Gulls, Shrike, and Crest

Yesterday was a cracking days birding, another one of those birding days in the UK that I will remember for a long time. The day started off with down at Seaton Common, that place almost feels like a second home. I am convinced Hartlepool council are going to ask me to start paying some rent! Anyway the first brilliant bird of the day was an adult Iceland Gull skilfully picked out by Andy Close (who I was with yesterday). Bird showed in flight for me before landing on the other side of the common, decided to drive around for a better look. On the way out of the car park a Merlin flushed from a post on the side of the road, if only we had seen it earlier! It then flew off heading past Zinc Works road tip and away, we got around to the other side of the common and the adult Iceland Gull was sitting out nicely and showed well.

(Spot the Iceland Gull - © Andrew Kinghorn)

Next stop was Coatham Wood in Darlington area for the Great Grey Shrike had been present, we were walking to the location the bird had last been seen and it flew across the path and landed in a tree close to the path. Brilliant! It showed really well for a short period....until I got my iPhone out to get some footage. 

(Great Grey Shrike - © Andrew Kinghorn)

(Great Grey Shrike - © Andrew Kinghorn)

(Great Grey Shrike - © Andrew Kinghorn)

Who doesn't look a Great Grey Shrike? Next stop was Rainton Meadows DWT where a check of a reliable spot turned up 2 Jack Snipe, first time I had ever seen two sitting in the same place. One bird nicely marked but the other superbly marked. Next stop was Far Pasture NR, beware anyone going as there is a long wait to get past the traffic lights which delayed us by about 15 minutes. A fairly impressive flock of birds but the prize was a little tricky, however after a patient wait coupled with restless searching produced the Firecrest which after a short wait showed extremely well reminding me how stunning these little birds truly are! Chester-le-Street was final port of call with at least 4 Goosanders present and showing well, one bird with truly stunning peachy flush to breast and underparts. Stunning!

(Firecrest - © Derek Charlton)

Also seen during the day 2 Long-eared Owls, 1 at a winter roost, and another at a different site when I glanced up at a nest used last year a bird was sitting on the rim! Left immediately in order for the birds to settle down and hopefully nest there again this year, here's hoping. 2 Short-eared Owls also appear quite settled in an area where they occasionally breed in some years, here's hoping. 

Until next time, Foghorn out!

Gulls of the Caspian

Caspian Gull is not a particularly common bird in the North of England, infact they are still fairly rare everywhere in the North . They are still a description species in Durham and therefore still a fairly rare bird, though this year Seaton Common and Cowpen tip have been reliable spots to catch up with the species. They can be tricky especially in adult plumages but they can be straight forward when in 1st winter plumage, I haven't seen all that many but have learnt a lot from the individuals I have seen.

Caspian Gull - © Mark Newsome
The white head and underbody with barely any visible markings it obvious here, also note the the shawl effect on the nape of this bird which then bleeds partly onto the birds mantle. The small beady eye is evident and a small dark mask is also present encircling they eye. The grey mantle feathers with dark centres is obvious in this photo and this feature is particularly useful to look out for when trying to pick out a first-winter Caspian Gull. Finally the long and obvious parallel sided bull is evident in this image, compare this to the (presumed 2nd winter?) Herring Gull's bill behind. 

Caspian Gull - © Mark Newsome
You can see that in flight it shows a white head with small dark eye, the shawl effect on the nape can be seen quite well in this high quality image. The axillaries look greyish/white, but this feature is very variable in Caspian Gull and some can show brownish axillaries. 

Caspian Gull - © Mark Newsome

Compare to the above image and it can be seen how a birds axillaries can change in the field depending upon lighting conditions. But note the very white head, with black beady eye set far forward in the head and the shawl like pattern on the birds neck extending down onto top of mantle.

Caspian Gull - © Mark Newsome

You can clearly see the broad and solidly black terminal band on the tail contrasting with the fairly sparsely marked rump/uppertail coverts. Nice contrast between the secondaries and the much paler coverts which creates clear cut black and brown areas on the birds upperwing.  Also you can see the grey mantle and scapular feathers with dark centres creating a fairly distinctive appearance. Overall first-winter Caspian Gulls are usually four coloured; white, brown, black, and grey. This is particularly evident when a bird is on the deck, compare this to Herring Gulls which can often look less well defined and don't usually show such a sharp contrast throughout the whole plumage at this age.

