Saturday 10th October turned-out to be a typical “Spurn Day”, but we had to wait until the afternoon before the birds got interesting. We decided to walk out to the point first of all, a glorious morning and a seven mile slog there and back for a spooked Roe Deer, a Red Admiral, a stunning little […]
September 25th – October 3rd 2015 – Another autumn week on Unst, Shetland, staying at our usual croft at Northdale. What a great location to spend a week looking for rare birds. This year was not what I would call a classic week, yet there were still some good birds about, especially on the mainland.
Saturday 12th September and I spent the whole day walking round Spurn and Kilnsea area. Not a bad day with small numbers of Pied Flycatcher, Common Redstart, Whinchat and Wheatear. A single Short-eared Owl and a Yellow-browed Warbler certainly helped to brighten up the day. The Yellow-browed Warbler was one of my earliest autumn records.
The weekend weather indicated opportunities for potential sea bird passage down the east cost. Saturday 5th September and there was a strong North Westerly wind blowing as we arrived at Filey Brigg, on the Yorkshire Coast. After a precarious trek down to the Hide, and I mean precarious, I began my first proper sea watch for
Once again my wife and I spent a week on the south coast of Dorset. We stopped in a static caravan near Swanage and spent our time exploring our favourite spots at Studland and Durlston. One or two amazing sights were the large numbers of Swallows and House Martins on several days. Numbers in excess of
Saturday 29th August and I spent the day in Northumberland, with Glynn and Richard, at Newbiggin-by-the-Sea. What a fantastic place for waders and Terns. The coastal area of this small seaside town is a great place to see Roseate Tern. As they leave the breeding grounds on Coquete Island, the adults bring their youngsters to
Sunday 23rd August and a trip to the North Norfolk coast was in order. A good move as this visit, to one of my favourite areas of the country, kick-started my autumn birding. A visit to Titchwell provided the usual array of waders including, 4 Little Stint, Wood Sandpiper, 4 Spotted Redshank, Black and Bar-tailed
A juvenile Wood Sandpiper was discovered at Willington Gravel Pits, local Derbyshire Wildlife Trust Reserve, on Sunday 9th August 2015. These delicate and attractive sandpipers often turn-up in the county during spring and early autumn. They are an uncommon visitor to my county, so when they do turn-up, it is always worth the effort to
