Graham Catley 30/05/2026 Graham Catley 30/05/2026

Southern Alberta May 2026

We headed back to southern Alberta again but earlier in the spring to test my theory that different migrants would be available - as it turned out my plan was only partly correct as a lot of birds only arrive in the last week of May or even early June but we had a great time and saw c154 species with some truly memorable moments.

Male Yellow-headed Blackbird Frank Lake May 9th - in previous years I recall Red-winged being the dominant species but everwhere we went Yellow-headed seemed to have taken over the number one spot this year.

Logistics:

Canada is huge - first point - Alberta is pretty big second point and it is easy to spend most of your two weeks driving from spot to spot so we decided on a two-centre trip based at Medicine Hat and Waterton for seven nights each with day trips out from these bases. We flew with KLM from Humberside via Amsterdam to Calgary and vice versa which saves all the hassle of London or Manchester and connections were easy. A small SUV was hired through Rental Cars.com , actually now Booking.com for the 15 days, Accommodation was a night at Okotoks at the Royal Duke Hotel followed by seven nights at https://www.guesthouse71.com/ about 15 minutes outside Medicine Hat and a beautiful cottage with superb surroundings that notched up about 50 species during our stay then seven nights at https://dungarvancreek.com/ another superb spot with its own pond that had birds including Barrow’s Goldeneye, Horned Grebes, Blue-winged Teal, Lesser Scaup and even a female Wilson’s Phalarope. We had stayed at both places before and both are top notch birding spots with birds literally on your doorstep. This free online guide is also a very useful resource https://grasslands-naturalists.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/Southeastern-Birding-Trail-Full-Brochure.pdf

I bought a Nomad eSIM 30 days and 10GB before we went for £13:38 and it worked flawlessly even in remote areas with 5G and combined with Apple Maps finding locations was very easy.

Due to a knee problem I cut weight down to an absolute minimum and only took one Canon R62 plus the 100-500 lens and 1.4x converter but in the event I hardly used the converter at all.

White-faced Ibis Frank Lake one of the many waterbirds seen at this superb location.

May 8th

Up at 03:00 for our 06:10 flight Humberside to Amsterdam arriving early: 12:25 flight to Calgary smooth but. 8:40 hours: arrive to 20C! My bag slow to show and long walk to Alamo rental but nice staff and quick pick up, no hard sell and we get a vehicle we had booked a positve start. Apple Maps works and after passing many pools with waterfowl and a couple of Swainson’s Hawks arrive at Royal Duke Hotel / pub Okotoks for the night: shower and meal at 17:00 actually of course GB time midnight then short walk nearby before an early night . Birds from the Deerfoot highway through Calgary included Swainson’s Hawks, Black-billed Magpies and various wildfowl and Double-crested Cormorants. The short walk in a rather hot Okotoks after a meal produced our first Northern Flickers, red-shafted, Franklin’s Gulls overhead , two House Finches, American Robins, House Sparrows and Starlings - almost felt like home

As we flew into Calgary things were noticeably brown on the ground with little sign of greenery - during our stay the weather ranged from -2C with four inches of snow at Waterton to 27C near Medicine Hat with some strong winds and thunderstorms but the vegetation changed from brown to verdant green in the last few days even in the foothills of the Rockies

Lots of American Robins graced the trip but they are stunning

May 9th

We are up fairly early about 06:00 and heading south to High River to pick up a breakfast at Tim Hortons then onward to Frank Lake a birding hot spot. Being only about an hour south of Calgary it attracts birders and photographers and being a Saturday we actually saw quite a few people in contrast to the rest fo the trip. The list of birds was long but included: Pied billed, Eared /Black necked 500+ and Western Grebes: Swainsons Hawks, Northern Harrier, Lesser Scaup, Redheads, Blue winged and Green winged Teal, Cinnamon Teal, Yellow headed 100’s and Red winged Blackbirds, Brewers Blackbirds, Brown headed Cowbirds, Savannah Sparrows, Vesper Sparrows, Western Meadowlarks, California Gulls and Franklin’s Gulls with large breeding colonies of both, American White Pelicans, White faced Ibis, Ruddy Duck, Tree Swallows, Forster’s Tern, Marsh Wren, Black-crowned Night Heron, Great Blue Heron, American Avocet, Black necked stilt, Solitary Sandpiper 1, Wilson’s Phalarope 4, Short / Long billed Dowitcher 6, Shoveler, Double crested Cormorant, Mallard, Gadwall, American Coot, Killdeer and Muskrat and Richardson ground squirrel

The early morning approach to Frank Lake and the start of the adventure

Birds everywhere and lots of noise a contrast to Britain

Tree Swallows in the nest boxes on the Frank Lake approach track

A selection of images from Frank Lake - Eared Grebes - up to 500 adorned the lake a far cry from UK numbers

My best images of American White Pelican

It seems strange seeing pelicans flying over the prairies searching out lakes and potholes for feeding

Frank Lake was the only location we saw this species

In pursuit of the super abundant insects on the water’s surface

male Wilson’s Phalarope pursuing insect with female drifting by

Female Wilson’s Phalarope stunning as usual

California Gulls - as I get older I get progressively less interested in big gulls

Ciunnamon Teal pair - I tended to ignore species I had good images of from past trips and this was one of them. - maybe a mistake but time is always in short supply

The Eared Grebes often come very close to the blind but you are then looking down on them and the light was a bit iffy

Western Grebe - the light in the morning of 9th was a bit dull and overcast - Westerns always seemed to be distant but this one was a bit closer

Forster’s Tern - the first of the trip - summer plumaged birds must get overlooked in the UK - unless they call!

Franklin’s Gull is one of the stand out birds of the prairies with the breeding colony at Frank Lake providing superb viewing - quite a few had a nice pink flush to the underparts but it seldom showed well in images

Amounts their repertoire of calls two that kept me looking up were a call rather like a displaying Lapwing and another that sounds very much akin to a displaying male Marsh Harrier and as this was often given from up on high it took several days to tell myself what it was

Marsh Wrens were strangely unco-operative throughout the trip

A long time since we lost our Ruddy Ducks to political ridicule

Savannah Spoarrow a grassland specialist

Solitary Sandpiper appropriately the only one of the trip

There was a dark morph Swainson’s Hawk near the entrance to Frank Lake in May 2019 when we were there - this could surley not be the same bird in the same place?

Yellow-headed Blackbirds seemed to vastly outnumber Red-winged this trip something we have never noticed before and they were found at most wetland locations perhaps indicating a spread - they are very noisy

After a brief lunch stop we headed off towards Medicine Hat stopping briefly at Bow River, which looked good but produced not a lot other than our first Belted Kingfisher, a Northern Harrier, Marsh Wrens, not showing again, Barn Swallow and a Common Goldeneye pair

Northern Harrier in a dead tree at Bow River - To be honest I had little time to be creative and mainly just took shots as they occurred but I liked this one

Arrived late afternoon at Guesthouse 71 and the garden immediately produced good birds including Swainson’s Thrush, Orange crowned Warbler, Mourning Doves, House Sparrows added for completeness, White crowned Sparrows, Killdeer on adjacent fields, Western Meadowlark the quintessential sound of the prairies and amazing loud, Common Grackles, Wilson’s Snipe drumming overhead day and night, Yellow headed and Red winged Blackbirds, numerous American Robins, Northern Harrier, Brown headed Cowbirds, Brewers Blackbird, Clay coloured, Chipping, Lincoln’s and Savannah Sparrows, Great horned Owl and a presumed Loggerhead Shrike seen briefly from the car but seen in the same place later in the week, Butterflies included Mourning Cloak, Whites and Sulphurs

Guesthouse71 - the trees and scrub around the cottage produced over 40 species with several more overhead - a delightful retreat and excellent place to stay

Superb Swainson’s Thrush in the Guesthouse71 surrounds - a good start to the stay

Orange-crowned Warbler in the trees by the cottage

A stunning Hunt’s Bumble Bee in the flowering tree by the cottage veranda

Great Horned Owl! Chatting to Dawna she mentioned the owls on the property and a Great Horned immediately started calling - eagle eyes Julia found it out in the open, apart from a few twigs -my best ever images of this species

They are very common but you cannot ignore a White-crowned Sparrow - this one was in the trees by the cottage

May 10th:

Around the Guesthouse early morning were American Kestrel, an unexpected Pacific Wren and plenty of Grey Partridge which seem to be doing very well in Alberta as opposed to Britain The usual mix of resident birds also logged before we set off for the priarie grasslands near Lake Palowski - we met a birder who was just leaving and he mention a couple of pairs of hawks but when quizzed about Chestnut-collared Longspurs he affirmed that they had not arrived which was disappointing but as we drove down the track three flew past us and a walk on the priairie revealed at least 50 in display flights - maybe he was having a bad day: Palowski prairie: The days tally which included a lot of Pronghorns also produced some nice birds: Ferruginous Hawk 2, Swainson’s Hawk 2 + 6+, Chestnut collared Longspurs 60+, Horned Lark 50+, Vesper Sparrow 30+, Sprague’s Pipit 2+ (no images but one landed on the road and I failed to get it in focus but to add insult to injury it then landed in the grass by the side of the track and again I messed up before it flew off across the grassland - then we heard at least two singing high overhead - I said no images but there is one unrecognisable one - Grasshopper Sparrow, Savannah Sparrow, Western Meadowlark 30+, Loggerhead Shrike 2, White crowned Sparrow 20, Cinnamon Teal 4, Blue winged Teal, Pintail, Northern Harrier, Chipping Sparrow, White Pelicans en route, Sora heard, Marbled Godwit 2, Grey Partridge 2 - with butterflies being numerous Sulphurs and a stunning Black Swallowtail plus several Red-shanked Grasshoppers

Always plenty of singing Mourning Doves to start the day

Vesper Sparrow a common roadside songster

It was a decidedly chilly start to the day with a fresh wind hence the winter plumaged rock examiner

Red-shanked Grasshopper an impressive beast found across the short grass prairie

The abandoned farm house at the end of the track with the small group of dead looking trees that usually held a Ferruginous Hawk - Lake Palowski was virtualy dry a sad reflection on climate change

Black Swallowtail an impressive butterfly on the rather windy prairie

Horned Larks are very common on the Prairies and seemingly gravitate towards road edges - when the roads are gravel tracks, Township and Range Roads in general they would seem to be an easy photo target but always seem to be the wrong side of the car - these two presumably males were fighting on the road — their seeming abundance to an outsider contrasts with the knowledge of local population studies quoting from https://lethbridgeherald.com/news/lethbridge-news/2026/05/29/ecologist-warns-southern-albertans-are-becoming-blind-to-disappearing-grasslands-and-species/ Skagen illustrated that concern with the Horned Lark, a tiny prairie bird many southern Albertans have likely seen skittering across rural roads without giving it much thought. Once one of the most abundant grassland birds in North America, **the species has suffered an estimated 90 per cent population decline across Canada over roughly the last half century.** a depressingly familiar story

Notice the two presumed females sitting on the road watching

As you drive along even major roads birds get up from the roadside seemingly every 300-500m a habit which must make them somewhat vulnerable to collision damage — Prairie birds are of the races Eremophila alpestris leucolaema or Eremophila alpestris enthymia I need to find a better reference for this!

