The Juvenile Birder

Another Showy Shrike! We arrived at RSPB Bempton Cliffs at around 8:30am in hopes of seeing yet another mega shrike. We were accompanied by Carl and Kristian, who had given us a lift. We joined the crowd and waited only a few minutes when a large, sandy bird came into view midway up the bush. It was our target bird, the Daurian Shrike ! The bird then decided to reveal itself in all its glory and sat up on top of the bush, giving spectacular views.  Since this bird was a 1st winter, it had been ruled as an Isabelline Shrike sp, meaning it could either be Daurian (which would be a lifer) or a Turkestan (which I had seen two years ago, also at Bempton) Shrike. However, based off of its extremely sandy plumage, it is very likely that it is a Daurian Shrike. Satisfied with our glorious views, we made our way down to Flamborough Head to try and find a bogey bird of mine.  As soon as we arrived at Flamborough Head, we made our way over to Motorway Hedge, where 3 Firecrests (a bi...

Crowd Pleaser!  We arrived at Winterfield Park in Dunbar at around 9:00am with Dave in hopes of seeing a rare shrike. As soon as we got out of the car, we immediately spotted a big, pale bird perched on top of a wall. It was our target bird, the Steppe Grey Shrike . We then made our way over to the crowd where at first the bird was sat up on a wall a few feet away. However, it then decided to come down from the wall and feed only a few metres away, giving us all incredible views. It then sat back up on the wall long enough for me to get a record shot through Dave's scope, capturing almost every little detail of the bird's head. Since this bird is a subspecies of the Great Grey Shrike, it is not a proper lifer for me. However, it is still an armchair bird, in case the bird gets split and it is certainly a great bird to see! We then decided to scan the sea, spotting two Shags , a Great Black-backed Gull , a Goosander and an Oystercatcher . Suddenly, the Steppe Grey Shrike dropped...

 Magic at the Marsh! A bad record shot of a Peregrine We arrived at RSPB Marshside at around 2:30pm, and immediately set off to the sandplant in hopes of seeing some interesting raptors. Once we had arrived at the sandplant, we met two friendly local birders. After a few minutes of searching, I spotted a small, dark raptor with a distinctive white rump. A ringtail Hen Harrier  flew distantly above the marsh, spooking a flock of Lapwing before it dropped down near the estuary. A few minutes later, it was up again. This time, it continued further and further away from us, until it was out of sight. Then, one birder spotted a Peregrine distantly on a log. It was in the exact same place I saw my first Peregrine on my first visit here back in 2021! I managed to get a horrible record shot of it, before it flew off. I then noticed a small raptor close in on a post. A stunning male Sparrowhawk was perched on a fence, allowing for some nice digiscoped record shots.  Another birde...

A Day For Ducks! We arrived at Upton at 8:00am in hopes of seeing an Iceland Gull; reported as following a plough in a field. We found a large flock of Black-headed Gulls with a few Herring Gulls in it, but after searching through the same flock multiple times, we failed to see our target; so we left and headed to Sanderson's Bank in hopes of seeing a reported Tundra Bean Goose. We got there at 9:20am and before we even parked up, I could see there were both Whooper and Bewick's Swans. I scanned through the Whooper Swans and counted at least 10 Bewick's Swans . They were noticeably smaller than the Whooper Swans and had a lot more black on the bill with a circular, yellow patch by the base. We then found a small flock of Pink-footed Geese so we scanned through them multiple times but again to no avail. We saw that the Ring-necked Duck on Dishley Pool had been reported today, so we set off seeking the American vagrant. We arrived at Dishley Pool at 12:00pm and started t...

  Falcons and Even More Mammals! ​It was my first time visiting an RSPB site. It was called Marshside and we arrived at midday. It is mainly a saltmarsh and coast but with a few freshwater marshes too. We went along a route called Redshank Road where many people walk their dogs. If you follow it, you'll end up at the coast. The further ahead we got on the path, the muddier it got. Huge puddles of saltwater were along the path. Very slippery mud and quicksand was also there. Lots of Little Egrets and Pink-Footed Geese were around. When we arrived at the coast, we made sure that the tide was right before we ventured further. A Great Black-Backed Gull was sitting in a deep puddle as Common Redshank zipped around the rocks. We examined the tide pools but nothing was there. We then headed back. We went to a viewing point and saw Northern Shoveler, Northern Pintail, Mallard, Eurasian Teal and Black-Tailed Godwits. We walked further ahead and ended up at Sandgrounder's Hide (the visi...

  Owls and Stonechats ​ We started the day at 11:10am with a visit to the Discovery Hide but didn't see much other than the usual winter waterfowl. We then ventured on the long path to the Ron Barker Hide. We arrived at the hide and first viewed the ground floor before heading upstairs. There were many Greylag Geese, Northern Lapwing and Common Shelduck in the lake as well as a few Little Grebes in a nearby ditch filled with water. I then arrived at the second floor, which serves as a higher viewing platform for the lake. There were two people talking about a European Stonechat they'd seen. Since I'd never seen a European Stonechat, I politely asked them if I could see it. Luckily, they let me see through their scope; which was pointed at a male European Stonechat singing and dancing on top of a bush, doing its mating call. They also pointed out the Little Grebes in the ditch as well as the Great Egret that was on the bank of another ditch. I then set off to the other side ...