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!