Seabirding

 

Another day leading Yorkshire Coast Nature pelagics off Staithes. The sea was still lumpy, getting over the big northerly swell that had been running all week. This made finding stuff tricky for the first few hours, but hitting the five mile, the swell eased considerably, and we found a big feeding frenzy, with 300 Gannets, 200 Grey Seals, 12 Minke Whales, and best of all, a Great Shearwater feeding with 80+ Sooty Shearwaters. The Great Shear fed by diving from the surface and would disappear for 20-30 seconds, clearly going deep to hunt Herring. The Sooties were also doing this. 

 

Adding further class, a Blue Fulmar cruised past giving great views and my first pics of this form. Also noted, four Bonxies, a single Arctic Skua, Arctic, Common and Sandwich Terns and a dapper juvenile Caspian Gull.

 

Blue Fulmar, Sooty and Great Shearwaters, plus Fulmar and Kittiwake

Casp.

Blacktoft Renaissance

Needing a wader fix, I have had two recent visits to Blacktoft Sands, the first on 12th August, and then a second today, the 24th. The first visit was with my folks, and was really lovely, with great views of Bearded Tits scurrying along the mud at the edge of the reedbed like ginger mice, plus lots of waders (8 Spotted Redshanks, 149 Black-tailed Godwits, 9 Green Sandpipers, 25 Ruff, 3 Greenshank - pic above etc), a prolonged Bittern fly-past and several Water Rails. 

 

Ginger mice

 Water Rail

 Gorgeous juvenile Black-tailed Godwits, fresh in from Iceland

Moulting adult Spot Red
... 

With a few hours to kill this morning, I went back again and enjoyed really grilling the waders on the lagoons, including two smart juvenile Curlew Sandpipers, seven Spotted Redshanks (4 adults, 3 juveniles), 24 Ruff, 45 Black-tailed Godwits, 3 Greenshank, etc. The ginger mice were still in evidence, along with a few Water Rails, plus some excitement provided by a couple of Hobbies, hunting over the reedbed. 

 

Top: Curlew Sandpiper with Dunlins; bottom, Greenshank with two Spotted Redshanks.

 

 

South Atlantic Style

Another seawatch at Flamborough Head, with nine Sooty Shearwaters the highlight, plus 30 Manx Shearwaters, juvenile Caspian Gull, two Little Gulls, c250 Common Terns, c100 Sandwich Terns, Whimbrel and a Minke Whale. A quiet walk round the Old Fall loop revealed one Whinchat, a Lesser Whitethroat and a few Willow Warblers. 

 

Second Pec

After enjoying the Pectoral Sandpiper at Wheldrake Ings earlier in the month, I was quite surprised and delighted to find another bird there this morning. On entering the Pool Hide, I was initially fearing the worst, as most of the water had drained away with only a few wet muddy areas and the occasional puddle. A quick scan revealed virtually nothing in evidence. 

 

 

Switching to my scope, I noticed a handful of Snipe at the back, with a couple of Green Sandpipers and scanning right, picked up a gang of elegant and pristine juvenile Ruff, wading about in the shallows. Then I noticed another smaller, darker bird - an adult Pectoral Sandpiper! The bird was pecking about behind the tern raft, so at quite a distance, but the clear breast band and attenuated rear end, together with its smaller size and proportionately longer bill and shorter legs gave its identity away. Nice.

The Pec was quite distant initially, but the pool ain't that big, so it was still reasonable through the scope. After a bit, the waders flushed and flew into the middle of the pool, giving much better views. I watched the bird feeding with the eight Ruff for a couple of hours, before I had to head back. Also noted, 8 Ruff, 7 Green Sandpipers, 10+ Snipe, 2 Marsh Harriers and 2 Yellow Wagtails. 

Following the bird ten days ago at Wheldrake Ings, this is my third in the York area and my second self-found bird, following a pristine juvenile at Grafham Water in 2006, co-found with Mark Hawkes.

