Greater Short-toed Lark, My 400th British Bird

At the start of the year, my goal was to reach the 400 BOU life list target. As the new year began my list total was 394. Unfortunately due to Covid restrictions, the first 3 months of the year put paid to any chance of new additions to my list. The restrictions began to ease in April but we were still not sharing a car with Brian which meant I missed the Mockingbird in Devon and the American Herring Gull in Cornwall. My first addition to the list arrived at the end of April when dad and I travelled to Barcombe Cross in East Sussex. The White-throated Sparrow made us wait before suddenly appearing at the picnic table after an anxious wait. (Total 395)

White-throated Sparrow

It wasn't until June 12th that I had the chance to add to my list. We were now able to share a car with Brian and he offered to make a return trip to Ham Wall in Somerset for a River Warbler that he had already seen the previous week. It had been present since the 4th June and thankfully it was still reeling away when we arrived. It showed superbly for the majority of the time we were on site (Total 396)

River Warbler

June 30th saw us heading north to Bempton Cliffs hoping to connect with the Black-browed Albatross. We left home at 12.30am and arrived before first light hoping it had roosted on the cliffs overnight. The news was not good and after two and a half hours there was no sign! Then disappointment turned to joy and relief when it suddenly was seen flying towards the viewpoint. We watched it flying back and forth before it settled on the cliffs allowing for some fantastic views. (Total 397)

Black-browed Albatross

Black Stork had long been on my wish list and in August I had the chance of seeing one. The first report of a juvenile was on the 8th. When it was still being reported on the 17th, we made the trip to Frampton Marsh in Lincolnshire. We arrived to negative news but after a short walk picked it up in flight. We managed several flights views and on a couple of occasions watched it resting on the ground before being flushed by the farmer. (Total 398)

Black Stork

After a quiet September, A Long-toed Stint was found at St Aidan's RSPB reserve in West Yorkshire on the 8th. We made the trip the next day and thankfully after negative news the stint was re-found. Being only the third record for Britain, it naturally attracted big crowds. My list now stood on 400, but I had included the Black-eared Wheatear in Lancashire, which as yet has not been accepted. So to be sure of hitting my target I needed another lifer. (Total 399)

Today I had the chance when Brian offered to take me to West Runton for the Greater Short-toed Lark. It had been present since the 29th and it was still being reported yesterday. The journey to West Runton did not go to plan. A journey that should have taken two and a half hours did in fact take 4 hours! On the plus side, we had received positive news on the bird's continued presence.  As we drove down the lane towards the car park we could see a small group of birders looking into a ploughed field. We joined the other birders and Brian managed to pick the bird out among the Skylarks and Linnets. Suddenly the flock took to the air and as yet I hadn't seen the bird! The flock circled around and soon landed in the field again. Thankfully this time I managed to get my scope onto it and enjoyed some great views. This bird might ultimately become my 401st or 402nd if the Black-eared Wheatear is ever accepted or if Ruddy Shelduck is ever added to the British List, but right now, this is my 400th BOU bird. 

 

The ploughed field at West Runton

Greater Short-toed Lark

After a couple of hours enjoying the bird we moved on and stopped at Cley for a brief Seawatch, where we managed to add Great Skua to the year list. Our final stop before heading home was to Holkham where we walked out towards the gap and found four Shorelarks within the roped-off area