The Great Northern Diver was still at the fishing pools on Sands Lane, Mirfield this morning. The first Diver I've seen and it was certainly a good one - seems close to summer plumage. Appears nice and healthy - lots of long dives, successfully catching fish. The pool itself is not that large so even if the Diver doesn't come very close to shore you can still get good views. Also: Grey Heron, Mute Swan, Coot, Mallard, Tufted Duck, Great Crested Grebe, Black-headed Gull, Jackdaw and Long-tailed tits.
Jon Bowen said
Sat Dec 14 2:38 PM, 2013
Good trip across the border this morning getting both target birds of Great Northern Diver at Mirfield which showed nearly as well as the Castleshaw bird in 2011 and the Two-barred Crossbill (1m 2f) at Broomhead Res.
Plenty of other good birds about including 2 Red Kites 1 Fieldfare large mixed flock of Blue,Great, Coal, Long Tailed Tits Lesser Redpoll, Siskin 20 plus Common Crossbill 2 Great Spotted Woodpecker.
-- Edited by Jon Bowen on Saturday 14th of December 2013 03:43:15 PM
David Walsh said
Tue Dec 3 9:26 PM, 2013
A morning on Filey beach produced the usual shoreline birds, taking me back to my youth, 60 or so miles further up the coast.
Redshank Turnstone Oystercatcher Sanderling Curlew Dunlin Knot Cormorant Shag Highlight was a small flock of twite on the clifftops. Plus common, black-headed, herring, and lesser black-backed gulls
Interesting to read of the Brunnich's Guillemot this afternoon. We left at noon and there were noticeably more binoculars around than yesterday, including a tight-lipped group gathered on the Brigg.
Be interesting to see if they are still there tomorrow. Would be nice to see the guillemot.
Nev Wright said
Fri Nov 22 4:16 AM, 2013
Belated report of visit to East Riding (Flamborough Head, Scaborough, Bridlington, Filey areas) 8th Nov-15th Nov; Not ideal weather with westerlies mainly.
Black Redstart Black-Headed Gull Blackbird Blue Tit Brambling Brent Goose Bullfinch Buzzard Carrion Crow Chaffinch Common Gull Common Scoter Cormorant Curlew Dunnock Eider Fieldfare Gannet Goldcrest Goldfinch Great Black-backed Gull Great Northern Diver Great Spotted Woodpecker Great Tit Greenfinch Guillemot Herring Gull House Sparrow Jackdaw Kestrel Lesser Black-baked Gull Magpie Mallard Meadow Pipit Merlin Moorhen Oystercatcher Peregrine Pheasant Pied Wagtail Pink-footed Goose Purple Sandpiper Red Kite Red-throated Diver Redshank Redwing Reed Bunting Robin Rock Dove (Feral Pigeon) - Apparently purported to be Rock Doves but I doubt they're genuine Rock Pipit Rook Sanderling Serin Shag Short-eared Owl Skylark Snow Bunting Sparrowhawk Starling Teal Tree Sparrow Treecreeper Turnstone Twite Whooper Swan Woodpigeon Wren Yellowhammer
Dave Thacker said
Mon Nov 18 4:45 AM, 2013
Yesterday, four Red kites soaring together over fields near to the Wetherby Services beside the A1.
Mike Chorley said
Mon Oct 21 4:55 AM, 2013
Good views for Mike Ausberger and I of the 1st winter male Siberian Stonechat at Scalby Mills this afternoon, fly-catching from bramble bushes along the stream.
Pete Welch said
Sun Sep 15 10:15 PM, 2013
Territorial Red Grouse coming off Pen Y Ghent on Friday - acting like a rogue Capercaillie. It appeared to be trying to stop people using the new section of path! Cheered up an otherwise bird free Three Peaks walk [unless its just cause I had my head down]
Pete Welch said
Tue Sep 10 3:57 AM, 2013
Walked Whernside and Ingleborough yesterday - wasn't expecting to see much as its so busy but was pleased with several flocks of up to ten Meadow Pipits, lots of juvenile Pied Wagtails and two Grey Wagtails, a Spotted Flycatcher exactly where I saw them last May, a pair of Raven, six Red Grouse seen and more heard and an owl pellet. The pellet looked fresh and was the only one round a post right where the path to Whernside leave the Dent path so a very busy area. Given the area - open moorland no trees for a few miles I'm guessing Short Eared or maybe passage Long Eared Owl - if anyone's an expert on pellets let me know and I'll send photos/dissect it!
