Review of the Year, 2025 - part four

Almost forgot this final part to last year's birding summaries - better late than never, eh...! So, October began as September ended, with a run of guiding days at Flamborough and Bempton. Quality birding included Barred Wablers, Siberian Stonechat, Yellow-brows, and influxes of Goldcrests, thrushes, Woodcocks and more, as well as plenty of sunshine and dolphins (never a bad combination).

Needletail twitch = my kind of twitch

Next up was a bird that, while I'm hardly a twitcher, had me physically manifesting the very source of the term as its wild adventures on the Yorkshire coast and beyond had many in the same state. It was a fraught but entertaining tale, and one that ended magnificently - well worth a diversion here.  Yellow-browed Warbler, Spurn 

An always-entertaining week guiding at the mighty Spurn Bird Observatory mid-month (see here) was followed by promising conditions (which had been few and far between up to that point) on the coast, so a solid day enjoying incomers at Filey followed on 18th (see here) - a nice variety of migrants at both, and finally proof that the autumn had hit a higher gear generally.

Burghead, one of my favourite spots on the Moray coast 

October trundled on reasonably innocuously before another fabulous week guiding in the Spurn area at the end of the month, incorporating the ever-improving Outstrays on many of the days. Landbird migration at the former was excellent, and included two superb Shorelarks, Twite, Snow Bunting, Siberian Chiffchaffs, Black Redstart, Blackcaps, Chiffchaffs, lots of Redpolls, Siskins, Fieldfares, Redwings, Chaffinches, Blackbirds and other late autumn staples; on the sea, we'd Little Auk, Long-tailed Duck, Great Northern Diver, Common Scoters and more - and incredibly, a Common Dolphin picked up by our team - just the second record for Spurn.

Red Squirrel, Anagach Woods 

The Outstrays, meanwhile, were a veritable feast - The sheer spectacle of tens of thousands of swirling, murmurating waders - mostly Golden Plovers and Knot, with huge, shimmering flocks of both; as well as the waders, we enjoyed Glossy Ibises, flocks of finches, pipits, buntings and thrushes, Great and (many) Little Egrets and much more. Rivalling the shorebird show here were the birds of prey, and the roll call included Peregrines, Merlin, multiple Marsh Harriers and Short-eared Owls, and most impressively, Hen Harriers - two sparkling males illuminated the skies above the marsh on various occasions.

On Lindisfarne over the Christmas break

While guiding at such productive hotspots provided routinely excellent birding, from an overall east coast perspective, it was a below-par autumn overall; so a window of promising conditions and SSE winds at the end of the first week of November had to be enjoyed to the full, coinciding as it did with a few days off.

Come the 6th, and I committed to Filey; eight hours of patrolling the northern coastal area yielded many welcome rewards, including Northern Bullfinches (above), a candidate Russian Jackdaw, several Yellow-browed Warblers, two Ring Ouzels, a Firecrest, a late 'eastern' Willow Warbler, Snow and Lapland Buntings, and right at the death, a fantastically vocal Dusky Warbler (below).

A brilliant day's birding at what remains my favourite (and often birderless) east coast patch; for all its flaws, I'm not sure I can be any happier than forensically patrolling the cliff tops and nearby cover on a promisingly murky autumn day. There's a book - or at least a few chapters of one - in there somewhere.... More of that day, and the subsequent few on the coast, here. 

Long-tailed Duck, Burghead

Mid-month, and it was time to head back to the true north, for a fortnight in the Highlands; part one as resident speaker and guide for Seaduck Week at the Grant Arms, and part two for our seventh (!) School of Birding. Seaduck Week was great as ever (see here), and our seventh School was a joy, with a great team,. great birds, and lots (and lots...) of the white stuff. More here.

Rainbows at Roseisle during Seaduck Week - below them are flocks of Velvet and Common Scoters, Long-tailed Ducks, Eiders, Slavonian Grebes, divers.... 

The back end of November provided some memorable days, including the Yorkshire-coast-roving Eastern Black Redstart gravestone-hopping in Scarborough (more here) and flocks of Snow Buntings at Filey (see here) among others, before a generally quiet December from a birding perspective -

Snow Buntings at Filey

- at least until (yet) another trip up to the Highlands, as guest speaker and guide at the Grant Arms for the Hogmanay period. A little different this time, as the Mrs was able to join me - just like old times - and so we spent a couple of lovely days and nights on Lindisfarne on the way up, and then for the Hogmanay period I was sharing duties with the lovely Mike (Dilger) and his fantastic family (hi Christina, Zac and Bramble!); walks, talks and quizzes for the guests, a fabulous Hogmanay in the town square, and a genuinely epic extended snowstorm made for a great end to '25 - and a delayed start to '26....

