2011 Highlights...

... as the year draws to a close, time to reflect on the highs of the last 12 months and to wonder what lies in store for 2012.

Eleven new birds is a decent return, collected mainly over trips to Morocco (twice) and the Azores... two of my favourite places for birding.

Highlight of our first trip to Morocco, for me at least, was Cricket Longtail, only recently discovered in the country along the road to Assouerd, a fantastic birding area.

Other ticks on this trip were Royal Tern and Pied Crow but, despite a lot of effort, we couldn't locate any Kelp Gulls at Knhiffis Lagoon - hence the second trip there in June!

The most productive trip of the year was my October visit to Corvo - with two twitches to Flores just for some speed boat fun :)

Five new birds including Blue-winged and Tennessee Warblers, Purple Martin, Common Nighthawk and this White-tailed Tropicbird (my bird of the year) is a fantastic return - looking forward to a full three weeks on the islands next year!

Locally, Cleveland fared well, with White-throated Robin, Sandhill Crane and Pallid Harrier all adding themselves to the county list - only the latter being remotely expected!

So, what for 2012?

Well, my real number one goal is to catch up with Brown Fish Owl in Turkey. Couldn't make it this year so hoping the pair continue to perform for another season in the Green Canyon. My most wanted WP bird for a number of years... if I see this all else will be a bonus.

So cheers to all for a great year and good birding for the next 12 months!

Geese and Grey Phal....

Weird goings on..... White-fronted Geese everywhere in Cleveland at the moment and some Tundra Beans too - what the hell has caused these record numbers god only knows?

So, off out with camera early this morning to try and photograph some but fog made it obvious anything I was going to get a picture of would have to be close... the light was just awful!

A treat it was then to be given an opportunity by this beautifully obliging Grey Phalarope at Hartlepool - what a stunner!

County Ticks!

The downside of going away in October is that you're very likely to miss 'goodies' at home.

This year's cost of going to Corvo was a four day Glossy Ibis... but it could have been much worse!

Landing at Luton to the news of 'nothing to worry about', it took only 20 minutes into the journey before the 'Hen Harrier' at Dormans photos were placed on the net and, of course, showed it to be a stunning juv Pallid!

Not too surprising that we should get one after this autumn's influx but, with no chance of getting home by dark, a rather sickening piece of news.

Regular updates had us knowing that it roosted so, before first light, Graeme and I were in position to add this beautiful bird to our Cleveland Lists.

Also staying 4 days (though hard work for the last two) it was the icing on the cake for Cleveland in 2011 - with White-throated Robin and Sandhill Crane already secured, will our county ever have a better year?

Another Corvo Season full of ticks!!

The perfect bird - Blue-winged Warbler - stayed! Joined by a Tennessee, which also stayed!

Sea-watching was magnificent - thousands of Great Shears. Also saw Grants Petrel and Fea's Petrel.

Twitched Flores twice to see Common Nighthawk and White-tailed Tropicbird - OMG what a bird!

Oh, and on the way back to Corvo we heard there was a Purple Martin on the island..... sixth tick in as many days.

Other photographic opportunities were few but pleased with this White-rumped....

Sandhill Crane!!!

Well I guess this will never happen again....

The Aberdeenshire Sandhill was tracked from Northumberland to Yorkshire today, hugging the coast - making it pretty straight forward to twitch. An hour and a quarter's wait between Whitburn and us jingled the nerves a bit but It arrived in the end and flew straight past us and through Hartlepool.

Magnificent!

Just over a week to Corvo..... :-)

Corvo 2011....

.... as I bugger about moving house, the first birders have arrived on Corvo for the 2011 season.

I knew there would be stuff to be found following Hurricane Katia and a series of less severe depressions so was prepared.... Even Scillies had scored ;-)

However, the first afternoon of searching produced two birds I could have done without! A Yellow-crowned Night Heron is likely to stay I'd have thought, meaning I wasted a few hundred quid last month with my Madeira twitch and a Dicksissel which isn't, meaning I miss out on a WP mega....

Today will be their first look into the valleys.... god help us!

t-3 weeks!

..... til Corvo

Can't wait! The thought of Yanks hiding in those valleys has me agog already.

In reality, there'll come a year when the weather is wrong and I'll see nowt but let's not entertain such thoughts.... what else is there to look forward to?