Dave Thacker said
Sun Jul 21 3:15 AM, 2013
I watched a Red kite fly over Wetherby services on the A1 for over 15 minutes this evening at 18.05.
John Barber said
Fri Mar 15 6:10 PM, 2013
Bird reported again at 10am today on the main fishing lake. Someone's taking the ****
Doc Brewster said
Fri Mar 15 5:10 AM, 2013
Bad luck, John, a very similar experience to mine the day before. At least 10 birders that day, all putting in long hours only to find single observer sightings appearing on the pagers from folk just turning up & leaving less than half an hour later, but somehow connecting with a bird that failed to show at all to everyone else over several hours. Scepticism was in the air Wednesday too form most of the birders present, even if the target gull wasn't :) That's my lot for Sands Lane GPs too, after only 1 visit this year!!
John Barber said
Thu Mar 14 10:48 PM, 2013
I now know how indigestible hats are ! Another fruitless visit to the Mirfield suburbs for me and Dave Hughston unfortunately.
On arrival at the weir our hopes were briefly raised by a bird in the air, chasing other gulls before it disappeared. We thought it could have been the target bird for a moment, but an almost certain black eye eventually ruled it out.
Eight birders were around the area today. Some, like us, on their third visit to try and see this bird. Stake outs of the Biffa compound and the fishing lake again proved negative. Lots of Black-headed and a few Commons and that was about it. Even my ace card the chicken carcass - failed to produce a result.
I have to say, I think a few of the birders had become increasingly sceptical about the accuracy of all those recent reports no one we spoke to, even those on second and third visits had seen the bird or knew anyone else who had seen it recently. So quite where all the reports were coming from, Im not quite sure.
Anyway, Ill wait for a bird closer to home now. Three visits to Mirfield is enough for anyone !
John Barber said
Thu Mar 14 3:11 PM, 2013
Heading over to Yorkshire shortly - waiting for the rush hour traffic to subside. Will we finally find this Gull, or will we die of hypothermia first !
Hopefully, I'll report back later.
Pete Welch said
Thu Mar 14 3:34 AM, 2013
Buy a loaf of cheap white bread on your way :)
Doc Brewster said
Thu Mar 14 1:17 AM, 2013
You will prob get it within 5mins & be looking for more sites to visit!! Birding's a funny old game to paraphrase Greavesy Will reply to the PM asap but the short answer is it's a good idea
John Barber said
Thu Mar 14 1:15 AM, 2013
Hmmm ! I've said I would 'eat my hat ' if I didn't see this bird tomorrow. After your experience today Doc, I think I'd better take something to make a large sandwich !
Doc Brewster said
Thu Mar 14 12:56 AM, 2013
Ring-billed Gull reported at the weir again at 5.10pm, poo!!
Doc Brewster said
Wed Mar 13 11:19 PM, 2013
A sighting (not me) at 7.45am & then from 8am constant observation by lots of birders at the lake, the weir & the Biffa site without any confirmed sighting by about 2.45pm when we all left. One guy did arrive & within 5 mins had a flyover at the weir when he was the only person there, which he put on the pager, but no-one present could verify this report, but of course that's not to say that it was not 100% kosher. Good luck tomorrow John & wrap up very very warm
John Barber said
Wed Mar 13 9:14 PM, 2013
That's good advice Pete. When we were struggling on our first visit to find this bird we did actually buy a loaf from a nearby garage to try and encourage some action, and then took half a loaf on our second trip - not that it did any good on those particular occasions. But at least the Canada geese enjoyed eating it ! Local asian people also occasionaly came down to the weir and tipped bags of waste food into the water for the geese and black-headed gulls to eat. No wonder plenty of birds hang around there. Tomorrow I just might try an old chicken carcass ( guaranteed not to fail !! )
-- Edited by John Barber on Wednesday 13th of March 2013 09:15:29 PM
-- Edited by John Barber on Wednesday 13th of March 2013 09:36:45 PM
Doc Brewster said
Wed Mar 13 5:04 AM, 2013
John Barber wrote:
Doc Brewster wrote:
John Barber wrote:
Two trips over from Cheshire in the last few days have failed to locate this long staying bird. Two other Manchester birders last Saturday ( sorry, didn't get your names ) had the same luck as we did. So a third trip is planned for later this week to try and get this life tick - lets hope it's third time lucky !
