Sheffield Late Autumn Megas!

Late Autumn saw a great run of relatively rare birds for the Sheffield area.

A pair of Shags on Crooks Valley Lake:

Slavonian Grebe at Orgreave Lakes:

Great Northern Diver at Orgreave Lakes:

Purple Sandpiper at Totley Moor:

Thanks for looking!

The Little Crake - A Big Bird

After an amazing 2023, the November Little Crake in Buckinghamshire was my 450th British bird!

A nice bird to get me to this birding milestone.

Little Crake

Solitary Sandpiper in Kent

As I was 'down south' in early November I headed over to Stodmarsh in Kent to attempt to see the Solitary Sandpiper.  Although it had been seen for a number of days, sightings were sporadic and in different locations. 

I arrived on site before dawn and waited for some light to appear before heading down to the Reedbed hide. After an hour there was no sign of any waders.  There was a moment of excitement when a bird flew in but it was a Green Sandpiper.   After a further hour or so we got lucky as the Solitary Sandpiper flew into the marshy area just to the left of the hide.  It continued to give superb views as it fed within meters of the hide for at least an hour.  It flew off later that afternoon and was not seen after that.

Solitary Sandpiper (front) and Green Sandpiper

Below: Solitary Sandpiper

Spurn and a Red-headed Bunting at Flamborough Head

With easterly winds forecast I headed to Spurn for a full day on October 21st, getting there at dawn with the intention of a couple of hours sea-watching and then just to wander around the Spurn area and see what could be found.  It was an eventful morning, although there were very few sea birds, and the hoped for Leach's Petrel didn't materialise.  The best bird was a Hen Harrier drifting south out at sea!

Hen Harrier

However, other raptors starting to move in off the sea, with a couple of Short-eared Owls and a nice Rough-legged Buzzard soon in the area.  

A lovely Red-flanked Bluetail was (re)caught in the nets along with a Twite in Church Fields

Twite

Red-flanked Bluetail

Other arrivals included a Waxwing, but that couldn't be found so I headed on to Beacon Ponds, where the American Wigeon and Long-tailed Duck were easy to pick up.

Long-tailed Duck

American Wigeon

After wandering back to the Spurn triangle I was contemplating heading home, when news emerged of an interesting Bunting found further north at Flamborough Head.  It was described as either Black-headed or (less likely) Red-headed Bunting.  As I had seen neither I decided it was worth the drive up there to attempt to see the bird before the end of the day.  It was going to be a race against time as it was already mid-afternoon and the light would soon start to go.  It took a good 90 minutes to get to Flamborough; there is no quick route from Spurn other than to follow the coast.  

I arrived and soon realised I was at the wrong car park.  At this point I almost gave up as the light was already starting to go, but I persisted and relocated to the North Landing car park, but surprisingly there were no birders present to ask directions.  I had a rough idea of where it was so set off running along the coast path as the sun was descending quickly.  I estimated I had about 40 minutes of light and it would take about 25 minutes to get there.  I was aware I wouldn't be able to return the next day, or in fact for the next week, so that gave me added reason to get to it that evening.   I passed two small groups who were returning and they pointed me in the right direction. I suspect they thought I had no chance of seeing it.  

After leaving the main path and heading along the side of a field, I was relieved to see two birders still present in the distance, and after a lot of pointing and a few falls down muddy banks and through barbed wire I was in the right place and looking at the Bunting.  Despite being a sweaty mess, it was certainly worth the effort.  With only three people present the bird was relatively relaxed and gave superb views, and for a few minutes the setting sun shone right on the bird providing enough light for some decent shots.  I managed to take some photos which were widely distributed that evening and, despite the bird being in heavy moult, several features pointed towards it being a possible Red-headed Bunting.

Red-headed Bunting

Over the next few days not surprisingly the bird proved very popular as it had the potential of being a mega rarity.  DNA was collected and a few weeks later the bird was subsequently confirmed as a Red-headed Bunting, a first-winter male, and if accepted will probably be the second for Britain, following the re-assessment of one a decade earlier on Out Skerries, Shetland. 

Shetland 2023

The long drive north to Aberdeen was the start of a great 10 autumn days on Shetland this year.  

The first bird of note was a nice summer-plumaged Red-throated Diver off the sea at Stonehaven, south of Aberdeen, before heading onto the overnight ferry.

Red-throated Diver, Stonehaven

The overnight crossing was relatively calm, and as I'd risked not getting a cabin I even managed to get a little sleep on the benches.  It was great to arrive in Lerwick which started with a much needed breakfast.

Out of the cafe and I was able to walk to the first target, a Bluethroat that had been in the area south of Lerwick for a couple of days.  I found it straight away, and although it didn't show for long, it gave occasional good views from its position in the middle of a field.

