Black-bellied Dipper at Bintree Mill in Norfolk

I headed up the A11 to Lynford this morning and enjoyed a couple of hours strolling about searching for Crossbill. I saw four groups of Crossbill and counted a total of 47 species which included an odd record of flyover Golden Plover. I was about to do a second circuit when I checked my phone to find the Black-bellied Dipper at Bintree Mill Norfolk had been seen so I decided to jump in the car and do the extra 20 miles for hoping I might connect with it.

On arrival the bird was in view and another birder let me look through his scope for an easy year tick. Over the next two hours the bird would fly under the bridge on a few occasions but remained quite distant although I did manage to get a few images. Eventually the bird flew off but was relocated in front of the mill and again allowed a couple of images at distance. Some of the big lens guys probably got better shots but I was happy to see it. This is my second Norfolk Dipper following the North Walsham bird of 2018. I've also seen Dark-bellied Dipper at Thetford, Suffolk in 2013. 

Bintree Mill was a beautiful venue to be looking for a Dipper in Norfolk and gave me my second year tick of the day after the Crossbills. The owner of the mill came out for a chat and invited a few of us onto his land to search for the bird which was good of him. I added just three more birds to the day list which now totalled 50 species.

Bintree Mill

Year list now 249

2025 review

Reflecting on the year almost over where I said a sad fairwell to my Father in law after the passing of my Mother in law back in November 2024. Following his passing I had the unenviable task of helping to sort out first the funeral then the double internment, followed by the very emotional role of clearing the family home. With all this ongoing my daughter in law fell ill and began a years course of ongoing treatment and I've found myself quickly filling the time I recovered from caring for my father in law with helping my son deal with things at his end, running around making sure my grandchildren don't miss out and generally helping tick over whilst my daughter in law deals with the battle ahead. Suzanne continues her pain management journey and despite more MRI scans we seem to be limited to trying to live with the pain rather than dealing with any root cause of the pain she suffers. So with all that in mind it has been a strange year for birding although when I have got out I've still enjoyed the hobby apart from dealing with any guilt feelings that I could be at home doing more to help my loved ones. Added to all this Dad and Jim have there own issues restricting them too so as a group we've found it more difficult to find the free days together resulting in more solo runs than in most years.

Allowing for the above I managed to add five new birds to my Life list with the Booted Eagle in Kent, Britains first breeding Zitting Cisticolas in Suffolk after dipping one in Kent, Black faced Bunting at Spurn and the Lesser crested Tern in Devon. I also managed to add Scops Owl with a visit to Swansea to lay to rest the Durham dip of 2017. I dipped just the one new bird and that was the Song Sparrow at Bempton and notably I saw my second ever Hudsonian Godwit too.

Scops Owl

Black-faced Bunting at Spurn

Hudsonian Godwit

My Life list stands at 455 but I expect to lose Hooded Crow and Green-winged Teal at some point when they're lumped. The bogey bird remains Tawney Pipit.

The pointless year list was 249 and not my worst despite having such limited time to enjoy the hobby. I found hours out rather than days out to keep things ticking over more so in the spring than this autumn.

I added Arctic Warbler and Dotterel to my Essex List (284) and added five to my Suffolk list (284) with the Cisticola, Black Stork, Tree Sparrow, Red-tailed Shrike and Brown Shrike. Kent (273) saw just one addition with the Booted Eagle. My local patch list grew with the addition of Green-winged Teal, Dunlin and Red-breasted Merganser. (169) and I added five to my Herts list (187) Pec Sand, Night-Heron, Baikal Teal, Black Redstart and Yellow-browed Warbler. The Norfolk list, London area list  and garden list didn't move.

Black Stork

Brown Shrike

Turkestan Shrike

Outside of Essex birding was limited to more local trips to Cambridgeshire (4) Suffolk (7) Herts (5) Kent (2) Surrey (2) Buckinghamshire, Norfolk (3) and longer runs to Yorkshire (Bempton and Spurn), Devon for the Lesser crested Tern twitch and just the one venture into Wales for the Scops Owl. (Just 28 days where I ventured out of Essex for birding)

The best bird in terms of its rarity would have to be the Booted Eagle I suppose although Britains first breeding Cisticola gives it a run. In terms of best bird to photograph I suppose that would be the Black Stork but I also enjoyed the Phalarope on the local reservoir, the Glossy Ibis on the local meadow and the time at Landguard with a Purple Sandpiper and Snow Buntings amongst others depicted below.