I think first-winter Caspian Gulls aren't half nice birds! Especially in first-winter plumage, which in my opinion is the nicest plumage of the species. Thanks to Mark for allowing me to use his images, hopefully my comments might be of some use to some readers. Something I have missed out or you want to add? Leave a comment.....

Until next time, Foghorn out!

Hard as Nails SEO....

I decided I needed to get out for an hours fresh air today to escape the boredom of this evenings pending assignment work for University. I popped out to a local Owl roost, no surprises to find the same Short-eared Owl sitting in the same place as last Monday! Its a sucker for punishment or is it? It seems really content, naturally it is alert to peoples presence and it would be impossible not to be as its a very well walked area. But it really is tolerant, I peeked over my shoulder when I walked past it and it would follow my every move though seemingly not too concerned. Just making sure its got its eye on me, the ear tufts are raised showing its listening to my every move.

(Short-eared Owl - © Andrew Kinghorn)

Elsewhere in the area a regularly used tree held 2 Long-eared Owls, many people seem to be visiting the base of the tree (frustratingly) with a large track leading up to it. A quick look and a few pics were taken then I left the birds in peace, its fairly important these birds get as much rest as they can during the day. Unlike Short-eared Owls they don't hunt during the day unless they are pretty much starving or have a family to feed, so its critical they get as much 'kip' as they can during the day. Masses of people standing around for hours watching them does them no favours at all, and its likely if this occurs the birds will just abandon the roost and move elsewhere.

Can you see us?
(Long-eared Owls - © Andrew Kinghorn)

What is that dog walker doing?
(Long-eared Owl - © Andrew Kinghorn)

Oh hello....
(Long-eared Owl - © Andrew Kinghorn)

If I make myself as thin as possible, they might not see me.
(Long-eared Owl - © Andrew Kinghorn)

Until next time, Foghorn out!

Gotta love Glaucous Gulls!

Here are two images taken by John Bridges of presumably the same Glaucous Gull I saw yesterday, these shots were taken at the same Fish Quay when two birds were around. However this individual appears to be a creature of habit and is regularly at the Fish Quay which would seem to indicate it is the same bird.

 (Glaucous Gull - © John Bridges)

The next shot is a lot like the views I got yesterday, except it stretched a bit and let me see the underwing. Highlight of the day, call me sad if you like! Just not often I get a view of a Glaucous Gull like I did yesterday.

(Glaucous Gull - © John Bridges)

Interestingly enough the banner image I have is of presumably the same Glaucous Gull aswell, its good to have a nice reliable Glaucous Gull away from the tips. 

Until next time, Foghorn out!

Hello again Glawk'

Today started off well with a trip to an undisclosed site in Durham where I enjoyed views of my first Long-eared Owl of the year and more cracking views of a Short-eared Owl, the latter sitting just a stones throw away from where it was sitting when I saw it on Monday. So I conclude the same bird. Long-eared Owl was pretty well concealed but respectable views were had, local dog walker commented he sees both species every day. Below is a picture of the presumed same Short-eared Owl that was sitting just feet away from the public footpath on Monday.

(Short-eared Owl - © Andrew Kinghorn)

Down to Teesside for some Gulling, which didn't last very long due to the absence of....you got it; Gulls. Dorman's Pool produced nothing of note, and I mean nothing! Next Ward Jackson's Park where 3 Ring-necked Parakeets showed well, a Great black-backed Gull on the main lake was notable for here. Also a  Nuthatch where I parked the car was nice to see, everyone loves those stunning little birds.

