Graham Catley 18/01/2026 Graham Catley 18/01/2026

The Fillingham Great Grey Shrike and other large grey shrike conundrums including Steppe Grey Shrike a taxonomic bafflement

From my first retrospective bird at Klondike in Goxhill Marsh on April 2nd 1970 confirmed after vastly improved views of one along the same hedgerow on October 31st 1970, a bird that subsequently wintered last being seen flying east on January 16th 1971, I have managed to see c105- 110 Great Greys in Britain but in recent years they have become decidedly rare. In fact, the bird I twitched at Doddington near Lincoln on December 31st 2023 was the first bird I had seen since 2017 when one was at Alkborough Flats on October 10th. Hence when news broke of a bird near Fillingham, just 30 miles away, on January 10th I felt the need to reacquaint myself with what is such an iconic and always attractive bird. The bird was rather obliging and I managed some decent images with it even hovering over its favoured rough grass field for a full 4 – 5 minutes late afternoon. From very limited observations it has a fairly extensive territory based around this rough grass field bordered by tall thorn hedgerows but was seen up to 600m away from the favoured feeding site. Winter territories can of course be much bigger and several Lincolnshire wintering birds have disappeared for days or even weeks between sightings and have been seen up to 5kms between locations.

Watching the recent Lincolnshire Great Grey Shrike inspired me to look out old records and photos and even sketches and to ponder on a few conundrums - forgetting of course the vexed and seemingly balmy taxonomic decisions such as splitting Northern Shrike but still counting Steppe Grey Shrike, the most obvious species, as a race of Great Grey - personal opinions follow

The Fillingham Great Grey Shrike January 2026 - a first winter with worn pale tips to the blackish juvenile feathers

Although spending most of its hunting time in hedgerows round its favoured field the Fillingham bird did occasionally resort to the tops of tall hederow trees like this ash

formerly a classic winter tick at some location or other now a really rare treat

A typical Great Grey flight pattern - a sort of unmistakable bird discounting other grey shrikes - note tail pattern compared to *homeyeri* discussed later

The worn pale tips to the greater coverts make this a first-winter bird while the rather solid black lores and the small pale area on the bill suggest a male according to the text in the latest tome by Nils van Duivendijk

Pale tipped and fringed median coverts also a feature of juvenile plumage - the underparts of this bird are almost totally clean whitish with no obvious vermiculations

This bird does quite a lot of hovering over the rough grass field searching for food - the pale tipped greater and median coverts and pale fringed alula are obvious on this shot

Like a mini Black-winged Kite in its behaviour - photos were taken at the end of a rather dull afternoon

The 40 frames per second on the Canon R6II pick up different wing positions often missed at lower frame rates

Note in the spread tail that the outermost feather t6 had black on the inner web at the base and more extensive black on the inner web of t5 compare with *homeyeri* where these feathers are all white

Dropping down into the long grass - it often came up with nothing but whether it was eating small prey items on the ground was not clear

While watching it hunting on the 14th it dropped into the field and came up with a Short-tailed Field Vole in its bill which it passed to its feet in flight before diving into a part of the short but thicker thorn hedgerow; it then impaled the vole on a thorn and proceeded to pull off the vole’s head which it dropped into the bush dropping down top pick up bits that it then ate but leaving the bulk of the vole on the thorn. I took note of the location from about 250m away and waited until the bird left the spot and resumed hunting at the other end of the field. It stayed there over 800m away for over 20 minutes when I quickly went to the larder and located the vole image above — it caught somthing else later in the afternoon that it took to another larder at the other end of the field.

Most Great Greys have fairly extensive territories in winter and move between favoured araes that can be a few 100m apart or up to 5kms away - this bird seems fairly settled in a small area where there is presumably sufficient food

A winter scene that was formerly much more common in the UK

But back to the early birds: April 2nd 1970 – the usual walk from Goxhill Haven towards Dawson City and Klondike wind north-west force five total of 41 species seen and a mystery bird; Flew from a hawthorn bush out over Klondike pit and landed in a hawthorn hedge. Size estimated to be that of Mistle Thrush with a grey back and darker wings with a white wing stripe and some white obvious in the tail; flight low and undulating. Posture thrush like and bird very wary – possible Great Grey Shrike was what I wrote in my log; the possible was certainly not applied to the next encounter only about 300m away atop the hawthorn hedge that backed the sea embankment nearer Goxhill Haven on October 31st 1970. My notes stated: Excellent views obtained and all distinguishing features clearly visible. Apart from a detailed description I noted: sat on tops of bushes and on wild rose stems on the bank top and ate a shrew by hooking it on rose spikes. Flew across shingle and landed on post on the mudflats then back to its favourite corner near Haywood’s farm. Flew with low undulating flight and upward glide to reach perches; seen to hover over perches in wind. It was in the same area on November 7th when a search was made but no kills located and again on November 22nd. On December 5th it was 1500m away near Parker’s Plantation flying towards East Halton Skitter with one kill found being a Blackbird. The following day I saw my first ever Greylag Goose! This species was actually a rare bird on the Humber in those days. I continued searching for the shrike on my weekend visits and on December 20th it was again in the bank side hedgerow towards East Halton Skitter where the Short-eared Owl roost revealed five birds. The next sighting of the shrike on January 4th 1971 was of it flying over the grues, grazing saltmarsh, again near Parker’s plantation where it made a dash after a Reed Bunting. On January 16th what proved to be the last sighting of the winter saw the bird almost 2kms away to the west flying towards Syke’s Lane. This was 1970 and Goxhill Marsh the extremity of Lincolnshire! Apart from Derek Robinson who saw it on November 1st I don’t think anyone else saw the bird.

First winter Great Grey Shrike Pyes Hall Lincs October 2010 one of three in the area that day about the last autumn with a decent coastal arrival

Most of my sightings have been either autumn coastal birds or overwintering individuals with a few spring migrants. The best winter by far was 1974 – 75 when the UEA student union mini-bus was touring East Anglia’s finest shrike and Rough-legged Buzzard habitats. My personal tally for that winter was a minimum of 11 Great Grey Shrikes at the usual haunts of Minsmere, Walberswick, Horsey-Waxham and Cley but included off piste birds at East Wretham and Santon Downham in the Brecks, Salthouse Heath and Hardley Flood a place we went to for who knows what reason?

Great Grey Shrikes like tall hedgerows with scattered trees. They like to perch up high in exposed positions which makes them fairly easy to see. The species has a place in my record books for the most individuals of a scarce migrant seen from? Well from a moving train albeit slow moving trains. The first of the trio was west of Hull around North Ferriby on April 10th 1971 followed by one near Cheltenham Spa on April 16th 1973 en route to Bristol and finally one just outside Cromer on April 6th 1974 en route to Sheringham and the long walk to Cley. So why would Great Grey Shrikes have a predilection for being seen from trains? Well in those days before leaves apparently became slippery and tall thorn hedgerows formed a natural barrier to snow drifts the hedges were allowed to grow along the sides of railway tracks, particularly rural ones and these attracted flocks of birds and made a home for small mammals all of which were attractive to hungry shrikes. In more recent times of course most of the high hedges have been removed as trains cannot cope with a bit of slime on the rails. Seeing Great Greys along roadsides has been less productive for me but the bird that wintered by the M180 near East Butterwick in early 2014 must have been seen by many 100’s of drivers but I guess none of them actually registered its presence.

Feeding alongside the M180 near East Butterwick this bird was visible to 1000’s of people during its stay but I guess none registered its presence

similarity of habitat choice to the present Fillingham bird Doddington December 2024

There are currently several accepted races of Great Grey Shrike, no point in putting a number as taxonomists change the totals every few weeks. A couple of individuals I have come across have raised questions over their sub-specific identity commencing with a bird Mick and I saw at Falsterbo back in autumn 1979. On a quiet raptor passage day we were wandering around north of Skanor when we picked up a Great Grey Shrike but it looked different to birds seen previously. Main features were it was very pale grey on the upperparts noted as much paler than usual wintering birds seen in UK. Bill smaller with yellowish base. Broader more obvious white bar in wing in flight and rump strikingly white. Throat white contrasting with very pale grey breast this being only slightly paler than the upperparts. A very tame bird but oddly I took no slides of it. Consulting Vaurie on our return to the UK is seemed to fit L e leucopterus the eastern race that occurs east of homeyeri - but this was clearly an identification that would not stand the test of time though the bird was clearly not a standard Great Grey and most possibly a homeyeri with that strking white rump and pale upperpart colouration

My less than adequate art work of the Skanor shrike October 4th 1979

The identification of homeyeri in a British context dealing with some potential candidates was addressed in several blog posts by Martin Garner on the Birding Frontiers site and in detail with regard to a wintering bird near Matlock by Andy Butler a post well worth reading linked here http://andybutlerdiaries.blogspot.com/2020/11/a-candidate-homeyers-grey-shrike.html

https://birdingfrontiers.wordpress.com/2010/12/15/sheffields-steppe-shrike-update/

In more recent times a bird found wintering near Wroot on the Lincolnshire border on November 20th 2011 was suggested as a homeyeri x excubitor intergrade. The bird was ringed on the right leg and proved to be the same individual trapped at Spurn on November 7th 2011. It remained in the area through to February 4th 2012. I visited the bird on December 31st and took some images shown below.

Great Grey Shrike Wroot December 2011 - the upperparts are quite dark but the white flash formed by the bases of the primaries is long compared to excubitor -

In this shot t6 appears to be all white but there is extensive black at the base of t5 - white at the bases of the outermost three secondaries is contiguous with the primary bases, not stepped, but could be within the range of variation of *excubitor* according to texts

nominate Great Grey Shrike Worlaby Carrs March 2011 - note the tail pattern with black on the inner web of the base of t6 as well as the white restricted to the bases of the primaries - compare with the Wroot bird above

the effect of blur makes the white wing flash look longer and more prominent than in a still image - Wroot bird

Pale bill base is a feature of first-winter birds - the ring details revealed a move from Spurn earlier in the month

In this shot the larger than typical pale area in the scapulars is a feature suggestive of *homeyeri* and the uppertail coverts are also whitish

A better indication of the extent of white in the wing - the 3rd edition of the Collins Guide has limited text and illustrations of the Great Grey complex worth consulting

t6 appears all white in this image but is the inner web hidden?

Within the range of variation of *excubitor* or with some *homeyeri* genes?

An incredibly distant Great Grey Shrike near Białowieska eastern Poland May 25th 2016 - a striking pale bird presumably breeding but only seen at extreme distance - recent studies suggest that *homeyeri* breed in eastern Poland regularly

Same bird as above eastern Poland May 2016 note large white scapular patch as well as double white on wing and extremely pale upperparts

A few images of a first-winter *excubitor* at Saltfleet Haven October 2014 - an uncharacteristically tame bird skulking in dense cover - it had brown tinges to the crown and as shown here the nape remnanats of juvenile plumage perhaps suggesting it was a late fledged bird

Underparts were finely vermicualted and the greater coverts had fairly fresh looking pale pointed tips

first-winter Great Grey Shrike Saltfleet Haven October 2014 - one of a small arrival of this species on the Lincs coast at the time

rump and uppertail coverts concolorous with back

A March 2021 paper in British Birds entitled: The identification of Northern Shrike in Europe attempted to set out what criteria to look for in this newly classified species. To my mind it was too full of caveats and images of stiff faded horrible museum skins plus the seemingly inevitable down the DNA needed to obtain proof route and a much better idea of the species characteristics can be gained from looking at images in the Macaulay library linked below albeit mainly of the Nearctic borealis and not L b sibiricus the most likely taxon to reach Britain.

https://search.macaulaylibrary.org/catalog?taxonCode=norshr4&mediaType=photo&sort=rating_rank_desc

First-winter birds are particularly striking in borealis at least as we saw a couple in Ontario in February 2014 along with a couple of adults unfortunately all birds were distant or inaccessible due to snow depth hence the images were poor.

Adult Northern Shrike Ontario February 2014 - even at this distance note the large contrasting white rump - uppertail coverts

Northern Shrike Ontario February 2014 only small white area in closed flight feathers

adult Northern Shrike borealis Ontario February 2014 - the white rump and small white primary patch obvious features with little white in the tail

Distant and out of focus but a first-winter Northern Shrike appears as brown as grey even in bright winter light reflecting off snow

Underwing coverts tinged brownish and similar wash on underparts of first winter Northern Shrike in flight

lack of obvious white in the upperwing and tail along with the brownish wash to the upperparts - first-winter Northern Shrike Ontario February 2024

even at long range the strong underpart barring is clearly obvious in this partly backlit bird

first-winter Northern Shrike Ontario February 2014

over cropped! first-winter Northern Shrike Ontario February 2014

And then there is Steppe Grey Shrike pallidirostris: according to the excellent Historical rare Birds website: https://www.historicalrarebirds.info/cat-ac/steppe-grey-shrike

Formerly known as Bogdanoff's Shrike, Grimm's Grey Shrike and Steppe Shrike. It was split from Great Grey Shrike in 1996, but during 2019, the IOC demoted it back to subspecies level pending further examination of Great Grey Shrike which has 12 forms.

I remember well seeing the images and reading the write up on the first British Bird on fair Isle in my trawl through old British Birds Magazines in the 70’s. British Birds 50: 246-249, plate 41;

Steppe Grey Shrike Grainthopre Haven November 200-8 - getting close to the bird was not a problem

Being very tame, easily accessible and only the 20th British occurrence it attracted a daily audience that over its stay was estaimated to have exceed 2000 people

As far as we were aware the first Lincolnshire record came in November 2008 only to be demoted to second place by an earlier record that surfaced in 2005.

The Lincs Bird Club website text flows:

Steppe Grey Shrike Lanius excubitor pallidirostris

Very rare vagrant. Breeds in semi-desert regions of C Asia from lower Volga E to Gobi Desert in S Mongolia, and S to NE Iran, Afghanistan and N Pakistan. Winters NE Africa, Arabian Peninsula, and S Iran to Baluchistan, Pakistan.

Steppe Grey Shrike L.e. pallidirostris has had a chequered history over the last 20 years. Originally treated as a Central Asian race of L. excubitor it was split by BOU as a race of the “Southern Grey Shrike” complex L. meridionalis pallidirostris and it was thought likely it would be elevated to full species status. When BOU decided to follow IOC taxonomy it was lumped with L. excubitor again from January 2019. If and when IOC and other authorities carry out a detailed review of the complex it may well be split again! There have been two Lincolnshire records of this vagrant Shrike. The first occurred at Nene Mouth in November 2005 and the second at Grainthorpe Marsh November 2008. It was one of the most twitched British birds of all times, as it followed the BOU split that made it “tickable” for the first time. These two records are not included in the Great Grey Shrike archive at present.

Steppe Grey Shrike Grainthorpe Haven November 2008 contemplating a small snack

The multitude of plumage differences to Great Grey Shrike are blatantly obvious in flight

Extensive white bases to the primaries, buff fringed and tipped greater coverts, buff tinge to grey lower back and rump - uppertail coverts; little white in tail

pallid as in *pallidirostris* upperparts with plain lores and indistinct ear covert patch

in a mild November it seemed to have little trouble fidning insect food but also regularly took worms from the arable fields

After taking lots of similar images this individual offered other opportunities -

with prograssivly cheaper digital photo gear it was heavily captured but not exactly a difficult subject

Graham Catley 11/01/2026 Graham Catley 11/01/2026

2026 what to do birding wise and reflections on bird finding

More of the same I guess is what springs to mind immediately but as we all are very much aware birding is not what it was 50 years ago or even 30 years ago for so many diverse reasons. My addiction to birdwatching began as a youngster but was cemented in the late 1960’s and early 1970’s with three years at UEA 1972-75 formulating a pattern that endured for the next 50 years. The numbers and variety of bird species has declined dramatically in the last 30 years but rare birds have continued to be recorded at an increasing level due to a variety of factors but probably in the most part due to appreciation of identification criteria and better optics and more recently sound recording equipment but also possibly due to the fact that there are fewer common birds to look through to find one rare bird. Patterns of occurrence and relationships to weather phenomenon are now widely appreciated and hence people look in the right places at the right time but is this as exciting as back in the 1970’s when you simply went out and looked at birds and were totally amazed when you found something different? Going out as a younger birdwatcher I was always full of anticipation for what might pop up but I was not looking for a specific bird and to be honest I had no real appreciation of what was likely in certain weather conditions I just wanted to be out looking. A pretty good example was late autumn 1975. My local patch, actually a phrase that I do not think existed at that time, was the stretch of the Humber estuary between Goxhill Haven and East Halton Skitter. It consisted of the intertidal estuary. A mix of grazed saltmarsh and wet pasture backed by large pasture fields bordered by tall hawthorn hedgerows with occasional copses of thorn and one mature plantation of oak. It was within biking distance of home and had produced a lot of birds in the past as well as during my formative birding excursions which were after school and at weekends. On October 25th I was tramping around on the longer grass areas of the grues looking for Short-eared Owls and Jack Snipe when I flushed a Richard’s Pipit a major find at the time one of only two records that year in Lincolnshire. It stayed to the following day allowing for corroboration by Derek Robinson my birding mentor. A couple of weeks later I was doing my usual walk along the embankment where the old thorn hedgerow, long since removed by the Environment Agency, had produced two Great Grey Shrikes for my life list in 1970. The weather was distinctly cold with a strong north-east wind and it was November 7th which nowadays would clearly mean get to the coast but back then it produced 26 Little Auks scuttling up the Humber a new bird and what a thrill. Derek joined me the following day and we added another 12 to the autumn’s tally plus my first selfie Pomarine Skua.

Little Auks up the Humber at Barton November 6th 2014 part of a day total of 72 birds two of which were taken by the local Peregrines - we know now when to look for Little Auks up the Humber but back in 1975 it was a revelation

Richard’s Pipit Goxhill Haven February 2016 - since the 1975 bird I have seen four in this location well inland from the coast the key to finding one is habitat and getting into it

Richard’s Pipit Chowder Ness Barton December 2024 - I was sat in a hide about 150m away when it was found by a rare visitor Mr Drinkall - goes to show you never know what you are missing by not covering every bit of habitat every day - it only stayed one day but was the third I have seen within 200m of this spot having found the previous two

Those encounters taught me a few things and it was the learning process that I tend to think stood me in good stead for finding birds in later years. Richard’s Pipits like long rough grass and you may be lucky and have one fly by as you are walking on paths but the best way to find one is to get into their habitat and secondly know that call. Then in cold strong NE winds in the late autumn Little Auks can come up the Humber and have done so in several subsequent autumns along with a good mix of northern waterfowl. I have since then had another four Richard’s Pipits along this stretch of the Humber including a wintering bird dug out by a passing dog shown above, they can be useful.

Over many years we tend to become followers rather than bird finders but why? Technology has undoubtedly been the biggest driver. As reported in many tomes we went from a small grapevine of information dispersal where you had to know someone to know someone else etc to today’s info highway where you can often see a photo of a bird someone has found within seconds of them seeing it. Contrast this with the 1972 Lincolnshire Gull-billed Tern at Covenham Reservoir. Found and identified by Mick Mellor, before he became by birding buddy, it was present from September 16th to October 14th but not being in the Lincolnshire loop it was only through a chance meeting with Mick on the coast at Rimac on October 1st that Derek and I learnt of the bird’s presence and called in on our return journey – it remains the only bird I have seen in Lincolnshire. In between there were Bird Lines where you had to use a phone box to ring for information and then web sites and of course mobile phones which have revolutionised how birding is conducted. But has it been a good advancement? I consider myself lucky to have been in at the early stages as it were. Many of my new birds in the 1970’s were birds I found myself and were I feel the more exciting for it. Snow Bunting, Jack Snipe, Red-throated Diver, Great Grey Shrike, Black Tern, Little Gull, Hoopoe, Golden Oriole, Long-eared Owl, Hawfinch and even a odd real rarity like White-rumped Sandpiper – I remember them all because I was the only person there when they graced my vision. I had no knowledge that any of the birds were present before going out and being lucky enough to come across them. Through the late 70’s and 80’s I fell into the twitching trap and over the years have continued to go and see other people’s birds mainly ones I find interesting and exciting rather than going to Norfolk for a White-crowned Sparrow when I have seen 100’s across the pond and listened to them singing on their breeding grounds just to add a number to my British List.

Hoopoe Waters’ Edge then the old Britag site Barton October 1999 - Hoopoe was the first rare bird I found in Britain in May 1969 - this bird was found by the watchman on the old chemical site at Barton that became Waters Edge country park after reclamation - I surveyed the site for several years during the cleansing operation and post development - I was on the coast but Paul left a message at home saying he had seen a Hoopoe around the site - I was the only person with access and relocated this bird the following day feeding amongst the piles of concrete rubble probing in the infected chemical ridden site! It remained in the area to November 2nd when I last saw it about 2 kms away - even obvious birds can be very elusive - at one point it perched on a television aerial of a house near what is now Tescos.

Hoopoe Barton Britag site October 1999 scanned from slide

Hoopoe Barton Pits November 7th 2014 - the second late autumn record for the patch there has only been the one spring bird in May 1969

Finding rare birds is always a matte rof chance in spite of how much effort you put in - in August 1985 with a fairly imminent addition to the family we were having a short walk at Far Ings when I saw this moulting Grey Phalarope on Target Pit - Jude was good enough to drive home and get my camera so I could get a couple of slides before work called -

Black Tern Barton Pits May 2009 one of seven that day - the local spring peak was 131 on May 2nd 1990 all of which arrived from midday onwards — I still remember my first found on my old stamping ground at Dawson City, Goxhill Marsh on May 6th 1970 dipping over the reed fringed pits

Lincolnshire has been my home county for most of my birding life and at some point in the 90’s? we worked out who had seen most species in the county at which point I faced a dilemma. Being number one in the charts means trying to stay there and most of my twitching now consists of doing just that when something new for the county turns up but almost thankfully that is not very often! What means more to me personally are my self found lists having exceeded 330 in Britain and reached 300 in Lincolnshire with the singing Blyth’s Reed Warbler on my local patch in June 2020 since when the total has clawed its way to 309 only to be knocked back by four recent lumps.

Blyth's Reed Warbler

There is nothing quite like finding your own new bird be it a lifer, county first or even a local patch tick but it takes effort and dedication. Having spent 18 years surveying Alkborough Flats the time I spent on my local patch was much reduced from 2006 to 2025 and hence the number of birds found declined exacerbated by national and population declines and this was shown in the patch year list totals I have kept from 1993 onwards. The same period has shown a decline in Lincolnshire year lists and Lincs self found year lists; its a niche market in a county like Lincolnshire where there are so few active bird finders.

