Back into Hertfordshire

Dad had a morning pass as did I so we headed out early to arrive in St Albans just after 8am. We had all sorts of problems paying for parking but eventually sorted it out and walked out to the area we'd been told was favoured by the overwintering Yellow-browed Warbler. The warbler took some finding but eventually Rupert E. the original finder called to say he had it and we all managed decent views in what was difficult light. I think this is a Hertfordshire tick for me as well as a year tick for 2025.

Yellow-browed Warbler in difficult light conditions

Having watched the bird for a while and thanked Rupert for the find we moved on to the Cathedral where we first spotted a Peregrine on the roof and then a Black Redstart feeding in the vented area of the top windows. We were told the bird had found a cluster of hibernating Ladybirds and was feasting on them getting into the abbey through a small break in the stained glass window.

As we were close to Lemsford Springs we dropped in there, paid the warden a small donation and walked down to the hides were we found five Snipe Four Green Sandpipers a Grey Wagtail, Little Egret and after a lot of searching a single Jack Snipe brought into the reserve by the freezing weather locally.

Snipe

Snipe

So a couple of hours and three year ticks which takes the tally for 2025 to 130 (including the plastic Black-winged Stilt at Titchwell)

Year listing again in 2025

Well I suppose I should keep the blog/diary going even with the tough times I currently face at home.

My father in law spent time in hospital before Christmas following a couple of falls and although we managed a decent enough Christmas with family he took another tumble and we decided respite care was the best for him. After a week in care he went backwards and today needed hospital time again. I've spent the day with him and he remains quite poorly and will remain in hospital for a while now. 

Aside of the time being consumed caring for both my wife and the father in law and desperately trying to balance life by seeing as much of the grandchildren as possible I have also decided to keep a year list again in 2025 in another desperate attempt to get me out birding as much as time allows to fuel my own well being if I possibly can and to that end I'll break down the first week of 2025 and try to update as I can going forward.

January 1st was really wet and very windy so new years birding was from the kitchen window for a change. I bagged  just eighteen ticks with nothing out of the ordinary apart from Little Egret whilst dropping food at the father in laws.

January 2nd saw me head up to Abberton with the Jims. We had a good day despite the really cold wind blowing across the reservoir. We found the Canvasback amongst the Pochard flock and added Scaup from Lodge Lane, Bewick's Swan, Black-necked and Slav Grebe from LDLH causeway along with a wintering Green Sandpiper. We also visited Copt Hall for the first time. It's just up the road from Abberton and I added Short-eared Owl and Merlin amongst others to the year list which now totalled 85.

January 3rd saw me take an enthusiastic walk over the KGV reservoir before my usual routine for the day. I added Black-throated and Great Northern Diver along with a couple more expected ticks on the way taking the total for the year to 90.

January 4th and my renewed enthusiasm continued with an hour at Bramfield to add the annual Hawfinch tick and along with Greenfinch, Song Thrush, Water Rail, Redpoll, Siskin and Bullfinch at Watercress LNR.

I didn't find any time on 5th but a quick visit to Rainham on 6th in pouring rain saw just Water Pipit added in the fifteen minutes I gave it after dropping George off at school

On 7th January I gave Rainham another hour of my valuable time and added Dartford Warbler, Avocet, and Cetti's Warbler.

The 8th saw my first real full day out for the year as I headed into Norfolk with Dad and Jim. We started the day at Old Hunstanton, parking in the road leading to the golf course we walked out onto the beach and along to the shingle ridge were we found Turnstone, Glaucous Gull, Shore Larks, Oystercatcher, Knot, Sanderling, Fulmar, Red-breasted Merganser, Pink footed Goose, Bar-tailed Godwit and Peregrine.

Glaucous Gull

Peregrine

The seal carcase that the Glaucous gull is feeding on

At Stiffkey we year ticked Glossy Ibis before dropping in to Lady Annes drive at Holkham to add Long-billed Dowitcher, Snipe and White-fronted Goose before finishing the day at Titchwell adding Spotted Redshank, Greenshank, Common  Scoter, Velvet Scoter and Tawny Owl amongst others to bring the year list to 126 or 127 if I include the ringed escapee Black-winged Stilt.

Long-billed Dowitcher

Move forward to today and I've spent the whole day at my father in laws bedside in the majors unit but that's life I guess.

Anyway the pointless year list is now 126 and I've had a taste of the good life and will do my best to enjoy more of that this year if I can with all my family commitments still needing time.

