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.
Northern Bullfinch, Filey, 6th November - click on images to enlarge
A few days off coinciding with favourable conditions for late autumn landbird migration could mean only one thing - yep, to the coast and on the hunt for new arrivals. Thursday (6th), after preceding 'blocking' conditions for some time both here and on the continent, looked potentially productive: settled and cloudy with a SSE breeze. But would it be enough to produce the goods?
Spot the Yellow-brow (part one)
After eight hours in the field at Filey, the answer was a resounding yes, it would be. I arrived on Carr Naze for shortly after first light, and decided to focus attentions on the northern coastal area - that is, the coastal strip and adjacent scrub, woodland and hedgerow in and around the Country Park. It's a routine, and an area, which has rewarded me handsomely for many years, so it was a day with a 'if it ain't broke, don't fix it' mentality.
A (very normal) Treecreeper
Carr Naze was quiet but for a few groups of Blackbirds and Redwings arriving, until I picked up two Bullfinches around the pond - on size and then call, surely good candidates for nominate Northernpyrrhula (the Scandinavian subspecies), with an influx into the Northern Isles and (to a lesser degree) along north-east coasts of late....
An interesting Jackdaw showing features of the eastern race C. m. Soemmerringii - more here
Snow Buntings, Filey
A genuinely rare bird here on the Yorkshire coast, of which I've only found a couple of despite being on alert for them at key times over the years, they're often reported without conclusive evidence, which results in a bit of an irksome devaluing of their true status in my mind. Anyway, after seeing them land in the nearby Top Scrub, I legged it over and hoped for a better look and listen.
Spot the Yellow-brow (part two)
After happily refinding them up-close in the top of nearby hawthorns, the views were great and their size, bulk, and plumage were all pleasingly conclusive - absolute monsters, in the best possible way. A cracking start to the day, which would continue to be entertaining throughout....
Three Great Northern Divers and a Pintail were among southbound over-sea movers and 20 Purple Sandpipers were in the Brigg area, but clearly most of the action was going to on dry land, and so it came to be.
Numbers were small overall, with no major arrival from above, but there was plenty in the Top Scrub, Arndale, and along the hedges, and with scarcities turning up elsewhere on the coast it was all about a slow and forensic search.
Encouragingly, a couple of passerine flocks were doing the rounds, and it was with these that the majority of action came - Long-tailed and other tits leading the charge, with plenty of Goldcrests, at least five Blackcaps, and ten Chiffchaffs overall (with a couple of the latter looking distinctly cold, brown and interesting, without being classic tristis); before long, what eventually turned out to be the first Yellow-browed Warbler of the day appeared within their number, and it was a bird that had me confused for a good while before eventually nailing it as a particularly dull, pale inornatus.
Slow, repetitive patrols of the area kept producing more birds, with further highlights including a Firecrest, another two Yellow-browed Warblers, the interesting Jackdaw (see last post) and two Ring Ouzels - stuff was clearly still arriving, with the wind having swung ESE with a low cloud bank overhead. A late Willow Warbler (below) in the canopy with 'crests was one of the distinctive grey-and-yellow types I've seen several times in November - surely from an eastern population (and not conventional 'acredulas'), it'd be fascinating to know exactly where.
With time (and light) running out and a rush-hour drive back to York looming, I considered calling it quits at the end of another scour of Arndale - but I reminded myself that this could be the last roll of the die for the autumn proper on the coast, what with a fortnight in the Highlands fast approaching and November rolling on regardless; so a last check of the Top Scrub beckoned - where I was instantly greeted with the diagnostic soft tacking of a Dusky Warbler.....
.... which continued for a good few minutes from the thicker area of scrub by the pond (where I managed some decent views and a few ropey photos). The anxious, repetitive calling, along with its (apparent) lack of presence on several earlier checks of the same spot, point to it having just dropped in; I've seen (and heard) this many times with this and similar species, and its a good indication of a fresh arrival. I've been fortunate to find multiple Duskys at both Filey and Flamborough in recent years, which dulls the thrill of finding one not one iota - the quintessential Siberian skulkers, every one is a absolute marvel.
Dusky Warbler, Top Scrub
Back home (the drive through the traffic being breeze after the above), and - after a zoom talk for SE Essex RSPB (good to see you all!) - another early start for round two back on the coast on 7th. Mixing it up, I opted for a morning session at Buckton, which was pretty decent; most notably, hundreds of thrushes were dropping out of the mist, most being Fieldfares and Blackbirds - well into three figures of each, with the latter densely scattered on the deck, too.