 

Our Grafham juvenile from September 2006, pic by Stuart Elsom:

 

A Quick Pec!

Duncan rang while I was walking Luna to say he'd sent me a pic of a bird he had seen on the Pool at Wheldrake Ings, that he thought might be a Pectoral Sandpiper. I opened Whatsapp and sure enough, an image of a Pec Sand presented itself. Nice one Dunc! I shot home, grabbed my gear and headed over to Wheldrake. Despite the heavy gear swinging round my neck, I just about managed to run most of the mile or so down to the Pool Hide, and was delighted that Dunc was still watching the bird when I arrived. 

The bird, an adult, was pecking about in the wet mud among a flock of loafing Lapwings, showing nicely in the morning sunshine. This is only the second Pec I have seen in the York area (see here for my write-up of my first), and the first adult, so very welcome - hence the dash! There has been a little flurry of Pecs into the UK in the last fortnight and so great that York got in on the action. 

Craig, Rob and Jane turned up before the flock was flushed by a hunting Sparrowhawk. At first the Pec, which called, a Bee-eater like prrrt, circled around with the Lapwings, but after a bit, before heading off high south. It seemed to have gone, and Stuart Rapson turned up two minutes too late. Fortunately for Stuart, it came back in ten minutes later and whilst landing out of sight, it came back out after I had left. This is the tenth record for the York area. Also present, nine Green Sandpipers, c100 Lapwings, Water Rail, Marsh Harrier, Cetti's Warbler and Willow Tits.

 

Seawatch Season

A great start to the seawatch season with a moderate northwesterly blow pushng a few good seabirds into the North Sea. Following yesterday's handful of Great and Cory's Shearwaters past Flamborough Head, I was up early and heading east hoping that the wind, that had continued overnight, would continue to reward.

 I hadn't missed much by the time I arrived on the cliff at 7.30am, and the first bird in my scope view was a Manx Shearwater. The sea was large with plenty of white crests, and the cool northerly made it feel more like autumn that early August! An hour later, James Spencer announced 'Cory's!' and moments later I picked up the large form of this southern shearwater, slowly heading north. True to form, it made its way through in a very relaxed style, taking the best part of five minutes to do so, allowing me to attempt some phonescoped video. It was fairly distant, but the views were reasonable through the scope. 

 

Ten minutes later, and a spooned-up pale phase adult Pomarine Skua cruised north into the wind, low over the sea. A cracker, and one of my favourite seabirds, although I have not seen many in early August.  Terns were very much in evidence, with lots of small parties of Arctics heading north with a few Commons and noisy Sandwich Terns thrown in for good measure. Good numbers of juveniles among the Arctics suggest that some colonies have been spared from bird flu. A fine intermediate adult Arctic Skua headed north, and the tally of Manx Shearwaters topped 20 in the first hour. Cetaceans were in evidence too, with several Harbour Porpoises seen despite the rough seas, followed by a pod of c10 Bottlenose Dolphins that passed close inshore, heading north, followed a few minutes later by two more. Later, glimpses of fins in among a Kittiwake feeding frenzy eventually led to confirmation views of two Minke Whales, my first of the summer. Among the flock, I also saw a single Sooty Shearwater, my only sighting of the day. Also noted, a Whimbrel, c30 Common Scoters and 25 Teal. As midday approached, passage eased off, so I decided to head home. 

Please Help York Swifts!

One consequence of heatwaves is that young Swifts often become unbearably hot in their nests and are forced to jump out before they can fly, to seek cooler air. In recent weeks, many have been found on the ground in the York area. It is nigh on impossible to get these back into their nests - often householders don't know where they have come from, or the nest is inaccessible.

