Whinchat on the Patch

I had one of those days that you dream about when walking around your local patch last week. I always walk around in hope of finding something good, and usually go away satisfied that I've seen much the same as the previous day, and if the sun was out too, then that's a real bonus. But this day I turned up and straight away I heard a Lesser Whitethroat singing in the hedgerow. A great little bird, that's not often that easy to see, and very rare on my patch.

Then I continued my walk, with all the usual suspects singing or in position, until I spotted a bird jumping around the top of the hedge. I thought it might be a Stonechat, but then I saw the stripe over it's eye, and knew instantly that this was a Whinchat. A much prized bird for me, and I was absolutely delighted. So much so that I went back again that afternoon to see it again, and this time it was even closer and the right side of the sun. Superb!! It was still there the next day, but much further away and a scope was required. 

You can see my latest wanderings here:

Lesser Whitethroat

Stonechat

Whinchat

Summer Migrants

This years migration is well under way. I've made several visits to one of my favourite places nearby in the Goyt Valley, and I've not been disappointed. Pied Flycatchers, Redstarts and Tree Pipits are back where they belong and I've had fun trying to locate them, with varying degrees of success. So far, I have only located one or two male Pied Flycatchers. The females are always a little later, so I will have to go back to find them. I've also only found a couple of male Redstarts, but they are great little birds, and add so much colour and vibrancy to any day. Tree Pipits are not so colourful, but they make up for that with their song. All in all, the woodlands have a lot more sound and colour at the moment, and it's most welcome 😀

You can see my latest wanderings here: 

Pied Flycatcher (male)

Common Redstart

Tree Pipit

Norfolk Birding

Still in Norfolk, and I was on the hunt for Twite once again. They gave me the slip on the first day, but I managed to find one at least on the second day. Really tricky little birds to find and see. The area where they were though meant I could see lots of other really good birds on the way. Lots of waders, such as Redshank, Curlew, Ringed Plover, Lapwing and Oystercatcher kept my walk both colourful and vocal.

The odd Marsh Harrier drifted over a few times, and Little and Great White Egrets were on the waters edges and close to the reeds. Although the sun was out, it wasn't particularly warm, but that hadn't put off a few Swallows and Sand Martins that passed through unfazed. A spoonbill appeared from nowhere, which was handy as I wanted that on my year list. A Wheatear hopped onto a post and looked like it was enjoying the sunshine, while in the Blackthorn were a pair of Blackcaps, with the male singing and giving away their cover.

You can watch my latest adventure here:

Female Blackcap, with a rusty brown head

Male Blackcap

Gadwall

Spoonbill

Twite

A distant Wheatear

Kelling Heath

A long Easter weekend break in Norfolk meant that I had the opportunity to add some special birds to my year list, and all from one site. The heath at Kelling holds a couple of really good birds, but they are not always that easy to see. Spring is the perfect time to catch a glimpse, as they are more active and showy while they are setting up territories and nest building. The two birds I most wanted to see were the Dartford Warbler and the Woodlark. 

If you can't see a bird, the next best thing is to hear it, which can at least give you an idea where it may be. That was how I located both these birds. I had wandered around for a while with no sign, until I heard their songs. That put me on the right track and eventually I spotted them. I love to see these birds, as they are not widespread across the country and so gives me an extra buzz when I do connect with them.

You can watch my adventures here:

Dartford Warbler

Woodlark

Not to be left out, the Yellowhammer was also high on my list to see. I really struggle these days to see these birds. They seem to be having a really hard time, and declining in their usual areas, so it was great to see and hear these lovely little birds.

Yellowhammer

The Wirral

The sun came out and I made an early start on the Wirral. I was hoping to see my first Wheatear of the year, but that didn't prove to be successful. However, as always in this area, there was plenty to see and I went home happy. 

Starting at Burton Marsh, there were plenty of Egrets (Great White and Little) to see. A Marsh Harrier flew over and Chiffchaffs, Song Thrush, Meadow Pipits and Reed Buntings provided a nice background chorus as I walked the path. There were still hundreds, if not thousands, of Pink-footed Geese out on the Marsh. Moving on to RSPB Burton Mere, I heard and then saw my first Willow Warbler of the year. Other firsts for 2026 included Spotted Redshanks and Med Gulls. All in all a very nice morning out in some very nice weather for a change.

Come with me on my walk here: 

Avocet

Black-tailed Godwit

Lapwing

Long-tailed Tit

Marsh Harrier

Mediterranean Gull (bottom centre) Common Gull to its left

Ruff

Water Vole

Willow Warbler

Kingfisher

A couple of weeks ago I spent a day in a Kingfisher hide. Yes, a hide set up specifically to photograph these wonderful but hard to spot birds. I arrived at the site in Shropshire and was in place by 8:30am. After that it was a case of getting comfortable and being ready for the bird when it turned up. It wasn't a long wait, and within just 15 minutes a male had been in and landed on the perch before diving to catch a fish. After that he can every hour, before tailing off the visits in the afternoon. 

It was a very special day and a very special bird, one of my favourites, and I managed to get my best every shots too. Normally there are branches in the way, or it is a long way in the distance. That day was just magical.

Come and relive my day here: