The Juvenile Birder

Foggy Birding! We arrived at an extremely foggy Flamborough Head at around 7:00am with Carl and Dave, who had given us a lift. Just before we arrived, a Red-breasted Flycatcher was reported in lighthouse bushes, so we decided to try and look for that while waiting in anticipation for our target bird to get reported. As soon as we started looking for the flycatcher, a notification came up saying that our target bird, the Eastern Olivaceous Warbler, was back at Old Fall Plantation. In a hurry, we started making our way towards the plantation. Once at the plantation, we noticed a huge crowd of birders, which I thought was a bush at first, all looking towards the hedge. We quickly joined the crowd and after a bit of waiting, someone pointed out the Eastern Olivaceous Warbler sat inside the hedge. Although it was obscured, I was delighted to see it, especially after not being able to go for the one at Long Nab last year.  Suddenly, the bird decided to come out in full view and just...

Scoring Close to Home! Day 1 I managed to find a new patch which had a more diverse habitat and more accessibility than my last one. We arrived at our new and improved patch (Carr House Green Common) at 6:00am. Looking at the Fylde Bird Club website, we saw recent sightings of Grasshopper Warbler, along with Sedge Warbler and Whitethroat. As soon as we arrived, I spotted a Whitethroat singing in a tree right next to the layby which we had parked at. We then continued along one of the footpaths, spotting a singing  Sedge Warbler  and a flyover Shelduck . Suddenly, I heard a loud, reeling sound. It was the distinctive call of a Grasshopper Warbler. We searched for it and within a few seconds, I spotted a small, brown bird with a yellowy chest perched up on a bush. It was indeed a Grasshopper Warbler . The bird was incredibly showy and was only a few metres away. We enjoyed watching it for ages, and it was relentlessly singing. Satisfied with our views, we moved on. We walked jus...

 Seabird Galore (Including Mega Rare Bird)! We arrived at 5:00 in the morning in hopes of catching a glimpse of the rare Black-Browed Albatross. We talked to some birders who said they'd seen it from Staple Newk Viewpoint not too long ago. We headed straight down there when I spotted a Linnet as it yipped away in a bush. Not too long after, a Meadow Pipit showed brilliantly on a post before parachuting down. We continued down the rough track when we came to a sudden halt. Less than ten meters away was a female Roe Deer on the hillside opposite. In the meantime, we ignored all the seabirds and just targeted the albatross. When we arrived, we met a man who said he'd seen it briefly a few minutes ago. We waited for just a few minutes when a huge bird with black wings and a black brow appear right in front of us. Luckily, within just a few minutes of arrival, we'd seen the Albatross. It is thought to be the only Albatross in the Northern Hemisphere. They should be in the South ...