Winter Wonderland

The harsh weather continues..... a struggle for the birds but a dream for photography.

A selection of recent beauties............

This is one of two or three Water Rails which I've been tempting out with maggots

The Waxwing invasion has left plenty of these stunners around

And winter thrushes have become approachable as they search desperately for berries....

Hope the weather improves for them soon.

Twitching The Costa Brava

Wow! What a MEGA.

A brief view of a Red-footed Booby near Malaga in August left all serious WP listers jealous but it's turned up again!

Quickly arranged flights and hire car and Graeme, Tom and myself got there to gain stunning views of this beauty on Wednesday and Thursday.

Not seen since we watched it fly out to sea on Thursday morning either, so it may become a real quality blocker!

Corvo Strikes!!

Another fantastic trip to the Azores.... undoubtedly THE place for WP rarities.

A day on Terceira allowed may to bird the famous Cabo de Praia Pools for the first time in my life. It's hard to get over the amazing ability of these small pools to attract Yanks but present whilst I was there were.....

Western Sand, Semi-P Sand, Bairds, 4 White-rumps, 4 Pecs, 2 Lesser legs and a Semi-P Plover. Ducks were just the 4 Blue-winged Teals and a Green-winged.

Paul de Priai added 3 Ring-necked Ducks, Belted Kingfisher and this long-staying Great Blue Heron...

Onto Corvo for 11 nights, my longest stay to date.

Having banked on 3 ticks, the return of five was certainly a bonus. Moreover, the quality was amazing!

Northern Waterthrush, Lincoln's Sparrow and Scarlet Tanager fell on my first full day, which also included Red-eyed Vireo, Indigo Bunting, American Goldie and Buff-breasted Sand.

The Sparrow was a first for the WPal! At first it was thought to be a Song Sparrow but it soon became apparent it was an even rarer cousin. what a find by Hugues!

The rest of the week was real enjoyable birding, with many good birds, including a Wilson's Snipe. Whilst this was a quality tick it was more or less expected, unlike the next star which led me a real runaround!

A woodpecker heard calling from Da Pont proved to be a Northern Flicker!! Effectively another 1st WP record as the only other (Danish) bird is under review. This proved to be one of those birds that took me days to see, whilst others seemed to fall over it at every turn of a corner. Eventually, with one day to spare, it flew across Fojo for me and equally quickly, disappeared back into the dense Cypress trees. What a relief and what a tick!

A quick look in Ponta Delgada harbour nailed this american Black Tern (surely an armchair tick for the future) and rounded off a brilliant trip..... bring on next October!

Two weeks to go.....

Azores beckons for the third October running... can't wait! Banking on at least three WP ticks, hopefully including Nighthawk this year, probably my most wanted species likely to occur there, though a Yellow-throated Vireo would go down well!

See Simon's been out for a quick recky already, jamming in on this stunning Western Sand... that would do for a 'filler' :-)

Decent Seawatch

Howling Northerlies this morning and Hartlepool didn't disappoint....

Flocks of Arctic and Great Skuas screamed past south and two or three Long-tails tagged along. A trickle of Sooties added to the year ticks and a couple of Stormies were also seen.

14 Years later.....

One of my less sensible decisions was made 14 years ago when I decided to fulfil my 5-a-side match commitment before going to see the Sharp-tailed Sand on Long Drag.

Many years of friendly abuse followed, having missed such a Mega county tick by 20 seconds!!

It's been a long wait but I can now live it down :-)

September's been nice, without being spectacular. A chance of a sea watch tomorrow...

September!!

Don't you just love it.... well when easterlies and rain happen anyway :-)

Plenty of migrants, a few year ticks and a chance to play with my camera meant a great day at Hartlepool. Best shot was of this absolutely stunning Wood Warbler.

About time!

At last... got my new photo equipment and, having moved house, finally got the internet up and running.

First attempts with the new lens yesterday, in the rain unfortunately, but at least the Whiskered Tern hung around long enough for me to get a record shot. More to come as the autumn progresses...

Retirement frustrations

Having retired and got cash, the hard bit appears to be getting hold of a good lens for taking bird pics. This is by Ian Forest, ironically with the exact gear I'm awaiting delivery for. Still, nice shot of the Whiskered Tern (still present today) and, with an Osprey at Crookfoot, I would like to take some of my own shots... anyday soon!

