Graham Catley 05/06/2025 Graham Catley 05/06/2025

June 2025

Slow months are upon us so may try and add a few obvious omissions to the 2025 photo challenge

As it will no doubt be the only Turtle Dove image of the year this one will have to make do for 151 - the tragic loss of this species from Britain has been catastrophic - Locally I recorded a total of 172 birds flying west in four hours on May 14th 1077 at Barrow Haven and there was passage on most days of the month with up to 34 breeding pairs along the Humber clay pits. On August 26th 1992 a gathering of 156 was present on a harvested field at South Ferriby such was the local status of the species. As recently as 2000 there were 14 singing males and ten confirmed pairs on the clay pits with 13 males but only six pairs in 2002. The last pair I saw locally was in 2015 and the last bird was 2026. I have not even seen one anywhere since 2021 so a trip to the Lincs coast at least just topped up my memory of an iconic and much loved, lost species.

If we had some warmth there are other things to enjoy - Lizard in a regular spot in the forest

Graham Catley 22/05/2025 Graham Catley 22/05/2025

Honey-buzzards - reacquaintance with old friends

I have been going up to Wykeham for many years to watch the Honey-buzzards, or at least to attempt to watch them, because as all raptor watchers know nothing is certain or guaranteed and with Honey-buzzards that is doubly so. In 2017 a striking pale male took up residence and I was fortunate after many visits to be in the right place at the right time when he flew past close enough for a decent image (see below). Since 2017 he has returned every year but views have been very varied and photo opportunities even more so with record shots often being the order of the day.

Pale male Honey-buzzard Wykeham, North Yorkshire, July 2017.

The same male produced one of my favourite images in 2018 as he displayed below the raptor viewpoint in Troutsdale - although very small in the frame the image is full of atmosphere and scene setting

and a more standard shot of the male 2018

So 2025 and after a blank year for sightiongs in 2024 I headed up to Wykeham on 21st in what seemed like less than ideal conditions weather wise; it was cold and cloudy with a fresh northerly but forecast was a bit better. When I arrived at the raptor viewpoint it was decidedly Arctic in nature with a strong Northerly coming straight up the valley but at least the Tree Pipit was in full display and at very close range, a Garden Warbler was in full voice and a few Common Crossbills soon appeared but it was not a good omen for raptor watching - or was it? But not long after arrival I picked up the female coming in from over the newly cleared plantation by the RVP and she performed some nice moves in front of the small crowd albeit in pretty dire light.

Willow Warbler entertained in front of the RVP all day - I loved the perch

female and two juvenile Common Crossbills from the RVP

Maybe because of the cold and dull light the birds were sometimes quite low down which has its advantages and you don’t often get shots of the bird’s upperparts - female again

Subtle but intricate patterning even on an essentially brown bird

Beautiful looking bird - I still vividly remember my first ever Honey-buzzards - studying (sort of) at UEA in June 1974 we were sitting on the East Bank at Clew with the late great Richard Richardson on June 18th - three new birds were logged Spoonbill, Kentish Plover and Red-necked Phalarope but in our chat Richard kindly told us about Norfolk’s first Cetti’s Warblers at Surlingham which we managed to twitch two days later and he also gave us a location where we could hopefully see Honey-buzzards in North Norfolk. On June 23rd armed with a few reference books for revision purposes, on the back of Duncan’s motorbike we arrived at the designated track on a lovely sunny day and not long after a beautiful male Honey-buzzard flew out of the nearby wood at about 60 feet up straight down the track towards us and gave us the most superb views. One of those things you never forget and we were back three days later seeing the female as well. Five lifers in six days.

The sun eventually did make an appearance in the afternoon but the birds were usually higher and not as close but I did get this shot of the female with some bluish sky

female watching something - probably the male with his enticing mummified bird’s legs

The male appears to have some central tail feather still growing - here he was receiving some unwelcome attention from a raven - it doesn’t seemthat many years since I reported a pair of Ravens at Wykeham and it was a rare event

From late morning the male was carrying something which was assumed initially to be a frog but closer images revealed it was the legs and feet of a passerine with some very dried up body parts attached - certainly not an apetising looking treat for a potential mate but he clearly had other ideas as he held onto it for several hours and even did some bouts of wing clapping display still holding it in his feet

Although many views were more distant and into bright light persistence paid off when he made one close pass in good light - still a very striking bird and he hs made that return trip to sub-saharan Africa at least 10 times now

Not often that you can get a view of the upperparts and against a woodland backdrop - stunning bird

A balancing act putting the bird in the context of the location and habitat the male over Troutsdale

Graham Catley 16/05/2025 Graham Catley 16/05/2025

May 15th and 17th 2025 - Buff-breasted Sandpiper special days

On May 15th 2025 and again on 17th I was privileged to witness something that I had never seen before and realistically never expected to see, the breeding display of a Buff-breasted Sandpiper. With a highly restricted breeding range encompassing only the High Arctic of northernmost Alaska and Canada, where access is at best difficult and very expensive and birds are thinly spread, the chances of seeing the lek of this species is for most people a remote possibility.

Most of the information below is taken from:

https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Buff-breasted_Sandpiper/lifehistory

Buff-breasts are the only North American wader that leks with males gathering fairly close together to display to females but like Ruffs and other lecking species the males take no further part in rearing the brood. Males display in prominent raised areas in the high Arctic environment, usually along ridges, bluffs, and banks near creeks and rivers. Here, water sedge, dwarf willow, horsetail, mountain-avens, and cotton grass are common plants. Similarly, females build the nest on dry slopes or other raised locations, often not far from a stream. Other occupants of upland tundra habitat include Baird’s Sandpipers and American Golden-Plovers, and these three species are often found together during migration as well. They seek out mostly dry, flat habitats including sod farms, prairies, and many kinds of agricultural fields, so long as they are not covered by water or heavy vegetation.

As soon as they arrive on tundra nesting grounds, male Buff-breasted Sandpipers begin their rousing courtship displays. Several males (rarely up to 20) form a loose group (all within sight of each other) known as an “exploded lek,” often on dry patches of tundra near river bends. These leks last for several days. Some males frequent the same lek location, whereas others move from lek to lek, taking short flights or in some cases wandering for hundreds of miles. Their displays are unusual among shorebirds, involving at least 17 different postures and behaviours. Most often, males crouch and raise the tail and one wing, waving the wing slowly to show the bright white under surface. They also leap into the air and flutter the wings in a balletic display. When a male has attracted the attention of a female, he raises and opens both wings, raises the bill and head, puffs out the breast, stands on tip-toe, and moves forward like a wind-up toy, making the wings move up and down. A receptive female opens and raises the wings, then turns her back toward the male. Leks can seem chaotic in their activities, as males often seek to disrupt other males’ displays when females are present. Some males even try to distract others by mimicking female behaviour, and it is common to see males attempt to mate with other males at leks. Male and female do not form a pair bond; the females select nest sites, build nests, and raise young without help from males. After the breeding season, Buff-breasted Sandpipers gather in flocks for migration, like most shorebirds. They arrive on wintering grounds in flocks but soon begin to establish feeding territories there. Males often display on wintering grounds and sometimes during migration.

Buff-breasted Sandpiper populations once numbered in the hundreds of thousands to millions, but by the 1920s hunting, overgrazing, conversion of prairie to cropland, and other landscape changes had brought this species close to extinction. Their numbers increased slightly after shorebird hunting was banned in the early 20th century, but are thought to be declining again. Partners in Flight estimates the global breeding population at 56,000, rates the species a 14 out of 20 on the Continental Concern Score, and includes the species on its Yellow Watch List for species with declining populations. Habitat loss and energy development projects (including oil/gas and wind power) threaten the sites these birds use for display, nesting, and migration. The effects of climate change in the Arctic, including both sea-level rise and habitat changes, are likely to render some current nesting areas unsuitable.

male Buff-breasted Sandpiper East Halton Marshes May 15th 2025

My first Buff-breasted Sandpiper was a juvenile twitched at Blithfield Reservoir on September 21st 1980 on return from an unforgettable week in Cornwall that started with my first juvenile Spotted Sandpiper at Draycote Water on the way down and then produced not only self-found Semi-palmated Sandpiper and Aquatic Warbler but juvenile American Golden Plover, two Pectoral Sandpipers, two Wilson’s Phalaropes and a Ring-necked Duck. In early September 1981 Andrew Grieve rang me from Blacktoft to say that a juvenile Buff-breasted Sandpiper had flown from Blacktoft across the Trent towards Alkborough Flats. My first ever visit to Alkborough Flats on September 3rd duly relocated the Buff-breast feeding on burnt stubble fields with 70 Ruff.

With several notable Transatlantic flights in the 70’s and 80’s the wisdom was that it was actually easier to see Buff-breasted Sandpiper in Britain than in most of the US. A total of five autumn juveniles and an August adult followed before my first self-found local patch bird, an adult, at Chowder Ness on July 30th 2007. With six more juveniles and three adults, two in August and one on May 24th 2009 at Alkborough Flats I had amassed a total of 18 birds of this charismatic species up to the end of 2024 including two juveniles together at Rimac in September 2011. I spent a few hours lying in the dried out mud frequented by the Alkborough Flats spring bird but it never showed any inclination to display to the Arctic bound Ringed Plovers nearby. In spite of several visits to Canada and trips to Arizona, Texas and California it was the autumn of 2016 before I saw Buff-breasted Sandpiper across the pond when a juvenile was feeding with four Pectoral Sandpipers on the Spit at Campbell River, Vancouver Island.