Serious heat shimmer by this time of day with overhead sun not ideal

male Chestnet-collared Longspur - their habit of perching on small bits of taller vegetation makes them easier to see than many of the skulking sparrows

With a lot of birds flying around and displaying I set about trying some flight shots but as is typical with small passerines many looked like a flying sausage

The rather less striking female but same tail pattern

Two males in an aerial dispute over a female

Sprague’s Pipit - you need to use imagination and listen to a recording of the song - if only the bird on the track had stayed a little longer!

Eastern Red-tailed Hawk at the same location os the Ferruginous Hawk below and a pair of Swainson’s Hawks

Ferruginous Hawk in rather harsh light by the abandoned farm

Appearance can change dramatically with light

Prairie flowers were only just starting to appear

This Grasshopper Sparrow was a strole of luck as it sang from a track side perch as we drove past then managed to reverse up to get a few shots albeit in harsh light

In all previous trips the only Loggerhead Shrikes I had seen were briefly from moving vehicles so it was nice to find this pair obviously on territory by the old abandoned farm

A flock of White-crowned Sparrows were around the farm buildings - a seemingly odd location so maybe migrants

May 11th:

Guesthouse – an obvious overnight fall had occurred in the windy conditions with a Least Flycatcher, six Yellow-rumped (Myrtle) Warblers, three Ruby-crowned Kinglets, Yellow and Orange-crowned Warblers and three Swainson’s Thrushes in the surrounding trees. An American Kestrel was outshone by a superb adult male Prairie Merlin on the fence of the adjacent field where a Killdeer was displaying and the Wilson’s Snipe winnowed overhead.

Bushes and trees by the guesthouse that held an excellent array of migrants

The valley running up to the guesthouse - the trees clearly form an oasis amongst a wide expanse of farmland

Typically the first bird you saw every morning when opening the cottage door with up to ten American Robins on the grass outside

Displaying Wilson’s Snipe over the Guesthouse

This male Prairie Merlin *Falco columbarius richardsonii* was dashing round the property in the morning and located on a fence post - I may have to do a seperate blog post on Prairie Merlins and Black Merlins

Male Prairie Merlin by the cottage early am - truly superb little raptor - cannot recall seeing them well before in Alberta but do remember being struck by seeing one in Texas back in 1995 - one occasion when I could done to have put the 1.4x on but the encounter was brief

That tail and the plain face, lack of moustache what a cracker

After an early walk down the road we came back to find a few Myrtle Warblers in the trees round the cottage - just stunning birds

Decided on a drive down to Elkwater PP in the Cypress Hills in the decidedly cool and windy weather. Amazingly we again picked a day when the café was closed! After a few walks around the park we drove down Highway 514 a gravel road to look for Bluebirds and raptors in the afternoon. The days haul included: Bald Eagles, Red-tailed Hawk and pair of Prairie Merlins apparently attempting to nest in the trees by the camping area, 20+ Yellow-rumped Warblers, two Orange-crowned warblers, two Red-breasted Nuthatch, Tree Swallows, four Downy Woodpeckers, Black-capped Chickadees, two Cedar Waxwings which proved to be the only ones of the trip on the lake and adjacent marshes, 10 Ring-billed Gulls, 30+ Ring-necked Ducks, two Cinnamon teal, two Blue-winged Teal, 6 American Wigeon, 10+ Red-necked Grebes, two Willet and Spotted Sandpiper. In sheltered spots butterflies included several unidentified Whites, Milbert’s Tortoiseshell and a Northern Azure Blue. The range road drive revealed 10+ Mountain Bluebirds round the boxes, two male Northern Harriers, Marbled Godwit and Golden Eagle.

Bald Eagle eyeing up the Coots and wildfowl on the choppy lake

Red-necked Grebes were always just too far out and against the light

Western Willet the only other wader on the lake shore

Two Cedar Waxwings were sheltring in a less windy part of the woods - I didn’t make a lot of effort on them expecting to see many more but oddly these were the only ones

The diminutive Downy Woodpecker always a delightful bird to bump into

The wonders of tinternet: I had sent Dave some BOC shots of a Blue butterfly via WhatsApp and got back Northern Azure but also look out for Milbert’s Tortoiseshell – no sooner than I looked at the message a Milbert’s was on the path in front of us – we actually saw quite a few later

It was clearly early season for butterflies and the cool weather early in the stay meant numbers and variety were further limited

Female Northern Azure - refused to open its wings for images but the uppers were blue!

Not the most spectacular of the wood warblers but pretty common in the west

adult Ring-billed Gull - Elkwater was the only place we saw them close up

Richardson’s Ground Squirrel a popular food item for raptors

Nest boxes along the side of the road attract breeding Mountain Bluebirds and Tree Swallows with pitch battles sometimes breaking out over ownership

Against the brown vegetation males do rather stand out

Even from a vehicle they are typically skittish

Male and female Mountain Bluebirds and Tree Swallow

female Mountain Bluebird with a good sized prey item

Males are attractive in an obvious way but females are arguably subtly more so

Tree Swallows staking a claim to a roadside nest box

Male Northern Harrier slipping by up the Bluebird road Highway 514

Back at the cottage late afternoon a Lincoln’s Sparrow

One of the garden Swainson’s Thrushes late evening

Even when right out in the open they fed in shaded areas rather than bright sunlit spots

On return to the Guesthouse in the evening an Olive-sided Flycatcher was in the trees – one of the birds of the trip and a species I have only seen badly and fleetingly in the past.

It was high up and not close but the light was beautiful with a clear blue sky

Olive-sided Flycatcher Guesthouse71 May 11th 2026

May 12th

The male Prairie Merlin was again round the Guesthouse with the first Yellow Warbler, three Swainson’s Thrushes and several Chipping and Clay-coloured Sparrows; a pair of Cinnamon Teal were on the farm pond and a male Northern Harrier flew through, Painted Lady was a new butterfly then we set off for Dinosaur PP seeing a Turkey Vulture over Medicine Hat en route.

Blue-winged Teal getting seen off by a drake Cinnamon on the local pond early am

Mourning Dove in lovely light on our early morning amble

Every one is different and this American Robin was a cracker

Wilson’s Snipe powering down after an aerial display session

The male Prairie Merlin in the trees by the cottage again in beautiful light

The day was hot and sunny and the Dinosaur PP though impressive for scenery and its exhibits had very few birds on offer and no ice-cream so we left mid-afternoon stopping briefly near a huge irrigation reservoir near Brooks that produced a Western Willet, Black-necked Stilt and a few Variegated Meadowhawks in increasingly windy and hot weather. Best birds were two Lark Sparrows, four Orange-crowned Warblers, three Myrtle Warblers, three Swainson’s Thrush, Spotted Towhee, three Turkey Vultures, ten Cliff Swallows, three Forster’s Terns and a Bald Eagle plus Meadow Fritillary. All in all a quiet day.

The badlands scenery is particularly impressive

Vesper Sparrows do seem to get everywhere

With few other birds around I took a silly number of images of this obliging pair of Lark Sparrows

Take on a very different appearance in sun

And this fine bee which we think is a Nevada Bumble Bee

A rubbish photo but my app says Heath Fritillary

And a day flying moth apparently Mottled pyrausta moth

A poignant reminder of the destruction wrought upon the plains by Europeans

Orange-crowned Warbler in the camp site trees

Variegated Meadowhawk - a few seen on 12th but otherwise I think we were just too early or it was too cool for odes

May 13th

Another visit to Elkwater was planned after the usual morning walk. On approach to Elkwater along the roadside a group of ducks on a roadside pond included 6 Canvasbacks, two Redheads, Blue-winged Teal, 6 Ring-necked Ducks and two American Wigeon. Swainson’s Hawk and two Northern Harriers were also typical roadside birds. After lunch we drove into the Cypress Hills in cool and windy conditions then drove round Eagle Bluff Valley but no different birds to those seen before.

The small valley near the Guesthouse with breeding blackbirds and Wilson’s Snipe and Killdeer on the adjacent field

Displaying Killdeer over the guesthouse early am

Subtle shades and colours on a Mounring Dove in morning sunlight

The Canvasbacks were rather flighty even from the car - maybe after a winter of evading being shot

In the Park itself the day’s highlights were: Osprey, Turkey Vulture, Bald eagle, a male Northern Harrier on a post right next to the road, 300+ Chipping Sparrows, 50+ Clay-coloured Sparrows, 30+ Red-necked Grebes, 14 Spotted sandpipers, a Western Willet, 4 Yellow Warblers, two Downy Woodpeckers, two Red-breasted Nuthatch, 20 Ring-necked Ducks, three Ring-billed Gulls, two American Wigeon, two singing Tennessee Warblers and at least four Yellow-bellied or Red-naped or hybris Sapsuckers. The latter were disputing territories and plumage features seemed to vary between individuals, This area is the hybrid zone between the two species apparently. One was later seen being mobbed by a Tree Swallow within the woodland.

Female Red-winged Blackbird in the cattail marsh

Ring-billed Gulls starting my birds on a picnic table image list

Striking birds when up close in summer finery

the same or different Spotted Sandpiper on the same or different log - I forget

The Western Willet was still on the very small beach and showing a lot better

The Red-necked Grebes were not much closer but very noisy

A Milbert’s Tortoiseshell showing well on the footpath at Elkwater.

Black-billed Magpie is Pica hunsonia so I sort of had to take a photo but they were pretty common and lets face it look like a Magpie

Brewer’s Blackbird another species i tended to overlook taking pics of

Yellow-bellied or Red-naped Sapsuckers - four birds were fighting presumably over a nest hole or territory - but which species are they aor could they be hybrids as the Cypress Hills are apparently in the hybrid zone! This is the paper that should sort it out but as usual in hybrid zones a lot of caveats https://www.aba.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/BD_ID_0496_Birding_2006_Nov.pdf

Red on nape, limited red on throat and limited white upperpart barring - Presumably Red-naped female?

Same bird as above showing extent of throat patch

Different bird with a touch of white on the chin

Striking birds and a priviledged encounter - as we were on a sloping hillside the birds were often at eye level in the trees below us

With red nape and limited white in upperparts I would put this down as Red-naped?

Pale naped bird but still Red-naped or hybrid

Another Red-naped with more white on the back ?