 

  

The lucky ones get picked up before the local cats etc get them and are taken to a local person who can look after them until fledging. In York, we are lucky to have Hannah Tate (a local vet) and her husband Adam in Fulford, who have been doing this job voluntarily for a few years now. I went to visit them last night - she currently is looking after 18 young Swifts! This is an unenviable task, requiring hourly feeding from dawn til dusk. The cost of food - crickets and waxworms is quite a lot for those hungry mouths so I made a donation from the York Swifts project to help cover some of their costs.

 

 

So, why am I telling you this? Well, firstly to be aware that if you come across a grounded adult or young Swift in the York area, they can be helped, so please rescue, put in a box and drop me a line and I can then arrange for it to be collected and taken to Hannah. Hannah is not in a position to take fledglings of other species - and they are usually best left alone anyway.

Secondly, if you want to support her efforts with a small donation to help cover the costs of the food etc, I am sure she would be delighted - click link:  https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/yorkswifts2025

Lastly, if you are in the York area and would like to consider becoming a Swift rehabber, I am sure Hannah would be pleased to train you up. There is a lot of info and support available, but be aware it is a big commitment of time.

Please drop me a line directly - jonoleadley@gmail.com - if you have any thoughts or wish to help.

 

Encounter with Antarctic Type B2 Orcas - January 2025

 Our time at South Georgia had come to an end - or so we thought. Our last afternoon was spent cruising the spectacular Drygalski fjord in the island's southeastern corner, enjoying Snow Petrels, Weddell Seals and Humpback Whales. As we headed back towards the ocean, news came through that another vessel had seen Orcas not far from the mouth of the fjord, so we increased our focus forward as we neared the area. We didn't hold out much hope as we assumed the pod was just passing by. Shortly, Philip and me picked up the Orca pod distantly as we left the fjord. They were purposefully moving north at about a mile range, and appeared to be a large pod of 15-20 animals, but then, to our astonishment, they turned towards us, and came straight in!  

The next hour was incredible. The captain stopped the engine and we drifted with this inquisitive group of Orcas, which stayed with us, checking every inch of the hull, spyhopping to look directly at us, whilst the juveniles messed about, breaching and tail slapping. Eventually, the captain decided to move off, proceeding very slowly at first. We thought the Orcas would depart, but instead they decided to follow, surfing our wake, close behind the stern. This gave us unbelievably close views, looking straight down their blowholes at times. The adults were spectacularly impressive animals up close and I could look into their eyes as they tilted sideways - a really humbling and moving experience. We got snotted on a few times, when they exhaled very close under the stern too - something I never thought I'd experience! As the captain picked up speed, the Orcas increased speed too and it became a full on chase, with these mighty animals porpoising along behind us, white water spraying out as they crashed through the swell. We were all astonished and awestruck by this incredibly moving encounter. I feel my emotions welling up as I type this, as the memories of it flood back. I hope you enjoy some of the footage and pics I managed to get, enduring frozen hands whilst trying not to drop my phone in the sea!

 

 

Remarkably, I put this photo on to HappyWhale and it was identified as a male B2, number BC-SGB026, and was first photographed south of South Georgia on 26/02/2018, almost seven years ago!

We knew these Orcas were Antarctic Type Bs, with diatom staining on their backs, and a clear black dorsal cape contrasting with paler sides. They were big, but not that big and in a large pod, hundreds of miles north of the pack ice, so I am pretty sure these are the smaller Type B2s, which have been seen up here before and feed on seals and penguins. A few days later, we encountered the much bigger Antarctic Type As, hunting a Fin Whale near Elephant Island, which were much bigger and very black and white, followed by a small pod of Antarctic B1s amongst pack ice in the Weddell Sea. They were busy checking out penguins on ice floes, presumably looking for seals, but they didn't come as close as these B2s. Together with the Type D south of South Georgia, we did incredibly well for Orcas - I don't even know what ecotype the pod in the Beagle Channel from Ushuaia were! 

