Review of the Year, 2019 - Part Four

Wilson's Storm-petrel off Cape Clear Island

 
As the summer wore on, we wrapped up the North York Moors wader surveys, but monitoring work continued with bats, and also Filey's breeding Kittiwakes (my seventh summer conducting this voluntary survey, gauging their breeding productivity here on the cliffs) and Turtle Dove breeding surveys in the North Yorkshire forests (another great voluntary project). By late July, however, it was time to swap the North Sea for the Atlantic, and specifically the rugged shores of Cape Clear Island and County Cork.

Cory's Shearwater off Cape Clear Island

 
In partnership with Shearwater Wildlife Tours, we (Yorkshire Coast Nature) led a memorable five-day tour in this most beautiful of Irish counties, with three of those days and nights based on the legendary and idyllic Cape Clear, bookended by days exploring the beautful coastline of the Cork mainland.

Sunfish!

 
Unsurprisingly we were fully booked long in advance and, with the local expertise of Niall and a lovely 'support crew' (hats off to Andy the driver, Steve the Bird Obs Warden, and Mary the, well, what doesn't she do on the island?), it was a cracking trip with a great team of clients, fine landscapes, culture, food, people - and some very special birding experiences.

European (left) and Wilson's Storm-petrels 

 
Dedicated posts written at the time can be found here, here and here  (check out the dolphin videos), but suffice to say, the real stars were out on the waves. We were able to take two boat trips out into the Atlantic, both for several hours and both with memorable results; without the skillful skippering and chumming we'd have been far less successful, however, and it's fair to say we had it locked down, despite the reported lack of of our target seabirds in the area previously.

Sooty Shearwater off Cape Clear

 
Top of the list from a rarity perspective was Wilson's Storm-petrel, and we'd fantastic, extended views of these little beauties from the Southern Oceans allowing everyone to get to grips with their diagnostic features alongside their European cousins - talking of which, there were, well, a lot of 'em.

Manx Shearwater

 
Shearwaters gave us many a dramatic fly-by, with Sootys, Cory's and countless thousands of Manxies, Short-beaked Common Dolphins put on many a breathtaking show right beside the boat, an Ocean Sunfish joined us for a while, Arctic and Great Skuas came to investigate.... add to that the wonderful experiences back on the island (Storm-petrel ringing with Steve, seawatches with huge numbers of shearwaters, a great craic in the local pub) and it was the kind of trip that was an absolute dream to lead.

YCN Team Cork 2019, in the garden of our island accommodation overlooking the harbour

 
Back on the Yorkshire coast, and it was, well, back off the coast and back on the boats, with a series of equally memorable YCN Seabirds and Whales pelagics out of Staithes, a painfully picturesque village a little way up the North Yorks coast. I had the pleasure of leading some of the most exciting and successful trips during the late summer and early autumn, with up to 25 (!) Minke Whales on several occasions, lots of great seabird action (including cory's and Balearic Shearwaters, skuas, terns and plenty more) and many a happy client. (We're booking for this year now - see here if you fancy it).

Another Cory's - this one by the boat off Staithes, North Yorks! 

 

A major problem for photographing whales on our YCN pelagics is how close they come....

 
Cetaceans and seabirds ruled the summer both away from home and back in the hood (as they always should), where it was an exceptional season for Bottlenose Dolphins; while occurences have increased in recent years, they're still a big deal to see in the Filey area - until this year, that is, when I lost count of the times I bumped into them on clifftop and beach walks and scans. I managed to get conclusive ID's of several from photos of the dorsal fins, and as in previous years, they belong to the Moray Firth community (they really get around these days).

On dry land, early autumn was fairly muted locally, although waders always provide a distraction, and finding a (very) early Icterine Warbler fresh in in the grass on the end of Carr Naze at the end of July was a nice surpise.

Icterine Warbler, Carr Naze, 29th July

 

Greenshank, East Lea

 

Common Snipe, Filey Dams

 

Spoonbill - annual in Filey in small numbers, but rarely do they stick - unlike this one, which stayed for months... 