Buff-breasted Sandpiper East Halton May 15th 2025 - feeding in sloppy mud is clearly not what Buff-breast do regularly and it ended up with a muddy bill and forehead most of the time I was watching it

So back to May 15th 2025:

It was cold with a freezing NE wind and after a morning of fruitless scanning of the local Swift flock, still only about 100, and the 30 or so House Martins and 50 Swallows I decided to look for waders around Goxhill – East Halton. A couple of Sanderling on Monday with one a superb summer male and the faint possibility of something different at Winter’s Pond saw me sitting in the car having a leisurely lunch and avoiding getting out into the cold wind. Two Whimbrel flew past and northwards after failing to find any suitable mud. But eventually it had to be done and I donned appropriate winter gear and walked to look at the one remaining good-looking pool on the mitigation area. Now this was either good or bad timing but initially it seemed like the latter. As I scanned, I could only see one Ringed Plover but unfavourably a pair of Avocets and two Lapwings on the pool two species that are usually aggressive to any other waders. Indeed, as I walked up one of the Lapwings started chasing a Little Ringed Plover around the pool then it flew at the lone Ringed Plover which flew up accompanied by the Buff-breasted Sandpiper that I had not picked up on the deck. Dam and double dam as it and the RP flew up, up and away over the hedge and out over the Humber – that was just bad timing and I was curding the time spent eating lunch when I could have been looking at a Buff-breast. The obvious thing to do seemed to be to walk down to the Humber, where it was low tide, and hope they had landed somewhere out there but a quick scan revealed many hectares of wader less mud and just three Shelduck. I walked towards Killingholme Haven checking the seaweed and upper mudflats but to no avail so I wandered back towards the car then walked up towards the pool where to my surprise the Buff-breast was feeding right next to the fence. The Lapwing seemed to have settled down so I set about taking to pictures but the light was dull and grey and almost murky. There were three or four Little Ringed Plovers on the pool and the Buff-breast seemed to be associating loosely with them but what happened when it flew and landed next to one of the LRP’s had me stunned. It suddenly started displaying towards one of the LRP’s with legs stretched and wings raised and held open showing off the amazing patterning on the underwing feathers. I fired off several shots but it was a bit distant and the background was a mess. Having seen images of this display it was truly exciting to see it in the flesh so to speak. During the next hour twice when the Buff-breast flew and landed it performed the same wing raised display sometimes strutting towards its friend and sometimes almost running with raised wings. The pattern of the upperwing proved to be almost as striking as the underwing and the bird was clearly uttering a low call while displaying but in the strong wind it was hard to hear. I managed a few more shots of the display but frustratingly thought I had got some video but I had pressed the wrong button on the camera in my excitement.

So, has a Buff-breasted Sandpiper ever displayed to a Little Ringed Plover in the past? Who knows what a vagrant in the wrong part of the world will do but for me this was a brief but mazing first and truly memorable encounter with one of the World’s best waders.

Male Buff-breasted Sandpiper displaying to a Little Ringed Plover, East Halton, Lincolnshire May 15th 2025

Male Buff-breasted Sandpiper displaying to a Little Ringed Plover, East Halton, Lincolnshire May 15th 2025 - the LRP seemed less than impressed

Male Buff-breasted Sandpiper displaying to a Little Ringed Plover, East Halton, Lincolnshire May 15th 2025 - the underwing pattern is so striking

Male Buff-breasted Sandpiper displaying to a Little Ringed Plover, East Halton, Lincolnshire May 15th 2025 - the upper flight feathers are almost as impressively marked as their undersides

Male Buff-breasted Sandpiper displaying to a Little Ringed Plover, East Halton, Lincolnshire May 15th 2025 - sadly not on some nice tundra vegetation but some dried out Lincolnshire clay

Male Buff-breasted Sandpiper displaying to a Little Ringed Plover, East Halton, Lincolnshire May 15th 2025 - another pose

As the Buff-breast hung on to 17th I was receiving messages saying that it was showing at close range so I headed back to East Halton mid-morning but the light was dire and it remained cold, dull and cloudy with a persistent NE wind - images were bigger but certainly no better with worse light

It blended in with the dried, caked mud very well and could be tricky to see and easy to overlook

then early afternoon the sun was out and after a fruitless Ancholme walk I returned late afternoon for another crack - It was not that close most of the timeand even the beast did not send it our way but the light was so much better and eventually it did a few short displays in the glorious light allowing me to improve on the initial efforts - the image above being the best

What a difference light makes though to any pose

Having read a few more texts it appears that they do often display on spring migration and occasionally even in autumn

I heard a call similar to some of the more melodic notes recorded on eBird when the bird landed

And below images of my previous Buff-breasted Sandpipers all in Lincolnshire

Juvenile Donna Nook September 2006 in seemingly typical salicornia habitat on the Lincs beach

Covenham Reservoir juvenile October 2006 - concrete sides reservoirs seem an odd site for waders but the wealth of insects is clearly the attraction

Adult with Dunlin Chowder Ness Barton July 2007 - my only local patch bird

A one day bird at Chowder it was found further up the estuary att Read’s island the following day

a confiding juvenile at Toft Newton september 2007 - sadly it had somehow become impaled with a straw stem in its leg - rear flank

juvenile Toft Newton Reservoir September 2007 as above

adult Alkborough Flats May 2009 - I spent seevral hours being eaten by flies lying in the mud near this bird but it stubbornly refused to display

This was the closest I got to seeing that underwing - Alkborough Flats May 2009

a typically very confiding bird Alkborough May 2009

juvenile Rimac with two juvenile Curlew Sandpipers September 2011

One of the two juveniles Rimac September 2011 again in salicornia on the beach

Graham Catley 08/05/2025 Graham Catley 08/05/2025

Bempton seabirds - trying to make things a little different

I have been to Bempton a few times already this year and typically take the same old pictures so I have consciously been trying to think a little differently whether it be light or subject size or backdrop or anything slightly different - this blog is a selection of images that I have taken between February and May of the usual suspects - herewith the Gannets on Staple Newk in fairly flat light not blowing out the white highlights which always happens on sunny days

Back in february there were masses of auks on the sea with the first Gannets drifting around and Fulmars back on the cliffs - capturing the spectacle of all the auks is tricky in a flat image so I zoomed out and tried to show some of the patterns created by the flocks of birds on the water.

zooming in a bit to a flock of mainly Razorbills

a bit of bill conflict with a dark background

In February there is a lot less light but it is subtle and brings out the details in the white plumage

The first Guillemots packing the ledges with the empty Kittiwake nests as they had not returned in February

On this latest visit I took a series of images of birds over the crashing waves at the foot of the cliffs as there was a notably chilly onshore breeze for May - sometimes you have to look harder to see the subject and sometimes there are additional birds like the Kittiwake below the Gannet

This turned out to be my favourite result - I was tracking the Kittiwake but then the Guillemot flew through and kjust caught the light with a good wing position - the juxtaposition fo the two birds and the power of the breaking waves makes it probably my best shot of the year but all opinions are personal!

Here I have cropped another shot from the same sequence to show just the Guillemot, bigger in frame and the waves which look rather like a waterfall

Here the sea is key and the Kittiwake almost invisible in need of looking for

a less dramatic sea and more obvious Kittiwake

Does converting to Black and White make it more dramatic?

A Herring Gull with even more foam and froth

A Puffin near the cliff top in a mud hole

A Razorbill coming in to land - pretty standard shot with modern AF systems

This Razorbill just caught the low sun while the sea was in shade and hence dark - I take loads of Razorbill images but delete most of them!

Not really a fan of head shots but its the eye that captures the imagination

Arguably a Kittiwakes best bit is its orange gape so you need a calling bird to show it off - I preferred this one as it includes some fo the cliff and the sea as backdrops

The value of zoom lenses - taken with the Canon RF 100-500 lens at 100mm and the Canon R6II - the architecture ie the stack and the distribution of the Gannet nests just draws my eye all the time - I love this image

Razorbill catching the low light - would you remove that insect? I thought it added interest

Full sun but a bit of activity interest - Razorbill display

A pair of Kittiwakes displaying but its the quizical look of the onlooker that adds interest

the contrast of two species caught by chance

Graham Catley 03/05/2025 Graham Catley 03/05/2025

May 2025

As spring dashes by a few more images to add to the challenge and some better or repeat shots of species already logged

Common Terns are a constant feature of the pits from now through to July or August with about 14 birds present so far and a few pairs displaying but none settled on eggs as yet - I like to try and capture something a litle different each year

The first two days of the month were hot and with a lot of insects aloft the terns were flycatching

138 on the challenge sheet Common Sandpiper one of the very few passage waders we get on the local patch nowadays as we have lost all our freshwater wetlands and the Humber inter-tidal seems devoid of life

139 - I said I wouldn’t include Pheasant but it is a colourful bird in some nice green grass

One of the local male Cuckoos passed by within range but the beautiful rufous female continues to elude me for year three!