A Pintail showing why we call them Pintail

American Yellow Warbler in New Hythe Kent

On the 24th December news came through of an American Yellow Warbler in New Hythe Kent just an hours drive from home. Unfortunately I was on my way to a doctors appointment with Suzanne so couldn't go on 24th. I toyed with the idea of going Christmas day and Boxing day but decided it would be a bad idea with so much family stuff to do over the two days. So my first chance was 27th and I picked up the Jims at 7am arriving at New Hythe at 8am. We walked down the track for about half a mile to find a couple of hundred birders already set up at the Alders waiting for the bird. I walked up and down the river searching instead of standing with the crowd and found time to catch up with a few people too which is always nice at these things.

I added a year tick with Firecrest of which I saw a few.

Four hours in and Dad was ready to go, I asked if he could wait an extra half an hour then we'd leave and with five minutes remaining the shout went up and the crowd which was now several hundred strong started to move. Somebody had heard the bird and within minutes it popped up out of the brambles and flew to the Alders. The crowd all moved back to the Alders and I managed to get really good views as it moved through the trees before flying off again. We left for home after the usual handshakes and fist bumps etc. The bird wasn't seen again for a couple of hours but what a treat and a great festive tick taking my list for the year to 450 (again having lost the Redpolls) 

News had come through of a Scops Owl roosting at the cricket club in Broadstairs but we didn't have the stamina for that one after the five or so hours on the Warbler.

Year list now 251

Life list now 450

The ticks of 2024

 The year saw me add six new birds to my BOU life list.

Northern Waterthrush at Heybridge Essex 4th January 2024

Northern Waterthrush

Black Scoter at Holkham Norfolk 16th February 2024 (no pictures)

Hudsonian Godwit at Burton Mere Wetlands Lancashire 19th August

Hudsonian Godwit 

Pale-legged Leaf Warbler at Bempton Cliffs RSPB 2nd October 2024 (no pictures)

Asian Desert Warbler at Winterton Dunes, Norfolk 6th October 2024

Asian Desert Warbler

I added American Yellow Warbler on 27th December down in New Hythe Kent just an hour from home.

Another good year for new birds that leaves me on 450 as a total having lost two previous ticks with the lumping of Redpolls this year. I earlier lost the other Arctic Redpoll and Steppe Grey Shrike due to lumping so would be happily sitting on 454 without the continual review system. Maybe one day one of these reviews will work in my favour but I'm not holding my breath and I do like to maintain the list along with BOU acceptance so for now it's 450.

__________________________________________________________________________________

As far as home county of Essex I added a few including the Nightjar below to take that list to 282 

Nightjar at Wanstead

I added Wood Warbler, Woodchat Shrike, Franklin's Gull, Long-billed Dowitcher and Lapland Bunting to my London list bringing that list to 241.

Lapland Bunting at Staines

Woodchat Shrike at Rainham

Franklins Gull at Crossness

I added Asian Desert Warbler and Black Scoter to my Norfolk list which now stands at 302 and I added Surf Scoter and Purple Heron to my Suffolk list which now stands at 280 oh and the Yellow Warbler was my 272nd bird species seen in Kent. (I know but I do love a list)

There may still be time to add that Kent Scops Owl if I can get myself interested in a four hour round trip at night to see it.

Missed opportunities 2nd half of 2024

In the total absence of any birding time and following on from my blog post about the missed opportunities in the first half of 2024 (see here) here is the post of the second half.

My time has been at a premium this year. Suzanne continues to need help at home, we lost her mum at the grand age of 94 back in November after a very long battle with dimentia and her Dad's been very ill of late to the point of hospitalisation and has needed support and company more than ever since losing his wife. I'm still using most of my limited free time to enjoy the company of my three grandchildren and this gives tremendous balance to the highs and lows of life. I will find time for birding again at some point in the future and will try to year list again in 2025 but like 2024 don't expect any fireworks.

 Anyway to the missed opportunities..................................

STEJNEGER'S SCOTER remained off Musselburgh until 7th September and was "reported" again on 7th October and 4th November in Gosford Bay Lothian. It gave me plenty of time to twitch it but I just couldn't find the time or indeed the motivation to make the long (13 hours return drive) expensive trip for it with little to no enthusiasm for this one from the Jims too. These sea ducks rarely give good views and after the drama I had earlier this year with Black Scoter in Norfolk I'm in no rush to try for this one unless I'm passing of course.

The obvious reports of Scopoli's Shearwater, Wilsons Petrels and South Polar Skuas came through from the various paleagics off Scilly and the south west with claims of both from land too on occasion. Another paleagic (Challenger 1) discovered such rarities as Desertas Petrel, Maderian Petrels and Barolo Shearwaters but all are well out of reach for me.

