The Juvenile Birder

Back at Spurn! We arrived at Spurn at around 8:00am after getting a lift from Dave. We parked at Kilnsea Wetlands and immediately made our way towards Beacon Ponds where a Stilt Sandpiper (which was a lifer) was reported. We reached a small huddle of birders and a kind birder let us view the Stilt Sandpiper through his scope. We then got onto the Stilt Sandpiper in our scopes and I managed to get a few digiscoped images of it through Dave's scope. The Stilt Sandpiper  seemed to be an adult and was hanging around with two Dunlin . It was rotating between both sides of New Bank but spent most of its time on the Kilnsea Wetlands side. While watching the Stilt Sandpiper, we also noticed a few Yellow Wagtails , a Sanderling , two Greenshanks and a very showy and dark-backed Common Sandpiper .  We then made our way back to the car where we met Bob Eckersley. While talking to him, we noticed a  Hobby hunting hirundines just across the field, from where we were standing. I could ...

Duel at Dawn! We arrived at a moorland site in North Wales at around 5:30am. Our target was Black Grouse, and we were hoping to see them lek. We parked in a layby at dawn, and waited for it to get lighter. We could just make out their white tails in the dark. After around 20 minutes, we were finally able to see the lekking Black Grouse clearly. Their blood red "eyes" stood out at first, as well as their iconic shape created by their fan tail as they lek front-on.  While the  Black Grouse  were lekking, they made an amazing and iconic bubbling sound. They would also occasionally call. We could also hear a singing  Cuckoo  distantly, but we were unable to locate it. We then continued along the moorland, spotting multiple Red Grouse  as they flew across the road and landed right besides our car. Happy with our morning, we set off to try and find my bogey bird, and a bird I've wanted for 3+ years! We arrived at Pensychnant Conservation Centre at around 8:30am i...

Twitch , Eat, Sleep, Repeat! We arrived at Whitley Bay at around 8:00am (after a 3hr drive) in hopes of seeing the recently reported Pied Wheatear. We parked along the side of the road and walked towards the Panama Dip. Upon arrival, we met Phil, who let us look through his scope and directed us to the Pied Wheatear . It was arguably one of the easiest twitches. The beautiful Pied Wheatear was tame and not bothered by the runners or us! It is always great to see a pretty bird without bins and I enjoyed watching this bird, as it flitted around! It sat in plain sight, on the side of a wall, and came closer to us, on his own accord. It was great light too, making for one of my best record shots! We then drove 8 minutes to St Mary's Island in hopes of seeing, what was reported as a showy Water Pipit. When we arrived, we walked down to the promenade and scanned all the rocks and kelp. We met and chatted with a great birder named John, who said the bird was in a single spot, chasing aro...

 Another 3 Bite the Dust! image from mentor Rob from 28/10 We set off at 1.30am in hopes of seeing an Alpine Accentor. We arrived in Slaughden at around 7:00am. When we arrived, it was quite dark, so we walked towards Martello Tower and waited with the many other birders. We met birders Matt and George who told us there was a lump on a pipe in a crack at the tower. They said it was the Alpine Accentor because it roosted there overnight. It was around 7:13am so the light was getting better, making it easier to make out the bird. They let us look through the scope and I managed to get a good view of it. It was definitely the Alpine Accentor , with multiple people saying that, because we could make out the yellow on the bill, chestnut flanks, and the white spots on the wing. After enjoying it, it flew onto the roof and just before 7:30am, took off flying high away from us. We then looked for it for 4 hours knowing that it did this yesterday. We met some great birders including Rob K, ...

  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!

 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 ...