30/07/2022 Alkborough Flats, Lincolnshire

Stilt Sandpiper: I finally managed to drag my behind over to see the silt sand which as been frequenting Alkborough for a few weeks now.

The bird has been seen regularly from Prospect Hide, early mornings and through the afternoon seem to be best, following high tides. But when we arrive there was no sign of the bird, a long wait ensured.

I wasn't that bothered about the wait, there's no better place to spend a couple of hours, the supporting cast of waders was excellent. We had green sandpiper, redshank, ruff, curlew, little ringed plover, black-tailed godwit, black-redshank, water rail, dunlin, lapwing. Also a dozen or so spoonbill, marsh harrier and bearded tits. Not too bad a haul.

The stilt eventually flew in with a dozen or so black wits and landed right infant of the hide. 

Well worth the wait. 
 

14/07/2022 My Garden, Abram, Wigan

Southern Hawker: Despite its name, the Southern hawker is not as common a sighting around Wigan and Leigh. So when one turns up flying around my garden I was keen to grab the camera and head out. 

Its the third time I've seen it flying over my modest pond and flying around the garden but the first time I had my camera ready. 

Southern hawkers can easily be confused with is Northern counterpart, and often require a closer inspection of a photograph for identification. As with most other Hawkers, the Common takes to the sky from mid summer onwards, and can be observed as late as October. 

There's a small flash locally called Polly's Pond at the end of the street which is the likely place that this stunning flying jewel came from. I doubt it came out of my small pond, but hopefully it might have used it at some point. Maybe they will deposit their eggs in it one day?

29/07/2022 Pennington Flash, Leigh

Black Tern: Work has been mental recently with tons of breeding bird and barn owl surveys keeping me busy. Thankfully I no longer do any more bat surveys so Im more awake in the afternoons.

With my new found energy I've been able to nip out and catch up with some good local birds, often found by Colin Davies. 

Last week two black terns turned up with a dozen or so common tern, they were feeding off the boating club. Luckily a really nice fella who was working on the boats let me win to photograph them.

Black-necked Grebe: Today Colin found a nice juvenile black-naked grebe, by the time I arrived the birds was far out in the middle of the lake, viewed from the car park. 

The to resident Egyptian geese were also still present, feeding amongst the growing numbers of Canada geese feeding on the small patch of grass opposite the car park. 

Eventually the grebe came a little closer, this juvenile likely came from the nearby Woolston Eyes nature reserve, the premier place for black-ncekd grebes in the North West. 

13/07/2022 RSPB Bempton Cliffs, Bridlington

Turkistan Shrike (Red-tailed Shrike): So, I could resist a second visit to Wandale Farm to see this Turkish delight once more. Fantastically the bird has remained in the area since it was first found. 

It has become particularly reliable around Wandale Farm, regularly seen in in the bushes of the farm yard and in recent weeks its been showing very well indeed. 

Wanting to improve on my previous pictures I paid the £10 entrance fee to the Will who live in the farm house and has allowed folk into his yard to see the bird for a small fee. He's a really nice guy, very helpful and approachable. 

When I arrived the bird wasn't in the far, yard but on a hedge on the opposite field where the hey has been recently cut, I assume there's more food for it here. 

The bird was still very showy from the permissible way that runs alongside the filed. 

Another highlight was this juvenile cuckoo that was on the track off Cliff Lane, this track leads to the Fram.

The cuckoo was periodically Landin on the ground and flying on to the hedge and down again, a nice surprise. 

I'm really glad I took the opportunity to go back, its such a smart looking bird and isn't camera shy. My type of bird. 
 

13/07/2022 Potteric Carr WWT, Doncaster

Black-wined Stilt: Working close to Doncaster I shout it would be rude not to stop off at Potteric Carr to see their breeding black-winged stilts. 

Thought to be the most northerly breeding success for this species ever in the UK.  Four eggs were laid about a month ago and news surpassed until they had hatched. The parent birds arrived on the reserve on the 16th of May and started to prospect for suitable nesting sites on the mudflats.

They settled on Piper Marsh and have successfully reared our chicks. although I only saw two when I arrived. 

The parents were very aggressive and protective of their young chasing away and attacking the resident mallards, herons and egrets which dared to stray too close. This is probably the main reason why they have been so successful, as ground nesting birds they are vulnerable to predators.

There seems to be a bit of an influx of of black-winged stilt this year, with them breeding in Norfolk and several individuals seen throughout the season across the country.

This was my first visit to Potteric Carr and I was toughly impressed, its a real wildlife paradise, a green jewel in an others built up urban area surrounded by industry. The place was huge and offered a wide variety of habitats to explore.