Hobby Falco subbuteo about to take a hairy Dragonfly May 8th 2024 - one of a sequence of this hunt that will be uploaded to a new blog post Linked by clicking above
a pale adult Common Buzzard - a really striking bird with a few more images in the Buzzard gallery linked by clicking above
mating Orange-tip butterlies Anthocharis cardamines
an immature Spoonbill Platalea leucorodia another formerly rare visitor they are now expected in spring - summer at Alkborough in particular - here the black sky
Blackcap singing male Sylvia atricapilla once a rare local breeding bird now there are upwards of 60 pairs around the local pits in developing scrub - not always easy to photograph this male was nice and showy
Red-breasted Goose and Dark-bellied Brent Geese Frampton Marsh - another trip down south with some more images in the blog post linked by clicking above
Tree Pipit Anthus trivialis blog on this species and Woodlarks linked above
Grey Wagtail Montacilla cinerea feeding young at a North Lincolnshire nest site - a much underrated British bird
Slavonian Grebe Podiceps auritus at Barton Pits April 10th 2024 - a short blog post on this bird and attendant Otter linked by clicking above
Two Adders Vipera berus enjoying a very rare glimpse of the sunshine in late Mars
Male Bittern Botaurus stellaris click the image to go to a blog post on this bird and images of a female for comparison
Common Buzzard Buteo buteo February 2024; a bird in its third calendar year with some retained juvenile wing coverts and inner secondaries and two outer primaries - click the image to go to a new gallery of Common Buzzard images in the Raptors section
Starling roost February 21st 2024 nearly a heart shape - link to the blog about this gallery by clicking the image above
Drake Green-winged Teal Anas carolinensis Saltfleet Lincolnshire January 31st 2024 - click the image above to go to the gallery of this bird the closest I have encountered since my first in UK in 1986
male Northern Goshawk Accipiter gentilis carrying a Woodpigeon a new gallery of images, all heavily cropped showing some new behaviour including a male mobbing a Common Buzzard is linked by clicking the image above
Short-eared Owl Asio flammeus the good Shorty winter continues to produce some photo opportunities and I have added new images tot the SEO gallery linked by clicking the image above
Purple Sandpiper Calidris maitima Mablethorpe, Lincolnshire, January 2024 - read the full story of this special bird by clicking the image above
Marsh Harrier and Starlings at sunset Frampton Marsh RSPB reserve January 25th 2024 - a blog post on this excellent day out is linked by clicking above
Black-throated Thrush Turdus atrogularis Top Hill Low, east Yorkshire Janaury 2024 click the image to go to the blog post on this twitch with more images
Great Grey Shrike Lanius excubitor Doddington Lincolns December 31st 2023 - incredibly I had not seen a Great Grey since 2017 so this was a tempting short trip for a bird that I saw regularly in the 70’s and 80’s seeing no less than 12 individuals around East Anglia in the 1974-75 winter ; always pretty distant but great scope views
male Marsh Harrier Circus aeruginosus Barton Pits December 28th 2023 - a blog post with a gallery of this superb bird is linked by clicking the image above - an amazing morning session to end the
drame Smew Mergus albellus Covenham Reservoir Lincolnshire December 26th 2023 - click above to go to the latest blog post featuring this bird and
Waxwing Bombycilla garrulus the little flock have been in my neighbour’s garden most days but the light has been dire - yesterday the very short-lived sunny spells fortuitously coincided with a brief
Hudsonian Whimbrel Numenius hudsonicus Pacific Rim, Vancouver Island September 2016 - just added a new trip report and images fro Vancouver island September 2016 linked by clicking the image above
Waxwing Bobycilla garrulus adult male - click on the image above to go to the latest blog post about me recent encounters with this species
female Bearded Tit Panurus biarmicus Alkborough Flats North Lincolnshire November 28th 2023 - I have created a blog post about the weeks events and photos from the Flats linked by clicking the image above or go to Blog in th eheader tit
