Videos from Stocking Wood October 2023

 Fallow Deer

Solitary Roe Deer

Few days in Norfolk

 Species list.

1. Mute swan
2. Greylag Goose
3. Canada goose
4. Shelduck
5. Egyptian goose
6. Mallard
7. Gadwall
8. Shoveler
9. Wigeon
10. Teal
11. Garganey
12. Common scoter
13. Pheasant
14. Red throated diver
15. Little grebe
16. Fulmar
17. Cory's shearwater
18. Sooty Shearwater
19. Manx shearwater
20. Gannet
21. Cormorant
22. Little egret
23. Grey heron
24. Spoonbill
25. Red Kite
26. Marsh Harrier
27. Common buzzard
28. Kestrel
29. Hobby
30. Moorhen
31. Coot
32. Oystercatcher
33. Avocet
34. Ringed Plover
35. Grey Plover
36. Golden plover
37. Lapwing
38. Sanderling
39. Turnstone
40. Dunlin
41. Curlew sandpiper
42. Ruff
43. Wood sandpiper
44. Green sandpiper
45. Common sandpiper
46. Redshank
47. Greenshank
48. Black tailed godwit
49. Curlew
50. Snipe
51. Black headed gull
52. Common gull
53. Mediterranean Gull
54. Herring gull
55. Lesser Black backed Gull
56. Great Black backed gull
57. Kittiwake
58. Sandwich tern
59. Common tern
60. Little tern
61. Razorbill
62. Guillemot
63. Stock dove
64. Wood pigeon
65. Collared dove
66. Tawny Owl (heard)
67. Swift
68. Green Woodpecker
69. Great spotted woodpecker
70. Sand martin
71. House martin
72. Swallow
73. Meadow pipit
74. Pied wagtail
75. Dunnock
76. Wren
77. Robin
78. Stonechat
79. Song thrush
80. Mistle thrush
81. Blackbird
82. Blackcap
83. Whitethroat
84. Reed warbler
85. Cetti's warbler (heard)
86. Willow warbler
87. Chiffchaff
88. Great tit
89. Blue tit
90. Long tailed tit
91. Bearded reedling
92. Magpie
93. Jay
94. Carrion Crow
95. Rook
96. Jackdaw
97. Starling
98. House sparrow
99. Chaffinch
100. Greenfinch
101. Goldfinch
102. Linnet
103. Reed bunting
104. Yellowhammer

Yorkshire Trip 7 - 10.vi.23

 Off to Bridlington for 3 nights. Places visited were:

Bempton Cliffs (Wednesday afternoon, Thursday evening, Friday evening)

Flamborough Head (Thursday morning, Friday afternoon)

Wykeham Forest and Raptor Viewpoint (Thursday midday)

Rosedale, North York Moors (Thursday afternoon)

Filey Dams Reserve (Friday morning)

Filey Brigg (Friday morning)

Hightor Tor Low Reserve (Saturday morning)

Blacktoft Sands RSPB Reserve (Saturday midday)

Home by 6pm Saturday having set off Wednesday 5.15am. Nearly 700 miles driven and a good trip list:

First sighting noted. Highlight of the trip was a Bee eater that I heard from the South Lagoon at Hightor Low Reserve. It flitted over the lagoon for less than a minute and was gone. Only my 4th record of this species in the UK, although I record loads of sightings when in The Camargue and The Algarve. Great bird to see.