I actually saw a Hairy Dragonfly being dismembered by a Hobby before seeing one in the flesh as it were - recent days have seen an emergence of several damselflies, Azure, Blue-tailed, Common Blue and Large Red as well as Four-spotted Chasers and Hairy Dragons

Orange-tip mating pair and intruding male - I have a lot of invert photos from the spring that I really need to organise

A cracking couple of hours yesterday photographing four Hobbies locally - will do a blog post on them when I get them processed

One of the local breeding male Swallows - although there seems to be more birds than last year numbers are still well down

140 Swift - although birds have been over the gardemn for over a week this was the first morning I fired off a few shots at the screaming birds - more attempts will no doubt follow

Swifts and skies is one of my photo fascinations

and my favourite of the year so far - we have three birds screaming around the hosue but they are looking at the neighbour’s roof and not our nest box but who knows maybe another arrival will find us

With precious few waders on the local foreshore this Whimbrel was a photographic bonus this morning - 141 on the challenge list

142 Herring Gull at Bempton over the red campion

another Hobby encounter at Searby this time - every one is a moment to cherish

A House Martin closing in an an insect - a few more on the pits in cold weather but still only about 30

don’t often get the chance to photograph this species so a bonus in the field of view of the BBS

Buff-breasted Sandpiper East Halton displaying male - read the full story with lots of images by clicking the image above - this is the male in display - 144 on the challenge list

a stunning summer plumaged Sanderling at east Halton - bad angle but brilliant bird and rather different to the winter bird featured earlier

brilliant birds even in the Humber cappuccino

a male Turnstone from early in the month getting into decent summer plumage but maybe a younger adult as its not that bright

145 on the challenge list Moorhen - there are quite a few species I just have not taken a decent shot of yet this year

146 Ringed Plover here part of a large flock of Tundra birds heading for the Arctic - there were 380 in this group (not all shown here) but up to 900 on the nearby middle Humber on this day along with three Sanderling, Two Turnstone and a Little Stint plus a few Dunlin

147 Common Crossbill up at Wykeham in North Yorkshire see image below

male Honey-buzzard a shot from an epic day’s encounter linked to a blog post above 148

Don’t think I can get away with claiming this is a representative image of Long-eared Owls - maybe see if they fledge successfully

149 Spotted Flycatcher and particularly that orange base to the lower mandible - we lost them from the local park in 2017 with none since and I struggle to see one on the patch annually now - they hang on in the forest with a few pairs most years

and 150 up with this rather dapper male Redstart - I was tipped off to where this male had been singing for a few days and went hoping for a fleeting glimpse - it sang for about an hour but defied observation then with people and dogs and screaming kids about it came down tot eh ground to feed - I missed the close shot as it was slap behind a tree! but was very lucky to get this as it took off after a ground foray - not had a signing male in Lincs since 2017 yet another breeding species lost from the county in my birding lifetime - Wood Warbler, Lesser Spotted Woodpecker, Willow Tit and now almost Turtle Dove

Graham Catley 11/04/2025 Graham Catley 11/04/2025

Short-eared Owls

It was a pretty poor winter locally for seeing Short-eared Owls though they seemed to be there but almost nocturnal! Then they became a bit more co-operative until the favoured fields were managed! Here below a selection of the better ones

It is a matter of opinion whetehr birds looking directly at you are better or preferable to ones where the bird is clearly looking at the ground for food or elsewhere

I like backlit shots but they are not to everyone’s taste

Even when you are in a car they clearly know you are there but because you are deemed less of a threat the look is more quizzical?

whereas plain backdrops make an image - some beautiful light during the high pressure

One of my favourites due to the look in its eyes

Graham Catley 09/04/2025 Graham Catley 09/04/2025

April 2025

The photo challenge continues but being spring I am diversifying a bit on the photo front so a few non-birds in this month’s edition

To kick off April a singing male Blackcap something I have been trying to get a better image of for a few weeks

Waters’ Edge has a good breeding population of Blackcaps

My spring fascination with Blackcaps continues but I have yet to get the camera onto a female

110 on the challenge list the Linnet - a still common breeding bird and record numbers in the winter with a flock of 1000+ in the Ancholme Valley

111 Spoonbill - a record shot but better images to come during the summer no doubt

I have several weeks of Short-eared Owl encounters linked here

Been coming across good numbers of Brown Hares this spring

2cy male Hen Harrier from earlier in the month

Black-headed Gulls - very smart in summer plumage

Common Lizard in the forest yesterday in a nice pose amongst the vegetation

112 on the challenge list - Cetti’s Warbler in habitat

Not difficult to hear or get deafened by but always a challenge to see

Some nice misty morning this week - a Mute Swan was one of the few birds available

misty Black-headed Gulls and a female Pochard on Waters’ Edge

A bank of fog rolling around the upper Humber

Always open to a challenge on the flying insect front as well - a Dark-edged Bee-Fly giving me the evil eye

113 Red Kite - it has taken a while to get a representative Red Kite image this year diue to my lack of travel to suitable locales but this 2cy flew over me at Alkborough today after the American Wigeon twitch

Drake American Wigeon Alkborough Flats 9th - the second for the site and clearly paired to this female Wigeon - sun made it tricky with heat haze and then cloud made it look a bit drab 114

115 Another of those that has to be done but at least they were local at Alkborough today - Egyptian Goose

116 Willow Warbler with a little proviso - this bird arrived on April 6th on Waters’ edge and it was a definite mixed singer doing about 65% Willow Warbler and 35% Chiffchaff but the call was Willow Warbler - since then it has certainly become a Willow Warbler and now only very rarely does it do any Chiffchaff song in spite of having a Chiffchaff in an adjacent territory

The mixed singer still present as of April 20th and now doing 99% Willow Warbler song

117 Lesser Black backed Gull — now a daily sight around town and over the garden but formerly a scarce local bird that only started breeding in the late 1990’s

On the morning of the 12th I was pleased to find two Ring Ouzels on my local patch but quickly realised that there were in fact three then amazingly four and eventually five birds together - two still there today 14th. — 118 on the challenge list

One male was very accommodating after the human traffic on the adjacent footpath died down

Such subtle and intricate pluamge details visible at close range and the beautiful sunlight helped

By standing back and anticipating the next human flushing I managed some decent flight shots

Birds are creatures of habit or should that be habitat, and I have seen a numebr of individuals in both spring and autumn in this location

119 Barn Swallow - a few local pairs have arrived early hopefully there will be more than last year’s dismal showing

2cy Great Black-backed Gull 120 on the challenge list - thsi bird was actively seeking out Mallard broods in the reedbeds a seemingly odd behaviour for this pelagic species.

121 House Martin one of four seen last week but oddly none since - hopefully better images in better light later

122 Sand Martin - another species to improve upon

123 Sedge Warbler - my first shots of the spring - hopefully some display flights at some point

One of the local female Sparrowhawks starting nest building this week

Nice to see even a small flock of Swallows after last year’s dismal showing - at least 20 this day

A close encounter with a Treecreeper around trhe pits earlier in the month

124 Grey Partridge a male chasing a potential mate - not all images need to be full frame portraits - this is good breeding habitat unlike 95% of Lincolnshire farmland

125 Yellow Wagtail - and the dreaded barbed wire fence

126 Reed Warbler - my first this year was on the 8th and my earliest ever was on April 2nd 2024 - back in the late 1970’s we never expected Reed Warbler until the first week of May but now there are loads in my late April - changing migration patterns related to climate change

early birds are typically much less visible than later in the spring as they sing from well down in the still dead brown reed stems - this one was almost cisible this morning then of all things a male House Sparrow landed in the reeds and first a Cetti’s then this Reed Warbler took exception to its presence

127 Grasshopper Warbler - never seen one on a brick post before - part of the infrastructure of the old brick and tile works in the local pits

always value early spring views as you never know when you will see one again until July

initially very difficult to see in low dead reeds

and a couple of Sedge Warblers from a reedy warbler kind of day

My earliest ever Garden Warbler, by one day, becomes 128 on the challenge list and a species that I often struggle to photograph at all let alone in spring so this male was a nice addition to the day

129 Lesser Whitethroat - although only in for a few days this male was nest building today and had attracted a female but she seemed less than impressed with his nest and disappeared west

Love the colour of the newly opened leaves

Not a species I have many spring images of

130 Tree Pipit - some memorable encounters yesterday on the forest heaths - a series of flight images and a mid-air fight linked above in another blog post

One of the fight images with a male coming up underneath another male that has just about turned itself inside out

131 Hobby - a pair back locally yesterday - better images hopefully as the spring progresses but great to have them back

a nice showy yellow toned Grasshopper Warbler to add to the spring tally

Pair of Common terns in aerial display over the local patch this week

Time to tidy up April which has flown by with one or two new birds for the photo challenge - herewith 133 the Cuckoo one of two battling males that just did not quite pose in the right light

134 the Rock Dove / Feral Pigeon - this one at Bempton looked pretty real for a Rock Dove

135 Kittiwake - several more images to process from a Bempton visit with lots of Razorbill activity

136 Puffin - not many birds visible on 29th maybe a Coquet visit needed later in the year

and at the very last gasp of April 137 a roding Woodcock that did not show until well after sunset

Graham Catley 06/04/2025 Graham Catley 06/04/2025

Hen Harrier v Short-eared Owl

A couple of weeks back the male Hen Harrier set off at speed after a Short-eared Owl hunting the fields; a battle then ensued with the owl climbing higher to avoid the harrier and at first it seemed like it was a just an interspecific skirmish but on looking at my images, all heavily cropped, it was clear that the owl had a vole which the harrier was attempting to steal - this behaviour has now been repeated a few times but it is not something I had knowingly seen before

male Hen Harrier and Short-eared Owl in aerial tussle

when being chased or mobbed the owls usually head upwards - the vole is visible in its right foot

Hen Harriers can seemingly fly upside down

the owl escaped with its catch this time

Graham Catley 11/03/2025 Graham Catley 11/03/2025

Hen Harrier action

The weather yesterday was not great looking for photography with the strong cold northerly combining with bright sun to produce a serious amount of atmospheric distorion with only about 200m being haze free: But it was sunny so I went to have a look for Hen Harriers and it proved to be a good decision. The adult male was present along with a 2cy male that was hunting much more frequently. The male seems to adept at catching voles that he spends very little time on the wing but even the young male caught three voles in less than 90 minutes. The adult male chased off the young male a couple of times but he always came back then an unusual encounter ensued. The adult male caught a vole and moved to eat it but the young male then flew after him almost in a feed me juvenile type way but also partly in a robbing flight - this clearly angered the adult male who flew up and gave chase to the young male and several skirmishes ensued of which I managed to capture a few shown below. Later in the afternoon the two did some more sparing but then seemed to almost accept each other’s company. Fortunately the light was good and the haze a little reduced during the encounter but by 15:30 the wind picked up again and brought in some sea fret and it was time to leave.

