Barton Star Aythya.....Sunday 1st April 2018.

After a very kind message from Far-Ings warden Simon Wellock,a quick trip down the A18 to Barton was the order of the day,as a Drake Ring-necked Duck had been found on the Bridge Pit adjacent to the hotel complex.

 It was a number of years since i had seen a Ring-necked Duck,with the last being a 2nd calendar year Drake at Tophill Low in February 2013 and being a fan of the species i decided to go over and take a look.
 After parking at the old visitor centre car park,i got the kit together and had a steady stroll around to where the bird had been seen and sure enough on arrival he was still present with his adopted Pochard flock(Every RND i have seen,has been with or paired to a Pochard).
 Some nice views were gained of the bird as he swam around the pit,mainly actively feeding,interspersed with a few bouts of preening his pristine plumage.
 This is no doubt the bird which has been present for a few weeks prior to this occurrance,at Bagmoor Lake near to Winterton.A nice few hours out today,re-aquainting myself with this smart species of American duck.

Chough Update,Sunday 1st April 2018.

Going back to our trip to North Wales from a week or so ago and our brilliant encounter with 4 Chough at Braich y Pwll on the Llyn Peninsula.As posted previously we had encountered a colour ringed bird,the following are details which were kindly received from Adrienne Stratford on this individual.
 The bird had been ringed as a male nestling as part of a brood of 3,9km from were we had seen him on our visit and then wandered widely as part of a flock of non breeding birds for the first 2 years of his life into the Nantile mountain range.This area is over 40km inland from his natal area and he spent time here in the summer and autumn months and then spent the rest of the year around Nefyn and Trefor in the winter time.It is highly unusual for Choughs to wander this far from the area they hatched in,with them usually staying closer to their hatching area.
 From 2015 he settled down in the Aberdaron area with an un-ringed partner,the one with him in my photos and successfully reared 2 broods of 3 chicks.
 This just goes to show the invaluable data gathered from colour ringing and ringing birds in general and in particular the rarer species which require strict management and protection measures to help them survive.
 A big thank you must go out to Adrienne and Tony Cross for all their hard work over the past 27 years in studying and ringing over 5,500 individual birds and help secure this stunning Corvids future.

U5 The 5 Year Old Male With His Partner At Braich y Pwll,Llyn Peninsula,23.03.2018.

North Wales......Monday 19th - Saturday 24th March 2018.

Trace And myself had booked to go away to this beautiful area of the country this week,staying just outside the Snowdonia National Park at Trawsfyndd.The following is an account of some of our days out and birds,wildlife and beautiful scenery we encountered.

Tuesday 20th March

Today we planned to do a circular walk from Beddgelert to Llyn Dinas and back over the mountain Moel y Dyniewyd and finish by walking along the stunning Aber Glaslyn Pass and back to Beddgelert.

 It has to be said that this is the best walk we have ever completed,albeit a bit knackering in places,but what amazing scenery.

 Bird highlights included the expected species associated with upland streams and montane habitat,with 3 Dipper which included a singing male,6 Grey Wagtail,3 Raven,male Stonechat,Common Buzzard,Male Goosander and a singing male Marsh tit.

 An added surprise were my first wild Goats along the side of Llyn Dinas,a tough,hardy species which were first introduced to the country in Neolithic times.Another animal highlight was our first Common Lizard of the year,which Trace spotted sun bathing in the afternoon rays.

Wednesday 21st March

Today we visited South Stack RSPB on the fantastic island of Anglesey.Unfortunately the weather was a bit naff,but the usual suspects were all seen well,which included 5 Chough,7 Raven,a pair of Stonechat,thousands of Razorbills and Guillemots over the sea and my first Wheatear of the year,a male near Helen's Tower.

 The towering sea cliffs are just breathtaking here,what a great place to enjoy the hobby.

Thursday 22nd March

Not really a birding day today,but we still managed to see a confiding Raven near to Llyn Cwellyn and the tamest Goosander i have ever seen at Llyn Padarn at Llanberis.Other birds seen around Llanberis included Common Buzzard,Grey Wags and a couple of bathing Siskins.

Friday 23rd Mar

Today was a good combination of sight seeing and all out birding along the superb Llyn Peninsula.

 While driving to our first destination at Porthdinllaen we managed to see 3 Raven and a Red Kite,2 of the Ravens in a field with some Jackdaws and positively dwarfing them.

 Porthdinllaen was a fantastic area and i managed to find 2 lifers and both not birds!.The first was a cracking male Black Oil Beetle found while walking along the coastal path,the second a long awaited one,a Bottle-nosed Dolphin watched surfacing out in the bay between Porthdinllaen and Nant Gwrtheyrn.The latter was an absolute surprise and obviously made my day.

 Other birds seen here included several Shags,Raven,3 Great-crested Grebe on the sea,8 Sandwich Terns - my first records of the year,a Red-throated Diver and a male Stonechat.

 The next stop was Braich y Pwll at the very tip of the Llyn where i hoped to see some more Choughs and hopefully get some decent pics.

 As we arrived at the car park 2 Choughs were seen straight away on the car park area,but were flushed by a Carrion Crow harassing them,but i refound them feeding alongside another pair and they gave incredible close views.

 Also seen in the area were 3 Raven and off the coast,Gannets,Kittiwakes,Fulmar,Guillemots and another Cetacean,a Harbour Porpoise.

 A quick cuppa at Aberdaron saw a single Peregrine and Common Buzzard overhead.

