Review of the Year 2021

 

Birdtrack sightings

2021 saw me reach my 50th birthday, I ended up seeing 255 species of bird and adding 19 lifers to my UK life list. Those numbers are even more remarkable given I'd decided to prioritise some other interests including my crown green bowling and race horse ownership. 

Visiting Shetland in the Autumn and the Scillies in the summer were both long term bucket list destinations I acheived. Despite some amazing accommodation on Shetland I didn't really take to the place whilst Scilly in the summer was a delight. 

In these uncertain Covid times you have to be grateful for your families, friends and your own good health.

Many thanks to Mrs D, the Captain & the Squire for sharing some of the experiences throughout the year.

Butterflies

Northern Brown Argus

Monarch

Mountain Ringlet

Chequered Skipper

I'm unsure how many species I saw during the season but I did complete the rest of the UK species. This includes Mount Ringlet, Northern Brown Argus & Chequered Skipper and in addition I saw a stunning Monarch on Shetland.

Salford Priors summary

The pits proved to be difficult with much reduced access and no management of the habitats. We recorded thirteen less species than in 2020 with the highlights limited to a male Little Bunting, Arctic Tern, Garganey, Goldeneye, Goshawk, Great White Egret, Kittiwake, Marsh Harrier, Merlin, Sandwich Tern, Turtle Dove, Russian White-fronted Geese & a Ringed-neck Parakeet was a first for the site. Many thanks to all those who contributed.

UK Life list

1) Bufflehead (West Midlands) February (Observed on Loughbrough University run)

2) Northern Mockingbird (Devon) March

3) American Herring Gull (Cornwall)

4) White-throated Sparrow (Sussex)

5) Whiskered Tern (Dorset)

6) Tawny Pipit (Dorset)

7) River Warbler (Somerset)

8) Roller (Suffolk)

9) Black-browed Albatross (Yorkshire)

10) Western Rufous Turtle Dove (East Riding of Yorkshire)

11) Western Sandpiper (Norfolk)

12) Wilson's Petrel (Isles of Scilly)

13) White-tailed Lapwing (Yorkshire) August

14) Green Warbler (Yorkshire)

15) Rose-breasted Grosbeak (Shetland)

16) Long-toed Stint (Yorkshire)

17) Western Subalpine Warber (Isles of Scilly)

18) Red-breasted Goose (Essex)

19) Belted Kingfisher (Lancashire) December

My birds of the year

My birds of the year are never decided on most rarest. If that was the case the Green Warbler, Belted Kingfisher and Long-toed Stint would head the top of charts. The Northern Mockingbird was very enjoyable as it was the first day out of the area after lockdown and we doubled it up with seeing the American Herring Gull. I like to assess the whole experience, views of the bird, journey, ease of experience & also habitat.

1) Northern Mockingbird (Devon) March - I didn't need any second invitation to take in the Exmouth Northern Mockingbird. It's never great birding in residential area's but I got very lucky with the birds showing amazingly well without any fuss or stress to the locals. What a bird! Loved it.

2) Roller (Suffolk) June - Whilst at least bi-annual, I've never had chance to see a Roller before. Previous sightings were either to far away or the bird never hung around. This beauty on the Norfolk/Suffolk border was a real beauty that hung around and entertained many hundreds of birders.

3) Belted Kingfisher (Lancashire) December- Winter birds account to a very small percentage of my lifers so to get a rarity such a Belted Kingfisher in the days before Christmas was quite unbelievable.

4) Black-browed Albatross (Yorkshire)- I was totally gripped last year when Albert the Albatross treated birders to amazing views last year. As soon as news broke of his return I was off to Yorkshire on one of many trips to Yorkshire in 2021.

5) Rose-breasted Grosbeak (Shetland)- The eastern winds never arrived for our trip to Shetland which was disappointing however we did have a great day twitching this Rose-coloured Grosbreak. The above image was taken on our second walk up a steep hill on Unst after our first views with only satisfactory. Any American bird in a calendar year is welcome but to finish with seven this year is amazing. 