Today saw the Ring-billed Gull being reported out three times over q.a lengthy period. First at 10.17am on the spit on Sands Lane GPs, then next at 11.43am at the pits on the Biffa Waste Unit and again at the same place at 2.25pm. Having seen this bird in 2011 & 2012 I may venture over again tomorrow as it seems to maybe have found a food source at this waste unit - fingers crossed. In both previous visits it has shown well for me for photos, so hope that is the case again
-- Edited by Doc Brewster on Tuesday 12th of March 2013 09:34:16 PM
Yes, saw those reports on RBA. I think we've just been unlucky so far. We covered all it's favourite spots several times but it managed to elude us by 15 minutes on one occasion. We are planning to go on Thursday morning for our third attempt. Hope you manage to see it if you go tomorrow Doc .
Thanks John, I will report back on here if I do make the journey over, combining it with a visit to my sister in York, otherwise prob wouldn't go, given the price of petrol & me travelling alone. So all dependant on my sister being free!!
John Barber said
Wed Mar 13 4:58 AM, 2013
Doc Brewster wrote:
John Barber wrote:
Two trips over from Cheshire in the last few days have failed to locate this long staying bird. Two other Manchester birders last Saturday ( sorry, didn't get your names ) had the same luck as we did. So a third trip is planned for later this week to try and get this life tick - lets hope it's third time lucky !
Today saw the Ring-billed Gull being reported out three times over q.a lengthy period. First at 10.17am on the spit on Sands Lane GPs, then next at 11.43am at the pits on the Biffa Waste Unit and again at the same place at 2.25pm. Having seen this bird in 2011 & 2012 I may venture over again tomorrow as it seems to maybe have found a food source at this waste unit - fingers crossed. In both previous visits it has shown well for me for photos, so hope that is the case again
-- Edited by Doc Brewster on Tuesday 12th of March 2013 09:34:16 PM
Yes, saw those reports on RBA. I think we've just been unlucky so far. We covered all it's favourite spots several times but it managed to elude us by 15 minutes on one occasion. We are planning to go on Thursday morning for our third attempt. Hope you manage to see it if you go tomorrow Doc .
Pete Welch said
Wed Mar 13 4:19 AM, 2013
Hello John - must be two years since I saw that gull but when I did it was on the river near the weir and then flew to the pond a few 100m away - just in case you hadn't been told about both spots? Peter
Doc Brewster said
Tue Mar 12 9:33 PM, 2013
John Barber wrote:
Two trips over from Cheshire in the last few days have failed to locate this long staying bird. Two other Manchester birders last Saturday ( sorry, didn't get your names ) had the same luck as we did. So a third trip is planned for later this week to try and get this life tick - lets hope it's third time lucky !
Today saw the Ring-billed Gull being reported out three times over q.a lengthy period. First at 10.17am on the spit on Sands Lane GPs, then next at 11.43am at the pits on the Biffa Waste Unit and again at the same place at 2.25pm. Having seen this bird in 2011 & 2012 I may venture over again tomorrow as it seems to maybe have found a food source at this waste unit - fingers crossed. In both previous visits it has shown well for me for photos, so hope that is the case again
-- Edited by Doc Brewster on Tuesday 12th of March 2013 09:34:16 PM
John Barber said
Tue Mar 12 9:24 PM, 2013
Two trips over from Cheshire in the last few days have failed to locate this long staying bird. Two other Manchester birders last Saturday ( sorry, didn't get your names ) had the same luck as we did. So a third trip is planned for later this week to try and get this life tick - lets hope it's third time lucky !
steve ashworth said
Sat Nov 17 3:48 PM, 2012
three waxwings at castleford in a tree opposite diggerland this morniing
Stephen Fuentes said
Mon Jun 11 2:51 PM, 2012
Sunday 10/6
Decided I couldn't miss out on this stonking bird, and having been kind enough to wait around a whole week so that I could twitch it, I thought I'd better not let the poor bird down.
Arrived with Phil Owen at 9am and the bird was immediately visible in the field at Aldbrough. after a few short flights it perched up on its favourite pole and gave us and the dozen or so gathered birders excellent views of its gorgeous plumage. Even the local constabulary pulled up at one point to see what all the fuss was about.
We then moved on to Spurn for reported Bee-eater and Rosefinch. (See Spurn thread).
Cheers,
Steve.