1. Mute Swan (Hightor Low)
2. Greylag Goose (Filey Dams)
3. Canada Goose (Filey Dams)
4. Shelduck (Filey Dams)
5. Mallard (Filey Dams)
6. Gadwall (Filey Dams)
7. Shoveler (Blacktoft Sands)
8. Teal (Filey Dams)
9. Garganey (Filey Dams, a pair)
10. Tufted Duck (Filey Dams)
11. Red Grouse (Rosedale)
12. Pheasant (Bempton Cliffs)
13. Red Throated Diver (Filey Brigg)
14. Little Grebe (Blacktoft Sands)
15. Fulmar (Bempton Cliffs)
16. Gannet (Bempton Cliffs)
17. Cormorant (Hightor Low)
18. Shag (Flamborough Head)
19. Little egret (Hightor Low)
20. Great White egret (Blacktoft Sands)
21. Grey Heron (Filey Dams)
22. Red Kite (driving)
23. Marsh Harrier (Hightor Low)
24. Common Buzzard (Wykeham Raptor Viewpoint)
25. Honey Buzzard (Wykeham Raptor Viewpoint)
26. Sparrowhawk ( Filey Dams)
27. Kestrel (A1 driving)
28. Peregrine Falcon (Rosedale)
29. Moorhen (Filey Dams)
30. Coot (Filey Dams)
31. Oystercatcher (Flamborough Head)
32. Avocet (Filey Dams)
33. Little Ringed Plover (Hightor Low)
34. Lapwing (Filey Dams)
35. Common Sandpiper (Hightor Low)
36. Redshank (Flamborough Head)
37. Greenshank (Filey Dams)
38. Black tailed godwit (Blacktoft Sands)
39. Curlew (Rosedale)
40. Black Headed Gull (Flamborough Head)
41. Herring Gull (Bempton Cliffs)
42. Lesser Black Backed Gull (Hightor Low)
43. Kittiwake (Bempton Cliffs)
44. Common Tern (Hightor Low)
45. Puffin (Bempton Cliffs)
46. Guillemot (Bempton Cliffs)
47. Razorbill (Bempton Cliffs)
48. Wood Pigeon (Bempton Cliffs)
49. Collared dove (Bridlington)
50. Barn Owl (Bempton Cliffs)
51. Swift (Bempton Cliffs)
52. Bee eater (Hightor Low)
53. Great Spotted woodpecker (heard, Wykeham Forest)
54. Skylark (Bempton Cliffs)
55. Sand Martin (Filey Brigg)
56. Swallow (Bempton Cliffs)
57. House Martin (Flamborough Head)
58. Meadow Pipit (Bempton Cliffs)
59. Pied Wagtail (Filey Dams)
60. Yellow wagtail (Access Road, Hightor Low)
61. Dunnock (Bempton Cliffs carpark)
62. Robin (Bempton Cliffs carpark)
63. Wheatear (Flamborough Head)
64. Song Thrush (Bridlington)
65. Mistle Thrush (Wykeham Forest)
66. Blackbird (Bempton Cliffs)
67. Ring Ouzel (Rosedale at The Kilns x2)
68. Garden Warbler (Hightor Low)
69. Blackcap (Filey Dams)
70. Whitethroat (Bempton Cliffs)
71. Sedge Warbler (Flamborough Head)
72. Grasshopper Warbler (heard, Flamborough Head)
73. Cettis Warbler (Hightor Low)
74. Reed Warbler (Blacktoft Sands)
75. Willow Warbler (Wykeham Forest)
76. Chiffchaff (Bempton Cliffs carpark)
77. Goldcrest (Wykeham Forest)
78. Wren (Bempton Cliffs)
79. Great tit (Bempton Cliffs)
80. Blue Tit (Bempton Cliffs)
81. Willow Tit (Wykeham Forest)
82. Coal Tit (Wykeham Forest)
83. Long Tailed tit (Bempton Cliffs carpark)
84. Bearded Reedling (heard, Blacktoft Sands)
85. Magpie (Bempton Cliffs)
86. Jay (Approach Road, Bempton Cliffs)
87. Jackdaw (Bempton Cliffs)
88. Carrion Crow (Bempton Cliffs)
89. Starling (Filey Brigg)
90. House Sparrow (Bridlington)
91. Tree Sparrow (Bempton Cliffs)
92. Chaffinch (Bempton Cliffs)
93. Linnet (Bempton Cliffs)
94. Goldfinch (Filey Dams)
95. Greenfinch (Filey Dams)
96. Siskin (Wykeham Forest)
97. Bullfinch (Wykeham Raptor Viewpoint and Hightor Low)
98. Common Crossbill (Wykeham Forest)
99. Reed Bunting (Filey Dams)
100. Yellowhammer (Filey Brigg)
101. Corn Bunting (Bempton Cliffs and Hightor Low approach Road)
102. Feral Pigeon (ubiquitous)

Some of my favourite snaps of the trip.

Gannet

Guillemot

Gannet enjoying the updraft

Recently fledged Tree Sparrow

Kittiwakes

Gannet thinking about having a salad!

Razorbill

Guillemot

Guillemot territorial dispute, note the Bridled form.

Nesting material

Puffin

Incoming

Have they seen the Fulmar?

Acrobatic Fulmar

Gannet that has suffered with Bird Flu. Note large pupil.

Puffins

Tree Sparrow, extinct in my county of Hertfordshire, great to see so many.

Clifftop poppies at Flamborough Head.