Wilson’ Phalarope Alkborough Flats September 2008 my best wader find over a lot of years at Alkborough - failed to find the majority of the goodies located by Mr D.

juvenile Red-necked Phalarope Chowder Ness Barton November 22nd 2009 - the only bird I have ever seen on th epatch and found by IGS doing a survey while I was surveying at Alkborough - being in the right place etc

Below is a piece I wrote after the 2020 Blyth’s Reed Warbler.

300 self-found county birds in Lincolnshire.

The after effects of finding a singing Blyth’s Reed Warbler on my local patch in June 2020, a bird I had been desperate to hear singing for years and had never seen in my home county of Lincolnshire and only twice in the UK, took a while to register. Having lived and birded in the same county for most of my 52 years birding I had amassed a substantial list of county birds amounting to a total of 365 species but for an avid searcher the list that you value most is the self found list, those species that you have personally discovered and identified. Totting up this real list in past years I knew that by early 2020 I was teetering on 299 species of selfies in Lincolnshire and with all due respect to plain white herons I didn’t want Cattle Egret to be the 300th. It was only late on the evening of June 7th though after the excitement and panic of the Blyth’s Reed had subsided that it dawned on me that this was number 300 selfie and what a fitting milestone it was, a really rare bird in the county, only three previous autumn records, on my local patch where I have spent so many 1000’s of hours and with a song to rival any British bird, a top bird and a top find. This then got me thinking back to some of those other County selfies and the memories that they have produced over the years.

For my first notable selfie I have to go back to May 29th 1969 when a Hoopoe jumped up in front of two teenage birders at Far Ings, Barton. The then county recorder, who I took over from in later years, told me that he only accepted the record, as it was such an unmistakable species. It was indeed and left an indelible mark and a belief that rare birds could occur around where I lived not just at hallowed bird observatories.

Some birds you find but just cannot count for varying reasons; back from a visit to the Camargue in June 1977, about as far as we managed to venture in those days by car, and fresh with a head and note book full of experience of Mediterranean exotics during a routine work-related walk around one of the Barton pits a male Little Bittern jumped up in front of me! What were the chances of that encounter? being in the right spot at the right time when this skulker appeared out of an impenetrable reedbed; it’s never happened again in 43 years. But a few days later I was on my old local patch at Goxhill Haven looking through an assembled group of Swifts feeding low over a field when I came across a Pallid Swift; surely not but prolonged views confirmed the features I had seen only two weeks previously in Southern France. No camera gear in those days but a written description duly submitted to BBRC eventually received the seal of approval of the ten rare men and a letter from the secretary congratulating me on finding a then first for Britain; all that remained was official endorsement from the BOURC but in what was almost unprecedented political terms the BOURC rejected the record on the grounds of identification, not provenance, claiming a new ID feature which my bird did not possess. I have subsequently seen 100’s of Pallid Swifts and searched 100’s of images and that feature was in fact irrelevant and actually incorrect but it fell by the wayside and the honour went to Kent the following spring. So that’s one that isn’t in my official county selfie list (reset in 2024) and neither is one of the best birds I have ever discovered as it is regarded as just a race, a terrible term. American Black Tern had amassed just three records in Britain prior to 2011 when I stumbled across a stunning juvenile at Covenham Reservoir in mid-September and being a very long stayer and the first ever on the East coast it gave a lot of pleasure to many birders but numerically it has only the significance of my first self-found Black Tern, coincidentally in this paragraph first seen at Goxhill Haven in May 1970. And the fly-by pratincole seen in August 1977 that couldn’t be confirmed as a specific.

American Black Tern

Finding a lot of species generally means putting in a lot of time and effort but as we all know luck plays its part. From the mid 1970’s to 1990 North Killingholme Pits were something of a mecca for waders and I went almost daily for ten years. That’s a lot of visits and from my first White-rumped Sandpiper in 1976 and Baird’s Sandpiper in 1977 we came to 1982 when a Red-footed Falcon in May was followed by a summer plumaged male American Golden Plover in July and an adult Sharp-tailed Sandpiper in September, not a bad annual crop of selfies but all down to time in and birds out. Similarly, a month of evening visits to my local gull pre-roost in June 2010 eventually paid off with finding a Bonaparte’s Gull and the realisation after 90 minutes of watching it that a Ring-billed Gull, still a mega Lincs bird, was sat within 20 feet of it. Then there are days when you expect little but go out anyway. Such were many of my coastal ventures in the 70’s and 80’s when we took no heed of a lack of easterly winds but slogged the Lincs buckthorn thickets anyway. One such September day in 1976 with a fresh westerly after a seawatch with three Long-tailed Skuas, I walked back to the dunes and a movement in the buckthorn caught my eye. It was a warbler, but wasn’t right for a Reed Warbler, not even the right genus, it was a Savi’s Warbler a very notable first and in fact the first I had ever seen only having heard them at Walberswick. It even stayed in the same spot for three days and was heard briefly singing on one date. In more enlightened times I doubt very much whether I would have hit the coast on a September day of westerly winds but how many birds do we miss by maybe thinking we know too much? Just from the sheer chance of many rare bird finds we know that there must be many more we miss. October 19th 1980 not feeling too fit but spurred on by news of Pallas’s Warblers just across the Humber I did the usual coastal slog all day for a Chiffchaff and Blackcap. Thoroughly disheartened I set off back to my car and in the last ditch a bird flew up and perched on a horizontal willow bough wagging its tail and giving me that quizzical stare which said do I fly or stay? Fortunately, it stayed and Olive-backed Pipit was added to my life list and the county list but it had gone by next morning – what were the chances of that find? And other times we do something a little different and the birding gods answer. In a mega coastal fall in October 1990, I ended up at the back of some nice looking gardens in Saltfleet but with little on show I tried the pishing technique, which of course never works in Britain. But that Dusky Warbler must have been reading the wrong books and it immediately answered my call with some nice chaks and even appeared out in the open. Sometimes circumstances beyond our control can inadvertently contribute to a find or two. The 2001 Foot and Mouth restrictions forced me into more time on my very local Waters Edge and this produced a song that I failed to recognise until the culprit a male Penduline Tit revealed itself in a red currant bush.

Ring-billed and Bonaparte’s Gulls on my local patch at Chowder Ness June 2010 - sometimes you cannot see the wood for the trees

dodgy slide scan of the Waters’ edge Penduline Tit April 2001 - circumstances prevailed when constrained by Foot and Mouth regulations

Olive-backed Pipit Goxhill Skitter November 2020 - found by Steve Routledge on my old patch - theer is a chance of one locally surely after this record - always a Sibe to look out for inland

Having a big self-found list probably stems from a lot of hours birding alone as I maintain that it concentrates the mind and chatter doesn’t detract or blur your concentration but there are benefits to joining up with other birders and joint finds are OK but there are always the times when you are the wrong side of the dunes to a Little Bunting that your colleagues see first or 200m from a Terek Sandpiper which very nearly became 300 in May 2020.

Terek Sandpiper Alkborough Flats May 2020 - I had been with Nd but stopped to photograph a Cuckoo when he walked off and found this 200m away - sods law exists

Little Bunting Donna Nook October 2015 - I had gone to the east side of the dunes to cover more ground when Chris and ND found this bird on the inland side of the dunes - still not found one in Britain apart from one that flew off before I could nail it back in 1990 at Rimac - my first rare bunting find in Britain was in fact Black-faced not what you would predict

Some birds of course you never forget and I can still remember several of these initial sightings of what were all self-found lifers vividly; the sentinel Great Grey Shrike perched on top of the bank side hedge at Goxhill Haven, coming face to face with the four glaring orange eyes of a pair of Long-eared Owls as I rounded a nearby hawthorn, diminutive Little Auks pushing up the Humber in a north-easterly gale in November 1975 followed the next day by a Pomarine Skua and the Black Kite that approached and then soared over my head for five minutes as I lay on my back watching a first for Lincolnshire. Early May 1977 walking across a meadow at what is now Far Ings when a bird with a bright yellow rump flew past me and for a couple of seconds my brain said Green Woodpecker before it dawned that this was that glowing yellow and black bird from the pages of my field guides a male Golden Oriole, a lifer and a selfie and to top it off it fed unconcerned in a hedge for the next hour with just me to enjoy it. The 1976 Greenish Warbler that appeared on the outside of a coastal willow while I was eating my sarnies with a second bird found the following year in the same hedge accompanied by a juvenile Woodchat Shrike, an Arctic Warbler, the first bird I saw at Humberstone Fitties on October 17th 1978 after the fastest engagement ring purchase in history and the Lesser Crested Tern on the beach at Rimac that saw me running off and leaving the family to negotiate their way back to the car park across the series of tidal creeks. But probably summing up all of the factors that can be involved with finding a real rare county bird was the events of June 22nd 1998. Most springs and summers at that time were spent logging breeding wildfowl and local birds on my local patch of the Barton to Barrow Haven clay pits a time consuming but rewarding habit. June 22nd saw me trying to assess how many young a nesting pair of Common Terns had produced in a gap between thundery showers. Staring through my scope at the distant terns a Little Swift flew through my field of view albeit at a range of about 1km. The ensuing mad panic of trying to get some notes, see the bird well and get other people to see it were all eventually rewarded with success but it was a stressful couple of hours before the first birder to arrive actually saw the bird. This was still a very rare bird in Britain at that time and almost untwitchable but about 200 people got to see it before it drifted off west in the evening. It took me another eleven years to find an Alpine Swift after 40 years of looking at Swift flocks but it was fittingly again on my local patch and that connection of self-found local birds still rates very highly in the finder satisfaction stakes which brings us back nicely to that Blyth’s Reed Warbler. With quality sound recordings, unimaginably good photos and video there was never any question over this bird’s identification – how many more amazing birds would we have unearthed and confirmed with that sort of recording equipment in the 70’s?

Alpine Swift Barton Pits May 2009 - 11 years after the Little Swift at the same place - not sure how many 1000 Swifts I have looked through in 50 years

I did a Lincolnshire year list in 1986 before such things were a thing in the county and amassed a total of 229 species from memory with the last addition being three Waxwings on the Humber Bridge approach road as I drove by on December 31st. This total has been beaten a few times since then and with time, money and access to apps and online information virtually anyone can get a county total of that nature; I was still working full time and had limited info and time in 1986 but what would be the point in repeating the process in 2026? Unless you live on the coast then it entails multiple long drives to look at an often bird less Lincolnshire seascape for odd seabirds and a lot of following other people’s fortunate finds while reducing your chances of finding something yourself. Of course, you can double up and after twitching the Black-winged Pratincole at Frampton in June 2019 I found a singing Marsh Warbler on the walk back to the car and found another one near Horncastle while looking for a Black Stork in May 2014. But the Deepings in the far south are 80 miles away from my patch and even Frampton is 60 miles where you need to go for odd waders.

Chasing a reported Black Stork south of Harncastle I stopped to scan the area near a small canal and amazingly this Marsh Warbler was singing - the chances of that find must be pretty remote but just how many birds like this do we miss

Pondering on all these thoughts and deciding on a plan of action for 2026 I thought back to some of those self-found birds and even to many twitches, while wandering around Waters’ Edge for the umpteenth time this year. Why not try to improve on my recent Lincs self-found year total, my record is 208 in 2020, and amass a good patch year list conserving mileage on the car and actually enjoying local birds rather than constantly looking at bird information services and suffering frequent bouts of fomo? Of course, I will go to see odd birds that interest me and if I fail to find it, I will have to twitch Lincolnshire’s first Black-winged Kite but for the most part my local patch will be the centre of my attention. To help in not hearing about birds before I see them, I have had to absent myself from local WhatsApp groups and I only have a look at Birdguides occasionally so I will miss a lot of birds found by others but it’s a price to pay.

Black-winged Kite La Janda Spain February 2019 - Lincolnshire’s first is surley just around the corner but who will find it?

How many birds do we miss on a general walk around good-looking habitat? Wildfowl and waders generally few if you look at them all well but passerines must be seriously under recorded. How many times have you twitched say a Pallas’s or Yellow-browed Warbler and had to stand an hour or two in one place before seeing the bird not to mention Red-flanked Bluetails and Radde’s Warblers so passing a bush in 20 seconds and moving on must mean finding a rare in there is an infinitesimal chance. There is a single Goldcrest on Waters’ Edge this winter but in two weeks of often twice daily visits I have seen it three times and that is in the bare branches of winter trees. I need to look longer and stand and wait as persistence pays as dictated by the Patagonia picnic table effect [essentially the premise that a rare bird in a location attracts lots of would be observers who then stand in one place and look at everything that moves and in the event find more rare birds] – named after a famous birding spot in southern Arizona I actually went there in 1996 but don’t recall seeing much!

Red-flanked Bluetail Famborough November 2021 - when they show well you cannot miss them but they can spend a lot of time hiding as it were - I have a couple of spots locally that I have singled out for this species!

This month so far, I have managed to see 87 species on the patch which is OK as there are no scarce waterfowl, a frequent occurrence in recent years, Smew, Scaup and Long-tailed Duck plus the odd diver or scarce grebe used to be regular but no more. But it’s not all about numbers and I have been enjoying watching birds and taking photos of course another of my passions. In fact, I managed to photograph 200 species in Britain last year and will see what sort of number I can manage to get a decent image of on my patch this year. Robins are drawing my interest and I am trying hard to identify a continental bird that I can be sure about on plumage but it will if anything be in late march or April but the local birds add interest daily. One bird has a small territory based around a clump of sea buckthorn where it has of late in the cold weather been consuming the wizened-up berries. A second bird tries to get in on the act but is usually driven off by the territory holder but I have noticed while the chases take place a third bird pops out of the bushes and has a quick berry while the territory holder is otherwise engaged. The local Bullfinches are also great entertainment and as they in a park frequented by a lot of people, they are noticeably tamer than birds I see elsewhere allowing close views and images. Similarly, Song Thrushes have tumbled from 10-20 on Wedge in November to the three or four that are still around now but one also inhabits the buckthorn clump but is it a local bred bird or a continental migrant? On the how many birds do we miss front it took me six days to hear a Cetti’s Warbler and Water Rail on my patch in January and I have yet to see a Cetti’s although up to 50 territories are occupied in summer. Chiffchaffs have appeared in four different locations but none of them on more than a couple of dates so could there be a Hume’s somewhere eluding detection? Gulls come and go and just because that Ross’s is not there in the morning it could be there after lunch and 50 miles away an hour later. It’s good to dream and provides impetus for another few miles walking.

Local female Bullfinch always entertaining feeding on a wide variety of trees shrubs buds / seeds

Is this a locally bred Song Thrush or a migrant January 2026

In 2017 I was honoured to be invited to present the RSPB Friday night lecture entitled The Art of Finding Rare Birds with Mick Turton and Killian Mullarney; I was very much on the bronze medal podium with such esteemed colleagues but it was great to hear their best bird finding stories and another source of inspiration – now if I get my gearing aids I will be able to pick up those Beeeater flocks that must pass over me every year – how can I have not had this species in Lincolnshire in 57 years of birding!! And as Killian remarked it was remarkable that all three of our accounts featured a rare swift – maybe this year the loical patch will pull a Pacific or that Needle-tail!

With Mick Turton and Killian Mullarney true legends in the Rare Bird Finding stakes - Bird Fair August 2017

Graham Catley 05/01/2026 Graham Catley 05/01/2026

January 2026

Not sure where the new year’s photography is going yet - taking lots of images and deleting most of them - need a train of thought but here are a few that I have kept so far from the first five days

It has been cold and icy but have not managed to get anything much that reflects the weather so far - Black-headed Gulls resting on ice

First-winter now 2cy male Hen Harrier this afternoon but not the colour ringed bird I have been trying to nail for weeks

Little Grebe before sunrise in an area of open water amongst the ice

A young male Marsh Harrier dropping onto something in the reeds - a slightly different take

a classic hunting male Marsh Harrier - we have about 4-5 males around at present but only this one adult

The light has been great the last few days

a male Sparrowhawk that flew rapidly past the hide and I didn’t quite get the bird 100% sharp which was a shame as it was a nice adult

female Bullfinch munching on sea buckthorn berries

and Blackthorn buds a favourite on Waters’ Edge

male House Sparrow in the garden - the cold snap had brought 10-12 spoggies back to the feeders but we have also had Coal Tits and Long-tailed Tits fairly regularly which is something that has not occurred for many years

Part of a pre roost gathering of Magpies - there were at least 50 in the gathering at dusk

After seemingly disappearing from the local park for two years it was good to find a Nuthatch back at the end of 2025 and add it to the patch year list on the 2nd

always high up but the 100-500 is a great lens for this type of bird photography

Blackbirds on fallen apples during the hard snap - I counted 30 at one time on this accumulated food resource

Three slightly different treatments of the garden Blue Tit

Carrion Crow - winter light is sublime - keep thinking of tracking how many species I can photograph on the patch this year

Fieldfare and berries frozen into the ice - feeding thrushes drop so many berries

I was sitting in my car waiting for a hunting harrier when this pair of Grey Partridges came out of the ield and settled down to dust bathing

Grey Wagtail on the Wedge foreshore during a very hard frost

During the freeze this Kingfisher was feeding along Far Ings road drain as it was one of the few areas of open water - with constant car traffic it became quite tame

adult male Marsh Harrier - I have not spent long trying for thsese so far but this was a very lucky encounter

Siskin on Waters’ edge - not many about this winter about 12 recently

When I got this shot I was thinking if only it was a bit more in the opne but in retrospect I like it with the berry cover

Treecreeper on Waters’ Edge - had several encounters this winter which are always a treat

my first trip of the year to the forest yesterday revealed at least 30 Common Crossbills with several males in song and display flights

I managed to climb up to about 25 feet above the ground to get some better angled shots of birds in the tree tops albeit smallish trees

Great Grey Shrike near Fillingham Lincs - lots more images of this bird coming in a GGS blog post under construction

sunlight breaking through the clouds over the Ancholme Valley

Two Chiffchaffs were feeding togetehr on the ground on the side of the Humber bank by Chowder earlier in the week - could have been a Dusky Warbler!

Pink-footed Geese descending against a brooding sky onto Read’s Island

Song Thrush with banded snail on Waters’ Edge during a hard frost

A few days later and five males were in full song on Wedge alone

I was walking by the bridge when all the Blackbirds suddenly exploded and this first winter male Sparrowhawk came through the trees about two feet above the ground before landing on this fallen branch - it was only there for seconds hence no time to move and get the intervening twig out of the way but love it anyway

Wigeon on a rather serene looking Humber off Chowder

Goldcrest hunting invertebrates in the Waters’ edge ivy

Stock Dove Wedge - several pairs attempting to occupy the nest boxes already

Often ignored Stock Doves are a striking bird in close up and sunshine

Not often you see a pair sitting together - Tawny Owls in residence

I am making myself scan harder for birds rather than walking past a lot this year - female Sparrowhawk every one a gem

Graham Catley 31/12/2025 Graham Catley 31/12/2025

The Manton Collared (Turtle) Dove — 73 years on it is time to set right a miscarriage of justice

In mid-May 1952 Britain’s first Collared Dove, then known as the Collared Turtle Dove, was found feeding in a chicken run at Manton North Lincolnshire. As noted in the article in British Birds linked below a description reached Reg May one of the best bird observers in the county and possibly England, at that time, presumably from F H Davey of Greetwell Hall as Reg had permission to search for birds on the Manton estate owned by Davey at that time and made annual trips to search for nesting Woodlarks, Curlew and other heathland species.

Collared Dove Barton December 2005 just prior to their recent decline

Reg May at Greetwell in c1980 with the trusty deerstalker and his cine camera - already in his 80’s but still enthusiastic — born in 1903 his first records in the Lincolnshire Naturalist’s Union Bird Reports were in 1929 from his home village of Limber wheer he was a the postman for most of his life - the failure of the then authorities to admit the Collared Dove to the British List had little effect upon him as he knew it was wild!

I first met Reg in 1969 and during visits to Greetwell searching out nests of Nightingale, Curlew, Snipe and Long-eared Owls amongst other birds that still bred there at the time Reg would recount tales of past exploits including the sad loss of all the Woodlarks that were found dead from poisoned seed dressing in the early spring of 1959. I also recall him mentioning the Collared Dove of 1952 and spending many hours watching and listening to the bird culminating in it attracting a mate and nesting in 1957 which he confirmed as he was under the nest when the first egg was laid! The fact that the bird was not accepted to the British List for spurious details listed in the paper below and noted again in an excellent post by Anthony McGeehan, also linked, were pretty irrelevant to Reg who was a true bird lover if that is a good term; someone who appreciated all birds and simply took enjoyment from watching them closely but his greatest skill was patience. When we would site for three or four hours to watch a Tree Pipit wend its way back to its nest Red would hardly move a muscle while we were anxious to move on. His nest finding skills were legendary and were of course a feature of the era, not to take eggs, but to marvel at the contents and the skill of the birds involved. A seventy-foot tree was not a problem if a Grey Heron’s nest was in the top and I also recall being told of his exploits in searching for a Wood Sandpiper’s nest in Sutherland rowing himself across a floating bog on his front to reach an island all the while not being able to swim. But back to that Collared Dove in 1952. What surprised me in reading the BB article for the first time was the roll call of the great birdwatchers of the time who went to see the bird including James Fisher who also authored a paper in BB in 1953 detailing the species’ spread across Europe and the editors of BB at the time W.B.Alexander., P.A.D.Hollom and I.J.F.-Lees.

Reg on Colonsay June 1974 with his trusty Cine camera enjoying the breeding seabirds

https://www.britishbirds.co.uk/journal/article/collared-turtle-dove-britain

https://www.britishbirds.co.uk/journal/article/collared-turtle-dove-europe

https://anthonymcgeehan.medium.com/the-all-conquering-collared-dove-fedc654e72dc

By 1955 Collared Doves were found breeding in Norfolk and these were subsequently admitted to the British List so why was the Lincolnshire bird and its followers, there were four at Manton in 1958 and several breeding pairs in the county by the early 1960’s, not acknowledged as the first British occurrence. The suggestion that the first male may have been an escape from captivity seems at best spurious as checks revealed that none of the birds imported in 1947 had escaped and the territorial behaviour of the Manton male and its subsequent stay and survival in the wild surely all point to a pioneering wild bird for more detailed analysis of behaviour of colonists see A McGeehan’s paper linked above.

