29/04/2023 Iddrottswagen Förslöa, Sweden

Baltimore Oriole:  This was sat in my drafts and unpublished but with a busy few months birding, witching, weddings photography and survey work I've not had a chance o do the updates.

Say hello to Sweden's first Baltimore oriole, this longs staying bird arrived way back in December, back then there was snow on the ground and the bird was attracting large crowds and engaging the whole village. 

The bird hasn't left the garden since and is still guarding its bird feeder full of fermenting fruit and roosting in the adjacent pine tree.

The bird should be on the other side of the Atlantic in North America. They are found in the Canadian Prairies and eastern Montana in the northwest eastward through southern Ontario, southern Quebec, and New Brunswick, and south through the eastern United States to central Mississippi and Alabama, and northern Georgia. 

Baltimore oriole's migrate to winter in the Neotropics as far north as Mexico and sometimes the southern coast of the United States, but predominantly in Central America and northern South America. They prefer habitat in open deciduous woodlands but are also known do quite well in community parks and suburban backyards, which this bird can attest to as its made this small garden its home since December 2022.

During our time here I visited the garden three times and saw it each time I arrived, the bird didn't leave the pruned pine tree the feeder is attached to and regularly climbed on to the feeders to feed before melting away back into the pine tree.

It often poked its head through the branches of the pine tree and only one climbed to the top and even performed a short sub-song.

You may be thinking where it gets its name from, well the summer plumage male bird resembles the colour's to those on the coat-of-arms of Lord Baltimore. It is the state bird of Maryland and is also the namesake and mascot for the Baltimore Orioles baseball team.

Fieldfare: The garden was also home to felidfare, blackbirds, blue tits and great tits, goldfinch, house and tree sparrows. The owner was very pleasant and urged me to stay and wait longer for better views of the bird.

Sparrowhawk: Unfortunately the owner of the house has recently installed a cage around the main feeder, probably because of this local sparrowhawk  that I witnessed whizzing right past the feeder before alighting up on the nearby greenhouse of the garden centre. 

Tree Sparrow: I didn't twitch this bird solely to see it, Dawn and I planned a short mini-break to Sweden and Denmark, visiting Copenhagen.

We had a great time with some great weather, great food and some really great real ales.

A bit late but I hope you enjoy the post. 

03/12/2022 My Garden, Abram, Wigan

Sparrowhawk: After arriving home from a short walk with the baby I parked up on my drive and could hear a torrent of contact and alarm calls emanating from my garden.

I sorted out the baby and tentatively made my way to to the living room and peered through the French windows and saw this all brown hawk sitting, squat on my fence.

 

I've had a couple of sparrowhawk flying over the garden and have even had one on my neighbours roof, but this juvenile sparrowhawk is the first one I've seen visiting my garden in the 11 years I've lived in this house. 

I take the view that having a sparrowhawk visiting your garden is a good thing and the presence of such a top predator indicates that the bird populations in my garden and my local area redoing well. 

Since bouncing back, sparrowhawks have spread into many suburban parks and gardens they have adopted well relying on the element of surprise  to catch their prey. And as such will often follow a regular route to get close to potential prey, which in gardens means using the cover of a hedge or shed. 

The bird wasn't phased by my presence at the window pressing my big lens against the glass, it wasn't even bothered as I stood on s stool and peered over the back fence to get an unobstructed view without the double glazing. 

It eventually whizzed off over the fence and out of sight. Hope it returns. 

03/09/2022 Spurn, East Riding of Yorkshire

Citrine Wagtail: I booked a night in the Spurn Bird Observatory with Gary, Kris and Tobie as the winds were looking promising and there had been a trickle of scares migrant warblers mid-week, so we were hopeful.

Red-necked Phalarope: After a late one in the Crown and Ancor we headed out first thing were Kris relocated the cit wag in the ditch along Chalky Point. 

It eventually made an appearance on the grass lawn behind the Riverside Hotel. 

