We decided to spend a few days away in North Norfolk, basing ourselves at Blakeney. The first three days were pretty dreadful, with heavy rain on and off and a very cold North Westerly wind. These conditions made photography and birding extremely difficult. Fortunately there were a few birds hanging on from the previous week […]
The Little Bunting is an annual migrant from the taiga forests of NE Europe and into Siberia. It is regularly discovered during the autumn months, most often on the outer islands of Shetland and Orkney, the Isles of Scilly and sites along the east coast of mainland Britain. It is not often one overwinters, but
The “Eared Grebe”, better known as the Black-necked Grebe, is a rare breeding bird in Britain. It is more often seen in winter, visiting our reservoirs or observed at southern coastal sites, sometimes in good numbers. The birds begin to arrive back at their preferred breeding sites in late March and into April, when they
A morning spent at Willington GP on 7th March, provided a few year ticks – Great Egret, 14 Curlew, 2 Water Rail, 3 Cetti’s Warbler and a Kingfisher. A Curlew flew over Staunton Harold Reservoir on 8th March, and a Chiffchaff was the first spring migrant of the year. My March highlight so far at
A few photos from recent days around my local patch. Birding is very quiet at the moment and the weather has been difficult for photography – grey, dull and rainy. However the sun did come out a for a few hours, when I managed to photograph a very obliging Robin.
The first winter drake Ring-necked Duck, that I was party to finding back in December 2020, is still staying faithful to a small lake, called Home Lake, at Staunton Harold Hall on the Leicestershire/Derbyshire border and only a mile or so from home. The species is a major rarity to my home county of Derbyshire,
In recent weeks the local Red Deer Stags at NT Calke Park, South Derbyshire have been very vocal. Their bellowing calls can be heard at great distance. Autumn is the time of year when the Stags engage in elaborate displays of dominance including roaring, parallel walks, and fighting. This behaviour is called The Rut, it
A Rufous Bush Chat or Rufous Bush Robin, take your pick, was discovered at Stiffkey, in North Norfolk, during the early morning of Saturday 17th October 2020. It was the first time one had been seen in Britain for 40 years, so most modern day birders would want to see it. Needless to say the