So come on BOURC its been a long wait but the Lincolnshire Collared Turtle Dove needs its due upgrade.

Collared Dove in display May 2024 - after their boom numbers are now much lower and breeding pairs more3 scattered

An excellent summary of the status of this species in Lincolnshire was provided by Andrew Henderson in the 2021 Lincolnshire Bird Report.

Pigeons and Doves in Lincolnshire

Andrew Henderson Photographs © Graham Catley

A winter concentration of Collared Doves on a small holding in Goxhill Marsh - available winter food still draws small flocks but nothing compared to the 500 - 600 strong flocks recorded in the late 1980’s to mid 1990’s

Graham Catley 15/12/2025 Graham Catley 15/12/2025

The Saltfleet Black Brant and some accompanying Dark-bellied Brents

On November 18th 2025 Chris Atkin found a Black Brant at Saltfleet – this is a standard end of autumn filler when we run out of hope on the nana front. I actually still remember finding Lincolnshire’s first Black Brant at Howden’s Pullover on January 21st 1982 and doing the Report article where it was in esteemed company with the Lincs rare write ups including Broad-billed and Sharp-tailed Sandpipers, Parrot Crossbills, Turkestan Shrike and a certain American Redstart (a year to remember). But back to 2025 and I guess no-one looked very hard for the Black Brant as it was not reported again until Owen Beaumont found it on the New Inn fields on the 11th. It seemed like a decent spot to get a good look and maybe some images so with sun forecast for 13th I ventured down the coast and was soon looking at the flock of Dark-bellied Brents. It took several scans of the flock before I eventually picked up the Black Brant which was usually at the back of the flock and proved very easy to loose.

When out on its own the Black Brant was not difficult to locate - note the underside of caravans forming a nice backdrop

Mixed in with the Dark-=bellied Brents the flank patch was sometimes a give away

The neck collar on this bird was not strikingly different to its DBB friends and the bird appeared on the small side so is possibly a female?

Light makes a huge difference to perception of blacks and greys but the brown tinge to the neck and belly are clear here - three juvenile DBB here weer clearly one of the few families in a poor breeding season

Nice view of the underwing and solid belly colour - it was often aggressive to DBB nearby and likewise was occasionally attcked by them a sign of speciation!!

At times blatantly obvious but it could easily disappear in the flock particularly when feeding with its head down

In shade the upperparts looked jet black and the contrast with the flanks enhanced

A brown tinge to the upperparts is visible in good light

here it is a bit further back but clearly looks slightly smaller than the adjacent DBBs - the collar was complete at the front but not striking in depth

The brown tinge to the upperparts and underparts is again clear here in sunlight

in the same light conditions the upperparts of the DBBrents are strikingly pale grey compared to the Black Brant but compare the neck collar to the adjacent DBB

A closer view of the neck collar which almost joined at the back

For anyone looking for this bird and needless to say there was no-one there on Saturday, this is Lincolnshire, its easy to find near the traffic cone under the caravan

Also managed to see Owen’s colour ringed bird - thanks for the info that shows it is Lime A / Dark Green 4 a returning bird seen on the same field 22/11/23 and Elm House Farm 04/02/24. Ringed 04/03/23 Ameland, Netherlands. Regular resightings from Ameland March to May 2023 and in March to April 2024. No other sightings this year

A few of the Dark-bellied Brent Goose flock

Two juveniles one more advanced than the other

The flock commutes between the field and the foreshore where they are much harder to see in the longer saltmarsh vegetation

Good light in December is a rare commodity

A Curlew in the creek - a long 7 mile walk failed to locate any lingering Asian passerines but always worth checking

a wintering Black-faced Bunting is sure to be unearthed somewhere

or a Pine Bunting but the Saltfleet flock only held Reed and Yellow buntings

with an 800mm lens you don’t have to be close

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

Eastern Black Redstarts and the Lincolnshire connections

Eastern Black Redstart Filey N Yorks December 2025 - appears to be the same bird as Scarborough late November

On November 28th 2025 I went to Scarborough not for fish and chips, ice cream or a Walrus but to try and see a first winter male Eastern Black Redstart found by exported Lincs’ birder Ben Ward. Arriving in lovely sunshine the bird was missing then appeared distantly then it was relocated close in a tree in the graveyard but literally as I clapped eyes on it the heavens opened and a seeming torrent descended on North Yorkshire. Camera gear and self very wet I abandoned the watch and dried off returning to see the bird at about 3m range but looking very wet and sorry for itself – about as happy as I felt; images taken obviously looked pretty dire and the bird was so happy with the weather that it loafed under a fallen grave stone for a while. I had already seen two 1cy male Eastern Black Redstarts in Britain, just up the road at Scalby December 3rd 2014 at that time only the 5th British record and at Skinningrove, also North Yorkshire October 31st 2016 so why go see another? Well to quote the late Martin Garner: It’s a brilliant looking bird and its very rare and has undertaken the remarkable (to me seemingly miraculous) feat of flying here from somewhere in Central Asia. What’s not to like?!

First winter male Eastern Black Redstart Filey North Yorkshire December 2025 - a stunning little bird and for once in recent weeks in sunshine

It’s not a species tick apparently but read on, and that is just a human thought by a few taxonomists not reality and thus after the soggy venture when it moved to Filey, or another appeared at Filey in early December I had to have another look but picked a decent day with intermittent hazy sunshine. The bird performed brilliantly and there were very few birders there, as it’s not a tick presumably, so I was able to take 6000 images! Why is a question I often ask myself when sitting for hours looking for the one or two good ones

Eastern Black Redstart flycatching Filey December 2025 - mirrorless cameras with their improved AF systems make action photography easier but its still hard work with fast moving passerines

So, what was the point of this long ramble? Well, it’s given me the impetus to put all of my Eastern Black Redstart images in one place and also to reminisce about some old Lincolnshire records that initially made it to the British list only to be removed, quite rightly, at a later date.

https://www.britishbirds.co.uk/system/files/2025-11/2016_V109_N04_P211-219_EBlackRedstart.pdf

It has also forced me to dig out all the papers and references on EBR in Britain and Europe – no bad thing as you never know when you may just stumble across one and need to exclude the dreaded hybrids.

But back in time to autumn 1978: September had produced a good list of seabirds up the Humber but the Lincolnshire coast had been decidedly quiet in persistent westerlies until October 8th when Lincolnshire’s first Siberian Stonechat appeared at Donna Nook hot on the heels of the publication in British Birds of a paper telling us how to identify a race / species most of us had never heard of and listing its European status:

https://britishbirds.co.uk/system/files/2025-11/V70_N06_P237-245_A061.pdf

Black and white images and a pen and ink drawing came to life on a dull October afternoon and the autumn had been saved but was there better to come?

Siberian Stonechat Donna Nook october 8th 1978 the first

Two days later one of life’s great dilemmas faced me. The weather forecast for several days had said SW so no danger of any coastal arrivals. After three years of putting up with my birding obsession Jude had decided that a bit of precious metal needed to be purchased. I put it down to the exotic holidays I had taken her on; camping in Wales in June, not too bad, sleeping in a cowshed in Wales in March maybe less exotic, a four-star caravan on North Uist for Steller’s Eider and passage Pom Skuas and then foreign trips camping in the Camargue and at Lake Neusiedl: it was in the Gooders Guide where to watch birds in Europe or similar, and included a cold war encounter with soviet border guards on the Hungarian border. Back to October 10th and it seemed as good a day as any to make the dreaded purchase no risk of missing any good birds and a few hours spent in jewellery shops would stand me in good stead for the next twitch. Leaving for work at 06:00 oddly the wind seemed to be SE but clearly it wasn’t. By mid-morning it was strong SE and I had a few hours to make a decision; cancel the shopping expedition and risk divorce or make a cunning plan. I had from 13:00 to darkness to buy that ring and somehow get to the coast. I think it is fair to say that Jude was somewhat perplexed with my speed of ring choice and handing over a week’s wages but by 14:00 we were heading for the delights of Humberston Fitties the closest bit of coast to Grimsby albeit overshadowed by the dreaded Spurn. Leaving Julia in the mini I set off and in the first willow the first bird I clapped eyes was an Arctic Warbler my first selfie! What a result. Chuffed to bits I headed to the phone box by the entrance to the Fitties to ring my old birding mate Mick Mellor. The response from the other end of the old landline from Mick’s mother however, sort of took the edge off the day. His mother replied that Mick wasn’t there as he had gone to Donna Nook to look for a Red-flanked Bluetail found by Steve Lorand that morning!

Exotic trips - top left Wales March, top middle and right accomodation North Uist May 1978; bottom left Les Baux de Provemce June 1977 and bottom right two Lake Neusiedl Austria July 1978 the mini clubman got about

On the positive side Julia was happy though I doubt she remembers the Arctic Warbler 47 years on.

Bluetails were of course mythical beings in those days, no-one had seen one, and of course we never saw it the following day though having seen several now I do wonder if we looked hard enough for what can be a bit of an elusive bird. It seemed the chance had gone but we were stoical in those days and kept slogging the Lincs buckthorn and willows. The Warbler had also moved on the next day but Rimac on the 14th produced an influx of Redwings, three Ouzels and a Ring-necked Parakeet of all things. Mick and I were back at Rimac on 15th working the willow hedge with a few incoming thrushes but little else when we came across three chats an adult male and first winter / female Black Redstart and another bird that had us baffled. My notes below from the day:

Redstart sp Saltfleetby October 15th 1978

Male seen in willow hedge and feeding from barbed wire fence around a grass field also feeding on ground in ploughed fields. Actions resembled Redstart including tail shivering on one occasion and the general jizz was the same.

Bill and legs black. Facial disk and throat black. Almost a pale supercilium but poorly defined. Crown, nape and back a pale slate grey with a distinct bluish tinge. Rump and outer tail feathers bright chestnut – orange; central tail feathers dark ruddy brown as in Redstart. Pale whitish line between orange of rump and grey of lower back seen when preening but not obvious. Wing coverts bluish – grey. Primaries looked black, secondaries dark blackish-brown with an obvious whitish wing panel formed by pale edges to secondaries; this was roughly triangular and very obvious also showing up in flight. Tertials similar dark blackish-brown faintly edged and tipped white producing a patterned effect. A white line round the bend of the folded wing could be seen. Upper breast to half way down dark blackish-grey again with a faint bluish tinge faintly streaked with black in the centre of the breast. Grey of upper breast separated from orange of lower breast and belly by a thin pale whitish line. Orange of belly palest in the centre being creamy – the orange was streaked with darker rufous orange. Orange of rump and belly joined on the flanks to give a very colourful effect. Call was a soft single syllable pit pit given only infrequently and much quieter than Redstart.

Also, same day male and immature Black Redstart, Ring Ouzel, 3 Jack Snipe, Lapland Bunting, 50 Twite, Redwing 11, Curlew Sandpiper, Blackcap and Fieldfare.

The bird seemed like a Redstart in some respects and Black Redstart in others (maybe we should have thought deeper but it seemed fair to say that hybrid Black x Common Redstarts were unheard of in Britain at least at that time) but it seemed to defy identification and the texts we had available seemed to give no real clues to its identity. Back in 1978 there were very few in depth texts available, pre the relevant volume of BWP, but consulting Keith Atkin’s copy of Vaurie we came across descriptions of eastern races of Black Redstart that seemed to almost fit our bird but the white wing flash seemed at odds with them all. So Mick and I decided to do a very adult birder thing and visit the British Museum at Tring to look at skins. The trays of dead birds of course all had folded wings and were pretty faded but the closest thing we could find was Hodgson’s Redstart of the Himalayas. This seemed rather unlikely but there was that record of Tickell’s Thrush on Heligoland. The bird was subsequently submitted to BBRC as an eastern race of Black Redstart which as far as we knew had never been recorded in Britain and was accepted as the second British record. Oddly reading recent texts in Dutch Birding Eastern Black Redstarts are suggested to be closer to Hodgson’s Redstart than Western Black Redstart in DNA an interesting but in this instance irrelevant fact!

The text from the relevant BBRC Report:

Black Redstart Phoenicurus ochruros (0, 2, 0)

Individuals showing the characters of one or other of the intergrading southern/eastern populations P. o. ochruros-semirufus-phoenicuroides were recorded as follows:

1975 Scilly Bryher, female or immature, 13th October (D.I.M. Wallace).

1978 Lincolnshire Saltfleetby, adult male, 15th to 17th October (K. Atkin, G. P. Catley, S.Lorand et al.).

(East from southern USSR and Iran)

Maybe not a contender for the British Birds art competition - my painting of the 1978 Rimac redstart sp

Compare the 78 painting with the real Eastern Black Redstart Filey

We were clearly in good company with DIMW but his female like our bird subsequently failed the test of time. Hindsight is of course a great thing but as more information came to light on the frequency of hybrid breeding between Common and Black Redstarts in Europe identification criteria developed. The Rimac bird failed on several criteria but principally the white wing flash apparently never shown by EBR, the bluish tinge to the upperparts, the paler centre to the belly and pale demarcation between the black and orange breast feathers.

As detailed in the BOURC Review;

The notes and colour painting of the 1978 Lincolnshire bird showed features not associated with any subspecies of Black Redstart, notably a combination of orange underparts and a prominent white wing panel. It too was judged to have been a hybrid.

Subsequently in October 1988 a bird at Ponderosa Donna Nook found by DH, Andrew and Peter Wilson and yours truly was also accepted as an Eastern Black Redstart:

October 21st was a major East coast fall day with our coastal haul totals summarised: Robin 78+, Blackbird 300, Redwing 150, Reed Bunting 40, Ring Ouzel 1, Brambling, Reed Warbler, Goldcrest 350, Lapland Bunting 4, Short-eared Owl, Eastern Lesser Whitethroat 1, Pallas’s Warbler 3, Yellow-browed Warbler 2, Red-breasted Flycatcher 1, Firecrest, Redstart 2, Black Redstart 2 with a third male as below:

Adult male of one of the eastern races feeding around the RAF bungalow at Ponderosa; like male Black Redstart but crown and upperparts pale slaty grey; throat and ear coverts black; upper breast grey with black spotting / mottling; lower breast and belly dark orange feathers tipped paler with grey wash to flanks; rump and outer tail feathers strikingly rich orange; whitish flash in wing formed by edges to secondaries, tertials obvious but not as striking as adult male Black Redstart:

The text from the relevant BBRC Report seemed prophetic but even at this date very little hard facts were available on the identification of Eastern birds.

Black Redstart Phoenicurus ochruros (0, 3, 1)

An individual showing the characters of one of the intergrading southern/eastern populations P. o. ochruros-semirufus-phoenicuroides was recorded as follows:

Lincolnshire Donna Nook, male, showing characters closest to ochruros, 21st October (G. P.Catley, D. Hursthouse, P. Wilson) (plate 332).

(East from southern USSR and Iran) Three other claims remain under consideration; none has been accepted since 1983. These 'eastern' races may open up a whole can of difficult worms . . . Male ochruros can be subtle, to put it mildly, but male phoenicuroides are lovely, eye-catching creatures

Ten years on and my artwork was almost up to junior school standard - male Donna Nook October 1988 as detailed above

Mike Tarrant’s image of the 1988 Donna Nook bird as published in the BBRC report

For comparison a fairly typical adult male western *gibraltariensis* Waters Edge Barton November 24th 2003

Note a bit of orange on the rear flank and undertail but the striking white wing flash November 2003

The later BOURC review 1998 – 1999 spelt out the reason for this bird’s rejection:

The 1988 Lincolnshire bird showed orange in the lower belly, a character of ochruros, but also a prominent pale wing panel, which is not shown by that subspecies. Despite the view of several members that it might indeed be ochruros, it was felt that the possibility of a western bird with restricted orange in the lower belly, either through normal variation or through intergradation with ochruros, could not be excluded. Stoddart April 2016.

In hindsight again this was an orange bellied presumably western Black Redstart or could it have been ochruros? This is one of the areas of Black Redstart identification that remains unsolved and was treated by Martin Garner in this Birding Frontiers blog:

https://birdingfrontiers.wordpress.com/2011/03/24/red-bellied-black-redstarts/

The above blog also contains images of a red-bellied male that was on Lincoln Cathedral from January 21st to March 3rd 2010 – a similar individual to the 1988 Donna Nook bird.

Further useful bits of discussion in this later blog post after the 2011 birds.

https://birdingfrontiers.wordpress.com/2011/11/21/eastern-black-redstart/

Interestingly though all papers state that: Hybrids seem to be genuinely rare during late autumn and early winter, when the numbers of phoenicuroides peak. Photographic evidence should of course allow relevant features to be assessed but we believe that, when a phoenicuroides in late autumn or early winter is identified on plumage alone, the likelihood of misidentification is very small to non-existent. Hence the Rimac bird of 1978 was not in line with typical occurrence patterns.

Adult male western gibraltariensis Donna Nook October 2015

Eastern Black Redstart Scalby North Yorkshire December 2014 only the 5th accepted Bfritish record and my first encounter with one of these stunning eastern vagrants

Eastern Black Redstart is a relatively recent bird in Western Europe with the first accepted record seemingly being as recent as Kent 1981 then 1986 in Sweden and the first well photographed and recorded birds being in the Netherlands and on Guernsey in 2003.

https://www.dutchbirding.nl/journal/pdf/DB_2005_27_3.pdf#page=21

What were considered at the time to be the first British records were two first-winter males in late autumn 2011:

This from the Birding World Article on the birds in Kent and Northumberland in 2011

Occurrence

The form phoenicuroides is a long-distance migrant comparable to other central Asian migrants such as Desert Wheatear and Daurian Isabelline Shrike that reach western Europe regularly in late autumn, so it is perhaps not surprising that these birds have turned up together with the exceptional numbers of these species (and Hume’s Yellow-browed Warbler) that have been recorded in autumn 2011. The males are striking and surely more will be found now that observers know to be on the look out for them in late autumn. Females are always going to be a more tricky prospect and may be overlooked.

Taxonomy

Although BWP (Cramp 1988) lists seven forms of Black Redstart, HBW (Hoyo et al. 2005) recognises just five: gibraltariensis in Europe and northwest Africa, ochruros in Turkey, the Caucasus and northwest Iran, semirufus in Syria, Lebanon and northern Israel, phoenicuroides in south Russia and west Mongolia south to the Tien Shan, south Kazakhstan and northwest Pakistan, and rufiventris from Turkmenistan through the Himalayas to central China. Males of all the eastern forms are quite similar to each other (differing mainly in the darkness of the upperparts and the extent of the black breast), but differ markedly from European birds in that they exhibit extensively rufous-orange underparts. Brazil (2009) states that Eastern Black Redstart may warrant specific status, a conclusion also reached by Steijn (2005) and hinted at by Rasmussen & Anderton (2005), while a genetic study suggesting that Black Redstart originated in central Asia before eventually spreading west to Europe concluded that, from DNA distance values, the Asian populations have been isolated for 1.5 million years (Ertan 2006).

Subsequently the BOURC accepted two earlier records from Dungeness November 1981 and Norfolk November 2003 the latter contemporaneous with the two Dutch and Channel Island birds in the same year.

first winter male Eastern Black Redstart Scalby North Yorkshire December 2014 - like the Scarborough bird this individual fed regularly in and from trees as well as on the ground in a housing estate - habitat choice is presumably dictated by food availability

Since 2011 Eastern Black Redstarts, all first-winter males, have continued to occur with increasing frequency in Britain and Western Europe with the vast majority arriving late in the autumn from mid-October to December with the bulk in November. There are now 17 accepted British records with the one or two pending for Yorkshire in 2025. The first Lincolnshire record came from Donna Nook in October 2016 during the magical Asian – Siberian autumn but sadly SL was the lone observer with the bird evading detection by would be county listers. Surely another bird must be on the cards for the county given the East coast bias to the British occurrences hopefully in a more suitable location than the buckthorn of Donna Nook.

https://www.historicalrarebirds.info/u20/eastern-black-redstart

Also worthy of consultation is the impressive gallery of images by Daniele Occhiato with birds from at least three populations shown including phoenicuroides and ochruros https://pbase.com/dophoto/codirossospazzacamino

Eastern Black Redstart Scalby December 2014

The pale feather tips on the black of this bird had started to wear away revealing a rather blacker bird than many at this time of year - not a ringer but I believe the requisite primary tip spacing is visible here

This is from Steijn - a bit more taxonomic stuff to ponder over

Taxonomy

Eastern Black Redstart is a distinctive bird and it is perhaps surprising that is treated as a subspecies of Black Redstart. There are obvious differences in plumage between Eastern Black Redstart and western subspecies of Black Redstart, not only in males but also in female-type plumages. Contrary to the western subspecies P o gibraltariensis, P o phoenicuroides is a long-distance migrant. The breeding and wintering ranges do not overlap with any of the dark-bellied subspecies or with nominate P o ochruros (see figure 1).

To support these differences, DNA studies through microsatellite analysis by Ertan (2002) revealed that P o phoenicuroides and P o rufiventris are ‘either associated together with Hodgon’s Redstart P hodsgoni (a short-distance migrant, resembling P o phoenicuroides, breeding in western China and wintering in the Himalayan foothills) or are seen as divergent taxa’. This means that, using DNA studies through microsatellite analysis, both P o phoenicuroides and P o rufiventris appear to be closer related to Hodgson’s Redstart P hodgsoni than to Western Black Redstart P o gibraltariensis and should therefore be treated as a different species group. Cytochrome-b sequencing revealed genetic differences of up to 3% between P o gibraltariensis and P o phoenicuroides and up to 3.7% between P o gibraltariensis and P o rufiventris. P o phoenicuroides and P hodgsoni differed by 6.1% (Ertan 2002). To compare, for instance, Pied Flycatcher Ficedula hypoleuca and Collared Flycatcher F albicollis differ by 3.0-3.2% (Saetre et al 2001).