Same bird as above - are some of the differences age related as this bird clearly has old worn flight feathers so may be 2cy

Another smart bee which appears to be the Great Basin Bumble Bee

A pair of Prairie Merlins had a territory and appeared to be goping to nest in trees at one end fo the camping area - this was the rather vociferous male both were stunning birds

An abandoned farm in the Cypress Hills along Eagle Bluff Valley; birds from the road included Swainsons Hawk, Red tailed Hawk, Mountain Bluebird 10+ and American Kestrel

A slightly darker pale morph Swainson’s Hawk

Walked the Coulee Trail in Medicine Hat before the rain arrived in the evening: a few birds Yellow Warbler 2, House Finch male and some Rough-winged Swallows

The worlds tallest Tepee in Medicine Hat (so you are told)

Male House Finch from the Hat Coulee trail

Mountain Cottontail also from the Coulee trail

Driving back from dinner in Medicine Hat we kept passing a blue sign to Echo Park 2kms - intrigued (I had failed to look in the Bird Finding Guide) we set off but the road was blocked by a huge tractor plough combo - so we about turned and Julia saw these three Red Fox cubs in a den right by the side of the road - Apparently a sub-species or race of our Red Fox but a proposed split - they were not interested in being split but were very cute — *Vulpes vulpes fulva*

Just another example of the 100-500 lens being totally useful and the tool for the job where versatility is needed

It was pretty dark when these were taken at 20:00

Swainson’s Hawk at sunset from the cottage

May 14th

Overnight gales and rain still very windy all day with heavy showers. In the hope of a fall having occurred went back to Cypress Hills and Elkwater but it had not occurred though there were still some notable encounters. After some food at the café we wandered back to Medicine Hat for some cultural time and a coffee then walked the Strathcona Park Coulee Trail in increasing heat. Birds at Elkwater; Coopers Hawk, Tennessee Warbler, Myrtle and on Audubon’s Warbler, Yellow Warbler, Least Flycatcher, two White-winged Scoter, Canvasback two on the same pool, Downy Woodpecker, Song Sparrow oddly the first of the trip, Spotted Sandpiper and 50+ Chipping Sparrows. Plus a Red Squirrel.

Not the brightest of Myrtle Warblers presumably a 2cy

Not the best shot of an Canadian Red Squirrel

Always odd in Canada that history is little more than 100 years old as they mainly consider European Canadian presence as history

Medicine Hat Strathcona Coulee trail along the River - Broad winged Hawk 1, Forster’s Tern 8, Belted Kingfisher, Clay coloured Sparrows in song, Northern Rough winged Swallow, Yellow Warbler, Yellow rumped warbler, Turkey Vulture and White Pelican

Northern Rough-winged Swallow not the most exciting of nearctic birds

Managed to get to Echo Park late evening and it was actually a good spot and a shame we had missed it earlier - our first two Western Kingbirds of the trip and two Lark Sparrows but decided to have a look the following morning.

Why are 90% of Western Kingbirds on barbed wire fences

May 15th

We decide on an early walk at Echo Park followed by a visit to Red Rock Coulee, recommended by Dawna, then on to the Manyberries area to look for more grassland birds. It is cool again and after recent rains the township road we start out on to Red Rock is a quagmire and we have to take a diversion; gravel roads can quickly become impassable to normal cars after heavy rains. A Loggerhead Shrike is along the fence line by the Guesthouse as we set off with a Swainson’s Hawk nest, Ferruginous Hawk nest and Northern Harrier on the short drive while Echo Park has some decent bords with a Horned Grebe, Blue-winged Teal and a surprise Red-breasted Merganser on the lake, breeding Killdeers around the edges and a Western Willet. The trees reveal, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Swainson’s Thrush, and at least eight Western Kingbirds that are clearly just arriving in force. We also have fun with two sparring Northern Flickers. A return to Echo Valley after dinner produced four Lark Sparrows and our first Baltimore Oriole of the trip singing happily.

Mule Deer and irrigator - too many mixed feelings about wild nimals and arable - grazing regimes just have to enjoy what you see

Loggerhead Shrike another species just by the guesthouse

It is difficult to get away from barbed wire fences in photos

Ferruginous Hawk nest near Echo Park - as trees are limited and often near roads raptor nests are pretty easy to find

Striking male Barn Swallow at Echo Park Hirundo rustica erythrogaster

Western Willet and plastic on the lake shore

A gang of Western Kingbirds were fighting in the park early morning but they were just too far away and as we had plans for the day I wasn’t able to give them the time I would have liked - too many things to do in a short time

Northern Flicker is a bit lacking in punch the old Red-shafted Flicker was rather more descriptive

Red Rock coulee was impressive scenery wise and produced our first Rock Wren plus Vesper Sparrow and Horned Larks

The birds on picnic tables list continued with this fine Horned Lark checking out the new picnic tables placed in his territory

This Vesper Sparrow takes the barbed wire theme to a new level

Prairie Roads are typically long and straight - 30 miles is not unusual and you may meet the odd vehicle

The Manyberrries area seemed like one of those spots you maybe would not want to stop for long, visions of Physco, but maybe unjustified. We took a while to find the Conservancy land and getting in through the fence was more than problematic but eventually we had a walk in the wind and located several Chestnut collared Longspurs, Sprague’s Pipit in song overhead, singing Clay coloured Sparrows, two American Kestrel, two Loggerhead Shrikes, the usual Horned Larks and a Pronghorn fawn with the adult seeing off a Coyote. Along the roads were more Swainson’s and Red-tailed Hawks plus Northern Harriers and roadside ponds held Cinnamon teal, Blue-winged Teal and Pintail but one near Etzicom a pool held 19 Wilson’s Phalaropes. The Museum was having its spring opening day and we had Maple and Walnut ice-cream and a guided tour by a local resident.

Not sure the local Motel was in working order

We did paiuse briefly in Manyberries to get a shot of this smart Western Kingbird

we see a lot of Pronghorns but always mixed feelings seeing them on cultivated prairie and fenced in with barbed wire - do they look sad for a reason

A Pronghorn fawn we stumbled across on the conservation grassland - quickly left it to settle down again

Scenic raptor perches are limited - Swainson’s Hawk

Big skies are a feature of the open prairies

Late afternoon we headed back to the Palowski Lake grasslands with some serious weather threatening

Singing male in more natural surroundings

For all their abundance along roadsides Western meadowlarks always fly off as you stop the car - but eventually we found one that didn’t

Terrible angle but can’t resist a female Wilson’s Phalarope t

A rather nice way to end the day - a singing male Baltimore Oriole

May 16th

A somewhat bitter sweet day as we were due to move to our second base for the trip at Dungarvan Creek near waterton but a quick walk round the guesthouse and down the road early am revealed an arrival of migrants but we had to get driving. Best birds on a quick pre-departure walk were Golden-crowned Kinglet, Blackpoll Warbler, Tennessee Warbler, Western Kingbird and Least Flycatcher.

Common Grackle as the name says common in most habitats

Golden-crowned Kinglet, looks of a Firecrest with coniferous habits but voice of a Goldcrest

Blackpoll Warbler - fed in this tree for a couple of minutes then it was off - the urgency of spring migration

Usually high up and very active Blackpolls seem to be a difficult target for me at any rate

Goodbye to Guesthouse71 - will we be back? never say never

En route to Foremost for breakfast at the Main Street Café, Ferruginous Hawk, Swainsons Hawk 2, Cliff Swallow, Horned Lark common, White Pelican 3 and Pronghorns 50+. We then diverted via Tyrell Lake which had produced some good waders on a past visit: it was windy and with constant cloud - sun - cloud - sun and high overhead sun making images less than perfect but the range of birds seen in less than two hours was pretty impressive: Eared/Black-necked Grebe 200+, Redheads, Canvasbacks, Blue-winged and Cinnamon Teals, Ruddy Ducks, Lesser Scaup, White-faced Ibis 4, Great Blue Heron, Cliff Swallow 40+, Wilson’s Phalarope 200+, red-necked Phalarope 4+, Least sandpiper 30+, Semi-palmated Sandpiper 3, Baird’s sandpiper 3, Stilt Sandpiper 1, Short-billed Dowitcher 30+. Marbled Godwits, Black-necked Stilts, American Avocets, Semi-palmated Plover 4, Western Willets and a single Pectoral Sandpiper.

The muddy bay at Tyrell Lake where most of the above waders were seen

Baird’s Sandpiper one of the three present in a small muddy bay at Tyrell Lake

It was distinctly chilly and grey when we arrived at Dungarvan but when we returned from dinner things were looking decidely wintery and worse or better was to come overnight

Graham Catley 07/05/2026 Graham Catley 07/05/2026

May 2026

Short and sweet episode

One of two male Cuckoos proclaiming on waters Edge this morning - amazing how such a seemingly lafrge bird can perch on such a slender twig

Reed Warblers are finally becoming more visible

One of the local vociferous Sedge Warblers in habo

Birds on perfect pretty perches right out in the open are a bit old hat - get the feel for the scratchy song from the reed fringe

Graham Catley 04/04/2026 Graham Catley 04/04/2026

April 2026

Kicking off another month with some typical April coolness and in the first few days at least a dearth of new arrivals but a few additions to the patch photo challenge.

But first off the Orange Moon just before it disappeared behind the clouds April 1st

From a quite sunny day in the forest a 2cy Common Buzzard

One of the 2cty female Goshawks with a bird

Great Spotted Woodpecker on a gnarled old pine remnant

Cropped and zoomed in it loses the character of the tree somewhat

Two males ended up having a dispute on the same tree

Located a colony of c100 male Sandpit Mining Bees and attempted some action shots -

I only had the 200-800 lens with me so I kept having to zoom out to get close enough focus as the close focus is considerably further away at the 800 end

Back to the patch photo challenge and these 22 Whooper Swans were number 88 for the year

A dead lamb produced a nice year tick and also number 89 on the photo list with this Raven dropping in only to be chased off by a gang of Carrion Crows

My patch year list has rumbled on to 112 but concentrating on Waters’ Edge I have had 90 species there so far and need to work out how many I have actually photographed on that site - Dunnock was probably a new one

Song Thrush carrying nest material on Waters Edge - up to eight males were singing in March but there seems to be less now

Saturday 4th looked like another of those spring days - after a 7 mile hike around the pits the only reward was a single female Common Scoter and no new migrants then this adult Little Gull flew in off the Humber and started feeding on sailing pit - 112 on the patch year list and 90 on the patch photo year list

a couple of boomers this afternoon this the louder of the two

The Canon 200-800 with 1.4x converter attached - always a bit soft so sharpened a bit more than usual

male dropping in to start a challenging boom session - I have so many Bittern images, sorry if you have never seen one, that getting something a little different is always a challenge

A few more Swallows arriving with two back on breeding territories this morning - 9th

Note to self do not go to Bempton on a sunny bank holiday Monday

91 on the patch photo year list - Great Crested Grebe

with a new arrival of Blackcaps around the pits there have been some memorable encounters including three fighting at one point and today two having a song off in the presence of two females - always nice to get a few images while the leaves are bright and fresh

2cy male Sparrowhawk coming in off the Humber - was it a migrant or a local been hunting on the north bank?

Our wintering flock of Curlew still numbers c30 so presumably Scandinavian breeders as British birds would be back on territory now

Fattening up on worms in the wet grass fields

male Brimstone battling a Green-veined White in the air - spring butterfly action hotting up

Always try to get images of butterflies in flight as posed perched shots are a bit boring!