Pete Welch said
Sun Jun 10 11:14 PM, 2012
Roller still showing very well this morning - it was on its normal post for around twenty minutes and then flew into the field to the north where it appeared to be hunting - it flew in short 3-4m bursts around the field every few minutes. For such an amazingly coloured bird it did take a while to find it again on the ground if you missed a flight or two! It was still being mobbed by a Meadow Pipit both on the post and on the ground.
Mark Rigby said
Fri Jun 8 12:34 AM, 2012
Roller still present at lunch time. Absolute stonking bird!
Even little Riggers was impressed and hogged the scope
Andy Isherwood said
Mon Jun 4 11:59 PM, 2012
looks like 2 rollers present between aldbrough and hornsea. one flew north over hull road towards hornsea mere 2.40pm whilst the "usual" one was still present and correct near bewick hall!!
Karen Foulkes said
Mon Jun 4 12:10 AM, 2012
After a rather wet start in GM, Iain Johnson and myself decided to make a trip to see the Roller. It looked thoroughly fed up in the rain, perched on its favourite post, but eventually it decided to shake the rain off and flew into the field to feed, when we were able to see the spectacular mixture of colours.
A cracking bird!
Phil Owen said
Sun Jun 3 9:29 AM, 2012
After our 2 hours of watching the fabulous Roller at Aldbrough, Alex Jones and myself decided to head off to Flamborough to try and find the Icterine Warbler, as Alex was particularly keen to see it as a UK first.
This was my second visit in 4 days there having already seen the Icterine Warbler on Tuesday via Hartlepool, and it certainly gave me a sense of "deja-vu" as we pulled up in the same parking spot.
Despite our efforts and those of other birders, the Icterine Warbler was not around.
We headed to the cliffs where a quick scan of the rocks and sea produced:
10 Puffins 100's of Guillemots on the sea (including one bridled individual with the distinct eye ring and stripe) Also lots of Razorbill, Kittitwakes, Fulmars, Herring and Great Black-backed Gulls and some great views of Gannets close-in.
-- Edited by Phil Owen on Sunday 3rd of June 2012 09:29:44 AM
sid ashton said
Sun Jun 3 4:42 AM, 2012
Myself and the Manx birder also went over to Aldbrough today to look for the European Roller and as both Phil and Henry said, a really nice bird. Pity that Mr Barber couldn't have joined us.
I lived and worked in Oman in the middle east for many years and although not deeply into birding at the time could not help but be impressed with the Indain Rollers that visited our garden on a regular basis so it was nice to be reminded of these far off cousins by this colourful character in the UK. Interesting to see it coughing up the pellets as Henry mentioned.
We were lucky to see the bird at all this morning as in conversation with the farmers wife she mentioned that they were intending to put their pea crop into the field today but the ground was too wet. The lady and her young daughter were really happy to have a look through my scope at the "their" bird and she said she would let the local birding group know when the pea planting was going to take place so that details could be published.
Other birds present of interest: Corn Bunting, Yellow Wagtail and a Meadow Pipit that appeared to have taken exception to the Roller sitting on the white post.
Called in briefly to Blacktoft Sands in the afternoon on the way home but there was no sign of the Marsh Warbler as might be expected at that time of day but 4 Marsh Harriers were on view, one adult male and three females two of which appeared to be feeding young.
Phil Owen said
Sat Jun 2 8:29 PM, 2012
Arrived at Aldbrough this morning at 4.30am with Alex Jones for the adult Roller.
On arrival at the site, just before sunrise, we saw a Jackdaw-size bird in silhouette perched on a telegraph pole and immediately identified it as our target bird.
We stayed over 2 hours at the site watching the Roller on it's favoured post, feeding in the ploughed field and also perched on wires, where at all times the bird showed really well. A lifer for us both!
A truly stunning bird and a lovely mixture of colours especially when the bird was in flight - well worth the early start.
A Barn Owl was also seen hunting the fields which made a nice double act.
From there we headed towards Blacktoft Sands later in the morning where good views of the Marsh Warbler were had, a lifer for Alex.
We headed back down the M62 very happy!