It would be interesting to put the characters of Eastern Black Redstart P o phoenicuroides alongside the ‘Guidelines for assigning species rank’ (Helbig et al 2002). This paper states that allopatric taxa (geographically separated taxa, such as P o gibraltariensis and P o phoenicuroides) should be assigned full species rank if ‘they are fully diagnosable in each of several discrete or continuously varying characters related to different functional contexts, eg, structural features (often related to foraging strategy), plumage colours, vocalizations (both often related to mate recognition) or DNA sequences, and the sum of the character differences corresponds to or exceeds the level of divergence seen in related species that coexist in sympatry.’ On basis of the above information, it deserves consideration to treat the red-bellied subspecies of Black Redstart, comprising P o phoenicuroides and P o rufiventris, as a separate species under the name Eastern Black Redstart P phoenicuroides. The taxonomic status of P o ochruros, which is intermediate between Eastern Black Redstart and Western Black Redstart in many aspects, requires further research.

Any late autumn redstart needs a good look even if its feeding in trees - Scalby December 2014

Light makes a big difference to the appearance of Eastern Black Redstarts - the Skinningrove bird October 31st 2016

First year male eastern Black Redstart Skinningrove North Yorkshire October 31st 2016 - this bird wintered in the area being last recorded on March 28th 2017

Newly moulted adult type inner greater coverts are often only visible when preening or in good flight photos

Orange underwing coverts are diagnostic if needed

Truly stunning birds when seen well and they often seem to be approachable

The latest Bird ID Guide by Nils van Duivendijk has a lot of information including the summary below and some useful images -

Nominate ochruros

Of this taxon from Turkey and the Caucasus have variable orange on the underparts, at most extending to the belly. Nominate ochruros can be regarded as intermediate between western gibraltariensis and the eastern taxa. Sometimes individuals with some orange on the belly are found in western Europe, which resemble ochruros. This is most likely a rare variation within gibraltariensis that resembles the nominate, though hybrid ancestry with Common Redstart cannot be fully excluded. The individual in the image is an obvious male with well-defined moult limit within the greater coverts (inner ones moulted, fresh with grey fringe) and a brown, worn wing, ageing this individual is straightforward. It must be of the so called (paradoxus – type in which males already have adult type body feathers in 1cy. There are clues that the paradoxus / type is much more common towards the east than in the western gibraltariensis. Nominate ochruros can be regarded as an intermediate between western gibraltariensis and Asian taxa.

Eastern Black Redstarts.

Eastern Black Redstart is the name for a group of Asian taxa of Black redstart of which phoenicuroides or murinus have rewashed Europe as a vagrant. Eastern males show several features that differ from the western Black Redstart. In the Middle East Caucasus, the intermediate sub species ochruros and semi-rufus occur. Vagrant Eastern in Europe typically appear from late October onwards, and there are also several winter records.

Eastern Black Redstart coughing up a pellet Filey December 2025

Filey bird catching insects on the rocks at the foot of the cliff

Small birds can disappear amogst a lot of rocks but this bird’s habit of flycatching from the rocks ona sunny day made it easy to relocate

The difference between a winter western Black Redstart and Eastern male is rather obvious - Les Alpilles January 2008 - adult female

adult male presumed P o ***aterrimus Sierra de Gredos Spain, April 2012***

The Filey bird seemed to have a fairly extensive circuit feeding for long spells along the crevises and cracks inthe clay cliff where it went into holes and presumably where it roosted but also feeding from large bouklders at the foot of the cliff and on occasions it went right up the cliff to the toop of Car Naze

Some of the mantle and scapular feathers appeared to be adult type bluer toned in good light

Cloud reduced the intensity of the bird’s colours

I do not see many Black Redstarts nowadays but noticed this bird often adopted this pose picking at its feet? which was something the Skinningrove also did regularly

It would have been good to have today’s camera gear back in 1978

There was certainly no shortage of food in its chosen territory with plenty of flying insects as well as other invertebrates

always worth trying something a little different and testing the camera’s AF

The two innermost greater coverts have been moulted to adult type as have some of the lower scapulars

I suppose I could have cloned in the insect it was about to catch and I missed off the top of the picture

All Filey images taken with the Canon R6II and Canon RF 200-800 lens hand held

Graham Catley 03/12/2025 Graham Catley 03/12/2025

December 2025

Last month of the year started out wet and dismal but 2nd was bright and sunny so headed out into the woods and then for some raptor action

Began the day with a rather high up and skulky Nuthatch

None of the hoped for Hawfinches but one or two Brambling and a few Crossbills flying around

Complementing the beautiful autumn colours

Lots of Coal Tits collecting the beech mast

I paid attention to the mantle colour of these birds following the big irruption out of Scandinavia in the autumn but judging olive toned - grey and lead grey is tricky - flanks on this individual were quite washed out

Smart little birds and something I have seldom photographed

On the farm the Corn Bunting flock numbered at least 74 (in one image)

Winter food availability is clearly a key factor in the survival of this species with 99% of the barren arable landscape providing no food for passerines - these fields are thus a magnet

All shot with the Canon R6II and 200-800 lens

A rather tame juvenile Common Buzzard hunting voles

This cracking male kept giving me a wide berth

Corvids leaving their roost in trees from the back garden - up to 350 Jackdaws roost in the town with a few Rooks

Scandinavian Rock Pipit at Filey - an offshoot of the Eastern Black Redstart trip

Golden Plovers on the Humber 199 on the challenge

200 up with the Eastern Black Redstart - I ognore taxonomic traits and follow the old DIMW mantra if it looks different thne it is different - lots more in the blog post above

House Sparrows Waters Edge - I thought they were making a bit of a comeback but this year they seem to have crashed again locally at least

Black-headed Gulls on the new boardwalk Waters Edge

There have been some spectacular early morning skies this week - Carrion Crow from the back garden

Robin in bracken in a very wet Lake District

Tarn Hows just before the next rain - subtle reflections

female Gadwall in beautiful late afternoon sun

I feel I am becoming slightly obsessed with Robins

Getting to know my local Song Thrushes by name! a few birds have been singing on mild days this week

Practicing my technique fopr when there’s a skulking White’s Thrush in there

Continuing the December coloured skies theme the 15th was again dismal until mid-afternoon when the sun broke through the cloud for about an hour - a Carrion Crow on bare tree

a 1cy male Hen Harrier hunting in the last rays of light

Gulls moving to roost against an epic sky

Fieldfare 201 on the challenge and I become aware that I have missed out some fairly easy species this year but inspiration levels are falling!

Full blog post on the Salfleet Black Brant linked above

Herring Gull on Barton Mill at sunrise -

Great White Egret one of up to five locally this early winter period an amazing upturn in occurrence patterns

1cy male Hen Harrier and accompanying Rook - always surprising how samll male Hen Harriers are and how big Rooks are

Wood Mouse in the garden this morning in very dull light at 3200 ISO and 1/50th second with the RF 100-500

A rather dull presumably 1cy female Yellowhammer locally

Long-tailed Tit in the garden wisteria - a flock of 12 have been passing through fairly regularly but seldom stop on the feeders

A break from the norm - a fog bank lifting off the Humber and partly shrouding ther Humber Bridge a few days back - a 300 mm lens shot on the Canon 100-500

Black-headed Gulls - which one do you choose

Coot aggression maybe a sign of spring!!!

Bought a 28mm lens fr the arre landscape shots and skies but tried it out on the feeding Malalrd frenzy from above - ish

202 not the best or desired but Ring-necked Parakeet in a busy London Park on Christmas day

A cracking Woodcock flew past us in beautiful light on 31st concluding with my best ever images of this species

One of those decisions that pays off - we were walking elsewhere but changed plans at the last minute and took the camera -

Graham Catley 29/11/2025 Graham Catley 29/11/2025

Shore Larks

This week I travelled to Theddlethorpe to take in the three Shore Larks located earlier and although the day was usually dull there were some epic skies and the birds were a joy as usual. I have taken to forcing myself to go and see declining species as you never know which birds may be the last in the county of even Britain; Lesser Spotted Woodpecker, Willow Tit, Nightingale gone from Lincolnshire and Marsh Tit, Turtle Dove, Tree Sparrow and Corn Bunting only hanging on as breeding birds while formerly regular wintering birds like Great Grey Shrike and Rough-legged Buzzard have moved to true rarity status in the latter of 20 years.

But back to Shore Larks; even the name conjures up encounters with a striking most un-British bird usually made during the depths of winter often in dull and dismal weather when the yellow facial feathering shines like a jewel. The East coast has always been their main winter stronghold in Britain and Lincolnshire with its wide-open beaches and ample cover of Salicornia was one the key regions followed by Norfolk and to a lesser extent Yorkshire and Suffolk. The BTO website quotes an estimated European breeding population of seven million pairs presumably including Russia but this seems incredible given the recent status of the species in Britain in winter and reports of large declines in Scandinavia.

seemingly plenty of habitat available but Shore Lark numbers along with Snow and Lapland Buntings continue to decline in Lincs

Even on an open beach with little vegetation Shore Larks can be hard to find

Two of the three Shore Larks this week in Lincolnshire

This looks like an adult a much brighter bird than the other two

In Lincolnshire quoting from Lorand and Atkin and Casey, Clarkson, Espin and Hyde the species was rare until the late 1940’s when they began wintering regularly in the county; from the mid 1960’s – mid 1970’s a peak saw flocks of over 100 in several winters followed by a steep decline to the late 1980’s when some years saw no records; there was then a slight resurgence with a total of 56 in 2016 when the highest recent total of 28 was at Theddlethorpe on October 24th with 24 on November 11th 2018. Pairs even bred in the Cairngorms in 1977 and 2003 with signs of breeding behaviour 1972-76 and 1997 and seven years up to 2003. In winter the BTO Atlas estimated a maximum of 300 birds in Britain during 1981 – 1984. A co-ordinated survey in Norfolk on December 5th 1998 found a total of 591 birds in the county double the previous peak in the 1970’s. Evidence to support winter site fidelity has been recorded from colour ringed birds including a male ringed at Gibraltar Point in December 1996 that was seen there again in April 1998. Other birds colour ringed in Britain have moved north in spring prior to departures to Scandinavia with one ringed at Holkham, Norfolk on December 31st 1998 being seen at Gibraltar Point on April 29th 1999.A male from the same Norfolk catch was seen on Fair Isle on May 14th 1999. Colour ringing has also shown that birds wintering in Britain in one year may move to the Wadden Zee area in subsequent years. This is the major wintering site for Scandinavian breeding birds.

Lincolnshire beaches offer a decent chance of finding a Shore Lark - December 2009

My first Shore Larks were four at Gibraltar Point on November 23rd 1969 with the first double figure total being 50 at Rimac on December 5th 1971. Ensconced at UEA in the early 1970’s we enjoyed a flock of 40 at Cley from October 28th 1972 to March 22nd 1973 with 30 at Minsmere on December 9th 1972. Two in beautiful summer finery were at Donna Nook on April 25th 1973 in a day that had 25+ Wheatears, at least 50 continental Robins in a large fall, three Ring Ouzels, two Black Redstarts a Firecrest and a Wryneck. Thereafter I only saw small numbers but locally one, picked up on call, flew south-west over the Humber over my head and inland between New Holland and Goxhill on November 18th 1993 – the first local record for my Humber wanderings. A flock of 41 at Gibraltar Point on December 15th 1996 and 73 there on March 3rd 1999 were my last flocks to exceed 25 birds.

Close up in good light Shore Larks have so many subtle colours in their plumage

Without delving deep into politics, a local “entrepreneur” began importing coal on a very old disused jetty at Barton in the mid-1980’s – a truly pointless exercise in terms of bulk and carriage but the localised effect was that he stored coal on an extensive part of the local foreshore, SSSI etc being ignored. The venture was of course very short-lived and the residue of the coal was gradually colonised by saltmarsh plants including Salicornia a plant never recorded in the area before and this amazingly attracted some unexpected avian visitors starting with a fine male Lapland Bunting in October 1996 but culminating in the presence of three Shore Larks on December 13th 1997 with one remaining on 14th. What was even more incredible and you would suggest must have involved one of the same birds was a single Shore Lark in the same spot on December 5th 1998. How do birds find small areas of suitable habitat so far from regular wintering grounds and just how often are birds flying over looking for suitable feeding areas but passing unnoticed by observers on the ground? The area has now reverted to rough grass and reed and there has never been a repeat occurrence.

Shore Larks Cleethorpes December 2014 - birds foraging in tide wrack on the shingle beach

A beautiful adult male at Cleethorpes on March 2nd 2016, resplendent with full horns was singing occasionally and I have been fortunate to see and hear breeding birds in their tundra habitat at Varanger in Northern Norway. In June 2006 and June 2009 we even stumbled across a two nests built on the side of the road that runs across to Batsfjord. The roads are raised up above the tundra for drainage and the sloping south facing sides comprised of small gravel with clumps of low grasses form an ideal nest site as these areas are snow free early in the season when most of the tundra is still under deep snow.

This bird would occasionally burst into a bout of song

Subtle plumage tones blending in perfectly with its habitat

Male in breeding plumage on a roadside Varanger

Shore Lark on nest by side of road Varanger Norway

In late springs snow cover restricts where birds can nest

Make the most of every Shore Lark they are a true winter treat but with ever declining numbers pressure from birders increases on the few that remain and disturbance of open coastal beaches where they forage on the seeds of saltmarsh plants in situ and along the tide wrack by an ever-growing human population often accompanied by free roaming dogs has even led to areas being fenced in North Norfolk in recent years to give the birds some peace. With climate change inevitably impacting breeding areas and increasing pressure on coastal wintering habitats the prospects for Shore Larks in Britain are not good but for now we are still privileged to see a few each winter.

Single birds always tend to be more approachable than flocks - Cleethorpes January 2019

Graham Catley 24/11/2025 Graham Catley 24/11/2025

Eastern Phylloscopus Warblers - a ramble through time

Musing on my worst autumn ever and dreaming of eastern sprites I wandered back to my Yellow-browed Warbler history; a quick check revealed that I had seen a total of 214 in Britain with 118 of these having been obtained in Lincolnshire: obtained of course being very different to the context of those early birds in the 1800’s and early 1900’s that befell the shot of coastal collectors with Caton Haigh bagging 11 at North Cotes between 1892 and 1932.

Yellow-browed Warbler Lincs October 2015 - every one is a gem having travelled at least 3000kms to grace our shores

Derek Robinson and Reg May Corringham Woods near Blyton c1970 - Nightingales, Lesser Spotted Woodpeckers and the occasional Wood Warbler were still breeding - Reg was one of the first of the true birdwatchers in the county with records in LNU reports back to 1929

My first Yellow-browed Warbler was at Rimac on October 12th 1969. I remember it well or at least I thought I did: It was my first trip to the exotic sounding Rimac a place somewhere on the Lincolnshire coast that was well outside of my area of expertise that up to that point had included summer family trips to Mablethorpe and Skegness centred upon sailing ponds where I could sail my model yacht. Somewhere around 1969 it had come to the attention of the local, older, birdwatchers, and there were four in my home village of Goxhill, that I was interested in birds. On October 12th I recall travelling with Derek Robinson and Doug Wright to pick up Reg May, the grand old man of Lincs birdwatching from his home in Limber, before we headed down to Rimac arriving late morning the norm in those days. We headed down the famous Willow hedge splitting up to cover both sides of the hedge and my notes for the day mention no migrants other than Goldcrest and a Tree Pipit seen in the same hedge a little further on than the warbler. I remember precisely where the bird was in the willow hedge just beyond the double bend – the hedge was a lot thinner than it is now with young willows that you could see through. The warbler caused some elation as it was the first my older colleagues had seen – this was a very rare bird in the 60’s and I was very fortunate to have seen it on my first visit. But the bird was tinged with regret about not having been present the previous weekend when Derek and Reg had seen a Lesser Grey Shrike in the hedge inland of the willow hedge. 56 years later and I have still never seen a Lesser Grey in Lincolnshire. But back to the Yellow-browed Warbler – I thought I would dig out my notes to just check what I had written. The description was fairly brief befitting my 16-year-old lack of precise identification knowledge but is reprinted below:

Feeding with Goldcrests in willows: very small – showed short blackish tail – very prominent yellow eye stripe – lower wing bar very long and prominently yellow – upper stripe sometimes un-noticed appeared short – yellow rump

Allowing for the fact that I didn’t know eye stripes from supercilia and I was probably still using my original Prinzflex 8x30 binoculars (a Dixon’s store special) there still appears to be a distinct discrepancy here with regard to that rump and maybe also the short tail? Could this have actually been a Pallas’s Warbler? A species almost unheard of at the time certainly in Lincolnshire terms where the first two county birds had only been trapped the previous year. So, a conundrum and one of the dangers of looking back in time. I did not see another, or my first Yellow-browed Warbler until October 19th 1974 when ensconced at UEA we travelled to the Holy Land of Wells – Holkham Woods seeing this sprite, not twitched of course as you never knew what was about until you got there in those days.

An actual yellow rump Pallas’s Warbler Lincs November 2008 but is that what I saw in 1969 or was it a brighter rump - I will never know

The following autumn I was working for the BTO at Tring for a short spell and in the glorious Eastern autumn I had hitched from Tring to UEA on the Friday night to join my old buddy, Duncan Brookes. Hitch hiking was in those days still commonplace but was of course always fraught with lack of positive outcomes and you actually never knew whether you would get anywhere let alone when but on this Friday night session I had managed a couple of lifts, one with a dodgy seeming lorry driver and ended up still a long way from Norwich when an old lady in a vintage Morris Minor stopped; after giving me the first degree and getting my life history she eventually said hop in I am going to Norwich! Big stroke of luck. The previous weekend I had hitched up to Eyebrook Reservoir chasing a Killdeer; arriving after dark in some unpleasant weather some locals took pity on me and allowed me to sleep in their stable with two horses!

For anyone not aware of the trials and tribulations of hitch hiking and taking birding hitching to the extreme I can thoroughly recommend Kingbird Highway by Ken Kauffman

https://www.nhbs.com/kingbird-highway-book

It is US based of course but a cracking read and passage back to a very different era.

Back to sprites and news of rare eastern warblers at Holkham had filtered through to UEA and on the Saturday morning October 18th we headed north on Duncan’s motorbike to Holkham in search of a variety of eastern vagrants that had apparently included a Dusky Warbler! I had heard of Dusky and Radde’s Warblers through my acquisition of the Popular Handbook of Rarer British Birds that complemented my bashed copy of the Popular Handbook. Within the pages of said rarer Handbook was a mind-blowing plate of the mythical Red-flanked Bluetail but the text on this and Radde’s Warbler had been etched in my mind for many years – Radde’s Bush Warbler – England – One North Cotes, Lincs, October 1st 1898 – LINCOLNSHIRE the only British record and so close to home. While under Red-flanked Bluetail -- Great Britain – Three – One seen North Cotes Lincs September 1903 (actually adult male on September 21st). Lincolnshire could produce rare birds - time to gen up and get out there.

Radde’s Warbler North Cotes Lincolnshire October 2006 within spitting distance of Caton Haigh’s first for Britain a mere 108 years earlier

One of the advantages of working at Tring was access to the whole library of British Birds and I assiduously read and re-read and then photocopied all relevant identification articles and articles on finds of British firsts to fifths as these were then all published. The December 1972 paper Field identification of Dusky and Radde's Warblers R. J. Johns and D. I. M. Wallace with its exquisite pen and ink sketch by DIMW was duly at the forefront of my mind in that mid-October visit. On arrival we came across a small crowd, maybe 15 - 20 people looking for a Radde’s Warbler that had been seen on the side of the main path but it was elusive so we wandered off avoiding human contact even in those days but managed to connect with no less than four Yellow-browed Warblers and my first Great Grey Shrike of the autumn amongst an impressive fall. Wandering back past the Radde’s location the bird was being seen in flight crossing the path but we quickly realised it was feeding under a small clump of silver birch and a bit of combat stealth soon saw us sitting in the middle of the trees mixed with Willow herb and reeds, hidden from view; the Radde’s was totally unconcerned and fed within 10 feet of us chuck chucking away, negating the use of bins and the way to see a new bird. The following day we were at Cley with a Rough-legged Buzzard and Short-eared Owl arriving off the sea and 300 Twite accompanied by six Lapland Buntings and a strange bunting that we never did identify; Like a small Reed Bunting with heavy blackish streaking and white moustachial stripe but most noticeable was a white shoulder patch that was even visible in flight. We didn’t see the Dusky Warbler or the Black-throated Thrush that entertained later in the week but the return hitch to Tring went much more smoothly.

Radde’s can often be tame but highly unobtrusive needing time and patience for good views - the thought of a Radde’s at Holkham with 15 or so would be observers today would be beyond belief with more like 50 or so noisy people chatting about their latest birding holiday or new camera - a different era

Back in Lincolnshire my first (or second) Pallas’s Warbler was twitched at Saltfleet Haven on October 30th and 31st 1976 but its shiny leg iron was a bit of a downer and I had to wait another three years before finding one with Mick Mellor in the willow hedge at Rimac on October 27th – 28th 1979. A week later we headed west to Meols to enjoy our first superb Asian Desert Warbler tip tilting on a low fence one of my most memorable rare birds – still trying to find one in Lincs. My notes rather more extensive than nowadays when I tend to rely on the camera!

Another brilliant bird; first seen in flight - very pale plumage with prominent white outer tail feathers very obvious. Bill fine pointed pale yellow with dark culmen ridge – head dull pale sandy- grey same on mantle with slightly darker ear coverts forming the only noticeable pattern – Eye very prominent pale lemon yellow iris with dark pupil. Throat and underparts dull creamy – greyish colour. Wings slightly darker sandy-grey-brown with narrow rufous edges to tertials and narrow rufous wing bar on tips of greater coverts. Rump, uppertail coverts rich reddish-brown rest of tail duller reddish-brown with brighter central feathers and prominent white outers. Legs pale straw-yellow quite long and strong looking. In shape and jizz like Spectacled or Subalpine, small with longish tail and dumpy body. Flight was low, fast and direct when it looked greyish with rufous rump and striking white outer tail feathers. Fed in some low bushes, on the ground and amongst various low weedy vegetation, nettles etc. constantly on the move. On the ground crawled about in low vegetation and often difficult to see but tame. Characteristic action when seen on the ground or perched was alternate up and down bobbing of the head and tail giving the impression that the bird was pivoting in the middle looking as if it was falling off the fence.

