County Twitching

The first target wasn't really a Twitch, as I was heading over (hopefully) anyway yesterday, to meet Haydn at Bubwith/North Duffield. I arrived at 8...which was a relief!! We set our stalls our by the gate and started to scan for the American Wigeon...again!

It was a tad fresh with a moderate Easterly wind...no doubt less fresh than Holmpton though. The water levels had dropped some more but there was plenty left and Birds aplenty. Haydn did a count of Pintail and managed 325!!! No doubt some hidden also. After around 45 minutes another car pulled up. It was Tim Jones who joined us in the search. After only a couple of minutes he casually commented..."There's the American Wigeon"! We all had a chuckle at his understated comment and then got "on" the Bird at around 400yds. I managed a BOC record pic (just) before it went to sleep...

Tim moved on, we thanked him again and Birded the area for a while longer.

We then moved up to the Geoff Smith Hide and joined Tim again. We were being greedy now, hoping to locate the recently reported Green-winged Teal on Bubwith Ings. Needless to say...we didn't.

However we DID enjoy three groups of Black-tailed Godwits heading South over Bubwith Ings numbering around 150. 

Haydn wished me well for my forthcoming trip and I headed home at 1.

This morning I was waiting for news of a Grebe, thankfully positive news arrived at 7.45. I gathered my gear and my Dog and headed for Scarborough. It's a difficult journey winding along up the Coast but I eventually arrived at Burton Riggs N.R. around 10.30. After giving Bud a stretch, I headed for the North Lake. A Birder was looking at the Site Map, it turned out to be Gordon Brand who I knew through Tony Dixon and Trevor Charlton. It was a small Lake with a large single Island. There were a few Birders scattered around the perimeter and we found a spot by the edge.

The Bird wasn't on show initially but it eventually it showed itself feeding at various spots around the Lake. Eventually it came our way. It was the default gloomy day but I managed some decent shots of this dapper summer-plumaged stunner...

When I first started Birding in 1986 I lived in Scawby just outside Scunthrope. I used to walk my lads and first GSD Shane around Ashbyville Lake near the Steelworks. One Winter's day the Lake was almost completely frozen and I saw a Bird I wasn't familiar with swimming around the small unfrozen area. It turned out to be my first RNG! This was my first sp Bird...

Red-necked Grebe