Short-eared Owl Asio flammeus a few years since I got any decent Short-eared Owl images but yesterday was a good start - more in the SEO gallery linked by clicking above
Slavonian Grebe Podiceps auritus on a dull day at Covenham Reservoir November 2023 - click on the image for more shots
Griffon Vulture Monfrague National Park Spain - I have just uploaded a series of images from this fabulous birding area in the Trips Abroad section linked by clicking image above
Pallid Swift Apus pallidus at Barton Pits October 29th 2023 - a first site record and joined by a second bird later in the day - a write up about this and other Lincs occurrences and some ID discussion is linked on the Blog by clicking above
Pallas’s Warbler Phylloscopus proregulus Bempton Cliffs RSPB, October 26th 2023 taken at ISO 6400 on the Canon R6 mark 2 with Canon EF 400 DO2 and 1.4x converter
juvenile Rough-legged Buzzard Buteo lagopus at Stone Creek on the Humber October 2023 - it was catching plenty of voles crashing to the floor with seemingly dangerous speed
Little Gulls Hydrocoloeus minutus part of a total of 250 - 300 birds blown intot he inner Humber by storm babette earlier in October - an unprecedented number for Barton
juvenile Hen Harrier Circus cyaneus sighting prey and making a rapid turn - one of three birds seen in the same area on October 22nd 2023
Goldcrest Regulus regulus feeding on insects under sycamore leaves on the East coast during a moderate arrival of birds in early October 2023
Sharp-tailed Ssndpiper Calidris acuminata adult Blacktoft Sands, RSPB, September 25th 2023 - click on the image to go to the gallery of this very rare eastern wader
Brown Booby Sula leucogaster South Gare, North Yorkshire - Cleveland, September 2023 - click the image above to go the gallery of this unexpected North Sea species
Speckled Wood butterflies Pararge aegeria sparring in flight - taken with the Canon R62 and Canon 400f4 DO2 lens with 1.4x converter
Roe Deer Capreolus capreolus buck taken August 1st 2023 - a selection of other images in a new gallery linked above
juvenile Marsh Harriers Circis aeruginosus sparring post fledging from a local nest July 2023; it has been a pretty poor season locally but a selection of recent images in the 2023 gallery linked by clicking image above
Great White Egret Ardea alba getting short shrift from a juvenile Grey Heron on the local pits this week
A Common Swift Apus apus taking an insect low over the Humber embankment this morning - soon they will have departed for another year and that will be a sad day indeed - Canon R6 mark 2 with 400 f4 DO II lens and 1.4x converter
Four-spotted Chaser of the form praenubila taken last week - more shots of this individual linked by clicking the image above
Small Pincertail Onychogomphus forcipatus one of the striking odonata from Cyprus - I have created a gallery of Cyprus odonata from several visits linked by clicking the image above
Marsh Warbler Acrocephalus palustris a singing male on the Lincolnshire coast June 2023 - more images and sound recording by clicking image above
Green-eyed or Norfolk Hawker Aeshna isoceles an amazing record on the local patch - story and more images click on the picture above
Hobby Falco subbuteo catching small insect Alkborough May 2023 - more of this spring’s Hobby images in the linked gallery click image above
Common Swift Apus apus about to catch a small airborne insect over the local pits on a cold late May day - taken with the Canon R6 mark 2 and Canon 400DO2 plus 1.4x converter
Glossy Ibis Plegadis falcinellus Alkborough Flats, North Lincolnshire, May 2023 - more images of the flock of 11 in the rare birds gallery linked by clicking image above
four-spotted Chaser Libellula quadrimaculata a flight shot of a pristine example something I have not managed before
adult summer Little Gull Hydrocoloeus minutus at Barrow Haven, North Lincolnshire, May 4th 2023 - one of our most attractive gulls - I took of 1700 images of this bird dip-feeding over the pit but have whittled it down to a lot less though it is hard to delete images of such a beautiful bird - a gallery of images is linked by clicking the image above
Tree Pipit Anthus trivialis in display flight May 3rd 2023
