Pied Wheatear on the Wirral!

Pied Wheatear had been missing from my arsenal of British Wheatears for some time now, having never managed to make it down to the Nottinghamshire bird back in 2013. With no readily available birds in the 5 years since, I therefore jumped on the chance to pay a visit to the bird that took up residence on the sea wall at Dove Point in Meols on the Wirral in November, less than an hour away from home and showing extremely well to the masses.

Pied Wheatear!

The Wheatear and its many admirers! 

Sure enough, upon pulling up next to the assembled crowd of birders and cameras, the Pied Wheatear was instantly on view – quite possibly the easiest and quickest twitch I have ever been to!

Over the next few hours the Wheatear continued to show exceptionally well, flitting from point to point on the sea wall and never disappearing for more than a minute at a time, on one occasion flying down on to the floor and proceeding to scurry right up to my boots! Extremely confiding and showing no fear, it didn’t even seem too bothered when locals passed right next to it with their dogs!

Aged as a first winter male, whilst some questioned the ID with relation to the width of the black band on the end of the tail (and the similarity to Eastern Black-eared Wheatear), tail patterns vary between individuals and this particular bird is well in the range for Pied. The dark feather colouration of the mantle along with the white edges to the feathers creating a ‘scaly’ effect are also both classic for Pied, nailing the ID.

Note the scaly looking back - a key feature for Pied Wheatear

Having already been present for two days before being identified from photos and the news put out to the masses, this was the first record for Cheshire/Wirral and a fantastic local bird to connect with.

MEGA!! Sooty Tern at the Ythan Estuary, Aberdeenshire!!

The summer holidays are always a tricky time when it comes to twitching, especially as Alex has six weeks of freedom while I’m stuck at work, and as such I always dread the mega alert going off during July and August…

Sooty Tern! Not the most expected of summer megas!

Typically, no more than 3 days (!) into the holiday the mega alert sounded in to action once again, this time signalling the relocation of the Sooty Tern that had been flirting with the east coast for the past few weeks, finally getting pinned down at none other than the Ythan Estuary, home of the long staying and famous King Eider that now calls the beaches and river mouth its home. Groan. On a Monday this was probably the worst time for a bird to appear, and meant I had 4 days to endure before I could make the trip up (while Alex went dashing up to the Ythan without me…) 

Alex's views of the Sooty Tern.... without me!

Originally spotted off Brownsman Island on the Farnes at the start of July, with a gap of two weeks before it was seen again flying past Inner Farne (and later landing briefly at Long Nanny in Northumberland for a few hours) the Sooty Tern had actually been seen fleetingly at the Ythan on the Friday evening, but with no sign at all over the weekend it wasn’t until 5pm on the Monday that it was re-found on the mussel beds, performing well all evening for those initial observers.

The mussel beds on the Ythan Estuary where the Sooty Tern set up home

Showing well all week since, treating onlookers at the famous tin hut to fantastic fly-bys and perching obligingly on the rocky shore, it was somewhat disheartening to see the “no sign” reports come trickling through on Friday morning, carrying on in to lunchtime. With a tricky decision to make and a potential dip on the cards after a long drive of 6+ hours, it may have seemed risky to press on with no sign, but it was a case of definitely NOT seeing a Sooty Tern sat at home as the only alternative, so leaving work at lunchtime, me and my Dad made the long journey north in what initially seemed like a bit of a doomed mission from the get go.

The weather was absolutely ATROCIOUS (this was not night!)

Arriving as darkness approached in absolutely torrential rain and with lightning so close it practically shook the car, there had still been no sign of the Sooty Tern all day. Never the less we made a quick attempt to scope out from Inch Road (standing in a tin hut in a lighting storm didn’t seem like the best of ideas) but with darkness soon closing in and the tern colony just a touch too distant in fading light, we failed to make out a Sooty Tern amongst the wheeling flock of white.  

Thankfully, despite heavy rain forecast all weekend, Saturday morning dawned with a refreshing break in the weather and dry skies, and on checking my phone the impossible seemed to have happened – the Sooty Tern was back. Luckily our hotel was only a ten minute drive from the Ythan, and after a rather tense wait of an hour or so when the bird had gone missing out at sea, thankfully the cry went up as one stately Sooty Tern came swooping in to view.

Waiting for the Sooty...the view from the famous tin hut!

Much larger than the assorted Commic Terns, with jet black wings and giving off a distinctive Skua-like silhouette, the Sooty was truly unmistakeable, and we watched as it gave further fly-pasts before continuing left down to Inch Road before settling down distantly on the algae clad rocks with a handful of Sandwich Terns.