92 Willow Warbler in a willow - a very slow trickle of migrants locally so far with many species still absent but good numbers of Sand Martins and record early totals of singing Reed Warblers

One of several breeding pairs of Stock Doves on Waters’ Edge

In spite of the warm days not seen many butterflies so far - the first Speckled Wood on Wedge today

Good numbers of Sand Martins but as yet not seen double figures of Swallow

Some better images of one of the local Green Woodpecker pair

An an incidental 93 on the challenge list a peasant intervening

Meanwhile my Blackcap challenge also continues - yet to get a shot of a female

This Chiffchaff was wing waving in display to a female

A different individual Chiffchaff - subtle differences in plumage tones are fascinating

same bird as above in slightly different light with reflections from the greenery

Very much a record shot of a Corn Bunting for 94 on the patch challenge - maybe better as they settle into territories

on a hot sort of heat hazy afternoon on 13th in desperation I headed up the Wold edge and was immediately greeted by a Red Kite

Followed by my first Wheatear of the spring

After that first encounter I came across a total of eight birds with this male a stand out - the mantle colour we used to equate with Greenland Birds but I think Scandinavaian breeders can also show it?

One of the accompanying females in severe heat haze

it has taken a long time to get a Cetti’s Warbler shot for 97 but I like this representation of a bird with volume and attitude

From the first local record in 2003 the population in the clay pits has gone through the roof - currently 8-9 singing males on Waters’ Edge alone

And one of several new males on territory this week

98 Reed Warbler - in the 1970’s and early 80’s seeing a Reed Warbler before May was a real event now they often arrive at the same time or even before Sedge Warblers and not odd birds but in good numbers - no doubt better images to come but 98 for now

for once the camera auto-focus did not work through the morass of reeds so resorted to manual focus just like the olden days

Grey Heron turning the tables on two annoying Black-headed Gulls

99 Sedge Warbler in an early season short song flight

a boomer in uncharacteristically open habitat

Common tern 100 on the local patch challenge photo list - out of 120 species so far on the patch year list

Never under appreciate the colours of a Magpie

Mallard duckling in hot pursuit of a snack

The returning old female Marsh Harrier at Far Ings this week

male Orange-tip butterfly searching out a female in the Waters’ Edge woods

Not an easy, erratic target and about one in 30 in focus if you are lucky but good fun trying

A Tawny Mining bee up on the Wolds - the path it was on had lots of mining bees last spring but very few this year sadly

An obliging Chiffchaff in the bright greenery that has suddenly developed

Need to get more creative with the Common Terns

Not a great shot but good to have Cuckoo back on the patch for 101 photod

There has been a total dearth of passage waders locally this spring but did manage this lone Common Sandpiper for 102 on the challenge

One of a pair of adult summer Mediterranean Gulls that headed east last week

Shelduck trails in the mud off Waters Edge

One of seven singing male Sedge Warblers on Waters Edge thus far - a bird in habitat shot

Moorhen male passing food to female to feed to the bizarre looking chicks

One chick was already out and about but the wings have a way to go

Timing is everything - a day later the brood had moved to another location

I finally managed a picture of a Chaffinch that I was quite pleased with - I find them a tricky species to portray

My fascination with Blackcaps continues - ,mainly because they are present in big numbers and there is little else to watch! three males were fighting over two females yesterday providing some photo opps

This male adopted the tactic of carrying nest material too impress the girls - no doubt flashing his DIY skills

It seems to be a superb apring for Holly Blues and oddly several males have been landing with wings partly at least open making for my best ever images of this species

And an unexpected open wing shot of a male basking on bramble leaves sheltered from the cold east wind

The subtle pumage variation in what we always see as an all black and grey Jackdaw

Nest boxes are vital breeding sites for Kestrels in a landscape with very few old trees

My first odes of the year on Saturday - Large Red Damselfly

103 on the patch photo challenge Lesser Whitethroat - this male has been coming back to this territory for the last three years singing from the same perches and nesting in the same clump of brambles - I actually got a Lesser image before a Common Whitethroat

105 stretching things a bit but it was a Whimbrel and so far my only one this spring

And a close up Woodpigeon on the Wedge boardwalk

106 Swift -on the 23rd I had at least 46 Swifts at Barton with three at Far Ings and 43 over the sailing pit - a good total for 23rd

Speckled Wood butterfly males in a teritorial battle - I love testing the autofocus of the camera and my ability to keep up with the action

107 Hobbies are back and hopefully some more action shots to come in the next few days

108 Peregrine been rather a long time coming

I am guessing this bird has some flava genes or is a backcross

110 House Martin - they have been very thin on the ground locally and this was a poor record shot

Not much better - hopefully more chances later

Sand martins have been by contrast quite numerous on some days and easier to photograph

Evening on 28th it was cold, in fact it was bitterly cold near the Humber with a strong north east wind - for the umpteenth time this week went to the sailing pit in the vain hope of something other than a Common Tern; on arrival the six terns appeared top be the local Commons but then there were eight and two looked like Arctics but conditions were testing with the birds always flying away from me and dipping into the strong wind - above the closest terns always appeared to be Common!!

Most views were like this but at a greater distance - it was getting frustrating and on a big pit there was no way of getting closer

eventually one of the Arctic came a bit closer but then a scan appeared to suggest that one or two had left - I moved to the next pit where I was then looking back into the light and one Arctic was feeding to the east -

About as good an image as I could get given the distance -

As sunset rapidly drew in the number of terns increased to 11 then 18 with at least 14 Arctics present - beautiful watching but always distant for the camera - 111 on the patch photo challenge

Backlit Arctic Tern my favourite shot of the night

The male Cuckoo on Wedge was almost in view this morning

This afternoon was all about Hobbies with three hunting but the light was very harsh and the birds still rather high

Graham Catley 19/03/2026 Graham Catley 19/03/2026

March 2026

Having been away for the first week, see below, just catching up but migrants decidedly limited so far on the local patch

Goshawks continue to show - here a 2cy male sparring with a Common Buzzard

rubbsih shot but think its the first time I have seen a Gos with Marsh Harrier in Lincs

different 2cy female to earlier in the year with some adult feathers

went down the Lincs coast to Theddlethorpe for this male Lapland Bunting - not often you see them well on the deck and getting rarer year on year

a nice flock of Knot on the beach by the Lap Bunt

This Scandinavian Rock Pipit, littoralis, was on the dune slacks nearby and had been widely reported as a Water Pipit

Back on the patch photo challenge Wren is 67

68 Blackcap - I saw what was presumably this female in a neighbours garden weeks ago but this week it came for a couple of our ivy berries - taken through the window - when I went outside after she moved off east I could hear a male singing a couple of gardens away which is what presumably attracted her - a wintering bird meeting a spring arrival

Assume this is the same early male I photographed last year back on the same territory on Waters’ Edge - it was sipping nectar from the blackthorn flowers on a rather cool morning

69 Rook - one of the local breeding birds on our neighbours aerial

70 Lesser Black-backed Gulls - formerly a passage bird several pairs now summer around town and there is a thriving breeding colony only about 7 miles away - maybe breed on local rooves out of sight

We still have Bullfinches feeding on bramble seeds

Local? Jackdaws 71 -on the photo list - birds with variable pale collar crescents occur regularly in the wintering flock of c400-500 birds but there are up to 150 in summer - some may be Scandinavian birds of course

We are still feeding the birds in the garden with high quality food and while I understand all of the arguments against feeding our House Sparrow flock of c20 birds would I feel suffer without garden handouts - where else would they find winter food supplies? arable fields around the town are now all green sprayed to death and devoid of food

Female Pochard complementing the colour of the water - we have c10 females around at present the presumed breeding population

72 on the patch photo challenge Red Kite - I had waited a long time but eventually picked this one up over Waters’ Edge only to see another later in the morning

What does a distant Shorelark look like in coastal murk -

Roe Deer on Waters’ Edge where they are very tame

One of the current Waters’ Edge Woodpigeon nests

We have tame Tufted Ducks but from a boardwalk where you cannot get low

The female Scaup was nice and close in one day in the week in nice light although asleep for 90% of the time

Not such good light but at least it was awake a couple of days later

74 Common Scoter on the pits this week - shot through a thick hedge so far from a good image

76 Gadwall - cleaning up a few of the obvious missing species for the patch photo challenge

77 Shelduck - I had to look through the year list to work out what obvious species were still missing

The total disconnect with nature is well shown by all the people who massacre their lovely lawns but carefully mow round the artificial daffodils - these roosting Redshank are oblivious

Brown Hares on a fruitless search for Corn Bunting and Grey Partridge two species we seem to have now lost

Another of those patch species that I never bother to try and photograph - Skylark 78

Little Owl - 79 - giving me the evil glare

Its not as if there is a shortage of posing Robins but never got around to posting one - 80

No meadows in sight and sadly another species we seem to have lost as a breeding bird at least from the Humber foreshore - Meadow Pipit 81

After yaffling away all winter our Green Woodpecker seems to have attracted a mate

82 Little Egret in less than perfect plumage mode

My total patch year list is currently 107 species so a good proportion photod but some tricky ones missing and some winter birds already gone eg Rock Pipit so that will have to be an autumn catch up

A slightly more accommodating Common Scoter on a small pond inland at Searby

84 on the challenge list a March Swallow - in the 70’s and even 80’s seeing a Swallow before mid-April was an event now March birds are the norm

and 85 Sand Martin - rtather late to the Sand Martin party this year but up to 30 in the last few days

seemed to be finding insects OK in spite of the freezing cold NW wind

summer Black-headed Gull homing in on an insect - nothing different with the gangs of Black-headed Gulls on the pits so far but keep checking

86 one of the local pairs of Oystercatchers

Long-tailed Tit sunning itself after a cold night

Song Thrush in the ivy a prospective nest site

Keeping out of the wind this morning I checked one of the local Sparrowhawk territories - this 2cy male came out of some trees as I approached with undertail coverts fluffed out in display but landed in one of their fabvoured pines - it then moved to this perch where I was able to slowly walk around it getting views from all sides - I eneded up standing watching it for about 40 minutes what a privilege - cracking little bird still mainly brown but with a few grey patches on eg the nape and sides of the head

With the sun in and out exposure was testing but I think the sunlit shots were maybe the best

some nice white feather edges on the upperparts

The beauty of the 100-500 lens is being able to vary your compositions

Not a full frame bird on a staged perch but a bird in habitat and doing as it wants - note the contrasting areas of brown and blue-grey on the crown - nape

87 on the patch photo challenge list - its not as if there are none around but waited until one was over the garden in fact three 2cy birds along with 3 Sparrowhawks togetehr in a very warm spell

First day with a notable Blackcap arrival - at least 8 on Wedge alone

Additionally several new Chiffchaffs in today but still no Willow Warbler

Graham Catley 15/03/2026 Graham Catley 15/03/2026

Fuerteventura March 2026

The 400m high Mount Tindaya backs the plain where we searched daily for Houbaras and Cream-coloured Coursers as well as other desert birds - the village also has an excellent little cafe that relieves the strain of bumpy tracks and looking at 1000’s of bird shaped rocks