Hoopoe Upupa epops Alkborough Flats, May 2nd 2023 - a new bird for the site and quite unexpected
Barn Swallow Hirundo rustica Testing the auto-focus of the Canon R62 to the limit on flying Barn Swallows feeding low over a local reedbed - image detail is pretty good
Sedge Warbler Acrocephalus schoenobaenus in display flight over. a local reedbed - just arrived back from Africa these males are keen to establish territories and attract a mate - more in the gallery linked by clicking above
Northern Goshawk Accipiter gentilis a male photographed April 11th 2023 and a bird that in brief or distant views would be rather less obvious than most - more in the gellery
male Marsh Harrier Circus aeruginosus another cracking male that brightened up a migrant free day - more images in the 2023 gallery linked by clicking above
male Bittern Botaurus stellaris on the local patch March 28th - identified as a male by the beautiful blue lores and also the fact that he was boomong loudly before and after this short flight - more in the Bittern gaellery
Alpine Swift Tachymarptis melba Chapel Six Marshes, Lincolnshire, March 23rd 2023 - part of an unprecedented arrival of c150 Alpine Swifts into Britain and Ireland in the preceding week these two birds stayed for a week and allowed many people superb views of a tricky to connect with species; click the image above to go to the gallery
A stunning very old male Marsh Harrier Circus aeruginosus photographed this week on a breeding location in Lincolnshire - birds as pale as this are very rare in the breeding populations more images in the 2023 Marsh Harrier gallery linked by clicking the image above
Marsh Harrier Circus aeruginosus adult female - see the Marsh Harrier section for details on ageing this bird which is now at least 13 years old and back on her regular local breeding territory
Slavonian Grebe Podiceps auritus also uploaded Slavonian Grebe images to the web site in the grebes section
Black-necked Grebe Podiceps nigricollis a rather distant local bird found this week at Barton prompted me to add a Black-necked Grebe gallery to the site - most of the images of summer plumages birds are from way back in 2009 with the Canon 1DIIN and 300 2.8 lens - click the image to go to the gallery
Woodlark Lullula arborea Lincolnshire March 2023 still a favourite bird - I found them breeding in North Lincolnshire in 1984 the first such occurrence since 1960 but the population subsequently built up to c60 pairs before declining again due to loss of habitat
adult female March Harrier March 2023 - only 20 years ago I would still be waiting for the first Marsh Harriers to return to local breeding sites but now around 70 birds winter on the Humber and some breeding pairs remain on territories all year round - a new gallery of 2023 images is linked by clicking the image above
male Stonechat flycatching; I have created a longish blog post on my photographic addiction linked by clicking tthe image above
Sparrowhawk Accipiter nisus another new gallery linked by clicking the image above
juvenile Hobby Falco Subbuteo I have just added a gallery of Hobby images to the Raptors section - click on the image above to go to the gallery
Marsh Harrier Circus aeruginosus the dark headed juvenile still around Alkborough Flats and looking like a male on proportions - hopefully it will remain in the area and show what it develops into as it moults later in the summer
Black-throated Thrush Turdus atrogularis Wykeham forest, North Yorkshire, February 20th 2023 - a nice male possibly adult but very elusive during the day and disappeared after 14:00 - my 8th in the UK amazingly since the first at Coltishall, Norfolk in February 1976 - click for more images in the gallery
British Dipper Cinclus cinclus Februsry 2023 Ambleside, Cumbria - a targeted attempt to get some images of a species I had nothiong of though I had a lot of shots of Black-bellied Dippers - click the image above to go the gallery
female Northern Goshawk Accipiter gentilis displaying in a clear blue February sky - hopefully more images to come later in the spring; more from this session in the Goshawk gallery
Bittern Botaurus stellaris a lucky break on a beautiful sunny afternoon following a very quiet morning. More images from this week linked by clicking the image above.
