It's been a big year for Night Herons, with multiple arrivals across the UK and Ireland but with a distinct westerly bias. So today's bird at Sandbach Flashes was not entirely a surprise. Adults are smart when seen well. I went down late afternoon as the bird roosted in bushes by Pump House Flash.
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| Malc Curtin's photo. |
Common Rosefinch is something most birders will see in most years, typically on the east coast, Shetland or Scilly. These are invariably immatures, which are dull, plain grey birds. They so certainly don't live up to their colourful name, and are so bland in the autumn that they have been christened with a series of disparaging names.
Spring males are a rather more resplendent red, not that I'd seen one before today. Most years there are a handful of signing birds, typically in remote locations or on the east coast. Way back in the eighties and early nineties these became more regular and the species was widely predicted to colonise, but that never materialised. There have perhaps been a few breeding occurrences, but nothing regular that I am aware of. These days appearances are sporadic and are always sufficiently distant so as to not merit the trip for a bird usually seen annually.
This bird has been present in a garden near Kendal, Cumbria, for the last few days but had been reported as elusive. Malc and I made the trip up largely as an excuse for a day out, tied in with some other birding. Happily the Rosefinch was singing as we arrived. It took a while to see it, but eventually it showed several times on wires and bushes as it belted out a simple, musical song. It has a BTO type metal ring, hopefully someone will manage to get a reading so we can find out where it has been before rural Cumbria.
Afterwards we went in search of Honey Buzzards without success, but enjoyed watching an Osprey pair at the nest, with one of the birds flighting around trying to break sticks from dead trees. Aside from Little Egrets, there was little of note but it was a beautiful area to spend a little time in. Swallows, Swift and House Martins zipped around and Common Kestrels were pleasingly common, but no large raptors other than a few Common Buzzards. We set off homewards around 1pm in the hope we'd beat the bank holiday traffic, but failed. A Magnum double caramel was some compensation though. Still back home late afternoon after an enjoyable day out. Must go back.
Temminck's Stint is less than annual in the north-west and I'd not seen on for perhaps 15 years before my trip to Scotland last week. Whilst I was in Aberdeenshire one appeared locally at Carr Lane Pools Hale and no doubt I'd have gone to see it if I'd been around. Today another was found in the same spot, and two more had been seen in the region marking what constitutes a local influx of sorts.
I had to call up to the office this evening, which is only 15 minutes from Carr Lane, so worth a look at another one of these cracking tiny waders. Surprisingly, and happily, there was no-one else there as I arrived. The bird was quite close and the views were excellent in the evening light, but the strong wind made photographing it near impossible. And cold.
A few highlights from the Rudheath Limebeds from the last few weeks:
Mid-May was the perfect time to head up to the north east corner of Aberdeenshire and visit Andy and Caroline in their new(ish) home in the sticks. A trip that was long overdue, well needed and very much enjoyed. I’d visited once before, in autumn 2021, but it’s safe to say the manor has moved on since then. Delighted for them to have found such a lovely place to live, surrounded by birds (and more than a few domestic animals). Caroline had made the place theirs and it shows. Great to see.
We visited Andy’s patch several times over the next days, including the excellent Loch of Strathbeg RSPB and Rattray Head, as we as several other spots along the coast.
I have to say it’s a fantastic area, not just because of the migrant and rarity potential, but also the sheer numbers of commoner birds that have slowly ebbed away further south. Swallows galore, Corn Buntings, Tree Sparrows and Yellowhammers are abundant, and Andy’s ‘garden’ (ok estate) thronged with Song and Mistle Thrushes, Siskins and Chaffinches. Crossbills and Sedge Warbler were not your average garden birds though.
Garden-wise the best birds of my stay were four adult Common Cranes, which appeared to be dropping in to his field as we got out of the car but were no doubt startled by our presence. Some spectacle to have these as a garden bird. There’s a small but growing population in the area, and we saw another pair at Strathbeg on two visits.
Migrant-wise I was a few days too late for Andy’s star junco find, but Rattray was worth a look daily. It’s basically a single garden adjacent to dunes and a lighthouse, with no other vegetation meaning it’s a migrant magnet. There’s a sizeable flood by the dunes that attracts waders, and the open arable fields are ideal for chats and the like. We only managed a Whinchat, a few Chiffchaff, Sedge Warbler, Whitethroats and a couple of Wood Sandpipers on the flood. The fields along the access track held a few Wheatears, five sparkling Golden Plovers and two late Pink-footed Geese. The potential here is fantastic and the historic rarity list isn’t too shoddy.
At Strathbeg RSPB, highlights were my first Temminck’s Stint in decades, more Wood Sandpipers, Ruff, 4 male Garganey and 2 Great Egret. There’s a thriving Common Tern colony in front of the hide and Marsh Harriers quartered the reeds, giving the place that throng of birds feel that RSPB does so well.
The only (small) downsides of the trip were a missed opportunity for a tick; bizarrely news of a Western Subalpine Warbler wasn’t released for 5 hours despite it being at the side of the coast road. More galling was that we’d driven past the observed minutes before he saw it. Good job it wasn’t anything rarer, I can wait for this one.
We also visited the stunning Ythan Estuary. As ever the place teams with life - Eiders and Terns are everywhere. We failed to locate the semi resident King Eider (Elvis) but I thoroughly enjoyed the birds. Masses of Sandwich, Arctic and Common Terns with a few Little Terns. An Osprey caused havoc at one point as it meandered past. There were plenty of commoner waders and the seal colony added to the sense of abundance.
Most importantly it was excellent to chill and enjoy good company. Have to say the catering was worthy of a trip alone. Look forward to my next trip to Laird Carroll’s.
Before the weekend I'd mentioned at home that I was over due a twitch, but also that they rarely happened when convenient like the current bank holiday weekend. Gladly I was wrong. At 10.20am on returning to the car after walking the dogs in Delamere, I realised the phone had been (silently) in meltdown.
There as a GREY-HEADED LAPWING in Northumberland. There was no question of not going, and fortuitously I had nothing too important on. Plans were made, and in no time Paul Baker, Phil W, Mark and I were headed north to Low Newton.
Twenty years ago such an occurrence would probably have been dismissed as an escapee. But in there have been at least four records in the Western Palearctic in the last decade for a species that appears to be unknown in captivity. And with increasingly weird and wonderful occurrences of far Asian vagrants, this one has very much been on the radar in recent years. A classic when, not if, species.
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| Grey-headed Lapwing, Low Newton (Brian Martin) |
Grey-headed lapwings breed in northeast China and Japan, with the mainland population spending winters in northern Southeast Asia for northeastern India to Cambodia. I've seen them Thailand and Vietnam, but not since the 1990s.
It was an easy twitch: plenty of daylight, no traffic, easy parking, a lovely location in decent weather, a carnival atmosphere and an immediately visible bird. There's no doubt this bird will make the grade as a UK first, and a well-deserved find by local Gary Woodburn.
A very lovely bird, looking incredibly out of place in the UK as it fed alone in a sheep-field.
Aside from the star, the adjacent scrape held breeding Avocets and plenty of commoner waders; Ringed Plover, Dunlin, Oystercatcher and Northern Lapwings.
Back home for 9pm.
567 for now, but there appear to be some incoming lumps! Shame, has a nice ring to it.