Goat farm - large areas of the island are totally denuded of vegetation due to overgrazing by goats

Suffering from the seemingly interminable rain and cloud of the British winter we decided to head back to Fuerteventura for a week not having been since a family trip in March 1999. Holiday booked through Jet2 from Leeds Bradford February 28th to March 7th cost £1295 for two B&B at Cotillo Beach Hotel El Cotillo. Car park at Leeds Bradford with sentinel through APH £72. Car hire booked through Autoreisen a Canary based firm. I had researched reviews of all the usual companies used by Rental Cars.com and Holiday Autos and all got terrible reviews. Autoreisen got good reviews and you don’t pay anything until you pick up the car which is a big plus if you need to cancel. On arrival pick up was easy we payed €2 a day for additional insurance and the whole week for a Dacia stepway automatic cost £174 and there was no huge deposit for damage. On returning the car no one even looked at it you just drop off the key in the terminal. It proved adequate on the tracks of eg Tindaya plain which are very rough in places but can be done without a 4x4 . A well recommended company. Some other companies had big queues at the airport terminal with CiCar in particular having at least 60!! people waiting for car pick up. Our hotel was very good and we ate there every night as the all you could eat buffet with vast choice of four courses was only €20 per person plus drinks that averaged about £8 a night. We bought a few snacks for midday from the supermarket next to the hotel and had a coffee and chocolate croissant most afternoons at the coffee shop mini market in Tindaya that cost €5 for two! Well recommended and they do beer and hot sandwiches as well. Other costs were mainly fuel that went up 20 cents a litre while we were there and cost us about £65 as we did quite a few miles and lots of crawling on off road tracks. We did Tindaya plain every day driving slowly down the best tracks and also paid several visits to Los Molinos Reservoir and the area around Betancuria.

The striking caterpillar of *Polytela cliens*, a moth, that we found in several places often crossing dry ground in search of food plants

Houbara Bustard Tindaya Plain one of Julia’s finds! Seen on only two days in spite of daily searches when we did see them the views were exceptional with images taken from the car - birds seemed to be totally unperturbed by vehicles

Weather was a bit disappointing with a lot of wind but also cloud and even a few showers and two nights of heavy rain; on only one day did it get warm up to 24C and most days were 17C to 19C with a strong northerly wind making it feel more like 12C but this did cut down heat shimmer on the plains.

Sunrise was about 07:20 and sunset 19:15. In general birds are very thin on the ground and good birds concentrated in a few areas. Even in early March there were lots of tourists and big numbers driving hire cars ! Tourist spots like Betancuria get extremely busy but we found by driving not too far away there were areas for the butterflies and birds of the mountains away from people.

An essential stop off in Tindaya village, now we have reached that age, with excellent coffee and pastries before searching Tindaya Plain

The bird species list is small but includes some special species and we saw most of them very well but some like the Houbaras were tricky and we only say them on two days out of seven but on both occasions they were very close with two displaying for over 30 minutes on the second occasion. Cream coloured Coursers could also disappear with ease but we say a pair with two young on two days at close range and nine birds on one day. Barbary Partridge was much easier than my only previous family trip in 1999 but we failed to see Plain Swift and only saw c30 Pallid Swifts one morning at the reservoir. Black bellied Sandgrouse were also tricky but we had a couple of close encounters. The local Egyptian Vultures and Common Buzzards were easy but we only saw two Barbary Falcons though a female Montagu’s Harrier was an unexpected migrant.

Berthelot’s Pipit a widespread species but not as numerous as some texts state though most were in moult and there was not a lot of song so maybe at the end of the breeding season?

The endemic butterflies Greenish Black tip and Fuerteventura Green striped White were quite common and we also managed to get on a Canary Red Admiral and a Plain Tiger plus a few Blues including Lang’s Short tailed Blue and African Grass Blue plus Geranium Bronze: Painted Ladies were common with Small Whites and odd Red Admirals plus a couple of pale looking Clouded Yellows not seen closely.

Fuerteventura Green-striped White - quite common around Betancuria and the valleys to the south

I was annoyed at these aerial encounters apparently messing up my perched images but with the 40fps of the Canon R6II I realised that I had actually got some decent flight shots

Although the weather was not that warm most of the time I think this helped with the butterflies perching more frequently and bursts of brightness made photography easier

Odes were limited but we saw several Sahara Bluetails mainly at Los Molinos and also a few Broad Scarlets and Red veined Darters and Emperors with a male Vagrant Emperor above the dam at Los Molinos Reservoir.

Barbary Ground Squirrels were everywhere and there appeared to have been a large arrival of African Locusts in the north which was what the Monty was catching

Cloud and northerly winds were a constant feature of our week but the island was relatively green for March

View north from the upland view point on route to Betancuria

Feb 28th we arrived at El Cotillo early enough for a drive onto the plains south of the town but it was very windy and birds were very few and the tracks were also rather rough. Mediterranean Short-toed Lark 10+ in song, Atlantic Yellow-legged Gulls, Collared Doves everywhere even on the breakfast tables in the hotel!, Spanish Sparrows around anywhere with palm trees and African ravens that proved to be common.

African Raven *Corvus corax tingitanus / canariensis* widespread and fairly common

Mediterranean Short-toed Lark aka Lesser Short-toed Lark - common in desert regions with birds displaying and singing

March 1st a quick walk pre breakfast on the beach at El Cotillo produced the usual plethora of Collared Doves and singing Spanish Sparrows around the buildings with two Kentish Plovers on the beach and the usual Atlantic Yellow-legged Gulls but in spute of the huge seas no seabirds.

El Cotillo beach in spite of what many images suggest it was often cloudy and cool with a strong northerly wind - early mornings required a down jacket

Atlantic Yellow-legged Gull El Cotillo beach

Mountainous seas failed to produce seabirds

Tindaya village looking south-east from the plain

Move on to Tindaya plain with an Egyptian Vulture from the road near La Oliva then on the plain a Ruddy Shelduck flies over, 20+ Berthelot’s Pipits, 20+ Mediterranean Short-toed Larks, a pair of Cream-coloured Coursers with two young then a party of three and another two adults, a party of eight Black-bellied Sandgrouse in flight land distantly. Our only Hoopoe of the trip as we taook a walk into a small barranco on the west of the plain where some Greenish Black Tips, Desert Locusts and Atlantic Lizards. Other birds during the day Common Buzzard, Trumpeter Finch, Barbary Partirdge with 50+ Spanish Sparrows and three Great Grey Shrikes but no Houbaras. Greenish black tip 10+

The Egyptian Vultures on the island ore of the race *Neophron percnopterus majorensis* which is endangered

little green barranco on the Tindya Plain good for butterflies, Lizards

A few Desert Locusts were flushed from vegetated areas

Berthelot’s Pipit like most birds feasting on the abundant caterpillars

This is a bird that is all over the island but what you call it seems to change from day to day due to the current taxonomic lunacy - Canary Island Grey Shrike, Grey Grey Shrike race ***Lanius excubitor koenigi***or maybe Southern Grey Shrike of the same race - whatever its name they are found all over the island and many had already feldged broods

This pair on the Tindaya Plain had a territory centred around an abandoned farm

the best way to find the desired desert birds is slowly driving the rough tracks and scanning the bird shaped rocks

You always hope for close views and images but nothing is guaranteed - first views of Cream coloured Courser

Cream coloured Courser chicks are designed to look like stones - Trumpeter Finch almost visible

These images were taken on March 1st - it was amazing to see how the chicks developed in a few days assuming it was the same family we kept seeing

The chance of seeing and photographing Cream coloured Courser for the first time in 27 years was one of the main reasons for the trip - my only British encounter was with a rather forlorn looking bird on an Essex arable field with a big clump of wet mud stuck to its bill back in 1984

Sometimes very obvious they could disappear into the terrain and cover a lot of ground very quickly

Its a long time since the only Lincolnshire record of an exhausted bird caught at Marshchapel in c1840 - a lot of sand is available for another

One of the few birds with an attractive rear view

Pair indulging in some courtship display

Off Cotillo beach and the lighthouse a single Sandwich Tern and Cory’s Shearwater and two Sanderling on the road.

March 2nd Still missing Houbaras we headed down to the plains north of Asturia suggested in the Gosney guide but it looked unsuitable though we did have a few Barbary Partridge, a singing Quail and a pair of Great Grey Shrikes. We then headed to Los Molinos reservoir where it was very windy and cool. At least 90 Ruddy Shelducks and 20 Black-bellied Sandgrouse in flight landing by the goat farm. An adult Egyptian Vulture, four Common Buzzards, Spanish Sparrows by the dam and the goat farm and a Barbary Falcon flew away with prey. On the water a Little Ringed Plover and six Black-winged Stilts. Then moved on to the car park and stream at the end of the road at Puerto de Los Molinos. A Common Sandpiper in the stream with a Little Egret and in the valley a male Kestrel and two Common Buzzards but the highlight were 20+ Sahara Bluetails and two Broad Scarlets. From there drive up to Betancuria but very, very busy – park in the main car park and walk up the dry river bed to the old convent. At least eight African Blue Tits in the car park and stream bed, Sardinian Warbler and a lifer singing male Atlantic Canary in the palm trees in the village centre. The small pool near the car park had Red-veined Darters and Broad Scarlets and Emperors and butterflies in the river bed included some fly by Clouded Yellows that were very pale, Painted Ladies, Lang’s Short-tailed Blue, Geranium Bronze and African Grass Blue along with Small and Fuerteventura Green Striped Whites and Greenish Black Tips. Call at the excellent café / mini market in Tindaya and then have another drive out onto the plains and almost immediately Julia sees two Houbaras right next to the car well pretty damned close and we watching them walking and feeding for over 15 minutes before they wander off – several 100 images later and several Mediterranean Short-toed Larks and its back for a big wine.