-- Edited by Phil Owen on Saturday 2nd of June 2012 08:30:53 PM
Henry Cook said
Sat Jun 2 5:33 PM, 2012
01/06/2012 - An adult Roller put on quite a show just to the north of Aldbrough, East Yorks (presumably the bird from Spurn a few days ago). Spending much of it's time on a favoured white post, it eventually coughed up two pellets and resumed feeding across the ploughed fields for beetles and grubs. Vivid turquoise underparts gave way to a tan coloured back but in flight the bird shone with shades of royal blue on the flight feathers and rump, what a beauty. Also present were:
29/05/2012 - Moving down the coast following the Orphean Warbler at Hartlepool, myself, Mike D and Phil O called in at Flamborough where a male Icterine Warbler showed in Old (New?) Fall Plantation. A captivating and loud song blasted from the bushes and trees but it took a while for it to finally pop out on top of the sycamores sporting shocking lemon-green underparts, nice pale wing panel, dark spindly legs and a chunky bill amongst other features. Also present during out visit were:
2 Greylag Geese 2 Grey Partridges 1 Yellow Wagtail 1 Spotted Flycatcher 2 Chiffchaffs 1 Willow Warbler 1 Blackcap 2 Whitethroats skylarks, house martins, swallows and linnets also
Great place as always when you get away from the crowds.
Brian Burnett said
Sun May 27 4:48 AM, 2012
Peter
you did it then well done mate
Brian
Pete Welch said
Sat May 26 1:40 PM, 2012
I walked the Yorkshire Three Peaks yesterday and despite it being very windy there were some excellent birds along the way to keep me going - highlights around Whernside were Dipper, Spotted Flycatcher [fly catching from a tree appropriately], Redstart, Willow Warblers all along the railway line. Around the route were plenty of Meadow Pipit, Wheatear, Curlew, Swallows, House Martins and some Lapwing.
A Kestrel was the only raptor of the day but I was surprised by the numbers of roving Herring Gulls. Had a quick look for Dotterel on the peaks but it was very windy on the top so if there were any I guess they'd have been on the lee of the hills. Almost makes me wish I'd carried bins or a camera!
Doc Brewster said
Sat Feb 4 10:47 PM, 2012
Got cracking views of the drake American Wigeon yesterday, but on Anglers CP Main Lake rather than Wintersett Reservoir. It was feeding on the banks and allowed pretty close approach by stalking slowly & keeping low giving fantastic photo opportunities. The Greenland White-fronted Goose was also showing very well on Main Lake where huge numbers of wildfowl took advantage of some open water (not iced up) including Goosander, Goldeneye, Gadwall, Wigeon, Pochard and Tufted Duck, to name just a few!
Over on Wintersett Reservoir we soon located the drake Smew and the Black-necked Grebe, both distant in small non-iced patches of water. Nearby a Willow Tit, a Yellowhammer and more than 30 tree Sparrows showed well in the sunshine.
Cheers Paul
Chris Chandler said
Mon Jan 30 7:29 PM, 2012
Late report from yesterday (29/01)
Spent an enjoyable morning at Wintersett Reservoir near Wakefield, tracking down the long-staying American Wigeon. Typically it spent most of it's time skulking around the only part of the reservoir that is off-limits and gave only fleeting views. Thankfully, after a couple of hours it moved onot open water with the rest of the Wigeon flock, where we were able to get a much better look at it .
We also had cracking views of a drake Smew (apparently there were 2 on the reserve) and a Black-Necked Grebe. Huge numbers of wildfowl on the water- Gossander Goldeneye Pochard Wigeon Teal Shoveler Tufted Duck Pink-Footed, Greylag and Canada Geese
Also had good numbers of smaller birds, with- Siskin Redpoll Linnet Goldfinch Redwing & Fieldfare
We then pushed on to try and find Bean Geese, White Stork and Snow Buntings at various sites around Flamborough, but drew a blank on each occassion.
Large numbers of Sanderling on the beach at Fraisthorpe were a nice sight at the end of a very pleasant, but cold day.
Charles Farrell said
Thu Dec 29 7:26 PM, 2011
Spent Wed 28-Dec up at Ingleton Falls http://www.ingletonwaterfallstrail.co.uk/
My search for Dippers this year in Gloucestershire and Gtr Manchester has been unsuccessful and so I decided to visit this place as my brother and his wife recommended it following several visits when they had almost always seen the birds.
Unfortunately my run of bad luck continued and despite the weather not being too bad in the circumstances, the high winds and the fact that both of the streams were very full and fast flowing combined to thwart my search, once again. Enroute the fields were full of crows, Jackdaws and Black-headed Gulls, with only a single Kestrel and Buzzard seen. At Ingleton Falls itself, the feeders in the carpark ensured that the were plenty of Tits, Chaffinches and Nuthatch around, but hardly anything other than a few corvids were seen during the course of the 4.5 mile walk.
