BIRDING SUMMARY 2015! WHAT A YEAR!

Well, I thought my missus might be seeing the New Year alone, but news of a possible White-rumped Swift in Dunbar kept me in the good books! Little Swift, you saved me… for now.

What a year it’s been! It all kicked off with an early drive on New Year’s Day up to Fraisthorpe in Yorkshire to see the Little Bustard—a fantastic start.

Little Bustard

Malc, "Where is it?"

In early February, a Laughing Gull appeared at New Brighton, an absolute gem of a bird.

Laughing Gull

The spring really kicked off on 18th April, when Higgo phoned to say a Great Blue Heron had been found on St Mary’s, Isles of Scilly. After a frantic dash, we just missed it in Old Town Bay. Three to four birders saw it fly off later that afternoon, and it wasn’t relocated until the next evening on Bryher. I left Cheshire on Sunday night with Phil Woollen, caught the first Scillonian on Monday morning, and finally connected. What a beast!

Great Blue Heron

Next came Cheshire and Wirral’s long-awaited first Surf Scoter, an adult drake discovered by A. Conlin and K. Dummigan amongst thousands of Common Scoters. I walked out the following day and enjoyed fantastic views.

Surf Scoter off East Hoyle Bank

On 25th April, Dan Pointon called with news of a Hudsonian Godwit at Mere Heath in Somerset. Another incredible bird and a welcome adrenaline rush!

Hudsonian Godwit

Hudsonian Godwit Twitch

Late April also brought a Corncrake at Hale—a much-needed county tick.

10th May was unforgettable: a Citril Finch at Holkham, Norfolk. After five frantic hours, I was finally watching this mega with my son Dylan—a proper father-son grip moment.

Citril Finch

 Citril Finch Twitch

The end of May saw a three-day trip to Scotland with Fred Fearn, where we hoovered up Scottish specialities, including a cracking King Eider, Ptarmigan, and a Harlequin Duck.

 Ptarmigan

Harlequin Duck

Fred photographing the Harley Duck

June 16th brought the long-awaited Bardsey Island twitch for Cretzschmar’s Bunting. After a dip on Saturday, the bird was refound on Sunday, feeding near the lighthouse. Thanks to John Roberts and the North Wales team, we enjoyed stunning views of this rare beauty.

Buckon Birder getting a few hours in before the boat!

 Cretzschmar's Bunting 

October 13th delivered a real treat: a Wilson’s Warbler on the Isle of Lewis, 30 years to the day of the last British record. After a swift team assembly, we arrived the next morning and were rewarded with superb views.

Wilson's Warbler

Four nutters

Then, on 26th October, a Chestnut Bunting on Papa Westray in the Orkneys called for a first charter with S. Cole, P. Woollen, C. Bromley, and S. Butchart—another unforgettable day.

Sean Cole and I leaving Nottinghamshire for the Orkneys

Chestnut Bunting

The hardest bird to stomach? An Acadian Flycatcher, missed due to work. Oh well, there’s always next time.

Overall, 2015 was an incredible year—filled with rare birds, laughter, great friends, and unforgettable adventures. Roll on 2016!

BURTON MARSH AND DECCA POOLS

I took a walk along Burton Marsh up to the Harp Inn this afternoon in search of the Short-eared Owl, which has been showing down there daily. Thankfully, the owl didn’t disappoint, giving excellent views as it circled and then flew around before being harried by a group of Carrion Crows.

Short-eared Owl

Other highlights of the walk included up to 14 Little Egrets and good numbers of Wigeon on the Decca Pools, making for a very satisfying afternoon in the field.

                                                                     Little Egret

Wigeon

A lovely stroll across the marsh and a reminder that the new year—and a fresh year list—is just around the corner!

Looking down onto Burton Marsh

MARBURY COUNTRY PARK AND NEWCHURCH COMMON

I spent a few hours this morning birding with Malc Curtin on my old patch, Marbury County Park. Our main target was the Bittern, but it seems to have moved on, having not been seen for over a week. Despite a thorough search, we were only rewarded with the distinctive call of a Water Rail. The rest of the morning was spent wandering the patch and taking a few photographs. Highlights included a Grey Heron, Nuthatch, Robin, Reed Bunting, and a pair of elegant Great Crested Grebes—proof that even on quiet mornings, there’s plenty to enjoy on the patch.

Beautiful day on the patch

Great Crested Grebe

 Reed Bunting

 Nuthatch

 Robin

Grey Heron

After our walk, I headed to Newchurch Common, where I located the red-headed Smew. Unfortunately, the bird remained asleep throughout my visit, and worsening weather meant I had to leave before getting any decent photographs.

Smew

Just as I was leaving, I received a text from Malc with some exciting news: the Northern Harrier had finally been accepted onto the British list—a long-awaited armchair tick that had taken five years to come through. Happy days indeed!

Press On Link Below

Christmas comes early for British birders as the Northern Harrier is split

LONG EARED OWL-BURTON RSPB

I nipped over to Burton RSPB this morning to try and photograph the Long-eared Owl, which has been resident on site for some time. It was blowing a hooley on arrival, so I wasn’t expecting much—but, to my delight, I soon picked it up in the same area where last year’s bird had been seen.

Long-eared Owl

I never tire of watching these stunning owls, and hopefully, if left undisturbed, it will remain into the New Year. Otherwise, the site was very quiet, though a Cetti’s Warbler provided a welcome bonus.