6) Long-toed Stint (Yorkshire)- Our departure from Shetland couldn't have been better timed for this super blocker. The Captain drove like Lewis Hamilton from Aberdeen for us to round off our holiday in great style.

7) Western Subalpine Warber (Isles of Scilly)- This twitch had everything. We were on the wrong island, took early boat, then pulled a favour with a lift to get to Telegraph where the bird was. As soon as we got out the mini bus we were greeted with negative news! Thankfully Adam convinced us to ignore the news & go through hedgerow with a fine toothed comb.

8) White-tailed Lapwing (Yorkshire)- We were greeted with negative news when we arrived on site after a 2 1/2 hour drive so we headed out on the reserve to enjoy the selection of waders available to view. And then like magic the graceful Lapwing flew in from our left and did a nice circle of the scrape before landing in front of us. Magical moments.......

9) River Warbler (Somerset)- Another species I could have only dreamt of seeing at the start of 2021. There is plenty of habitat on the Somerset levels so we were very lucky this bird took up teritory fairly close to a public footpath enabling birders to get some amazing views.

10) White-throated Sparrow (Sussex) - Sussex & Kent are counties I never enjoy driving to, however on this occasion I was spared the pain when the Captain drove me & the Squire to see this little beauty feeding under a picnic table on some allotments.

I'd like to wish all my blog readers a very happy New Year and very prosperous birdy 2022.

 

Return ticket for Belted Kingfisher

 

Belted Kingfisher feeding

Close up (from long range)

 Location - the large bend in river above shows its previous location

Plenty of birders enjoying early Christmas present

 

Very slippy path to field

To give you idea of the bend

Another angle 

Wintry scene from first attempt

YouTube footage

The Belted Kingfisher was first discovered on 8th November near Brockholes Nature Reserve (Preston) by a birder enjoying some fishing (see link below). The actual location was Redscar Bend which sits on a 90 degree slope with no paths and limited viewing. The Squire and I tried and failed to see the bird (a Little Egret & 2 Common Sandpiper were no compensation) when first found. After a frustrating few hours we gave in and climbed cardiac hill and sat in M6 traffic for four hours of snowy traffic only to hear that the bird had been seen at dusk. Our language was unrepeatable........

From this point the temperature increased and the rain fell which seemed to make the Kingfisher look for a new location to fish. The local birders were doing an amazing job of tracking down the north american rare vagrant, firstly to a canal, very few sightings and then to Roach Bridge, Samlesbury which it remained loyal to giving birders another chance to see this very rare bird.

On the second attempt sadly the Squire was tied up with work duties so I headed up solo with the plan to meet the captain at site. He called me en route to say the bird was showing well but hurry up! I arrived at a convenient time as birders were leaving so I got a parking pitch in the village. 

 

I followed the very muddy path to the even muddier field (now £10 to enter) to where the Captain greeted me and pointing me in the right direction. Whilst partially obscured to start with the bird took flight along the rivers edge. The machine gun calling of the bird gave away its position and I even managed a few distant photographs. 

I had seen one in Central Park, New York but i was still surprised how stockier the bird was compared to our Kingsfishers and was much bigger in size.

As if the birds of 2021 could not get any better, a male Belted Kingfisher in Preston. There are just four records in the UK before 2019 as they usually migrate from central america to north america.

Finders in the field report can be read here.

More fencing & very few ducks

                                                        Peregrine

Redwing

Linnet

Grey Herons

Any visits to Salford Priors continue to be difficult. The possible lease of the main pit to a local bird groups has never been further away. We now have more fencing being erected, model air planes buzzing and the gamekeeper using bird scaring devices.