Pied Wagtail

Recently fledged Tree Sparrow

Red Grouse

Meadow Pipit

More Puffins!

Juvenile Coot

Greenshank

Razorbill got the landing wrong. Splat! 2nd time around got it correct

Distant Shag

Fulmar

Distant drake Garganey at Filey Dams

New born Kittiwake

Juvenile Starling with parent

Flamborough Head seals

Emperor dragonfly

Guillemot on the updraft

Bempton Barn Owl

Yellowhammer

Wheatear at Flamborough Head

Posing Gannet

Razorbill just heard Boris Johnson has resigned!

Black tailed godwits at Blacktoft Sands

Grey heron in harsh light

Puffins and Razorbill

Gannet symmetry

World's worst Bee Eater photo from Hightor Low

Faro 23.05.23 - 27.05.23

 Quick trip for 3 day's birding. All 3 days were spent walking the Ria Formosa wetlands. Day 1: Quinta da Lago to Faro airport (10 miles) whilst day 2 was all around Fuseta and then the salt pans outside Faro (9 miles) and the last day a train to Tavira and again, the salt pans before a ferry over to Ilha de Tavira and back (8 miles)

The weather was hot with clear blue skies for most of the time so heat haze was a real problem. I tried to overcome this by a.) getting out on to the first train at 7am and b.) setting the camera to very fast speeds, up to 6400th of a second. To compensate for these speeds I had to increase the ISO which meant a rather grainy image when cropped, or a darker image. 

Photos here are 2nds as the really sharp ones will be included in my Portuguese presentation for Nat Hist societies and RSPB groups. Plus, I am planning on writing a pamphlet on birding in The Algarve and I shall use these better ones for that, as well.

Species:

1. Mute swan
2. Shelduck
3. Mallard
4. Great crested grebe
5. Cormorant
6. Cattle egret
7. Little egret
8. Glossy Ibis
9. Spoonbill
10. White stork
11. Greater flamingo
12. Coot
13. Avocet
14. Black winged stilt
15. Ringed plover
16. Kentish plover
17. Sanderling
18. Turnstone
19. Dunlin
20. Curlew sandpiper
21. Common sandpiper
22. Redshank
23. Black tailed godwit
24. Whimbrel
25. Slender billed gull
26. Yellow legged gull
27. Audouin's gull
28. Gull billed tern
29. Little tern
30. Wood pigeon
31. Collared dove
32. Scops owl (heard)
33. Swift
34. Pallid swift
35. Hoopoe
36. Bee eater (heard)
37. Great spotted woodpecker (heard)
38. Skylark
39. Crested Lark
40. Swallow
41. House martin
42. Pied wagtail
43. Yellow wagtail ssp iberiae
44. Robin
45. Stonechat
46. Song thrush
47. Blackbird
48. Sardinian warbler
49. Whitethroat (heard)
50. Zitting Cisticola
51. Cetti's warbler
52. Wren
53. Great tit
54. Blue tit
55. Azure winged magpie
56. Magpie
57. Jay
58. Jackdaw
59. Starling
60. House sparrow
61. Chaffinch
62. Goldfinch
63. Linnet
64. Greenfinch
65. Serin
66. Common waxbill

Cactus coming into flower

Serin

Hoopoes

Hoopoes

White stork

Azure winged magpie

Little egret with lunch

Crested Lark

Path over the Ria Formosa to the airport

Black tailed godwit

Black winged stilt

Greater flamingo

Ringed plover chasing a Kentish plover

Spoonbill

Little egret

Little tern

Record shot of Audouin's gull

Shelduck with Sanderling, Dunlin and Redshank

Upper wings of Swallowtail butterfly

Underwings of same insect

Serin

Nesting Black winged stilt

Pleasant reflection

Black winged stilt eggs and nest

Another reflection

Crested Lark

Early morning flamingoes

Flamingoes

Azure winged magpie

Another flowering cactus

Stonechat

Goldfinch

Fuseta landscape

Redshank

Asking me to move on as too near his nest.

Fuseta flamingoes

Slender billed gull

Sardinian warbler

Kentish plover

White stork

Kentish plover

Sanderling

Avocets and a BW Stilt

Greater flamingo

Dunlin

Plenty of Dunlin

One legged dunlin

Linnet

Recently hatched Black winged stilt

Ringed plover

Sanderling

Curlew sandpiper

Fiddler crab

Collared dove

Little egret

Avocet

Curlew sandpiper

Pair of dunlin with 2 Curlew sandpipers