Ubiquitous Great Grey Shrike atop any old pile of stuff

Ruddy Shelducks at the reservoir - something you quickly ignore if possible

Up to 80 seen at Los Molinos in one scan

seems a bit odd seeing them in such an arid environment

Particularly feeding out on the goat ravaged plains

Adult Egptian Vulture - the local race *Neophron percnopterus majorensis* is endemic

Barbary Partridge for a partridge a rather nice looking bird

Barbary Falcon with prey at the Reservoir

Would have liked better views of this species but didn’t know of any nest sites

Los Molinos Reservoir one of the better birding sites

Views of Black-winged Stilts were from above looking down into the reservoir

Black-winged Stilts and additional Geenshank

Early views of Black-bellied Sandgrouse were a bit distant in flight shots

Classic Spanish Sparrow habitat - breeze blocks

African Blue Tit very easy to find around Betancuria

Most of the African Blue Tits in the Parra Medina valley were ringed presumably part of a study

male Atlantic Canary Betancuria - a lifer

The Barranco and stream at Puerto do Los Molinos a good site for Sahara Bluetail and Broad Scarlet

Stunning male Broad Scarlet or Scarlet Darter in the olden days

People also seem to mention these in trip reports - cannot vaguely imagine why

After the obligatory coffee and cake we wandered down the Tindaya track and almost immediately Julia spotted Two Houbaras by the side of the track

For a biggish bird they can disappear behind piles of rocks and small clumps of vegetation

Houbara Bustard out of the car window with a lot of shaking arms and deep breaths

When they are obvious they are unmissable but on many searches they were simply not visible

March 3rd

Early rain then showers on and off all day with strong NW wind and decidedly cool when sun not out. An early look at Tindaya in the less than exciting weather turned out to be a good choice with a displaying male Houbara located. After a few mad bouts of display what was assumed to be a female appeared running to the male and they then performed some courtship displays in striking distance of on of the tracks but with bad timing the sun broke through just at the wrong moment. Views though were amazing and I even managed a bit of video. In addition a single Cream-coloured Courser picked up. From there drive to La Pared where showery and cool: at least six Spectacled Warblers in song and churring in the Barranco with a Common Sandpiper but nothing else. Did a quick drive through Costa Calma and failed to stop it looked that bad returning to Betancuria with and adult Egyptian Vulture on the return trip. Headed south from Betancuria and located a nice valley Para Medina or Barranco do Palomares as shown on the map. A nice walk up the valley with Sardinian Warblers, a family of Great Grey Shrikes, several African Blue Tits, singing Turtle Dove, singing male Atlantic Canary, two Buzzards and numerous Painted Ladies but weather closed in again with more rain. Another stop at Tindaya turned up only Mediterranean Short-toed Larks including a nest with big chicks before serious rain arrived and continued overnight.

a much visited crossroads - note the dull weather

Even for a largish bird Houbaras can disappear in limited vegetation

Male Houbara adopting first stage of display posture before the manic phase

The black ruff is raised before the dash display

After a few bouts of manic running display we noticed a second bird running in from the north - the two birds then came together and what is assumed to have been a female started posturing to the male and vice versa but it was the female that seemed to do all of the wing and tail spreading and raising so could it have been two males - BWP suggests that this is aggressive behaviour so maybe I got it wrong and it was two males

The female seemed to be the bird spreading its wings and tail

These posturing displays went on for over 20 minutes after which they started to wander off and we left

The Barranco at La Pared good for Spectacled Warblers but little else

The entrance to the valley south of Batancuria is easily located by this sign and the white arch

The short walk up this valley is very good for butterflies with shrikes, Sardinian Warblers, African Blue Tits and Atlantic Canaries

A lovely valley with Aloe Vera trees and even a hide with a bird poster but to be fair in a very silly location

The site appears to be under restoration with newly planted endemic vegetation

Male Sardinian Warbler never posed for the camera

shrikes seem to have a habit of adopting the worst of human additions to the environment as perching spots

good to get the wing pattern of all great grey races / species

Late afternoon on the Tindaya Plain with showers passing

March 4th

Two Kentish Plovers were on the El Cotillo beach pre breakfast after which we headed to the Los Molinos Reservoir as it was cloudy and immediately bumped into a flock of c20 Pallid Swifts that showed well for about 20 minutes before disappearing as the weather brightened. Five Egyptian Vultures were in the area with four Buzzards while the reservoir had 10 Black-winged Stilts and a Greenshank and Common Sandpiper. A walk to the barranco at the head of the reservoir was quite productive with a pair of Fuerteventura Chats, 10+ Trumpeter Finches, Spanish Sparrows, Berthelot’s Pipit and Mediterranean Short-toed Larks plus a close fly by male Black-bellied Sandgrouse. We then headed up to Betancuria and tried the valley again with a family of fledged Great Grey Shrikes being mobbed by African Blue Tits plus the usual Sardinian Warblers, a singing male Blackcap and a calling Quail. It was also good for butterflies with Lang’s Short-tailed Blue, Red Admiral and the usual endemics. An accommodating insularum Common Buzzard was the only bird of note on a late afternoon Tindaya visit.

Dull and cool Kentish Plover on the local beach pre breakfast

After rain there was even water in the barranco downstream from the Reservoir

The flock of swifts were only at the reservoir for about 15 minutes and in that time I was trying to get some decent images mainly of Pallids and clearly did not look at them all - I think this may be a Plain Swift but only have images of its upperparts and quite distant

Pallid Swift in somewhat better light than a cold November day in Britain

While photographing the Pallid Swifts this Black-bellied Sandgrouse suddenly appeared - it was not calling but fortunately I got onto it quickly and manged to get a few in focus shots in the beautiful light

even with the 1.4x converter on the 100-500 lens produced some nice sharp images

female Fuerteventura Chat - what a bird! makes female Stonechats look exotic

Egyptian Vulture at the head of the reservoir which proved to be the best spot for this species presumably due to the output from the nearby goat farm

Broad Scarlet on ephemeral pool above the reservoir

The Great Grey Shrikes we had been watching near Betancuria had fledged young which were quite distinctive and brown tinged

Common Buzzardf of the local race *insularum* Tindaya

March 5th

Cool early with a Common Sandpiper on El Cotillo beach, then progressively warmer and sunny up to 24C mid-afternoon before cooling again in evening: wind lighter but still N. Walk into a valley south of the Cotillo - Oliva road early: very little but three Great Grey Shrikes and odd Mediterranean Larks then a female Montagu’s Harrier hunting desert locusts that were very common in the low scrubby bushes. A few more Great Greys while driving to Tindaya where a Trumpeter Finch and the family of Cream-coloured Coursers seen again with the two now flapping having grown considerably: Coffee and cake then on to Los Molinos Reservoir where very good with the usual Spanish Sparrows, Black-winged Stilts, Little Ringed Plover, Berthelot’s Pipit, a pair of Black bellied Sandgrouse by the entrance road, 4 Egyptian Vultures, 10+ Trumpeter Finch the pair of Fuerteventura chats nest building and a pair of Spectacled Warblers: broad scarlets, vagrant emperor and Emperor. At coast 30+ Cory’s Shearwaters in 15 minutes, a Barbary Falcon flies past and more Sahara Bluetails and Broad Scarlets.

Habitat east of El Cotillo with blooming flowers after the rain forming food for the locusts

The vegetation in the valley near La Oliva was literally moving with swarms of these Desert Locusts

Distant female Montagu’s Harrier apparently quite a scarce migrant on the island being well offshore

Mediterranean Short-toed Lark feeding young on these abundant caterpiullars that were all over the floor everywhere you went

Seeing an adult feeding young in the nest out of the car window on the side of the track

Sunlight sometimes makes birds look washed out but with some high cloud the Coursers were OK even mid-morning

Luckily they had one chick either side of the track so we just parked up and the adults and eventually on eof the chicks walked past us and crossed the track

Single chicks seemed to be lefty to squat and rest while the otehr one was fed and then vice versa - it was amazing how they grew during the week assuming they were the same family

You can never tire of a bird with this charisma

As we turned into the track to the reservoir Julia shouted stop - I had failed to see the pair of Black-bellied Sandgrouse on the side of the track but fortunately they only flew a short distance then posed fpor a few minutes before flying off - female here

Male Black-bellied Sandgrouse - was so pleased to get these shots on the ground - a car hide is of course essential as they are up and away if you try and walk to them on the ground

Upstream from the Reservoir this lovely sheltered spot had breeding Fuerteventura Chats, Spectacled Warblers, Trumpeter Finches and Spanish Sparrows with Broad Scarlets, Emprors and a Vagrant Emperor over the pools

Slightly closer views of the chat on the 5th but there are a lot better birds

The male chat keeping an eye on the nest building female

female Fuerteventura Chat with nest material

It was a long time since I had seen and heard Spectacled warbler well so was good to get reacquainted — there was some heat haze and birds were not close to not great images

Trumpeter Finches are easy to overlook until they start calling

After some distant images thios bird was perched on the side of the Tindaya track for a few minutes and even allowed us to drive past it to get a slightly better angle

March 6th

A cool and dull morning with a strong wind; on Cortillo beach two Turnstones, two Ringed Plovers, two Common sandpipers, two Little Egrets and a Sandwich Tern off the lighthouse. Drive to the valley Parra Medina south of Betancuria with a bit more shelter and a bit of sun; the usual Sardinian warblers, a male Blackcap, juvenile Atlantic Canary, African Blue Tits, Great Grey Shrikes and the usual butterflies pus a Plain Tiger. Return to Los Molinos Reservoir where 60+ Ruddy Shelducks and three Spanish Sparrows before curtail the day and have a look at Tindaya where very little visible.

Juvenile Atlantic Canary not the most striking of birds

Other images

One of the commonest birds on the island I had to include a Collared Dove

Atlantic Yellow-legged Gull - fail to excite me I am afraid

Black-bellied Sandgrouse against the stark hillside

Butterflies

Greenish Black Tip were widespread and encountered in several different habitats

Painted Lady some were very worn and others nice and bright

Flight shots were tricky in the strong wind

Graham Catley 13/02/2026 Graham Catley 13/02/2026

February 13th –the rise and rise of the Cetti’s Warbler on my local patch and more historical ramblings:

Cetti’s Warbler Barton Pits North Lincolnshire January 2010 an uncharacteristically open view in a very very cold winter

Wandering around my local patch nowadays you tend to almost ignore the strident explosions from male Cetti’s Warblers but twas not long ago that such renditions would have been a source of serious excitement. But let us first ramble back in time to first encounters and a few historical ramblings.

Now firmly established as a resident on my local patch views do not generally get much better particularly in winter when they skulk in the low reed and associated wetland fringe vegetation

Back in the annals of time Cetti’s Warbler was only added to the British List in 1961 when one was heard, seen and trapped at Tichfield Haven Hampshire. Prior to the 1920’s the species had been essentially restricted to the Mediterranean but a north-westward expansion in range occurred through France from then onwards with first records for Belgium, the Netherlands and Germany in the 1960’s but it was not until 1967 and 1968 when further birds reached England’s south coast with breeding first suspected in Kent in 1972 and proved in 1973 when 14 other singing males were present in the same area. Residing in Norwich at UEA in the early 70’s the stories of the first Norfolk birds were unerringly close to home. The first for Norfolk was a bird found dead in Norwich city centre on June 28th 1973 which proved to have been ringed at the first Belgian breeding site on August 23rd 1970.

Perfectly designed to disappear in a winter bed of phragmites

On June 18th 1974 we had been ensconced on the east Bank at Cley with Richard Richardson, RAR as most knew him, and enjoyed three lifers in a day! Spoonbill, female Red-necked Phalarope and female Kentish Plover all on the East Pool. Under somewhat hushed tones Richard kindly imparted knowledge of the presence of Cetti’s Warblers in the Broads even providing a hastily sketched map of the access route. He also told us of a pair of breeding Honey-buzzards but that was for another day. Hence on June 20th 1974 armed with said map of which I still have a copy, I arrived at the Ferry House Pub at Surlingham and duly walked past the vegetable patch through the nettle bed to a large dead tree from where the Cetti’s could be heard singing. In a reflection of the species status at the time my brief views compared the warbler to a Nightingale which of course were then commonplace. Apparently five males were present in the Broads that spring with breeding proven for the first time in the county.