Whinchat: Citrine wags breed on the windsweapst tundra and meadows in parts of northern and eastern Europe and north-central Asia, they winter in south Asia there aren't many annual records so when one turns up and shows well it tends to be a bit of a draw.

Pied Flycatcher: Spurn was littered in common migrant birds we found at least six pied flies, countess whinchat, a handful of common restart and willow warblers. 

Willow Warbler: We scanned almost every hawthorn, peered in ever hedge and looked at miles of buckthorn and still no scarce migrant warblers. 

Fox: We even walked the long walk to the point after a late report of a wryneck came out, the walk defiantly helped out step count but not our legs. 

No scares birds but we did have an unusual encounter with this fox, as it came out from behind the lighthouse and walked right up to us. It stoped and started at us, within touching distance then walked off. 

It didn't look too well and I suspect that some visitors who walk down there may be feeding it as it appeared really tame.

Pied Flycatcher: The buckthorn and wind burned tree stumps  held several pied flies but not much else. 

Fox: Spbesquently since I came back from Spurn I have learned that this 'Lighthouse Fox' is a bit of a regular and is often seen taking food from folk who venture down. It has also been reported by the BBC that the fox has befriended the crew at an East Yorkshire lifeboat station who gave it the original name Basil. 

Common Redstart: Bacon ponds was particularly

productive especially as high tide rolled in and the wader numbers built up.

Wood Sandpiper: Hundreds of dunlin, redshank, ringed plover and black-tailed godwits filled the pools along with five curlew sandpiper and a single wood sandpiper. Two red-neck pals were also here feeding on the flies skimming across the shallow water. 

Curlew Sandpiper: Curlew sands are slim, pale buff waders compared to dunlin which they can be confused with. Curlew sands breed on the Siberian tundra, a quarter-span of the globe to the east of Britain. In autumn, they head south, west and east, to spend the winter as far apart as west Africa and New Zealand.

Sparrowhawk: I always enjoy my visits to Spurn but combined with a night away in its observatory accommodation this trip was particularly good. Very enjoyable birding, company and evening drinks in the Crown. Brilliant. 

04/02/2019 Wageningen, Netherlands

Spotted Nutcracker (slender billed): There are some twitches that you know you will remember forever, some that stand out as extra special and this one most certainly fits that narrative.

Dawn and I booked a mini-break to Amsterdam staying on a lovely house boat along one of the beautiful canals that cross-cross the city.
We arrived late on Sunday night and booked a hire car for Monday morning.

After a fun night out and a good nights sleep we picked the car up from Centraal Station and embarked on the short journey to Wageningen, located about an hour east and was on pretty easy roads to navigate.

We arrived on the quiet suburban streets of Wageningen and ran in to two local birders, their English was good and they told us that they hadn't seen the bird in over two hours!!!

I was alarmed, I know that bird has been in this town since well before Christmas, but it had moved from the edge of an housing estate further into town and with the prowling cat population and local sparrowhawks I did think, if only for a second, that it may have gone! maybe for good.

Luckily however almost as soon as Dawn and I arrived and I opened a packet of hazelnuts the bird came straight in, right past my legs and landed right next to me. Within touching distance. This was superb, what an excellent way to see my first ever nutcracker.

The spotted nutcracker has an extensive range forming a broad swathe east-west from Scandinavia right across northern Europe, Siberia and to eastern Asia, including Japan, inhabiting the huge taiga conifer forests in the north.

The Eurasian nutcracker (N. caryocatactes) has several subspecies, each occupying a different part of the range and depending on different conifer species. Some of the populations can be separated on bill size. This individual is classified as a slender billed (N. c. macrorhynchos), which occurs over most of Siberia and is the most widespread of the bunch.

Spotted nutcrackers are not migratory, but will erupt out of range when a cone crop failure leaves them short of a food supply.
This slender billed eastern race being the more likely to do this.

