Wednesday 30 June 2021

Black-browed Albatross: Bempton Cliffs, East Yorkshire

When I began twitching in 2010 the Black-browed Albatross has always been right at the top of my wish list. Previous records since 2010 have been fly-bys or single-day sightings, which meant you needed to be on site when they appeared to have any chance of connecting. So when one was reported on Monday I consoled myself by thinking it would be another brief appearance and didn't think any more of it. Tuesday, and it's reported on the cliffs at Bempton! We should have gone there and then but with 230 miles and four and a half hours traveling, along with our recent record of dipping birds up north we decided to wait and hope it was seen going to roost that evening.

When it was reported on the cliffs above Staple Newk at 9.10pm we hatched a plan to leave at 12.30am and take our chances of it still being on the cliffs at first light this morning. We arrived shortly before 4.30am and headed along the footpath to join around 300 other birders at the New Roll-Up Viewpoint. It looked promising as we approached but that soon changed when we reached the viewpoint to be told there had been no sign this morning! We decided to walk along the cliffs and scan from any vantage points we could find,  hoping it had roosted out of sight of the main viewpoint. But by 7am there had been no sightings. We returned to the viewpoint cursing ourselves for not taking a chance yesterday, then fifteen minutes later the shout went up "THERE IT IS!" It was surprisingly difficult to pick up among the numerous Gannets especially the immature birds, but when it flew along the cliff face it proven much easier to spot. We enjoyed several views over the next couple of hours before it eventually landed on the cliff face among the Gannets, allowing for some stunning scope views.

There's always the risk of dipping, that's just the nature of twitching. You either accept it or you don't do it. Thankfully the plan worked out perfectly today and we had four hours of watching this incredible bird. 


Black-browed Albatross












 On the cliffs among the Gannets



A few of the birders at the viewpoint







Friday 25 June 2021

European Roller: Icklingham, Suffolk

Mid-morning on Wednesday a European Roller was reported along Icknield Way in Suffolk. Brian was already planning the trip, but unfortunately, I was unable to join him as I was awaiting a hospital follow-up phone call. 

The bird had stayed faithful to the same area throughout Thursday and when it was reported again today Brian offered to take us. It's a stunning looking bird and it tempted Robert to join us. Upon arrival, we found a parking spot in the overgrown layby opposite the sheep field and cautiously crossed the A1101 to join a small group of birders already viewing the bird. There were several natural gaps among the trees all along the front edge of the sheep field and all were occupied by birders.

The bird didn't disappoint and it gave stunning views throughout our visit. At one point it caught a worm and after returning to the telegraph wires made very short work of it.

This was only my second sighting of a Roller, the other being at Horsey in Norfolk back in 2013. The views at Horsey were at a much greater range however than this individual.









Below is the sheep field the Roller was frequenting. Using the trees and fence posts bordering the field and also the telegraph wires. 




Tuesday 22 June 2021

Bee-eaters: Breydon,Water Norfolk

There were no plans this morning, but that soon changed when Brian rang and asked if I wanted to make the trip to Great Yarmouth and hopefully connect with the nine Bee-eaters that had been seen around the allotments at Gapton Hall.

We left at 9.30 and were expecting heavy traffic on route, thankfully we enjoyed a trouble-free journey and two hours later were pulling onto Gapton Hall Road, only to be told the Bee-eaters had flown off and had not been seen since! We walked to the allotments and began searching, Twenty minutes later another birder thought he had a single bird perched in a tree at some distance. 

We headed back to the car and drove round to the Rugby club car park and took the track leading towards the farm and was rewarded with stunning views.









Saturday 12 June 2021

River Warbler, Ham Wall

The River Warbler had been present since mid-day on Friday the 4th June and Brian had travelled down on Saturday to view it. He had given me the opportunity to travel with him but I had declined. I had received my 2nd Covid jab the previous day and having had complications from the first decided it would be safer to remain at home just in case it happened again. Thankfully I was fine, but I had missed the opportunity to add another lifer to my list. 

The Warbler had remained present throughout the whole of the following week and Brian kindly offered to drive back so I had a chance to view it.

We left at 4.30am Saturday morning, with 167 miles on the M25, M3 and A303 ahead of us. Checking on route for any news of the bird's presence. Thankfully as we neared Ham Wall news came through that the Warbler was indeed still present. 

We headed off along the footpath and as we crossed the 2nd bridge we could already hear the River Warbler Reeling. The bird was showing to within 2-3 metres of the footpath as we joined the line of birders already present. We stayed for over 3 hours and the bird showed for the majority of that time. There were brief spells where it would drop out of sight, but would soon reappear at the top of a reed stem and start reeling again. Several Bitterns were heard Booming and two individuals were seen in flight. Great White Egrets were plentiful and were seen in flight frequently.


River Warbler

















The return journey home was broken up by a stop at Thursley Common. Where we heard and soon viewed several Dartford Warblers on the heathland. Our other target, Redstart proved much more challenging, but we eventually had good views of two males. The small pools dotted around the heath were a magnet for Hobbies with several close encounters during the visit. Cuckoos were calling close by and a single Woodlark was found feeding on the ground close to the car park. 




Thursley Common


The life list now sits at 397, slowing edging towards the 400 target.

Monday 7 June 2021

Collared Pratincoles, Dungeness

We set off early this morning with clear skies overhead, but as we approached Dungeness we found a thick sea mist had descended over ARC Pit. Hanson hide was still closed, so we headed along the shingle path towards the viewing screen. This screen was also boarded up but a short distance beyond it we found our target bird, a Glossy Ibis. Luckily it was relatively close to the bank enabling us to pick it out through the thick mist.

We returned to the reserve and although the main gate was still locked the public footpath was open. We joined three other birders along the track, all hoping the Collared Pratincoles present yesterday had stayed overnight. The mist made visibility challenging, but we managed to pick out a couple of Great White Egrets. There had been no sign of the Pratincoles until the warden came down the track to tell us two had been seen flying over the sheep fields bordering the path to Denge Marsh. We quickly spotted one and then two birds hawking over the fields. The mist had by this time cleared and unbelievably a third bird appeared! Before leaving we had several sightings of all three birds in the same field of view.


Collared Pratincole

We headed for the beach, but the mist was so heavy sea-watching was impossible. We got lucky when a single Sandwich Tern flew along the beach for a much-needed addition to the year list.

We dropped in at Oare Marsh on the way home and with the help of a local birder managed to scope a distant Turtle Dove perched on a telegraph pole. and a male Eider was found resting on a shingle bank at the mouth of the creek for an unexpected year tick.