For the record this was the WeBS count conducted in thick fog. 2 Shelduck, 20 Little Grebe, 8 Cormorant, 3 Grey Heron, 14 Mute Swan, 2 Greylag Geese, Zero Canada Geese, 6 Gadwall, 6 Teal, 210 Mallard, 3 Shoveler, 1 Pochard, 35 Tufted Duck, 1 Peregrine, 2 Buzzard, 1 Kestrel, 1 Grey Partridge, 12 Moorhen, 105 Coot, 1 Snipe (Pophills), 4 BH Gull, 5 LBB Gull, 1 Herring Gull, 1 Yellow-legged Gull, 20 Skylark, 30 Meadow Pipit, 2 Grey Wagtail, 1 Cetti's Warbler (Pophills), 40 Linnet & 2 Brambling.

Photographs above taken on previous weekend.

Late addition

After a message from Francis I visited the site where a male Goldeneye was showing distantly which was the 132nd species of the year. In addition, there were also three Wigeon (2 drakes).

Winter birding at RSPB St Aiden's

Black-necked Grebe

St Aiden's reserve

Feeding Wigeon

Grey Heron

After a lovely two day break in York, we stopped in at RSPB St Aiden's which is located on the edge of Leeds. The parking is free for RSPB members but you do need to get a ticket from the machine and display it in the car with your membership card.

The reserve is 400 hectacres in size and sits on a former open cast mine that flooded in 1998 when the river colapsed.

The weather was a typical winters day, showers and a cold biting wind. Not to be put off we dressed for the conditions and undertook a three mile circuit of the reserve. The wind made it difficult at times but we still recorded some nice species including Black-necked Grebe, Stonechat, Wigeon, Shoveler, Gadwall, Water Rail & Meadow Pipit. 

My only disappointment was dog walkers letting their dogs off the leads and straying off the footpaths. 

The only way is Essex for Red-breasted Geese

Red-breasted Geese

At last !

Sea wall very quiet

Brent Geese in flight

Hugh flock

Holliwell Point marked in red

Video Footage

Red-breasted Geese have become my bogey birds in recent years, after a couple of painful dips in the north west I'd been following the reports of a pair at Holliwell Point, Essex. Whenever they appear on the news you have to dismiss them as escapees however these birds looked to be excellent contenders and had been pushed to the Esses coast with a large flock of Brent Geese. The Red-breasted Geese breed in Siberia but migrate to eastern europe. 

After getting thumbs up regarding their origin I decided I'd try and go on Sunday when traffic would be at its quiestest and I was also concerned about the weather changing. The drive down was very smooth and after parking up I'd just have to navigate the last 45 minutes on foot via footpaths. Not ideal but it was a georgeous day for such a walk. I picked up a Merlin, Kestrel & Skylarks as the sea wall appeared in the distance. High tide would be in another two hours but I could see the geese flying around in the distance. 

Once I reached the sea wall I could see huge rafts of Brent Geese on the sea but non yet in the fields. With no other birders present for clues, I started north and edged down a bit at a time. There were huge number of geese to work through and I knew this was going to be tricky as the geese could easily be hidden by the Brents.

As I returned to my orginal stating point for a second sweep I picked up a small flock feeding in a field and with every minute more birds were flying in to join them. This was my best chance so I just sat my scope up and went through flock with a fine tooth comb. Then I picked up the first of the Red-breasted Geese and then the other.....I was very pleased and so were the couple of walkers I met who were hoping to see the birds but only had poor optics. The ATX 85 gave us all amazing views of the birds. 

As the walkers carried on their coastal walk, I stayed on the sea wall enjoying the sight and sound of the hugh flock of winter geese. Eventually some fishermen banged their van door which flushed the birds back onto the sea. I took this as my queue to head back. My sandwiches prepared by Mrs D did taste very good on the drive home. I've only twitched Essex once previously for a Wilson's Phalarope, so Essex remains in my 100% successful counties. This will be (in all probability) my last lifer of 2021, what a year it has been for rare birds.