Seaton Snook - North Gare :: 19 October 2023

I had been working in the northeast for a couple of days but found that I could finish early - by the time I drove home the work day would be over and so I decided to make the short journey to Seaton Snook / North Gare beach to see if I could find any twite; it has been years since I saw any and I had been informed this was a good place for them.

The Babet storm system had been crossing through the night before and was continuing to cause havoc on the east coast particularly, but generally further north. The sea was rough, and the South Gare lighthouse was being battered by waves crashing onto it. Rain began to fall gently but I made up my mind to set out anyway -I had a waterproof coat.

As I went onto the beach there was little in the way of birds in view, other than a pair of stonechats along the posts by the path. I decided to head south along the beach as this promised to be the better habitat.

As I walked, I could hear the calls from curlews and oystercatchers but there was only one meadow pipit and two pied wagtails in the way of small birds. I reached the corner and despite the rain getting a little heavier, I pushed on to the fencing before the power station where I could look over into the river estuary. Now we were talking ... out in front were dozens of redshanks, oystercatchers, and a few curlews. On the opposite bank a few seals basked on the water's edge. Out on the water was a red-throated diver, the first of a few that would fish nearby or fly through.

There were still no small birds in view and so I scanned across the water and picked out a small bird on the very far edge, diving frequently. It surfaced and I could see it was a Slavonian grebe, a year tick! I watched as it worked left - hearing a call overhead I broke away - it was only a meadow pipit.

I turned to get back on the Slav grebe and in my bins was a red-necked grebe ... had I mis-ID'd the bird ...? No, there popped up my Slav with the red-necked grebe.

I followed both birds as they separated but neither ventured from the safety of the opposite bank, the Slav eventually disappearing altogether while I wasn’t looking. It was a little pointless taking photos but even record shots are worth having.

With only guillemot and the odd razorbill on the water I started scanning back along the water's edges and eventually picked up two knot, which then flew picking up about another ten before landing further down the channel.

The weather had turned, and a spot of sun had broken through, so I decided to back-track picking up only a couple of meadow pipits, a few wigeon, and a large flock of golden plover on the way. I reached the path to go back but instead decided to walk down to the water's edge where I found a single sanderling being flushed along by a couple of dog walkers. I got a photo, but it was immediately on the wing and distant when it landed. I returned up the beach and walked through the dunes hoping to find something resting there, but no dice.

I decided to climb over the dunes rather than simply follow the track and came across a path leading along a meadow and by some trees flushed a woodcock - not what I was expecting. The meadow was bordered by lots of fence posts and so I continued on beyond the trees hoping to perhaps see a raptor (merlin?) perched somewhere. A bird was perched on top of some trees and I raised my bins in hope - although it wasn't a raptor, I was still happy as it was a ring ouzel. Who'd have thought!

Time was getting on and I still had at least a 3.5 hour drive ahead of me and so I made my way back to the car and set off home. I'd had a good hour and a half and see some great birds, even managing a year tick - it is good up north!

RSPB Ham Wall & WWT Slimbridge :: 14 October 2023

Kev @kev07713 and I hadn't been able to touch base on Friday evening and so the final decision where to go was made as I collected Kev from home on Saturday morning. The barred warbler had not been reported at all at WWT Slimbridge on Friday and so we agreed to visit RSPB Ham Wall and add a squacco heron to my year list - Kev and his wife Karen @karenheath62had already seen one back in May. We stopped on the way for breakfast and contacted Kev's sister Karen @hobbylovinglife to tell her where we were going, only to find she planned to do the same.

We arrived in the lane along Long Drove just off the main RSPB Ham Wall Reserve and found a handful of birders in place with scopes looking for the squacco heron. We parked by another car, short of where the birders were standing, and jumped out to put on our walking boots - our shoes were muddy by the time we got to the back of the car and we'd not be able to put these back on to get back into the car without getting very dirty mats. I have standards you know.

We joined the others to hear that the bird had not yet shown so we began scanning at the back lefthand water's edge as this is reportedly where it favoured. A couple of kingfishers sped around the area we were watching but too far even for a record shot. Overhead and down either side of the pool both male and female marsh harriers quartered singly and in pairs, the females showing strong contrast between their cream crowns and their dark body and wings.

In the trees behind, Kev picked up calls from lesser redpoll and lead the search, eventually picking out an individual - I stayed behind and kept a lookout for the squacco. In the trees to our right two and three cormorants perched high, wings extended and at the end of the pool a solitary grey heron stood as still as a statue.

The squacco favours freshwater marshes, lakes, and ponds with reeds and other surrounding vegetation - this habitat looked perfect. It is a rare vagrant in Britain and out of the breeding season is mostly solitary, wintering in Africa.

A flock of cattle egrets appeared in the sky and made their way from right to left, three breaking away. We watched as most dropped into a field of cows but scanning back, we saw a white bird spin in the air and drop into the trees we'd been watching. A quick look through bins and we could see it was our squacco heron - it burrowed deeper into the foliage and only partly in view.

