inland to Sculthorpe Moor.

Great place, Sculthorpe Moor. A nice place to wander around in summer, and excellent in winter. The target bird here was Marsh Tit, and the easiest place to connect with them is at the information point and bird feeding stations at the start of the track on the reserve proper, just along the rack from the reserve. We saw a couple here (as I did last winter too), and we picked up more sightings and calls throughout the woods. It was a quiet morning, we didn’t see anyone else for an hour, and the whole place was draped in snow like a winter wonderland. The woods were filled with Nuthatch calls, and occasionally big flocks of tits would move through the trees around us. The Bullfinches looked stunning against the snow-white backdrop.

 Sculthorpe Moor, Norfolk, Sunday 20th January 2013

We sat for a while in the Whitley Hide overlooking the reed bed and a feeding station. Plenty of action on the bird table, including maybe 20 Long-tailed Tits, which all started to call tighter then suddenly quieten and disappear. A Sparrowhawk dashed through, possibly catching one of the slower birds. It stayed quiet around the table for a while. A Little Egret flew high over the reeds, Jays swooped between the stands of trees. Slowly the numbers of Chaffinches built up, and with them the odd Brambling. Then more Brambling, until the table, ground and tree were filled with them: at least 50 of them.

We looked in vain for the reported Bittern, and then it was time for Chris get home, and I had to decide where to go now. A Shore Lark had been reported at Cley, so I decided to take a punt. I went via the Burnham Market road, and stopped at the pull-in on the rise half a mile south of the town. Always worth checking for birds here, and I soon got on to both Red-legged and Grey Partridge over by the hedge to the west. Heading past Holkham, I pulled over to check out the geese I’d spotted. Great views of 30+ White-fronted Goose (probably a whole lot more out of view) feeding in the snow assuaged some of the discomfort from the Bean Goose failure.

 White-fronted Goose - Holkham, Norfolk, Sunday 20th January 2013

The walk out along the icy East Bank at Cley was a thrill. Nearly ended up in the marsh the wind was so strong. Goldfinches and Skylarks were on the shingle, but neither I nor the two other hardy birders out there could locate a Shore Lark. I took some time to enjoy the bracing wind off the sea, and the spray from the roiling waves, picking out Kittiwakes among the Black-headed Gulls.

I set off home before the forecast snow storm. Another great trip to this wonderful county. Norfolk never fails.

So, at the end of the trip, the year list stands at 111. After achieving a 2012 year-list total of 272 – a massive increase on the 216 in 2011 – I’d like to keep up the momentum and get somewhere over 225 in 2013. That’s the plan anyway, but I know I won’t be busting a gut to achieve it.

Secret Twitches

Hoopoe - Sand Point, Somerset, Monday 29th October 2012

I’ve been a bit quiet in the blogosphere recently, and as 2012 was drawing to a close, I figured I should tie up a few loose ends on the blog. I’ve been wanting to write up the last couple of birding trips I did for a couple of months now – not least because I saw some fantastic birds, learned loads of new things, and had a few japes. Both trips were with my friend Joel, otherwise know as the Secret Twitcher.

The first trip was a proper planned, four-day, whole-of-the UK job. Setting off from West Yorkshire at stupid o’clock on Saturday 27th October, we were at Kilminning, Fife before dawn. It was large site, and while I was stumbling around a large patch of wild rose, Joel picked out the Eastern Olivaceous Warbler we’d come looking for. A cracking bird, with a big bill, really pale throat, long tail, feeding low down and calling frequently. We were on a mission so we didn’t hang around too long – just long enough for me to string a potential Common Rosefinch. A drab bird with a plain face and streaky body, it had what looked like the remains of red fruit around its bill – difficult to fully see in the foliage. I suspect it was really a poorly young Greenfinch or some such, possibly with this new strain of avian pox, which would explain why it was so moribund.

After a brief stop to check out some Black-throated Diver and Velvet Scoter on the Forth, we headed for Whitburn Country Park, Country Durham. The target bird here was a Dusky Warbler. We spent a few hours staring into bushes before Joel could no longer ignore the reports of Little Auk passage, so he went off sea-watching (and got his tick – nice one). I went a refound the Barred Warbler which had been around earlier in the week, then re-joined the Dusky search.

