The Juvenile Birder

Northern Success! We arrived at Druridge Country Park at around 8:30am after getting a lift from Keith & Dave. As soon as we got out of the car, we were greeting by around 120 Pink-footed Geese flying overhead, making their iconic call. I immediately began scanning the lake from the car park hoping to find my target bird. Whilst scanning, I was pleasantly surprised to find a pair of Red-breasted Mergansers on the lake, something I didn't expect to see on an inland lake, but not too special as we were still fairly close to the coast. We then walked further round the lake towards a big crowd of birders, when a lone birder headed our way and told us that the bird had flown down to the other end of the lake. We then went back on ourselves, but once at the other end of the lake, we still couldn't find the bird, only a few Goldeneyes and two Little Grebes . While we were scanning through the birds, we found out that the bird had been seen again, near where we had parked. We quic...

 From Despair to Delight! Image from Levi Gravett (same bird, but take n on different date) We arrived at Llanddulas Beach car park at 8.00am and started scanning towards the left of the car park. We started scanning for over an hour scanning through hundreds of Common Scoters which   were moving about everywhere. There were no other birders to help and I started doubting any success.  Suddenly, a Velvet Scoter came into view, flying low and eventually landing. Knowing that the Surf Scoters had been hanging around with Velvet Scoters, I scanned the scoters nearby and saw a smaller scoter with a funny shaped bill. I tried to keep on the bird but it was difficult with the choppy water and the distance they were at. Then, as it was preening, I saw some white on the back of its head. It was a Surf Scoter ! I stayed on it for a good few minutes before all four Velvet Scoters flew off; as well as the two Surf Scoters. There were also a few drake Red-breasted Mergansers and Gr...

  Terns! We arrived at 4:00pm after a trip to Foulshaw Moss CWT. We first got some info on where the hide was and headed straight there. Just a few minutes on arrival, I spotted some ducks on the water. I took a close look with my binoculars and managed to pick up a male Eider and a Great Crested Grebe. We continued down the coastal path that leads to the hide, enjoying panoramic views of the sea, wheatears as they flew from rock to rock and the comical sounds of Eiders. We then saw a tern dive down and catch a fish. I examined its beak and identified it as a Sandwich Tern, a life tick. We arrived at the hide. We met someone called Rachael who showed us a colony of Little Terns, another life tick. She then showed us a Ringed Plover on a nest as well as two others that were fairly close. Common Gulls and Black-Headed Gulls patrolled the predator fence surrounding the island as the occasional Red-Breasted Mergansers appeared within the hoards of Eider. Overall, a good day w...