30th August 2010 – Semipalmated Sandpiper in Lothian

Chris arrived at mine at 0700hrs and we were soon on our way northwards. After our usual caffeine stop we arrived at John Muir Country Park in East Lothian. After a walk along the edge of the plantation we made our way to Tynigham inner bay. There were good numbers of waders present and a few birders as well! It was not long before we picked out the juvenile Semipalmated Sandpiper. This was a far more straight forward bird than the...

Saturday 21st August 2010 – Birdfair!

Every year I say to myself ‘I’ll go to the Birdfair next year’; yet life usually get in the way! However after Mike Robinson asked if Chris H or myself would like to go with him on the Saturday, I knew I was going to finally make it! Chris and I arrived at Mike’s just after 0800hrs and we were soon on our way south to Rutland. We arrived at the Birdfair at around 1100hrs and parked up the car. Given the recent...

16th August 2010 – Sykes’s Warbler in Northumberland!

The previous evening a warbler identified as either a Booted Warbler or a Sykes’s Warbler had been found at Druridge Pools Country Park in Northumberland. Pictures taken, suggested it was most likely a Sykes’s Warbler! In the morning the bird was reported as being present and (it seemed) the identification as Sykes’s Warbler had been clinched!  Kath was at work and I was looking after the kids at...

15th August 2010 – Banded Buzzard….

No birding trips out this weekend; but that doesn’t mean no birds! Whilst out in the garden mowing the grass a Peregrine flew overhead at fairly close range. However the highlight was a family group of Common Buzzards that lingered in the thermals above the garden. Amazingly they were still performing well after I went into the house to retrieve my camera! Common Buzzard Common Buzzard Common Buzzard Common Buzzard Common...

8th August 2010 – American Golden Plover at Anthorn……

I  had made loose plans to meet Craig Shaw (CS)  at Workington harbour on Sunday afternoon for some sea-watching. However after looking at a detailed weather forecast I called CS on Sunday morning informing him that the wind direction was wrong for sea-watching. We changed our plans and decided to walk a stretch of the Wampool. At about 1930hrs we started searching through a flock of 500 or so Golden Plover ...

7th August 2010 – Whiskered Tern at Saltholme

Chris arrived at mine and 0700 hrs and we were soon on our way east. Lachlan was also accompanying us today!  After our usual caffeine stop, we arrived at Saltholme Pools RSPB reserve. We scanned the causeway and were soon enjoying views of a juvenile Whiskered Tern. The bird was roosting with a small group of Dunlin. Whiskered Tern Whiskered Terns are a pretty scarce bird in the UK and the majority of records are of spring adults; so...

31st July 2010 – Dragonfly Fest and a Benjamin!

Mike picked me up at Oxenholme Railway Station at 0740hrs and we were soon on the long trek to Essex. By 1300hrs we arrived at Hadleigh Castle Country Park. En route to the pools we saw Essex Skipper, Gatekeeper and good numbers of Migrant Hawkers. Thinks were looking promising – or so we thought! There were several people present at the site, unfortunately none of them had seen the Southern Migrant Hawkers all day! This did not...

30th July 2010 – Semipalmated Sandpiper

Chris had joined the finder Darren at Port Carlisle to see the probable Semipalmated Sandpiper found the previous day. This bird sounded intriguing and following discussions with both of them and after seeing Darrens pics I was very keen to see the bird. The following afternoon Chris arrived at mine and we were soon on our way to search for the wader. As soon as we arrived at Port Carlisle we were met by Darren who had already located...

18th July 2010 – Day Seven: I still Love Spain!

Today’s trip was a return to the Alicante area and starting at Santa Palo beach. Here we had more great views of Audouin’s Gull and Yellow-legged Gulls. Sardianian Warblers gave decent views as did an Iberian Shrike. A view of an Iberian Woodpecker was another added bonus. Audouin's Gull Next we visited the Clot de Galveny area. This time we did not visit the main part of the reserve, but concentrated on the edges. We managed...

17th July 2010 – Day Six: Marshtastic

An early morning pre-breakfast visit to Pego Marsh produced nice views of Green sandpiper, Cattle Egret, Squacco Heron, Little Bittern and Purple Heron.  Whiskered Terns were also showing very well. The highlight of the morning  for me was watching an adult Great Reed warbler feeding one of its chicks a juicy caterpillar! After breakfast we made our way to Moro Marsh. As we walked along the first track on the seaward side we saw good...