The Juvenile Birder

The King of Garden Birds! We set off at 3:30am in hopes of seeing a mainland Myrtle Warbler in Kilwinning. The last mainland Myrtle Warbler in the UK was ten years ago, so this was quite a special bird.  As soon as we arrived, we met Kristian who pointed out the Myrtle Warbler  straight away feeding on the feeders. We also met Wayne who was there for seconds of the bird.  The Myrtle Warbler  was much bigger than I expected, and its prominent white wingbars stood out when I first saw it. It stayed on the feeders for quite a while, before it started chasing away the Blue Tits  and the Great Tits . There was plenty of food in the bird feeders in the garden, but the Myrtle Warbler was too busy chasing off birds. The only birds it didn't chase were those larger in it, which included the  Song Thrushes and the Blackbirds . Suddenly, as I watched the Myrtle Warbler  through by binoculars in the trees, a female Siskin appeared from behind but it too got chase...

 Twitch On & Carry On! 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 ...

 Day in Northumberland (& Lincs)! We arrived at Boulmer at 7:00am in hopes of seeing the Red-eyed Vireo reported last night! It took us 3 hours to get there. We trekked along the beach, enjoying the Rock Pipits flying about everywhere. The Turnstones were settled on the rocks and the Sanderlings were doing their iconic run away from the waves. We then went on a track next to some ferns, before then going back to the beach as a 'Private Land' sign popped up ahead. We continued along the beach, with Stonechats and Eider on the coast and bushes. We then saw two birders, meaning we were in the right place! We were taken to the bush where the RE Vireo was last seen, in a caravan park on private land, yet after waiting for around 3 hours, we were unsuccessful. We were then advised by the birders to try Widdrington Moor Lake (25 mins away) where a Red-necked Grebe was reliably showing, so, we set off in hopes of seeing it. At first, we parked in a layby and walked along East Bank,...

  Terns! We arrived at 4:00pm after a trip to Foulshaw Moss CWT. We first got some info on where the hide was and headed straight there. Just a few minutes on arrival, I spotted some ducks on the water. I took a close look with my binoculars and managed to pick up a male Eider and a Great Crested Grebe. We continued down the coastal path that leads to the hide, enjoying panoramic views of the sea, wheatears as they flew from rock to rock and the comical sounds of Eiders. We then saw a tern dive down and catch a fish. I examined its beak and identified it as a Sandwich Tern, a life tick. We arrived at the hide. We met someone called Rachael who showed us a colony of Little Terns, another life tick. She then showed us a Ringed Plover on a nest as well as two others that were fairly close. Common Gulls and Black-Headed Gulls patrolled the predator fence surrounding the island as the occasional Red-Breasted Mergansers appeared within the hoards of Eider. Overall, a good day w...