I must say that the location and the Falls themselves are delightful and well worth visiting. Its not too strenuous a walk either.
Mike Chorley said
Mon Dec 12 9:13 PM, 2011
You must have been looking at the other one
Mark Rigby said
Sun Dec 11 11:34 PM, 2011
Mike Chorley wrote:
and a Tundra Bean Goose with 3 Pinkfeet at Lebberston.
Trip Total 66 Species
Well me and Rayner saw a Taiga
Mike Chorley said
Sun Dec 11 8:16 PM, 2011
Male Desert Wheatear showed well, if distant (vertically) on and around the Gannet nests on the stack below Staple Newk at Bempton this a.m.
Best of the rest of a tour of N.E. Yorkshire with Messrs Rigby & Rayner were 3 Red-throated Divers close in at Filey Brig (with at least as many Harbour Porpoise showing well), a distant couple of Whooper Swans at Filey Dams and a Tundra Bean Goose with 3 Pinkfeet at Lebberston.
Trip Total 66 Species
SMcRoyall said
Sun Nov 27 12:41 AM, 2011
Driving up the A1 today just north of wetherby 2 Red Kites seen low over the road, excellent views. Also some big flocks of starlings and lapwings near Leeming.
Charles Farrell said
Thu Oct 27 4:35 PM, 2011
around 50 Pied Wagtails near York Railway station on Sat 22nd Oct - off to roost, I'd guess
On the way up the M1/A1 from London I was expecting the no. of Buzzards seen to exceed the Kestrels, but in fact the Kestrels won 6 - 2! Didn't see much else of interest though, mind you. :(
The first Diver I've seen and it was certainly a good one - seems close to summer plumage. Appears nice and healthy - lots of long dives, successfully catching fish.
The pool itself is not that large so even if the Diver doesn't come very close to shore you can still get good views.
Also:
Grey Heron, Mute Swan, Coot, Mallard, Tufted Duck, Great Crested Grebe, Black-headed Gull, Jackdaw and Long-tailed tits.
Plenty of other good birds about including
2 Red Kites
1 Fieldfare
large mixed flock of Blue,Great, Coal, Long Tailed Tits Lesser Redpoll, Siskin
20 plus Common Crossbill
2 Great Spotted Woodpecker.
-- Edited by Jon Bowen on Saturday 14th of December 2013 03:43:15 PM
Redshank
Turnstone
Oystercatcher
Sanderling
Curlew
Dunlin
Knot
Cormorant
Shag
Highlight was a small flock of twite on the clifftops.
Plus common, black-headed, herring, and lesser black-backed gulls
Interesting to read of the Brunnich's Guillemot this afternoon. We left at noon and there were noticeably more binoculars around than yesterday, including a tight-lipped group gathered on the Brigg.
Be interesting to see if they are still there tomorrow. Would be nice to see the guillemot.
8th Nov-15th Nov; Not ideal weather with westerlies mainly.
Black Redstart
Black-Headed Gull
Blackbird
Blue Tit
Brambling
Brent Goose
Bullfinch
Buzzard
Carrion Crow
Chaffinch
Common Gull
Common Scoter
Cormorant
Curlew
Dunnock
Eider
Fieldfare
Gannet
Goldcrest
Goldfinch
Great Black-backed Gull
Great Northern Diver
Great Spotted Woodpecker
Great Tit
Greenfinch
Guillemot
Herring Gull
House Sparrow
Jackdaw
Kestrel
Lesser Black-baked Gull
Magpie
Mallard
Meadow Pipit
Merlin
Moorhen
Oystercatcher
Peregrine
Pheasant
Pied Wagtail
Pink-footed Goose
Purple Sandpiper
Red Kite
Red-throated Diver
Redshank
Redwing
Reed Bunting
Robin
Rock Dove (Feral Pigeon) - Apparently purported to be Rock Doves but I doubt they're genuine
Rock Pipit
Rook
Sanderling
Serin
Shag
Short-eared Owl
Skylark
Snow Bunting
Sparrowhawk
Starling
Teal
Tree Sparrow
Treecreeper
Turnstone
Twite
Whooper Swan
Woodpigeon
Wren
Yellowhammer
On arrival at the weir our hopes were briefly raised by a bird in the air, chasing other gulls before it disappeared. We thought it could have been the target bird for a moment, but an almost certain black eye eventually ruled it out.