male Marsh Harrier Circus aeruginosus descending onto prey in a reedbed - taken with the new Canon R62 of which more on the website later -
Goshawk Accipiter gentilis not looked for them in January before so pleased to see this 2cy bird (just) today 4th
Walrus Odomenus rosbarus Scarborough, North Yorkshire December 31st 2022 - never expected to see one of these giants in the UK but maybe not a good sign for the population
Hen Harrier Circus cyaneus a first calendar year male today in perfect light and for once close enough to record real details - more images in the Hen harrier gallery - click the image below
Further images of this 1cy female Hen Harrier now in the gallery
Hen Harrier Circus cyaneus a 1cy female December 2022 - have begun to upload some Hen Harrier images to a new gallery linked by clicking the image above - lots more to come in this section
Bearded Reedling / Tit Panurus biarmicus a gallery of recent images just uploaded - click the image above to go to the gallery
Rough-legged Hawk Buteo lagopus sanctijohannis Port Rowan, near Long Point, Ontario May 2008 - uploaded a selection of images of this form in a gallery linked by clicking image above
Rough-legged Buzzard Buteo lagopus — Just uploaded a gallery of Rough-legged Buzzard images in the raptors section - click the image above to go to the gallery
Colorado, Utah, Wyoming and Montana September 2022 - a two week family trip to the west of the USA coincided with a heat wave at either end and some rain in the middle; birding was tough and not many images obtained - above the Mormon Barn at Grand Teton National Park - click on the image to go to the gallery
Quail Coturnix coturnix went to have a listen to a couple of Quail nearby today and got very lucky when this male appeared on the field edge maybe due to the persistent heavy rain that had been falling - not often you see a Quail never mind get a photo of one
Red-tailed / Turkestan Shrike Lanius phoenicuroides a return visit in early July proved initially frustrating but eventually managed to get some images of the bird on a rather scenic gnarled fence post - more images added to teh gallery - click image above
Red-tailed or Turkestan Shrike Lanius phoenicuroides, Bmepton Cliffs, East Yorkshire, June 28th 2022 - click the image to go to the gallery of this cracking adult male
adult summer Baird’s Sandpiper Calidris bairdii Alkborough Flats, North Lincolnshire, June 22nd 2022 - more images in the Rare Birds gallery click the image above
Water Rail chick Rallus aquaticus a few days old but already able to run at amazing speed over aquatic debris - you seldom get a good view of the fluffy black chicks and almost never out in the open like this one and its sibling that was nearby
Long-eared Owl Asio otus taken at 22:23 on June 19th with the Canon R6 and 400DO2 when it was getting quite dark - the recording below of food begging juveniles and conversing adult is more atmospheric
Wood Warbler Phylloscopus sibilatrix a singing male in the Lake District taken May 2022 during a short visit to try and connect with this beautiful warbler that used to be tolerably regular in spring in Lincolnshire but is now a real rarity Click on the image above to go to the gallery.
Bitterns Botaurus stellaris getting one in flight is OK getting three together is something I have never done before - shame about the white-grey sky but the action makes up for it
Sandpit Mining Bee Andrena barbilabris taken in the Lincolnshire coastal dunes May 6th 2022 with the Canon R6 and the Canon RF 100-400 lens which is proving to be brilliant for small wildlife with its close focus and 400mm focal length
Badger Meles meles had a session last week on a very dull night just before it rained and got a few shots of this individual with the Canon R6 and Canon 400DO2 lens at 10800ISO a few more in the Mammals gallery
Otter Lutra lutra taken at 20:30 earlier in the week on the Canon R6 with the 400 DO2 and 1.4x converter at ISO 12,800 something unheard of just a few years ago
Black-browed Albatross Thalassarche melanophris Bempton Cliffs April 4th 2022; the expected return of this magnificent bird was highly anticipated but its early arrival maybe took people by surprise; more images by clicking the photo above.