By this time the light was fading and there was only me and a young birder looking. She heard the call and saw it low down. Thankfully she called me over (very grateful for that) and we soon found it higher up in the branches. I really wasn’t expecting it to be 4 metres up, but it looked so different than anything I’d seen before. Like a dark chocolate Chiffchaff, with milky coffee under parts, and a long, milky supercilium. It was slim and active – often hanging upside down to feed on the underside of leaves. Was that the Dusky? The (re)finder was pretty certain, but I wasn’t so sure – I’d never seen one before and couldn’t remember all the salient ID points (yes, the shame).

Anyway, it was dark by now, and we had to decide where to go. There weren’t any more “good” birds in the north of east, so after a bag of chips we headed south west and spent the night in… Bristol. Good grief, I was tired after that drive. I shouldn’t talk about my driving on this trip – it was shocking. I don’t think I ever recovered from the lack of sleep I had at the start. Fortunately Joel did the lion’s share. Before finally falling asleep I looked up Dusky Warbler in the books we’d brought, and checked out some You Tube videos. Oh yes, it was Dusky Warbler alright – nailed on. Happy as I was to have seen one, got the tick, learned something new, etc., I was pretty gutted that I’d gone looking for one without doing enough research first. D’oh! Note to self for next time...

On Sunday 28th we spend a rainy day on Portland Bill in Dorset, looking for the Isabelline (Durian) Shrike, which had obviously left (or died) over night. Fascinating place though, despite the big dip. Regardless, we still had time to head up to Sand Point near Weston-Super-Mare and see the Hoopoe on the beach, didn’t we? Plenty of time, even though it was getting very dark before we even arrived… Must be the bad weather… Oh wait, didn’t the clocks had gone back the night before? D’oh! So anyway we got really wet running around the beach in the dark in the vain hope of seeing a Hoopoe. Fail.

Our luck was in on Monday – the Hoopoe showed nicely first thing. Result.

Hoopoe - Sand Point, Somerset, Monday 29th October 2012

A European Bee-eater was reported at Swanage, back in Dorset – another UK lifer for us both – so we headed off. It was a long journey, and the lack of reports made us decide to head elsewhere, when it was suddenly reported again. Thanks to the satnav and some very helpful people on Twitter, we got to the right place just in time. I sprinted (which soon became jogged, then crawled – need some exercise) up the hill while Joel paid the parking (sorry I ran off mate – I didn’t think). We managed some decent views of the juvenile in a tall copper Beech tree, before it flew. Some more views around the top of some Scots Pines and it was off. Brief, but worth it.

There was still time for a dash west to Bolt Head, Devon for Siberian Stonechat. Bit off an odd one this. We arrived at Mid Soar in a hailstorm, and as the weather cleared a pale stonechat showed itself around the field. The other newcomers were happy with the ID, and the locals and others already there didn’t disagree. But I for one was not happy with the ID – it looked like a pale Stonechat, similar to many I’d seen before. The rump didn’t seem pale or unstreaked either…

So, after everyone bar one other birder had left, the Siberian Stonechat eventually showed. No problems with the ID here. A lovely young bird which positively shone, with a striking rump too. A lifer for us both.

We spent the night in Torquay, which looked like the Côte d’Azur in the dawn sun on Tuesday. We were off to Broadsands for the Cirl Buntings (a lifer for the Secret Twitcher), which weren’t too difficult to find (although a scope is recommended if you don’t fancy walking up into the fields – may be easier in winter).

Next stop Dawlish Warren, for sunshine, sand, sea, and a Bonaparte’s Gull. This took some finding, and some other birders found it first. I think I had it in flight about five minutes earlier – flying away from us along the groyes. A smaller bird than the Black-headed Gulls, with a more tern-like flight. We did get a great view in the end, as it came right at us – thin black bill, thin black trailing edge to the wing, grey extending up the neck. Lovely. We also picked out a Mediterranean Gull too. Another Secret tick.

