The Juvenile Birder

 Found Myself a Patch! I have always intended to find a patch and have recently explored some potential sites. After browsing google maps looking for a place to patch, we found a place called Grimsargh Wetlands. We also saw that a Garganey was reported there yesterday. With it being quite local to us, and there being nothing to twitch, we decided to give it a try. We arrived at Grimsargh Wetlands at 10:30am and as soon as we got to the main viewing screen, we managed to spot the drake Gargane y straight away, fairly close on Island Lake. We also saw two Avocets  which were also reported on RBA yesterday. We then spotted two Great Crested Grebes doing their courtship display on The Mere and while we were watching them, I spotted a medium-sized bird with a striking blue wing fly across the lake and land in a tree. I had a look through my binoculars and saw that it was a Jay ! We watched it for a bit and then observed the species on both lakes. We spotted an Oystercatcher , a few...

 Morning Mega!! We arrived at Redcar at 4:30am in hopes of seeing a MEGA rare Greater Sand Plover that was reported last night. A few days ago, this same bird was located in Aberdeenshire (6 hours away) and we were tempted to go. Then, the one there left and this was found. Whether it's the same bird, we don't know, but it's much closer than Aberdeenshire. It was a two and a half our journey and the sun was barely out when we arrived. We parked at Majuba Car Park and followed a group of birders along the path overlooking the coast. Sanderling ran along the shore with Ringed Plover, while Oystercatchers and Redshank fed along the softer sand. We then arrived at the spot it was last seen and started looking. Suddenly, a man shouts that he's got it in the line of kelp midway through the beach, yet I had no clue where to look. It took a couple of attempts to find the bird, with joggers and dog walkers making it fly off and come back, when suddenly, I got a quick glimpse of ...

 A  Quick Morning Lifer! We arrived at Conder Green at 7:20am and parked in a layby on the B5290 that overlooked Conder Pool on one side and a river/creek on the other. Recently, there had been a reported Temminck's Stint present. They are small waders, around half the size of a Dunlin. This bird was an adult and was moving quite a bit. We had come on the 1st August and the 2nd August in the evening but dipped it twice. With it being seen every morning and barely in the evening, we came earlier. We went to the screen and met someone who said they had seen in on the island full of lapwing but it went down a channel. We waited and soon enough the man said it was visible. I looked through with my scope and saw it as it foraged along the rocks. It didn't seem small when looking through a scope but with a naked eye it was tiny, I could barely see it with my binoculars. It then flew to the neighbouring island and foraged along the tip before going out of view. Then, someone who we h...

Rare Breeding Birds and North American  Waders! We arrived at 8:28am at the RSPB Bee-Eaters Viewpoint (location pinned) in Norfolk in hopes of seeing breeding bee-eaters. Bee-eaters are a scarce sight in the UK, so to have them breeding here is tremendous. The last time they bred in the UK was in 2017 in Nottinghamshire but they ended up failing to raise young. The last successful nesting site was in Cumbria in 2015. When we arrived, an RSPB man named Darren said they were seen earlier today. We waited ten minutes and then we saw them. A Bee-eater flew as it got mobbed by some swallows. It circled round then slowly swooped towards the nest, the wind occasionally pushing it backwards. After that, Darren scoped out two other Bee-eaters on the wires in the distance. I looked through his scope and saw them. They were very colourful with their orangey-yellow back standing out when they faced away from us and their cheeks standing out when facing towards us. Then, one of the bee-eaters f...

 Arctic Gulls and Shanks! We arrived at 7:30pm at RSPB Leighton Moss coastal hides (location pinned to post named 'Goosanders and Waders') in hopes of seeing a Sabine's Gull, which unfortunately had a missing right foot and presumably an injured left foot, that was reported earlier. We did go to the saltmarsh in the morning but sadly dipped it. When we arrived at Allen Hide (where the bird was last seen), we asked someone named Phil Rhodes who mentioned to us that he had been here for 20 minutes and didn't see it at all. He then told us about how the bird is being very random. It has sometimes been spotted on Causeway Pool, then it usually hangs out on Allen Pool, and then somewhere it goes somewhere within Morcambe Bay but we are yet to know where that is. After a while, Phil went to go check the Eric Morcambe Hide and soon after, the head of RSPB Leighton Moss, Jarrod, came in. After a while, he pointed out two Greenshanks as they flew in and landed in the only bit of...

Murmurations ! We arrived at 6:10am in hopes of seeing some Great Bitterns. We went to the Causeway where we were greeted to the continuous booming of Great Bitterns, a sure sign they were there. We went towards the Causeway Hide, seeing a Eurasian Wren on the way. There, two juvenile European Otters were seen playing with each other while the mother was somewhere nearby, probably hunting. We continued along the Causeway when we stopped at the channel crossing to scan the reedbeds yet we saw no Great Bittern. We heard a possible Red Fox along the way but never saw it. Common Pochards, Common Snipe, and many more were out but no Great Bitterns. We then headed towards the saltmarsh where we saw Black-Tailed Godwits, Pied Avocets, Eurasian Oystercatchers and Common Redshanks feeding in huge numbers out on the lagoons.  We then arrived back on the main reserve. We went to the Grisedale, Tim Jackson and Lilian's Hide without seeing anything. We then went to the Causeway Hide where ...

 Waders and Goosanders! ​We arrived at 6:30am hoping for a glimpse of a European Badger or Tawny Owl. We saw neither, but we did see something moving through the glassy surface of the lake, from the Causeway Hide. A dog European Otter was hunting out on the lake. The sun hit the lake, turning it almost pink. Little Grebes, Great Crested Grebes, Common Goldeneye and much more where out already. We went to the Lower Hide. We saw huge flocks of Greylag Geese with European Rabbits and Common Pheasants mixed in. We saw two juvenile European Otters playing before they parted ways. Common Snipe, Northern Pintail and Mute Swans. We went back and headed straight towards the saltmarsh, to the Eric Morcambe and Allen Hide. We were told it was a short drive away but it took more than an hour for us to find it. It was hidden, through a boggy dirt path and into a car park. We found it on foot. While walking to the saltmarsh, we saw a flock of Fieldfares in a field . It was our first time visitin...