Northumberland Birder, NUFC Fan. Mainly patch birding at St. Mary's Island, plus annual trips to the Outer Hebrides.
Whitley Bay, Northumberland
Joined June 2013
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After weeks of watching rare bird reports roll in from further south while we got absolutely nothing, late autumn finally arrived in Northumberland today! A lovely vocal Hume’s Warbler this morning, followed by a female Desert Wheatear at last light. About time!!
Twitching outside the county is a rarity for me these days, but some species just have a magic about them that makes them irresistible.
Nutcracker is one of those species, and we were treated to phenomenal views this morning. Simply, one of the best birds I’ve ever seen! – at Mundesley, England
Well, it certainly promised more than it delivered… a decent day on Holy Island with Firecrest and 2 Shorelark the standouts, plus YBW, 3 Black Redstart, Ring Ouzel, 12 Woodcock and a smattering of common migrants. Plenty to keep the interest, but the jackpot bird wasn’t to be!
How’s this for a forecast… lovely ESE wind and heavy rain all night on Holy Island tonight, clearing into a calmer and drier morning. With the haul of arrivals in Yorkshire today, we’d have to feel pretty hard done by not to score tomorrow!!
Lovely views of the Grey Phalarope at Hauxley this morning, followed by a few hours seawatching off Newbiggin this afternoon where a Balearic Shearwater flying north was the best of the bunch. Felt short-changed with no scarce skuas or Sabs Gull, but there’s always tomorrow…
Reflecting on a fab full day out in the field yesterday in Northumberland. Started well with an unexpected Glossy Ibis south at Beal, plus GN Diver and Todd’s Canada Goose in the area. A twitch was also required for the Buff-breast. Full highlights and some poor shots attached!
Delighted to hear the news that my Ashy-headed Wagtail at St. Mary’s Wetland in April 2025 has been given the nod by BBRC, becoming the first accepted county record - happy days!
Some edited shots of this morning's all too brief star bird. Superficially, it seems to tick all the boxes for Ashy-headed Wagtail (cinereocapilla) with the dark ear-coverts and no hint of a white supercilium, along with a rather harsh call.
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Straight back into local birding after getting home and the juv Spotted Redshank at St. Mary’s Wetland was the priority. Amazing that it’s stayed for over a week and waited for me to get back from holiday… full patch tick for me, a seriously tough bird to catch up with here! ☑️
Our Scotland trip is at an end for another year - another fantastic visit to the Hebrides, with plenty of new island birds for us along the way. A final overnight stop in Aviemore on the journey home rounded things off perfectly, with some fantastic views of Crested Tit…
Yesterday was tough going with torrential rain and gales all day, but what a difference today! South Uist was superb this morning with no fewer than 4 Buff-breasted Sandpipers, showing incredibly well down to 10ft! The theme continued with two drake American Wigeon close by too.
A quieter day on the rarities front, but it’s been all about the raptors on Uist today - some extraordinary views of White-tailed Eagle stole the show, especially seeing two adults on posts right beside the road! Plenty of Hen Harrier too plus a pair of Golden Eagle.
First full day of the trip, and off to a brilliant start! The crossing to Stornoway produced a juv Sabine’s Gull and a Euro Storm-Petrel, followed by hundreds of Sooty Shearwaters off Butt of Lewis. Finished the day by finding two Glossy Ibis at Port Nis… so good to be back!!
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Here we go! We’ve arrived in Ullapool ahead of a week on the Outer Hebs - the forecast remains pretty juicy for some arrivals… Project Prothonotary Warbler is underway!!
Lapland Bunting showing well at Longhoughton Steel last night, a very welcome yeartick - not an easy bird to catch up with in the county these days.
After a quiet start to the month, the weather finally shifted, with NW winds displacing a few seabirds. A poor watch this morning, but this afternoon was excellent with plenty of passage, including fantastic views of a Great Shearwater north past Newbiggin Point at 16:40!
Fab morning around Cresswell Pond! It started well connecting with the regular Hobby for a nice county yeartick, which became even better when the limosa Black-tailed Godwit dropped in with 3 Little Stints & a Curlew Sand. Finished at Snab Point with an incredible 476 Med Gulls!!
Classic late-August drift migration conditions on the east coast this afternoon, headlined by this smashing Red-backed Shrike at Newbiggin. Hopefully a few more goodies to go at this weekend following this weather system…
Unfortunately, that’s a wrap on our adventure! It’s been another fantastic trip, South America is just sensational. Here’s a few shots from Hummingbird garden in Iguazu to close the show…