Adult male Hen Harrier voicing his anger at the younger male

2cy male chasing the adult male carrying a vole

stunning adult male with a striking tail pattern

I read too many reviews of camera gear! So many I read say that the Canon RF 200-800 is not sharp and maybe with the R7 its not great but with my R6II it seems pretty decent to me even with the haze of yesterday

the times when the 2cy male had the upper hand or position were few

seeing encounters like these is a rare privilege

The 30 frames a second on the R6II comes into its own in brief action sequences like these

the eyes say it all - get your own voles!

this 2cy male is richly coloured on the underparts particularly obvious at a distance

Some more action this week with the adult male mobbing and being mobbed by a Carrion Crow and then another 2cy male joining in the action

Adult male and the second 2cy male of the week a much paler and more advanced bird than the richly coloured bird in earlier images

and the first 2cy male for direct comparison

Graham Catley 10/03/2025 Graham Catley 10/03/2025

Lakes, Dales and Moors

Three days in the Lakes at a very quiet time of year and then diverted to North Teesdale in search of Black Grouse that I had not seen for years but inevitably we hit the only wet day of the week on the Black Grouse quest so departed mid-morning and wandered back via the North York Moors to add Red to the week’s grouse list.

Langdales - the Canon R6II and Rf 100-500

Signs of spring were few but it did hit 16C on our last day in the Lakes

The walk up Langdales did produce a Dipper though the angles were not great for photography

Esthwaite Water on a dull day when the sun was forecast - well by the MET Office anyway

My annual Marsh Tit encounter seems to be in this area - but as the British Willow Tit heads to extinction the Marsh Tit seems to be following

Far from satisfactory images of this singing male

Although still bright when we arrived in upper Teesdale by the following morning there was low cloud and haze and the rain soon arrived

A gang of Brown Hares chillin on the moors

and a bit of distant boxing albeit in very poor light

Good to see so many Lapwings tumbling and displaying

The number of displaying Curlew was amazing and their bubbling song produced an amazing soundscape

Ended up putting the 1.4x converter on the 200-800 lens which is not ideal in dull light

But at well over 1km range the results were almost acceptable as record shots

I was pleased to see about five females but even on a green field they were rather well disguised

Their ability to fade into spread manure was also impressive

There seemed to be very little lekking taking place

Just before we left we took a drive up another road and came across this male close to the roadside: I had seen a few males with brownish wings and poor combs but it had not registered that they were 2cy males like this bird

Red Griese were not hard to find on the roadside across the North York Moors - far too much heather burning and grouse management makes me question my photography of this species but they are an attractive bird

Plenty of males displaying but as usual the light was pretty dire

Graham Catley 03/03/2025 Graham Catley 03/03/2025

March 2025

Amazingly we are into March and although it feels more spring like there seems to be little change on the bird front with a small increase in local Siskins after a very poor winter while the early Stonechat passage has aybe peaked with seven locally last week. Marsh Harriers are displaying and a pair of Peregrines are drifting around locally but I have managed to miss two local Red Kites so far but surely one to come soon.

A somewhat better Stock Dove shot than the February addition

Green Sandpiper makes it to number 87 although the images are far from good it is a species I have consistently struggled to get any good shots of

A wintering bird seen in November and December but then not again until this weekend.

I am in the process of reading the Peregrine by J A Baker for the first time since I was at school! and it has been fascinating to be able to go out and watch this local pair putting into context the observations of Baker in the 60’s - a great read and a classic of natural history writing in spite of its seemingly sometimes flawed observations - this is the male or tiercel of the pair that have been wandering around the local patch this last week

Sincerely hope this is not the best Hawfinch shot I get this year but for now its 89

A nice 2cy Common Buzzard during a non productive Gos search yesterday

90 Pink-footed Goose - I have not got anything decent on teh local Pinks so far but today’s shots were a bit better

Drake Pochard 91 on the challenge - up to 52 locally in the last three weeks the highest counts of the winter but hardly comparable to the 2000+ that were regular in the mid 1980’s

93 Russian White-fronted Goose with Pink-feet in the Ancholme Valley this afternoon - just the one as far as I could see

94 Dipper from a Lake District visit - blog with many iamges of two grouse species and a few other oddments linked below

Grouse, Lakes and Dipper

95 Marsh Tit singing male in the Lakes - not a great shot

96 Black Grouse again many images linked on the button above in a blog post

97 displaying male Red Grouse North York Moors

98 one of a big arrival of singing Chiffchaffs locally this weekend

100 Purple Sandpiper and 101 Dunlin on the Humber

Hen Harriers from this week adult male and two different 2cy males sparring this week - link to series of images by clicking above

103 one of our garden Collared Doves in display flight

When I looked at this image on the camera I thought it was good but the background is too close and too colourful and messy

Our garden flock of up to 35 House Sparrows have deserted us this winter in favour of a neighbour’s food but this week a few birds have ventured back

Little Egret in head on pose at Wild Wren

There have ben up to 52 Pochard, only six drakes, locally of late but a few less now though hopefully a few of the females will breed

And 104 on the photo challenge list the diminutive but very loud jenny Wren

Feel I have been guilty of over-cropping a lot of images of late - need to reset the balance

I also have a bucket load of harrier images to process / delete! - 2cy male Hen Harrier above

Amazingly I did not see a Scaup in Lincolnshire let alone locally in 2024 so the six on the patch this week has been a bonus and 105 on the challenge list

We had an injured drake locally for about 10 years and although it could not fly it clearly attracted other Scaup to the pits in spring but since it died visits have been much more sporadic

The days of seeing 250 Scaup on the Humber are long gone

Stretching the photo challenge idea somewhat with this Long-tailed Duck but it was on the local pits which allows for some slight variation in interpretation - 106

Goldeneye and Pochard at sunset while searching for the Long-tailed Duck on its first day

Hopefully get some better Little Gull images in the spring but for now this March winter adult will have to do as 107

109 Short-eared Owl - its been a long wait for a decent image of this species and this week’s were still not great

But this memorable encounter with a male Hen harrier will be expanded upon in a new post linked above

110 on the challenge male Blackcap - a few arrived locally in late March and I spent a long time trying to get a decent image of a male but they have been surprisingly tricky and I have a lot of rejects

With the run of sunny days many males have been singing and feeding high in the trees - this one was leaping up for a morsel

Record numbers of Chiffchaffs have been singing locally this spring with a count of 86 around the pits and additional birds in town, one regularly audible from my garden taking the total to well over 100

Sitting in the hide waiting for Marsh Harriers when this cracking Treecreeper ran up a couple of hawthorns behind the hide - the 200-800 lens filled the frame and I forgot to zoom out!

Graham Catley 25/02/2025 Graham Catley 25/02/2025

Woodlarks are back

Late looking for the first Woodlarks this year and only partly successful but the weather turned midday - found two males and a female this morning at one site and then at a second site lots of chasing, fighting and odd behaviour with three birds regularly in the air together which I assumed to be two males and a female. The pair often settled on the ground with the second male either chasing them around or hanging in the air above them looking down before making diving attacks. When the second intruding male flew off the pair settled to feeding and the male took a dust bath in the sand something I had not photographed before.

Intruding male Woodlark looking down at pair on the ground

not easy getting decent flight images that don’t just show the underparts of a singing bird

leafless birch trees as a backdrop and far enough away to not fool the AF system

the defending male on the deck looking out for the intruder

male foreground on bare sand before his dust bath

I rediscovered breeding Woodlarks in Lincolnshire in 1984 after a 24 year absence and worked on them for many years surveying most of the sites in the North of the county for many seasons - you can see some of the flying sand grains around the male’s head here

no he didn’t die on the sand just got into some odd positions

Graham Catley 20/02/2025 Graham Catley 20/02/2025

Eastern Yellow Wagtail at Winteringham

Sitting having a coffee on Wednesday 19th when the phone starts ringing - Mr D is telling me that Mike Pilsworth has found an eastern yellow Wagtail just eight miles down the road at Winteringham - the croissant disappears rapidly and I’m on my way. On arrival Mike quickly points if out on a field that is in the process of being ploughed. Over the next two hours it flies off a few times but always comes back calling loudly and get some good close views and a few images albeit in pretty dull light. A couple of videos includes one where it calls as it takes off at the end - volume up to get a good impression. A new bird for Lincolnshire and Mike’s second addition in three years - at this rate he will be catching me up! Video and series of images below.

Performing well this morning 21st in spite of the gale force winds

attempts at flight shots were not very successful in the wind

Graham Catley 02/02/2025 Graham Catley 02/02/2025

February 2025

A new month and some more species for the 2025 photo challenge - with a dull and dismal 1st not a lot to add but a sunny 2nd brought the chance to add some real padders so here goes with some of those missing common or garden birds and a few follow ups

Male Blackbird but note the brown wing feathers indicating that it is a second calendar year bird but from where? local or a winter migrant from the East?

