School of Birding, November '25 - Class Seven dismissed!

"How many?"

Yep, that's seven - eight, if you include this spring's fabulous School Trip to the Outer Hebrides - Schools my estimable partner Simon and I have so far completed. We've come a long way from a kernel of an idea over a pint in Grantown a couple of years back....

A full week with a fantastic cast list (all team players, all helping each other, all a great craic) and some great birding - in mixed conditions, as you might expect in the Highlands in the early winter - which challenged us to degree, but then provided some of the most beautiful moments and backdrops I've ever had up there.

Temperatures plunged to -10 midweek and the forecast snow was even heavier than predicted, but oh boy, was it the absolute archetypal winter wonderland. In the forests, in the valleys, on the hills and mountains, across farmland and in the villages, the white stuff was fresh and deep and the experiences we had were especially peaceful and mindful as a consequence.

Two of four Waxwings we stumbled across in Carr Bridge

Thanks to all of Class Seven for making it such a pleasure for us - a really memorable one, and we look forward to seeing you again for Module Two....

Treecreeper

... speaking of which, next up is our very first Module Two, in February; watch this space for a hopefully positive report! We've another five schools (all booked up) until our next Module One in November next year - there's a couple of places left I think, so have a look here if you fancy joining us.

Crestie (above), Red-breasted Merganser (below)

Gulls at Lossiemouth - spot the four argentatus Herring Gulls... 

Lekking Black Grouse

Thanks once more to our good friends at Zeiss Birding, who again provided a wide range of their qulaity birding optics free of charge for our team to use, with big discounts available on purchases thereafter. We appreciate your ongoing support!

 

Eastern Black Redstart, Castle Hill, Scarborough - 28th Nov '25

Another fabulous and accommodating rarity on Castle Hill after last month's Needletail (thanks again, Ben!), this beautiful male Eastern Black Redstart graced the urban but picturesque confines of St. Mary's Churchyard on our afternoon jolly to the coast yesterday.

It's the second I've seen in the area, after a bird on a Scalby housing estate at a similar time of year (reported as a male Common Redstart, I believe, before a much-recommended and predictable re-identification) some years back - a fun outing with the must-missed Martin G; there's been a third locally, too (Cayton Bay, maybe?), suggesting this bit of the coast is arguably the best spot for Eastern Black Reds in the UK...

After our session watching it feed high up in bare trees (conveniently at eye-level, from neighbouring steps), the heavens opened and we retreated to the Watermark cafe for celebratory jacket potatoes, Bottlenose Dolphins cruising past as we ate. Quality!

Snow Buntings, Filey - 26th Nov '25

Back from the Highlands, and with work on the Humber the next day, a now familiar routine - a session on the coast (at Filey) before staying at Flamborough and seeing the folks. Not much going on in blustery, cold south-westerlies and under gloomy skies, but when there's Snow Buntings around, it's always a good day.

A total of eight flew in and dropped in at my feet on Carr Naze, making for another satisfying session on my knees in the weeds. This may be the 2000th post about this species here, but I can assure you, it won't be the last....

Seaduck week - Scotland, November '25

Beneath these rainbows are many Velvet and Common Scoters, Long-tailed Ducks, plus Slavonian Grebes, mergansers, divers and more.... 

I'm up here in the Highlands for the best part of a fortnight, as is happily often the case at this time of year, for kind of a double-header based here at the Grant Arms hotel in Grantown-on-Spey: firstly for the hotel's Seaduck Week, and then for our School of Birding (more of that follow).

So, Seaduck week - I think my sixth or seventh? - is a themed birding week with an emphasis on, well, take a shot.... which is just fine with me, being infatuated with them generally, and spoiled for them up here on the Moray coast - it's no accident that I've spent much of my downtime basically sat next to displaying Eiders and Long-tailed Ducks for hours on end, which is effectively peak mindfulness as far as I'm concerned.

To kick off the week I gave a talk about Seaducks of Britain and Europe, followed by a couple of coastal excursions for our guests (along with others led by local guides). It's been a mixed few days weather-wise, with sleety showers, plunging temperatures and strong winds from the north - not ideal for observing purposes, but perfect for creating dramatic skies (and it is Northern Scotland in November, after all).

And it's been excellent, as always up here. Great views, and numbers, of Velvet and Common Scoters, Common Eiders, Long-tailed Ducks, plus Red-breasted Mergansers, Slavonian Grebes, Red-throated, Black-throated and Great Northern Divers, plus lots of gulls, auks, waders and more to enjoy on the coast.

If I'm honest, the aforementioned sessions alongside displaying and often comically hormonal (and vociferous) Long-tailed Ducks and Eiders is a singular joy that would pull me up here anyway, and so to share such things and much more with guests is a privilege. It's been a fine few days which will continue over the weekend, when the weathr is due to settle - watch this space for more.