Posts

Short Stay Story in Scotland!

-
Image
Short Stay Story in Scotland! We set off from home at around 12:30am and arrived in the Scottish Highlands at around 10:00am. As soon as we got out of the car, we were struck by the freezing cold weather. We started scanning the open moors in hopes of finding either White-tailed or Golden Eagle (either would be a lifer), along with other raptors. After stopping in various passing places along the narrow road and scanning the crags, ridgelines and moors, we were unsuccessful in finding any raptors. We did however see around eighty  Greylag Geese (presumably Icelandic birds overwintering) along with around ten Goldeneye . We then decided to try for the eagles at another location. We arrived at our next site at around 1:00pm and straight away got to scanning. We were joined by a few other birders who were also looking for eagles. Suddenly, I noticed a commotion, and one of the birders that was there seemed to be getting his scope onto something. I asked him if he had seen anything, an...
Post a Comment
Read more

Second Cornish Delight!

-
Image
Second Cornish Delight! We set off at around 1:30am for a mega drive to Cornwall, picking up Dave along the way. We arrived in a layby along the A30 near Crowlas at around 8:00am in hopes of spotting a mega rare Booted Eagle, a bird which we dipped by a day last year in Buckinghamshire. As soon as we got out of the car, we quickly joined the crowd of birders and started waiting. After around two hours, someone called out saying they had the bird. After a quick scramble, Dave managed to get the Booted Eagle in his scope! It was snuggled up in the pines showing well, albeit distantly. Suddenly, it flew through the pines, giving us a quick glimpse of its underwing. Satisfied with our views, we then set off to try and find a rare diver, accompanied by Dave's friend, Leon.  We arrived at Perranuthnoe Beach at around 11:30am and immediately made our way along the beautiful coast path to Boat Cove. Along the way, we spotted two Ravens  flying overhead and a Whimbrel flying past. Once...
Post a Comment
Location: 4GQ7+F3 Penzance, UK
Read more

Northern Success!

-
Image
Northern Success! We arrived at Druridge Country Park at around 8:30am after getting a lift from Keith & Dave. As soon as we got out of the car, we were greeting by around 120 Pink-footed Geese flying overhead, making their iconic call. I immediately began scanning the lake from the car park hoping to find my target bird. Whilst scanning, I was pleasantly surprised to find a pair of Red-breasted Mergansers on the lake, something I didn't expect to see on an inland lake, but not too special as we were still fairly close to the coast. We then walked further round the lake towards a big crowd of birders, when a lone birder headed our way and told us that the bird had flown down to the other end of the lake. We then went back on ourselves, but once at the other end of the lake, we still couldn't find the bird, only a few Goldeneyes and two Little Grebes . While we were scanning through the birds, we found out that the bird had been seen again, near where we had parked. We quic...
Post a Comment
Location: Ladyburn Lake, Morpeth NE61 5BX, UK
Read more

Winter Waterfowl!

-
Image
Winter Waterfowl! We arrived at Swine Moor at around 7:40am, with Dave, in hopes of spotting two Snow Geese roosting with the Pink-footed Geese. Once we made our way onto the very windy and exposed bank, we scanned the wetland, only to find all the geese had already left their roost and flown off. Disappointed, we waited around for a while, spotting a few Greylag Geese flying in along with five white Domestic Greylag Geese . Eventually, we gave up and decided to head over to Tophill Low NR. As soon as we arrived at Tophill Low, we made our way over to the main hide and started scanning through the thousands of ducks. It wasn't long until we spotted our first target, a pair of Red-crested Pochards , which were quite close to the hide in amongst a large flock of mixed Aythya ducks. Further out on the reservoir, we spotted many Shovelers , Pochards , Gadwalls , Wigeons , Tufted Ducks , Goldeneyes , Coots , Teals , Great Crested Grebes  & Mallards . We then moved on to ...
Post a Comment
Location: Swinemoor wetland, Weel Rd, Tickton, Beverley HU17 9RT, UK
Read more

Another Showy Shrike!

-
Image
Another Showy Shrike! We arrived at RSPB Bempton Cliffs at around 8:30am in hopes of seeing yet another mega shrike. We were accompanied by Carl and Kristian, who had given us a lift. We joined the crowd and waited only a few minutes when a large, sandy bird came into view midway up the bush. It was our target bird, the Daurian Shrike ! The bird then decided to reveal itself in all its glory and sat up on top of the bush, giving spectacular views.  Since this bird was a 1st winter, it had been ruled as an Isabelline Shrike sp, meaning it could either be Daurian (which would be a lifer) or a Turkestan (which I had seen two years ago, also at Bempton) Shrike. However, based off of its extremely sandy plumage, it is very likely that it is a Daurian Shrike. Satisfied with our glorious views, we made our way down to Flamborough Head to try and find a bogey bird of mine.  As soon as we arrived at Flamborough Head, we made our way over to Motorway Hedge, where 3 Firecrests (a bi...
Post a Comment
Location: RSPB Bempton Cliffs, Cliff Ln, Bempton, Bridlington YO15 1JF, UK
Read more

Fleeting Glimpses of Gold!

-
Image
Fleeting Glimpses of Gold! We arrived at RSPB Bempton Cliffs in hopes of seeing an extremely rare Pale-legged Leaf Warbler. We were accompanied by Dave, who we had given a lift to. On our drive to Bempton we spotted a Barn Owl perched by the side of the road. It soon got up and flew alongside us in the car, going almost the exact same speed as us and giving incredible views  Upon arrival at Bempton, we were greeted by a large crowd of birders, who all seemed to be looking at something in the car park. We parked in a convenient space opposite them and jumped out to see what they were looking at. Since I was at the back of the crowd, it was impossible for me to see over the birders. Dave then took us round to a gap in the hedge, where the bird had been showing well yesterday. We sat on the floor waiting for it to appear in the undergrowth. Suddenly, the Pale-legged Leaf Warbler  flitted right in front of us, calling. Although it was the bird, I didn't ideally want to tick the b...
Post a Comment
Location: RSPB Bempton Cliffs, Cliff Ln, Bempton, Bridlington YO15 1JF, UK
Read more

Foggy Birding!

-
Image
Foggy Birding! We arrived at an extremely foggy Flamborough Head at around 7:00am with Carl and Dave, who had given us a lift. Just before we arrived, a Red-breasted Flycatcher was reported in lighthouse bushes, so we decided to try and look for that while waiting in anticipation for our target bird to get reported. As soon as we started looking for the flycatcher, a notification came up saying that our target bird, the Eastern Olivaceous Warbler, was back at Old Fall Plantation. In a hurry, we started making our way towards the plantation. Once at the plantation, we noticed a huge crowd of birders, which I thought was a bush at first, all looking towards the hedge. We quickly joined the crowd and after a bit of waiting, someone pointed out the Eastern Olivaceous Warbler sat inside the hedge. Although it was obscured, I was delighted to see it, especially after not being able to go for the one at Long Nab last year.  Suddenly, the bird decided to come out in full view and just...
Post a Comment
Location: Flamborough Head, Bridlington YO15 1AP, UK
Read more