Snow Bunting

Grey Phalarope

Stonechat

Purple Sandpiper

Tree Sparrow

Gannet

Glossy Ibis

Spotted Sandpiper

Great Reed Warbler

Little Ringed Plover

Little Owl

Tundra Bean Goose

Long-billed Dowitcher

Glaucous Gull

So on reflection 2025 was a challenging year for me personally, thankful for the support I've had from the family and grateful for every moment I get with my grandchildren and for the satisfaction and enjoyment I still get from birding, long may that all continue.

So in 2025 the only real missed opportunities that were twitchable and within my limited travel range were Grey Headed Lapwing (Northumberland), Eastern Bonellis Warbler (Dungeness) and the Eastern Subalpine Warbler that spent three days in Filey and my only excuse for not getting any of these is that I was just too busy at the time to go for them. 

 

Scops Owl in Swansea

Scops Owl has been a bird I've thought about seeing since I was a child. In 2017 one was found in Durham so I drove up and managed to dip it. The day I went down to Kent for the Yellow Warbler last year saw a Scops Owl reported in Kent but I was already back home when news came out and I couldn't make the time to drive back down for it. Over the next few days reports kept coming but I just couldn't find either the time or the motivation so roll on to this week when another was found in Swansea I had one eye on it and eagerly awaited a free day which finally came on Thursday so I arranged with Jim that we'd head over to Swansea (just the four hour drive away) take some time on the cliffs trying to year tick Chough, check a river or two for Dipper and then later we'd head over to the park at Killay and see if we could get lucky with the Scops Owl.

We set off around 9 and had no trouble getting into Swansea where we checked a couple of likely spots for Dipper but with the recent rains our chosen spots were not productive so we moved on to Pennard where we had a couple of views of Chough as they flew along the cliff tops before we headed back to Killay and parked up at the park. We walked down to meet with the other birders and waited. The crowd grew to around thirty and a local guy came to meet us and talk about how the twitch would be conducted. It was agreed that we'd wait until 6pm then split the group for a wider search using the four thermal imagers present. My group walked towards the barriers where the bird had been seen the previous day and sure enough the bird was picked up in the thermal straight away. Messages went out quick to the other three groups and all thirty birders managed to see the bird. A torch was used responsibly to shine the area just below the bird allowing for it to be illuminated just enough for everybody to see it. Over the next hour or so the bird was located three times using the thermals and again illuminated with low light for 30 seconds every fifteen minutes to allow for views to those not lucky enough to have thermal imagers. After the hour of viewing most birders left and hopefully the bird was allowed to continue to feed.

How news travels

The twitch

The torch light on the floor illuminating the bird enough to view

Area the bird was first seen around 6pm

Pennard

Duvant park

Scops Owl

A fantastic bird and a decent twitch, well marshalled by the local guys.

Life list now 455

year list now 247

In case you couldn't see the bird 🤣

Lesser Crested Tern at Dawlish Warren Devon

News drifted through on Wednesday 3rd December of a tern at Dawlish Warren and it was first identified as "probable Royal or West African crested Tern" but by early evening that had been revised after photographs showed the bird to be a Lesser crested Tern.

The last British record was way back in 2005 with a bird in Norfolk on 16th July at Cromer before being seen again between 20th and 22nd July at both Minsmere and Bawdsey in Suffolk. 

The first ever record was in Kent at Dungeness on 26th June 1982  and Dawlsih Warren has a prior record of the bird from 1985 but the most noteable record of Lesser crested Tern was the female that returned to breed with Sandwich Tern at Farne Islands between 1984 and 1997.

From what I can tell this December record is by far the latest record ever to make our shores with most being summer visitors.

With the news arriving late for me I had no time to get to Devon before dark on 3rd and had a family matter on 4th that prevented me travelling. On the Friday I didn't feel too well but thought I'd go today (Saturday 6th) if I could shake of the worst of the cold symptoms. The Jims had there own issues preventing travel so it was a solo run. 220 miles in little under four hours, £4 in the car park for two hours parking and a long 25minute walk out to the hide where the bird had been seen five minutes before I arrived although nobody in the hide saw it. We waited three hours by which time I'd called Ringo to pay for more parking and then news broke that the bird was about six miles away on a pontoon. Many birders left to chase it but in the hide we al decided to stay expecting the bird to return soon and sure enough it returned to fish at mid range for a few minutes but never came close. I left and stopped on the other shore bumping into a few birders at Cockwood who said they were heading to Starcross as it seemed the bird had moved that way. We arrived at the train station and I quickly found the bird resting on a distant sand bank. I got everybody there onto the bird and left for the long journey home which was thankfully without drama.