Then, the last bird – a tick for me this one – Lesser Yellowlegs at Ernesettle Creek, near Plymouth. Took a bit of finding too, but really stuck out as soon as I saw it (after pushing noisily through a hedge – great field skills eh?). A little cracker – had dirty legs when we first go it (still obvious what it was), but then had a quick wash and - bang – the yellowest yellow you’ll ever see.

A great few days, with a great birder. And we didn’t die while I was driving. Phew.

The next trip was a long one-dayer on Saturday 15th December. We were hoping to get as many of possible from Hornemann’s Arctic Redpoll (Suffolk), Penduline Tit (Cambridgeshire), Buff-bellied Pipit (Berkshire), and Falcated Duck (Oxfordshire). Starting from West Yorkshire, we needed an early start…

The Hornemann’s Arctic Redpoll (Carduelis hornemanni hornemanni) had been proving very popular for a few days, and there seemed little chance of that abating. The Hornemann’s is the definitive Arctic Redpoll – a big snowball of a bird, as opposed to Coues's Arctic Redpoll (C. h. exilipes), which is more difficult to separate from Mealy Redpoll. I’d seen the latter, and although the Hornemann’s is not recognised as a separate species, this bird looked too good to miss.

We arrived at Aldeburgh, Suffolk, around half-an-hour after dawn, and already there were birders on the beach. The bird showed beautifully, down to three metres, in good light. Annoyingly, my camera battery ran out before I could take any shots of the bird – grrrr. It was large for a Redpoll, with a smaller-looking bill, a large buffy head, a big white barrel chest, some soft flank streaks, a massive white rump, and a long tail. Google “Hornemann’s Arctic Redpoll Aldeburgh” or just take my word for it: this was a stunning bird. It was great to see it so close and take so much in - a great start.

 Spot the Hornemann's Arctic Redpoll

Off to Ouse Fen RSPB in Cambs to try for that most elusive of birds, Penduline Tit. We learned something here too: Reed Warblers can make a call that’s not dissimilar to Penduline Tit. Two birds flew over (against the sun) and made a down-slurred call, and me and Joel were on them straight away – sounded just right for Pendulines! An hour grilling the reeds where they’d landed came to nothing, and we were eventually called over to another area where the Pendulines had just been seen – yes, our birds were Reedies… The Pendulines didn’t show to us, so we left, mindful of the bigger prize of Buff-bellied Pipit…

There had been only negative reports of the (probably-plastic) Falcated Duck (formerly) at Farmoor Reservoir in Oxon, so we gave over the rest of the day to the pipit. Queen Mother Res is just inside Berkshire, just outside the M25 west of Heathrow Airport – although London birders still call this London (a bit like claiming sightings from Saltholme in Cleveland on your Yorkshire list I guess).

The reservoir is a big, typically concrete-sided thing, and the pipit was (when we arrived) about a kilometre away form the car park. We walked briskly to the bird - the walk back was much slower, as the pipit was steadily making its way towards the car parks, and we just followed it! This was one obliging creature, allowing some great views (I spent a few minutes cursing my dodgy camera again, and could only take shots with my phone).

 Spot the Buff-bellied Pipit

I’d seen a Buff-bellied Pipit (or American Pipit as the Yanks call it) once before: in California the previous December. That bird looked paler and more clearly marked than this one, possibly because of the sub-species and the massive difference in light quality. Buff-bellied Pipit is most similar to Rock Pipit. I’d done my research this time, and could pick out a few differences. The outer tail feathers were bright white – we got great views of these – whereas they are greyish on Rock Pipit. There was no hint of a dark eye stripe and the slightly off-white eye ring was a complete circle (not two semicircles as on Rock Pipit). There was little or no colour contrast between the mantle and wings, and the head, nape and mantle markings were feint. I’m sure there are more ID clues, but that was good enough for me. British tick number 334 (and number 272 for the year).

Big thanks to the generous Berkshire birder who arranged access at this normally permit-only site, and stayed out in all weather making sure everyone got to see the bird – nice one.

Another very satisfactory day’s birding. Hopefully have a few more good twitches like this in 2013 (plus some self-finds, patch ticks and garden ticks).

