The Juvenile Birder

 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...

Can't See Everything Every Time! We arrived at 6.45am at a private site for Golden Pheasant. We started wandering in the woods, looking for them. After a bit of searching, we saw one in someone's backyard, there was no netting in the yard. We were lingering around the garden to see if it flew or was ringed and we were going to knock on the house when we heard someone talking in the garden we had just seen the Golden Pheasant in. We walked towards the noise and saw a man calling something over. We asked him whether the Golden Pheasant was his pet or a wild bird and he then tells us that it is indeed his pet, who he had raised at put in his garden. He said its name was Cocky and he was trying to call it over to feed it. He also told us about how he had raised many Golden Pheasant in the past, but when he put them in his garden, they just flew off. This was because he didn't ring or clip his birds. After realising we were searching for plastic, we ended up leaving and looking ...

 All Spurnt Out!! We arrived at Spurn YWT at 6:25am and did a morning seawatch. It was fairly quiet, except for a few Meadow Pipits flying overhead. We then went over to Syke's Field, as soon as we got word that a Mealy Redpoll was sighted there, yesterday evening. On the way, we met Harry (a volunteer at Spurn), and we walked with him to the site via Corner's Field. We waited for a bit, while two other birders were also searching for it. With no luck still, we decided to go for the Barred Warbler at Kilnsea in the Listening Dish Hedge. At 9.05 we found the flock of birders and waited for a few minutes when it suddenly flew out of the bush. We then waited ages before we managed a second look at it, which was it flying straight into another bush. We then waited again until I spotted it flying out of a bush, as everyone got distracted by a Sparrowhawk. I then waited impatiently, for another long and tiring time, before it finally came out of the bush and was feeding right in the ...

SPURN MIGRATION FESTIVAL!! (adult female Pallid Harrier flyover)  ( Black Redstart ) (Common Redstart) (Willow Warbler) (juvenile female Eurasian Sparrowhawk) (Pale-bellied Brent Goose) (about a dozen distant Common Scoter)  We arrived at Spurn YWT at 6:00am and parked in North Field, for Spurn Migration Festival (aka Migfest). We got a lift to the Seawatching Hide and did a seawatch. It was fairly quiet with a few Red-throated Diver flying north. Then a flock of around a dozen Common Scoter landed close in on the sea, making for some brilliant digiscoped images of them and incredible views, before heading north. Soon after, a huge flock of  Little Gulls landed on the sea and fed over the sea, like butterflies erratically flying up and down. We then got word that the ringing team had caught a female Sparrowhawk so we rushed down to see it. It was very similar to what happened at Global Birdfair, when their ringing team also caught a female Sparrowhawk, with the only diffe...

  Near Death Experience! (distant digiscoped Arctic Skua (x2) on sea) We arrived at Spurn YWT at 7:00am in hopes of seeing a reported Wryneck. We asked a site volunteer directions towards Middle Camp, where the wryneck was, and he said walk along the beach and pointed to the beach but the estuary blocked the view of the beach and we thought he meant to cross the estuary (don't want to get him fired). We walked over the grass until we were within touching distance of the mud. And when we went in, we sank in the soft mud and lost a pair of shoes.We knew someone called Phil who did it before and mentioned soft sand so we kept repeated, if Phil could do it, we can do it. But after telling him about the quicksand, he called and said "Get off the estuary, it's really dangerous, go along the road to a beach with soft sand, if I meant mud I'd have said mud,". We did it but unfortunately couldn't retrieve the shoes as it was too dangerous so we left them. I did notice ...

  Hobbies Hawking and Bitterns Booming and... FLYING! We arrived at 3:00pm (after a brilliant day at RSPB Frampton Marsh) in hopes of seeing Hobbies. When we arrived, we trekked through a woodland and towards the RSPB area. We asked the RSPB staff at the welcome stand about the Hobbies and after a few seconds. He pointed one out as it flew almost above our head, then joined by another. That high, they looked almost like swifts with wider wings. The colouration was completely shadowed by the sun. He mentioned that they'd been Bittern flying from a viewing platform to the left of us up the hill, overlooking two reedbeds. We saw another Hobby fly past and could hear the Bitterns. We then waited about a minute until my first Bittern ever flew out of the reeds to the other side. Shortly followed by another. We then headed back, seeing a female Roe Deer close up and a pair of Great Crested Grebes. A short, yet phenomenal trip!