 

Not Dipping a Dipper

Dippers are really rare in the York area, having been lost from their few breeding areas in the north of the recording area years ago, presumably as water quality declined. It was therefore quite a surprise to find myself dashing up to the River Foss at New Earswick a couple of miles from home to see a gorgeous juvenile that had been found by Ian Andrews this evening. I picked up James Byatt, parked at the Link Road and hit the riverside path. James went upstream and I went downstream; our gen was vague, so spreading out felt like the best option. I got lucky, and a few minutes later, noticed the little dude chilling on a lump of wood on the far side of the tiny Foss, although I almost walked past it without noticing!

 

It was totally unconcerned by my presence so I immediately phoned James, who came running. Fortunately the Dipper stayed in place for several minutes giving us great views. After a bit it flew off downstream, though didn't appear to be going very far. 

 

This was a very unexpected York tick and something I wasn't really expecting today! The last York bird I can recall was one at Newburgh Priory several years ago which I dipped - although I did see its droppings on a rock! The prolonged drought may well have forced this bird to leave its natal area and head into the lowlands looking for food. The Foss here seemed pretty good, so hopefully this little guy will do ok and return upstream once river levels improve. 

 

Valezina

Popped down the cycletrack to ogle the gorgeous Silver-washed Fritillaries nectaring on trackside brambles and a large Buddleia. I first saw them here last year, so it was great to see them again and in good numbers too. We counted at least ten, including a stunning pinky-brown Valezina form female, something I had not seen before. Also, stacks of other butterflies nectaring and a bonus Hummingbird Hawkmoth! 

 

Wykeham Ortolan Bunting

An Ortolan was an unexpected find for one lucky birder near the Wykeham raptor viewpoint on 11th June. It promptly vanished but was refound on the 15th, seemingly knocking about with a local Yellowhammer. With my car off the road, I hadn't had chance to go and have a look until this morning. It was windy up in the forest and the half a dozen or so birders had not glimpsed it so far. After a bit I had a wander around and picked up one then a pair of Honey Buzzards which provided great views as they came up out of Troutsdale and over the car park to the south. 

At about 10.35 the Ortolan showed in the usual spot, but I was elsewhere trying to find the bird, so missed it. Fortunately, an hour later, Alan Swain and myself noticed an orangey bird flick up into a willow, which through the bins proved to be the Ortolan. It remained in the tree for a minute or so, before flicking down onto a pine log, where it sat out in the open for another minute. A surprisingly handsome bird, looking more like a male to me than the female it had been reported as. It didn't have any streaking on the crown or on the upper breast and the malar stripe was the same greeny-grey as the head, with a nice lemony throat and warm orange underparts. After phonescoping a bit of video it dropped back on to the ground and didn't show again in the next hour, though I did hear it call from near the willow at about 12.30pm. 

Also seen, several small groups of Crossbills, a couple of Tree Pipits, Willow and Garden Warbler, Whitethroat and Chiffchaff. 

 

Visiting Knepp

 If you are into nature and conservation, you will have heard the name Knepp. Several years ago, I read the inspirational book by Isabella Tree, Wilding, which documents the journey of a large country estate owned by her husband, Charlie Burrell, from poorly-performing farm, to iconic 'rewilding' hotspot. Free-ranging livestock - Tamworth Pigs and Longhorn Cattle - had been introduced, along with Exmoor Ponies and Red and Fallow Deer. With minimal husbandry, the herbivores were encouraged to live freely, mimicking as much as possible, the activities of their ancestors and assisting with the wilding of the former farmland. The resulting rush of wildlife had astonished the owners and the conservation community, with rare species thriving shoulder to shoulder with an abundance of common wildlife. This, in turn, had attracted lots of people, which the estate is cashing in on, to help generate income for the project. 

Since reading the book, the successes of the project have (rightly) received much coverage in the media, and Knepp has become part of standard conservation parlance in Britain. Many estates are following their lead and wanting to become the 'Knepp' of their region, which is a brilliant added bonus to what has taken place. 