 The next place we explored was Porth Oer,or Whistling Sands as it is known and the sand actually squeaks more than whistles,due to the composition of the sand grains.

 More great sightings here included my first Chiffchaff of the year,Goldcrest,Raven,a singing male Stonechat and last but not least a male Bloody-nosed Beetle.The latter was found along the edge of the coastal path and was only my second ever sighting of the species.

 The final place we visited on our extensive visit to this brilliant area was the towering cliffs of Nant Gwrtheyrn.Sightings here included another Wild Goat,Peregrine,2 Great-spotted Woodpeckers and an interesting Carrion Crow which looked like a hybrid Carrion x Hooded Crow.

So what a fantastic visit to this beautiful part of the country,with some brilliant scenery and wildlife sightings to boot,i can't wait to go back!.

The Great Orme.

Aber Maw And Cadair Idris.

Beddgelert.

Male Grey Wagtail,Beddgelert.

The Afon Glaslyn Near To Cygun Copper mine.

Robin,Near To Cygun Copper mine.

Llyn Dinas.

Looking Towards The Carneddau Mountain Range From Moel y Dyniewyd.

The Fantastic Aber Glaslyn Pass.

Common Buzzard,Near Beddgelert.

Llyn Gwynant.

Llyn Cwellyn.

South Stack And Helen's Tower,Anglesey.

Male Stonechat,South Stack,Anglesey.

Record Shot Of The Male Wheatear,South Stack,Anglesey.

Raven In The Gloom,South Stack,Anglesey.

Llyn Peris,Llanberis.

Drake Goosander,Llyn Padarn,Llanberis.

Black Oil Beetle,Porthdinllaen,Llyn Peninsula.

Porthdinllaen,Llyn Peninsula.

Sandwich Tern,Porthdinllaen,Llyn Peninsula.

Ynys Enlli Taken From Braich y Pwll,Llyn Peninsula.

The Tip Of The Llyn At Braich y Pwll,Llyn Peninsula.

Choughs Showing Well,Braich y Pwll,Llyn Peninsula.

Choughs,Braich y Pwll,Llyn Peninsula.

Male Bloody-nosed Beetle,Porth Oer,Llyn Peninsula.

Porth Oer,Llyn Peninsula.

Common Buzzards Near To Aberdaron,Llyn Peninsula.

Wild Goat,Nant Gwrtheyrn,Llyn Peninsula.

Hooded Crow x Carrion Crow Hybrid Nant Gwrtheyrn,Llyn Peninsula.

Spotted Sandpiper,Holme Pierrepoint,Nottinghamshire,Sunday 18th Feb. 2018.

After not posting for what seems like ages,due to a few health problems,well iam getting on a bit now,i have eventually got around to posting my account of  visiting the superb 1st calendar year Spotted Sandpiper which was residing nicely in its Nottinghamshire riverside home,before the 'Beast From The East' hit.
 As it was only 65 miles from home and the fact i had never seen a 1st winter bird before,only adults,i made the relatively quick journey to the national watersports centre at Holme Pierrepoint alongside the River Trent.
 My target as mentioned above was the wintering Spotted Sandpiper and after getting the scope and camera together it wasn't long before i was watching this cracking little bird.
 At first it was a bit shy,but with patience and when people acted sensibly the bird showed impeccably,usually when there was only a few of us patiently waiting for it to come nearer for some photos.While it was further away,it gave me a great chance to study the subtle features of a 1st winter,with the plain tertials,yellowish legs,more distinct 'super',pale bill with a dark tip and shorter tail than Common sand.
 The bird spent a great period of time just feeding casually along the grass banks of the canoe slalom giving some really good relaxed viewing being disturbed a couple of times by clueless birders,who appeared on the birds skyline and promptly flushed it,but all in all i couldn't complain with my views and a few half decent shots also making for a very worthwhile trip.
 On the way back to the car,a bonus 1st winter drake Long-tailed Duck was really nice to see near the rowing course finish line,a fine way to end the visit,unfortunately too far for my camera.
 I travelled back north towards Lincoln contented in my day out in Nott's for a change.

The Spotted Sandpipers temporary home.

Patchwatch2018......The Story So far.

My first two visits to the patch at East Halton/Goxhill has seen me reach a respectable total of 79 species so far with some nice highlights which have included 3300 Pink-footed Geese,adult Med. Gull,Barnacle Goose,Goosander,3+ Water Pipits,up to 4 Marsh Harrier and Whooper Swan.
 It really is nice to be regularly watching this area again after a long absence and as mentioned before,this is where i cut my birding teeth after moving over to Goxhill from East Yorkshire in 1981.
 I was a bit late getting into birding properly,not starting until 1986 when i got my first pair of binos,but i was brought up with the natural world,thanks mostly to walks with my gran and grandad and learning about nature and plants from gran who was a fountain of knowledge....bless her.
 So 32 years down the line and here iam watching my old patch again and hopefully i will be able to find a rare or two,so watch this space.

Sunrise Taken From East Halton Skitter Looking Towards North Killingholme.

Mute Swans,East Halton Skitter.

Record Shot Of The Barnacle Goose,From The 7th Jan.

Female Stonechat,East Halton Skitter.

Female Roe Deer,East Halton Skitter.

Adult Mediterranean Gull,East Halton Skitter,This Bird Had A Green Colour Ring,But I Couldn't Make Out Any Lettering.

Adult Whooper Swan,Winter's Pond,East Halton.