pewit

Barn Owl

2009-07-15T22:24:00.003+01:00

Little Gull

2009-07-15T22:23:00.003+01:00

bird of the day really but never close as is always the case at Alkborough

Alkborough odds

2009-07-15T22:22:00.003+01:00

Pec Sand

2009-07-15T21:59:00.003+01:00

very poor shots of the Alkborough Pec Sand

3cy Caspian Gull

2009-07-15T21:55:00.002+01:00

a new bird amongst the LBBG's this morning in moult to 3rd winter

another gull morning

2009-07-15T21:50:00.003+01:00

it was dull and raining most of the morning and there were fewer gulls but a few Yellow-legs and Meds were still present amongst the LBBG's and Black-heads

interesting Lesser Black Back

2009-07-15T21:44:00.004+01:00

this bird pictured with a Yellow-legged Gull and a few different graellsii / intermedius looks interesting and possibly fuscus like; small size, structure with long primary projection, very blackish uppers but with a mahogany cast to the scapulars and coverts make it a possible candidate but without a colour ring it must remain as a LBBG

gulls today

2009-07-14T21:22:00.004+01:00

I have been looking for a gull concentration for a while and today found the local hot field! at least 2000 Lesser Black-backs with 15+ Yellow-legged Gulls including a smart juvenile, 4000+ Black-headed and at least 10 Mediterranean including 2 fresh juveniles and the single Caspian Gull (second shot) but why are they so jumpy? the tractor drives past them but stop a vehicle 100m away and look out of the window and off they go -- frustrating for photography -- there were a couple of birds like the LBBG extreme right of the second from bottom shot

Soft-plumaged Petrel Varanger find of a lifetime

2009-07-13T20:38:00.003+01:00

I say find but as with any of the best rare bird discoveries this was in fact just a mix of being in the right place at the right time, in effect luck! For everyone who has not seen the article in Birding World a quick summary of this amazing record. Mark Bannister and myself were birding at Nesseby Varanger, Arctic Norway, on the evening of June 6th 2009 when I tracked a passing Arctic Skua with my camera only to see it attack a seabird in front of us which quickly proved to be a pterodroma petrel; the bird was only in view for a few minutes before flying off down the fjord towards Vadso but I managed to get a set of small images of the bird with a 500mm lens and these proved on inspection to show what most people agree is a Soft-plumaged Petrel only the second for the Western Palearctic and the first for the North Atlantic; in fact there has been only one other record in the Western Pal and that was at Eilat. The full significance of this record will take a while to register but in effect it means that claims of pterodromas in the North Sea will now need to exclude this southern species rather than just being assumed to be Fea's or Zino's.

To get decent photos of any rare seabird is a real challenge but getting shots of a pterodroma from the shore is staggering and I am still in shock after 5 weeks!

Soft-plumaged Petrel 2

2009-07-13T20:32:00.002+01:00

This record has not been formally submitted to the Norwegian records Committee as yet but will be when I get the time;

Common Blue damsels

2009-07-06T19:06:00.002+01:00

Shelduck splash down

2009-07-06T18:39:00.004+01:00

juvenile Redshank fledges

2009-07-06T18:34:00.002+01:00

one of only two to fledge from 10 pairs; this species seems to fair rather badly around the Humber

Grey Heron

2009-07-06T18:29:00.000+01:00

just swallowed a large fish and under attack from BHG's

Icelandic Black-tailed Godwits

2009-07-06T18:24:00.001+01:00

rain birds

2009-07-06T18:22:00.003+01:00

some nice heavy showers today -- the weather men got it right at last

Black-tails

2009-07-06T18:05:00.002+01:00

a wadge of islandica returning early as usual -- 234 today

Spoons a record and Avocet build up

2009-07-06T17:59:00.004+01:00

a very poor record shot -- why these two birds are so wild is anyone's guess the early autumn Avocet build up is well underway

Barn Owl by day

2009-07-06T17:23:00.003+01:00

apart from during the thunderstorms this bird was hunting all day today suggesting a big brood

Black-headed Gulls and a Med

2009-07-03T10:10:00.002+01:00

Shelducks

2009-07-03T10:01:00.002+01:00

Lapwings

2009-07-03T09:59:00.000+01:00

one juvenile that may make it and moulting adults

Shelducks at dawn

2009-07-02T14:53:00.000+01:00

first Marsh Harrier brood

2009-07-02T14:47:00.002+01:00

its the time of year when my hours of standing being bitten by horseflies and trying to work out just how many juvenile harriers fledge from each nest takes over life -- this brood of 3 was easy as the other nest had not fledged; in places where there are 6 or 7 nests it is often frustrating in the extreme

veggy harriers

2009-07-02T14:42:00.003+01:00

its one thing trying to get the kids a varied diet but grass and straw for young harriers seems an odd combination but thats all the adults brought in this morning much to the disgust of the juvs