To be fair, September at home has been pretty decent birding. Lots of visible migration of Siskin, Redpoll and Mipits and a few nice waders. Two Pecs and a Little Stint were todays offering. I guess the lack of a fall has made it seem disappointing but there's time yet before I leave for The Azores... though last year all hell broke loose after I'd gone (REV, Bluetail, etc, etc...).

Hey ho, you can't be in two places at once. Here's on of the Pecs... Pic by Martyn Sidwell.

They're like bloody buses.....

Two weeks shy of exactly a year ago, I posted here about a ghost laid to rest, when I finally caught up with Sharp-tailed Sand on my Cleveland list. This species had haunted me for 14 years, since I made the awful decision of fitting a game of 5-a-side in before going for the last one, and missing it by seconds....

Well, as the title suggests, you wait 14 years then they all come at once.

Todays repeat performance was of this beautifully marked bird... on exactly the same pool as last year!

Following White-rumped, Semi-P and Wilson's Phal, it's proving a good year for waders :-)

Euro-twitching.....

....can be very rewarding at times.

Desperate for a break and on the point of blowing a fortune on a Bridges of Ross sea-watching trip, I had a last minute change of heart and priced up twitching the long-staying Yellow-crowned Night Heron in Funchal Harbour instead......

The bird performed in its regular spot by the pier at the west end of the marina on each of the three nights I was there.

The beauty of choosing Madeira meant that the sea-watching wasn't compromised either.

Lots of Cory's and Bulwer's and great views of a nailed on (IMHO) Zino's were fantastic. Three cetacean species and plenty of Loggerhead Turtles added to the fun and then there was the warm weather, cheaper beer etc etc....

All in all an inspired choice!

It's been a while......

...... since I last posted.

News of Fish Owls have dominated my summer - especially the fact that I couldn't get over to Turkey to see them! Work has taken over my life but it's all quietening down now in time for some autumn goodies I hope.

Madeira next week to twitch (hopefully) the Yellow-crowned Night Heron then its countdown to Corvo time!

Oct 10-19th on the rock.... let's hope it matches the previous trips.

Just my knee to worry about - up and down those bloody hills will knack it I'm sure but still have time to shed a little weight in advance to give it a fighting chance of survival.

One of these would make it worthwile!

Back of the net!

So the Kelp Gull finally gave itself up, with a close and prolonged fly-by on our second day at Khniffis..... Well, second day this trip :-)

No photos as I was too busy grilling the relevant features through my scope.

A great trip with lots of good birds. CCC's were the highlight for me, some giving excellent views...

Also saw Blue-cheeked Bee-eater, a Moroccan tick and plenty of quality birds throughout, with great company in the form of Tom and Graeme. Thanks to Graeme for the immense driving effort!

Cape Gull take 2

So it's off to Morocco again for that bloody gull!

Seems we were the last attempt not to see the Cape (Kelp) Gulls at Khniffis this winter, before they returned to set up territory again on the island - hopefully this time we'll be luckier. The situation there seems complicated though, with individuals apparently varying in their purity. Just hope we can get good views of a good one!

Been quiet for a couple of weeks here, with water levels too low in the estuary and weather not nice enough to photograph any goodies. Shot this Little Egret in the rain yesterday. Hopefully the bad weather will refill the pools and I can get to play with some waders when I get back!

Hartlepool scores!

Long time since Hartlepool hit the headlines but it came back in style today.....

Originally identified as a bluetail.... causing only mild panic but the lack of blue tail (mmm) and the large size finally caused the penny to drop and all hell let loose up the A19 for Britain's 3rd (1st twitchable) White-throated Robin.

Showed well and eventually got a decent shot. Red-backed Shrike at Seaton added to the wonderful day! T-2 days to proper internet connection - yipee!

Bloody tinternet!

Moving house certainly can be stressful but having to do without an internet connection for almost a month, courtesy of Landlord trying to help but Sky 'rules' meaning he's only made things worse, haven't helped! Who'd have thought I'd be grateful to McDonald's and their free wifi?

Anyway.... struugling to post for the next couple of weeks but here's a decent Redshank shot from the other day. Phil Stead hide, which I reckon is going to give some great shots as wader passage really kicks in.