Bluethroat at Sound, Lerwick

It was a great start to the day, and I then drove the short distance to Clickimin Loch where a Little Bunting had been showing well.  A small crowd was gathered at it was showing incredibly well, picking insects from a couple of small sycamore trees like a warbler.

Little Bunting, Lerwick

Also in the Lerwick area was a confiding Citrine Wagtail. I hadn't been able to locate it in a brief search  between the Bluethroat and the Little Bunting. I returned to the Seafield area to have another look.  I soon found it with some Pied Wagtails on the football pitch, after which is relocated over the path to what would become its favoured garden. 

Citrine Wagtail, Seafield Park, Lerwick

I didn't stay long.  It was good to see so many uncommon eastern migrants, after what had been a long period of predominantly westerly winds.  But a message appeared that got me straight in the car heading north to Lunna Kirk - a bird very much from the west - a possible Veery!

A swift 30 minute journey to an area I'd visited many time before; the last good bird there was a Melodious warbler a few years ago.  Arriving at the church, there was around 20 people looking into the base of a row of trees, and what had now been confirmed as a Veery was showing really well, feeding on the ground under the trees and occasionally further forward through the fence.  This was a new bird for me, so it was great to get a tick on the first day within hours of arriving in Shetland.

The Veery, a small North American Catharus thrush, ended up staying several days and became more confiding as time went on. It was seen by most Shetland autumn birders.  I saw it a few days later with no-one else there and it was feeding a few feet from where I was stood, out in the field.

Veery, Lunna

This was turning into an incredible first day on Shetland, but there was one further highlight.  Whilst watching the Veery, someone shouted over that a pod of Orca's was coming into the sound just to the east of Lunna. This simply involved a quick 2 minute run over to the seaward side and the Orca's were soon in view.

Orcas at Lunna Kirk

What a day.  It was time to get to the accommodation! I stayed in Weisdale for a few days and then moved over to Lerwick.

The next few days were never going to live up to the first, but there were some good birds. 

A Red-breasted Flycatcher found at Kergord. 

Cattle Egret at Sumburgh

A Death's Head Hawkmoth was rescued from a Lerwick taxi office and kindly displayed in a garden before later release.  My only other sighting of this magnificent moth was in an ice-cream shop on the Isles of Scilly!

Death's Head Hawkmoth in Lerwick

Eastern Subalpine Warbler at Wester Quarff

Dotterel near Eshaness

Short-toed Lark, Scatness

Siberian Stonechat, Lunna

A few days into the trip and news emerged of a White's Thrush on Bressay, the island just east of Lerwick and relatively easy to access.  This was a bird I was very keen to see, having missed three on my previous Shetland visits, two arriving a day after I left, and one that I missed by five minutes.  It was an early start in the dark for the first ferry, and then a short trek to the remote area of Gorie.

The plantation at Gorie on Bressay

As it got light and the first ferry-load gathered around the plantation, and the first signs weren't good. The trees in the plantation where it was thought to have roosted were walked through twice but only a few Redwings and Blackbirds emerged, plus a single Hawfinch.  Then a few people headed to the cottage and the White's Thrush exploded from the garden across into the plantation.  It was spectacular in flight.

The White's Thrush making a close pass as it headed back into the plantation (pic: Neil Duggan)

Although it made a few flights out of the plantation and back, it was extremely hard to see on the ground, although in a couple of hours I managed to get a few decent views.  I returned the next day in terrible conditions - high winds and rain, and it was just as elusive, although I did manage to get better views and a couple of shots by lying on the ground in the plantation!

White's Thrush - one of my most wanted Shetland specialities

The last couple of days were relatively quiet, with a few Yellow-browed Warblers seen, and this showy Barred Warbler:

Barred Warbler, Wester Quarff

A Blyth's Reed Warbler, only my second, was found on the north Mainland:

Blyth's Reed Warbler, Ronas Voe

Despite a full and gruelling search of Ronas Hill there was no sight of the Snowy Owl, where I had seen one a couple of years previously, despite it being seen the day before.  It was probably moved on by a group of shepherds gathering sheep over the wide area that morning.  We thought we had found it, in a hollow just as I had seen my last one here, in fact this was almost in the exact same location.  We were looking at it about a mile away though, and I wasn't convinced this was it so we had to get closer, and closer, and closer still.  Only when we were about 100 metres away could we conclusively identify it as the whitest rock on Shetland! Damn.

Snowy Owl shaped rock!

Ronas Hill

Mountain Hare, Ronas Hill

The White's Thrush was certainly my highlight of the trip, closely followed by the Veery.  Birds missed included the Snowy Owl, River Warbler, Greenish Warbler (found by Tom Lee) and Arctic Redpoll (one found by Roy Twigg). It was a great week, with some great birds and birders.  Thanks to all those that found stuff and shared it.  Hoping to be back in '24!

Thanks for looking!