On the 16th October 2021 a Two-barred Greenish Warbler was discovered in the Canal Hedge at Spurn, Yorkshire. I had previously seen this phyllosc species in October 2017 at St Aldhelm’s Head area in Dorset, so wasn’t really too bothered to drive across to Spurn. I soon changed my mind when I saw the views […]
Whilst I was on Shetland, news came out that a Long-toed Stint had been discovered at the RSPB reserve at St.Aidan’s, near Leeds in Yorkshire, on the afternoon of Friday the 8th October. It was originally identified as a Temminck’s Stint, then a Least Sandpiper, before finally being nailed as a Long-toed Stint. A mega
I made my annual visit to Shetland for the first time since 2019 and Lockdown. It was good to get back to these magical isles. We stayed on Unst, at our normal croft at Northdale, from 6th October to 12th October. A fairly quiet trip in terms of rare birds, but we did manage to
A small wader was discovered at the gravel pit complex at Misson, Nottinghamshire. On 25th September it was initially identified as a Red-necked Stint. I went to see it on 26th September and never felt it was quite right for a RNS. After viewing numerous photos and closer scrutiny of the bird, it was re-identified
On the 18th September I decide to pay another visit to the RSPB reserve at Blacktoft Sands to try my luck again with the White-tailed Lapwing. There was also a Bluethroat on site which was an added bonus. Unfortunately the White-tailed Lapwing spent most of its time distantly, on a small island viewable from Townend
On the 9th of September an adult Green Warbler was trapped and ringed at Buckton, Yorkshire. This bird represented the 9th record for Britain and the first twitchable one on the British mainland. We were driving back from our weeks holiday in Cornwall on the 10th and so the 11th would be my first opportunity
Before the latter half of the eighteenth century, the Great Crested Grebe was fairly well distributed over Britain. However, by 1860, a total of 42 pairs were counted, the demise was due to its plumage becoming fashionable in the trimmings of clothes and hats. By 1867 only one pair of Great Crested Grebes was recorded
Over the years I’ve missed numerous Spoonbills in Derbyshire. This spring I missed one at Ogston by minutes, so I was hopeful that I would catch up with one soon enough, especially as their numbers are increasing in the UK year on year. Sure enough, an immature bird was discovered during mid-morning at Willington Gravel
