Four species of tern at Audenshaw

I braved the showers at Audenshaw this lunchtime hoping some of the reported 150 arctic terns seen last night were still around. There were around a dozen Arctic Terns on the water intermittently flying up and feeding or being mobbed by gulls. Also present was a winter plumage Little Gull, 2 Little Terns and a fine looking summer plumage Black Tern. I also saw a couple of Swifts which are the first I have seen this year. No photos as they were all distance and the weather was just too wet for me to bring out any gear!

Garden Blackcap

Very nice to see this male blackcap feeding in the garden every day this week.

Spectacular Scotland

Me and Dave headed up to Nethybridge for 4 dyas last Friday for a birding trip focusing on the Scottish specialities. We saw the drake Blue-winged Teal at Gilmourton Pools on the way up. First full day saw a fail at the Caper watch at Loch Garten but at least we got good views of the Osprey. In poor wintry weather conditions we still managed to see some Ptarmigan on the boulder fields to the right of the Cairngorm funicular railway. We also saw several Crested Tits in Abernethy Forest.
 The following day we had success at the Caper watch and got good distant views of a male Capercaillie. We then headed to the coast to see the long staying drake King Eider at Ythan estuary. There were also hundreds of Common Eiders, many Goosanders and several Long-tailed Ducks some in summer plumage. We then went over to Loch Strathbeg and saw a drake Green-winged Teal but failed to pick up the long staying Greater Yellowlegs. We also saw a stoat chasing rabbits.
The next day had us looking around Abernethy Forest for crossbills and crested tits but despite better weather we had a frustrating morning and saw nothing of interest. In the afternoon we headed up the Findhorn valley and saw at least 2 Golden Eagles but they were distant views. In the valley we also sa  a Raven, several Kestrels and a Peregrine. There were loads of Common Buzzards soaring around and some smart looking summer plumage Common Gulls. We also saw a couple of Red Kites.We then went onto Loch Ruthven to see the summer plumage Slavonian Grebes. We finished back at Loch garten where we finally saw some Crossbill (probably Common but might have been Scottish!!) feeding at the top of the trees in the car park. Dave also saw a male Sparrowhawk come out of nowhere and take a chaffinch. We also saw a Roe Deer and heard several of then" barking" in the forest.
Our final day had us meeting up with Dave Slater from Birding Ecosse for a trip over to the west in search of Sea Eagle. We were not to be disappointed! Shortly after arriving at Shieldaig we witnessed an adult White-tailed Sea Eagle being mobbed by Hooded Crows ( Dave's ultimate birding fantasy!!) and gulls. It was a truly spectacular sight and the highlight of our trip. There were also several Black Guillemots in the bay and Rock Doves on the island.We also spotted a sea otter.
 We then went onto Gruinard Bay where there were numerous Great Northern Divers in mixed plumage, many Red-throated Divers in summer plumage and 5 Slavonian Grebes. We also saw 2 stunning summer plumage Black throated divers in a small lochan on the way.
In total we saw over 90 species, bagged all the Scottish specialities except Scottish crossbill which appears to me to be impossible to tick without sonogram proof and enjoyed the incredible scenery, flora and fauna that northern scotland has to offer.
Finally a big thankyou to Dave Slater of Birding Ecosse for an incredible last day's guided birding and for Trish at Balciuin for looking after us and feeding us a great Scottish breakfast!

Thayer's Gull

Got the Thayer's Gull today At Elsham Country Park. Managed a record digiscope shot as it was a bit too far for the dslr. Saw a Red Kite flying over the M62 in South Yorkshire.

Water Pipit

I had excellent views of one of two Water Pipits at Conder Green near Lancaster this lunchtime. They were still a bit far away for photography but I got some record shots anyway. Also of note were 2 Spotted Redshanks, a Common Sandpiper and several Meadow pipits which made good comparison to the less marked Water pipits.

Cetti's Warbler

Just got home after a weekend in Kent visiting friends. Managed a day's birding at Dungerness and the highlight was seeing a Cetti's warbler. There were at least 6 calling loudly sometimes right infront of me but buried deep in reeds or bushes. One birder said you usually hear them but rarely see them and I spent about 40 minutes staring at a bush where two were calling to each other and didn't see anything. I thought I was going to add to the list of birds I have heard and not seen (corncrake and quail!), but suddenly one appeared at the top of a bush, called nervously and then flew over some water into the reeds. No chance to get the camera out ofcourse! Other notable species were 4 marsh harriers, a female long-tailed duck, gadwall and a very close spoonbill. We also saw 20-25 red kite above the M40 on both journeys there and back.