The 1976 Saltfleet Pallas’s Warbler taken with the old manual focus 400mm Sigma lens and a Nikon F301 camera

Lincolnshire Yellow-browed records commenced in 1980 with one suitably at Rimac on October 11th and the same site produced my latest ever in the almost leafless willows of the same hedge on November 14th 1981 – no call heard but I did note that it was a very bright green bird so I must assume it was not a Hume’s! After a big influx in 1985 I even broke into print in the esteemed British Birds co-authoring a paper with Jeff Baker who I had lodged with in Tring back in 1975

- https://britishbirds.co.uk/journal/article/yellow-browed-warblers-britain-and-ireland-1968-85

My only foray into the Northern Isles in autumn on Sanday, Orkney September 28th to October 2nd 2003 turned up a minimum of 11 Yellow-browed Warblers somewhat outshone by our first selfie Lanceolated Warbler, at the time only the second for Orkney in spite of the Shetland domination of British records.

Lanceolated Warbler Start Point Sanday September 2003 - its in the grass and survived to tell the tale unlike the North Cotes bird of 1909

As coastal records of Yellow-broweds increased it was time to locate a local patch bird and October 10th 2005 duly obliged with one located calling and showing occasionally on Waters” Edge at Barton – amazingly two were present on 15th and further birds followed in the same area on October 3rd 2007 with two again on October 16th 2014 with one nearby on October 18th 2024. In the interim I found one on my old stamping ground at Dawson City in Goxhill Marsh on October 3rd 2012.

Yellow-browed Warbler Waters’ Edge Barton October 15th 2005 one of two birds present in the same location on my local patch that day

Dawson had produced many of my formative views of a wide range of species firsts from Lesser Whitethroat to Water Rail and Red-crested Pochard as it was within reach of home on a bike. Birding alone new birds had to be identified from the old Collins Guide but finding your own birds and having to work out what they were taught me a lot. Great Grey Shrikes at Dawson on April 2nd 1970 with another that subsequently wintered in the approach hedge in October 1970 and gatherings of Short-eared Owls with eight roosting together nearby in December 1970 proved this location, that had produced Britain’s first ringing record of Little Bittern in 1953, had serious potential. Another spritely occurrence featured a rather smart Siberian Chiffchaff located there during March 11th – 20th 1989 not on this occasion on subtle plumage features but by the fact that it was in song a strange mix of Willow Warbler and Chiffchaff. A slide I sent to British Birds featured in the monthly Marathon Bird photo competition April 2000.

https://www.britishbirds.co.uk/system/files/2025-11/V93_N04_P212_212_M010.pdf

Siberian Chiffchaff Dawson City Goxhill March 1989 scanned from a slide

Fast forward to the easterly autumn of 2020 when a bumper crop of Dusky Warblers occurred in Lincs and a singing Siberian Chiffchaff was in exactly the same area at Dawson City from November 12th – 16th – a truly bizarre coincidence not in the species occurring there but in the fact that both birds were in song and I have not actually heard any other individuals singing in Britain.

Siberian Chiffchaff Dawson City Goxhill November 2020

Stunning little bird - below recordings of this bird on November 12th 2020

Prior to these records Dave Hursthouse and I had a striking Phyllosc on the inland trackside from Stonebridge car park on October 22nd 1987 that really had us questioning its ID as it was a very Bonelli’s Warbler like truly strikingly grey and white individual with bright lime green fringes to the secondaries: I recall even doing a painting of the bird that I have subsequently lost. Extremely pale, striking bright bird was distinctive call; Bill fine and quite short held slightly tip-tilted, dark brown on upper mandible and tip with flesh base to lower mandible; pale creamy supercilia ran from forecrown over eye to rear of ear coverts – narrow but obvious; slightly dark line across lores and through the dark eye which had a narrow pale eye ring – ear coverts mottled pale grey brown – crown , nape, back rump and scapulars all uniform very pale grey with the faintest buff tinge – wing coverts slightly darker – fringes of flight feathers quite bright green and formed striking contrast with rest of plumage. Rump possibly tinged slightly greenish but hard to see on active bird – tail feathers grey-brown fringes greeny-yellow. Underparts all strikingly silky white through to undertail coverts – legs blackish. Call a very distinctive and high-pitched peep or cheet short and clipped

Thanks to Dave and his amazing record keeping, and for reminding me that we sent a scan of my painting and notes for additional input as below:A description and drawing by GC was circulated to four birders who we had respect for about their input on phylloscopus warblers, with a request for their opinion of the bird.

Replies from the four contacts made interesting reading.

Andrew Lassey, suggests it could probably be a northern Chiffchaff, thought likely 'tristis', years later described as a race of Siberian Chiffchaff, but certainly not a normal looking tristis. Possibly, from more a northern region. These pale plumaged individuals do not often turn up in UK. Also, AL mentions, he personally had seen a similar type at Flamborough Head but they are extremely rare.

Nick Riddiford’s reply, was similar to AL, suggesting it could be a pale tristis, one of the more northern types, but mentions, tristis does not particularly look like this individual.

Steve Madge reply, "could not rule out tristis, but thought 'orientalis' Bonelli's Warbler was very likely" and suggests we submit it to BBRC.

Killian Mullarney’s reply, suggests probably a tristis of the more northern types

Light makes a big difference to the appearance of Siberian Chiffhcaffs - one here from October 2012 showing more obvious wing feather fringes but duller underparts on a very dull day - Overall I think the 87 bird was one of these very pale tristis

The same bird as above later in the day taken in mist but out in the open away from the wet grass it had been feeding in

The previous day we had found a Pallas’s Warbler at Pyes and another striking Willow Warbler at Ponderosa that I suggested at the time was yakutensis but was probably eastern acredula or even just a variant nominate bird :

Willow Warbler profile with long wings, long tail and prominent bill as well as pale legs. Pale creamy supercilium from bill over eye but only faint contrast with darker eye stripe and mottled pale grey-brown ear coverts. Bill horn with flesh coloured cutting edges and lower mandible. Crown, nape, mantle, wings and rump all dull pale grey-brown slightly darker on tail and wings. All underparts off white with no yellow on carpal and no sign of nay olive or yellow anywhere in the plumage. Legs and feet dull flesh. Undertail looked to have pale outer webs when seen from below. Picking insects from underside of leaves in Sycamore and regularly hovering with body held horizontal and tail spread. No call heard.

I have managed to see a total of 63 ultimate sprites Pallas’s Warbler to date and every one a gem with a best day finding three in quick succession near Pyes’ Hall on October 21st 1988, eight in total in autumn 1994 but still waiting for a local bird.

https://www.grahamcatley.com/blog-1/tkw5rnzh58hk1g7r40kd2bp17u9dtk

Pallas’s Warbler Pyes Hall November 4th 2008 one of three present in the area that day

Pallas’s Warbler and continental Robin Pyes Hall November 4th 2008

Pyes Hall October 11th 2010 showing off its full range of stripes and a leg iron but from where?

Pyes Hall again October 2014 - this migrant hot spot destroyed by the Environment Agency sadly is no longer a phyllosc magnet with dead and dying remnants of its former trees and bushes

a bird the size of a Goldcrest can quickly disappear in a few hectares of sea buckthorn

Donna Nook Stonebridge car park October 2016

October 19th 1980 saw me once again wandering round Rimac in the knowledge that there were multiple Pallas’s Warblers just across the Humber but after a full day of slog I had found 10 Goldcrests and a Blackcap then at the last gasp Lincolnshire’s first Olive-backed Pipit popped up in front of me where else but in the magical willow hedge. My first twitched Dusky Warbler also came in the autumn of 1980 at Donna Nook on November 3rd with a revisit on 6th and my first self-found bird was just down the road at Saltfleet on October 19th – 20th 1990 during a magical fall and remains the only rare bird I have ever produced by pishing without knowing it was there. Still slogging Waters’ Edge at Barton for a Dusky as the habitat has real potential for a wintering bird and they have increasingly been found inland in recent winters.

Dusky Warbler Sea View Saltfleetby October 2020 in typical low vegetation

An over-wintering Dusky Warbler at Wolla Bank January 2019 with a nice juicy caterpillar

Reverting to the Radde’s connection that North Cotes bird in 1898 remained the only British record until 1961 when one was trapped at Cley by Richard Richardson who we got to know well during many soujourns on the East Bank in my three years at UEA; it was also the only Lincolnshire record until 1988 but one I had at Donna Nook on October 3rd 1987 that was deemed inadmissible by BBRC; for the record these are my notes on said bird: Yes it was without bins but at 5 feet I think my eyes were reliable at that time at least.

Views only with naked eye but at close range: flushed out of 4 foot high buckthorn mixed with bryony as I brushed past it – crawled out of the top of the buckthorn five feet in front of me and flew short distance before diving back into buckthorn; five minutes later while peering into a gap in the buckthorn it began to descend from the top of the buckthorn canopy showing its legs and undersides before disappearing again – about an hour later it was again seen briefly crawling away through the bottom of the buckthorn: very prominent long creamy white supercilia above a dark eye stripe – all upperparts a dark olive-green with more yellowish tinged rump – short rounded wings and longish broad tail in flight which was whirring – underparts yellow-ochre with orangy undertail coverts – legs seen when crawling out of buckthorn were strong, quite. Thick and yellowish. Crawled about in cover not flicking around like eg Chiffs;

Radde’s Warbler Horseshoe Point, North Cotes 2006 - the second bird I ever saw at Flamborough in October 1982 gave us a view similar to this in Old Fall hedge but I didn’t count it - another was in the bay brambles later in the day - a very similar view to the 1987 Donna Nook bird in the first instance but lets face it unmistakeable

It was the magical spell of mid-October 1990 that produced my first acceptable as it were record between Stonebridge and Pyes Hall on October 21st. The events of the 18th were transcribed in Birdwatch (see below) and in the ensuing three days I must have walked that stretch of the coast about 20 times amassing an impressive list of eastern goodies but the Radde’s found on the 21st fell to Andrew Harrop, we must have walked past it earlier! The Caton Haigh connection came ten years later after we had found a Radde’s at Pyes’ Hall on October 1st 2000 then completed a two Radde’s Lincs day with a twitch to Horseshoe Point for another bird found by Howard Bunn. The same spot produced another Radde’s found by the inimitable Dave, Bradders, Bradbeer on October 12th 2006. The latter two survived their encounters with humans unlike the 1898 bird described below:

John Cordeaux of Great Cotes (1899) in the new series of The Naturalist, Vol. XXV. p. 23, says: 'At the meeting on 19th October of the British Ornithologists' Club in London, Mr. Haigh exhibited an example of this East Siberian species, which, after much careful watching, he obtained on 1st October from a hedge at North Cotes, near the coast. Mr. Haigh was first attracted by the very peculiar and loud note of the bird, which he said was equal to that of one several times the size, and it is curious that the Russian Godlewski makes mention of the same fact. L. schwarzi has hitherto not been recognised west of Tomsk in Eastern Siberia, so that its occurrence in the Humber district is the more remarkable. The bird will shortly be figured and described in the Ibis.'

Radde’s Warbler between Stonebridge car park and Pyes Hall October 14th 2014

Radde’s are ground huggers and the chances of finding one in the vast areas of sea buckthorn on the Lincolnshire coast are minimal which probably explains why three of the 11 I have seen in Britain have been within 100m of one spot in the dunes between Stonebridge and Pyes Hall with another two within 1km of the same spot.

This little cracker was present at the same time as an Arctic Warbler in the car park bushes

grass and a few scattered bushed offer a better chance of locating a Radde’s

The autumn of 1985 produced my first Hume’s Warbler at Spurn on October 27th but we had to wait until 2003 for a Lincolnshire example at Gibraltar Point where I saw it on 25th and 28th even managing to get a reasonable image with my digi-scoping gear of the moment. A cracking female Northern Bullfinch was very close by on 28th. Another Hume’s in the plantation at Gib Point on December 4th 2013 was followed by three at Bempton – Flamborough between 2016 and 2019 but a found bird still eludes me.

Hume’s warbler Gibraltar Point October 2003 - digi-scoped - I was amazed to get the scope on a fast moving phyllosc and get it in focus in a decent pose - the Nikon E880 I used had a **three** Megapixel sensor

the female Northern Bullfinch next to the above Hume’s October 2003 Gib Point

Hume’s warbler under a very shady canopy on a dull December day Gibraltar Point December 4th 2013

Hume’s Warbler Gib Point December 2013 - if they call you stand a chance but a bird in the canopy is tricky

Hume’s warbler Flamborough October 2016 - a classic individual

same bird as above but in bright sunlight which can produce a different appearance in upperpart tone

Same bird as above Bempton November 2019

Rare Phylloscopus warblers were formerly an identification challenge to would be finders before the days of digital photography and modern recording equipment. On September 20th 1976 I had made the long treck in my Mini Clubman to Gibraltar Point in search of my first Arctic Warbler in Syke’s Farm. Being a weekday needless to say I was the only person there looking but its frequent calling from the tops of the old sycamores made locating it quite easy! A month later we were camping at Wells Woods when an Arctic Warbler was reported at Holme. I had to have a look at another bird and saw it very well in stunted pines on the dune edge but it seemed somewhat different to the Gib bird. Notes made at the time:

Holme October 17th 1976

Seen close after my first Arctic at Gibraltar Point four weeks earlier. A noticeably different bird to the Gibraltar Point individual.

Long whitish supercilium with a long dark line through the eye----greyish-green crown and nape—wings brighter green as was rump--back and tail dull green -- Underparts whitish from throat to flanks—undertail whiter---yellow patch in centre of upper breast seen at close range with dingy grey streaks on sides of upper breast -- Upper-wing bar diffuse, lower wing bar pronounced whitish and quite long ---Legs greyish and not really pale unlike the Gibraltar Point bird

Feeding in small Scots Pines on the open dunes—very active hovering off the ends of branches and feeding low down in the thick branches of the young pines Legs looked wrong colour brighter coloured all round than Gibraltar Point bird Head shape larger and longer than Chiffchaff with a more pronounced facial pattern. Bill stout long and with a yellowish base to the lower mandible. Flight rapid and jerky from tree to tree but in windy conditions Usually feeding in low thick branches of pines but occasionally higher up in more exposed upper branches. In spite of being within 2m of the bird it was not heard to call at all unlike the very vocal Gibraltar Point bird

In February 2003 a note appeared in British Birds:

The Holme wing-barred Phylloscopus warbler

A record of a wing-barred Phylloscopus warbler at Holme, Norfolk, in October 1976 is discussed. Although originally accepted as an Arctic Warbler, the identification was reconsidered when unpublished photographs of the bird, not previously available to BBRC, were studied. The bird has now been accepted as a Greenish Warbler P. trochiloides, and was most likely to have been of the race plumbeitarsus (`Two-barred Greenish Warbler'). After two recirculations of the record, the Committee decided, reluctantly, that the documentation available narrowly failed to meet the required standard for what would have been a first record for Britain

My next Two-barred was the Filey bird of October 2006 but as I was working in the morning my images taken late afternoon under the canopy were dire at best! I have a lot better slides of birds in China.

Two-barred Warbler Filey October 2006 - the best I could manage in the conditions -

Two-barred Warbler China May 1993 scanned from slide

Pale-legged Leaf Warbler China May 1993 - I arranged to be out of the country when the Bempton bird appeared!

By 1993 I was serving a sentence on BBRC when the then Chairman Colin Bradshaw came up with the idea jointly with Wildwings of an exploratory spring visit to Eastern China in search of experience of those eastern vagrants that we had to assess with infrequency. Having obtained the necessary permissions on the home front on May 6th we were gazing at K2 and Everest en route to some interesting restaurant encounter’s and our first eastern sprites in Beijing and then it was onwards to Beidaihe for 12 days of interesting food, culture, long bike rides and above all else a whole bag full of eastern vagrants that I had only ever drooled over in field guides. The eastern phylloscopus list included the typical British list of Yellow-browed, Pallas’s, Dusky and Radde’s Warblers complemented by an abundance of Two-barred Warblers, Eastern-crowned and Pale-legged Leaf warblers and Blyth’s Leaf Warbler. At that time Eastern-crowned Warbler was known from the then incredible and seemingly never to be repeated record on Heligoland on October 4th 1843 – from the editorial comment in the Birding World article on the first British record at Trow Quarry in 2009:

In 1895, the great pioneer of migration studies, Heinrich Gätke, published the English edition of his Heligoland as an ornithological observatory. In this seminal work, he detailed over 50 years of bird migration studies on the famous German island. Amongst the commoner species, he detailed a list of mouth-watering vagrants recorded there during that period, which remains amazing to this day. There was never any doubt about the vast majority of the sensational records detailed by Gätke (which, among the Phylloscopus, also includes a Green Warbler, shot on 11th October 1867), but one record stood out: an Eastern Crowned Warbler shot there on 4th October 1843. The bird was well-described, but because the specimen was lost and some of the ornithological establishment had great difficulty in believing that such a bird from so far east was capable of occurring in western Europe, it was never fully accepted (and the species was given only the briefest of mentions in BWP, Cramp et al. 1992). In fact, it was not until the 2002, when the species was again recorded in the Western Palearctic (trapped and ringed at Jaeren, Rogaland, Norway, on 30th September) that Gätke was finally vindicated. Amazingly, just two years later, another was recorded in Europe (at Harrbada, Kokkola, Finland, on 23rd October 2004) and, just three year later, yet another was seen (at Katwijk aan Zee, Zuid-Holland, the Netherlands, on 5th October 2007). So there was real hope and expectation that the first for Britain was not far away, and so it proved to be.

The connection with Lincolnshire was rather more tenuous as we have yet to locate one of these gems but Gätke was a regular correspondent of John Cordeaux of Great Cotes who published the first works on the birds of the Humber District and Lincolnshire and was an early student of bird migration. I managed to get some record shots of the Trow Quarry bird in 2009 some of which appeared in Birding World but I felt obliged to take in the next two available birds on the East coast at Brotton on October 20th 2011 and Bempton in 2016 both of which provided some excellent photo opportunities.

the first British Eastern-crowned Warbler Trow Quarry Co Durham October 2009 -

the first British Eastern-crowned Warbler Trow Quarry Co Durham October 2009 - indentified from a photo posted on tinternet just like the Long-billed Murrelet in 2006

Very few people would have predicted that this species would become a possible find bird on the East coast in a good autumn

all autumn phylloscs love the much maligned sycamore - think this is white beam though

Eastern-crowned Warbler Brotton November 1st 2014 showing its lemon tinged undertail coverts

Always high up in the canopy but seemingly not fussed about people

Eastern-crowned Warbler Bempton October 2016 a rather more photogenic bird and low down which helped

Imagine looking into a tree and seeing this looking back at you

Graham Catley 05/11/2025 Graham Catley 05/11/2025

November 2025

As the autumn draws to a close with so few birds the worst East coast autumn ever will there still be a late arrival? Well not this week by the look of the charts so concentrating on the local patch and a few images of those local birds in their autumnal environs

Male Blackcap November 1st - an incoming winter bird or a late departing autumn bird?

The Auto-focus failed me but I have been asking many birders if they ever see anything eating Sloes as there huge numbers this year and the general answer was no - so pleased to see two different Blackbirds taking them this week

Continuing to examine local? Bullfinches - this male looks very fat and Northern from this view!

187 on the photo challenge list this Richard’s Pipit at Alkborough found on 2nd was still there 4th and although really tricky I managed to get this distant shot in a very brief appearance on the deck

Sad to say I have seen as many Goldcrests on my local patch this autumn as I have on the coast such has been the dire state of the autumn passage

Red Admiral and Speckled Wood on Ivy the all important late autumn nectar source

The Waters Edge Long-tailed Tit flock must produce something before the month is out - thought I heard a Yellow-browed warbler this morning but failed to find anything - maybe tomorrow

First winter Black-tailed Godwit exhibiting some *rhynchokinesis*

Spent a lot of time searching Waters’ Edge this week - always a good local spot for Bullfinches but there have been birds flying high and moving west and in unusual spots so could we have received some Northern Bullfinches? This male one of two has a serrated upper edge to the greater covert bar which was broad and very white - work in progress

Its companion had a grey wing bar but again very deep and with some serrations on the upper edge

Possibly a bit too orange toned fro Northern

With a big arrival of Blackbirds this week some are clearly answering my query on what eats Sloes

An obvious arrival of Song Thrushes and Blackbirds on Waters’ Edge yesterday with a few Redwings - presumably birds from the near continent

Local? Robin in Sea Buckthorn Waters’ Edge

November 7th - seemingly having missed a trick with an arrival of small Asian warblers on the East coast on the 6th I headed to my usual spot at Donna Nook avoiding the blubber watchers - the hedges down the Nook road were producing thrushes and as I got out of the car in the car park at least 50 Blackbirds were visible - it looked good - The back track to Pyes Hall was littered with thrushes, mainly Blackbirds but with good numbers of Redwings and fewer Fieldfares and Song Thrushes - good numbers of Chaffinches were also about but not a single Brambling all day - 6 and a half hours and 7.2 miles later I reckoned on a conservative 1500 Blackbirds and 700 Redwing but just one Ring Ouzel.