All the greater coverts have been replaced by new black feathers

Another black bird with a slight twist a white winged Carrion Crow - feathers suffer from leucism in Carrion Crow’s wings on a failry regular basis but tis may also be due to poor diet during their formation in the nest

Green Woodpeckers - maybe seeing this nest box occupants as a threat so need to bring it down!! - 50

51 slightly different to the usual hovering shots a perched adult male on the patch this afternoon

a scenic tree albeit dead makes a better perch

52 Redshanks at high ide roost on the wreck of an old ship on the Humber at Goxhill

53 a flock of Turnstones - only 12 this morning but 70 at low tide yesterday was a decent count in recent terms though up to 400 used to winter on this stretch of the Humber

winter Turnstones reflect the umber colour of the Humber water

loved how the colours of this Yellowhammer were repeated in the surrounding trees and lichen - I continue to photograph this amazing species as it seems to be another one we are certain to loose sooner rather than later

54 Mute Swan cygnet taken through a film of reed that again complemented the colour of the bird and the warmth of the low winter sun

55 Whistling Wigeon - we have about 40 tame Wigeon locally now accustomed to people walking past them on the Humber bank so spoint for choice really

The problem with the birds omn the Humber is the closer they are the worse your angle looking down on them from the raised embankment

56 Great Tit - the light at this time of year is superb, when its not cloudy! so making the most of the common birds

another of those had to be done at some point Canada Goose 57

One of the Waters Edge specialities cracking male Bullfinch

male Chaffinch in winter hues - the quality of the relatively inexpensive Canon RF 200-800 lens continues to impress me with the R6II

59 up with the local flock of Curlew - always tricky getting a flock of birds with no overlapping individuals so this was a nice series in lovely early morning light - a declining species we have a flock of c45 locally but had up to 300 at Goxhill at the weekend where the species has always been in considerable numbers.

some individuals hold winter territories and this bird is highly tied to the area around Barton Haven where it feeds daily and is presumably the same bird seen in that area for a few winters

Probably a male from bill length but a tricky individual

60 Gadwall with male in head throw back display - in 1970 when I was just starting submitting records to the Lincs Bird Report my record of a pair of Gadwall in Goxhill Marsh at Quebec tileyard was one of very few records in that years county report - now there are up to 250 on my local patch and up to 450 at Alkborough a massive change in status

61 House Sparrow - considered a pest species when I started birding in the late 60’s and through to the late 70’s we used to get a notable westerly passage of birds up the Humber in September and October - nowadays I have a few spots locally where there are small numbers but flocks in fields in the autumn are a thing of the past

The flock at Waters Edge survive because there are old pan tiles rooves in the houses along Waterside road and the birds have easy access to a good insect food supply in the Wedge reedbeds in the summer when feeding young

Who can resist one more Long-tailed Tit shot

62 maybe pushing it a bit with this Tawny Owl shot but didn’t have one in January and found it because the resident pair of Stock Doves were sat outside the box looking non too happy

63 Blue Tit in a reedbed a major wintering habitat around the edges of the Humber - with a lot of imagination it could be an Azure

not really qualifying as 64 but a Dark-bellied Brent Goose on my local patch this morning was a rare bird so it makes the secondary grade and I am sure I will improve on it coastal later in the year

65 my first patch Little Egret of the year in a ditch by Wedge - I hammered my local patch at Barton in January walking about 150 miles and finished January with a total of 94 species seen the highest for eight years but my all time January max was 104 in 2008. In the last two days I have added five species, Tawny Owl, Little Egret, Treecreeper, Stonechat and Dark-bellied Brent Goose and I have still not had Barn Owl. All time February max was 120 in the record breaking year of 1996 when I managed 184 species in Barton something that will never be beaten given all the species that we no longer get and losses of species like Turtle Dove and Willow Tit.

66 Treecreeper in a regular local spot in the clay pits but a site where I had not managed to see or hear a bird throughout January but today a male was singing and a second bird calling - photographing them in hawthorns with lots of branches is never easy

a really bright looking bird in the February sun

67 Raven with nest lining material - it was only in 2003 that all the Lincs listers headed to Belton Park near Grantham for the first twitchable Lincolnshire Ravens now they are seemingly commonplace or at least very widely scattered

A Raven pair collecting linings yesterday - always an early breeder

68 Nuthatch - we lost our breeding birds from Baysgarth Park at Barton three years ago for some reason butr elsewhere in North Lincs they still seem to be doing OK; When I started birding in the late 60’s and through to about 2000 Nuthatches were restricted to woodlands south of Lincoln in the county but the northward spread was remarkably rapid for a sedentary species

another species I had few images of so yesterday’s collection were welcome

Had to make 70 with a decent bird and this second calendar year female Northern Goshawk fits the bill nicely - spent 5 hours with nothing to show but two minutes of close encounters made up for the stiff but

Will be putting more images in the Goshawk gallery when I get them processed

A good selection of padders on Waters Edge this morning including a decent flock of Goldfinches 71

I tried different shots of this Great Spotted Woodpecker male as he moved between drumming branches in the early morning sunny spots

And the feel of the morning - Robin and reed

around 300 Jackdaws roost in Barton town and before sunrise they assemble in the trees behind our house before dispersing for the day 72

73 Lesser Redpoll - in the whole of 2024 I saw one Lesser Redpoill on my local patch and that was a fly over in fact I only saw 4 birds all year including numerous visits to Laughton Forest so the 5 on Waters Edge yesterday were already more than last year and included a nice pink breasted male

Frosty Robin - they seem more prominent this winter but is it just people feeding them?

75 Jack Snipe - there has been a long spell of truly dismal weather with zero light but found 5 Jack Snipe with the aid of a thermal imager of which this was the most visible

Another Jack Snipe keeping its head down

76 Hen Harrier - taken a while to catch up with one in almost decent light here having a tussle with a crow

79 Eastern Yellow Wagtail - certainly not a species I expected to be adding to the annual challenge particularly just seven miles from home and a first for Lincolnshire - click the image above to go to more on a blog post about this exciting find

80 Tree Sparrows at Bempton where a Saturday visit added a few more species - a thriving Tree Sparrow colony is good to see as we seem to have lost all our small colonies at Barton in the last two years

81, 82 and 83 Guillemot, Razorbill and Gannet - there were masses of auks on the sea in huge rafts with plenty of Razorbill and Guillemots visiting the ledges

Many of the auks were distributed in wavy lines

the light at this time of year is better than mid-summer with a lower sun and more subtle shades - partially bridled Guillemot

Conscious effort to try and get a slightly different Gannet image

Plenty of nest site agro already under way

Nicer tones on the white plumage than in June

84 a pretty standard Fulmar - there were no Kittiwakes back and didn’t see a Puffin

85 Woodlark - full blog posit about first encounters of 2025 linked by clicking above image of a dust bathing male

Ending the month on 86 with a flying Common Snipe

Graham Catley 23/01/2025 Graham Catley 23/01/2025

January 2025

I set myself a sort of challenge in the photographic sense to get decent or new images of as many species as possible in the year concentrating of my local patch at Barton followed by Lincolnshire and then the UK. Herewith I will attempt to update with new species images taken through the year but as with my filing system things may not go just according to plan!

The first-winter Great Northern Diver that I found on the local pits in early January was literally frozen out by the mid-month freeze and headed to the Humber but kept flying back to the pit to see if the ice hole was big enough for it to land. It was dull but I attempted to get some of the early morning sky glow as a backdrop.

A more conventional shot of the Great Northern on Barton sailing pit

A low level Coot of course a common local resident

Coots concentrated around and in a hole in the ice covered pits mid-January with Shoveler and Gadwall and a few Herring Gulls

drake Goldeneye also on sailing pit - th ehighest winter count so far was 120 in the ice holes during the freeze

and a female in flight at a rather bird free Covenham Reservoir but in lovely light

A drake Goosander also at Covenham - I have seen a couple of local birds in January but neither was anywhere near enough for a decent photo

Great White Egret - one of two in the Ancholme Valley - amazing how the status of this species has changed in North Lincolnshire in such a short space of time but now regular in winter as well as spring through autumn

a juvenile Grey Wagtail adding a touch of colour to the Chowder Ness floods - the Richard’s Pipit absconded before the New Year

The Grey-headed Lapwing in Northumberland more of this bird on the blog post linked below

Grey-headed Lapwing and White-billed Diver

And the Northumberland White-billed Diver also linked above

Lapwings on a winter field of wheat lit by the low January sun - I am trying to vary the images of different species not just going for straight portraits of all birds

Little Grebes on the local pits - up to 23 birds were trapped in the ice holes by the freeze and at least one was dead on the ice but others probably suffered the same fate. A different perspective on this endearing species.

one reacting to the appearance of an Otter

Long-tailed Tit backlit by the low January sun - with common birds its nice to try something different while the species is still clearly identifiable

adult female Marsh Harrier hanging over an Otter that was swimming along the edge of the reedbed - I am generally spoilt by Marsh Harrier opportunities but this female is restricting the chances of other birds this winter as she is very territorial and drives off other birds that come anywhere near her patch but she does allow the adult male to roost in her reedbed

This 3cy male Marsh Harrier is also resident locally this winter but the adult female keeps him distant and I have yet to get any good images of him - his upperparts are very similar to the adult female and he is often logged as another female!

A smart Greenfinch - this is one of those common species that I have very few images of and I set about redressing the balance a bit this month

An adult Peregrine on the coast at Rimac - I have yet to see a patch bird this year but two were reported today so the time is nigh

Song Thrushes in a frosty meadow - from the plumage tones these look like local birds rather than continental visitors

Male Reed Bunting showing off its tail pattern

Robin feeding on the edge of a reedbed not on a garden implement

Barnacle Geese at Alkborough Flats where the Humber population of c2000 birds was present in January as usual - they seldom stray very far down the estuary though and I usually struggle to see one just 10 miles away on my local patch

I clearly need to write things about difficult birds more often - just after writing the above had this lone Barnacle with a flock of Pink-footed Geese, part of a movement of 1600 birds, on the afternoon of the 25th heading west up the Humber over my patch

Drake Pintail at Alkborough Flats - an early year shot of a species I often struggle to get anything decent on

Sanderling on the beach at Rimac - I take so many images of this species and then delete 95% of them but I liked the pose in this one and the habitat

Rock Pipits have been absent in winter locally for a few years but the cold snap saw up to three present though usually flighty this one posed for a few minutes at Chowder allowing better than normal images - presumably a Scandinavian littoralis

a paler littoralis on the coast in bright sunshine

And at Alkborough Flats I even managed to get some moderate Water Pipit images as the birds were forced out to feed on the ice covered pools - never an easy bird to photograph as they are typically very flighty

Shovelers on ice during the freeze looking suitably impressed

I have to include Greylags sometime in the year so best to get them out of the way early

male Stonechat on the hated barbed wire fence

low angle Tufted Ducks in a hole in the ice

Water Rails at Alkborough Flats in the freeze- standing togetehr on the frozen ditch this image begs the question are pair bonds maintained through the winter months? Something I have been unable to unearth and answer to but these birds were clearly together with no of the usual territorial aggression

A slightly boring portrait of a Whooper Swan but I may not get a better image of this species on the patch this year who knows?