GREEN WINGED TEAL-FRODSHAM MARSHES

I spent Saturday morning birding at Frodsham Marshes with Frank Duff. Frank had located a Green-winged Teal on No. 6 Tank last week, so I thought I’d give it a try, little realising the bird was commuting with over a thousand Common Teal.

It's in there somewhere!

After an hour of scoping through the mass of Teal and enjoying cracking views of an immature Marsh Harrier and a Peregrine patrolling West Point, Frank finally relocated the Green-winged Teal. It emerged from the Michaelmas daisy bed, displaying briefly to other female Teal

Green-Winged Teal

A tricky bird to see, it only remained in view for around ten minutes before retreating back into cover. Other highlights of the morning included Common Pochard, Gadwall, Common Shelduck, Wigeon, and Shoveler.

All in all, a fantastic morning’s birding and another welcome addition to the Cheshire year list.

GREAT NORTHERN DIVER-WEST KIRBY MARINE LAKE

With work dominating recent weeks, I was pleased to steal a few hours for birding at West Kirby. A juvenile Great Northern Diver had been frequenting the marina for the past week and, on arrival, it was showing exceptionally well, swimming close to the roadside and offering prolonged views.

Juvenile Great Northern Diver

Additional highlights included a single Goldeneye and three Red-breasted Mergansers, all adding interest to an already rewarding visit.

Red-breasted Merganser

A brief but thoroughly enjoyable afternoon’s birding, and a timely reminder of the value of stepping away from the daily grind, even if only for a short while.

A CHESTNUT BUNTING ON THE EDGE OF BRITAIN

Last week, a photograph emerged of an unusual bunting found on the remote Orkney island of Papa Westray. The image was far from conclusive, the bird partially obscured in vegetation, but it immediately sparked intrigue. Early thoughts suggested something remarkable: a Chestnut Bunting. With no further sightings, the bird was quickly forgotten, written off as a fleeting mystery not worth the considerable effort of pursuit.

That possibility became reality on 25 October, when news broke that the Papa Westray bunting had been refound. Phones rang, plans were made at speed, and a team assembled for my first ever scheduled charter flight with Sean Cole, Phil Woollen, Chris Bromley, and Stuart Butchart. The next morning, we were heading north.

Me and Sean, before we headed north

On arrival, we were met by Jonathan, the island ranger, who led us straight to the site. There, feeding unconcernedly in long vegetation, was the bird itself. For the next couple of hours, it teased observers, playing hide and seek as it fed voraciously, only occasionally offering partial views through the stems.

Patience was eventually rewarded when the bunting flew up onto a nearby dry-stone wall. Here it showed superbly, seemingly indifferent to human presence, pausing to feed before scuttling back into its preferred patch of pineapple mayweed and annual meadow grass.

The significance of this bird lies not only in its rarity but in how well it fits established patterns of natural occurrence. The Chestnut Bunting is a highly migratory species that breeds across northeast Asia, from eastern Siberia and the Russian Far East through parts of Mongolia and northeastern China. Each autumn it undertakes a long southward migration, wintering in southern China and Southeast Asia, including Myanmar, Thailand, Laos, Vietnam, and Cambodia. Late autumn vagrancy to western Europe, while exceptional, is entirely consistent with this migration system.

Currently, Chestnut Bunting sits in Category E of the British List, with previous British records considered escapes from captivity. However, there are nine accepted records in the Western Palearctic, all occurring between late September and mid-November, exactly the window into which the Papa Westray bird falls.

Given its timing, location, behaviour, and association with a wider arrival of Siberian migrants, there is no reason to suspect this bird was anything other than wild. As such, the Papa Westray Chestnut Bunting may yet prove to be the first genuine record of this species for Britain, a landmark discovery made on one of the country’s most remote and evocative islands.

Heading home after another great Twitch

A Transatlantic Gem: Wilson’s Warbler on the Isle of Lewis Thirty years to the day since Britain’s last record

October 13th delivered a truly special treat when news broke that a Wilson’s Warbler had been found on the Isle of Lewis, remarkably, exactly 30 years to the day since the species was last recorded in Britain. With a swift team assembly, I set off with Dan Pointon, John Pegden, and Mike Frosdick, driving through the night to Ullapool before catching the ferry across to Stornoway.

We arrived the following morning and were rewarded almost immediately with superb views of this cracking little Nearctic migrant. Watching such a scarce visitor feeding actively in a Hebridean setting was surreal and unforgettable.

This remarkable individual represented the first record for Scotland, the second for Britain, following the long-standing record at Rame Head, Cornwall, on 13 October 1985, and the third for Britain & Ireland, after a bird recorded on Dursey Island, County Cork, in 2013, making its appearance on the same calendar date as the original British record all the more extraordinary.

The Wilson’s Warbler (Cardellina pusilla) is a small, brightly coloured New World warbler that breeds across North America, from Alaska and Canada south through the western United States. It winters primarily in Central America, favouring dense scrub and woodland undergrowth.

In a European context, Wilson’s Warbler is an exceptional vagrant, with only a handful of records across the Western Palearctic. In Britain and Ireland, it remains one of the rarest Nearctic warblers ever recorded, with just three accepted records, each separated by many years and each occurring in October, highlighting the species’ extreme scarcity and the extraordinary nature of this Lewis bird.

To connect with a bird of this calibre, especially under such remarkable circumstances, was a real privilege and one of those birding moments that will linger long in the memory.

Great twitch these three nutters!