Leucistic Turnstone, Filey Brigg, May - also seen in France and Northumberland! More here
This post covers April, May and June '25 - for the first part of the year, see here.
House Martins collecting mud - more here
At the very end of March, it was time to head back up to the true North for an extended period over the border - firstly for our sixth School of Birding, and then for an off-the-clock trip to Orkney with the Mrs.
Skara Brae neolithic village - outrageous. More here
The School was excellent as ever (more here), blessed with a fine team and almost entirely lovely weather in the field; the Mrs arrived towards the end of the class, and we spent the second week of April in the cluster of Northern Isles I'd never visited before (plenty of happy times on the more distant Shetland, but none previously on its much nearer neighbours).
Based in a lovely old cottage on Burray, we enjoyed a week of exploring the islands, their culture, wildlife, and most memorably, their incredible neolithic monuments and settlements. If there's prehistoric sites around we try and factor them in to our travels, and happily we were able to explore almost all the sites we'd hoped to over the course of the week, and boy, what a mind-blowing series of sites they were...
A pair of Redshank (left-hand stone) breeding at the Ring of Brodgar
The birding was excellent, too, especially for raptors, seaducks and waders, with plenty more besides - see here and here for more.
Greater Scaup and Slavonian Grebe, Loch of Harray
The second half of April became increasingly busy (as it always does as the spring kicks in properly) with a combination of surveying, guiding, and additional birding sessions factored in where possible. Of the former, plenty on the Humber but also some up on the Moors, where we were looking for breeding waders at several key sites.
Stonechat, Filey
All of which were productive, but none more than the otherwise inaccessible land within the RAF Fylingdales base. I've surveyed its edges before, but this was the first time I'd been given free reign to scrutinise all the rich and varied landscape within its understandably impenetrable security...
On the scrubby, regenerating slopes, we'd Redstarts and Tree Pipits (above) on territory, as well as multiple Cuckoos, Grasshopper Warblers, Ring Ouzels, lots of Stonechats, Willow Warblers and Whitethroats, and pleasingly numerous Whinchats; while in the more fertile upland areas, we'd Golden Plovers, Snipe, Curlews and Lapwings to plot on the maps. So that's how good our moorlands can be....
Adder and Curlews, RAF Fylingdales
Guiding concerned a run of days at Flamborough and Bempton, which were blessed with good weather and lots of good birding - timed for migrants, we were suitably spoiled for them, with the full range of warblers, Yellow Wagtails, Wheatears, and other long-distance returnees complimented by scarcities which included Spotted Crake and Subalpine Warbler.
Golden and White-tailed Eagles, South Uist
For May, another month, another great trip to Scotland - this time to the Outer Hebrides. It was our first School of Birding School Trip - i.e., a purely birding holiday for 'graduates' of our Schools, where we get to relax a bit more and focus just on in-the-field adventures - which was a great success, and hugely enjoyable from start to finish.
Male Ruff and Short-eared Owl, both on territory, North Uist
Bookended by overnight stays at our (familiar) Highland bolthole of Grantown-on-Spey, our ten days, ten guests, two vehicles and two leaders involved everything you'd hope for from such a trip in spring - great birds and birding, epic landscapes, beautiful beaches, a lovely team (and lots of laughs), a perfect hotel and yep, more great weather.
Avian highlights included plenty of Corncrakes (and many wonderful views!), breeding Hen Harriers, Golden and White-tailed Eagles, many Short-eared Owls, huge flocks of waders along the beaches and in the machair and plenty more - see here for more.
Adder and Curlews, RAF Fylingdales
Back to Yorkshire for the latter part of May and much of June, where late spring migration was relatively uneventful, but the forests were bursting with life as always, both while surveying and just arsing around. The usual heady mix of Crossbills, Honey-buzzards, Nightjars, Goshawks, Adders and (much) more made for plenty of memorable days up there once again. More here.
Lapwing chick, Fylingdales
