Goldcrest in the cemetery

 Cracking little GOLDCREST in the cemetery 

Goldcrest

Kentish Plover in Northants

 My second ever KENTISH PLOVER - at Summer Leys NR in Northampton seen at a distance. 

Kentish Plover at distance

Night Heron - 314

 A twitch from Harrogate to Raunds via Ossett was a very obliging NIGHT HERON 

Pallid Swift - #313

 On a family holiday in Norfolk I stumbled across a PALLID SWIFT at Brancaster 

No pic , too quick 

Lifer at Gafham Water - #312

 A short diversion on the way to work landed the MEGA CAPE GULL. This beauty should have been somewhere in the Southern Hemisphere! Long blue ish legs and quite a big old bird. Never been in the UK before!!!!  UK Birds reaches #312

Cape Gull MEGA 

Yellow Legged Gull 

Family holiday on the East Coast of the UK

 Family holiday on the East Coast of the UK - brought bats  to Wheatears to Harry peaking through a hole!   

Family holiday to Diss, Norfolk

Some great species on family day trips including great views of a CUCKOO 

 

Lifer at Radipole #311

 A trip to Radipole with Rob brought an unexpected gull lifer - ICELAND GULL

Lifer #311 

Weymouth with Rob

 Nice collection of species on the yearly trip to Weymouth and surrounding area

Cracking views of NORTHERN WHEATEAR and CETTIS WARBLER  

Northern Wheatear on the Bill

 

 

Lifer #310 at Overstrand, Norfolk

Popped off to see the elusive DUSKY WARBLER whilst my lovely wife entertained the kids at Overstrand on the way back from a train ride on our holiday  ... thanks to the finder of said bird I got some cracking views of it from the edge of Cromer golf course. 

Lifer #310  - unexpected , but hey they all are! 

Dusky Warbler popped out of the Bramble 

Note darker than chiff chaff and dark eye stripe

Mundesley , Norfolk

First day of holidays with the family brought a year tick - BRENT GEESE heading up the coast at Mundesley 

Unsure on wader type . heading NW 

LBBG being a lifeguard 

Brent Geese migrating 

 

Ivinghoe Beacon

A quick trip to Steps Hill to see if any migrants were about - a couple of YELLOWHAMMERS and a REDWING (in fact about 80 ish) on the hills 

 

Watermead

 A trip to a very flooded Watermead in Aylesbury with the family produced a nice GREATER SPOTTED WOODPECKER , not much else about 

Bird encounter of the unknown kind

Up on Pitstone Hill, and an unknown bird flew over: 

• Initially seemed like a parakeet 
• Then a cuckoo - about this size 
• Was grey ish in colour ,maybe hint of blue had white wing bars 
• Called twice, like a high pitched sandpiper type call 
• Was heading from Pitstone towards the Beacon 
• Seen at 3:15 PM 

Really bad impression :

Mystery sighting - anyone got any ideas????

@bikebirding - Winchat and others on the hill

 What a great display of passerine birds today on the hill - NORTHERN WHEATER, STONECHAT, MEADOWN PIPIT and WINCHAT  all flitting between the small hedges on the top of the hill 

Winchat

Cornbunting

LBBG

Juvenile Stonechat?

Yellowhammer

YellowhammerS

@bikebirding - Pitstone Hill cornbuntings

 Nice to see some CORNBUNTINGS on the road side hedge heading up to Pitstone Hill today during a @bikebirding trip out 

shadowy bunting

Corn Bunting at Pitstone