Final proper stop of the day was at Hartlepool Headland where nothing much of note was around, not even the Mediterranean Gull! A decision to check the Fish Quay paid off as no sooner had I set my scope up to scan the gulls on the rooftop of the fish quay when I picked up a juvenile Glaucous Gull. Presumably the same bird that has been around since December, good to see it again. Brilliant views through the scope. Drove around for a better view and failed at first, however sat a while hoping it would cross over the roof of the building to the side visible right close to the road. I wasn't disappointed, as I was about to leave the bird appeared at the far end of the roof right next to the road showing extremely well in the bins. It then took flight and dissapeared after a short while, my best views ever of a Glaucous Gull. Fantastic way to end the day.

 (Glaucous Gull - © Andrew Kinghorn)

(Glaucous Gull - © Andrew Kinghorn)

(Glaucous Gull - © Andrew Kinghorn)

Until next time, Foghorn out!

Move to Junko

...well I won't be moving my memories from Wednesday to the memory junk pile! Had a fantastic day down in Hampshire, started late on Tuesday evening and was at the Spanish Sparrow site for first light. It was a bit nail biting at first as the bird didn't show straight away at first light but it was soon picked up sitting deep in cover but made its way out gradually and I had a brilliant initial view. It flew off but came back some hour or so later, being relocated further down the hedgerow sitting in fairly good light right out in the open. Superb chestnut head with fantastic arrow head markings from the breast side down onto the flanks. A stunning looking bird and its white facial markings made it fairly easy to pick out amongst the local House Sparrows. The last twitchable bird in the UK was a long staying individual in Cumbria which proved most popular, since then there was no records up until this bird. There are hybrid House x Spanish Sparrows present so the bird has been there for at least 1 breeding season, from what I understand it has been suggested the bird might have been there for longer.

(Spanish Sparrow - © Chris Thomas. Chris's Website: http://birds.ceeege.com/)

After the excitement of the Spanish Sparrow we headed off to the New Forest and to Hawkshill Inclosure, this is a section of the forest where a clearing is present and a mobile finch flock is present, in with the finches was our target; Dark-eyed Junco. The bird showed fairly well a few times and although most views were brief it was easy to take in and enjoy the stunning but fairly simple plumage of this stunning species. We even had it feeding on seed low down briefly allowing for great views, in flight I noted the birds pink bill and white belly is particularly striking and stands out well. Brilliant bird (like the Sparrow) and well worth going to see.

(Dark-eyed Junco - © Brian Harrison)

What a truly fantastic day, been a while since I've had two British ticks in a day.

Until next time, Foghorn out!

Ringed Herring Gull Recovery

I saw a colour ringed Herring Gull before Christmas at Rainton Meadows DWT. This afternoon I got some information back on the colour ringed Gull and where about it had been since its sighting at Rainton. Here is the reply for all who may be interested:

"
Dear Andrew,

Thank you for reporting your sighting of a colour ringed Herring Gull. Herring Gull with orange ring 1975 was ringed on the 30th November 2007 on Seamer Carr landfill, near Scarborough, North Yorkshire (TA038820) , as a third winter bird with metal BTO ring number GN78392. I have received one other sighting of this bird since it was ringed, on the 12th February 2008 on Gloucester landfill, near Hampstead, Gloucester, (SO816173).

Thank you for  taking the time to report this sighting. If you have any questions, or any more sightings, please let me know

Kind Regards

Sara Bone

"

(Herring Gull - © Andrew Kinghorn)

Very interesting!

Until next time, Foghorn out!

Round the Doors

Year has been brilliant so far, with many highlights. But I am still adamant that you can't really beat a nice day out locally enjoying the stuff in your own county. Today was one example, I was out with Kieran Lawrence and Derek Lawrence. We started off at Roker Pier where the adult Iceland Gull put on quite a show and I managed (compared to other peoples amazing shots) some poor photos of the Iceland Gull. I love gulls (surprise!) so I always enjoy a good white winger'. From here we headed down to Teesside and out port of call was Seal Sands where we enjoyed nice views of Grey Plover, Bar-tailed Godwit, and Brent Geese amongst the other fantastic birds present. Another call in at Ward Jackson Park (my second visit this year) produced some cracking views and photo opportunities for the Ring-necked Parakeets which performed well. A dodge up to an uncisclosed site produced 2 Peregrine Falcon displaying, Sparrowhawk, Kestrels, Common Buzzards and a Hen Harrier (though I didn't see this). Cracking day!