Spurn and the North Sea - 22nd-23rd September

Great Skua, Bridlington Bay, East Yorkshire -  
Sunday 23rd September 2012 (photo: Chris Morgan)

Following on from my crazy birding weekend a couple of weeks previous (see here, here, here, and here), I had another one booked for the weekend of 22nd September. It didn’t quite work out as planned, but it was fun and worthwhile all the same.

I’ve been birding with my friends Mike and Chris before, but always in the company of Lee “LGRE” Evans (here and here, for example). We’d discussed having a long weekend up north (they live in London and Norfolk respectively) for a while, and decided a September weekend around Flamborough and Spurn would be ideal.

The “ideal” bit really depends on the weather, and luckily – after weeks of westerly winds – some easterlies arrived just in time for our weekend. We met up in Beverley on Friday evening and had a few gins and beers to set us up for the follow day…

Day One was all about Spurn. Well, it started out by being all about breakfast at the B&B (which was Trinity Guest House, by the way – highly recommended). This meant we were still 45 minutes away from Spurn when news of the birds started coming in.

By the time we arrived the Red-breasted Flycatcher reported near the Warren had gone to ground, but a Yellow-browed Warbler was a nice back up.

We decided to check out the high-tide wader roost from Chalk Bank. This is the point when I noticed a rattle coming from my scope as I set it up. The view through the scope was completely black and the focus wheel had become stiff. And, yes, looking through the objective lens I could see a prism rolling around inside. Arse. As I write, I’m still waiting for it to come back from repair at Opticron.

Anyway, I did get some nice views of Knot, Curlew, Grey Plover, Ringed Plover, Turnstone, Black-tailed Godwit, and Common Scoter through Mike’s lovely Swarovski scope.

Back up at Kilnsea, we hung around Beacon Lane just north of the Blue Bell, checking the bushes. Here I stumbled across a Common Whitethroat and then found a Yellow-browed Warbler (my first “self-found” for this species), which pleased me no end!

'My' Yellow-browed Warbler, Kilnsea, East Yorkshire -  
Saturday 22nd September 2012 (photo: Chris Morgan)

We popped down to the Point and saw, apart from gulls over, only a Common Snipe, a Common Kestrel, and a great juvenile Red-backed Shrike. The Shrike gave us all the run around through the thick and prickly shrubs in the dunes, but it was worth it. The Snipe circled over our heads several times, perhaps debating internally whether it was ready to set off southwards over the sea or not.

We heard a Red-breasted Flycatcher was in the Crown and Anchor car park, and got there in good time to see not one, but two of these beauties. These flighty fellas weren’t easy to photograph, but occasionally we got some lovely views of the birds’ faces, with that trademark plaintive expression, that upright posture or those drooping wings. This was a tick for all of us, so it was handy we were in a pub car park - time for a beer in the pub.

After some sea-watching near the Warren (with Great Skua being the highlight), and seeing a nice Redstart near the Obs, we spent most of the rest of the day staring at bushes on Beacon Lane.

House Sparrow, Kilnsea, East Yorkshire -  
Saturday 22nd September 2012 (photo: Chris Morgan)

Pied Flycatcher, Kilnsea, East Yorkshire -  
Saturday 22nd September 2012 (photo: Chris Morgan)

We couldn’t get on the Barred Warbler that had been reported here, but we did get more views of the Yellow-browed Warbler I found earlier; plus Blackcap, loads of Pied Flycatchers, House Martins and Swallows over the fields, and a Short-eared Owl sat unobtrusively in the long grass. We took the path North, around the new Kilnsea Wetlands (four Yellow Wagtails feeding under cattle and a Carrion Crow and Kestrel face-off), before heading back to Beverley for beers and bed.

Sunset, from Kilnsea, East Yorkshire - Saturday 22nd September 2012

Day two was another trip on the Yorkshire Belle out of Bridlington. My last trip a couple of weeks back produced a stunning Pomerine Skua, and we were hoping for more of the same.

The weather was cool and overcast, but with some sunny periods. The sea was pretty calm, but there was the odd bump further out (too bumpy for some sufferers of sea sickness, unfortunately).