Work in progress - there is currently a flock of c30 Yellowhammers on the foreshore and some days they are quite approachable but light has been absent - maybe the Pine Bunting will join them later in the winter

Having narrowly missed one of our garden Collared Doves this female Sparrowhawk paused on our neighbour’s garage roof long enough for me to take a few shots hand held at 1/80th second through a double glazed window with the 200-800 lens - pretty decent considering the conditions

To contrast with the garden environment a male in the reedbeds on a convenient willow stump perch

So 31 species represented thus far and a few days of January left

a bit more light sensitive Cormorant take off

33 a flock of Bullfinches nine last week but only eight yesterday - another non portrait habitat shot

nice male in the favoured Wedge blackthorn

34 Skylarks in squabble - at least 51 back at Wild Wren yesterday in the sunshine with a lot of singing and display flights

35 and the sun also brought out the Little Owls for the first time this month

Thought I was going to get through the month without a co-operative Bittern but in a short burst of sun this morning this one performed a treat - more images linked below - 36 species

More images in the Bitern galleries linked by clicking image above including several from today

37 cock Chaffinch in beech leaves - not many in the park and no sign of any Brambling this year but the ground staff were busy raking up all the remaining leaves and beech mast to protect the public

and a male showing the often concealed green rump - lower back

Common Buzzard this bird flew right past me in the wind and then perched on a low hedge - the light this morning was spot on — number 38

and a rather distant but suitably stunning first-winter pale bird seen amongst a gathering of 12 Common Buzzards and two Red Kites this afternoon in a Lincolnshire Valley

Mistle Thrush was one of those common ish species that I had very few images of so I was determined to try and improve that and today this bird in the park was nice and co-operative in lovely light - lots more images to process and upload

Mistle Thrush is also a species that we seem to be loosing quickly so good to get some images now - I have already left it too late to concentrate on Willow Tit, Turtle Dove and Lesser Spotted Woodpecker all species we have lost in the last 15 years

40 Pied Wagtail one of several feeding in the leaf litter in the park this morning

42 it has gone from a rarity you chased to something you have to force yourself to photograph in such a short space of time - the proverbial white plastic bag as described by a colleague many years ago - Cattle Egret at Saltfleetby

43 Great Spotted Woodpecker in Barton Park - we lost our Nuthatches three years ago, Mistle Thrushes seem to be down to one pair and so far this year I have failed to find any Treecreepers - woodland birds are in real catastrophic trouble

44 Red-necked Grebe at Sutton Ings a long stayer - never came very close though

but maybe the only one I will get this year?

45 a suitably glossy winter Starling with some lichen

Meadow Pipit (48) one I forgot to upload from early in the month - and onto February

Graham Catley 12/01/2025 Graham Catley 12/01/2025

Two out of three ain’t bad but in this instance it didn’t seem that way

In the immortal words of Meatloaf / Jim Steinman two out of three ain’t bad but lets fast forward to January 9th 2025. The first Grey-headed Lapwing for Britain was found in Northumberland in spring 2023 and subsequently went up to Scotland and then even to the western edge of the known world on North Uist in the Outer Hebrides at a spot we have visited several times. It was often distant and a bit erratic while in Northumberland and I didn’t have much inspiration to go and see a dot and hence it remained absent from my very lowly British list. It seemed like my six birds at Beidaihe in May 1993 would remain my only record but in early December presumably the same Grey-headed Lapwing popped up in Northumberland and in spite of odd absences it was still around in early January and apparently easier to see. I was still not really enthusiastic but when a very photogenic juvenile White-billed Diver dropped in nearby at Druridge Bay the attraction got a little stronger but the weather was a bit dicy with the worst frosts of the winter. Then just to rev me into gear an adult Ross’s Gull added to the Northumberland - Durham haul appearing at South Shields and it was notably pink flushed. Now as I had written a blog about my encounters with Ross’s Gulls pretty recently and stated I would love to see another the draw was now too much to resist.

Ross's Gull blog post

All three birds had been seen on January 8th so alarm was set for 05:00 on the 9th and after some traffic delays I was at South Shields at 09:00 but there were very few birders about apparently and no sign of the gull. As the sunny morning dragged on with no sign of the gull I made the decision to head up for the Lapwing and Diver just 45 minutes north through the £2:40 Tyne tunnel. Thanks to great map links from Phil H I was soon at the field where the Grey-headed Lapwing was feeding and it was on the list in seconds. Not distant but not that close so I put the 1.4x converter on the 200-800 lens to get a bit more reach. The sun was from the side and back and there was some shimmer but it walked down the hill towards us and gave great scope views. Then to complete the show a gull flushed it and it flew right past us albeit partly into the light but I had forgotten to take off the converter so shutter speeds were low and many images were soft or totally OOF. It had flown over the hill to the left of us so I headed down to the Druridge VC to check out the diver.

One of the easiest twitches - parked the car walked to the field gate and looked in and there it was then it wandered down the hill towards us

The mole hills were clearly an attraction presumably offering some feeding opportunities in the hard frosts

Grey-headed Lapwing Druridge Bay January 2025 - the sun and freezing air made it impossible to get really sharp images.

Having abandoned its Lapwing friends it was a bit less wary than previously apparently

A bird distinctly more impressive in flight

As I headed from the VC to the nearby lake edge for the diver a quick look at Birdguides showed that the Ross’s Gull was back by the south pier - was this going to be a full house? I gave the diver a shortened attention span and got some nice oimages then set off at pace back towards South Shields planning an arrival at about 13:15 that would give me plenty of time for some viewing and photography in the afternoon.

juvenile White-billed Diver January 2025 - my first since the showy juvenile on the River Witham in Lincs in January 2017

Initially sunny in the 15 minutes I was there it clouded over and there was a brief snow shower

somewaht more obliging than the local Great Northern

So after taking a few 100 diver images it was back to South Shields but as I dropped into the car park the Whatsapp said Ross’s flown north to North Shields fish quay - dam - anyway get the gear out and scan across the Tyne but no sign - after a while a gang of Yorky birders including Johny Mac and Gary Taylor appear - they have all seen it off the pier and improving photographer Gary T has images - after getting the gen on its movements I hear the fateful words you will see it -never has there been a better curse and the rest of the afternoon we are chasing shadows as it gets reported from further and further up the Tyne where access to the river side is highly restricted. So I head south with two out of three but missing the big prize.

The closest I got to the Ross’s an adult Mediterranean Gull

Inevitably the Ross’s Gull is being seen on 10th so W & C agree to a Saturday return visit but from the outset things do not look good and although the weather is distinctly Arctic the Arctic waif is nowhere to be seen all day and we have poor consolation in the form of very distant Iceland Gull, Green-winged Teal and Long tailed Duck through a fence in the mist un aesthetic locality possible at Jarrow - you can see why they all marched away -

The light on Saturday was stunning and hence more frustrating as the pink giull was nowhere to be had

A very very distant Iceland Gull and lots of non Ross’s

So the failed twitcher struck again - Ross’s Gull scoreline 11 chased and seven seen so better than average but this one was very annoying; maybe the next one will be in Yorkshire and more accessible - I don’t give much hope for Lincolnshire with no gull holding spots on the coast

Graham Catley 05/01/2025 Graham Catley 05/01/2025

Alkborough Flats January 3rd 2025

For the past 18 years I have been monitoring the wildlife, mainly birds, that used the Managed Realignment site at Alkborough Flats. Many thousands of hours later and 213 monthly reports, 18 annual reports and many thousands of images later I finally decided to retire as of the end of 2024. The site of course is still good for birds and other wildlife in spite of massive changes over the last 18 years mainly as a result of colonisation by reed of the former tidally inundated mudflats and latterly former arable fields and even wet grassland. The site now has a massive reedbed with decreasing areas of wet grassland and the range of bird species has changed dramatically in recent years.

Counting waders and wildfowl from the escarpment to the south of the Flats - now I can just enjoy the spectacle

March 2008 and below the same location February 2019

November 2023 - reed spreading across former open wet grass fields

So after a tip off from Neil D that Water Pipits were showing relatively well on the ice I left the car at Julian’s Bower and walked down the hill avoiding the icy road - the pipits were indeed showing to c50m not close for a small passerine so I used the RF 200-800 with a 1.4x converter giving 1120 mm equivalent but even then the birds were very small in the frame but the accompanying Meadow Pipits were closer as usual - why are Water Pipits always so skittish in Britain? Pied Wagtails were also skating on the ice and flocks of Lapwings and Golden Plovers occasionally rose up when a Marsh Harrier passed by and everything panicked when a Merlin dashed through only allowing very small record shots but my first of the year. Later I came across it again feeding on what appeared to be a Dunlin but as usual it did not linger for imagery. A nice male Stonechat in lovely light added to the birds photographed this year list. After a fairly short window of opportunity the pipit flock moved off into another field where they resumed their usual invisibility,

Meadow Pipit on ice - always at least 10m closer than the Water Pipits

Cracking little birds Meadow Pipits but yet another species in serious decline - very few now on my local patch and autumn movements particularly limited

Meadow Pipit picking food items from thistle - all the pipits were picking something from the dead thistle leaves

Pied Wagtails are also always so much tamer than Water Pipits

they often do seem to be slipping and sliding on the ice

Water Pipits selection below - never really close enough but better than most of my images

Another species that is so incredibly wary of human beings in Britain but so accepting of them in Canada

The sun was still shining mid-afternoon so after a longish walk I went back to the hide to be greeted by a flock of 90 Shoveler rotating in a feeding flock at point blank range. Numbers then built up to 200 and a cracking drake Pintail came in for a short sojourn. I then finished off with roosting Marsh Harriers and a Barn Owl and almost a sunset with Venus and the Moon showing well!.