 (Iceland Gull - © Andrew Kinghorn)

 (Iceland Gull - © Andrew Kinghorn)

 (Iceland Gull - © Andrew Kinghorn)

 (Ring-necked Parakeet - © Andrew Kinghorn)

(Ring-necked Parakeet - © Andrew Kinghorn)

Until next time, Foghorn out!

Norfolk Trip List

Kindly supplied by Killy Birder here is the full Norfolk trip list of all species seen on the trip;


Little Grebe, Great Crested Grebe, Cormorant, Little Egret, Grey Heron, Mute Swan, Whooper Swan, Lesser White Fronted Goose, Bean Geese (Taiga), Pink-footed Geese, Greylag Geese, Canada Geese, Barnacle Geese, Brent Geese, Ross’s Geese, Shelduck, Egyptian Geese, Mallard, Gadwall, Pintail, Shoveller, Wigeon, Teal, Pochard, Tufted Duck, Long-Tailed Duck, Goldeneye, Red-Breasted Merganser, Marsh Harrier, Hen Harrier, Rough-Legged Buzzard, Common Buzzard, Sparrowhawk, Kestrel, Merlin, Red-legged Partridge, Grey Partridge, Pheasant, Golden Pheasant, Water Rail, Moorhen, Coot, Common Crane, Oystercatcher, Avocet, Grey Plover, Golden Plover, Lapwing, Turnstone, Sanderling, Dunlin, Redshank, Black-tailed Godwit, Curlew, Knot, Western Sandpiper, Ruff, Black Headed Gull, Common Gull, Herring Gull, Lesser Black Backed Gull, Great Black Backed Gull, Guillemot, Feral Pigeon, Stock Dove, Wood Pigeon, Collared Dove, Barn Owl, Kingfisher, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Skylark, Meadow Pipit, Pied Wagtail, Wren, Dunnock, Robin, Song Thrush, Mistle Thrush, Redwing, Fieldfare, Blackbird, Cetti’s Warbler (H), Goldcrest (H), Great Tit, Blue Tit, Long-Tailed Tit, Magpie, Jay, Jackdaw, Carrion Crow, Rook, Starling, House Sparrow, Chaffinch, Linnet, Lesser Redpoll. Coues' Arctic Redpoll, Goldfinch, Greenfinch, Bullfinch, Snow Bunting,  and Yellowhammer.


I think the total comes to 103 species. Not bad for 2 days in winter on the north Norfolk coast!


Until next time, Foghorn out!

Plug and a Glaucous

Yesterday I pooped down to Hartlepool Headland for a few hours in the afternoon, nothing much of note other than the usual reported birds, I did manage flight views of the Black-throated Diver and some (at last) views of the Glaucous Gull perched up on a nearby rooftop in the Fish Quay. So below you will find the video.

(Glaucous Gull - © Andrew Kinghorn)

This is also a plug for another blog, it belongs to a mate of mine who I went to Norfolk with just a few days ago. Why not check it out and perhaps follow? He's from Yorkshire and so has decided on a pretty interesting blog title name, I might change mine to the Pitman:  CLICK HERE.

King down near Lynn

Wednesday was a quiet day, I really should have done some more on my assignment (when I think about it) but I spent the day relaxing before the drive to Sheffield and then onto Norfolk for a few days birding. Wednesday didn’t really seem to end with no sleep and the day began early with me picking up Killy Birder at around about 2.15 on the Thursday morning and then driving down to Sheffield. I arrived at the Flat Cap birders house around about 5.00 in the Morning and we hopped cars and were soon on our way to Norfolk. We arrived around 08.30 after stopping for breakfast at McDonalds. Our first port of call was Wolferton Triangle where after a short wait we were rewarded with cracking views of two male Golden Pheasants, I must confess they were more than humorous. Running across the road in a comical fashion too reach cover whenever a car came along the road. After the views we had we knew we were not going to get much better views and so left. We picked up Oliver Simms from Morrison’s in Kings Lynn, he wasn’t living there or anything it was just the place where we were picking him up from. With all of us in attendance we headed for Buckenham Marshes RSPB.