I think this is my first visit to Dawlish Warren but I really enjoyed it.

I added Shag to my year list and noted Goosander, Black-tailed and Bar tailed Godwits, Dunlin, Knot, Grey Plover, Curlew, Oystercatcher, Sanderling, Turnstone, Brent Geese (including a pale-bellied bird) Shelduck, Wigeon and Kingfisher to name a few in what was a bird rich reserve.

I'll be sure to return if I'm ever in Devon again.

Life list now 454 

(my 4th new bird for 2025 and I had a feeling there was another one coming before the year ended) 

year list now 245

Missed opportunities in the second half of the year

As is usual I've made a list of the birds I missed in the second half of 2025,   I've gone early as things seem to have tailed off now this autumn but hopefully there'll be one more opportunity come along in December. (Yellow Warbler 2024, Pacific Diver 2021, Black-throated Thrush 2019, Blyth's Pipit 2016, Blue-rock Thrush 2016, Brunnich's Guillemot 2013, American (Buff-breasted) Pipit 2012, Western Sandpiper to name a few of the December ticks I've enjoyed over the last few years.)

And so to the missed opportunities to add new birds to "my list".

Carrying on from the first half of the year an Eastern-subalpine Warbler remained on Fair Isle until 4th September and another was found on Whalsay on 28th September only so neither twitchable within my self imposed boundaries to the hobby.

One on Shetland betweeen 4th and 16th October was later Identified as Eastern from a DNA sample too.

Wilson's Storm Petrel sightings started on 5th July from land in Cornwall and from both the Scillonian crossing and Scilly paleagics and continued until 18th September. There was also a "report" of "one past Cromer, Norfolk" on 26th September.

A Barolo Shearwater was seen on a Scilly paleagic on 9th July before a "probable" from the Ullapool-Stornaway ferry on 23rd August whilst Barolo-type Shearwaters were reported from Lizard Point and Cape Cornwall on 5th and 6th July with another reported past Pendeen on 27th July and another past Caithness on 17th August. One was later reported past Pendeen on 4th September.

A Soft-plumaged Petrel was "spotted" flying along the Cornish coast on 13th July which is only the second ever for Britain and a first for Cornwall if accepted.

Feas type Petrels were reported off Lizard point Cornwall on 20th July, Pendeen on 21st and 25th July, with another off the Lizard on 27th. August saw another off  Pendeen on 4th before two Scottish reports on 18th (Orkney) and 20th (Caithness) with one past St.Ives in Cornwall on 29th too. September saw reports from Cornwall, Dorset, Yorkshire, Northumberland and Durham.

The first Scopoli's Shearwater of the season was seen on 14th July with a "possible" and "probable" on Scilly paleagics in August followed by two of the Cornish coast later that month. September saw one seen from the Scilly Paleagic on 1st and another on 26th September. A South Polar Skua was filmed at Pendeen on 11th September.

A Bridled Tern was seen offshore in Fife on 23rd August and was seen again at Musselburgh lagoons on 24th before returning to Fife on 25th but not seen again. (38 previous accepted records)

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Autumn started on land in earnest with a Swainson's Thrush on Barra, Outer Hebrides on 20th September which remained until 22nd. (47 previous accepted records) with another on Foula on 3rd October.

The 21st September saw the 11th ever mainland Pechora Pipit found in Durham but at a time when I was far too busy at home to even consider the long trip north for it. It showed again on 22nd but wasn't seen after that. Another was seen on mainland Shetland on 8th & 9th November.

A Tawny Pipit (my bogey bird) was "reported" at Winterton Dunes on 25th September but news didn't land until several hours after the "reported" bird was seen and it wasn't seen again by anybody else. Another two were reported at Staines reservoir on 30th September as "wholly unconfirmed" and a "probable" on Scilly on 16th October so another year without a twitchable bird for me and thus Tawny Pipit remains my top target just ahead of  Bufflehead and Terek Sandpiper.

A Yellow-browed Bunting was trapped and ringed in Dorset on 29th September (Just six previous records)  followed by a Grey-cheeked Thrush on Lundy and a Siberian Thrush (14 previous records) on Shetland on the same day, the Bunting and Grey cheeked Thrush weren't seen after release by the ringers and the Siberian Thrush wasn't seen the following day but was refound on 2nd October nearby and was still being seen through to 10th October.