Reed Bunting in the lovely afternoon sun - still had the 1.4x converter on the 200-800 - with good light it is still really sharp

Love the intricacies of Reed Bunting plumage

The subtle tones of a drake Gadwall in the low winter sun

Incoming Shoveler with a mix of background shades

but 200 are more so - a few Gadwall muscling in

They occasionally blasted off for no apparent reason

A drake Pintail outshines all wildfowl in late winter sun

A female Marsh Harrier pre roosting in the edge of a reedbed

Post sunset looking across the Flats to Trent Falls and Yorky land

Graham Catley 02/01/2025 Graham Catley 02/01/2025

A winter walk at Bempton Cliffs RSPB

A post Christmas walk at Bempton on an initially sunny then cloudy and progressively more windy day revealed that the only Puffins were in the shop, shock horror, but a number of Fulmars were back prospecting along the cliffs and the local Jackdaws proved to be entertaining while the locally made scones in the cafe are always a major attraction. A Peregrine and Kestrel patrolled but evaded the camera but the cliffs thronged with that seldom appreciated super species the Rock Dove / Feral Pigeon. Presumably in summer they are lost amongst the hordes of seabirds but in winter they gather in large flocks and dash around the cliffs commuting to inland fields to feed. On getting home I consulted John Mather’s, The Birds of Yorkshire 1986 to find that even in the early 1980’s there were counts of up to 5000 birds in the area in winter and surveys had revealed that 80% were or more realistically resembled pure Rock Doves. Looking at the mix at the moment that percentage I think will be lower but there are still a lot of good looking Rocks. Early authors of Lincolnshire bird lists considered that Rock Doves from the Yorkshire coast occasionally strayed to the Lincolnshire coast particularly in hard weather but proof was always lacking. Below a selection of images all taken with the Canon R^2 and Canon RF 100-500. The saddest part of the visit was seeing the empty Gannet nests at Staple Newk all adorned with masses of plastic fishing detritus a start reminder of the appalling way in which we treat our seas and oceans and the creatures that live there.

Bempton Cliffs looking towards Flamborough Head December 2024

Staple Newk - Gannets nests peppered with plastic fishing debris

A lone Great Black-backed Gull atop the ridge - the Black-browed Albatross memories seem a long way back

Fulmar patrolling the cliffs - check the wing moult

Fulmar in nice flat light - Bempton is such a great place and living so close I tend to visit as an after thought most years - I should make more effort and appreciate it more

There are a lot of photo opportunities beyond the portraits that I seem to end up with every year - must try harder

Jackdaws are always entertaining and look at the subtle colours in the wing coverts and mantle feathers

Jackdaw flight over cafe scraps - submissive bird on the left

A wide range of plumage types but still a good proportion of Rock types

You would guess that the local Peregrines never go hungry

Graham Catley 20/12/2024 Graham Catley 20/12/2024

Photographing roosting Hen Harriers - its a no light challenge

Every winter I watch roosting harriers, nowadays mainly Marsh but a few times a winter I get to look at a Hen Harrier roost and try to get some images to confirm what birds are present but I also try to convey the feeling of the spectacle which is basically difficult as its very very dull normally - that is dull in the lighting sense not in the experience sense. The key term is roost which means the birds are not usually present until after sunset and hence there is very little light for flight photography. Modern cameras have got better high ISO performance but even so images are noisy and shutter speeds typically slooooow, Last night I starte dout at 3200 ISO but quickly had to move to 6400 and then 12800 unheard of just a few years ago but even so I was only getting 1/250th and latterly 1/160th second on the 200-800 lens so most of the images were A) dull and B) not sharp. So herewith a selection with a few comments.

a 1cy male came in early but passed by and didn’t return in this nice late afternoon sun

The cmaera AF system works best of course with birds isolated in the sky but even this has been brightened considerably to show plumage detail -

More typical of the light levels that you are fighting and motion blur but some detail in the upperwing feathers allows individual identification

same individual as above 25 minutes after sunset and near the shortest day of the year - marks in the primary coverts and flight feathers with the heavily marked mantle almost suggest Northern Harrier with limited dark trailing edge to secondaries as well but presumably a 2cy bird or maybe just individual variation in younger males

with modern software it is possible to lighten just the bird, not done very well here, to bring out plumage details but to the observant it is not reality

the same male banking towards me - at times it was very close which actually added to the problem of focussing and even getting all of the bird in the same depth of field

pretty dire noise at 12800 ISO - most reviews of images taken at such high ISO levels are actually taken in brighter light when you don’t actually need to be on 12800

simply using software to bring the whole image into daylight rather than darkness looks unnatural and does not reflect the time and experience

with the closer bird actually in focus and the juxtaposition of the two males this is what I would see as a more representative roost time image

a similar shot but both birds lacking sharpness

the second older male - panning with the bird almost got it shrp even at 1/250th

a ringtail probably the 1cy male seen earlier drops into roost

Graham Catley 20/12/2024 Graham Catley 20/12/2024

Red-necked Grebes and recollections of the 1978 - 1979 winter

The occurrence of a Red-necked Grebe at Winter’s Pit East Halton over the weekend reminded me of the only previous bird of that species I had seen on that pit back in February 1979. Found on 20th when there was only a small area of ice free water at the western end of the pit I managed a very dark slide of it but sadly picked it up dead on the 28th. That winter was very good for bird watchers but not so good for the birds with some spells of brutally cold weather associated with gales from the frozen east bringing remarkable influxes of scarce grebes, all three sawbills, Long-tailed Ducks and Velvet Scoters, divers, Eiders, Glaucous Gull, Short-eared Owls , Hen Harriers and Rough-legged Buzzards. The local pits between Barton and Killingholme produced no less than 13 Red-necked Grebes and I saw at least 32 in Lincolnshire in the months of December - April a staggering total that has never been matched. I delved back into my notebooks and produced a lengthy summary of the winter birdwatching that is copied below. The highlights being an adult Pomarine Skua on the Humber off Barrow Haven in January, the Red-necked and Slavonian Grebes and Black-throated Divers but there was so much more variety. It was also a time gone by when you could drive onto Immingham and Grimsby Docks and park a car on the quayside while birding the docks and never be challenged. A few inches of snow didn’t grind the country to a halt and like most sensible drivers our trusty Mini countryman had a shovel in the back to get through those snow drifts that were more than six inches high!

Red-necked Grebe at East Halton December 2024

A bit closer on 23rd but in typically dismal late December light

A copy of my 45 year old slide of the Red-necked Grebe at East Halton Pit February 20th 1979 - note the ice edge in the upper side of the slide

Our trusty Mini countryman - went round the clock a couple of times - here in January 1979 no fear of a bit of snow

The late autumn of 1978 had produced Lincolnshire’s first Isabelline Shrike at Donna Nook on October 29th and maybe in a sign of things to come a visit to Huttoft on November 12th saw a Black-throated Diver south, three Eiders and 12 Velvet Scoters amongst 300 Common with an early drake Mandarin on the sea with Teal off Trusthorpe where the trusty Purple Sandpiper was in residence. A twitch to Top Hill Low on 26th for a drake Ring-necked Duck was followed by a move to Bridlington where a first-winter Mediterranean Gull prompted a full description and sketches such was that species rarity at the time. A Little Auk off Flamborough completed the day.

The Isabelline Shrike at Donna Nook late October 1978 again from some very old slides

November 27th at Goxhill a drake Long-tailed Duck was fairly standard fare with three Red-breasted Mergansers and a Snow Bunting but a water Pipit at Barrow Haven was much more noteworthy and it stayed to 25th. An Eider off Killingholme was the first of the Humber winter.

December 3rd and a Red-necked Grebe at Covenham prompted a visit and description. My first was seen flying past Rimac on September 12th 1971 but such was the view my Lincolnshire list had an added Covenham January 30th 1972 as confirmatory evidence! They were though few and far between in most years and worthy of a twitch. Four Bewick’s Swans at Huttoft the same day were expected winter birds in the late 70’s.

Six Lapland Buntings flying west at Barrow Haven on December 4th were again not that unusual on the Humber in the mid to late 70’s. Our usual gull checks at Grimsby Docks where a nice sewage outfall lay just offshore revealed a second winter Glaucous Gull on 8th the first of the winter.

Being a bit into twitching in those days the lure of rare sea ducks in Scotland had me and my mate Mick Mellor heading for Loch Fleet on December 11th but having pretty dodgy cars we used to train to Inverness then hire a car and of course sleep in it which was fun in mid-winter in northerner Scotland. At Loch Fleet all three divers and 70 Long-tailed Ducks with a Little Gull offshore and a flock of 1000 Eiders revealed the hoped for long staying adult King Eider but then we stumbled across a first-winter drake in the inner fleet a selfie that I have not repeated. A Long-eared Owl flew past and into the nearby wood in the evening. The following day at Spey Bay we failed with Surf Scoter but a cracking adult Iceland Gull and 200 Long-tailed Dicks off Lossiemouth with 200 Velvet Scoters completed a notable trip up north.

Back at Grimsby Docks on 17th a total of 37 Eiders offshore was the biggest flock I had seen in the Humber with a first-winter Mediterranean Gull there on 20th again eliciting a full description. The second Glaucous Gull of the winter a first-winter was at the Docks on 24th.

As the cold weather kicked in at the end of the month with an easterly airflow three White-fronted Geese and two Dark-bellied Brents flew up the Humber of Barrow Haven and the Water Pipit continued its winter sojourn.