TAWNY PIPIT remains a bogey bird for me and one flew over Abbot's Cliff in Kent on 18th August but didn't settle and wasn't twitchable and another flew over Spurn on 29th August but wasn't seen on the ground by anybody. Two more brief sightings/reports in Somerset on 1st and 2nd of September. A fly over at Corton in Suffolk on 7th September and another was found at Windmill Farm NR in Cornwall on 14th September but didn't stay long enough for anybody but the finder to see it. One was reported on the beach at Abbotsbury in Dorset before flying off and again as is typical of this species it wasn't refound. Another was found on Scilly on 6th October, one was reported at Weybourne in Norfolk on 6th October and another on Bryher, Scilly Isles 14th October so another year goes by with little to no opportunity of me connecting with this bogey.

BRIDLED TERN/SOOTY TERN: One of shore briefly at Burnham on sea wasn't twitchable.

The dark morph BOOTED EAGLE seen and photographed on 20th May in Cornwall was reported as seen again in Devon on 8th June.  Another "dark morph" or the same bird was reported in Cornwall on 2nd September indicating that the bird may have stayed in the area since May. Roll on to 10th and 11th October when a pale morph juvenile bird was seen and photographed and a twitch was arranged for 12th but nobody connected. The same Cornwall bird or another dark morph then appeared on 1st November in Remenham Berkshire and was twitched by a few on Saturday 2nd November with those trying on 3rd not so lucky. We'll need to see how these get on as far as acceptance goes as it's a bird that historically struggles to get signed off. The last bird rejected was thought to be "too tatty" to have turned up too early and to have hung around too long as well as the belief that this species does not enjoy crossing water. (no previous accepted records)

SWAINSONS THRUSH: One on St Kilda on 10th September only (Around fifty previous records mostly on the islands with just a couple of mainland records, closest being Sandwich Bay Kent in 1976 and the latest mainland record being Cornwall 2008)

TENNESSEE WARBLER: Fair Isle, Shetland 15th until 19th September (Six previous records with none outside the islands )

LANCELOATED WARBLER: Fair Isle, Shetland 23rd September, North Ronaldsay 24th September, Mainland Shetland 24th September, another on North Ronaldsay 3rd October and another on Fair Isle 3rd-8th October with one at Unst from 4th October until at least 7th. (Over a hundred previous records but largely confined to the Scottish islands with Fair Isle a favourite and the last mainland one was 2012 at Long Nab, North Yorkshire, whilst 1997 saw one trapped at Landguard in Suffolk making it the only one remotely local to Essex)

YELKOUAN SHEARWATER: Probable off Pendeen on 26th September and another probable photographed past Dungeness on the same day. (Apparently soon to be lumped with Balearic Shearwater)

PECHORA PIPIT: One on Shetland 28th - 30th September and one flew over Fair Isle on 7th October. (Over a hundred previous records with just a handful outside of Shetland and the last mainland bird being Pembrokeshire 2007)

TWO-BARRED WARBLER: Saltwick Nab, North Yorkshire first seen on 2nd October and remained until 3rd October but was very elusive. (Just eleven previous records)

EASTERN CROWNED WARBLER: Mainland Shetland 3rd October (Just four previous records including Hertfordshire 2011 which was trapped but not twitchable)

THRUSH NIGHTINGALE: Blakeney Point 1st September was only seen once and not relocated and another trapped on Fair Isle on 2nd September. (Many records but mostly confined to the islands)

WILSON'S SNIPE: Scilly Isles, One was seen briefly on 7th October and not again until 13th October when a few more birders connected with it. It later transpired that the bird of the 7th was a different bird to 13th and that there could have been two birds present on 13th. (There are ten previous records and all from Scilly so this may be a bird I never connect with unless something changes and I find myself twitching or holidaying on the islands. )

SIBERIAN RUBYTHROAT: female-type briefly on Orkney 13th October (17 previous records mainly on Shetland/Orkney but two mainland records Durham 2006 and Dorset 1997)

BLACK-FACED BUNTING: One trapped on North Ronaldsay, Orkney 19th October (nine previous records) remained through 28th October and was joined by two more on 25th - 29th October at Donna Nook in Lincolnshire and another one day bird trapped and ringed in Glamorgan on 26th October. 

