Filey vs The World - August (2)

Much of the previous August, meanwhile, was spent pretty much as far away from Blighty as one can get without leaving the planet. New South Wales, Australia, was our stomping ground for an especially memorable part of it, and once again it's effectively impossible to choose photo highlights, on account of there being so many. (For a more complete overview, see the entries under August and September 2011 under previous posts).

Tawny Frogmouth, Superb Fairy-wren, Yellow-tailed Black Cockatoo 

Here's a brief taster of the delights Sydney had to offer anyway; but for the seabirds (including no less than seven Albatross species) on an unforgettable pelagic, see here and the posts following it. Incredible.

Powerful Owl, Laughing Kookaburra, Grey Butcherbird

Crested Pigeon, Rainbow Lorikeet, Masked Lapwing, Magpie-lark - note all the pictures above were taken in urban Sydney.....

White-browed Scrub-wren, Grey Shrike-thrush (Echo Point)

Filey vs The World - August (1)

Never a month to take for granted (but one that usually provides some quality with enough persistence), August here in Filey was as entertaining as I'd hoped it would be.

Purple Sandpiper & Turnstone on the Brigg; Five Green Sands at the Dams

A wide range of waders began to appear both on the Brigg and at the Dams, including many in summer plumage, fresh from the taiga and tundra of the north. Passerine migrants began to trickle through, and although there were no major falls, there was enough to keep the home fires burning. The pick of the bunch were undoubtedly the two Icterine Warblers I was lucky enough to find, both in the Top Scrub, on 14th and 26th respectively.

Three Little Egrets, East Lea; Knots on the Brigg

Greenshank at the Dams

Icterine Warbler in the Top Scrub

The sea provided more and more as August wore on. By mid-month, all four skuas, Roseate Terns and the first Sooties were in the bag, and then by the end of the month, it was a thrill to experience some of the best movements in years - Filey at its best from the hallowed hide on the Brigg. Skuas and Shearwaters in their multitudes; it doesn't get much better.

Bonxie on the Brigg

Of last August? California and Australia (see next post). Could be worse....

Filey vs The World - July (2)

Say's Phoebe, Black-throated Grey Warbler, Canyon Towhee

So this July here in Filey was amply covered in the last two posts, but last July provided endless highlights much further afield - and so another briefly indulgent reminder of a very few of them.

Cordilleran Flycatcher, Western Tanager

By July, we were in the wilds of New Mexico and Arizona - more amazing birds, wildlife and landscapes than a short post could ever hope to even touch on, but there you go.

Curve-billed Thrasher, Scaled Quail

Black-chinned Hummingbird, Cliff Swallow

Cactus Wren, Black Phoebe at nest

Filey vs The World - July (1)

While birding was entertaining without being heart-stopping this July (see last post), the beginning of last July saw us leaving Seattle and the Olympic peninsula and moving further north, over the border and onto Vancouver Island, before Greyhounding down the west coast via Washington once more, Oregon, and into California.

Knot & Oystercatcher, the Brigg

Chestnut-backed Chickadee & California Quail, Vancouver island

Kicking back in San Francisco allowed for plenty of birding on the coast and in the (very productive) Golden Gate Park, before we headed south and then west, into the wilds of Arizona and New Mexico (see next post......)

Male Wilson's Warbler and Great Horned Owlets, Golden Gate Park

Steller's Jay and Allen's Hummingbird, Golden Gate Park

Filey vs The World - June (2)

Black-and-white Warbler & Red-eyed Vireo, Mass

While this June was pretty much steady as she goes here in Filey, last June was far from it. Numerous Greyhounds carried us across the length of the United States, coast to coast, east to west, and with countless delights and adventures inbetween.

Pink-sided Junco & Bullock's Oriole, Montana

Least Flycatcher & Eastern Kingbird, Montana

It's almost impossible to know where to start (and if you're really interested, then feel free to open up and dip into the 2011 archives on the right side bar), but here's a very few shots to give a flavour of an amazing month.

Mountain Chickadee & Clark's Nutcracker, Montana

Western Tanager and Mountain Bluebird, Wyoming

American (Buff-bellied) Pipit and Audubon's Warbler, Montana / Wyoming

Great Northern Diver, Tufted Puffin, Harlequin - Washington

Swainson's Thrush, White-crowned Sparrow, Violet-green Swallow