The new years day tally included a redhead Smew at Covenham a first-winter Glaucous Gull on the docks with a Nelson’s Gull. The Water Pipit was still at Barrow Haven and eight Dark-bellied Brents at Goxhill Skitter 2nd but 3rd was a big day with 32 Scaup off Barrow Haven where an adult Pomarine Skua with almost full spoons formed an exceptional winter occurrence. Four Eiders and eight Goosanders at Barrow Haven on 4th were the forerunners of a big influx with the afternoon visit to Covenham revealing three Velvet Scoters and a Red-necked Grebe plus four Bewick’s Swans. Red-necked Grebes were up to two at Covenham by 7th and two male and two ringtail Hen Harriers were at Rimac.

Barrow Haven January 1979 - with temperatures dropping to as low as-10C the Humber was often partly covered oin pack ice and as the tide fell it was deposited on the upper foreshore preventing birds from feeding

The Water Pipit survived the winter wandering up and down the Haven and finding places to feed amongst the ice - Barrow Haven January 1979

The first Slavonian Grebe of the influx drifted past Barrow Haven on the 8th with a ringtail Hen Harrier there the following day and the Pomarine Skua appeared again on 12th – 13th. A trip to Killingholme on 10th located ten White-fronted Geese and six Eiders with an oiled Red-throated Diver there 15th when a Red-necked Grebe flew west off East Halton Skitter bird number one of the local arrival.

A flock of 13 Scaup, five Eiders and a first-winter Little Gull were at Killingholme 20th. A search for a Rough-legged Buzzard at Tetney Haven on 21st coincided with fog but fortunately the raptor was sat on a fence post just across the Haven and a brief search revealed seven Lapland Buntings there but a Black-throated Diver at Covenham was picked up dead and the stuffed specimen resided in my house for several years afterwards,

Things hotted up on 22nd with three Black-throated Divers flying east off Barrow Haven with Eider, Kittiwake and two Brent Geese. At Killingholme on 23rd along with 14 Scaup were Red-necked Grebe number 2, and a Slavonian Grebe number two. Both grebes were still there 25th along with a first-winter Glaucous Gull at Rosper Road. Three Smew and a Red-throated Diver at Barrow Haven 26th.

A southerly excursion on 28th produced eight Long-eared Owls at the Witham Mouth roost with a third winter Glaucous Gull then on to Roydon Common in Norfolk where Great Grey Shrike, two Merlin, Hooded Crow and seven Hen Harriers was a fine tally.

By February 4th there were three Red-necked Grebes at Covenham but the real attraction was a male Ruddy Duck a new Lincs bird and to top things off the same day a first-winter Common Crane munching carrots at Scotter made it two Lincs ticks in a day. A roost of 42 Bramblings at Barrow Haven on 8th and an unprecedented winter flock of 66 Ruff at Rosper Road were followed by locating a roost of three Long-eared Owls at Goxhill on 9th.

The immature Common Crane at Scotter February 1979 part of a two tick Lincolnshire list day with Ruddy Duck at Covenham Reservoir

As noted in the BB paper on the Red-necked Grebe influx, Easterly winds returned from 10th, freshening on 13th, when another area of high pressure developed over Scandinavia, and the weather pattern of late December and early January was virtually duplicated. Freezing conditions set in throughout the British Isles and a frontal system over southern England and adjacent parts of the Continent resulted in heavy snow, particularly in the northeast and east of England on 14th and 15th, with gale force winds.

Trips to the north bank were still by ferry before the Bridge opened making any journey to Hull and particularly Spurn a well planned excursion - I recall the trips on the night of February 13th 1979 being seriously cold as a gale force easterly with snow hit the area

On 13th I had arranged to meet up with Tim Milsom who was an early bird surveyor on the Humber at his place in Hull for the evening. The journey involved a ferry crossing of course pre-Humber bridge and I decided to take my bike on the train then bike through Hull to his place. It was brutal with the wind howling from the east and the first flurries of snow arriving by the time I made it back to the ferry and home on the train and bike. The following morning it was a case of walking most of the way to Barrow Haven to work as the roads were piled up with snow. I didn’t manage to get round the pits until 16th still walking but a redhead Smew had been at Barrow Haven 15th and on 16th it was still around with a female Long-tailed Duck and the bigger pits held a Slavonian Grebe (3rd) on sailing pit along with two Red-necked Grebes (3rd and 4th). Only one Red-necked remained to 17th but a pair of Smew flew west and I managed to get to Killingholme on 17th where two new Red-necked Grebes (5th and 6th) one being oiled and a third bird was in Immingham Docks (5th) with six Red-breasted Mergansers at Killingholme. It seems a world away that anyone could then drive onto one of the busiest docks in the country and park a car by the quay and simple watch and photograph birds while avoiding the docks traffic. The same day there were eight Red-necked Grebes on Covenham making it 11 for the day and a Black-throated Diver. A full check of the Barton to Barrow Haven pits on 19th located ten drake Goosanders, three Scaup, Long-tailed Duck and Common Scoter, a new badly oiled Red-necked Grebe on sailing pit (6th) and one on tilery pit (7th) two drake Velvet Scoters flying east at Barrow Haven, a badly oiled Red-throated Diver flying up the Humber, two Great Northern Divers up estuary a sub adult Glaucous Gull and two Short-eared Owls. A pair of Smew were on Goxhill Quebec pit 20th with two Red-throated Divers and three Red-breasted Mergansers at Barrow Haven and a Red-necked Grebe on Winter’s Pit at East Halton (8th). Things then quietened down for a while but 40 Kittiwakes flew east at Barrow Haven 22nd and there were 41 Goldeneye a good count for the time. A Pale-bellied Brent was at Killingholme with eight Scaup and three Mergs a species that was being seen almost daily along with Goosander. A visit to Covenham on 25th turned up seven Red-necked Grebes, Black-throated Diver, seven Mergansers and Smew with three Red-necked Grebes and an immature drake Velvet Scoter on North Somercotes Lido. Three Purple Sandpipers were at Trusthorpe and ten Bean Geese at Huttoft of which I noted one probably Taiga and nine Tundra but in those days it was bigger and darker! There were also two Red-necked Grebes to add to the county tally. Another new Red-necked Grebe at Barrow Haven 26th (9th) and a drake Smew with three at Killingholme 27th when Red-necked Grebe number ten was near the outfall (10th). Grimsby Docks held two Red-necked Grebes and a Black-throated Diver with 15 Red-breasted Mergansers. The East Halton Red-necked Grebe was dead on 28th but 31 Eiders were off Killingholme and a Purple Sandpiper there was roosting on a buoy offshore with 23 Ruff still around. March arrived with two Red-necked Grebes (11th and 12th) at Barrow Haven and far Ings and two Smew.

After the failed Surf Scoter trip Mick and I were back in Inverness on 4th driving to Kingston where a drake Surf Scoter was duly twitched and 150 Velvet Scoters, all three divers and 80 Long-tailed Ducks logged with an additional 100 Long-tailed Ducks at Lossiemouth and 1000 Long-tailed Ducks off Findhorn with 4000 Common and 30 Velvet Scoters the trip concluding with a second winter Iceland Gull at Inverness.

Back at Barrow Haven a first-winter Glaucous Gull flew west 7th and a Red-necked Grebe was at Killingholme but the star bird was my first Lincs Peregrine an adult at Barrow Haven 10th. Red-necked Grebes were still at Barrow Haven 13th with a new slightly oiled Red-throated Diver and Killingholme and a small Glaucous Gull was at Rosper Road. The Water Pipit at Barrow Haven reappeared on 16th and a first winter Glaucous Gull was in the Docks with two first-winters birds at Killingholme tip along with a first-winter Iceland Gull. Two Red-necked Grebes on North Somercotes Lido on 10th were presumably the same birds but one at Donna Nook was an addition to the county tally for the winter taking the total to 12 locally and 31 for Lincs. Glaucous Gulls were becoming commonplace with a third winter at Killingholme tip 22nd and the Red-necked Grebe was still on the pits but in a final gasp another new bird appeared at Barrow Haven 22nd – 23rd (13th) and on 24th three Black-necked Grebes at Barrow Haven were the first local birds ever! One Red-necked Grebe moved from Barrow Haven to New Holland on 27th and this was the last local record but an additional Lincs bird was at Saltfleet April 1st. Killingholme tip continued to attract white-winged gulls with a Glaucous and first winter Iceland March 30th.

So ended one of the best winters for birding locally and some highly memorable moments.

The influxes of waterbirds and raptors and owls were both documented in articles in British Birds referenced below.

Influxes into Britain and Ireland of Red-necked Grebes and other waterbirds during winter 1978/79

R.J. Chandler British Birds 1981 Vol.74: Pages 55–81

Influxes into Britain of Hen Harriers, Long-eared Owls and Short-eared Owls in winter 1978/79

D. L. Davenport. British Birds 1982 Vol.75: Pages 309–316

Since that winter there have been 15 local birds with an annual maximum of four in 1996 a total that included two birds together in near breeding plumage - below are a few images of some of the more recent obliging winter birds

Red-necked Grebe Cleethorpes CP January 2016 - a very obliging bird that graces this relatively small water along with two superb Slavonian Grebes

Red-necked Grebe in wing display Cleethorpe CP January 2016

juvenile Red-necked Grebe Barton Pits September 2010

Juvenile Red-necked Grebes can be almost as bright as breeding adults

a complex head pattern - juvenile Red-necked Grebe

Red-necked Grebe Barton sailing pit February 2019 - this bird that arrived on January 31st stayed to April 18th and moulted into what was probably first summer plumage

Red-necked Grebe Barton sailing pit April 2019

Slavonian Grebes Cleethorpes CP February 2016 - being on a small water body with people walking all round it they became quite tame allowing some nice shots

Stunning eyes - Slavonian Grebe Cleethorpes CP February 2016