male Snow Bunting Plectrophenax nivalis on the Humber bank at Barton March 30th 2022; not often you see summer plumaged birds in the UK and just five minutes from home this was a real bonus bird but the biting NE wind made it a challenge
Common Lizard Zootoca vivipara in Laughton Forest - the first I have managed to get a decent image of for several years
Black-headed Gull Chroicocephalus ridibundus harassing a pair of Mediterranean Gulls Larus melanocephalus in North Lincolnshire
male Marsh Harrier Circus aeruginosus March 2022 - birds are displaying and settling into breeding territories — more images in the gallery linked by clicking the image above
Northern Goshawk Accipiter gentilis second calendar year female March 2022 — click on the image to go to the Northern Goshawk gallery with several new images
drake Mandarin Aix galericulata Lincolnshire coast February 2022. Superb looking duck in beautiful late winter light. I held the Canon R6 down at water level focussing with the flip screen for better effect. Origin unknown but they are increasing rapidly in the Midlands.
Red-breasted Goose Branta ruficollis with Dark-bellied Brent Geese Branta bernicla Gibraltar Point, Lincolnshire January 2022. Click the image above to go to the gallery.
Marsh Tit Poecile palustris Lincolnshire January 2022 — I am trying to improve my images of some British species in 2022 in the absence of any recent foreign travel
Drake Smew Mergus albellus and drake Goldeneye Bucephala clangula Barton Pits January 2022; beautiful light and luckily after some fieldcraft both birds swam past in line and allowed a nice image of two stunning ducks
Pink-footed Geese over Barton before sunrise this morning, January 10th 2022
White-tailed Lapwing Vanellus leucurus this afternoon, December 31st 2021 at Winter’s Pit, East Halton - for the story of this bird’s discovery and a quick gallery of images click the picture above
Male Merlin Falco columbarius Lincolnshire coast December 16th 2021. This is such a stunning little adult with really rich underpart colours that it is clearly the same individuals that has been using this winter perch for at least three winters as I took some very poor phone-scoped images of it in November 2019. Sadly no longer the regular winter bird that they were around the Humber in the 70’s and 80’s
Purple Sandpiper Calidris maritima Mablethorpe, Lincolnshire December 2021 - this very obliging first-winter bird was a delight - click on image above to go to the gallery
Eurasian Bittern Botaurus stellaris Barton Pits December 6th 2021 — click on the image above to go to the gallery and full story of the encounter
Grey Phalarope Phalaropus fulicarius Covenham reservoir, Lincolnshire, December 3rd 2021; a first-winter bird which my records show was the 10th I have seen at this location since the first in 1972; click on the image above to go to a new gallery of images of this bird
Dartford Warbler Sylvia undata Westleton Heath, Suffolk, November 2021 - an image from a week long trip to the Suffolk coast in late November
Red-flanked Bluetail Tarsiger cyanurus Flamborough Head November 2021 - click on the image above to go to the gallery
Taiga Flycatcher Ficedula albicilla Flamborough East Yorkshire, November 2021 - click on the image to go to the gallery of this bird
Black-shouldered Kite La Janda, Spain February 2019; A gallery of images from a short trip to Andújar Natural Park and the Tarifa area is now in the Trips Abroad section.Click on the image above to link to the gallery
Went back to Blacktoft for the long staying White-tailed Lapwing this week and had better conditions with some nice low sunshine in the afternoon. Gallery updated by clicking on the image above.