 
By then it was time to prepare for the next trip, to Sweden and the mighty Falsterbo Bird Observatory... (part five to follow)

Review of the Year, 2019 - Part Three

April saw the beginning of a long and fascinating season surveying the breeding waders of the North Yorkshire Moors. Again with comrade Rich, we spent a lot of time up on the most remote parts of the moors over the spring and summer months, and by the end of the contract, I'd conducted 54 surveys up there, providing many valuable insights (and some serious exercise)....

We recorded effectively everything, but our target species were European Golden Plover (top), Eurasian Curlew (above), Northern Lapwing (below) and Common Snipe.

As with pretty much any survey - and especially those where you routinely find yourself in remote situations - there was plenty of collatoral to enjoy, from breeding Merlins, to smart Emperor moths and gorgeous Adders (below); of the latter, it's impossible to tire of these beautiful beasts, and I had some memorable run-ins with them this summer.

Spring and summer isn't just about surveying birds these days - plenty of late evenings (and a few very early mornings) were again spent looking for and monitoring bats, again as part of Wold Ecology's team. Sites, species and surroundings were rich and varied, and no two nights were the same; some were a real privilege to experience, often involving my personal favourites, Brown Long-eared Bats.

Birding on the coast was sketchy, regarding both time in the field and relative returns; long gone are the days when I could justify numerous day-long shifts sniffing out everything with feathers and a pulse in spring (and to be honest, that's no bad thing), but I'm still fortunate enough to be able to reshuffle some of my workload and maximise at least some time in the field when the conditions look promising. It's all relative, I know, and yes, I do appreciate how lucky I am...

Inkeeping with the last few years, I spread the spring birding love more holistically and satisfyingly again this spring (the days of über-insular patch-induced mania are also happily long gone), with Filey, Flamborough and elsewhere within realistic striking distance on the table for those generally at-a-premium days of seasonal promise. I even twitched a few decent birds within a half hour or so - what have I become? (A little less insane is the correct answer, in case you were wondering...).

In truth there were't too many days that hit the spot on the coast, but a couple spring to mind - a fine day of quality and quantity at Flamborough in mid-May, and another there right at the end of the spring migration season were particularly enjoyable; one of several Wrynecks and Black-headed Bunting (both pictured above) being two species featuring in the above links, as well as a decent sprinkling of Redstarts this spring (below).

As well as all the above, in May I stepped down as (volunteer) Communications Officer for Filey Bird Obs. After a productive seven years or so at the helm and a lot for us to be proud of, ultimately it's important to realise when those efforts are better directed elsewhere to make the most of those spare hours and skills. A more detailed summary can be found here.

More importantly, I got to spend my wonderful wife's 40th in the Czech Republic with her and my lovely in-laws - and I didn't even take the bins and camera! New-found levels of perspective and self-control abound....

(Part Four to follow)

Review of the Year 2019 - Part Two

Running comms for the International Bird Obervatories Conference 2019 was a huge pleasure

 

Jerusalem Bird Observatory - full of lovely people

 
And so, by mid-March on a particularly dark, cold and damp Yorkshire coast, we were all set for three weeks in Israel.

Vismigging at the Eilat Birding Centre with comrades from all four corners of the globe

 

The closing evening of IBOC at the IBRCE 

 
The two wonderful flagship events we were fortunate to be involved with - Champions of the Flyway (COTF) and The International Bird Observatories Conference (IBOC) - ran concurrently in Eilat, and involved not just an intensive (but enjoyable) work schedule but also a lot of fine, fine people; and of course, some great birds and birding opportunities.

Sneaky seawatching between lectures at IBOC 2019

 

Celebrating International Migratory Birds Day with the kids

 
Of those fine people, well there were too many to even think about namechecking, but catching up with dear friends from the international birding and conservation communities, and forging many new friendships while reinforcing existing ones, is just about as good as it gets - it's hard to imagine any other circumstances where one could feel so at home and at ease, and so fully topped up on the psychological / philosophical fuel that is so essential to navigating the more mundane day-to-day trials of modern life.