After ten minutes or so it climbed onto the branches and into view but very distant, then dropped into the water and fished, catching a couple of fish. In just a few minutes it took to the wing and flew across the far end of the pool, landed briefly in the water and partly obscured by reeds, and then lifted up and disappeared into a bush on our righthand side. Although it briefly showed again on the lefthand edge, this was to be the best views we'd have - how it got from right to left without us seeing it is beyond me.

Soon Kev's sister Karen @hobbylovinglife and her partner Dean @worlebirder arrived to have a look for the heron. We chatted for a while as this is the first time I've caught up with Karen since her treatment - so good to see her now on the road to recovery. There was a cold breeze, and we hoped the heron would show again soon, but it didn't - we watched cattle egret, bittern, and cormorants on the water and in the trees. Eventually we discussed what to do next and after checking out Birdguides agreed to make our way back up the M5 and drop into WWT Slimbridge - a barred warbler had been reported earlier in the morning, as had a lesser white-fronted goose - both would be lifers for me.

We had a smooth journey up and were soon at the Estuary Tower hide, making our way to the top to get the best panoramic view, and be able to look down into the trees and hedges where the barred warbler had showed. There were a good number of birders here, out in the open and against the glass barriers. One helpful chap gave us a steer as to where the lesser white-front goose was - as you'd expect very distant and sat down out of view, even from this elevated vantage point. When it did appear it displayed no bling (rings), this is the reportedly most endangered breeding goose species in Europe. However, there had been the highest number fledged youngsters noted in the Norwegian population since monitoring began in 1990 - perhaps the real deal?

Rain hadn't been forecast but it came down anyway, sending us all running for cover - quite a downpour. While we were standing at the top of the stairs a voice introduced themselves to Kev - it was Nicola Benhamada - Kev and his wife Karen had met her in Birmingham last year when searching for a wryneck - we are all connected on X (formerly known as Twitter). We had a chat while we waited for the rain to stop and when it did, we couldn't find the lesser w-f goose at all. The long-staying Ross's goose did put in an appearance, as did a greater white-fronted goose, and a rogue bar-headed goose.

A chap from the lower level popped onto the platform and said that someone had spotted a short-eared owl off to our right. We all scanned to see if we could pick it up and sure enough five minutes later it flew along the edge of the path, landing on a post but frustratingly mostly out of view from where I was stood.

The owl must have been exhausted as it was allowing people on the path to come close and video on their phones, notably a woman on her mobility scooter! Despite this, the owl was flushed again and hopped across the hedge and onto a post … more in view. Several people could be seen poking their cameras through the hedge and were presumably getting breath-taking views. It didn't take too long before the owl gathered the strength to take to the wing and fly off and away from our position.

Shortly after Shaun Evans @sevans1032 and Chris Macey @chrismacey57 joined us on the platform - they'd been on the path when the short-eared owl dropped onto the post and had taken some jaw-dropping photos - follow the links by their names to see some special images. They had hoped to see the barred warbler, but it looked like we were all going to leave disappointed - maybe not a surprise with the number of people milling around ...

Out in front two planes appeared and passed overhead, Rockwell B-1 Lancer (Bone) strategic variable-wing bombers serving in the U.S. Air Force fleet. It is a platform that combines the Mach 2 speed of the B-58 Hustler with the range and payload of a B-52 and was meant to ultimately replace both. Not often seen in the UK, it was good to see them in the sky.

We were working out if we should make tracks when a call went up and a ringtail hen harrier passed behind the hide, being mobbed by crows. None of us were prepared but I shot off a few photos to try and capture the moment. The sun was out and glaring directly on the harrier’s head making it tricky to get any quality - what might have been ... prep and warning, but that doesn't often happen in the field.

We waited as long as we could, hoping that the barred warbler would appear, but it wouldn't. The wait for one of these goes on.

RSPB Frampton Marsh :: 07 October 2023

Kev (@kev07713) had been away in Cornwall for much of the week with his wife Karen and I was hoping he'd still be able and interested to join our usual Saturday outing. I'd been watching bird reports and was very interested in heading back to RSPB Frampton Marshes as there were buff-breasted and semipalmated sandpipers showing frequently - our friends Adrian and Bryan had gone in the week and ticked these, and the lesser yellowlegs. Fortunately, Kev was up for another trip as the semipalminated sandpiper would be a lifer for him - he'd already ticked buff-breasted earlier in the year, and we'd seen lesser yellowlegs at the Lower Otter Restoration Project in mid-April. The sandpipers would be more than enough.

We arrived to reports that the buff-breasted sandpiper was showing well on the wet grassland from the sea wall, just south of the Sea Bank car park. There was no report of the other birds as yet and so we set off directly to the seawall, turning south towards a group of birders already in place, passing others already returning happy.

We stopped short of the group and scanned the grassland, seeing linnets and larger numbers of meadow pipits before then finding the sandpiper feeding constantly just on the opposite edge of a pool. The sandpiper is such an elegant bird, displaying a warm tan all over, with light-edged black feathers on its back, wings, and the top of its head, that give it a characteristic scaly appearance. It has a relatively short fine bill and medium-length yellow/mustard legs. It is a scarce visitor from North America but does occur annually in the UK - especially visiting Cornwall.