  Owls and Summer Wildlife! (pic taken from webcam) We first visited RSPB Leighton Moss (for location, click 'Bats and Rare Ducks') at 6:00am with nothing in mind. We went to the Grisedale, Causeway and Lower Hide without seeing much. We then went past Lower Hide where we saw a Tawny Owl (year tick). We also saw some swifts (another year tick) at 7:00am on the Causeway. After a quick stop to the saltmarsh where we saw Bar-Tailed Godwits and Mediterranean Gulls, we headed to Foulshaw Moss CWT (location pinned to blog). We went straight towards the Osprey platform, keeping an eye on the boardwalk for lizards and adders as we walked on. We managed to catch a glimpse of an Osprey through a scope as it popped its head out of the nest from time to time, although it was quite a distance away. We continued along the boardwalk when suddenly I came to a halt. Without noticing, I was standing right besides a Common Lizard. We both stood still until the lizard dropped down. We then scanned...

  Owls! (image from internet, didn't see Blue-Headed subspecies ) We arrived at 5:00 in the evening (after a successful day at RSPB Bempton Cliffs). As soon as we arrived, a couple pointed out a Little Owl by the old miner. We viewed as it sat in plain sight on a wooden post, not seeming bothered that we were less than three meters away from it. We then headed on, looking for the Wheatear that had been seen earlier. We had no luck. We then noticed that a group of birders had seen something. I quickly went over and two my surprise, I saw my first Yellow Wagtails of the year. They flew over, calling as they glided towards the fields. They said a male Whinchat had been reported on the fence in the distance but we couldn't find it. We continued along the path where the Black-Necked Grebes where, watching a Greylag Goose go into the canal with all its gosling. Just then, the movement of something diving caught my eye. It was a Black-Necked Grebe. There was a pair on each side of me...

 Bats and Rare Ducks! We arrived at 4:20pm, after a visit​ to RSPB Burton Mere, in hopes of seeing some Garganey. Yesterday, there were at least two pairs reported. We got info that a pair had been seen a quarter  of an hour ago at Grisedale Hide. We headed straight towards the hide. When we arrived, a few people were there. One of them let us use their scope pointed at a female. They then moved it on a drake duck. They were stunning. The ducks foraged in the lake. A Grey Heron, a Little Egret and a Great White Egret were also there. We then went to the Skytower to view the murmurations. We saw bits of the murmuration but it wasn't as good as the others. We also saw a Peregrine, a Eurasian Sparrowhawk, Western Marsh Harriers and a few Soprano and Common Pipistrelles at 7:20pm to end the day.

  Raptors! ​It was our first time visiting Burton Mere. Parking was good and it was our second time visiting an RSPB site. Burton Mere is located near Wales, on The Wirral. When we arrived, we saw a pond with both a Great White and Little Egret along with the usual winter ducks. We walked along the Burton Mere trail at around 1:20pm but didn't see much. We then went on the Reed and Fen trail. We viewed the Reedbed Screen where we saw some Mallards and a Common Moorhen. We then arrived at the Marsh Covert Hide where we saw two Eurasian Coots and a possible Water Rail go past. I didn't get a good look at the Water Rail so it wasn't a confirmed sighting. We then went on a bridge that lead to a boardwalk that went across the reedbed. We then arrived at the Border Hide where we saw Gadwalls, Mallards, Tufted Ducks, Eurasian Wigeons and Northern Pintails. We also saw a flock of Eurasian Curlew fly by as well as some Long-Tailed Tits passing through the trees. We then walked towar...

  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 ...