Ba-ba-ba-ba-build.... House Martins, Levisham, June '25

A day surveying up on the Moors, this time a repeat visit to Levisham. Plenty to enjoy up there, but before that, an issue with parking the car; the area where I usually do so being occupied by a herd of Highland cattle, instantly threatening to use my vehicle as a scratching post - and so to plan B...

... which took me down the slope to Levisham itself, which is basically a chocolate box hamlet in a beautiful valley with the Steam railway station at it's centre. Parking the car, I had the good luck to bump into these trans-Saharan beauties collecting mud at the side of the track, and so I delayed the start of my survey to spend some time with them.

Which, as you can probably tell from the photos, was a joy - watching their mud-gathering techniques, additional forays to collect dry grass and straw, and their (mostly friendly, occasionally hostile) interactions, all while not giving a flying one about me sat a few metres away.

A fabulous way to start the day, which also got me breeding Redstart, Tree Pipit and Marsh Tit before leaving the car and hitting the moor - so thanks again to the Highland cattle, you created a very worthy diversion.

Honey-buzzards and more - Wykeham, late May '25

A quick one from, ooh, the weekend before this last one.... after guiding the lovely folk of Harrogate RSPB at Filey and then staying over on the coast, I dropped in at Wykeham Raptor Viewpoint for a while in the hope of a look at the newly-arrived Honey-buzzards.

 

It turned out to be a really lovely session with a disperate bunch of fellow birders from all over, there for the same reasons - and over the course of a few hours, we had some fabulous fly-bys and drama from a total of three birds (two females and a male), as well as interactions with Common Buzzards and Ravens.

As well as the HB show, there was plenty to enjoy - about 70 Crossbills (clearly a good breeding season), lots of Siskins, a Willow Tit, five Ravens, lots of the commoner raptors, singing Tree Pipit, a couple of Redpolls and plenty of Willow Warblers among a supporting cast.

Filey Stonechats, late May '25

As well as being one of the most photogenic of British bird species, Stonechats can be one of the most tame and entertaining, as proved by this family on the Filey cliff path last week....

In admirably close attendance with two errant just-out-of-the-nest juveniles, a particularly sharp-dressed adult male shephered his unruly young away from passing dogs and humans with great skill, and soon started to ignore me after I sat down in the grass nearby.

Until the last few years Stonechats have been a rare breeder in the northern coastal area at Filey, but have done well of late, with two families successfully fledging young there this spring.

Purple Sandpipers, Filey - late May '25

Not sure quite how many times the words 'Purple Sandpipers' and 'Filey' have appeared on these pages over the last 16 years or more, but it's a lot... but I make no excuses - they're wonderful, iconic 'local' birds that have given me enormous joy over the years, and it's always a special treat to see them transitioning into breeding plumage.

Not that it's easy to find them in such a state and at such a time - most, if not all, wintering birds have already gone, and those that 'remain' are just as likely to be briefly pit-stopping on the Brigg before their journeys back to their breeding grounds in the Arctic tundra.

And so it was a pleasure to enjoy this handful of Purps on the Brigg end, looking increasingly dapper as the sharper, rich tones of their breeding dress replace the more familiar, diffuse, smudgy appearance of their non-breeding attire.

Partially leucistic Turnstone - Filey, 21st May '25

I was over on the coast a lot this last week (see upcoming posts), and while dodging some seriously huge waves on the Brigg (at Filey), a group of Turnstones appeared, hardily braving the conditions as only Turnstones can.

Always a pleasure, and my main motivation for descending the slope and tolerating the spray was indeed waders, and more specifically those in breeding plumage, en route to the Arctic.

So far so good, with some cracking, vibrant, orange, black and white birds looking resplendent against the dark rocks and white horses. But then, this beauty appeared...

... also in breeding plumage, but partially leucistic to boot, and absolutely stunning because of it (as I'm sure you'll agree). Happily, the loose flock were unconcerned by my presence, and I spent a long time with them before I moved on (in the hope of breeding plumage Purple Sandpipers - see next post), allowing for lots of enviable photo opportunities.

I posted shortly after on Facebook, mainly just to share the joy of such a cool bird, but also to flag it up in case:

Lo and behold, an hour or two later, and I got these fascinating replies, revealing where the bird had spent the winter - Northern France, to be precise:

Meanwhile, over on Bluesky (I quit the dumpster fire of what used to be Twitter for obvious reasons a few months ago)...

.... 48 hours later and the bird is again on its way north along the North Sea coast!

A testament to the lovely, collective, community strengths of social media, so easy to overlook in these dark times; I have to confess, I absolutely love this stuff - age old migration magic, illuminated by modern communications; righteous! So where next for this little stunner? Stay tuned, maybe there's more to come....