Blackbird species of the day - at one point late afternoon a couple walked down some bushes near the car park and 100 Blackbirds flew past me - I walked the other way and another 50 appeared - s

Hearing a whoosh of wings as something dropped in I turned to see a Water Rail peeking out of the marram by the track side - totally lost - I wonder where its origins where

The only warbler I had apart from the resident Cetti’s was a male Blackcap in the car park willow - signs were in fact not good I only came across 7 Goldcrests all day then mid-afternoon a movement in the willow transformed into a Yellow-browed Warbler - active and in particularly dull light these were the best shots I managed - 188 on the photo challenge

A female Bullfinch on waters’ Edge - underparts shading to palish but definately dark upperparts

and one of my favourite shots of the late autumn so far - Long-tailed Tit in autumnal leaves

Had a rather tenuous image of a Long-tailed Duck on the challenge in March so here are some slightly better ones of the first-winter female at Goxhill albeit in pretty poor light

Grey Wagtail in a leaf filled ditch that has been much favoured by a variety of passerines this last two weeks

You have to revel in the colours of autumn soon it will be monochrome December

And the early sun made for many more Bully images - I think they are coming to accept me as one of the family now

drake Gadwall a simple sleeping portrait with reflection

Great White Egret, Cormorants and Shoveler - always trying for new perspectives and light on an overdone subject

A different crop giving the bird more prominence

Filey Brigg with some approaching weather November 13th - a wander around Bempton was not very productive and Flamborough was decidedly frustrating

a Tree Sparrow in autumn leaves at Bempton - we have lost the species from my local patch this year - there were still three small colonies last year - I am also hearing of sudden disappearances at other sites in the last year

The Dusky Warbler was in rather uncharacteristic manner feeding in the tops of a sycamore and some Holm Oaks where it was generally invisible or against an appalling white sky

Recognisable as a Dusky Warbler it becomes 189 on the photo challenge for 2025

Although it called a bit its long silences meant it was hard to keep track of - like the gingery undertail coverts a feature shared with Radde’s

Roosting Redshanks - 1/200th second hand held with the Canon R6II and Rf 200-800 lens at ISO 1600 -

With all three regular diver species present at Covenham Reservoir I popped over not having seen a Black-throated well for many years - the Great Northern was already on the photo challenge list after the one at Barton In January but this was close albeit in the usual dreary dull British light

Water levels were very low at Covenham making the looking down on you angle even worse than normal

Two first winter Red-throated Divers were there but neither came very close while I was there but its 190 on the challenge tally

First-winter Black-throated Diver 191 on the challenge list

This Snow Bunting on the reservoir wall was the first I had seen this year such is the declining status of this species on the Lincs coast — **192** on the challenge list

Back at Barton the young adult male Marsh Harrier was a bit closer but what a terrible sky and little light -

193 Mediterranean Gull on the very windswept and chilly patch this morning before I walked too far and got too wet — amazingly this was only my second record of this species on my patch this year - oddly as they get more numerous elsewhere they seem to have declined on the inner Humber

More Bullfinch action feeding on bramble seeds last week

Bit of a punky looking Bittern from a cold wet morning

Went out early to try and capture some birds in the snow before it melted - virds were hard to find though and it was very dull with super low shutter speeds = female Blackbird

male in haws - would be really interesting to know if these are indeed local birds or winter immigrants

These were hand held with the Canon R6II and RF 200-800 at 1/100th second at ISO 1600 - its a bit heavy for long spell hand holding but still a sharp lens and versatile

Blue Tit on Sea Buckthorn berries after the snow had rapidly melted

The Bullfinches were munching bramble seeds but then moved on t the Guelder Rose berrie4s one of their favourites on Wedge

Light was non existent which was shame given the background

Ar 1/40th of a second at 700mm - are they pink toned or orange toned - I ma having difficulties with Northern Bully ID away from coastal nettles!

This female is clearly British *pileata* so we must assume the accompanying males are too?

Carrion Crow in the snow frosted birches - even the mundane can make a nice photo

This first-winter Grey Wagtail was feeding on a small ice covered pond

Woodpigeon feeding on Guelder Rose berries

My favourite Bullfinch shot of the month

Amazed that it has taken 11 months to get a Kingfisher image but its 194 for the year

195 Corn Bunting - another species slipping to extinction locally after holding out for many years as other populations vanished - none on my patch this year for the first time ever echoing the loss of Tree Sparrow - came across a flock of c70 today so hopefully a few pairs will survive to next spring

amazing how fast Corn Buntings fly in dull light

This 1cy Kestrel caught a short-tailed vole next to me and then landed on this post for a few seconds

Always room for one more Bullfinch particularly when its as well camouflaged as this one

Common Scoter 196 on the list - small flock on the coast today with five tailed Ducks

Always well put and on a very choppy sea

And 197 Shorelark - one of the three on the Lincs coast - in the late 70’s there were often between 100 and 200!!

Two pretty scruffy looking for Shorelarks so presumably first-winters

198 Twite - assessing how many Twite and Linnets are in a coastal flock is easier with a staic photo - 12 in this shot but 17 in some others

Located a flock of 28 Snow Buntings yesterday which is a major flock in recent terms gone are the days of flocks of 100+

a small number of adult males in the flock

Graham Catley 23/10/2025 Graham Catley 23/10/2025

Another October and another Black-faced Bunting - are they going to be the next Bluetail?

After last October’s Black-faced Bunting find in Lincolnshire https://www.grahamcatley.com/blog-1/october-25th-2024-the-last-chance-saloon this week a female / first-winter was found just across the Humber at Spurn Point, I put off going and on the 21st Chris and myself did another 9.5 miles Lincolnshire coastal slog. At least there were a few birds compared to the previous week but only thrushes, a few Goldcrests and Brambling plus Merlin and Peregrine enlivened the morning - a calling Yellow-browed Warbler at Ponderosa was out of limits thanks to the RAF and the planes producing a ridiculous amount of noise were ruining any chance of hearing anything different. Moving to Saltfleet in the afternoon we did at least get a brief view of another Yellow-browed Warbler but the dunes edges failed to produce any rare Wheatears, larks or Desert Warblers - a fairly typical Lincolnshire coastal foray. The 22nd dawned sunny and nice and there were clearly birds about on Waters’ Edge but news of the Black-faced Bunting’s continued presence set me off on the 36 mile trip to Spurn which went quite well.

Before the long sandy walk the news did not seem good as the bird had not been seen for over 90 minutes and on arrival at the spot I joined the crowds, surprisingly numerous after four days, and news was again not promising. A few very brief flight views and then it skulked for another 90 minutes. Here it was somewhere between us and them feeding in the marram and scrub on the left side of the road.

The passage of the odd vehicle was actually conducive to moving the bird around and producing more chance of it reappearing in view

But after two hours it seemed like any shot in focus would be welcome

A real birder’s bird - suptle and elusive

Initial views were often hindered by sea buckthorn but at least the eye detection on the camera was beneficial

It occasionally raised its crown feathers when alert

Lighting and viewing angles change the appearance of the bird - it could easily be passed over as a Reed Bunting in a view like this

When the AF on the camera has a little blip

As the crowds dissipated in the afternoon the bird became tamer and more predictable grovelling around feeding on the floor in the open at times though the light had gone

colours changed markedly with sun v cloud

Just before I left it perched in a low buckthorn for a minute or two and I got my best images - those on the ground look a bit dull - note the lateral crown stripes and grey nape - collar but the distinctly Dunnock like upperparts

Ceratinly not the most stunning rare bunting but educational

All images were with the Canon R6II and Canon RF 200-800 lens

A distinctly duller bird than the 2024 Lincolnshire individual which could mean that bird was a first-winter male?

underparts are arguably more distinctive than the upperparts

Graham Catley 14/10/2025 Graham Catley 14/10/2025

Turkestan Shrike in Suffolk costs me the bird of a lifetime

With abundant images of a superb adult male Turkestan Shrike on Dunwich Heath in Suffolk having been tempting me for a few days and as there seemed to be no chance of a change in the weather and no East coast migrant arrivals on the morning of 8th when news of the bird’s continued presence appeared at around 09:00 I quickly booked two nights at the Ship, Dunwich and we were off - the A17 was its usual self but with the forecast of a dull and possibly wet morning giving way to a bright and sunny afternoon in Suffolk it was somewhat surprising to hit thick cloud and rain as we moved south from Norwich - cursing the MET Office and their incompetence, amazingly as we passed Blythburgh, with all its UEA Bird Club memories, the rain stopped and as we drove into Dunwich car park the shrike was on view and posed nicely for the next 90 minutes after which it went into its roosting site BUT at this point I received images of a White-throated Needletail on the phone apparently taken at Top Hill Low just 45 minutes from home! Surely it was a mistake? but as details emerged that it was genuine though the first hopeful arrivals failed to locate the bird and it seemed almost safe to be in Suffolk!. I even messaged people saying I was on a cliff, at Dunwich, waiting for it to move south. Later shattering news came through that it had found a cliff but at Bempton - there was no way that I could have got there through the horrendous Beverley roadworks that evening so it was a nervous night waiting for negative news the following morning! The news was indeed negative and the shrike was showing well in sunshine now after which we had a nice walk to Minsmere with scones and clotted cream accompanied by two juvenile Hobbies what could go wrong? Stress levels were suitably reduced then a late evening text arrived to say the swift was at Filey! We had another night booked at Dunwich and I knew that getting permission to leave early was not on the cards! Next morning of course the swift was found at Scarborough and if I had been at Filey with the others then I would have seen it - the one species in the world I most wanted to see having missed them on a trip to China in 1993. We were heading back north following the usual tractors when news came through that it had disappeared to the north so there was no rush. The following day I headed to Bempton on the very, very remote chance that the swift would have returned or be found up the coast but after 10 hours I gave up - will there ever be another one? well I very much doubt if there is that it will be so close to home and chatting with several people at Bempton I was treated to some very gripping stories that did little to relieve my disappointment but as they say its just a BIRD but a damned good and very big one - meantime here are some images of the shrike whcih was also a very nice bird but will always kindle some rather mixed emotions

First view of the Turkestan Shrike on its favoured gorse clump

all images were with the Canon 200-800 and Canon R6II

The background really complemented the bird’s plumage if you stood in the right spots

with little light it was difficult getting any flight shots on the 8th

Dartford Warbler in the bushes by the shrike

Dawn at Dunwich Suffolk on October 9th - the impact of flights really struck me in this skyscape

Bellowing Red Deer stag at first ight Dingle Marshes

an early morning Wheatear on Dunwich beach was rather Northern

the 9th was at times very warm - lovely heathland landscape at Dunwich

looking south to Dunwich coastguard cottages - the shrike’s favoured gorse clump is middle left

Sun makes all the difference to images - I tried to change from simple shrike on a perch shots a bit - here some well gnarled gorse

a bit more light for flight shots on the 9th but amazing how often it flew down in the wrong direction!

Another pellet but with rather less consistency

Minsmere woods are beautiful in late autumn sunshine - plenty of Common Darters and fungi

Graham Catley 04/10/2025 Graham Catley 04/10/2025

October 2025

Well for an east coast birder the month has simply followed the abysmal september with westerly winds and gales on 4th to be followed by another full week of westerlies and no prospect of any eastern arrivals but the month started with a great sunrise and by turning 180 degrees there was a complete rainbow just before sunrise -

sunrise on 1st before the inevitable rain arrived - some great shafts of light piercing the coloured clouds

passing birds were restricted to Black-headed and Common Gulls

the rainbow did not last long and soon lost its intensity

The Pink-feet did not arrive until the best of the light was gone sadly

I generally avoid man made scenes but this seemed appropriate

Cormorants leaving their roost just before sunrise

Pink-feet and wind turbines later in the morning

Pink-footed Geese - up to 12000 have been commuting over our garden morning and evening

My best passerine on 2nd a local Reed Warbler on Waters’ Edge - not really late even locally they used to be fairly regular to mid-october but in recent years they seem to have left earlier - my latest local bird was at Barrow Haven from October 27th - 28th 1977

A Paddyfield Warbler one day would be nice!

182 on the photo challenge - it has taken a long time to get an image of a Jay by chance as it were as there have been a few birds round the local pits this autumn with a very productive acorn crop to attract them

183 Dartford Warbler from last weeks trip to Suffolk described in the blog post above

184 adult male Turkestan Shrike - full details and many more images from the Suffolk trip in the blog post above

185 Black-faced Bunting at Spurn Point - certainly not what I was expecting to add just a year after the Lincs bird but much better images linked by clicking image above

Black redstart 186 - not a great image but probably the only bird I will see this year at Bempton a couple of weeks back

juvenile Black-tailed Godwits on the Humber off Barton

a decent spell for raptors with plenty of Commomn Buzzard action - a smart juvenile

Great White Egret from a classic autumn morning on Waters’ edge where two birds have been in residence for a while

so many images of birds close up in bird on a stick mode so tried something a bit different

and one crossing a skein of Pink-footed Geese

a colour ringed first calendar year male Hen Harrier still escaping my code reading skills

I use the Canon 200-800 for raptor shoots when possible for that bit of extra magnification

early morning Little Grebe with autumnal colours

Peregrine and Woodpigeon over the Humber this morning

Sparrowhawk - not often you see one perched in a wheat field particularly in October

Pink-footed Geese landing on the Wolds as the sun’s rays break through dark clouds just after dawn

Another arrival of Common Crossbills has seen several flocks scattered around the forest but these were the most co-operative albeit with some serious white sky backdrops

Presumably a juvenile just gaining some orange breast feathers

With an influx of Northern Bullies in Shetland its time to srtudy the local birds - Waters’ Edge sea buckthorn berries are a favoured food in autumn

Presumably a local Robin on its winter territory - a nice perch

But Thais Song Thrush, one of up to 20 on Waters’ Edge of late is certainly a foreigner presumably from the Low Countries or Scandinavia - a few recent arrivals have melted away showing how many of these birds are transients a fascinating species

Another species that holds many secrets is the humble Dunnock - we have 2 -3 in the garden all the time and one sits in the honeysuckle and warbles its sub-song for hours on end - but this was one on Waters’ Edge where there were 9 in one small area of bramble and a hawthorn one morning this week - surely migrants but just British?

Another of my targets is getting local birds amongst the autumn vegetation and colours - one of the Dunnocks

Graham Catley 01/10/2025 Graham Catley 01/10/2025

Sunset over the Humber accompanied by multiple thousands of Pink-footed Geese

On Sunday the dull morning broke toa glorious afternoon and it looked like the evcening would be calm and without cloud so a sunset as the Pink-footed Geese arrived at their Humber roost north of Read’s Island. The scene was set and it almost played out with geese streaming in but they whiffled down a bit early missing the peak of the colour in the sky but I did manage some flocks with the beautiful moon before they hit the orange glow. A memorable evening hopefully illustrated below.

Most of the flocks of geese flew above the moon but persistence eventually paid off

With the 200-800 zoom lens I played about with compositions including more geese then zooming in on the moon but passing flocks are quick and there is little time for change of mind

The flocks were far enough away to make it possible to get the birds and the moon in focus at the same time which is rarely the case

as they started to hit the weaker colours the flocks started to whiffle down

its always a toss up as to whether to include less bigger birds or more smaller birds in the scene

The upper cloud was a deep purple merging into oranges and more pastel shades before it intensified

The roosting throngs are a long way off on the sand bar but visible in the line of light

just before the sun dropped below the horizon

Graham Catley 17/09/2025 Graham Catley 17/09/2025

juvenile Dotterel

I have not actually seen many juvenile Dotterel and the last one was on the totally unsuitable and pretty horrible looking Humber mud at North Killingholme - saw a couple on Scilly way back in the 80’s but the draw of this bird on Burbage Moor was a bit too strong - driving through Sheffield was a nightmare, note to self never go near that place again, and the bird was pretty inactive and never fed while I was there - assume it does feed at some point but you do just get the feeling that maybe something is wrong which sort of diluted the beautiful views of a stunning little wader - anyway a selection of images in very strong winds and light from bright sun to pretty dull - all with the 100-500 lens it was so close you certainly did not need a big lens

big lenses were not actually needed it was so close so zoomed out to 100mm to take ina bit of habitat

although very windy and looking black all around it kept fine but the wind was very strong

didn’t see much of the back of its head or its legs for that matter as it spent most of its time sat down sheltering from the wind

the sun was still a bit high for backlit shots but I had a go

Graham Catley 02/09/2025 Graham Catley 02/09/2025

September 2025 where did August go?

A nice couple of mornings to start the month with a few images I have been quite pleased with - nothing added to the challenge list as yet with all local wetlands bone dry the chances of passage waders will require travel

Black-headed Gull proving how little water is left in one of the main lakes on Waters’ Edge - surely it must get a decent wader at some point!

trying to be a bit nore creative with the seemingly mundane locals - Little Egret Waters Edge

shot through a very small gap in the reeds early am against the rising sun

Autumnal butterflies in their habitats - Speckled Wood

Red Admiral basking in the early morning sun

and a Red Admiral showing its perfect camouflage on some dead leaves at Wild Wrendale

This juvenile Little Grebe still begging for food from its parent

Spotted Flycatcher in Waters Edge this morning my second of the autumn locally - maybe a Pied next?

Spotted Flycatcher almost being taken out by a Woodpigeon

a few challenge additions starting with Barn Owl 168

169 a bit of a stretch on a small image of one of two adult pale Arctic Skuas over the Humber at Barton on Sunday during a little influx of seabirds

while watching the Humber this Otter was fishing in the edge of the tide in the middle of the day catching three flatties while we were there

170 Whinchat one of three at Wild Wrendale on Monday

juvenile Lesser Black-backed Gull on the Humber

171 Northern Wheatear - long overdue but rapidly becoming a scarce migrant another sad decline

172 juvenile Little Stint at Covenham Res - as usual terrible shooting angle as the birds were down the bank but at least the light was decent

actually better feather detail in dull light

my first decent views of the year of another species in serious decline that gets harder to see year on year

photo highlight of the day was this beautiful little Redstart - more images later

first calendar year Redstart Donna Nook September 9th 2025 but could it be a male?

The Lincolnshire coast buckthorn forests undoubtedly hide more vagrants than they reveal

I sat down on the edge of the buckthorn and just waited and eventually it came towards me perching up on this nice dead twig between bouts of insect hunting on the track

a flock of juvenile Black-tailed Godwits by the Humber Bridge on the highest tide of the series

The bridge is a major barrier to migrating birds which can take minutes to hours attempting to negociate their way over or round it

We watched this bota being loaded at Hull from our side at the weekend and then it passed Spurn Point while I was at Donna Nook - human impacts are everywhere

this juvenile Hobby made my day as it appeared very briefly in a gap between trees and bushes as it fed on mixtas over a local quarry tree canopy - the first shots I overexposed by three stops but retrieved — I have not had a nest locally this year so no regular photography which has been a disappointment but seem to be seeing birds almost daily for the last ten days

the autofocus managed to stay on the small bit of the bird even when it went behind the bushes

little stunner maybe tomorrow will offer more chances

Covenham reservoir September 16th 2025 - certainly not the most scenic of locations but a real Grey Phalarope magnet in fact I have seen 12 there since my first in 1972 - yes that was 1972 a mere 53 years ago - a bird the size of a phalarope in the middle with waves is not an easy bird to find

Having visited the type of Arctic habitats where these birds breed in June linked by clicking image above, it is clear that they are very tough little birds but leaving the relative calm of the Arctic in summer to meet Atlantic gales and monstrous seas must be a deadly combination for so many of the young reared - hopefuilly these two will survive the winter

Another trip to Covenham Res in rather variable weather but with strong westerlies and some heavy showers passing though interspersed with sunny spells - the two first-winter Grey Phalaropes spent a lot of time out in the middle of the very big res but occasionally came in closer to the bank though of course angle is not great but both nicely marked birds and 173 on the challenge list

one of the easier small waders to ID in flight

the water colour at Covenham is never very pleasant or scenic

Having failed to visit an Arctic Tern colony in the summer it was a species missing from my photo challenge list so the presence of this beautiful juvenile at Covenham was a fortuitous 174

There were also four juvenile Black terns but they never came close so these were big crops but 175 and a mini milestone in the push to 200 on the photo challenge list

juvenile Black Tern Covenham Res September 16th - a rather dark and contrasty bird that demanded decent views

Good numbers of House Martins around the pits and town of late after a pretty poor summer

Maybe my last Willow Warbler of the autumn

juvenile Dotterely 176 on the challenge list - lots more images in the blog post above

177 juvenile Bar-tailed Godwit which has taken some time to add - up to eight juveniles have been on the local foreshore this week but this one provided soem photo opps as the local Curlew decided it was not welcome on its patch

the forecast for the 21st looked good for a Lincs seawatch and the epic waves and early morning seascape were promising but as so often happens in Lincs the seabirds thought otherwise

An Arctic Skua heads north over a golden sea as the sun came up

A Northern Wheatear dropped in on the beach - precious few on passage in recent years so nice to see any one

Called in at Covenham on return trip with more Grey Phalarope images to delete

a shame the Kittiwake was not a Sabine’s Gull

Assume these pristine Brown Argus and Common Blue butterflies are 3rd generation taken on 22nd

178 Goldcrest - a small arrival of 4 on Wedge on 24th where this one was taken and about 10 at Donna Nook 25th - all continental or are Barton birds British?

a pretty dismal day for migrants at Donna Nook, what on earth has happened to migrant bird populations, I think we know - one of only a couple of Chiffchaffs seen but where was it last week? somewhere in Scandinavia?

certainly a different feel to it than most of the local birds seen in the last week

searching the outer marsh for newly arriived locustella warblers, we can only dream, and walked into this juvenile Purple Sandpiper feeding in the tide wrack on the saltmarsh not a typical habitat

a big brute of a juvenile female Peregrine was one of two marauding the foreshore

A grand day out at Flamborough, nice fish and chips added three birds to the photo challenge list

Brambling 180 the only one we saw and we saw one thrush a Song Thrush!

A rather distant first-winter Red-breasted Flycatcher - since my last visit to Flamborough paths seem to have been closed and move way back from hedges making seeing birds let along photographing them a real problem- why?

My first Whooper Swans of the autumn at Barton 30th

Clouded Yellow North Lincs September 30th 2025 - came across this fine example today in a clover field with about 20 whites

Not having the pre-capture on the R6II getting flight shots is a matter of rapid reactions and a lot of rubbish but I was peased to get anything useful today with the 100-500

Big crops as it was a small in frame image obviously

Plenty of Common Buzzard action in this warm weather - juvenile above and below

Not what you expect to see on a cloudless, sunny and calm day while scanning for raptors but at least it was heading in the general direction of the Humber - juvenile Gannet

Graham Catley 27/08/2025 Graham Catley 27/08/2025

Lincolnshire Pratincoles a very personal perspective:

Talking to Wayne and Clare on the phone on Saturday afternoon, fortunately before setting off on a long walk, the call and walk were abruptly cut short when Wayne exclaimed there’s a Black-winged Pratincole just flown through my scope. The rapid 20 mile drive to Nebraska wetlands near Kirton-in-Lindsey, famous only in Lincolnshire birding terms for the adult male Asian Houbara Bustard shot there on October 7th 1847, saw us watching this cracking juvenile and got me pondering on previous county records and my involvement in a few. Read on and enjoy a few images of past birds.

Adult Collared Pratincole Rosper Road Pools North Lincolnshire May 1st 2011

No sooner had I written the intro to this blog than the first Lincolnshire pratincole record was deemed to be either only a pratincole sp or unacceptable on the basis that other records attributed to said Holme had proven to be less than acceptable hence the 1973 Gibraltar Point bird now becomes a county first:

The first Lincolnshire record of any pratincole was briefly recorded in the 1952 Birds of Lincolnshire (Smith and Cornwallis) as one shot near Lincoln on August 15th 1827 and recorded by Yarrell. By the time of the publication of The Birds of Lincolnshire and South Humberside in 1989 (Lorand and Atkin) further details had been added with the bird now confirmed as Collared Pratincole shot by F Oats at Branston Hall: From Mr. F. Holme I learned, that a Pratincole was shot by Frederick Oats, Esq., of Branston Hall, near Lincoln, on the 15th of August 1827, whilst flying about much like a Swallow and near the ground."