EYE-BROWED THRUSH: One on North Ronaldsay, Orkney on 7th November was seen again on 9th but not after.  (29 previous records mostly confined to the islands)

SCARLET TANAGER: On the 10th November a facebook post highlighted a strange bird visiting a washing line in a garden in Yorkshire and I'm well used to these sorts of posts on facebook being hoax posts but it transpired over night that the bird was indeed there and it was a first summer Scarlet Tanager in it's more drab yellow/green plumage. News of the location came out over night and a few hundred birders twitched it on 11th assuming it to be a wild bird. On the back of news that the bird was un-ringed I planned to visit on 12th but Dad had a boiler service booked and Jim had a nasty cold so it would be a solo affair. I woke at 3am but couldn't get myself up for the long solo drive so put it on hold and the bird was only seen very briefly first thing on 12th and then not again until mid afternoon on 13th with one guy putting in 17hours and still not seeing it so maybe I made a wise choice not chasing this one but I doubt I'll ever get a better chance but of course this record still has to be accepted by the rares committee as a wild bird and against it is seems to be the location alone. (7 previous records since the first in 1970,  all confined to Scilly/Cornwall apart from one on Barra in 2014 and all first winters apart from an adult on Scilly in 1982)

BUFFLEHEAD: One on Foula,Shetland on 17th November to spend the winter ( c25 previous records )

GREY-HEADED LAPWING: One at East Chevington, Northumberland on 5th December which remained until 21st December when I type this at least. This must be the returning bird from spring 2023 which has been accepted as of wild origin and would therefore be a full fat life tick if I could find the time/money and motivation to try. Might still end up trying for this one if the mood takes me?

So in summary the mainland twitchable ticks I missed in the whole of  2024 were................

Grey-headed Lapwing , Scarlet Tanager (if accepted), Two-barred Warbler (two dayer but very elusive)

Booted Eagle (if accepted), Stegneger's Scoter, Bufflehead (the Aberdeen bird), Collared Flycatcher

Eastern Subalpine Warbler (bit of a bogey bird in the Eastern form), Sociable Lapwing,  Indigo Bunting (if accepted) & Bridled Tern (Coquet Island bird)

So 11 birds missed in 2024 but has it made a difference to my life? not one bit!  But I'd have liked to have had the time and money to make the trips, form the memories and of course see the birds.

Here's to finding more time and motivation in 2025

PS Scops Owl in Broadstairs Kent reported on 27th December but present for at least five days before that. Twitched by a couple of hundred with torches etc on the evening of 27th. May get down there for it if it stays a while longer.

Pied Wheatear at Seaford

It's been a busy couple of weeks but I found myself free on Friday morning so asked Jim if he'd like me to take him down to Seaford as he still needed Pied Wheatear for a life tick and of course he wanted to try.

We set off at 5am to miss some of the commute traffic and this helped make the 100 mile trip in less than two hours. We parked up at the far end of the esplanade and searched for the parking meter which to my shock didn't exist as this was a very rare free parking zone. Amazing you could leave your car sitting still in the road and didn't have to give anybody money to do it, what's the world coming to.

The old hotel at Seaford

From the car park we could see the brick ruins of the old hotel and walked up to search for the Wheatear hoping it had remained and within a few minutes the first sighting was reported by another of the four of us searching for it. We quickly got on it to give Jim his eighth life tick of the year and me my 249th year tick. The bird remained mobile but never left the area of the ruin although it would hide for periods and would rarely sit still out in the open.

Two Black Redstarts were also present with the female "type" showing really well walking around our feet at times. Lot's of Meadow Pipit and a couple of Rock Pipit were busy feeding in the grassy areas too. 

Buzzard

Black Redstart

Black Redstart

Black Redstart

Black Redstart

Black Redstart

Rock Pipit

Black Redstart

Black Redstart

Black Redstart

The old hotel

Year list now 249

Lapland Bunting at Staines reservoir

It's been a sad and difficult few days with the sad passing of my mother in law Tuesday morning following a long struggle with dimentia but I had a few hours spare this afternoon so decided I'd run around the M25 and try to see the Lapland Bunting at Staines in order to lift my spirits a bit.

I parked and walked up the ramp leading to the east of the causeway and quickly discovered three birders enjoying the very showy confiding Lapland Bunting. I joined them and one of the guys laid his coat on the ground for me to use in order to get some low profile shots. A jogger came up the ramp but on hearing about the bird agreed to take a different route so as not to disturb it proving that there are still some good people.

The bird entertained us all in the murky dark dank conditions but with high ISO and a bit of compensation I was able to grab a few pleasing shots of this new bird for my London list. 

Year list 248

London recording area list 241