Small birds in big reedbeds only give themselves away by call

So, I had learnt what Cetti’s Warbler song was like but it was the seemingly odd connection between East Anglia, a Nearctic Gull, some thick freezing fog, a three-bar electric fire, Ring-necked Ducks and a Sociable Lapwing that brought about another nugget in the avian sound memory banks that located my first for the local patch. On November 13th 1977 a first-winter Franklin’s Gull was found at Lowestoft fish docks. Needless to say, Mick and I were keen to see it and a trip was arranged on November 27th but our only reward was three Glaucous Gulls, six Shags and six Purple Sandpipers; do they still winter there? With the gull seemingly absent in the late afternoon we headed to Walberswick one of my old UEA stamping grounds and while walking along the edge of the reedbed we heard an unknown call which materialised into a Cetti’s Warbler. The familiar chink call, heard mainly in winter is of course now familiar to most people or maybe not most? The call was so distinct that it immediately impaled itself in my brain one to remember and use in the future.

The Franklin’s Gull was being reported again in early January 1978 in addition to which a pair of Ring-necked Ducks were at Alton Water and a Sociable Lapwing at Little Cornard, both Suffolk surely allowing a nice triple twitch. The winter of 1977 - 78 was colder than normal, point one, with temperatures down to -17C in January. Undeterred Mick and I planned a second assault on Suffolk for January 8th. The start of the journey was not auspicious as I wended my way to Fulstow through thick freezing fog. On arrival at Mick’s I saw an electric cable extending from the kitchen window into his car: this was pre -electric car days. A quick explanation revealed that Mick’s car heater had failed so he was warming the car up for our onwards journey an obvious solution. Needless to say, the journey was interesting as the front window froze up and we shuddered fully clothed in mid-winter attire inside. At one point the fog was so thick we missed the cones on a set of roadworks on the A17 and ended up driving towards oncoming, albeit slow traffic but eventually we arrived at Alton Water – well we arrived at what on the map looked like a lake somewhere near a village called Alton but the lake was more like a garden pond and you couldn’t see across it anyway and there were no obvious ducks other than Mallard so we moved on to Lowestoft where the fog was thin enough to reveal views of the Franklin’s Gull on the factory roof and a British tick was in the bag. We then headed off to look for the Sociable Lapwing which we had been informed was in a field near a pub with a flock of Lapwings. We found the field or at least we found a field and then spent an hour stalking the flock of Lapwings in the ever-thickening fog eventually coming to the realisation that the Lapwings were in fact mole hills. I forget the return journey but it was certainly no warmer than the outward one.

Franklin’s Gull Lowestoft January 1978 - the old slides have not survived well in the intervening 47 years

Really did not ever expect to see 100’s on the prairies of Alberta in later years back in 1978

Earlier in 1977 a Cetti’s Warbler had been recorded at Barrow Haven on March 6th forming the first record for Lincolnshire when it was accepted by BBRC. I was a little sceptical due to several reasons. The observer had arrived in the local area in 1976 and upon meeting him at BH where I worked and spent up to 40 hours a week birding, he immediately informed me that the site looked spot on for Cetti’s Warbler and wondered why I hadn’t recorded any as he had come from Radipole where they were of course common by then. To be fair I knew the habitat looked right but that didn’t mean one would suddenly appear but apparently it did though he saw it when I was not there and it did not call and didn’t sing – I have tried to think how many times in the last 13 years I have ever seen a Cetti’s without hearing it call or sing but I guess anything is possible. Personally, I didn’t believe the record and still don’t but in the greater scheme of things it really doesn’t matter one way or another. The next for Lincs was a bird trapped at Theddlethorpe on October 1st 1983 when the northward push started but it was 1995 before a singing male held a breeding territory in the far south at Langtoft but such is the nature of the skulker that it was 2008 before breeding was first proven in the county in the north at Bagmoor.

Harping back to a very different time but less than 50 years ago the spring of 1977 at Barrow Haven produced a list of migrants rarely seen today in North Lincolnshire never mind at one location, including: Glaucous Gull, Black Redstart, Redstart, Nightingale, Tree Pipit, Whinchat, a peak of 172 Turtle Doves moving west in four hours on May 15th and Hooded Crow.

Turtle Dove Barton Pits May 2009 - up to 34 pairs bred in the 70’s and 80’s but the last was seen in 2016 - thoughts of 172 flying west in a few hours seem unimaginable now but that was only 48 years ago a blink in time - another sad loss

This was the last locally fledged juvenile Turtle Dove I recorded back in 2011 when with hindsight the writing was on the wall for this beautiful bird

I twitched the 1995 Langtoft Cetti’s Warbler for the county but was always open eared for a local bird though it took until February 2003 to find one. On the afternoon of 13th in earnest preparation for Valentine’s Day I was out birding my patch: my extensive notes follow:

Having finished work at 14:00 I took a walk around Waters’ Edge counting the roosting waders of which 120 Dunlin were the high point then I picked up a first-summer Mediterranean Gull among the roosting gulls, my first of the year, but it flew off while I was setting up the scope. The remainder of the circuit was pretty uneventful but with some nice evening light available I decided to go down the west of the bridge to look for Bitterns. Parking the car at the pursuits centre gate my attention was drawn by a large number of gulls following the plough on the field south of the new ponds in Blow Wells fields. Hoping that the Mediterranean Gull may have joined them I walked down the road to the bottom of the hill but most of the gulls were drifting off to roost as it was by now 16:50hrs. A Barn Owl appeared flying along Far Ings drain so I set up the scope to try and digi it when it perched up on the dyke side. The light was poor at 16:55 but as I moved to try and get a better angle on the owl I heard a quiet but distinctive chink chink call from the edge of Bridge pit about 10m away! Not really believing that this could actually be a Cetti’s Warbler, although I was newly reacquainted with the call after hearing the Huttoft bird in November and December 2002, I was still amazed to see a bird moving through the dead willow-herb and reeds at the edge of the pit---a quick view with binoculars and I was at last watching my first Barton Cetti’s Warbler after 30 odd years of searching. It then showed quite well for a Cetti’s as it moved along the edge of the dead willow-herb and the reed fringe on the southern side of the pit calling regularly and giving the rattle call once. By 17:30 it was almost dark and although it could still be heard calling further along the hedge to the west it was not seen again.

The 14th dawned bright and clear but with a severe frost. I was on site by 07:30 and soon heard the Cetti’s call in the same area of Bridge pit. It appeared just above the water and ice working its way along the thinner reed fringe. After some frustrating calling and hiding it moved across the road into pursuits pit where I had my best views as it fed in very open reed just above the water and worked its way in full view past my position. Later it showed briefly but quite well in the edge of the thorn hedge and again in the reed fringe and called frequently but only gave the rattle call twice. It was last seen in the presumed roosting area at 17:35 that evening but there was no sign of it the following morning after another very sharp frost. In spite of extensive searching, it was back in the same location on the 20th when SR re-found it calling from the base of the bramble and reeds. I managed to see it well as it fed in the base of the wet bramble on the edge of the reeds in the same spot at 13:00hrs but it was only calling infrequently. There is no doubt though that it would have been picked up if it had been in the same area during the intervening period.

Over the next few days I watched the Cetti’s on several occasions but had best views on the morning of the 22nd when the weather was very cold with a light south-easterly and sunny breaks in overcast conditions. The bird showed almost continuously for 20 minutes in the top of the brambles for the first time and came to within 10 feet of me calling frequently but only gave the rattle call once. A new note was heard which I noted down as chiss ickkk almost broken into two syllables.

This bird stayed to March 30th. I found a second bird on Waters’ Edge on March 19th with a third bird in a new location on 25th writing extensive notes on each encounter.

March 25th 2003

About 18:20 walking from the car on Pasture Road down the track to Hoe Hill house when only 20m down heard a chink chink---surely NOT! But then again the same call from the low bramble on the bank on the left of the road----it moved down the track as I followed getting some views of a shape moving in the thick bramble---it then crossed the track into the base of the reed and bramble on the right and continued to call---brief view in the reed before it flew to the southern edge of the open water on Pasture Wharf where landed in the reed and called again---positioned myself opposite the thinner edge of the reed to the north and waited—it called again and again and eventually came through the reeds into an open area where I got full views before it moved into the brambles calling still at 18:45----then did several rattle calls in the same area where it appeared to be at dusk----amazing could this be a third bird????

Cetti’s Warbler Waters’ Edge Barton December 2015 as the species really took off locally

Only one bird could be found in 2004 and one in 2005 with no records in 2006 but 2007 saw the first singing male holding a territory though no singing birds were noted again in 2008 in what was seeming like a sporadic spread northwards with knock backs in some cases in hard weather but in others seemingly inexplicable. A singing male in 2009 with eight birds between Barton and Barrow Haven marked the start of the real colonisation with singing males increasing to six in 2010 but then two exceptionally hard winters knocked them right back with only one male in song in 2011 but three by 2012 since when there has been no inroad into the expanding population. The total of 12 singing males in 2014 with an estimated 26 birds in the following winter was the start of the infilling stage with new areas of habitat being colonised annually. The area of available habitat along the Humber bank is quite restricted formed by worked out tile and brick works that developed into open water pits and latterly more scrub but only it only stretched c700m – 800m inland before reverting to built up areas or arable desert. Infilling and reduction in territory size with more overlapping edges has seen the total number of breeding territories rise to 65 by 2023 when I last surveyed the whole area. The increase from the first record in 2003 to the first territory holding in 2007 and 65 occupied territories just 14 years later is truly staggering. Birds are much more difficult to census in the winter when they are quieter but with up to two broods per year fledging the total winter population must be considerable though clearly dispersion does occur. A singing male wandered to within 500m of my house in the spring of 2025 along a strip of damp woodland that abuts a housing estate and elsewhere in North Lincs odd birds are starting to occupy drier and seemingly less suitable areas of habitat as the population increase continues but I doubt a garden bird is on the cards though a flock of Bearded Tits did fly over back in the 80’s.

The exponential rise to 2020 with suitable unoccupied habitats clearly becoming more restricted from 2020 onwards

and 65 territories in 2023 - an increase facilitated by smaller territories but also some expansion from core areas

And an additional bit of vocal observation: Cetti’s Warbler song is abrupt, loud and generally unexpected – it demands attention for all nearby and hence over many years I have noticed that on most occasions where Water Rails are present in the vicinity it evokes an immediate response from the squealer almost as if the two are intricately linked in the wetland audiobook. Is this universal or just something related to the recent appearance of the warbler in habitats already occupied over many years by Water Rails? The latter could be the case locally as Water Rails have bred in the clay pits for over 70 years but at Alkborough Flats where reedbeds are a fairly recent habitat Water Rails only arrived in 2012 with a quick increase to 40 territories by 2017; the first Cetti’s Warbler was noted in 2012 with 11 territories by 2017 so the two species increased in line with habitat abundance but the response calling is just as frequent there as locally.