A White's Thrush was found on Orkney on 1st October but was quickly lost when flushed by cattle.

The first Lanceolated Warbler of the autumn was found on Fetlar, Shetland on 5th October with the second being trapped and ringed in Cornwall on 14th. No others were reported.

A Mourning Dove was found on Scilly late on 7th October and was a first for the islands with just five previous British records all confined to the northern isles. (also one on the Isle of Mann and three Irish records) The bird was seen again on 8th but didn't return for the twitchers that waited for news to break until it was finally pinned down on 9th for those staying on Scilly to get across and connect with it. I've seen lot's of these in Florida but would welcome the chance to see one on the mainland over here at some point too and of course if I'd had been on Scilly I'd have given it all the time it needed to find it's way onto my UK list. The bird was last seen on 16th October.

A White-throated Needletail was found at Top Low NR in East Yorkshire on 8th October but quickly vanished before being refound at Bempton Cliffs later in the afternoon where it showed well until it was lost just before dusk. (12 previous records but a first for East Yorkshire) (NB: four records from 1991 appear to relate to the same bird so the twelve records refer to just nine birds) The bird failed to show for the massed crowd at Bempton on 9th but was "reported" briefly in Aberdeen before heading off west before being refound late afternoon in the Filey area putting the Aberdeen report in doubt or was there a second bird?  The 10th saw the bird move north to be found mid morning in the Scarborough area but it didn't stay and was later seen briefly further north at Long Nab but wasn't seen on 11th other than a possible sighting reported in Northumberland. It was seen moving north through the highlands of Scotland on 13th,14th and 15th October.

A Blackpoll Warbler turned up on Unst, Shetland on 8th but wasn't seen after the original report. (52 previous but I think a first for Unst and only the sixth record for Shetland as a whole, half of all records relate to the Scilly Isles.) The bird was pinned down on 9th for more arriving birders to connect with it and nail the ID in case of doubt over the original brief sighting but it went missing late on 10th only to be refound on 14th and it stayed until 18th.

A Veery was found on Islay in Argyle Scotland on 13th October, it showed occasionally on 14th but had moved on by 15th. (11 previous records accepted)

A Black-billed Cuckoo was "found dead" in Devon on 5th October (15 previous records)

The biggest miss of the year for the top listers came on 20th October when news broke of a first for not just Britain but the western pelagic too. A Great crested Flycatcher was reported as "one photographed early last week but no sign since" begging the question why news wasn't shared "last week" when Shetland was packed with birders hoping for exactly this kind of news. The story behind this never really evolved much after the first report with little in the way of explanation for the news being delayed.

The 21st October saw an Eyebrowed Thrush found on Scilly although elusive it was seen again on 22nd. (28 previous records) Another was seen briefly on Orkney early on 4th November.

A Rufous-tailed Robin was found on Orkney on 21st October but wasn't seen long after the original sighting by the finder only. (four previous records)

A male Siberian Rubythroat was trapped and ringed on North Ronaldsay, Orkney on 28th October. Only the second record for Orkney and Britains 18th with 15 of the 18 being on Shetland, one Orkney, One Durham and one in Dorset) Another was seen briefly on Unst during the 7th November and gain on 9th. A female was trapped and ringed on mainland Shetland on 1st December making it the third record for this year.

The 4th November saw news of a Rose-breasted Grosbeak on Orkney but the bird moved on within an hour or so of being reported. (33 previous records)

A Killdeer was found on Skokholm off the coast of Pembrokeshire on 5th November and was briefly seen again on 6th before flying off to be found again later in the afternoon on Skomer before heading off towards the mainland. (60 previous records) It's likely the same bird that turned up in the south east of Ireland some days later.

A Bufflehead was found in Flintshire on the 8th December but flew off within a couple of hours. The bird was re-found on 19th December in North Wales just 300 miles from home.

Updated 19th December and will be revised should anything new arrive in the final weeks of 2025.

Snow Buntings at Landguard

Birding time is as ever at a premium for me, I managed another hour at KGV last week where I eventually bumped into the Grey Phalarope. Also present were Greater Scaup, Brent Goose, Goldeneye, Raven, Black-necked Grebe and a Black Redstart.

Following that little excursion and finding a free day either side of early and late family commitments I headed up the A12 to Landguard where a walk along the beach eventually saw me connect with my first Snow Buntings of 2025 and my 243rd species on the pointless year list.

Wasn't a lot else of note present but I enjoyed the company of the three Buntings before the rain started to fall and I left to pick the little ones up from school again.