Jack Snipe Lymnocryptes minimus Alkborough this week one of 14 seen in a dedicated search effort. This is a typical good view of a crouching Jack Snipe that has seen you long before you see them; occasionally birds do act more normally usually from permanent hides but we had one newly arrived bird in a mossy wet hollow in the dunes at Gibraltar Point a few years back which was oblivious to our attentions and fed in its typical bobbing action while I took a multitude of images linked by clicking the image above
White-tailed Lapwing Vanellus leucurus Blacktoft Sands RSPB, August 2021 - click on the image above to go to the gallery for this British mega just up the road from home
Black-browed Albatross Thalassarche melanophris Bempton Cliffs August 15th 2021 - a return visit for another look at this stunning bird; image gallery update coming soon
Glossy Ibis Plegadis falcinellus Alkborough Flats August 13th 2021 - this long staying bird, first seen in early May has now moulted into near full adult plumage with all its nice glossy feathers click the image above to go to the gallery of shots of this bird taken in May and August
Pacific Golden Plover Pluvialis fulva Frampton Marsh July 22nd 2021. A fine looking male still mainly in breeding plumage. When the split of Lesser Golden Plover into American and Pacific was adopted the first really twitchable bird was at Tetney Lincs in July 1986; I found two at South Ferriby in 1993 and 1994 but had not seen a summer plumaged bird since 2002 at North Cotes so this was a nice re acquaintance albeit in some very high temperatures
Made a visit to Chambers Wood yesterday for Purple Emperor Apatura iris and was not disappointed with at least six seen including two in the car park! click on the image above to go to blog of more images
Black-browed Albatross, Bempton, East Yorkshire, July 2021. Taking advantage of the return of Albert to the cliffs at Bempton I gambled on its appearance at Staple Newk in the afternoon sun and for once I got it right and improved on my flight images from the June trip. All are now added to the rare birds gallery and linked by clicking on the image above. A truly amazing bird so close to home and in magnificent surroundings. If it comes back will I go again? Probably!
Elegant Tern Thalasseus elegans Cemlyn Bay, Anglesey, July 5th 2021 - an unusual twitch for me nowadays ; click the image above to go to the gallery
Black-browed Albatross Thalassarche melanophris Bempton Cliffs, East Yorkshire, June 29th 2021 - Click on the image below to go to a gallery of shots of this amazing bird
Black-browed Albatross Thalassarche melanophris Bempton Cliffs, East Yorkshire, June 29th 2021 - Click on the image above to go to a gallery of shots of this amazing bird
Caspian Tern Hydroprogne caspia found this super bird on my local patch today a patch first and a British and Lincs selfy for me taking the Lincs selfy list to 301 and British to about 323 — more images and a write on the Blog section click on image above
singing Corncrake Crex crex South Uist, Outer Hebrides, June 2021. Just back from a week’s trip to the Uists and Benbecula. More images of this bird and other shots from three previous Hebrides visits can be seen by clicking the above two images.
Hobby Falco subbuteo hunting four-spot chasers today - the sun did not prevail for long and the hoped for feeding shorts did not materialise
Just adding images of Pallid Harriers to the Raptors galleries - above the adult male at Dunsop Bridge in May 2017 - also included juveniles in Lincolnshire in 2015 and 2016 - click the image above to go to that gallery
Still working on images from Tarifa area September 2017 but have a Montagu’s Harrier section uploaded with other species being added - click on image above to go to that section
drake Goldeneye Bucephala clangula taken a couple of weeks ago locally. There is only one place in the local pits where you can get low to the water to get better perspective on wildfowl and being the largest of the areas of open water birds are usually not close but an extended lye down produced a few images of this drake and his mate.
Grasshopper Warbler Locustella naevia singing male in habitat. I love to try and find a co-operative Grasshopper Warbler in spring and they are best photographed in April or early May when they are most visible. I have a lot of images of birds large in the frame but this puts the bird firmly in it’s chosen breeding habitat.
Whimbrel Numenius phaeopus in flight; taken with the new camera the Canon EOS R6 and the 400 DO and 1.4x converter. Only had this camera for less than a week and still learning my way around it but some things look good. More to come on the blog post.
