Twitching Top Ticks!

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Twitching Top Ticks! 

Part I

Image by David Woodhouse
Image from David Woodhouse (same bird, but taken on different date)

We were offered a trip to see Lesser Spotted Woodpecker, at an undisclosed site, by a birder called Dave (who we had previously met at Easington & Potteric Carr YWT). We set off at 4:30am and arrived at his house at 7:00am and he took us to the bird location at 7:45am. We were ecstatic when we heard the distinctive drumming and travelled towards the noise. After looking in the wrong spot for a bit, we managed to find the correct area and heard the bird close by. We also met a local birder named Rob, who was also looking for these Lesser Spotted Woodpecker. He said it had been drumming for a bit. We walked towards the sound until it was right in front of us. There was a tree that looked like a stake and had multiple holes in it, so I checked it and I spotted just the Lesser Spotted Woodpecker's head pecking rapidly at the tee. I alerted Dave & Rob and then moved to get a better view and a record shot, but the branches obscured the possibilities of an image so I just enjoyed watching it before it flew off. If size wasn't obvious, the ladder pattern on its wing was. We also saw a lot of Red-crested Pochard on a nearby lake and saw two Great Spotted Woodpeckers chasing each other around for territory. Feeling very satisfied, we then made our way to Hornsea Mere for a reported Iceland Gull.

When we arrived at Hornsea Mere, we parked at Kirkhlam Point and scanned south of Swan Island, where the bird was reported. We scanned for ages, with Dave spotting a distant gull that looked like it could be it, but it flew away before I saw it and later he said it wasn't a tickable view. After an hour of trying, we gave up and headed to Wheldrake Ings YWT for a reported Tundra Bean Goose.

My digsicoped image of one of the four birds present

We were walking down to Swantail Hide, where they had been reported, when a couple said they were easily visible from Tower Hide. So we headed straight there and immediately, to our delight, saw all four of the reported Tundra Bean Geese, as well as a Great White Egret and a few Cormorants. With no other targets for the day, we decided to bird and spend the rest of the day at the reserve. We walked down to Pool Hide which was fairly quiet except for the large flock of gulls behind the hide. Amongst the many Black-headed Gulls were Common Gulls and Herring Gulls. We then arrived at Swantail Hide hoping to get better views of the Tundra Bean Geese. When we arrived, we scanned for the Tundra Bean Geese to no avail. We did enjoy performances by hunting Marsh Harriers, Kestrels and Buzzards. Just as we were about leave, five Curlew flew over, and two Roe Deer made an appearance in the fields by the hide. We then went back to Tower Hide for one last look at the Tundra Bean Geese, but couldn't see them from there either. We did meet up with some patch birders though and saw two Mediterranean Gulls in the gull roost. We also saw a Red Kite being mobbed by two Crows. We then finally headed home after a brilliant day.

Overall, a brilliant guided trip with two lifers (Lesser Spotted Woodpecker and Tundra Bean Goose).

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12/02/2023

Twitching Top Tick! 

Part II

My phonescoped image of one

We set off at 4:45am and arrived at Foryd Bay at around 7:00am, in hopes of seeing the Baikal Teal. We started scanning but couldn't see it. We waited for a few more birders to arrive and help scan for us, but even with multiple eyes looking, we still couldn't see it. We met a birder from Wrexham called James and his 13 year old son, who we asked if we should stay or go for the reported Surf Scoters. James made the excellent point that this potential mega was worth more than what is a regular wintering bird. So, with that in mind, we stayed put, but with much difficulty. We also met Marc who encouraged me to wait as well. He also mentioned that there were fifty Great Northern Divers nearby. After ten painful hours of walking from different areas of the road to view different angles of the estuary, a young birder named Zak and his non-birding dad, called Rob, arrived, and within a few minutes of scanning, Zak picked up the Baikal Teal. It was just sleeping on the spit at around 5:00pm. I know I would never have been able to ID this sleeping duck alone and I was thrilled to see it.

My digiscoped image

There was also a drake Scaup showing well which was the first time I had properly seen one, after seeing some fly past in Musselburgh. We also saw half a dozen Greenshank which were my best views of that bird too.

Overall, a great day with a mega lifer (Baikal Teal).



Location: Wheldrake Ings Nature Reserve, Ings Ln, York YO19, UK

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