Shear Magic on YCN Pelagics

With our Seabird & Whale season now underway once again, it seemed like a good time to look back at some of the highlights of recent years, starting with those effortlessly iconic ocean wanderers, the shearwaters.

Cory's Shearwater from All My Sons, our YCN boat - more here

I've had more than my share of good luck with them over the seven or eight seasons I've been guiding our pelagic trips, with a full house of the five species we'd hoped to find on my outings. Not only that, but the two rarer species - Cory's and Great - both even had the good grace to circle the boat for our client's viewing pleasure!

Great Shearwater circling the boat - more here

The North Sea is a world away from the Atlantic, of course, and the rarer shearwaters are exactly that here, but increasingly we're seeing congregations of feeding flocks of Manxies and Sootys, with last season (2024) being far and away the best yet.

Amazingly it wasn't unusual to see hundreds of either / both, with (unusually) Manxies present in high numbers well beyond the usual late July and early August peak, and Sooties remarkably constant and abundant.

Sootys around the boat last September - more here

Sooty and Humpback!

Balearics are always an exciting find, and we had a handful last year, including a very dark bird within a close-up flock of feeding Manxies (see above and below)....

... while Manxies are always a pleasure.

This year? We'll see, but I can't wait to get started...

As is usual I'm away for much of the summer but will be back on the boats pretty much as soon as I get back. If you want to book a trip on which I'm guiding, my dates are: 29th Aug (both), 1st Sep (0800hrs), 8th Sep (both), 15th Sep (0730hrs), 19th and 20th Sep (all), 22nd Sep (both). Go here for the dates.

Staring at the sea - Filey, 16th July '25

Whimbrels - their whinnying contact calls were the soundtrack to the day

A day off, no pressing responsibilities, and so to the coast - specifically the end of Carr Naze, Filey, for what turned out to be a very relaxing seven hours staring at the sea and the sky.

It's the time of year when wader (shorebird) migration starts to kick in, with the first real waves from (much) farther north heralding the start of the birding autumn - and Whimbrels were particularly numerous, with 242 south in the session (a personal record day count here I think); also on the move were good numbers of Oystercatchers and Redshanks, plus Dunlin, Bar-tailed Godwits, Knot, Turnstones and Curlews among others.

 

Spot the flocks, above and below the horizon....

A mixed flock of Whimbrels and Oystercatchers heading towards Flamborough

Otherwise - aside from the masses of seabirds enjoying the bounties offshore - it was steady as she goes, with a couple of distant Minkes and a couple of pods of Bottlenose Dolphins on show, as well as two Med Gulls south.

 

Mediterranean Gull (above), Bottlenose Dolphins (below).

Upcoming tours '25 & '26!

Back from BirdFair and, by request, here's a run-down of all my tours over the next twelve months; there may well be more to add, but this is what I've got on the calendar so far. Click on the live links to visit the page, where you'll find a full summary and a simple booking form. Note that all my tours have a maximum of six clients (five at Flamborough), and that there are now free Zeiss optics to use for all my guests. 

SPURN AUTUMN SPECIALS - September and October 2025. One day specials at this Mecca of bird migration, with exclusive access to all the best places. Selling fast! 

FLAMBOROUGH AUTUMN SPECIALS - September and October 2025. Peak migration season on the Great White Cape. Almost sold out!

TOPHILL LOW WETLAND AND WOODLAND WANDERS - December '25 and February '26 (NEW). A relaxed day exploring a wealth of wonderful habitats and birds at this fantastic reserve. 

FILEY & SCARBOROUGH WINTER WARMERS - January 2026 (NEW). Seabirds, waders, divers, grebes and more on these brand new winter seaside specials. 

GOSHAWKS OF BERLIN  - March 2026 (NEW). NB my trip begins 10th March. See Goshawks and other iconic species up close against the wonderful backdrop of urban Berlin! 

FLAMBOROUGH SPRING SPECIALS - May 2026 (NEW). Spring migration and breeding seabirds on the hallowed headland. 

PUFFIN SAFARIS - June and July '26 (NEW). Always popular, always plenty of seabirds with eggs and chicks - and always Puffins!

For availability and details of my SCHOOL OF BIRDING, drop me a message at nazemark-at- yahoo.com. 

Waiting for Godwit - Killingholme, July '25

Back on the industrial south bank of the Humber at Killingholme yesterday for our ongoing surveys, and it's that time of year when the first main wave of Black-tailed Godwits touch down - resplendent in their orange, black and white breeding plumage.

Well Red - Cumbria, July '25

Male Common Redstart - shepherding just fledged young, and so very tame..

A whirlwind 48 hours in Cumbria over the weekend, ostensibly for two Breeding Bird Surveys, meaning early starts and plenty of time to explore locally with the Mrs along for the ride.

 

Time out from bird surveys here in Cumbria to breakfast with the local Red Squirrels... #ukwildlife #ukmammals

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— Mark James Pearson (@markthebirder.bsky.social) 5 July 2025 at 12:46

We'd heard Red Squirrels were a star fixture around our accommodation; we didn't expect quite so many, however, or for them to be quite so tame and entertaining.....

Regular readers will know of our fascination with neolithic sites and cultures, and fortunately we were close to a very special one - Long Meg and her Daughters, a huge stone circle (the third widest in the UK) and a site of the early Neolithic, up to 3800 BCE. That's almost 6,000 years ago..... 

Long Meg herself (positioned to cast a perfect long shadow straight through the centre of the circle on the winter solstice) is of a vibrant red sandstone, with megalithic art of spirals, circles and concentric arcs. A wonderful place.

Redstarts, Red Squirrels, Red Sandstone? Well red, indeed.