Nailed a Sedgy at last.....

Been trying to get a good shot of Sedge Warbler for a few days now, with a bit of success. However, early this morning I finally reckon I nailed one. There's a new breed of twitcher in Teesmouth these days, armed with cameras. Any mention of where you photograph a showy bird and there's a crowd there in no time. Not sure I approve, especially when it's territorial birds and there's also accidental disturbance to resident birds already breeding... I reckon the Dormans Pool Stonechats have gone BECAUSE of the showy Gropper in the same area :(

Anyway, I'm not posting locations anymore to minimize the impact.

Nightingale

Singing Nightingales are few and far between this far north so the male at Cowpen Bewley Woodland Park is certainly a treat. Singing its heart out for its third day today, can't help but feel it's all in vain. Crosses to the north side of the beck sometimes, making it Hartlepool's 2nd ever, following an autumn bird over 25 years ago.... told you it was rare.... Well outnumbered by Sprossers!!

Added this pic of Garden Warbler this morning to my Cleveland collection. Over 50 species in there now and all but three taken with my new camera since last August. Some other nice pics there... check it out on my Facebook gallery.

Gropper at last!

With all and sundry getting shots of the Grasshopper Warblers at Dormans Pool, some of which are brilliant, the temptation to join the throng and get my own pic has been difficult to resist. However, the disturbance caused there has put me off more than a little and so I was determined to find my own obliging individual, a plan which finally payed off this morning when this little beauty posed for me in Hargreave's Quarry...

This was the pic I'd been after for a while so was chuffed to get a chance at last.

Yesterday, news was leaked of a Hoopoe which had been visiting a farmyard for the previous three days. A quick dash to the site was rewarded with this shot, in poor light but not too bad really...

New RSPB hide faces the right way scoop!

The new Phil Stead Memorial Hide was finally opened yesterday after what seems an age of procrastination over signing insurance / lease documents.

At 23k, it seems a lot of cash to pay for a portacabin stuck on a concrete plinth but is actually very nice when you get in and, the biggest surprise of all, it points the right way! All other hides on the reserve point south / east.... directly into the sun!!

Looking out onto the 'Bottom Tank' is also a bonus as the water levels can be controlled welll here (given some rain) so should prove perfect for wader watching and photography.

Two Avocets were the first birds to visit yesterday, albeit briefly, as the 'newness' of the hide attracted lots of visitors = disturbance.

Stayed just long enough for a couple of shots......

Finally caught up with Garganey.

This is perhaps the worst photo I'll ever upload on here but it was my third attempt to add this Drake Garganey to my year list...... that's my excuse anyway!

The marshes seemed full of common migrants today, with Yellow Wags, Reed, Sedge and Grasshopper Warblers all over the place. Whitethroats are finally in and what maybe a new / different Cetti's sang from Hargreaves Quarry.

Still dipping on Marsh Harrier though..... maybe tomorrow :-)

Springtime... yeah!

Spring must finally have arrived..... Four species of warbler seen now, Swallow on the year list and Whimbrel overhead this evening.

Love it when the warblers arrive. Willow singing on Long Drag today makes you believe spring migration is really here and, who knows, a rarity might even be on the horizon.

Watched chiffys having a territorial battle too. So distracted by each other they completely ignored me, my camera and even the dog charging about didn't stop them....

Cranes in the Mist

The first real 'goodies' of the spring for Cleveland were these Cranes, present for most of the morning on RSPB Saltholme.

Didn't think it was worth trying to photograph them myself, as it was too foggy but having seen this pic by Toby, wish I had..... very evocative!

Let's hope this is the start of a spring packed with rarities!

Stejneger's Scoter

Finally got ourselves over to Kerry for the White-winged Scoter.... and a few surprises.

Firstly, the Irish roads have improved beyond all recognition nowadays, with good quality motorway all the way from Dublin to Limerick - probably halving the drive time and secondly, and more importantly, the duck was a real surprise - much better bird than I'd expected!

This image (Chris Batty's) is the best of the bird so far and shows just how distinctive it is compared to Velvet. The 'Rhino horn' stands out a mile, even at distance and the bill pattern (also ruling out deglandi) was also very obvious in the field. A very instructive and worthwhile twitch.