Sooty in the rain....

Zoomed in....when I say distant I really mean distant!

Deciding that heading back to the car and driving to Inch Road instead of walking along the now soaking wet dunes would be the best option (it was now starting to rain quite heavily) we raced back to the car and nipped round to the car park at Inch, the Sooty Tern conveniently perched right in front of us and providing great views despite the now torrential downpour. Brollies in one hand and camera in the other I was able to reel off some record shots before the Sooty alighted once more, circling round to the tin hut and back before powering off up the river upstream and lost to view as a distant spec. Excellent timing and Sooty Tern well and truly in the bag!

Despite having seen Sooty Terns before at the Dry Tortugas islands off Florida and Michelmas Cay in Australia, I was still struck by just how large the Sooty was compared to our resident tern species (Common, Arctic, Sandwich, Little and Black were all present on the Ythan during our visit, making it a 6 tern day!) and it really was unmistakable when flying among the swirling masses of white.

The Farne Islands Bridled Tern back in 2014. Sooty Terns differ from the very similar Bridled Terns by their larger size and much darker, uniform black back and upperwings compared to a Bridled Tern’s lighter grey. 

Usually found in tropical seas around Australia and the Caribbean, this Aberdeenshire bird was realistically only the third twitchable record in recent years (following on from the widely twitched and popular bird that frequented the Skerries off Anglesey and Cemlyn Bay during July 2005 and the moribund bird found on a Northamptonshire gravel pit back in 1980) so I was especially keen not to miss this opportunity – who knows how long it will be before the next twitchable Sooty in Britain! 

Our views of Sooty Tern on Michelmas Cay last summer

Despite seeming like a no hope situation when setting off on the Friday, this was most definitely a case of “he who dares wins” and I’m glad I followed my usual mantra of persevering with a planned twitch even if negative news surfaces while en-route – thankfully this time the gamble paid off!

Snow in June? Snowy Owl makes landfall on Anglesey!!

Snowy Owl is a bird I’ve wanted to see in Britain since I was very young, having made a small “Owls in the UK” checklist complete with little photographs to tick off each species as I saw it – Snowy Owl sitting right at the bottom with “VAGRANT” written next to it.

Fast forward several years with all owls now ticked off (even European Scops making it on to the list!) just Snowy Owl remained, with a big blank square sitting next to its name.

Having never made it to either the Cairngorms, Scilly Isles or East Anglia over recent times to twitch the long-staying birds that set up home there, it was therefore a bit of a surprise and a stroke of good luck and timing when reports of a Snowy Owl seen on Anglesey came trickling in on a Friday afternoon back in June. Showing well all afternoon on Point Lynas coastal path, as soon as the first photos of confirmation came through on Twitter I left work early to try and connect, beating the rush hour traffic and picking up Alex en-route.

Snowy Owl!

Making good time and arriving mid-afternoon, we were unfortunately met with the news it had just this second flown over the brow of the hill and lost to view – horrendous bad luck on our part! Thankfully we didn’t have long to wait for a reappearance, as after just a tense 5 minute wait the owl was refound further along the track, being harassed by one of the local Buzzards but standing it’s ground and sitting serenely amongst the gorse.

Setting up our scopes (my ankles getting slashed to pieces in the process by the local plant life – ankle socks were NOT a good idea) we were able to get great and prolonged views as this majestic arctic owl sat peacefully on a patch of rocky ground, turning its head regularly and blinking obliviously at its small crowd of admirers.

Normally a far arctic species much more at home in the Canadian, Greenland or Russian expanses, 2018 has seen a bit of a mini influx of Snowy Owls in to the UK, with individuals of this stately owl recorded in locations such as Shetland, Orkney, the Outer Hebrides, Gwent, Gwynedd, Lincolnshire/Norfolk, the Scilly Isles and Pembrokeshire to name a few.

The normal range of Snowy Owls

And the latest sightings in the UK this year as per Birdguides

With the St. David’s Head bird in Pembrokeshire last seen on the 7^th April, and subsequent sightings of a Snowy Owl further north in Ceredigion a day later and on Skomer Island on the 30^th May, it’s entirely plausible that this could be the same female moving north. However reports of a Snowy Owl on Anglesey have been doing the rounds since the spring, with a bird reported at South Stack as far back as the 24^th March and again at Rhosneigr on the 13^th April, so it is equally as likely that this is a different individual altogether from Pembrokeshire bird, having set up home in the remote Welsh mountains and remaining undetected for long periods of time. Indeed, after making itself available at Point Lynas, it wasn’t until 3 weeks later that it was spotted again further west at South Stack, with another month on top of that before it was reported once more.