Why do Water Rails call immediately after a male Cetti’s blasts out? Assume they do not think it is a competitor - occurs in the breeding season but also in winter

As an addenda February 13th 2026 a Cetti’s Warbler sang from within 10m of where I heard that first one on the same date in 2003.

Cetti’s Warbler feeding a newly fledged brood August - proving breeding it not easy but the calls of newly fledged young are typically a give away

Singing male Cetti’s Warbler - males in spring can be a bit more visible and it seems the higher the density of birds the more willing they are to perch in the open to sing albeit often only briefly

With so many birds disappearing Cetti’s has been a welcome addition to the local wetlands

Graham Catley 03/02/2026 Graham Catley 03/02/2026

February 2026

The month has begun where January left off, dull, duller than dull and even more dismal and on 3rd seriously cold in the constant easterly wind but it is producing no birds for some reason so in spite of 24 miles hiked in the first three days only one species added to the patch year list Barnacle Goose but at least I got some better image sof the Mediterranean Gull on 1st

Kicking off the month with a Collared Dove eating sea aster on the foreshore. a seemingly regular food item maybe due to salt content? — 50 on the LBY photo quest

The adult Mediterranean Gull did a close fly by on 1st albeit in terrible light again

51 Great White Egret - a few years back I would have been more than happy with a shot like this as Great Whites were tricky birds locally but this individual has been in the same small pond for a few weeks now and is silly tame - see shot below - the otehr day I was doing it with a phone camera

Just stood on the track next to it with the 100-500 lens - not in the least concerned

Disrant in fading light to say the least but one of those birds that is unmistaklable - will have to count as 52 and as an increasingly irregular visitor a good one for the year - the white nun

Present from 16:00 to dark on 4th but no sign this morning - maybe it will pop up somewhere in the coming days

53 Pochard - even this is a decent flock locally now but there has been up to 50 this week which is major improvement on the winter high - travel back to the mid 1980’s and 2000 - 2500 was not an unuasual count and 500 - 1000 were regular on the local pits and at New Holland

With ever increasing numbers of White-fronted Geese turning up within 10 miles of the patch I had been looking through the local Greylags and canadas and checking all the wet grass fields for days - yesterday in the dismallity of the rain and wind found a flock of 34 not far away at South Ferriby but this morning’s 5 mile amble round the patch revealed that the Greylags were still alone - then as I walked through the trees on Waters’ Edfge I heard a flock of fronts fly over but couldn’t see them - checked all the nearby fields but nothing then last ditch attempt went back to the Greylag gathering and 14 White-fronts had dropped in between my last cjheck - just shows never give up — 54 for the photo patch challenge

Greylags do have their uses - wild birds feel more settled with the lags and are more approachable albeit from the car

With birds still on the move more may drop in yet

55 one of the local breeding pairs of Kestrels mating near their nest box

adult male Marsh Harrier through the bushes

Making use of the sun when subjects were limited - landing Greylag

58 Pink-footed Geese - first decent group on the deck this year c500 but no Tundras

Coninuing with a trickle of White-fronted Geese through Barton with 36 moving north two days ago then seven yesterday that also went north and at least 16 today with the Pinks etc

relocated the drake Smew but it was still not close and very jumpy

A token shot of a local Curlew for 59 on the local bird photo challenge - this bird is well known as it feeds in the same area of inter-tidal mud by the Waters Edge VC every day and defends it against other Curlew - presumably the same bird that has used this area of mud for several winters

second calendar year female Goshawk from a very cold session this week - she was disputing a territory with a 3rd / 4th calendar year male

after a seemingly endless period of low cloud and rain it was good to get a bit of sunshine

UKX neck collared Pink-foot in the patch flock this week - awaiting details

Lovely light yesterday morning on the goose flock - Greylag looking better than usual

adult White-fronted Goose in the beet field - a mega local White front day with 46 on the deck and a flock of 84 flying over the best count ever by a very long way

Goldeneye numbers had built up to 110 yesterday with a fair bit of displaying taking place - numbers usually peak in early March as the Humber flock move to fresh water prior to departures

I have seldom used the R6II on 40 frames per second as it fills the buffer quickly on my slowigh SD cards but I have now got four faster cards and using 40fps does produce some better wing positions on flying birds - drake Goldeneye incoming light was prettyy dire as usual

First winter drake Goldeneye and female - I do sometimes wonder whether I look hard enough at young drakes to rule out the Barrow but I think they would stand out?

Pochard had increased to c55 yesterday still a far cry from the numbers of old but a welcome sight though only 8 females in the total not a good sign for the decreasing local breeding population

Like the Goldeneye some early display and half hearted courtship

Somewhat better images of the Scaup today with four drakes and two ducks present - the first time I have been relatively close and in decent light

This female had abandoned here congeners and was hanging out with Tufted Ducks only 300m away on the same water

60 Coal Tit - tricky to photo on the local patch as highly restricted so this one from the garden will have to do for now - its very irregular in the garden so not just a case of sitting and waiting

61 one of our more regular garden visitors occasionally nests and does a constant sub song for hours in spring - summer

62 Common Gull - spring passage of adults is under way locally

Curlew incoming with this is my patch get out vocalisations

Still up to 24 White-fronts on the local patch

63 patch photo Green Woodpecker - this species is not even annual but what is presumably this male has been around now for over a year though it is very flighty and never been remotely close to it so this will have to do unless I get lucky

The 4cy male Goshawk showed a bit better this week but when the light was drab

Sparowhawk on the same day for comparison - there really is no problem identifying Goshawks but we were clearly hung up with lack of experience for so, many years in Lincs

Why do Goshawks so often have their bills open in flight?

First decent views of Woodlark for the spring this week

winding up February with a few missing common additions on the patch year photo challenge - 64 Great Tit

65 Reed Bunting - a lot of activity this morning in the relative warmth before the rain with birds flycatching and disputing territories

66 Stonechat - passage started earlier in the week with one to three females but there were at least 11 with four males in one limited area of Chowder today with lots of flycatching over the reedbeds

After moving the garden pond last autumn it was good to see the Frogs back in there with audible volumes rising rapidly

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 - a little big year photo challenge?

Not sure where the new year’s photography is going yet - taking lots of images and deleting most of them - Planning on trying to find some goodies on the local patch this year or at least spending more time locally than for several years so thoughts on how many species I can get a decent image of on my local patch during the year - as of January 27th I have managed 96 species which is the most for several years so how many have suitable images?

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 - so The Little Big Year Number 1!

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 - numbers will be the LBY total here number 2

A young male Marsh Harrier dropping onto something in the reeds - a slightly different take — 3

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 — 4

female Bullfinch munching on sea buckthorn berries - 5

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 - 6

Long-tailed Tit in dappled winter sun — 7

Part of a pre roost gathering of Magpies - there were at least 50 in the gathering at dusk - 8

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 — 9

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 — 10

Three slightly different treatments of the garden Blue Tit —11

Carrion Crow - winter light is sublime - keep thinking of tracking how many species I can photograph on the patch this year - 12

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

what a cracking bird the Fieldfare is — 13

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 — 14

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 - 15

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 — 16

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 - 17

Treecreeper on Waters’ Edge - had several encounters this winter which are always a treat — 18

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! - 20

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 - 21

Stock Dove Wedge - several pairs attempting to occupy the nest boxes already - 22

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 — 23

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

Great Black-backed Gull - 26 - now scarce on the local Humber foreshore with less than 10 at a peak compared to 400+ only 20 years ago

Goldcrest in our garden spruce January 26th - it spent almost all day in our garden feeding on the wildlife friendly plants, shrubs and trees - the spruce is only about 1.5m tall!

It was about the dullest day of the winter hence a lot of slow shutter speeds and the odd sharp image

Grey Heron 29 - I saw Great White Egret before Grey Heron on the patch in Januaruy this year - an unthinkable event not many years ago

smart male Lesser Redpoll - there have been one or two redpolls on Waters Edge with the Siskin flock but always at silly heights - came across this one in a lone birch by the tileyard cafe on a sunny walk - the only birch and the only redpoll - 30

I have actually got very few images of Lesser Redpolls and this was a smart bird

Moorhen on ice - a foot contrast to the Coot - 31

First-winter Red-throated Diver - a message from Darren at 16:27 on 24th saying he had just had a Red-throated Diver on Hotel pit had me asking is it worth looking as its nearly dark - try tomorrow? sometimes divers stay but Hotel pit has had nothing on it all winter suggesting its dead! - rapid drive and 6400 ISO managed a couple of sharpish images before it had three attempts at flying off disappearing east on the last try — 33

There may be another this year but there may not and they are often not close so a bit soft is better than nothing

Ringed Plover 35 — now a real winter rarity locally a massive change in status - in the winter of 1989 - 1990 when the flock was joined by a male Kentish Plover there were up to 130 at Read’s island and 65 at Barton

36 Yellowhammer - another species we are rapidly loosing just 12 or so wintering locally this year down from 30 - 35 in recent winters -

37 Bittern - no doubt better opps to come but first photo of the year

Canada Geese 38 - always have to include the ornamentals

and the noise machines - Greylag groups getting into spring noise mode 39

Goldeneye - 40 - a party of three Scaup accompanied by a possible first winter drake Lesser Scaup at the weekend flew off to Goxhill in the murk - hopefully they will return with the Goldeneye of which there were 97 on Sunday - getting frisky

Goldfinches on reeds not a regular comobination — 41

The 3cy male Marsh Harrier still around hopefully get better spring shots

The easterlies brought oin this drake Red-breasted Merganser but sadly it was always out in the middle of our biggest pit but a less than annual patch visitor —-42

Slightly improved shot with the birda bit clsert on 30th albeit in zero light levels

The Red-throated Diver was still around and the light much better

First winter Red-throated Diver Hotel pit

The Tawny Owls showing a little better or rather the light was a little better

Female Tufted Duck witht he Canon 100-500 and 1.4x converter - in good light and at reasonable range quality is very good

Preening drake Wigeon - the birds near Chowder are accustomed to epople and happily feed along the sea wall at just 20m range but you are looking down on them sadly — 44

46 two drake Scaup of three on 30th but again at zero light at 16:30 on one of the dullest days of the winter - maybe better later but for now its 46

The Red-throated Diver still around on day eight but impossible to get the right light on it

48 adult Mediterranean Gull and my 99th species on the patch this month / year making it the best January for many years in fact the second highest January total since 1993

49 Starling in the garden spruce - the Goldcrest was here again for its sixth day

I have become a bit obsessed with Blackbirds in the garden and we have up to 10 - two or three females and the rest are males but only two adult males the remainder being first-winter males like this bird with its brown juvenile flight feathers and primary coverts but it is an advanced bird with a well coloured bill and eye ring compared to some of its companions - needless to say a fair amount of fighting goes on

The adult male Marsh Harrier on a dull end to the month

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