1973: The first Collared Pratincole for the county was one of the first birds to be seen on the newly created Mere scrape at Gibraltar Point on May 21st 1973.

1977: A Collared Pratincole seen at Blacktoft Sands was reported to have flown east over Trent Falls at the head of the Humber on June 11th 1977 before being relocated at Spurn the following day. Maybe a debatable Lincolnshire occurrence as it was only seen from Blacktoft the record was included by Lorand and Atkin but was not repeated in the 2021 Birds of Lincolnshire.

1980: On August 11th I was stood on the old station platform at Barrow Haven when a bird approached mobbed by a large flock of Sand Martins – oddly I had left my bins inside and had to dash to get them but I could quickly see it was a pratincole sp but by the time I was looking at it through bins it was starting to go away and although I suspected Black-winged I never saw enough on it to be sure and it was submitted and accepted by BBRC as a Pratincole sp. After finishing work I searched nearby suitable spots but to no avail.

1981: A Collared Pratincole was seen at the south end of Donna Nook by Mike Tarrant the third confirmed Lincolnshire record.

2009: Amazingly it was then another 28 years before the next Lincolnshire pratincole when a Collared was seen at Frampton Marsh from August 8th – 9th 2009. With this species absent from my confirmed Lincolnshire list there ensued a rapid drive to Frampton on the 9th confounded somewhat by a thirteen-and-a-half-hour journey from North Uist where we had been on holiday, the previous day – overnight but what was another 90 minutes on top of that.

2010: After some very long historical gaps from 2009 pratincole records started to pick up considerably but not many people would have predicted that the next Lincolnshire species would be the ultra-rare Oriental rather than the expected Black-winged. With only six previous UK records the arrival of an adult at Frampton Marsh on May 9th was a major British event. The bird stayed loyal to the site to the 19th with several hundred birders travelling to watch it hawking insects over the new RSPB reserve. [subsequently an early historical record came to light when a specimen obtained in 1908 on the Outer Hebrides Eilean Mor, Flannan Isles, adult female, obtained, 13th July, became a retrospective British first. ]

Quoting from the BBRC report for that year: Oriental Pratincole remains an extremely rare visitor to Europe, and the 2010 record follows one in 2009 (in Kent and Sussex) that was conceivably the same individual. Unsurprisingly, this was the first record for Lincolnshire, and formed a nice double for the new reserve at Frampton Marsh following the previous year’s Collared Pratincole G. pratincola (which graced the same scrapes). It also followed an established pattern of being found in the spring in the south-eastern quarter of England. The nearest breeding birds to Britain are in the northwest of the Indian subcontinent (although these birds are mostly short-distance migrants within India so are unlikely to be the source of our vagrants). However, the east Asian population breeds well to the east and south of the Lake Baikal watershed, and migrates to the south and east to winter in southeast Asia.

Needless to say this remains the only county record.

Oriental Pratincole Frampton Marsh May 9th 2010

I made two trips for this bird on May 9th and 11th with most images taken with the Canon 1D4 and 500 f4 with 1.4 converter

With this being the most recent of the eight British records and none for the last 15 years the chances of another Lincolnshire record are maybe rather slim?

Views of this bird and photo opportunities were superb unlike most county pratincoles

not going deep into ID features but the short tail and shallow fork with chestnut underwing coverts and beautiful cinnamon wash to upper breast are obvious

Oriental Pratincole Framton Marsh May 2010

My twitching history has been somewaht erratic over the years and distinctly lacking in the last ten but in 1993 on May 30th I was in Norfolk with JH looking for a long staying Oriental Pratincole which we missed but the same day we saw the singing male Asian Desert Warbler on Blakeney Point and while watching it realised there were no people nearby - in years before instant communications it was only when we started walking back down the Point that we were informed there was a Pacific Swift at Cley then having had good views of that bird news arrived that Kev DuRose had found Lincolnshire’s first Sociable Lapwing at Kirkby -on- Bain which we duly saw on the return journey - not a bad day pity about the pratincole

This shot appeared in the 2010 BBRC report but at least in the PDF version it has been badly reproduced and seriously underexposed

2011: Three pratincoles in successive years were certainly unprecedented when Tom Lowe found a cracking adult Collared at Rosper Road Pools, South Killingholme on April 27th the earliest county record. It stayed in the area through to May 7th. Somewhat frustratingly I had been surveying the very same pools for the previous six months to March 2011 and I learnt about the bird’s presence while sitting in Sweden on a Great Grey Owl photographic foray. Arriving back at Stanstead airport late afternoon on May 1st it was a nervous drive back to Lincolnshire and an apologetic phone call to the family explaining why I would be late back. On arrival by the pools there was no-one present but the bird soon appeared and even with my 300mm lens and converters I was able to get some images and see the bird which was virtually on one of my local birding hot spots having covered North Killingholme pits and area since the late 1960’s; the first good bird I found at Rosper Road pools being a Pectoral Sandpiper in September 1977!

Concentrating on photographing Great Grey Owls was tough with a local Collared Pratincole niggling away

I had only taken my 300 3.8 lens with me as light levels were expected to be low when the owls were hunting

One of my first images of the Rosper Road Collared Pratincole taken in low evening sun which it says was at 19:37 so getting pretty late in the day on May 1st

Canon 1D4 and 300 2.8 lens with 2x converter

The following morning when I went back for seconds with the 500 f4 the light was nothing like as good being cloudy and a bit flat

It occasionally landed on this mound of gas filled weed

In shadow the colour of the underwing coverts can be difficult to interpret

2014: The last of the pratincole species to be added to the county list, a Black-winged, appeared at Gibraltar Point on July 14th after being seen in Cleveland, Co Durham and Northumberland in June – July. Its stay though, was all too brief before it moved on to North Norfolk and then the Ouse Washes.

2019: Oddly the next pratincole in the county was another Black-winged this time at Frampton Marsh June 18th – 21st completing the set for the reserve and allowing more county listers to see the species. I was looking for a potential Vagrant Emperor dragonfly at East Halton Skitter on the morning of its discovery receiving the inevitable message from Anthony Bentley and having to hot foot it the two miles back to my car and just another 70 to Frampton.

Never close when I was there and with plenty of heat distortion my images were less than good falling in the less than record shot category

It would be nice to get one some time as close as the other two species

Poor quality video through scope and phone of the Frampton Black-winged Pratincole

2023: A pratincole sp seen by N Drinkall at Alkborough Flats on October 15th was presumably the moulting juvenile Collared Pratincole seen in Northumberland 12th and Cleveland 13th before being reported but never confirmed in South Lincolnshire at Frampton Marsh on the 18th and then heading off to Slimbridge, Gloucestershire from 20th – 29th. Almost certainly but to muddy the waters a little a Black-winged Pratincole was in Cheshire on the 22nd.

2025: After a blank year 2025 produced a veritable flurry of records with a Collared Pratincole at Frampton Marsh from June 22nd – 29th after being first seen in West Yorkshire 19th. The first two species year was confirmed when a Black-winged Pratincole hawked insects around Theddlethorpe – Mablethorpe dunes on August 11th but was it the same bird subsequently seen in Northumberland at East Chevington August 12th – 13th then Carnoustie Angus 16th. What is certain is that the Northumberland bird and presumably the Fife individual was found by Wayne Gillatt at Nebraska wetlands near Kirton-in-Lindsey on August 23rd remining to midday on 25th when it flew off high. Photos confirmed it was the same juvenile the first juvenile pratincole of any species in the county and presumably the Theddlethorpe bird.

Always distant for the camera this was taken with the Swaro 17-40 scope and iphone 16 — scroll down for comparisons with juvenile Collared - the two species are virtually impossible to separate in juvenile plumage on the ground

Pratincoles are really small birds on the deck and easily overlooked when amongst Lapwing flocks with which they often seem to loosely associate in Britain

juvenile Black-winged Pratincole Nebraska wetlands, Kirto-in-Lindsey August 23rd 2025

Even when distant this individual showed a fairly strong contrast between the pale fringed upperwing coverts and the darker blackish flight feathers with a pretty obvious pale trailing edge to the primaries, narrower on the secondaries. The mottled head and patchy upper breast with dark eye and bill are typical juvenile characters visible at good range

In reasonable light the solid black underwing coverts really stand out with the underside of the flight feathers being slightly paler and more contrasting and note again the narrow pale trailing edge to the wing - the resemblance to a flying Green Sandpiper both upper and underside is clear

juvenile Black-winged Pratincole Nebraska wetlands August 23rd 2025 - always fairly distant for the camera and with heat shimmer confounding clarity and sharpness but clearly a juvenile bird starting to moult to first winter with some new scapulars and mantle feathers all remiges and retrices are still juvenile - see comparative shots of adult Collared below

easily lost when flying against a dark background

Light and shadow plays a large part in determining the exact colour of the underwing coverts particularly in a brief view - juvenile Collarewd Pratincole La Janda Spain September 2008

juvenile Black-winged Pratincole Kirton in Lindsey August 2025 and below juvenile Collared Pratincole La Janda Spain September 5th 2008

a much closer bird with more detail in the plumage tracts but the overall similarity of the two birds is still obvious

in this slightly over-exposed shot the close resemblance to a juvenile Collared Pratincole in the upperside view is notable

juvenile Collared Pratincole La Janda Spain September 4th 2008 - note close similarity to Black-winged above

juvenile Collared Pratincole La Janda Spain September 2008

moulting adult Collared Pratincole La Janda Spain September 4th 2008 even in early September the adults were in heavy moult and clearly picked out from the full winged juveniles in flight

Black-winged Pratincole juvenile Kirton in Lindsey August 2025

Even in early September adult Collared Pratincoles were well advanced in their post breeding moult - La Janda Spain September 2008

Lincolnshire Records

Collared Pratincole

1) Gibraltar Point May 21st 1973

Trent Falls flew east June 11th 1977 contentiously present over the county boundary identification not in doubt

2) Donna Nook July 11th 1981

3) Frampton Marsh August 8th – 9th 2009

4) Rosper Road Pools, South Killingholme April 27th to May 7th 2011

5) Frampton Marsh June 22nd – 29th 2025

Oriental Pratincole

1) Frampton Marsh May 9th – 19th 2010

Black-winged Pratincole

1) Gibraltar Point July 14th 2014

2) Frampton Marsh June 18th – 21st 2019

3) Theddlethorpe Dunes August 11th 2025 juvenile

3b) Kirton in Lindsey August 23rd – 24th 2025 juvenile

Pratincole sp

Shot Branston Hall near Lincoln in August 15th 1827 probably best rejected as specimen apparently never seen by anyone other than claimed shooter and the reporting individual responcible for a number of other fraudulent reports

Barrow Haven August 11th 1980

Alkborough Flats October 15th 2023

Graham Catley 19/08/2025 Graham Catley 19/08/2025

August 2025

After a minor op in mid July the camera was on hold for a while and since then photo opportunities seem to to have been distinclty limited but here are a meagre few additions to the annual challenge - hopefully better to come in September

some Common Blue butterflies from a lovely evening at Wild wren

all with the Canon RF 100-500 lens and Canon R6II

juvenile Greenshank 161 on the challenge list - thus far it has been abysmal locally for passage waders

a trip to the coast during a near gale produced very little but a small gathering of Sandwich terns made it to 162

a stunning sunrise one day last week taken with the 200-800 lens

some serious rubbish at a huge distance the moulting adult Pectoral Sandpiper at Alkborough - maybe better later in the autumn but 163 for now

Curlew and crab - the battle was short lived before it went down

164 a somewhat boring portrait of a juvenile Ruff but the light has been so dire of late its hard to make anything look decent

Ruff and Common Sandpiper together or sort of

a rather more suitable Ruff image - flying juvenile

A trip to the Lincs coast was to say the least badly timed for seabirds with zero seen not even a Gannet but a few invertebrates were partial compensation with my first Clouded Yellow for several years

The very odd sight of a Dune Roberfly flying around carrying a Blue-tailed Damselfly

a juvenile Chiffchaff in a reedbed - reedbeds are good for warblers in autumn but this year has been appalling locally with so few warblers in August -

One of seven juvenile Blackbirds that have been frequenting the garden of late (now down to six mrs accipter nisus) only two appeared to be from same brood all other different ages and stages of post juvenile moult

I had not added Avocet to the annual challenge so here are a few 165

and a few more including juvenile Blue flag CP and AT

Blue flag CP - looks like they are Lancashire birds photographed here on the Humber at North Killingholme

167 juvenile Black-winged Pratincole - not a bird I expected but a bird only 22 miles from home at Kirton Lindsey was too good to miss - my first juvenile and although never close it provided good bins views in flight and scope views on the ground

preparing a post on pratincoles with more images of this bird and a few other Lincolnshire individuals

male Migrant Hawker - feel obliged to take the odd mixta every year when they perform

Buzzard wondering what the wet stuff was that suddenly drenched it - maybe its first taste of wetness

Hobby - I have been doing a lot of searching but so far only found adults - has it been a poor season?

juvenile Kestrel - they seem to have done well locally with lots of fledged juveniles wandering about - counted 20 in one short stretch of the Ancholme Valley one day

a high key shot of a juvenile Kestrel heading down

juvenile Spotted Flycatcher my first on the local patch this year - a species O do not even see annually now - only 10 years ago there were 2-3 pairs in the local park every year but the rapid decline has seen us loose this species as a breeding bird and this year Tree Sparow and Corn Bunting have followed - sad times

a few juvenile warblers round the local pits with this smart Lesser Whitethroat about the pick

juvenile Reed Warblers spend a lot of time feeding in willows and other bushes - a good learning curve for autumnal vagrants

subtle plumage tones change with sun and shade

Graham Catley 14/07/2025 Graham Catley 14/07/2025

July 2025

A limited number of species additions to the photo challenge total

2cy Hobby on a scenic perch but in dire light

Appears to have caught a small bat in the middle of the day

best local year for a while for Common Terns fledging with 8 on the wing and a couple more still to take off - new style rafts at Waters Edge key to success -

Lesser Marsh Grasshopper - take all my insect shots with the Canon RF 100-500 and R6II - close focus is great

male Emperor one of the easier dragons to photo in flight

juvenile Bearded Tit 159 on the species photo list -

160 Red Knot just to emphasise that in summer they are indeed Red - amongst its friendly Icelandic Black-tails

a lovely rufous juvenile Cuckoo at Wild wrendale yesterday always great to see in autumn

Wild Wrendal struck again 23rd with this Death’s-head hawkmoth a first for me - recovering from some surgery I had to make a quick exception with the camera to see this and what a beast it was

a rather worn individual but none the less impressive

a nice bright Willow Warbler from the last flush of migrants locally on 31st

juvenile Reed Warbler looking rather grumpy in the Waters Edge trees have abandoned its native habitat

juvenile Blackcap already taking the Rowan berries

Graham Catley 05/07/2025 Graham Catley 05/07/2025

Svalbard June 23rd - July 1st 2025

A trip of a lifetime hopefully communicated here with a fraction of the 20,000+ images I took in the eight days but it nearly started with a distaster as the metal connector on my Black Rapid strap actually sheared off on the first morning I was on the deck of the ship and the R6II and 100-500 hit the metal deck with a rather heart wrenching noise. Fortunately when I retrieved them all seemed to function with just the odd dent and even more fortunately I had lost my Black Rapid strap a few weeks previously and bought a new one which I had with me, only to re find the old one at a later date. The story starts here :

Reflected in the most northerly Co-op in the world a feature repeated in the most Northerly Toyota garage and Pub the latter a source of excellent food.

It all started when I was chatting to Roger over a typical Lincolnshire seawatch, not a lot happening and he mentioned a trip to Svalbard that was low in bird diversity but high in Arctic experience and with some very nice birds thrown in plus the chance of the elusive white bear. The price though seemed somewhat beyond our means. Fast forward to January 2025 and thinking about another trip to Cyprus or Canada and the Svalbard idea reappeared. Checking Roger’s source company we came to https://www.aqua-firma.com/ based in Cornwall and highly recommended by Roger. I looked online and casually showed the Svalbard Realm of the Polar Bear cruise to Mrs C who I thoroughly expected to say I am not going on any cruise and it looks cold but to my surprise she said that looks good and even the price tag was met with you only live once. A couple of phone calls later and we are booked on the https://www.aqua-firma.com/experiences/polar-bear-search-north-spitsbergen tour June 24th - July 1st. But then it hit home – boats and me are in general not a pleasant mix but it’s done now and Roger confirms they had no mosquitoes. A bit of research leads me to Stugeron-15 which are duly purchased. AQUA-FIRMA book the necessary flights and hotels and Julia’s brother agrees to a professional taxi service to Heathrow and back.

It occurred to me while swatting that most people actually have no idea where Svalbard (Spitzbergen) is thinking its part of Norway which it is administratively but its nearer Greenland

Coming in to Svalbard on the plane the views were amazing with crystal blue water and lots of snow - the new iPhone 15+ produced some really nice images through the plane window and the whole week it was all I used for landscape shots leaving my 50mm and 24-105 kit lens redundant.

Glacier and landscape from the plane before landing in Longyearbyen

Approaching the airport there was less snow revealing the rugged terrain with stunning geographical features any glaciologist would be proud of

Part of the old mining infrastructure above Longyearbyen

An immediate reminder that you are in the far north outside the airport

The main street of Longyearbyen, well to be fair the only street

At the end of the main street you are out into wet tundra - marsh and the odd sight of skidoos just left all over - the main road, and there is not a lot of it, is mid image with people walking

It is immediately obvious that Barnacle Geese are everywhere feeding and nesting amongst the skidoos right on the edge of town

Barnacle Geese on the marsh on the edge of town taken with the wide angle iPhone

While many of the geese were sitting on nests, built seemingly anywhere, others had broods of small young that were being targeted by Glaucous Gulls

A walk down the only road reveals a lot of breeding Arctic Terns plus Purple Sandpipers displaying everywhere and a few other waders including Dunlin, Tundra Ringed Plovers and one far too distant Grey / Red Phalarope

Not sure if it was thinking of a novel nest site

The light was very variable with low cloud making things a bit flat but when the sun poked through the refection off the snow was amazing

Many Arctic Tern nests were not exactly well hidden

Odd Arctic Skuas were patrolling the edge of the town marsh

In Svalbard terms this Black-headed Gull was probably the rarest bird I saw all week -

Several pairs of Glaucous Gulls and the odd immature were loafing around looking for an easy meal of duckling or gosling

Spot the King Eider - never saw any close in fact only saw a couple of males and female all week

Long-tailed Duck - pairs were only just starting to occupy nesting pools in a late spring thaw

In the afternoon we wandered west to the harbour where there was a small flock of Mandt’s Black Guillemots but the light was a bit dire

We were to see several 100 during the trip and I have a variety of wing patterns

Assume they nest here in the harbour wall

There were some decent creches of Northern Eider ducklings but the concentration by the Husky Dog kennels were getting predated by the Glaucous Gulls

a classic drake Northern Eider *borealis*

Subtle differences in bill colour between drakes

Getting close to them was not a problem and they often wandered about in the road

The Polar Bear sign is as far as you are allowed to walk without an armed guard but as someone commented what tells the bears they cannot come inside the sign?

These birds were literally feet from the side of the road

considerable variation in plumage tones amongst the females

a very different world to the nature distanced UK

In January 2024 a Purple Sandpiper wearing an orange colour ring and a Green tag with the inscription 9LA was wintering on the Lincolnshire coast at Mablethorpe; I noted in this blog post https://www.grahamcatley.com/blog-1/a-rather-special-purple-sandpiper that this was likely the nearest I would come to its ringing place of Longyearbyen Svalbard — well times move on and this year there we were on its breeding grounds watching displaying Purple Sandpipers right on the edge of town all the way up to the highest tundra and most northerly land we visited. I even saw a couple of birds with Orange colour rings and Green Flags from the same scheme including VMC shown here displaying to a female just outside Longyearbyen: it really can be a small world

Male VMC displaying to a female June 23rd 2025

Male Purple Sandpiper in display flight - beautiful song given in flight was a characteristic sound of the marshes and tundra

Human junk was no deterrent to Purple Sandpipers intent on breeding

Sharing its habitat with breeding Barnacle Geese

And what a Red Phalarope looks like at a long long range and you cannot get any closer due to the terrain and the bird then flies away! Frustrating

Very much a record shot - still need to go to Alaska

A more obliging Red-throated Diver nesting close to the road but it was impossible to get low angles due to the height of the road and the risk of disturbing the birds

The male Red-throated Diver but in pretty poor light

The only passerine in Svalbard is the Snow Bunting and they occur in most habitats though they are thinly spread - these birds were breeding on the edge of the town with birds singing from the roof tops and performing display flights over the buildings as well as the nearby tundra

A female feeding along the main street just like a House Sparrow in the days of olden Britain

A fine adult male nivalis over the beach

Feeding along the tide wrack just like a winter beach in Lincolnshire

It was interesting to see Ringed Plovers in their tundra habitats but none looked like the very small dark backed birds we see occasionally in spring locally so where do those birds breed?

Tundra Ringed Plover amonst the permafrost with an Arctic Tern - two well travelled birds

Day list for June 23rd

Arctic skua 3

King Eider 3

Long tailed Duck 1

Mandts Guillemot 16+

N Fulmar 1

Northern Eider 100+

Glaucous Gull 30+

Snow Bunting 30+

Barnacle Goose 200+

Black headed Gull 1

Purple Sandpiper 50+

Dunlin 8

Ringed Plover 4

Teal 5

Kittiwake 5

Grey Red Phalarope 1

The 24th we had the day up to 16:00 when we were due to board the boat fopr our eight day cruise - so it was more of the same walking up and down the only bit of road and getting some nice food in the hotel and at the Barentz GastroPub - male Snow Bunting in display flight over the Longyearbyen main street

Barnacle Geese with two young and an onlooking Glaucous Gull - image taken with iphone

looking west out of the Fjord Longyearbyen

Mountain Avens just starting to flower on the Longyearbyen tundra

Male Purple Sandpiper VMC was still present and showing his flag a bit better

A wider view of the Purple Sandpiper feeding habitat

Different view of the Red-throated Diver

There appeared to be a lot of Barnacles that had either failed early or were yet to start breeding

Arctic Terns are totally accustomed to humans even nesting next to the road just outside Longyearbyen

Glaucous Gulls the ubiquitous gull species of the trip along with Kittiwake

The view across the fjord from Longyearbyen

The RF 100-500 is a good tool for landscapes as well as the usual tele stuff

In the Arctic the weather can change very quickly so you need layers and waterproofs and to be prepared

A boat looks very small in the vastness of the Arctic

Tuesday, June 24. Longyearbyen, Embarkation

12h00 GPS Position: 78°14.8’N / 014°58.4’E

Wind: W-3 • Sea: Calm • Weather: Overcast • Air: 8°C • Sea: 5°C

at 16:00 we boarded the Plancius our home for the next week and after the usual drills and safety stuff we set sail and started the three meals a day culinary extravaganza! I spent the next few hours on deck photographing distant Little Auks and Brunnich’s Guillemots amd the ever present Blue Fulmars - the auk shots I quickly deleted as things got better later in the trip - overnight we headed west then north to our first stop at Tinayrebukta early on 25th. A calm overnight journey was appreciated.