(Golden Pheasant - © Andrew Kinghorn)

(Golden Pheasant - © Andrew Kinghorn)

When we arrived at Buckenham Marshes RSPB it didn’t really look all that windy, that was until I stepped out of the car and onto the marshes. I think this site is a contender for the most windy and windswept place in the UK, maybe just beaten by Cowgreen Reservoir on the Durham/Cumbrian border. Nevertheless in true hard as nails Northern style we pressed on, we sheltered by the hide and started scanning. A disaster of a goose amongst some Barnacle Geese and Canada Geese was all we could manage, then some keen eyes local spotted a single Taiga Bean Goose appear from a ditch like area about 74 miles away (or so it seemed). Soon it became clear the little tinkers were all hiding in the ditches at the back of the reserve and gradually more appeared, they were joined by some more birds that flew in from the direction of Cantly Marshes. Then it happened, after about 30 minutes a flock flew in and I scanned the flock and there it was; Lesser white-fronted Goose. It quickly disappeared from view and I was starting to worry the others present and the rest of the lads I was with weren’t going to see it but it eventually played ball and showed fairly well. Even though it was distant views were respectable at 50 odd times zoom. Allowing us to note the smaller size, large white blaze, short neck, and the fairly unique shape the bird seemed to have (to me anyway). Content with our sighting along with about 80 Taiga Bean Geese we moved on. Our next stop was Hickling Broad where we paid a rather handsome price to get into a nature reserve that I wasn’t overly impressed with, however the roost was a different story! The roost at Stubbs Mill was simply fantastic with no less than 5 Cranes, 2 Hen Harriers, 2 Merlins, 40+ Marsh Harrier, and Kestrel noted. Pretty fantastic and certainly a British birding spectacle that is a must see! Brilliant way to end a brilliant day.

Day 2 started well with Kingfisher but not the hoped for Great Northern Diver, but an escaped Harris Hawk did put in an appearance! Next stop was a location where some Bewick Swans had been reported the previous day but sadly there was no sign, though we did see 10 Whooper Swans, a female Merlin put on an nice appearance as it attempted to catch and kill a small passerine. Next stop was Cley Marshes NWT where again we dug deep and managed to get together some money (took out a mortgage) and headed to the hides to look for the Western Sandpiper, we were not successful at first and it took a while but eventually the bird gave itself up and we enjoyed fairly good views if not a little distant (compared to when I first saw it). From here we headed to Holkham where excellent views were had of a Barn Owl, 2 Ross’s Geese, and 2 Rough-legged Buzzards. Our final stop was Titchwell RSPB where I enjoyed pretty good views of the 1^st winter Coues’ Arctic Redpoll amongst the Lessers present, though no sign of any Mealy Redpolls. Finished the day off before the long drive home with good views of a ringtail Hen Harrier flying over our heads. Brilliant! A truly memorable trip, Lesser white-fronted Goose was a lifer for me and I always like to see the Golden Pheasants.

Until next time, Foghorn out!

EDIT: A look at the Titchwell RSPB Redpoll that has caused some debate on the Rare Bird Information page on BirdFourm.
Titchwell RSPB Redpoll

!!!! Happy New Year !!!!

....to all my blog followers and readers alike. I hope 2011 was a good year for you and here's hoping 2012 will be another good year. As 2011 drew to a close so did my year lists, I decided last year to keep 2 and have not yet fully decided this year if I am going to keep a British Year List and a County Year List, it will be most likely one or the other. But then knowing me I will probably cripple at the thought and end up doing both like last year!  So what did I end up on 2011, not bothered? Then that's the end of this blog post for you. If you are here is what I got in 2011:

Durham - Total BOU: 242

Britain - Total BOU: 279 Non BOU: 284

The non BOU birds counted were: Eastern Black Redstart, American Black Tern, Ross's Goose, Northern Harrier, and White-tailed Eagle.

I beat last year (my previous best) on my British list by 13 species, which I was fairly amazed at due to the fact I had an amazingly good year in 2010.

Here's to 2012!

Until next time, Foghorn out!