Nov 052016
 
Grey & White Herons on my Local Patch

In recent weeks I have discovered a large concentration of Little Egrets at my local patch, Staunton Harold Reservoir. Up to 20 birds have been present, (3rd largest flock in the Trent Valley so far this year) but there seems to be a consistent flock of around 15 birds sticking together. Fish fry must be easily available for them and the low water level is obviously helping. There are also 15 “Redhead” Goosander present, sometimes feeding with or along side the Egrets. Goosander is quite a rare bird at Staunton Harold, so 15 together is the largest flock here for […]

Oct 302016
 
Full of Eastern Promise in the North East

Saturday 29th October was spent in the North East – Skinningrove in Cleveland and South Shields in County Durham. A couple of good birds were on offer including one that I had not seen before, a sub-species of Black Redstart. A first winter male Eastern Black Redstart, of the race semirufus, had been faithful to the rocks by the pier at Skinningrove in Cleveland. What a cracking place Skinningrove is, I had never visited this area of Cleveland before. What a little belter of a bird. After spending a few hours here, we then moved 30 odd miles further north to South […]

Oct 172016
 
Midget Gems - Full of Eastern Promise

Well in all my years of birding, I’ve never known an autumn like this one. There has been an unprecedented arrival of Siberian vagrants right across the country from Shetland down to the Isles of Scilly and the birds keep arriving. I’m guessing that September and October will also go down as the best months ever and we still have two weeks of October to go. The easterly winds are still blowing (17th Oct) and look like continuing to do so for the foreseeable future and there are new birds arriving each day. The highlight of the autumn, so far, […]

Sep 182016
 
Another North American Wader

Saturday 17th September and another trip up to Hatfield Moors in East Yorkshire. A Juvenile Buff-breasted Sandpiper had been discovered on Friday evening and so it was an opportunity to see yet another North American wader close to home. Most British records of Buff-breasted Sandpiper are from Cornwall, Isles of Scilly or the Western Isles. So one inland and only an hour or so drive from home was too good to miss. The bird initially showed briefly on one of the lagoons before it flew off. Several hours later it reappeared and gave some good views. It has been a […]

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