Highlights were 4 Sooty Shearwaters (a nice year tick, bringing this year’s list to 264), 2 Manx Shearwaters, several Great Skua and Arctic Skua (good views of both of these), a fly-past by 6 Common Scoter, and lots of close-ups of Kittiwakes.

Chris got loads of great shots, and I’m really grateful to him for letting me use them on this blog.

Sooty Shearwater, Bridlington Bay, East Yorkshire -  
Sunday 23rd September 2012 (photo: Chris Morgan)

Manx Shearwater, Bridlington Bay, East Yorkshire -  
Sunday 23rd September 2012 (photo: Chris Morgan)

Arctic Skua, Bridlington Bay, East Yorkshire -  
Sunday 23rd September 2012 (photo: Chris Morgan)

Kittiwake, Bridlington Bay, East Yorkshire -  
Sunday 23rd September 2012 (photo: Chris Morgan)

Baird’s Sandpiper and other delights – North Teesmouth, Monday 10th September 2012

The forth and final day of my birding long-weekend, and after all that twitching (here and here) and boating (here) it was a pleasure to just do some straight-ahead bird watching.

This area (comprising Saltholme, Seal Sands, Seaton Snook, North Gare, and so on – part of Teesmouth Bird Club’s recording area) is not too far from where I live, so even after a slow start to the day I was on the beach at Seaton Snook by mid-morning.

The juvenile Baird’s Sandpiper was with three Sanderling, running back-and-forth along the tide line. The birds were very confiding, but it wasn’t difficult to pick out the Baird’s even at some distance. It was the smaller, daintier bird of the group, with an obvious long primary projection, making the bird appear stretched lengthways. The legs looked longer and the bill looked finer than those of the Sanderlings.

With closer views the bill could be seen to curve downwards slightly. The breast was a buff-brown and well marked with fine lines of dark streaky spots; whereas the belly was off-white with a clear distinction between the two (c.f. Pectoral Sandpiper). The coverts were scaly brown/black/buff, with dark primaries extending beyond the tail. There was a hint of a buff supercilium behind the eye, with darker areas on the ear coverts and crown, and there were two buff lines from the nape down to the mantle.

When running it shot along like the Sanderlings on fast black legs, but when feeding it probed less frequently. It did occasionally find something of interest and would probe and peck at it for some time. In flight, the wings were long and thin, and appeared two-coloured: buff-brown on the coverts and greyish on the flight feathers.

There was no doubting this was an attractive, distinctive, and characterful bird.

Baird's Sandpiper, Cleveland - Monday 10th September 2012

Sanderling (left) and Baird's Sandpiper, Cleveland - Monday 10th September 2012

Sanderling, Cleveland - Monday 10th September 2012

After I’d had my fill of that lovely bird, I spent the rest of the afternoon at Saltholme RSPB, starting at the rather conveniently sited Phil Stead hide (in the car park, so you actually get some birding in before going through the gift shop).

After some minutes I managed to rustle up one of the moulting Garganey that were hiding in the reeds. These birds are often unobtrusive, even in spring and summer, when the male is in full breeding plumage and doing his thing. The eclipse plumage is a subtle thing, best picked out by looking for the softly-streaked head pattern. Nice supporting cast of Greenshank, Black-tailed Godwit, Little Egret, Gadwall, Teal, Mallard, and Coot was flushed briefly by a passing Merlin. And there was another cloud of Goldfinch coming and going too – seen so many this year, lots of good-sized flocks. Also, a Brown Hare came a sat in front of the hide for 30 minutes.

Brown Hare, Saltholme RSPB - Monday 10th September 2012

After a quick snack - and two Kestrels, Carrion Crow, Magpie, Coot, Mallard from the visitor centre - I finished off down at Saltholme Pools hide. I nice, close Black-necked Grebe was the highlight, though I could only see one of supposed two. A bit thin on waders today, but numbers of ducks building  nicely: Wigeon, Shoveler, Pochard, Teal, etc.

