The Juvenile Birder

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...

It Had to be Done! We arrived at Sizergh Castle at 7:00am for a photo shoot for the National Trust with my mentor Rob and a photographer, Paul. We met Rob, for the first time, a year ago, when we were seeking a Hawfinch tick at Sizergh. He helped us then and has been my mentor since.   We parked on the left side of the car park and walked to the veranda of the café where the Hawfinches regularly show from March to the beginning of May. We waited for a bit before spotting a  Hawfinch in a tree, followed by four more (two males and two females) on the ground feeding, on the seed behind a mound, at the back of the car park. Then, the photographer named Paul arrived and started taking some pictures of me and Rob, while we watched the Hawfinches. We then went birding to a nearby wetland and saw some Little Grebes  as well as a mixed flock of Gadwall , Wigeon and Mallard . After the photographer, Paul, took some more photos, we ended up going back to the car park and sai...

 Flamborough Seawatching Festival!! We arrived at Flamborough Head at 7:00am in hopes of seeing some lifer seabirds. When we arrived, we had heard that they have had a Pomarine Skua (a lifer for me) and a Sabine's Gull earlier in the morning. We seated ourselves in the seawatching hide and scanned the sea. Tony, one of the members of the observatory, gave me a scope to use while in the hide since it was a guided seawatch. There was a big bouy as well as a distant rig and fishing boat that we used as landmarks. It didn't take long for me to get my first lifer, a Manx Shearwater, as a flock of them flew past the bouy, soon after followed by a lifer Sooty Shearwater. We continued to wait as two juvenile Long-tailed Skuas were reported flying past Hornsea towards us. About 40 minutes after that report, someone says "Long-tailed Skua juvenile distantly heading North." The same bird then landed on the sea and with the approaching fog, came out of view. A couple of Great Sku...

 A Cruise Onboard The Yorkshire Belle! We arrived on North Pier in Bridlington Harbour waiting for our cruise to arrive and take us on a voyage around the cliffs from there to Jubilee Viewpoint at RSPB Bempton Cliffs, a 3 hour sail.  We went on at 4:30pm, hoping to see some lifers. In a little while, Kittiwakes, Gannets and 5 Common Scoters were seen. We then passed South Landing Beach and saw 3 Whimbrel as they flew low over the sea past the ship. The first lifer of the cruise. We then went past Flamborough Head's YWT seawatching hide where seals and shags put on a show. We then passed Staple Newk Viewpoint where we got a nice view of the Black-Browed Albatross from below, on the cliff. Then, near Bartlett Viewpoint, we managed to spot the small fin of a Harbour Porpoise over and over again on our way there and back. On our travel back we saw quite a few Fulmars and throughout the voyage, Puffins showed in huge flocks fairly close to the ship. The Yorkshire Belle made me feel...

 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 ...