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 ...

Birding Bonanza! We arrived at RSPB Frampton Marsh at around 8:00am, in hopes of spotting many rare birds. We were with Dave, who had given us a lift there. Our first target was the Lesser Yellowlegs, which could be seen from the car park. We walked towards a small crowd which was gathered at the side of the car park, and Dave let me look through his scope pointed at the Lesser Yellowlegs . I managed to get a record shot of it, before Dave then let me look through his scope again, this time aimed at a female Black-winged Stilt . I also saw my first Avocet  and Little Ringed Plover of the year while at the car park too.  We then made our way to where the Bonaparte's Gull had been reported early today. Along the way, we spotted two Mediterranean Gulls flyover , making their distinctive call. We arrived at the viewpoint overlooking the reedbed, and waited. Almost immediately, I noticed at least two Little Gulls  doing circuits around the reedbed. One of them was an adult nea...

  Stints, Sandpipers and Yellow Wagtail Subspecies! We arrived at 8:30am at RSPB Marshside (location pinned to Wader Fest blog post). We headed straight to Sandgrounder's Hide where for a Little Stint reported. When we arrived, we had gotten word that it had gone into the vegetation. However, Lesser Scaup and Little Ringed Plover were in abundance. Presently, someone let me use there scope. I scanned the banks until I found a flock of small waders. While at first I thought all three of them were just Dunlin, upon closer examination I managed to spot a Little Stint. It was much smaller and lighter in colour in comparison to the Dunlin. A new tick, and target species! While we were viewing the stint, someone told us about two Curlew Sandpiper he'd seen on Junction Pool before getting here. We walked straight there and met a man who let us look through his scope, pointed at two Curlew Sandpipers as they came in and out of the vegetation. Surprisingly, they were still in winter plu...

 Rare Scaup in Spring and Summer Wagtails! We arrived at around 2:00pm in hopes of seeing a rare duck Rob had reported to us. It was called a Lesser Scaup, much rarer than our native Greater Scaup. It was seen at RSPB Marshside (go to Wader Fest blog post to see location pin). We headed straight towards Sandgrounder's Hide and right outside were flocks of birders. I asked one of them where the bird was and almost immediately after, I managed to spot it. It looked similar to a Tufted Duck, yet lacked the tuft. Then, a drake Garganey flew in. There were also a pair of Little Ringed Plovers on an island. We then came back to the car, and I was thrilled I had just seen my first Lesser Scaup. Many people I met said it was highly unlikely this was an escaped bird as it had nothing wrong with it's feathers, hangs out mainly with the Tufted Ducks and hasn't got a ring on its leg. We then ended the day by driving down Curlew Lane (location pinned to post). After a bit, we saw a Yell...

  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...