The Juvenile Birder

Wykeham Forest Wildlife! We arrived at a site just outside of Wykeham Forest in hopes of seeing Turtle Doves. As soon as we arrived, we were  treated to an abundance of activity. Initially we noticed five Yellowhammers  feeding and showing very well, including what looked to be a few fledglings. Suddenly, two Great Spotted Woodpeckers flew in and started feeding in a tree just opposite us. There appeared to be one juvenile and one adult bird. Although not uncommon, I have not had many views of this majestic bird this year. I then got out of the car (which we were using as a hide) and started looking in and around the bushes, spotting a few Nuthatches , as well as both adult and young Great Tits  and Blue Tits . I then spotted five Tree Sparrows , including at least three young, all perfectly perched on one branch. I didn't expect to see them here, so it was nice to find five of them! I also got a brief view of a Marsh/Willow Tit , however I didn't get to see it long enoug...

Tern Fest! We set off at 2:00am and arrived at Long Nanny at around 6:30am in hopes of seeing a rare, American tern Just from the car park, we heard a Whitethroat  and spotted a large, pale falcon hunting over a ploughed field, which was either an escaped, hybrid falcon or an aberrant Peregrine . We then walked over to Beadnell Bay Tern Reserve, spotting many Skylarks  and Reed Buntings  in amongst the dunes along the way. As soon as we arrived at Beadnell Bay Tern Reserve, we were struck by the copious amounts of noisy Arctic Terns , and it was great to see them nesting up close from the viewpoint We also spotted a brief Sandwich Tern  in amongst the terns. We then got great views of our target, the American Black Tern , as it flew around us, however it was too quick for me to be able to get a record shot. While we were waiting for the tern to re-appear, we met one of the rangers who pointed out the distant Little Tern  and Ringed Plover  nests, which were...

Another Cliffhanger! Image by @RobsBirding, not same bird We arrived at Filey at around 11:00am after getting a lift there by Carl. We had just come from Nottinghamshire where we dipped Lesser Spotted Woodpecker. As soon as we arrived at Filey, we immediately started walking towards Top Fields, where three Lapland Buntings had recently been seen. Along the way, I noticed a Fulmar  flying along the cliffs, as well as multiple Kittiwakes  far out to sea. Once we had arrived at Top Fields, we met another birder who was also searching for the Lapland Buntings. Suddenly, Carl called us over saying he had seen the three Lapland Buntings in flight. After a bit of waiting, we spotted the Lapland Buntings again in flight. They were much darker and longer winged than the Skylarks that were in the same field. After getting a few more brief flight views, I spotted what I thought was a Reed Bunting at first in the field, but I then realised it was a Lapland Bunting . We waited a bit longer...

 Scarce Woodland Raptors and Songbirds! We arrived at 8:00am in hopes of seeing Honey Buzzards (As advised by Rob). We walked through the woodland and to Raptor Viewpoint. There, we waited, seeing Common Buzzards yet no Honey Buzzards. Just then, as someone was talking to us, he spotted a raptor circling to the left above the trees fairly close. At first he yelled 'large raptor circling above trees, large raptor circling above trees' and then it was a 'Honey Buzzard! Honey Buzzard!' I looked up and saw it. There were 10/10 views with 1/10 being bad. It then kept popping up and then going down. A new tick! Shortly after, someone pointed out a Goshawk as it flew near to where the Honey Buzzard was but in the opposite direction towards the open space. It only showed briefly so 4/10 views of that yet it was another tick! Then, to finish off the first part of our trip, someone pointed out a Common Crossbill as it perched on top of the pine tree and then flew off. Our final t...