Eight birders were around the area today. Some, like us, on their third visit to try and see this bird. Stake outs of the Biffa compound and the fishing lake again proved negative. Lots of Black-headed and a few Commons and that was about it. Even my ace card the chicken carcass - failed to produce a result.
I have to say, I think a few of the birders had become increasingly sceptical about the accuracy of all those recent reports no one we spoke to, even those on second and third visits had seen the bird or knew anyone else who had seen it recently. So quite where all the reports were coming from, Im not quite sure.
Anyway, Ill wait for a bird closer to home now. Three visits to Mirfield is enough for anyone !
Hopefully, I'll report back later.
-- Edited by John Barber on Wednesday 13th of March 2013 09:15:29 PM
-- Edited by John Barber on Wednesday 13th of March 2013 09:36:45 PM
Thanks John, I will report back on here if I do make the journey over, combining it with a visit to my sister in York, otherwise prob wouldn't go, given the price of petrol & me travelling alone. So all dependant on my sister being free!!
Yes, saw those reports on RBA. I think we've just been unlucky so far. We covered all it's favourite spots several times but it managed to elude us by 15 minutes on one occasion. We are planning to go on Thursday morning for our third attempt. Hope you manage to see it if you go tomorrow Doc .
Today saw the Ring-billed Gull being reported out three times over q.a lengthy period. First at 10.17am on the spit on Sands Lane GPs, then next at 11.43am at the pits on the Biffa Waste Unit and again at the same place at 2.25pm. Having seen this bird in 2011 & 2012 I may venture over again tomorrow as it seems to maybe have found a food source at this waste unit - fingers crossed. In both previous visits it has shown well for me for photos, so hope that is the case again
-- Edited by Doc Brewster on Tuesday 12th of March 2013 09:34:16 PM
Decided I couldn't miss out on this stonking bird, and having been kind enough to wait around a whole week so that I could twitch it, I thought I'd better not let the poor bird down.
Arrived with Phil Owen at 9am and the bird was immediately visible in the field at Aldbrough. after a few short flights it perched up on its favourite pole and gave us and the dozen or so gathered birders excellent views of its gorgeous plumage. Even the local constabulary pulled up at one point to see what all the fuss was about.
We then moved on to Spurn for reported Bee-eater and Rosefinch. (See Spurn thread).
Cheers,
Steve.
Even little Riggers was impressed and hogged the scope
A cracking bird!
This was my second visit in 4 days there having already seen the Icterine Warbler on Tuesday via Hartlepool, and it certainly gave me a sense of "deja-vu" as we pulled up in the same parking spot.
Despite our efforts and those of other birders, the Icterine Warbler was not around.
We headed to the cliffs where a quick scan of the rocks and sea produced:
10 Puffins
100's of Guillemots on the sea (including one bridled individual with the distinct eye ring and stripe)
Also lots of Razorbill, Kittitwakes, Fulmars, Herring and Great Black-backed Gulls and some great views of Gannets close-in.
-- Edited by Phil Owen on Sunday 3rd of June 2012 09:29:44 AM
I lived and worked in Oman in the middle east for many years and although not deeply into birding at the time could not help but be impressed with the Indain Rollers that visited our garden on a regular basis so it was nice to be reminded of these far off cousins by this colourful character in the UK. Interesting to see it coughing up the pellets as Henry mentioned.
We were lucky to see the bird at all this morning as in conversation with the farmers wife she mentioned that they were intending to put their pea crop into the field today but the ground was too wet. The lady and her young daughter were really happy to have a look through my scope at the "their" bird and she said she would let the local birding group know when the pea planting was going to take place so that details could be published.
Other birds present of interest: Corn Bunting, Yellow Wagtail and a Meadow Pipit that appeared to have taken exception to the Roller sitting on the white post.
Called in briefly to Blacktoft Sands in the afternoon on the way home but there was no sign of the Marsh Warbler as might be expected at that time of day but 4 Marsh Harriers were on view, one adult male and three females two of which appeared to be feeding young.
On arrival at the site, just before sunrise, we saw a Jackdaw-size bird in silhouette perched on a telegraph pole and immediately identified it as our target bird.