I was initially keen to visit, but my interest had waned in recent years. I felt sceptical of some of the recent developments particularly the project to 'reintroduce' White Storks, which I wrote about a few years ago - see here.  Despite this, my heart still felt that the Knepp project was a really great thing and one day I would visit.

Roll forward a few years and some friends bought Vicky and me a voucher for Knepp as a joint birthday present - splendid! Half-term at the end of May seemed a good time to visit as we would be heading south to the in-laws anyway, so Knepp would be only a couple of hours further on. We would be too early to see the Purple Emperors - one of the features of the site - but would hopefully be bang on for Nightingales and Turtle Doves and the White Storks should be getting on with nesting.  

We arrived on a rather windy, but bright May day, relieved that the previous night's rain had blown away. We were ahead of our check-in time and nobody was around to ask, so we just found our way to the large camping meadow and picked a sheltered spot. As we erected the tent, a rather soggy White Stork strutted about in the meadow nearby, picking up insects and other morsels. It looked in keeping with the surroundings, despite my scepticism. I soon noticed that across the way, the stork had its nest in a stately old Oak, which if grilled with my bins could be seen to shelter two small chicks.

 We didn't get very far on the first day. The cafe was full - it was Bank Holiday Monday after all, and it was clear Knepp was coining it in selling their longhorn burgers and Tamworth bangers. Fair play. 

Tuesday dawned wet and windy after quite a tempestuous night under canvas. The hoped-for Nightingales were clearly keeping their head's down and the dawn chorus was rather underwhelming. Post-breakfast we managed to persuade the kids for a walk round the central section of Knepp. It was quite different to what I'd imagined, with a feeling like a formal deer park that had been abandoned for a year or two, but with intensive grazing still happening. There was little botanical interest with everything grazed down short. Perhaps there would be more interest elsewhere? We passed the River Adur which had clearly been reprofiled, but low water diminished the impact of this work; it looked like an overgrown ditch. Down at the lake, a few common birds were present, with Reed Warblers singing and a Great Egret flew over. We completed our loop back at the campsite having enjoyed the walk but feeling somewhat underwhelmed. 

 Some nice marginal plants here, but the grassland is grazed very short either side.

The rain continued after lunch and we could hardly blame the kids for wanting to stay in the tent, so Vicky and me headed off round the southern section. This proved to be far more inspiring, with much more in the way of habitat development, disturbance from the herbivores and some wildlife! The impact of pigs was evident all over, with all grasslands and rides being turned over by their rootling. We came across a couple of hulking sows with gaggles of ginger piglets, demonstrating their business bu trashing a woodland ride. It seemed they were digging up the roots and bulbs of perennials along with bugs and other bits in the soil. The impact on the tight sward was incredible and all done with their snouts - amazing! All this destruction and disturbance clearly favours annuals and biennial species that produce lots of seed, and Ragwort abounded in the more open areas, which is no bad thing from an invertebrate point of view! 

 

Fallow Deer

Tamworth Pigs

A little further on, a large clearing hosted a herd of Exmoor Ponies, looking primitive and wild on the edge of the woodland. They kept their distance, whilst a couple of pairs of White Storks eyed them from their oaken vantage points. Scrub had begun to creep out from some of the woodland edges, softening the lines and blurring or even rubbing out the agricultural past. 

Nearby, mounds of brambles and Sallow breaks flowed through a former field embraced with hugely thick hedges creating something I'd not seen before. Oaks and other trees grew from the centre of these thorny palisades, safe from the browsers. Lesser Whitethroats and Nightingales were singing, despite the gloomy conditions, clearly loving the tangled structure. It felt good for Turtle Doves too, but the lack of warm sunshine had sent them shivering into the sheltered depths and we didn't hear a purring peep from them. 

 

We returned to the campsite much happier, feeling like we'd experienced some of the dynamism and exciting ecology that has made Knepp so special. After a hearty home-made pizza cooked (badly, by me) in the campsite pizza oven, we turned in. In the early hours, I awoke to the sound of a Nightingale singing from the nearby hedge. The rain had stopped and the wind had eased, and this filled my heart with joy, as it was exactly what I'd imagined for my camping experience at Knepp. Class.