This first-winter, 2cy, Red-throated Diver arrived on the local pits three days ago and in spite of a lot of boating disturbance is still present
Old female Marsh Harrier; this bird is at least 11 years old and possibly older. Her plumage development can be seen in the section linked below
Blackcap Sylivia atricapilla a singing male on Waters’ edge this morning; Blackcaps and Chiffchaffs continue to dominate the spring arrival chorus but hopefully some warmer weather will bring in some more warbler variety before too long
Chiffchaff Phylloscopus collybita
Red-necked Grebe Podiceps grisegena on the local pits today along with a drake Ring-necked Duck; click the image to go to the blog post with record shots
Juvenile Long-eared Owl Asio otus taken a few years back. Last night I was out trying to get some recordings of singing adults but between cars, trials bikes and the local dog things did not go as well as planned. Below male and female in duet and female calling. The calls are very quiet and easily missed in large areas of habitat. Click the image above to go to the Long-eared Owl gallery in the Birds section.
Just started uploading images to Cyprus galleries on Trips Abroad; click on image of eastern Black-eared Wheatear above to go to the gallery
In Britain it is not usually easy to get photos of raptors from above so this was a nice if very brief opportunity this week when this 2cy spring, ie juvenile Common Buzzard flew past below me with a reedbed backdrop mobbed by Carrion Crows.
Woodlark Lullula arborea after many years studying Woodlarks my encounters now are simply one of appreciation but the vocalisations far out-weight the subtle plumage tones - click the arrow below for a sound recording from the forest
Images of the 2017 White-winged Black Tern on the local pits also added to the Rare Birds section - click on the image above to go to the gallery
Pintail Alkborough Flats March 2021 part of a good total of 40 -46 birds in recent days
Also started a major section on Marsh Harriers with the first sections of ageing birds getting under way. More on behaviour and breeding season studies to follow.
Just added images of the 2014 Terek Sandpiper from Covenham Reservoir, Lincolnshire, to the rare Birds galleries https://www.grahamcatley.com/rare-birds-in-britain/terek-sandpiper-covenham-reservoir-lincolnshire-may-2014
Goshawk Accipiter gentilis female in display flight
a Bittern Botaurus stellaris keeping a beady eye on me in the local pits this week
Full image set from Point Pelee and Rondeau area, Ontario, in May 2013 now up and running
Click the button below to go to that section
Beautiful Sparrowhawk Accipiter nisus enjoying the early morning sun today after a very cold night
male Reed Bunting Emberiza schoeniclus in song this morning; back on territories in the last two weeks
An influx of Lesser Redpolls Acanthis cabaret on the Waters’ Edge alders over the last few days has seen numbers build up to 20+ with this nice male showing well; the alders also have a noisy flock of 40+ Siskins Carduelis spinus with males constantly singing
another species on the move this week Jack Snipe Lymnocryptes minimus taken this morning March 7th
Below a selection of other recent images
male Stonechat Saxicola rubicola male on bullrush
Small in frame image - part of a marked passage of Stonechats through Barton in the last two weeks. The first singing Chiffchaffs now present at least two weeks earlier than they used to appear in the 1970’s.
Great White Egret Ardea alba
A dull day brightened by this former rare bird that has now become an expected annual scarce migrant in Lincolnshire. This was the first February bird for Alkborough Flats but only December now lacks a record on the site.
Second calendar year drake Smew Mergellus albellus Barton Pits January 2021
Smew were formerly fairly regular in winter on my local pits but in recent years they have become a rare bird so it was nice to find this bird in late January and although it seemingly disappeared for a few days it then reappeared and was latterly joined by a second female / redhead type. This bird appears to be a clear second calendar year drake that is starting to show tell tale signs of its black and white adult plumage. It has been a very flighty bird throughout but fortunately I was stood in a concealed location as it moved between two of its favoured feeding areas and managed a few flight shots.
Redshanks Tringa totanus roosting on ice covered pond
Just as the hard weather abated many of the ponds around Barton were still frozen solid; I found the local Redshank flock roosting on Waters’ Edge early one morning before the first visitors flushed them and took a few shots. Obviously would have been better at a lower angle but it’s a boardwalk and straying off it flushes the birds. The reflection in the ice is the key factor. A single bird below formed an alternative shot.
Redshank Tringa totanus roosting on ice covered pond
Redshank Tringa totanus roosting on ice covered pond