Baillon’s Crake, Rainham Marshes RSPB, London – Sunday 12th September 2012

Baillon's Crake, Rainham Marshes RSPB, London -
Sunday 9th September 2012 (photo: John Foster)

Yes, another twitch. I don’t even feel ashamed to admit it now, I’m too far gone…

Sunday 12th was another nice, warm sunny day and I intended to spend the day in Cleveland, check out the Baird’s Sandpiper on Seaton Snook and "do" Saltholme RSPB. I’d had a lie-in because the previous day had been a long one, and the Airedale Otters bat walk went on til late. I set off around 10:00 for the Northeast, but soon came home after realising I’d forgotten my phone (and spilling coffee in the car while looking for my phone …grrr).

While refilling my flask, a message from BirdGuides came through saying the Baillon’s Crake in London was showing again, and showing well too. I’d written this bird off in terms of trying to see it: a long drive was needed just for the slim chance of seeing a bird that seemed to show only in the early morning, and only then for an all-too-brief moment. Too much of a gamble, I reckoned. But, when this message arrived, I’m afraid my inner twitcher took hold…

…so, I arrived at Rainham Marshes RSPB around 15:00, with the sun beaming and a bit of a breeze blowing. Someone shouted from the visitor centre that the Baillon’s was showing now, so I hooked up with a local birder and we power-walked round to the Shooting Butts Hide.

And what a lovely nice big hide it is too, and full to the rafters with birders and their gear. The more eyes looking the better, I say. The bird had shown a few times apparently, but few people in the hide were getting on to it. Sounded like this was going to be a challenge.

Not long after arriving I bumped into my friend John Foster, who’d been in the hide during the 15:00 showing, but he hadn’t got on to the bird. John had to leave before seeing it, but came back twice over the next couple of days and got decent views, and even the photo above. Nice work, John, and thanks for letting me use it. You can find more of John’s photos here and read his blog here.

There were few birds to be seen apart from Little Grebes and feisty Coots, with Little Egrets and a Peregrine further out over the reserve. Everyone’s concentration was focused on the long grass at the back of the first channel of water’s in front of the hide.

At one point, probably around 18:00, I saw a small rail/crake species fly out from the back of the grassy area and land on the far bank (further back and to the left of the red generator, for anyone who’s been to the hide). At least, I think that’s what it was. No one else said anything, and I was too timid to pipe up. And when someone called out “Baillon’s!” and pointed to the near shore, I dismissed this earlier sighting altogether.

I rushed down the right-hand end of the hide, and standing on tip toes, using two blokes in front of me as arm rests, I got on to it. Yes, sideways on, just a few inches into the grass, a rich brown crake with strong white spotting. Result! Okay, I didn’t cover myself with glory in the melee, and the views weren’t great, but it was the bird all right.

But the best views were yet to come. At around 19:15, as the light faded and we were reminded the hide would shut in 15 minutes, a young guy picked it the Baillon’s again, halfway up a thick blade of grass some ten metres from the last sighting. It wasn’t possible to see all of the bird at one time, but by moving along the hide it was possible to see just about the whole thing.

What first struck was it was remarkably small, and it obviously wasn’t weighing down the grass it was perched on. The grey face and bill were clear from my initial vantage point, and through my scope I could just make out the eye, looking red-brown. The under parts were also grey with some speckling on the breast and barring on the flanks. The upper parts were more obscured, but the chestnut brown down the nape and mantle was clear, as well as some of the white spotting and streaking I’d seen during the earlier sighting. A great bird to see and learn from.

Interestingly, a two-bird theory has developed online after apparent differences were noticed in photographs of the bird(s). This is something I though might be possible, even before I’d seen what looked like two separate birds. With evidence of breeding from several sites across the UK this summer, it wouldn’t be that much of a surprise that birds bred at Rainham. Apparently, Marsh Frogs, which are present at Rainham, have a very similar call to Baillon’s Crake. So if any were heard calling in this obscure corner of the reserve late at night, they may have been disregarded. Hopefully these will be the first of many.

Finally, I must say a big thank you to the staff and volunteers at Rainham for their generosity and hard work for opening the reserve early and until late so that twitchers like me had a chance to see this bird. Special thanks to warden Howard Vaughan, who implored me to run to the hide when I arrived ("Go, go, go!"), and who waved us off with a smile as we all left happy in the dark. Cheers.