Last weekend (8th April) a photograph of a Bittern, taken at Carlton Marsh in Suffolk, was posted on Social Media. It was very quickly re-identified as an American Bittern, an extremely rare vagrant to our shores. I last saw an American Bittern in the 1990’s, when one was at Marton Mere, near Blackpool, in Lancashire. […]
We spent our Easter break in Northumberland, at Bamburgh. Despite some atrocious weather, Sunday turned out to be a superb day of weather and managed a few birds whilst out and about in the general area. A stunning coast line between Bamburgh and Newton-by-the-Sea. Best birds were Grey Phalarope, 2 self find Black Redstarts, including
A rare occurrence in Derbyshire, a Lapland Bunting was found feeding in a field with Skylarks and Meadow Pipits at Peak Dale Quarry, just south of Chapel-en-le-Frith in North Derbyshire. It was first found on Saturday and as this was a county tick and a good opportunity to see this rare county bird, I went
A few visits over the weekend and 1 today to my local Patch in South Derbyshire. It was really bitterly cold this morning, with a strong easterly wind and snow & ice still on the ground but not as bad as Sunday 18th March, when conditions were dreadful. I managed to find just a single
On Sunday afternoon, 4th March 2018, I decided to pay my patch a visit, as I had not been for a few days and wasn’t able to get Sunday morning. I parked my car in the dam car park and began to scan the water. At first glance, noticing only the usual suspects – Cormorant,
Managed to catch up on a couple of local rare birds over the weekend. For several weeks now 2 Cattle Egret have been faithful to a sheep field adjacent to the main road into Newton Solney and the River Trent. The Birds of Derbyshire states Cattle Egret as a rare vagrant to our county with
I recently spent a few days photographing Mountain Hare, in the Scottish Highlands, with Pete Walkden. I had a fantastic two days with these attractive animals, often spending several hours alongside a single hare, being totally comfortable and at ease with our presence. The weather was just about perfect, with plenty of snow and several
A Spotted Sandpiper, the North American equivalent of our Common Sandpiper, has been over wintering at the National Water Sport Centre, at Holme Pierrepont, Nottinghamshire. The bird has been present and site faithful for several weeks now and is very obliging with patience. A real treat as any North American wader in the Midlands is