Sandgrouse blues

So, yet another Western Palearctic Mega slips by.

Twenty years since the last opportunity (in Shetland) to see Pallas's Sangrouse in the WP, Finland comes up with the goods but, unless it's going to stay another week, I'll not get chance to see it.....

Oney day!

Meanwhile, I'll get online and book my Corvo flights to cheer me up... should be some ticks there :-)

Autumn has begun!!

Seems like such a long time since I've been on here but more a result of May and June's poor birding.
Anyway, 'autumn' began today with a juvenile Whiskered Tern on Saltholme Pools - a great grip back as I missed Cleveland's first last year while birding in Morocco.
A nice ID challenge too!

Back this evening and the MEGA has been joined by another rarity..... White-rumped Sand, stood side-by-side with the Whiskered Tern! Some day for Saltholme.

A Little Stint made it three year ticks in view at once

Hope this is the start of a productive season.

Post Israel blues

After birding one of the WPs hotspots and gathering 5 new ticks, the spring back home seems very sow arriving and birding can be a little hard work. It's been almost a month now and Cleveland's been quiet to say the least, though a Great White Egret on Dormans brightened up last weekend.

Then, with a bang, Cleveland strikes! A 1st winter Black-throated Thrush was found this morning by Chris Sharp and performed well for the crowd - even singing! This is a 1st record for Cleveland and only my second ever. Monster county tick :-)

A week in Israel, 5 targets, 5 ticks....eventually

So, having saved the dosh for Nubian Nightjar (see 'Thayer's Gull') it was off to the Holy Land for a week's twitching. Sunday's target species were the two plastic Cat Cs near Tel Aviv, Vinous-breasted Starling and Nanday Parakeet. Thunder, lightning and VERY heavy rain put paid to them so it was off to the Dead Sea to try and retrieve the day with the Nightjar. Finding our guest house locked and being totally ripped off for a few bits of bread and beer added to our crap day 1 and light rain seemed to put the nightjar out of our reach too but it was all to turn good. Fantastic views of the Nightjar and of Desert Eagle Owl was a highlight ranking alongside any in the last 30 years birding... Incredible... thanks Yoav!

























The rest of the week was set aside for the wintering Oriental Honey Buzzard and Small Skylark, a more regular winterer. These both proved much easier than expected and the lark was a real education, a fantastic 'birders bird' if you know what I mean.



Back to TA for Starlings and Parrot, which proved almost no problem in the much improved weather and two days to spare.



Chose Hula for the first, an inspired choice as it coincided with about 10,000 Cranes setting off on their return to Europe - quite a spectacle! Thw wintering Demoiselle had the decency to hang around long enough for us to see too:-)



Last day at various fish ponds around Keffar Ruppin (poor) and Bet She'an (fantastic) allowed us superb views of GBH Gulls and confusing nightmares with lots of 1st winter white-headed gulls... just how do you split Caspians from Armenians at that age?

A Ray of Light

Isn't it weird how after thirty years of birding you can still be surprised by the sheer beauty of even the commonest birds.
Today at Cowpen Bewley Woodland Park, I was watching Tree Sparrows when one was caught in a shaft of sunlight. The orange colours in its back were highlighted and it made me realise what little stunners they really are...

Back to work......

... after a long weekend. Shame about the weather not being good for birding but managed a fruitless search for Green Woodpeckers in the drizzle at Urlay Nook. Nice views of Willow Tit and Water Rail were some compensation though. Can't wait for the spring... nicely coincides with my retirement plans :-)

Miserable Weather

A morning at Hartlepool in the rain. No sign of any divers today but the large scoter flock was close inshore off Parton Rocks. Two Velvets among the many Common and a Long-tailed Duck was a treat. The gull numbers around the estuary are really impressive, there must be a goody amongst them somewhere.....

Thayer's Gull

With few WPal ticks available, I'm wondering why I'm sat on my arse doing nowt when there's a mega in Ireland that I've yet to see. MONEY!! I reckon it'll cost well in excess of £100 quid which I haven't got spare :-(. With an Israel trip to fund at the end of the month, it's a straight choice between the gull or Nubian Nightjar. If only I was rich..........

Welcome to my new blog. Here you'll find updates on local birding and trips abroad, including details of guided tours around some of the birding hotspots of Europe.