We set up scopes and I set about trying to get a photo record while Kev phonescoped for images and videos - for long periods we just watched but carefully scanned through all the birds as you just never know what else might turn up.

Kev started to wander off and scan further back down the wall, eventually chatting with our friends Nick (@old_caley) and Anne Truby (@Dottydotterel) who had just arrived. I picked up the last of our kit and my scope and fell back to join them for a chat and catch up. In our rush to get here we'd not managed to stop for breakfast, but that would have to wait - the semipalmated sandpiper had just been reported again on middle scrape from the 360 hide. This was a chance for Kev to add to his year list for the first time today.

This sandpiper is a very small, plump shorebird with a thin, straight, tubular bill. When folded, the wings are about the same length as the tail. Juveniles are similar to nonbreeding adults, but the upperparts show a neat, scaly pattern - they walk slowly through mudflats and wetlands, rapidly and continuously pecking or probing for tiny invertebrate prey with their relatively short, blunt-tipped bill.

This species breeds on high Arctic tundra and typically migrates to coastal South America for the winter - an obvious reason for this one to be found on the Lincolnshire coast ... the semipalmated sandpiper gets its common name from the short webs between its toes (“palmated” means webbed) - sometimes tricky to pick this out at distance in the field. The issue we were going to face was that it would resemble the dozen or so little stints (mixed adult and juveniles) out on the scrape - we might need to be listening to some experienced birders that were capable of separating the two species at distance - it wouldn't be close to the hide, would it? Quick answer to that - no.

In the hide there were people sitting on the benches by the window but then three rows of birders on scopes - as newcomers we were on the back row. We managed to find a height where we could see through the windows, but it became apparent that the people sitting and between us and the window were very mobile and it was really quite tricky to maintain a clear view, often people having to ask for observers to not stand in front of the windows to give everyone a chance.

It took a while of watching dunlin, ringed plover and little stints before a call went up to say that someone was on our bird. On this occasion I missed it, not having a good line of sight, and within a couple of minutes it was on the wing and more off to our right. There were descriptions of where to look, often referring to the East Hide opposite which I couldn't see as it was obscured by the top of the window. However, soon the descriptions started to include detail of other birds, most importantly shelducks - bang, I was on it - life tick. I tried to take some photos, but it was impossible given the scrum and trying to pick out the bird at this range - a few attempts resulted in images of little stints rather than the sandpiper. I hopped on a couple of other scopes to make sure I was following the correct bird and confirmed, we had nice views of the bird preening facing the hide. I tried to take another photo from the rightmost benches when the bird had flown even further but with no success - I gave up and made do with some lovely little stints at closer quarters.

We had been joined by Nick and Anne who had also got on the bird and elected to stay when reports of a Lapland bunting were posted on Birdguides - just beyond the spot where we had been viewing the buff-breasted sandpiper. Breakfast was now out of the question and our visit to the Visitor's Centre would qualify for lunch.

On the sea wall we again enjoyed views of the sandpiper and chatted to the chaps who had reported the bunting - it had flown across this scrape to and likely over a gate on the sea wall. Damn - it had apparently been seen over the last three days so would likely be back. We ventured along the sea wall to the gate and scanned around but the bird could be anywhere. - not in view now. As we continued to scan, I found a merlin perched on a distant fence and alerted the others. I've been hoping to see one perched but had not anticipated it would be a mile away. I snapped a record shot.

Behind us a lovely wheatear perched on a post and was largely overlooked with other quarry on our minds.

By now Kev had started talking to a chap (Des) that he'd spent time with in a hide waiting for the recent sharp-tailed sandpiper (which they eventually dipped). We walked back with him and heard that a jack snipe had been reported along the same stretch as the bunting and so we took our time scanning with scopes regularly. We soon got back to the Sea Wall car park where Des was parked and said our goodbyes for now - we were off for a spot of lunch. On the way we bumped into Nick and Anne who had been for lunch already and were off to look for the Lapland bunting.

After lunch we set off again but split up as I thought to try for a photo of the semipalmated sandpiper, lesser yellowlegs or the recently reported white-rumped sandpiper. The hide was a little less rammed, but the sandpipers were not in view and the lesser yellowlegs had flown. I decided not to stay long and went to catch up with Kev who'd gone on to see if he could locate either of the jack snipe or Lapland bunting - I found that he'd not made it far as he'd found a large number of birds had dropped into a pool on the left.

He'd picked out several common snipe but was still missing a jack snipe so eventually we climbed back up onto the sea wall for another look for either Lapland bunting or a jack snipe, picking Des up on the way. We connected with the buff-breasted sandpiper again, and while I concentrated on going through all the small birds on the ground and over, Des and Kev quartered along the sea wall in search of either. We gave it a good hour and a half but eventually had to tear ourselves away empty handed and make for the car but stopping to investigate the various pools as we went. Alongside the path were some very confiding ruff feeding on a grassy bank but there was little more to add. We set off and phoned our other halves to report on our late estimated arrival time - apologies made.