The bird happily and boldly went about 'caching' the nuts, burying them under in the soil besides a kerb and laying dead leaves over them.
Dawn and I along with the two other birders were soon joined by some passing locals one of which came prepared and brought his own monkey nuts.

Taking one from his pocket and extending his arm the bird jumped out of the tree and on to the mans hand. I was blown away.

The bird flew up and drank out of a blocked gutter before disappearing, we went off for some lunch in the town and came back only to have the nutcracker spooked off by a passing sparrowhawk.

(this image was taken on my iPhone)

Sparrowhawk: I was relieved to see that the bird of prey was after the local pigeons - but the nutcracker better keep a sharp eye out! This picture was taken in the garden where it spent much of its time.

This was such a great trip, Amsterdam is a lovely city full of great sights and good food and seeing the nutcracker just topped it off.

08/04/2018 Wirral

Chiffchaff: A lovely morning spent on the Wirral catching up with some spring migrants, including chiffchaff, swallow and ring ouzel.

 I started the day off at Leasowe Lighthouse where I bumped in to Patrick who said he had not much luck this morning.

Sparrowhawk & Starling: After a quick catch up I headed down the very muddy Lingham Lane when Patrick called me saying a news of a male ring ouzel came through and was still in the are.

With renewd vigour I reached a small group of birders who pointed it out to me, the bird was opposite the horse paddocks, but kept its distance.

Ring Ouzel: We watched it until it got spooked by the nearby sheep and disappeared out of view.

After walking around the Ligthouse I saw two more swallow but no wheatear as I was hoping for.

Great White Egret: As I travelled in my car out of Leasowe I spotted a sphawk fighting with s starling, i quickly parked up and jumped out. great little drama to witness.

On the way home I stopped off at Neston and picked up the local GWE and three lovely looking water pipit down near the sewage works.

10/03/2015 Astley Moss

Yellowhammer: Lovely morning at a very bright but muddy Astley moss. The place was full of the sound of male Yellowhammers singing  and I saw and counted six males and four females, but I assume there was lost more I missed.

Common Buzzard: I didn't venture too far and spent most of my time waiting on the main drive, where I places some seed.

While perched here I also counted three Common buzzard two soaring high and one pretty low the adjacent field and a pair of Grey Partridge.

Sparrowhawk: After getting my fill of the hammers I decided to walk over to the barn just past the houses and opposite the moss itself, checking out the surround fields.

These were filled with Lapwing and singing Skylark and just before I left I also got some lovely views of a sprawk flying low over the fields.

07/08/2013 Titchwell Marsh RSPB

Ruff: Our next stop on our second day in Norfolk was to the very excellent Titchwell RSPB nature reserve.

The ting with Norfolk is that the birding is ace! From the number of waders to the species it draws and Titchwell was no exception.

Lapwing: One of the first birds we saw was a female Marsh Harrier cursing over the vast reed beds. The scrapes were full of waders, Ruff, Lapwing, Black wits, Green Sands, Wood Sands, Spotted and Redshank but the highlight for me was very close views of a Little Stint.

Little Ringed Plover: (juvenile) I bagged another new tick with two female Red Crested Pochard which I believe breed at Titchwell.


This LR Plover was happily feeding right in front of the hide.

Sparrowhawk: All of a sudden all the waders lifted off the scrape as out of the corner of my eye came a female Sparrowhawk clutching what looked like a Starling.

Spoonbill: We decided to make a move and head back to the car for the long journey back up north when we stopped on the causeway looking over the scrape and spotted this elegant Spoonbill passing over.

Little Gull: We also spotted a single Little Gull sleeping on the scrape, this picture shows the difference in size between the Little Gull near the waters edge and the Black Headed Gull at the to of the picture.





We had a great trip birding and twitching around Norfolk where I bagged six new lifers which were Night Heron, Nightjar, Roller, Red Crested Pochard, Little Stint and believe it or not Common Scoter - on a brief sea watch but I'm hoping for better views one day as they were miles away. I will definitely  be back for more excellent Norfolk birding soon.