That's 770 (Netfugl) for the WP - something like 786 IOC. With the news that the 'Eastern-type' Yellow Wag in Devon has proven to be just that by dna, and proposed splits like American Great Egret and Siberian Chiffchaff in the pipeline, 800 looks not too far off now :-)

Spring time at Saltholme

What, with Sand Martins and Wheatear at Saltholme, spring must finally have arrived :-)

Spent some time there today, trying to photograph displaying Great-Crests but they'd obviously worn themselves out before I arrived!

At least I managed a decent shot of Wren - well the best I've managed to date - though a bit distant really (so over enlarged).

Off to Ireland overnight to see (well, hopefully see) the wintering White-winged Scoter......

Now I hope it still thinks it's winter and not spring yet!!

Scaling Dam.......

... or should that be damn!

seems, no matter how nice the weather is down in the real world, a trip up onto the moors at Scaling will guarantee a freezing cold wind. I (in general at least) hate the place!

The purpose of my visit was to try and photograph Willow Tit, as part of my latest craze, to capture as many as Cleveland's bird species as possible, http://www.facebook.com/album.php?id=664017434&aid=290025 a project still very much in its infancy. No Willow Tits wanted to play this morning but the light around the feeding station was gorgeous, as shown by this Greenfinch, looking superb as it comes into breeding 'smartness'.

The Slavonian remains too though the angle of the light here made pics very difficult. It's well into attaining summer plumage now, so given a couple of weeks and some kinder light, i can see me making another trip up there. Twice in a month???

One in the bank?

Late 2003 brought the first twitchable Rufous Turtle Dove in my birding lifetime when one of the form meena was discovered at Stromness, Orkney.

So, just over 7 years to wait for its cousin, of the form orientalis, to turn up.

This bird's been wintering in an Oxfordshire garden, so kind thanks to the home-owners for putting up with the hoards.

They've raised well over £2000 for charity so far - the positive side of twitching.

Now, we just need those taxonomists to get their 'splitting' heads on......

Stonechats

The best weather so far this year got me out

and about with the camera this morning.

Nothing special to report but it was nice to see

a pair of Stonechats chasing each other around in

early courtship mode.

Stonechats suffer badly in cold spells, so to see

this pair after the real nasty snap around Christmas was nice.

A couple of White-fronts remain on Saltholme and an Arctic Redpoll has been apparently confirmed at Bowesfield today, after being seen briefly a few times over the past few days....

Guess that's tomorrow pencilled in then.

1st signs of Spring

Things are looking up.....

Snowdrops in flower, garden birds singing and a few passage birds moving, with Lesser Black-backeds arriving and Siskins moving in numbers.

A beautiful 1st winter Caspian eluded me by seconds yesterday but looks nice on the video;

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0dYMNVb6Kps

And today, a displaying pair of Peregrines at

what I believe to be a new site in Cleveland.

Not sure how many pairs we have now but

I'd guess at 1/2 a dozen. Good to see these majestic falcons doing so well :)

Bloody Gulls!!!

Seems that gulls are going to haunt me this year

We have the Slatyish gull winding me up, a decent looking Thayer's candidate in Galway and now it appears Kelp Gulls are still at Khniffis after all, this picture being taken there last week.

Reckon we should have checked every inch of that bloody lagoon by boat.....

Think I'll go mad soon!

Gulls

Gulls continue to frustrate......

Following the confusions of the large black-backed gulls at Khniffis Lagoon, which appear to all be GBB Gulls this winter and the reappearance of the 'Slaty-backed' thing in London, at least it's nice to be able to rely on the local tip to produce.

This Glauc has been around for a while now and Caspians continue to be seen by lucky observers. Maybe with the number of gulls at Seaton Meadows, something even better will turn up yet?

Back to normality....

... staring at tips with no rare gulls and walking round Cowpen Bewley Woodland Park are a far cry from Oukaimeden and Dakhla!

The Ring-necked didn't even have the decency to come within camera range.

Still, the weather was nice for a change and this Goldeneye was looking good in the sun.

Saharan Road Trip

Back from a seven day drive through the desert roads bordering the Atlantic coast of Western Sahara.

Target species all nailed with the exception of Kelp Gull, which remains an enigma at Khniffis, and a wonderful week of excellent company, great birding and pleasant weather.