We stayed over 2 hours at the site watching the Roller on it's favoured post, feeding in the ploughed field and also perched on wires, where at all times the bird showed really well. A lifer for us both!
A truly stunning bird and a lovely mixture of colours especially when the bird was in flight - well worth the early start.
A Barn Owl was also seen hunting the fields which made a nice double act.
From there we headed towards Blacktoft Sands later in the morning where good views of the Marsh Warbler were had, a lifer for Alex.
We headed back down the M62 very happy!
-- Edited by Phil Owen on Saturday 2nd of June 2012 08:30:53 PM
1 Grey Partridge
1 Lapwing
4 Skylarks
2 House Martins
10+ Swallows
3 Corn Buntings
2 Yellowhammers
4 Linnets
2 Greylag Geese
2 Grey Partridges
1 Yellow Wagtail
1 Spotted Flycatcher
2 Chiffchaffs
1 Willow Warbler
1 Blackcap
2 Whitethroats
skylarks, house martins, swallows and linnets also
Late post for sunday, pm.
Afternoon visit to Strid Woods, Bolton Abbey.
Pied Flycatcher's
Spotted Flycatcher
Wood Warbler 2
Siskin
Nuthatch
Great Spotted Woodpecker
Greylag Geese 4
On the river
Grey Wagtail lots
Dipper 2
Goosander
Swallows
Sand Martins
Great place as always when you get away from the crowds.
you did it then well done mate
Brian
A Kestrel was the only raptor of the day but I was surprised by the numbers of roving Herring Gulls. Had a quick look for Dotterel on the peaks but it was very windy on the top so if there were any I guess they'd have been on the lee of the hills. Almost makes me wish I'd carried bins or a camera!
Over on Wintersett Reservoir we soon located the drake Smew and the Black-necked Grebe, both distant in small non-iced patches of water. Nearby a Willow Tit, a Yellowhammer and more than 30 tree Sparrows showed well in the sunshine.
Cheers
Paul
Spent an enjoyable morning at Wintersett Reservoir near Wakefield, tracking down the long-staying American Wigeon.
Typically it spent most of it's time skulking around the only part of the reservoir that is off-limits and gave only fleeting views. Thankfully, after a couple of hours it moved onot open water with the rest of the Wigeon flock, where we were able to get a much better look at it
We also had cracking views of a drake Smew (apparently there were 2 on the reserve) and a Black-Necked Grebe.
Huge numbers of wildfowl on the water-
Gossander
Goldeneye
Pochard
Wigeon
Teal
Shoveler
Tufted Duck
Pink-Footed, Greylag and Canada Geese
Also had good numbers of smaller birds, with-
Siskin
Redpoll
Linnet
Goldfinch
Redwing & Fieldfare
We then pushed on to try and find Bean Geese, White Stork and Snow Buntings at various sites around Flamborough, but drew a blank on each occassion.
Large numbers of Sanderling on the beach at Fraisthorpe were a nice sight at the end of a very pleasant, but cold day.
http://www.ingletonwaterfallstrail.co.uk/
My search for Dippers this year in Gloucestershire and Gtr Manchester has been unsuccessful and so I decided to visit this place as my brother and his wife recommended it following several visits when they had almost always seen the birds.
Unfortunately my run of bad luck continued and despite the weather not being too bad in the circumstances, the high winds and the fact that both of the streams were very full and fast flowing combined to thwart my search, once again. Enroute the fields were full of crows, Jackdaws and Black-headed Gulls, with only a single Kestrel and Buzzard seen. At Ingleton Falls itself, the feeders in the carpark ensured that the were plenty of Tits, Chaffinches and Nuthatch around, but hardly anything other than a few corvids were seen during the course of the 4.5 mile walk.
I must say that the location and the Falls themselves are delightful and well worth visiting. Its not too strenuous a walk either.
Well me and Rayner saw a Taiga
Best of the rest of a tour of N.E. Yorkshire with Messrs Rigby & Rayner were 3 Red-throated Divers close in at Filey Brig (with at least as many Harbour Porpoise showing well), a distant couple of Whooper Swans at Filey Dams and a Tundra Bean Goose with 3 Pinkfeet at Lebberston.
Trip Total 66 Species
On the way up the M1/A1 from London I was expecting the no. of Buzzards seen to exceed the Kestrels, but in fact the Kestrels won 6 - 2! Didn't see much else of interest though, mind you. :(