The beautiful views from the coastal path

Regardless, this was a fantastic local bird to see in a beautiful, rugged Welsh coastal setting, and a bird that means I can finally tick off that blank square on my owl checklist after all these years.

Mega!! Green Heron at Llan-mill, Pembrokeshire!

Another weekend, another transatlantic mega heron, this time in the form of a Green Heron found stalking fish at a garden pond in Pembrokeshire, deep in the heart of South Wales. 

Green Heron!

Like the American Bittern, I hadn’t been twitching when the Heligan Green Heron of October 2010 turned up, and curiously in a strange twist of fate, 8 years later the occasion of having both mega American herons in the UK at once mirrored 2010, when both species turned up in Cornwall together. 

With Alex making light work of the 4 hour drive through the rolling Welsh hills and quaint villages, Red Kites drifting lazily overhead in good numbers for the latter part of the journey, we were soon on site at Llan-mill and making the short walk up the track to the garden of the finder, MP Simon Hart, where the heron had temporarily set up residence. 

The heron's new home - a far cry from the swamps of America

Immediately upon arrival the heron performed brilliantly, perched right out in the open on a small branch at the front of the pool, rich chestnut and bottle green feathers shining in the sun with bright yellow eyes glinting and alert on the lookout for tiny fish below.

Lapping up the views for a further two hours as the heron made its way around the pond, these were some of our best views of Green Heron to date, having previously seen birds on several occasions in America either distantly or partly obscured by reeds. Only the 8th record for Britain, this is the latest in a flurry of birds since the turn of the millennium, and despite this being the 5th bird in the last 17 years alone, it’s still a great bird for the UK and one we were both pleased to make the journey down for.

Alex's great little video of the Green Heron

With a supporting cast of a nice Dipper zipping up and down the brook running alongside the house, huge thanks to the finder for putting out news and allowing hordes of birders to utilise his back garden in order to view.

Spot the heron...

Tricoloured Heron next weekend anyone?

Mega!! American Bittern at Carlton Marshes, Suffolk!

“American Bittern – Suffolk [!!!]” – one of the last things I’d expected to see flash up on my phone at gone 1am in the morning, having just touched down in Manchester after a flight back from Cyprus! 

With news soon coming to light that an American Bittern had indeed been seen and photographed earlier that evening at Carlton Marshes (it later transpired it had been there since March at least!) it wasn’t until 2 weekends later that we managed to make the long journey over to the Suffolk marshes in order to try and connect. 

American Bittern in Florida - a much more expected location!

Arriving on the Saturday afternoon, after a string of wet and foggy mornings we were lucky that the reedbeds were bathed in the golden glow of the early evening sun, and we were soon walking along the pathways to a backdrop of chattering Sedge Warblers and distant Groppers reeling undetected in the nearby scrub, while a family party of deer enjoyed a last minute supper on the adjacent fields near the river. 

The view at Carlton Marshes of the area the bittern was favouring

Having took what soon transpired to the longest route round to the Bittern’s favoured area, we were told mid-way that it was currently giving mouth-watering views fishing in an open dyke, forcing us to up the pace increasingly until we had joined the swarming throng of birders, anxious it could have had its fill of Sticklebacks and newts at any moment and flown off and away over the reeds. 

Thankfully though our luck was in (despite a nervy moment when a Marsh Harrier started quartering over the reeds directly over the Bittern!) and as soon as we arrived we were put on the bird, sat motionless amongst the tall Juncus and showing off its long neck and dagger-like bill through the scopes. 

Dodgy record shot  - it was showing much better than this!

Managing a few record shots before it moved back in to the grass clumps and intermittently out of view, we were then treated to fantastic flight views as it suddenly departed, flying low over the open field before gaining height slowly and eventually dropping down in the thick reedbeds out of sight. 

With just 38 accepted records of American Bittern in Britain (and several more in Ireland) with birds turning up on average once every ten years or so, this was a great bird to get under our belts for the UK, having not been twitching for the last Cornish bird back in 2010. 

Adder! Quick phone skills from Alex!

With a beautiful weekend in Suffolk made complete by a delicious Turkish feast in nearby Lowestoft that evening, followed by a cracking cooked breakfast and great views of a female Adder on the path at RSPB Minsmere the next day, all in all the weekend had been a resounding success, ensuring we could head back up north happy.