Highlights included the resident Pied Crows 169 km north of Dakhla and Royal Terns and Cricket Longtails in the deep south.

A total of around 3800 km also added lucidus Cormorant (split as White-breasted under IOC) and a potential (in fact pretty certain) tick in African Reed Warbler - just waiting the results of their dna studies for confirmation.

Add African Crimson-winged Finch for Graeme - successful on his third attempt up Oukaimeden and it was a great trip all round.

Now back to the mundane of Cleveland year ticks...

Gull Fest...

I guess with all the interest raised by the Slaty-backed(?) Gull at Rainham Tip, plenty of people are grilling their local landfills and Seaton Meadows has turned up both Glauc and Iceland over the last few days.

So I was there this morning only to find Rich had beat me to it and I'd already missed adult Iceland and 2nd winter Glaucous.... but the best was yet to come.

Over the next hour, we and Tom had two adult Yellow-legged, another Glauc (1st w) and, best of all, a 1st winter Caspian. The Caspian only the second ever Hartlepool record.

Such a collection would match any of the well known tips in the UK and justs backed up the belief that with such massive numbers of big gulls at this tip, it just needed time and effort to find the goodies.

Now, where's the Slaty-backed...

Bloody Ducks!

Heart sent racing this morning when Blicky phoned with news of possible Baikal Teal - though he wasn't that happy in reality.....

Anyway, quick twitch to Wynyard was to no avail, as the bird is clearly a Wigeon hybrid of some description :(

Been a weird couple of days. Still frustrated over the Rainham gull, which still makes me want to yell HYBRID at the top of my voice to everyone who'll listen..... and news that Bosse's crew failed to find Kelp Gull with two visits to Khniffis last week.

Still, six days 'til we can give it a go ourselves and other ticks seem lined up...... watch this space

Gull Trouble!

Talk for the last few days has been dominated by the putative Slaty-backed Gull in Essex. An expected vagrant, following the increase in Pacific vagrants due to the North-west Passage becoming free (Long-billed Murellet, Glaucous-winged Gulls) and the record of an adult in Latvia last year.

However, it's certainly not a 'classic', being pale, leggy and lacking the underwing contrast. The jury's still out in my humble opinion.......

This is one of Dominic's shots....

Back home, thing are quiet. Slav Grebe and Kingfisher being decent year ticks today but still keep missing the white-wingers round the various tips!

Northern Harrier

Finally, we've managed to get off our backsides and have a drive down for the Harrier at Thornham. What a bird! Photos struggle to show just how distinctive this bird is. This isn't one of mine but it's the best attempt I've seen at capturing this lovely bird......

Norfolk was a splendid place to spend the morning. Ross's Goose was relatively easy to find amongst the many Pink-feet and a couple of Black Brants were equally obliging....

Finally, a trip to Titchwell (my favourite RSPB site) to try out the new, VERY posh hide. A flock of Twite were nice, as were a couple of Water Pipits......

All in all, a fantastic morning's birding!

Ring-necked Duck

Finally got some decent views and shots of the RND. Now the ice has melted, it's moved to Cowpen Bewley Woodland Park, confirming that it's the returning individual from last year.

Whilst this was the rarity on the pond, super views of Gadwall stole the show for me. A subtle but nonetheless stunning duck!

A slow thaw

Even though temperatures have risen, most lakes remain frozen. The small patches of free water do concentrate the wildfowl though and two Goosanders have been frequenting Bellasis Hall over the cold snap.

Yesterday, a mooch around Saltholme produced some quality, with Long-eared Owl, Green Woodpecker and an adult Yellow-legged Gull providing the entertainment.

Dormans Pool today added Cetti's Warbler and Water Rail, so the year's list is gaining momentum!

Happy New Year!!

2011 has started with a nasty bout of 'flu but finally got out today.

A nice walk round Cowpen Bewley Woodland Park removed some cobwebs but provided little in the way of birding highlights but a drake Ring-necked Duck on Dormans Pool at least provided one decent year tick. Crap light and distant views, so no bird photograph of the year award for this one :)

A little less than three weeks to get fit before my first trip of the year... Western Sahara. At least four WP ticks await and I'm really looking forward to it! I just love desert birding. With Azores booked for the autumn I need to find a nice family / birding destination for late winter or spring to fill up the calendar.......