Twitch On & Carry On!

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 Twitch On & Carry On!
image from Toby Carter
image from Toby Carter

Our targets for the day were King Eider, Iceland Gull, Little Auk & Smew. The weather throughout was freezing, with strong winds and lots of heavy rain. It was stormy weather, making me hopeful for Little Auk.

We arrived at Redcar at 8:00am and parked opposite Zetland Cafe. We immediately scanned the beach for an Iceland Gull reported yesterday afternoon. But, upon scanning, there was no sign of it. We then walked towards the Palace Hub in hopes of seeing our target bird, the King Eider. It was reported as being far out and difficult to see, but it was worth a shot. It was windy, hammering with rain and cold; exactly what I wanted today. We scanned from multiple shelters until we met 3 other birders all looking for the King Eider. One of them had even seen a Little Auk! We kept scanning until someone found the bird, and they gave directions for where the bird was. To my despair, I wasn't able to pick it up. Gary then called me over. He let me look through his scope and see the bird. He stood back and said to take as long as I wanted and to enjoy the bird. The King Eider was with a flock of Common Eiders but had a long, blue neck, and a darker peachy colour on the breast. Suddenly it took off with all the Eiders. There was also a close Turnstone on the stone fence and a few Starlings showing nicely inside the shelter.

My digiscoped image of them

We then made our way to Flamborough Head in hopes of doing a seawatch for Little Auks, but along the way, through the car window, I spotted some partridge-like birds in a field along the B1269. We did an emergency stop and parked in a nearby layby. We then walked dangerously alongside the road. Grey Partridge was a species I had wanted to see for ages, and it kept evading me. When we arrived at the field, I scanned and was disappointed. At first, I thought I had misidentified the birds as a big flock of Greylag Geese, but then I got eyes on what I actually saw. Upon first glance, I thought it was some kind of animal faeces. But undeterred, I had a glimpse through my scope, and I couldn't believe my eyes. They were Grey Partridge! I was ecstatic to see these, especially since I didn't expect them. After getting a decent digiscoped image of them, we continued our journey to Flamborough Head.

image from
image from @RobsBirding, not same bird

We arrived at Flamborough at 12.30pm in hopes of seeing Little Auk. When we got to the hide, it was all boarded up and locked. The birders there have always been a brilliant help to me with sea watching. I was gutted not to have their help. We then went to RSPB Bempton Cliffs in hopes of seeing a Ring Ouzel and some Little Auks there. We made our way towards Staple Newk Viewpoint when out of nowhere a dark thrush with a pale wing panel and a distinctive white neck was feeding on the path in front of us. It was a Ring Ouzel! I had seen a Ring Ouzel at Spurn NNR a few months ago, but that was only a pencil tick as I wouldn't have been able to identify it without the help of someone else, so this sighting makes it a marker pen tick! As quickly as it came, it went and flew into a bush, so we continued. We made it to Staple Newk Viewpoint and scanned the sea. A Gannet was flying about while a Fulmar gave close views. Unfortunately, no Little Auks were seen. We then tried to get a final tick at Tophill Low NR in the form of a drake Smew. We arrived around 3.30 and scanned in the hide for the Smew but were unsuccessful. However, we did see a blanket of Gulls (mainly Herring Gulls and a few Tufted Ducks as well as a juvenile Great Crested Grebe.

Overall, a brilliant day with 2 lifers, 1 being an American vagrant (King Eider), the other being a much-wanted species (Grey Partridge)!

Location: HW4V+V8 Guisborough, UK

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