The Juvenile Birder

Just One... But a GOOD One! We arrived at RSPB Marshside at 10:30am. We were hoping to catch a glimpse of a Water Pipit, something that I had wanted to see and dipped before. We walked towards Crossens Outer Marsh, seeing a hunting female Sparrowhawk and a few Wigeon with a pair of  Teal along the way. We also saw a Buzzard flyover. We set up by the trough, that the Water Pipits were reportedly seen from. We waited for a while and were accompanied by a beautiful flock of Goldfinches flitting around, a few Stonechats posing on wires, two Pied Wagtails ,   and a  Robin made for a pleasant morning's birding . Suddenly, I think I spot a pipit species, so I immediately think it's a Water Pipit. As I try to get it in the scope to confirm it, I lose it. I then desperately try to re-find it, I start scanning, but to no avail. Then, a small bird waddles in the grasses by the edge of the water. It was a pipit species! I get it in the scope and immediately think it's a Water Pipi...

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...

  Mega Rarity and Passage Waders! We arrived at 5:30am at Wandale Farm to see the Turkestan Shrike, a mega rarity. To get there, we parked in the car park at RSPB Bempton Cliffs- location pinned to post named 'Seabird Galore (and Mega Rarity)'- and walked out past Staple Newk Viewpoint until we got to the end of the clifftop fence. On the way, someone let me get a nice glimpse of the Black-Browed Albatross as it rested on the cliff within the colony of Gannets. Opposite the end of the fenceline is a flattened out path through some crops. Walk through that until you reach the top of the hill. From there, you should see lots of birders and that's where you go. If the birders aren't present yet, then walk along the path on top of the hill. The farmer might have parked his car there and it's opposite that. If the car is also absent, then just go to the other side of the hill and then down towards an old barn. That's where we met up with a ton of other birders. We al...

 Shrike! We arrived at 2:00pm after seeing some Turtle Doves to go to a reported Woodchat Shrike that has been seen in the area. As soon as we arrived, cars were parked all over the road and people with scopes were looking at something. It was like a jubilee party for a bird. There we met a young birder named Dan who let us use his scope like it was my own. We managed to see the bird and it had a particular liking to one gorse bush but did move about. A new tick! We stayed and admired the Curlew with chicks. Meadow Pipits also perched on the gorse, skylarks hovered and sung everywhere and linnets chirped as they did their flyovers. A short trip yet a great new tick!

 Rare Doves And Ano ther Yellowhammer! We arrived at 11:00am, after a successful trip to Wykeham Forest, in hopes of seeing Turtle Dove. We parked in the lay by next to Mill Inn, a pub that has been permanently shut down. Opposite us were feeders and the Turtle Doves often landed in the trees and on the feeding trays. While Collared Doves and Stock Doves were present, the Turtle Doves were remaining elusive and not even calling. We decided to walk round and while we had no luck walking behind the pub, we did hear one as it purred softly trekking further down the road, right to Mill Inn. We hopped back in the car and soon after saw a Yellowhammer land in the tree and then fly off, a much better view of it than my first sighting on Jacob's Lane. Sometime later, I spotted a pair Turtle Doves as they flew into the tree, stayed for a bit and then flew off. Turtle Doves are on of Britain's fastest declining birds and so to see them is a treat. Another new tick to end the trip here, t...

 Quick Drive to See a New Tick! We arrived at 9:00pm for an evening drive down Jacob's Lane (as advised by Rob). We got onto it via Moss Lane West. We turned left and examined the road and then pulled over to check the trees. We then turned and headed to the other side, passing Moss Lane West and Moss Lane East. We then ended up at a road called Blue Moor. We were looking for Yellowhammer, a bird I really wanted to see and something that would be a lifer. I then thought I saw a possible one but judging on how bad the light was and how many Goldfinches were around, I couldn't confirm it. We then drove onto Blue Moor and then an unnamed road. Present was a Buzzard and nearby was where I thought I saw the possible Yellowhammer go. With no luck, we then went for a final time on Jacob's Lane. Presently, I spotted one! I watched in amazement until it flew off. This bird by far gave me the most joy to see. An absolutely fantastic trip! 

 Christmas Rarity! We arrived at midday on Christmas Eve. We were hoping for some festive sighting and we got what we wanted. We first went in the Discovery Hide where we saw Common Pochards, Mallards, Common Shelducks, Northern Pintails, Ruffs, Tufted Ducks, Eurasian Wigeons, Whooper Swans, Greylag Geese and Northern Lapwings all over the mere in their hundreds . We then made our way to the Janet Kea Hide in hopes of spotting some Bramblings. We didn't see any Bramblings but we did see European Goldfinches, Eurasian Blue Tits, Great Tits, European Greenfinches, Common Chaffinches, and a Great Spotted Woodpecker. The highlight though was a rare Willow Tit that hopped onto the feeders a few times. We then went to the Gordon Taylor Hide where we saw lots of Eurasian Teals and one Northern Shoveler resting on a muddy island. We also saw Western Marsh Harriers hunting some huge flocks of waders to end the Christmasy Day.

  First Sight of a Kingfisher! The first hide we entered was in the reedbed walk. The hide was called the Gordon​ Taylor Hide. A Carrion Crow and a Common Redshank greeted us on the roof of the hide. As we entered, we noticed that the Northern Lapwings were foraging along the bank. Two Pied Avocets were roosting in the muddy banks along the pond as well. Presently, a flock of Black-Headed Gulls got spooked by a Common Raven as it tried to attack their young. The majestic Grey Heron also gave a nice flyover as it landed in the distant pools. We continued our adventure by trekking in the opposite direction to the Ron Barker Hide. When we arrived, I was thrilled to hear that someone had a Common Kingfisher through the scope. I looked through it I couldn't believe my eyes. The blue gem showed brilliantly as it bobbed up and down on a post that was to the  right of the bridge that crossed the ditch in front of the hide. Shortly after, it flew off but was then spotted much closer on...