I found the skies, seascapes, landscapes and habitats and the colour of the vistas totally enthralling but hard to capture accurately - these look much better on a computer or ipad screen than on a phone

Blue Fulmar alongside the boat - they were often so close you could virtually touch them

There were many subtle variations in shades

Light made a huge difference to appearances - tried to get some landscape in where possible to put the birds in context

In hindsight I should have tried to get to the Little Auk colony near the airport but thought I would see them on the cliffs from the boat which we did not - so had to make do with flight views and birds swimming near the boat - a first desperate attempt at a passing flock

An early environmental Brunnich’s Guillemot flock from the boat

Note for November on the Lincolnshire coast they are short and fat !!

The scenery started to build as we sailed north

Epic skies and seas are a feature of the far north

Species List June 24th

Longyearbyen

Same but less to previous day

Brunnich’s Guillemot 2 in harbour and out

Puffin 20+

Black Guillemot 5+

Blue Fulmar 30

Little Auk 30+

Kitts

Brunniichs 30+

Wednesday, June 25. Tinayrebukta, Signehamna and Lilliehöökbreen

12h00 GPS Position: 79°12.3’N / 012°02.9’E

Wind: SW-2 • Sea: Smooth • Weather: Overcast • Air: 8°C • Sea: 5°C

a very small bird from high up on a ship

It was a big Little Auk day with perhaps 500 seen

Something spooked this flock and they split and flew upwards

these were way up not hugging the water like most flocks

I was up on deck at 05:30 with many Little Auks and Brunnich’s Guillemots but in spite of my best efforts at mind over matter the Little Auk flocks remained stubbornly not close enough

This striking presumably 2cy Mandt’s appeared to be intent on landing on the ship - brown flight feathers presumably make it a 2cy bird

The trouble with the Fulmars was they were always there and posing so you felt obliged to aim at them!

A flock of Brunnich’s Guillemots passing by

A few of the Brunnich’s had not aquired full summer head - throat patterns like the left hand bird making them 2cy birds

The browner toned upperparts presumably point to it being a 2cy bird

Love the 100-500 for landscape shots in a big vista

On 25th we had two zodiac landings at Tinayrebukta a bay in Haakon VII Land . It is located at the east side of Möllerfjorden, and is surrounded by the mountains of Fallièresfjella and Generalfjella. The glacier of Tinayrebreen debouches into the bay. The bay is named after French painter Jean Paul Louis Tinayre. Then in the afternoon at Signehamna a natural harbour in Albert I Land located at the western side of Lilliehöökfjorden. We hiked up past some impressive bird cliffs to look at relics from weather station Knospe (1941-1942), then Nussbaum, built by German occupants during World War II.

A Polar Bear lookout was always essential before landing several boat loads of potential breakfast

Beach landings were usually smooth but Muckboots, supplied, were necessary - landscapes were always spectacular

Always pays to be close to the person with the gun

Harbour Seals staking their place on the list

And just to prove they were everywhere a Purple Sandpiper on the rocks but not quite a Rock Sandpiper

Tundra forest Net-leaved Willow the highest trees on Svalbard

Tufted Saxifrage - tundra flowers were just breaking out

White Arctic Mountain Heather - I use the 100-500 as a one lens covers all tasks tool

Some of the treks were testing and we only went in the middle effort group so you do need to be fit to get the best out of the trip - Landing site in the bay below and the Plancius moored in the bay offshore

These were on some pretty rugged terrain

Bird cliff with Brunnich’s Guillemots and Kittiwakes

In the late afternoon as we cruised close to the glacier in the boat there were birds on ice that had calved off the glacier front including Arctic Terns -

The size of that large cruise ship puts the glacier in perspective

It was impossible to gauge the scale of the glaciers as you were often miles away and details only became apparent on closer approach

We also came across our first Bearded Seals in evocative surroundings

And an unexpected Walrus hauled out on the ice flow

I was trying to put birds in the context of their environment and show how small they are in relation to things such as the glaciers and mountains - a flock of Brunnich’s Guillemots against the snow covered mountainside over a glacier

A flock of Northern Eiders dwarfed by the lower bit of the glacier front

Northern Eiders again on an ice flow with the front edge of a dirty glacier as backdrop

The intricate patterns and colours of the floating ice was staggering and demanded photography

You were constantly left spellbound by the beauty of the place and the quiet only broken by the popping of the air in the ice

Day List for 25th

Little Auk 400+

Mandts 10+

Bearded Seal 3

Brunnichs Guillemot 200+

RT Diver 2

A Skua 1

Reindeer 4

Harbour Seal 4

Walrus 1

Purple Sandpiper 2

Snow Bunting 10+

Kittiwake big colonies

Distant view of the Monacobreen glacier on a glorious morning

26.06.2025 Position: 79°31.4’N / 012°29.6’E Wind: W2 Weather: Overcast Air Temperature: +7

June 26th and we were at Monacobreen a glacier in Haakon VII Land on Spitsbergen, Svalbard. The glacier debouches into Liefdefjorden: We boiarded the zodiacs for a few hours in the morning just slowly moving around the foot of the glacier and marvelling at the huge icebergs, many of them blue, while listening to the popping ice and watching the wealth of feeding birds. A long dark line at the foot of the glacier in the distance transformed into 10’s of 1000 of Kittiwakes with Arctic Terns and a few other birds mixed in. It was a spectacular few hours. It was a beautful sunny day with temperatures up to 8C in the afternoon making it almost hot in the light winds.

Cold start on the zodiac keeping the lens covered in case of wave splash - that was the biggest iceberg in Svalbard for many year apparently

The scale of this blue berg was hard to define but the next shot with a zodiac up close gives an idea

A much smaller chunk of floating ice but big enough - the only sounds you could hear were Kitts, popping and cracking ice and the occasional loud bang from the flexing glacier

As far as I am aware not one phone or camera went into the Arctic Ocean during the trip!

Approaching the foot of the glacier a dark line where it had been undercut by wave action was transformed with a line of 1000’s of Kittiwakes sitting on the ice and feeding in the melt water - as I say images cannot convey the scale

Kept the ISO fairly high at 1600 as the boat was bobbing a bit and with people moving around and the fact that you are on the side of a zodiac you need a bit of extra speed

A bit better idea of the scale of the glacier the very small white dots at the bottom right are the Kitts

An Arctic Skua sat watching the Kitts - a very small bird in a big vista

Closer to the glacier the Kittiwake flocks were transformed

Floating ice was often adorned with Arctic Terns and Kittiwakes

Arctic Terns were totally unconcerned and often at arms length from the boat

On a wider scale Kittiwakes were perching all over the glacier edge as well as on the floating ice

Kittiwakes in a different world to Bempton

As I was thinking I had got enough Kitts and Arctic Terns we came across this adult Glaucous Gull

It allowed a pretty close approach before moving off

We got closer to the Kittiwakes with slow approach in the rib - the colours were amazing

Birds were completely at ease with highly coloured humans

As we passed a small clump of ice with a Kittiwake on it I suddenly realised that the bird with its back to me had a black head!!!! I quickly but calmly asked Valeria at the helm if we could stop the BOAT!! while blasting a few shots and hoping I had got the exposure right

We were pretty close but the angle wasn’t the best but all credit to Valeria who acted on my requests and managed to manoeuvre the boat into a better position before the Sabine’s flew off to feed with the Kittiwakes - I have seen a few adults in Britain but in this environment it was something else

The lack of full sun meant that contrasts were nicely reduced but bringing out the red eye ring was almost impossible

I kept zooming out to put the bird in its environment conscious of the fact that the other 8 people on the zodiac were not going to want to watch a Sabs Gull all morning!

Valeria was fantastic and did a great job getting us in close without disturbing the bird

After the prolonged show it flew off to join the Kittiwakes feeding in front of the glacier

What a privilege and an amazing encounter one of the highlights of the trip

After the excitement of the Sabine’s it was back to Kitts on ice and crevasses

A couple of cracking Arctic Skuas flew by

lone Glaucous Gull on top of the glacier

You appreciate how small you are in a big landscape

You do become mesmerised by the colour and patterns of the ice

Back on board, we enjoyed a relaxing lunch as the ship cruised toward our next destination:Texas Bar, a rustic cabin built in 1927 by the legendary trapper Hilmar Nøis. Still used by locals on excursions, the cabin offered a glimpse into life in the Arctic decades ago.

Purple Saxifrage on the tundra slopes as we started a brief exploration - A couple of King Eiders and four Arctic Skuas were on the sea and two Minke Whales and a party of 14 Pink-footed Geese added to the short species day list

And more tundra breaking out from under the snow cover which was extensive and late this spring

Our first Svalbard Ptarmigan - less than pristine

Another epic evening sky as we set off to our next destination

Day List 26th:

Sabines gull 1

Kittiwakes 6000+

Mandts 20

Glaucous Gull

Arctic skua 4

Ptarmigan 1

Pink footed Geese 14

King Eider Drake and duck

Long tailed Duck 1

Reindeer

Snow Buntings

June 27th:

Alkefjellet, Kinnvika and BBQ Date: 27.06.2025. Position: 79°40.7’N / 018°22.4’E. Wind: SE5. Weather: Overcast. Air Temperature: +5 During the night, we sailed out of Liefdefjorden aboard the Plancius and headed south into Hinlopenstretet—the strait that separates the large island of Spitsbergen from Nordaustlandet (the lands of the northeast). It was the first windy day since we had come aboard, and with temperatures hovering around 0°C, our expedition leader advised us to dress warmly and in multiple layers.

The day started with the usual Little Auks, Brunnich flocks and Flumars from the boat then it was two hours under the bird cliffs thronged with 20,000 pairs of Brunnich’s Guillemots and lots of Kittiwakes with a few Glaucous Gulls and Barnacles Geese

although it was abit choppy the angles on the Brünnich's Guillemots were much better from the zodiacs

Back to the job in hand trying to get something different on a black and white auk

The usual din from a seabird colony but amplified and with the addition of snow

Have I seen a Brünnich's Guillemot in Britain? - No why would you unless of course it was in Lincs - a fly by in the autumn would be easily identifiable - I am well genned up and ready

One of several pairs of Glaucous Gulls living with and on the guillemots

Waiting for the snow to clear from their ledges

The 100-500 lens is ideal for these type of situations, light and easily slung around with the ability to quickly zoom in and out as things occur - I thought about taking the 200-800 but was pleased I didn’t as I would probably have put my back out

A Bonxie patrolling the cliffs - or I assume it was a Bonxie didn’t see it that well

Ending the morning with another impressive glacier

That afternoon’s landing was quite different from anything we had experienced so far: Kinnvika, a relatively well-sheltered bay on the northern edge of Murchisonfjord. A Swedish- Finnish expedition built an extensive research station here during the International Geophysical Year (1957–59), including ten buildings—among them, a sauna! There were not many birds with a Sanderling on the newly revealed Tundra being one of only a handful seen but Arctic Terns were already nesting on the beach and a 2cy bird was here on its first journey from pole to pole.

There was still a lot of snow on the ground in a late spring thaw

as soon as the snow cleared the flowers burst into life

arty Arctic Tern while waiting at the landing site

2cy Arctic Tern after its first two pole to pole journeys

as we landed in the afternoon there were signs of a solar halo but it was a bit vague then

it developed into a full 360 halo and what a place to experience it - images with iphone

Bird List for the day before the Friday night Barbeque and we set sail for the pack ice

Bonxie 1

Brunnichs 20000

Little Auk 20

Puffin 2

Blue Fulmars

Mandts 10+

Glaucous Gull 30+ one pair with two 10 day old chicks

Sanderling 1

Purple Sandpiper 1

Ringed plover 1

Pink feet 12

Arctic tern 20

Red throated Diver 2

Thanks to the Oceanwide crew for this summary of our day in the Polar region:

Saturday, June 28. Pack Ice day, Looking for Polar Bears 12h00 GPS Position: 81°40.7’N / 020°03.4’E Wind: E-3 • Sea: Calm • Weather: Sunny • Air : 5°C • Sea : 0°C After a wholesome Arctic dinner yesterday evening, we departed the Kinnvika area late in the evening. Our course was set North-North-East, aiming to reach the pack ice in the early hours of this morning. With excellent sailing conditions, we arrived at the ice as planned! Since we had enjoyed our traditional BBQ the evening before—and some of our guests danced well into the night—we allowed ourselves a small luxury: a half-hour sleep-in. Our wake-up call came at 07:30. After breakfast, we began to encounter the first floes of pack ice. Long before this moment, the keen eyes of our watchmen, officers, and staff were already scanning the horizon through binoculars, carefully examining every ice floe. Our mission was clear: to search for polar bears, the solitary kings of the North. Our captain continued heading North-North-East, targeting a small peninsula of ice where according to the latest ice charts—the ice was thick enough to be promising ground for spotting bears. As we advanced northward, the weather began to shift. The early morning brought perfect conditions: limitless visibility, blue skies, and brilliant sunshine. But the farther north we sailed, the more the fog crept in, gradually reducing visibility. Our captain and officers navigated skilfully through alternating banks of fog, offering moments of clarity interspersed with near whiteout conditions. Interestingly, as we headed north, the sun remained mostly behindus. This alignment allowed us to witness a rare optical phenomenon: a fogbow. Unlike a rainbow, which is rich in colour, the fogbow appeared as a faint, ethereal arc caused by the diffraction of sunlight by tiny fog droplets. At times, we could discern a subtle hint of red along its outer edge—a delicate reminder of nature’s artistry.

Around noon, we reached the northernmost point of our voyage: 81˚ 40.914' N, 20˚ 12.796' E. At that moment, we were just 500 nautical miles—or approximately 925 kilometres—from the North Pole.

As usual I was on deck early watching the Blue Fulmars and auks keen to see the first bits of pack ice - a life event

A beautiful pre-breakfast view of a Brünnich's Guillemot

with a bit of rolling shutter - you can just imagine a togger taking a shot of one of these at Bempton some day and posting it as a Guillemot or Razorbill

The light was so good that I just could’t resist another close fly-by shot

my best Brünnich's Guillemot flight shot

I even took my most northerly Puffin shot

With Svalbard disappearing into the distance the pack ice was next

A Blue Fulmar over the blue water and the first signs of pack ice

And then some real pack ice that started us crashing through

there were even arctic penguins stood on the ice flows

Brünnich's Guillemot with a true Arctic backdrop

A 2cy Brünnich's Guillemot over the pack ice - there seemed to be a higher proportion of 2cy birds further north as would be expected further from the breeding colonies

as well as the head pattern a duller tomium stripe

Pack Ice that looked good for a bear but revealed little

Could there be a bear behind that big collection of ice?

a blue and white scene but the fog bank is looming in the distance

You had to do something while scanning for bears

Bad angle but a typical 2cy Brünnich's Guillemot

There were Little Auks feeding this far north but the angle from the boat was even worse on a small bird

An atmospheric flock in front of a small berg

a bit surprising to see Mandt's Black Guillemot this far from land

Three were flying round the boat at one stage

Little Auks and Brünnich's Guillemot in a lead in the pack ice - I had read books by polar explorers and of course watched so many wildlife documentaries on the Arctic but never imagined I would one day get to see it

Quote from the Oceanwide log with my input

By midday, anticipation among our guests was high. Many hoped to spot a polar bear, but despite the diligent watch and persistent searching, no bears had yet appeared. We went to lunch with the hope that the fog would lift—and our luck would change. Time, however, was not on our side. We knew that our chances would diminish once we left the pack ice and it is fair to say that an air of despondency was creeping over those of us who had been staring through bins for what was now 8 hours in my case with not a lot to show. But finally, just after 15:00, the wait paid off. Philipp, our Expedition Leader, made a brief radio call announcing a sighting ahead of the ship. Moments later, Clara confirmed it: a polar bear was visible in the distance. As we slowly approached, we saw that the bear had a kill. Around it, several scavengers—Glaucous Gulls and Ivory Gulls among them—waited patiently for their share. We observed the bear for a generous amount of time, during which many of our guests were visibly moved, some even with tears of joy. For many, it was their first time seeing a polar bear in the wild. We believe it was a young male.

First view of a wild Polar Bear - no wonder people were struggling to see it

as we gently edged a little closer it eventually raised its head at which point I noticed that there were not only two Glaucous Giulls stood nearby but two Ivory Gulls emerged from behind a lump of ice - this was wildlife watching at a new level - during a chat Steffi had already told me that on the previous trip they had seen only one Ivory Gull and that just flew by so this was already a success

Ivory Gull behind a sleeping giant very full of seal meat - I had already put the 1.4x converter on my 100-500 lens as we could obviously only go so close to the bear so as not to cause disturbance but at this stage he just seemed in need of a Gaviscon

The light was stunning with bright sun and little wind but the heat and ice/snow combined to produce some shimmer - but a lifetime high point

sniffing the air for human scent! interesting fact we were told is that Polar Bears can detect their prey by scent from up to 32kms - just take a moment to digest that fact

After a while and a considerable amount of sniffing it started to dig a hole as if it was going to bury the rest of its kill

Two of the Ivory Gulls feeding on seal scraps

Click the image above to go to a short video - ignore the old fashioned cameras with noisy shutters in the second halgf volume up the Ivory Gulls are calling -

The Ivory Gulls, peaked at five, always kept a respectful distance but I was surprised at how vocal they were with flying birds calling regularly as they came and went - sadly I didn’t make any sound recordings being consumed by the watching and photography

The bear meanwhile decided against burying the seal there and instead dragged it off over the ice even taking a dip in a lead with it at one point before appearing on the ice where it had a good roll and shake at which point we left it

Maybe to a Polar Bear Ivory Gulls are a bit like mosquitoes to us

Competition was intense between the foraging Ivory Gulls

Just like taking your left over Pizza for a walk home

This 3cy Long-tailed Skua came in to investigate the kill but didn’t linger and never came close

The Ivory Gulls were never remotely close of course unlike on Aldeburgh beach but it was the setting that made the observations so special

I took a lot of distant Ivory Gulls and will spend hours looking through them over the winter

Even one on a rotting Donna Nook seal carcass will never compare to this

After this incredible encounter, we changed course and began sailing South-South-West. Many guests gathered in the lounge for a hot drink and to reflect on the experience. Then, around 17:00, Koen made another announcement over the radio: "We have another polar bear." And indeed, he was right. Directly ahead of us, another male bear lay on the ice beside a fresh kill. With perfect lighting and a favourable position, our officers and captain expertly maneuverer the ship for a close—but non-intrusive— approach, offering an unforgettable photo opportunity. This was our second bear of the day.

A Glaucous Gull on an ice perch en route to our second Polar Bear encounter

The second bear was clearly very full of seal and spent most of the time either sleeping or yawning

The day list was not a long one but quality over quantity

Little Auk 30+

Brünnich's Guillemot 50+

Mandt's Black Guillemot 40+

Common Eider female

Long-tailed Skua 1 3cy

Ivory Gull 6

Glaucous Gull 10+

POLAR BEAR 2 males

Kittiwake 30+

A pleasing start to June 29th after a rather bumpy few hours overnight on our passage back from the pack ice

Sunday, June 29. Alicehamna and Buchananhalvoya 12h00 GPS Position: 79°44.4’N / 012°10.2’E

Wind: NE-2 • Sea: Rippled • Weather: Sunny • Air : 12°C • T Sea : 5°C

From the deck it was very much more of the same with plenty of flocks of Little Auks and time to add to the data bank of Brünnich's Guillemot ID pointers

On land it was time for some snow shoeing and the “this is us” photo (note put hat on properly before photo)

Julia chilling in the snow on what was a very warm day

Flock of Pink-footed Geese still heading north

A pair of Arctic Skuas had staked out a breeding territory amongst the snow and took exception to our passage

The light reflected up off the snow was stunning and something you never seem to get in Britain

As we sailed out of the fjord a huge feeding flock of Brünnich's Guillemots with two Minke Whales and lots of other seabirds was being harassed by a Bonxie

Day List

Little Auk 200+

Brunnichs 1500+

Blue Fulmars

Long tailed Duck 4

Reindeer

Purple Sandpiper 6

Arctic Skua 3 + 6

Bonxie 1

Pink-footed Geese

Minke whale

Snow Bunting

Harbour seal

Mandts 40+

Monday, June 30. Poolepynten and Alkhornet 12h00 GPS Position: 78°19.1’N / 012°24.4’E

Wind: SSE-4 • Sea: Smooth • Weather: Part. Cloudy • Air: 10°C • Sea: 7°C

This morning we woke up once again with clear skies and the sun shining brightly. Yesterday was a wonderful day and today looked just as promising. Today, however we were going to see the big blubbery Walruses! But first things first, breakfast!

Distant Walrus hauled out on their beach from the boat - note the heat shimmer

Just like Scarborough but a few more of them

One of the only two “if onlys” of the trip

As we wandered to the Walrus haul out I saw three Red Phalaropes on. apool but straight into the sun and we couldn’t walk round the other side due to regulations! It was to say the least frustrating seeing them there and not being able to photograph them but thats life

A fly by Turnstone that appears to have a ring on its left leg

A final Blue Fulmar tubenose shot over the stern

Pale-bellied Brent Goose on the sea as we left

Some beautiful tundra colours highlighted by Tufted Saxifrage

a stunning Arctic Skua a fitting end to an amazing trip

A few more images in a couple of galleries on second or was it fifth edit