The Three Golden Domes of Eilat

 

IBOC!

 
It's hard to oversell just how affirming and dynamic these two incredible events were, but being part of so many diverse and genuinely inspiring people from across the planet coming together and joining forces is a special privilege, especially when that community becomes so much more than the sum of their parts.

Typical hospitality from the mighty Nadav (beers out of shot)

 

How's the migration this evening, Anat?

 

BT3 - always with us! 

 
And then there were the birds.... I managed a blog post a day (well, when I got back) and they can be accessed chronologically by starting here and then clicking on 'newer post' at the end of each piece. (Alternatively, check out the monthly collections here and here).

Eastern Subalpine Warbler

 

Rüppell's Warbler

 
Of those birds, well, as I'm now privileged to confirm, early spring in Eilat is always a glorious kaliedoscope of migration, and it was another memorable birding adventure; positioning yourself smack bang in the middle of one of the busiest bottlenecks bridging the African and Eurasian landmasses in peak migration is, well, not dull....

Egyptian Vulture

 

Ibex

 

Nubian Nightjar

 

Little Crake at the IBRCE

 
Back home for the second week of April, and the survey season was about to kick in - more to follow.

Review of the Year 2019 - Part One

One of a few close-to-home Waxwings in January

 
After a frenetic end to 2018, January began (and continued) with a busy winter talks programme, kicking off with a week of speaking for RSPB groups and local Nat Hist societies in London, and continuing across various points in the North. Of the latter, a memorably weather-affected adventure out West - incorporating talks for the Lancaster & District Birdwatching Society in Morecambe and The Bangor Bird Club in North Wales - wasn't just about white-outs on the motorway, black ice and breakdowns, but also about quality birding with friends new and old.

Whooper (left) vs. Bewick's Swans (right) - the smart money's on the little 'uns

 

Whooper & Bewick's Swans in the Lancashire snow

 
A fine day in the snow with Dan around Cockersand was notable for no fewer than four swan species, with Whoopers and Bewick's close-up and undeterred by the flashing lights of the never-more-appreciated AA van (more here), and another fine day - this time with some welcome post-storm sunshine - on Anglesey with Robin and Stephen followed soon after (more here).

Merlin hunting along the Anglesey coastline

 
Back on the Yorkshire coast, there was little in the way of winter movements, although a few Waxwings provided an always justified distraction; they seem to getting more and more regular these days - remember when we held our breath for a Waxwing Winter every six or seven years...? A far less predictable midwinter jewel, Hornsea Mere hosted a smart male Smew, which shared an ice-free opening in the surface with Greater Scaup and many other ducks. A cracking site only half an hour away, I really must spend more time here in 2020... more here.

One of the wintering Med Gulls looking the business before leaving for the summer

 

Icy white nun at Hornsea Mere

 
Sunny days in February means Goshawks displaying in the nearby North Yorkshire forests, and the old man and I had several enjoyable and successful days with them and a host of other active raptors, as described here; ditto Mediterranean Gulls, which were in various states of moult before they returned to breeding grounds across the North sea and beyond (see here); and rockpooling was back on the agenda with a few nice low tides, and South Landing always provides...

One of many Goshawks enjoying the early spring sunshine in the forests

 

Montagu's Sea Snail, South Landing

 
New roles I've been very happy to fulfil in 2019 included Digital Media & Logistics Co-ordinator for Champions of the Flyway, Digital Media Co-ordinator for The International Bird Observatories Conference and Website & Social Media Manager for Birdlife Israel - the first two of which in particular required a lot of attention throughout the winter, intensifying as both events approached in March. And as the month wore on with the merest vague hints of spring in the air on the Yorkshire coast, that trip to the Middle East couldn't come soon enough...

(Part Two to follow soon)