As well as the thrushes, notable influxes of Chaffinches and Robins, plus Merlin hunting, another Yellow-brow, a Jack Snipe and two Water Rails were among a good cast of migrants. Still no Pallas's, though, so with one reported next door at Bempton, I nipped in for a look - never a bad move where they're concerned, and I enjoyed lovely views of my first (and likely last) seven-striped sprite of the year.
Chiffchaff, freshly arrived in the grass on Carr Naze
The last couple of hours back at Filey were pretty quiet, with no sign of the passerine flocks of the day before, but there was still plenty incoming - Blackbirds were by far the commonest species, with over 200 in the immediate area, while a single Brambling also came in off at the death (below).
As for Saturday, that was mostly spent visiting the folks (after a fun night with friends the evening before, and pleasant strolls with young Graham in the day - all very social), but we nipped in for a stroll along Carr Naze on the way home, where three ever-gorgeous Snow Buntings fed tamely around our feet; a fittingly appropriate bookend to a very enjoyable couple of days quality coastal birding...
.... which wasn't quite over yet. As always I swapped SD cards in my Flamborough nocmig recorder while I was through, and in checking Friday night's action on return to York, found a Hawfinch alongside good counts of thrushes and other species:
I had this very distinctive Jackdaw the other day in Filey, feeding with 'regular' Jackdaws in the horse field by the clifftop in the Country Park. Knowing that they're seemingly not (yet) doable in the field, and being aware of the intergrade and ID issues of Jackdaw subspecies, I'm putting it out there more out of a will for documenting than anything else.
On current understanding, however, you could argue it's very hard to rule out the (highly) migratory Russian race, C. m. Soemmerringii; the supposedly classic features of this subspecies are its broad, long, white neck collar, contrasting sharply with a pale nape and ear-coverts and the blackish cap and underparts (e.g. Svensson & Shirihai, van Duivendijk, etc). A larger, heavier bill is another feature and, while a bit subjective, is arguably shown by this bird, too.
I've seen several candidate Scandinavian Jackdaws here on the coast, but with so much known overlap in features, they're a bit of a cul-de-sac; but comparing this bird with examples in the books and online (see for example the Dutch Birding article here) of Russian Soemmerringii, I think I'd struggle to find a better candidate.
Busy times, as always at the business end of the autumn, with all last week spent guiding once again at the mighty Spurn Bird Observatory and neighbouring areas.
Glossy Ibis (one of at least four on the Outstrays)
Short-eared Owl
In contrast to my week guiding there in mid-October (see here), the winds and weather systems were never going to provide the spectacle of large-scale arrivals from the continent - westerlies / south-westerlies and accompanying low pressure and weather fronts throughout were the theme this time.
Common Scoters at sea
By no means the end of the world, however - with much to enjoy in the Kilnsea / Spurn area as always, and a reliably stunning ace up the sleeve just a few minutes along the river....
Of passerines in the Kilnsea area, highlights 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;
Flocks of Knot and Golden Plover (above), Hen Harriers (below)
... while the waders at the Warren and the Breach were fabulous, both for close-up views and the spectacle of massive murmurations. A complete surprise, found by my group and enjoyed by others, was a Common Dolphin heading south (and kindly fully breaching!) off the Warren - just the second ever record for Spurn!
Siberian Chiffchaff, Redwing
Which would all have been enough, but with the newly created and increasingly productive habitat of the Outstrays - extensive brackish marsh, mudflats and grassland stretching from Patrington Haven in the west to Skeffling in the east - it was a real joy to throw this new and consistently entertaining hotspot into the mix.
Starling, Wigeon
Just a ten-minute drive from Kilnsea, the Outstrays played a starring role in the week's birding adventures, and I visited the area several times with different groups to soak up the avian bonanza on offer there.
Little Egret, Lesser Redpolls
The sheer spectacle of tens of thousands of swirling, murmurating waders - mostly Golden Plovers and Knot, with huge, shimmering flocks of both - were more than enough to make any birding day, and it's the kind of place you can comfortably spend a full day at this time of year; as well as the waders, we enjoyed Glossy Ibises, flocks of finches, pipits, buntings and thrushes, Great and (many) Little Egrets and much more.
(Another) Siberian Chiffchaff, Redwing arriving in off the sea at the breach
But rivalling (and arguably surpassing) the shorebird show here were the birds of prey. There was barely a moment when there wasn't something hunting around us, 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, and - along with all the above - left my teams more than happy with the minor north-westbound diversion.
Another great week - back next year, and you can reserve your places here!
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.