Hogmanay in the Highlands - guiding with Mike and Zac (above), in the woods with the Mrs (below)

Paull, 25th February '26

(Please click on images to enlarge - Blogger really messes 'em up otherwise..)

In the midst of a busy week (mostly guiding - more on that to follow), a regular, long-running survey on the north bank of the Humber at Paull (just east of Hull) this morning was a pleasure - not least on account of the sunshine and vismig.

Of the former, if you're reading this from pretty much anywhere in the UK, I probably don't need to tell you just how very grim it's been for what seems like an eternity - and so some unbroken, revitailising vitamin D was a simple joy. Of the latter, lots going on - with the wind in the SSW, a nice selection of birds on the move (all NW along the line of the riverbank) included Skylarks, Stock Doves, Meadow Pipits, a few waders, lots of Pink-feet, and most entertaning of all - Long-tailed Tits.

The birds pictured were part of a group of four which I picked up way off over the Humber - intitally frying my brain slightly at height and distance, I have to be honest - which made their way over my head and NW, bounding along and contact-calling like seasoned over-water travellers... movements of LTTs are well known and I've seen plenty during vismig sessions, following a flightline or u-turning over the sea at e.g. Filey, Flamborough and Spurn - but to see these four arriving 'in off' - and it's a bare minimum of 3.5km to the nearest spot over on the Lincolnshire side - was a real treat.

Peacock - my first of year 

We counted another 35 heading NW along the bank and (perilously?) over the chemical plant and into the city, so there was clearly a collective restlessness among their kind this morning.

Stock Doves on the move 

Pink-feet were wonderfully prevalent and vocal, heralding the beginning of spring as they yapped enthusiastically out of Lincolnshire, into Yorkshire and onto more counties, and countries, over the coming hours and days.

A pleasure to be out!

Wigeon (above), Shelduck (below)

PINKS!

All the right Ansers

Click on images to enlarge and view properly!

With the forecast for sunny intervals and a few hours spare, the day before yesterday was all about the geese. A significant influx pushed out of the near continent due to the extended period of harsh conditions has seen mixed flocks scattered across the North Yorkshire countryside, and my vague target was to see all six possible species on my circuit (but with Tundra Beans & White-fronts at the top of the list).

Success, I'm happy to report, and great views in several pleasantly undisturbed spots.... first up, a drive along Marishes Lane, about a half hour north-east of home, and a substantial flock of Pink-feet in a roadside field; a relaxed scan revealed several Barnacles and double figure of Russian White-fronts within their number.

From there, another half-hour or so north to Harwood Dale Lake. Approaching from the south, I got lucky, and parked up on the hill overlooking the farmland to the south of the lake itself - lucky because the most of the geese were feeding here, and the light was perfect. A bit of patience revealed no fewer than seven Tundra Bean Geese, 68 Russian White-fronts, a single Pink, and plenty of Greylags and Canadas. A full house, in ideal conditions.

A brief stop at Wykeham Lakes on the way home was also successful - the redhead Smew and two Scaup reported recently were all present and correct.

Pick out the seven Tundra Beans in these photos...

Bamburgh, Northumberland - 13th & 14th February '26

I had the huge pleasure of giving a talk for the lovely North Northumberland bird club this week, which was a perfect excuse to take trip up to Bamburgh - a beautiful part of the world...

The good people of the NNBC hold their talks in the cricket pavilion, which nestles below the castle, almost on the beach at Bamburgh; I've given talks in a great many locations over the years, but this one is right up there with the best....

I was looked after wonderfully and, after the talk, and enjoying a few drinks with lovely friends who'd made the effort (despite the icy roads and remote location - thanks folks!), enjoyed a few hours in the frosty, wintry sunshine (remember that?) along the coast immediately nearby.

I intended to cover more ground, but as it turned out, spent hours enjoying the sights and sounds around Stag Rocks, where watching Eiders feeding within a few metres was almost hypnotic; a Little Auk north, lots of waders (including Purple Sands), various seabirds on the move and that sweet, much-missed sunshine were more than enough.

Photos - Eiders, Purple Sandpipers, Turnstones, Redshanks