I spent the 24th – 26th February in the Scottish Highlands with professional photographer, Pete Walkden. The plan was to photograph Crested Tit, but due to exceptionally mild weather, our plans had to change. Crested Tits will only come to feeding stations in cold weather. Once the weather becomes warm, they take to the tree […]
Chew Valley Lake & Blagdon Lake, both sites now in Somerset, must rank as two of the best inland waters in Britain for attracting rare birds. Chew Valley had managed to hold on to a cracking wader for well over a week. A juvenile Sharp-tailed Sandpiper, along with a supporting cast of 2 Long-billed Dowitcher
Yesterday, Saturday 12th November 2011, two lucky observers watched Derbyshire’s fourth/fifth Glossy Ibis for 15-30 minutes at Willington Gravel Pits, before the bird flew off and disappeared, much to the disappointment of several top Derbyshire Listers!! Lucky for me I didn’t need it for my Derbyshire List!! Needless to say there was no further sign
This morning I went looking for the Great White Egret at the local Gravel Pit complex at Barrow-on-Trent. No luck despite extensive searching, viewing from the footpath at Ingleby. Just a few Grey Heron & a single Little Egret and three female Goosander on the river. Oh well !! A couple of Common Buzzard put
My 28th consecutive trip to the “Sacred Isles”, the Isles of Scilly. What a week – 2 lifers; 3 “Yankie” passerines and 5 “Yankie” waders, plus a self found Dusky Warbler. Plenty of padders helped us to achieve 101 species for the week. Arriving on Saturday 22nd October, I was anxious to get the Northern
“Holy Gwacker Moley” – I couldn’t believe my eyes when I read my MEGA ALERT on my pager Friday night. A Rufous-tailed Robin in Norfolk!! Saturday morning we were on site at Wareham Greens in North Norfolk early but unfortunately and mega disappointingly, the little bugger had done a runner. Two hundred other
With the prospects of a mild night on the 12th October, this presented an ideal opportunity to put the moth trap on. With lots of migrant moths being discovered in Southern England, the South West & Isles of Scilly, I chanced a good moth. You can imagine my excitement when I checked the trap at
An American Black Tern – Chlidonias surinamensis, had been frequenting Covenham Reservoir for some time and having just got back from Shetland and the bird still around, it was worth the trip to this reservoir in Lincolnshire. American Black Tern looks very similar to our Black Tern with the exception of some very subtle plumage
