During early July 2015, Barrie and myself managed a week pass-out and we made our third visit to Bulgaria in search of butterflies. Our trip was carefully planned in the hope of seeing some of the high mountain species and we arranged our trip around the Rila & Pirin high alpine habitat. We were often at […]
A 1st summer male Red-footed Falcon was discovered at a colliery site near Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, around early July, and whilst I was on holiday in Bulgaria. A major rarity for Staffordshire, as it had been many years since one of these small falcons had been seen in the county. The Red-footed Falcon proved to be
Another vagrant North American wader discovered in the south of England, this time a Hudsonian Whimbrel, found at Church Norton, Pagham Harbour, in West Sussex on the 9th June. The bird was still present on Friday 12th June, so RichardJ, Barrie and myself decided to head off south early on Saturday 13th June. We arrived
I spent most of today, Sunday 7th June, at Lakenheath Fen listening to a strange croaking sound emanating from one of the reed beds. It was the song of a male Little Bittern and the first time I had ever heard it. The bird was continuously singing for at least an hour and a half and
Whilst I was on Samos, my good friend Barrie spent a day at Titchfield Haven in Hampshire, chasing a much needed tick, a Greater Yellowlegs. The bird had been faithful to the nature reserve all week, except of course the Saturday that Barrie decided to go for it. One week later, back from Samos on the
My wife & I spent another glorious week at our favourite place on Samos, at the small fishing village of Kokkari on the north coast of this beautiful island. This was our third year running on Samos and I must admit, it is one of my favourite places to just simply chill-out for a week
A visit to Long Eaton Gravel Pits Complex, Derbyshire, on Saturday morning 16th May, proved to be somewhat of an anticlimax. We visited the site in the hope of seeing a Temminck’s Stint, a very rare passage wader in Derbyshire. May is the prime time for these birds to arrive at inland sites, as they
Sunday 10th March, another bad decision day. News breaks of a Citril Finch in Norfolk. Here we go again!! Few phone calls made and consensus of opinion amongst the ranks, was long journey, (late in the morning when the news broke) and as bird was very elusive, at the time and at Holkham Dunes (vast
