More (r)egrets

Actually a Spoonbill isn't a member of the egret family but its a good title for the blog so ignore that fact. So here I was quietly getting along with my work for my University end of year project when all of a sudden my phone goes and I am alerted to a message from BirdGuides that a Spoonbill had turned up in Durham; Spoonbill at Stoneybeck Lake, Bishop Middleham was the message I received. Having never seen a Spoonbill in Durham before I had to go so I grabbed bins, scope, and coat and loaded the car. I was on site within about 25 minutes and so was the finder Neil Fawcett, who's dedication on patch has paid of again when he found a cracking Spoonbill. It was a first for the site as the other bird reported back in 2008 was only a flyover and therefore didn't actually land on Castle Lake itself. However the problem was this bird wasn't on Castle Lake but the nearby Stoneybeck! Nevertheless we enjoyed before moving on. Myself and Neil checked out Castle Lake and while in the hide I spotted it coming flying in and it thankfully landed on Castle Lake; making it a first for the site!

It showed well:

 (Spoonbill - Andrew Kinghorn)

  (Spoonbill - Andrew Kinghorn)

  (Spoonbill - Andrew Kinghorn)

 (Spoonbill - Andrew Kinghorn)

And some video, as always best views in HD. To do this click where it says "360" on the video tab bar and change it to "720HD":

But really I don't have any regrets as the tile might indicate as although I went to Northumberland to see 4 on Saturday I didn't enjoy the bird any-more or any-less than I would have anyway. The more I see the merrier in my opinion.

Until next time, Foghorn out!