Wednesday dawned bright and warm, with butterflies skipping about the meadow as we packed our gear ready for our long hike north. It was clear to me that Knepp is a wondrous place. Rewilding or regenerative farming? I don't think it matters. Lowland England is too constrained and tamed to ever be properly wild (at least in my lifetime) and our laws restrict how hand's off we can be with livestock. But this is a big step in the right direction and Knepp has inspired many other estates to do their bit. Here in Yorkshire, Harewood, Denton, Broughton and Castle Howard have all committed to wilding parts of their landholding, to varying degrees and that is real progress for nature. For this influence, everybody interested in nature should applaud Knepp for having the courage to give this a go. So, let's stop whining about White Storks and whether they are introduced or reintroduced (me included!) and let's celebrate what Knepp has achieved both for wildlife and people itself and the massive step change in nature's recovery it has inspired across England. Our ecological understanding has benefited from this experience and I, for one, will be much more open-minded when considering what species actually need, as it may not be what we assume. 

 

Two last thoughts: The campsite had the poshest campsite toilets I had ever experienced. Incredible.

Sadly, no kids under 12 are allowed in the campsite. From one perspective I can see why this might be the case, but in reality. the kind of parents who would camp here are not the sort who would be allowing their nippers to run riot. Maybe Knepp should rethink this. I would have been so stoked to have come here as a young birder and naturalist - but I wouldn't have been allowed!  

....

In summary, if you are intrigued, interested or ambivalent, go and see for yourself. It is a wondrous place, with a relaxed atmosphere and full of wildlife. I can't wait to return in five years time to see how it has developed!

 

 

Gripping Sparrow

I spent all of Sunday at the Yorkshire Wildlife Trust Puffin Festival, an annual event held at North Landing, Flamborough, where we show people Puffins and other seabirds, talk to them about the threats they face and about our work to help them. It's a feel-good event, with lots of people seeing and learning about these amazing birds for the first time. I was on guided walk duty and took 60 people, old and young, along the cliffs on three guided walks. The thrill of seeing people's faces light up as they clap their eyes on a Puffin for the first time never grows old. I drove back to York beaming as much as those happy punters. Until half past ten that is, when news of a (North American) Song Sparrow came to light! It had been photographed but not identified at Thornwick, literally half a mile from where I'd spent the day. Unbelievable. If only it had been identified earlier, I could have nipped over there within minutes, or even better dropped into North Landing rather than Thornwick... Gutted is an understatement. 

The last mainland Song Sparrow in Britain was way back in 1994, in Liverpool, when I was almost as far away as you could get, at Uni in Norwich, so I didn't see it.  The Thornwick bird, if accepted, would be only the second record for Yorkshire, with the first, the second for Britain, being back in 1964, at Spurn. 

I had no chance of twitching it on Monday, and my first window of opportunity would be on Wednesday evening. My heart sank as I couldn't imagine the bird would linger that long. And, my hunch seemed correct when the early rising Flamborough birders failed to find the bird first thing Monday morning. It looked like we were all in the same boat of being massively gripped and at least what would have been a tense couple of days would now be more bearable. The report on the Flamborough Bird Obs website conveyed how disappointed everybody must have felt, despite this being an incredible first for the headland.

Then, to my astonishment, Phil Cunningham refound the bird in the same spot yesterday (Tuesday) morning - great work, Phil! I realised it would still be an anxious wait for Wednesday evening for me, but at least there might be a chance. I resigned myself to a day of meetings until the second good bit of news of the day arrived, when my afternoon meeting got cancelled unexpectedly; my afternoon suddenly became available! Twitch on. 

Positive news from Thornwick was all I needed to carry me swiftly over the Wolds to the Great White Cape, and down the bumpy track to Thornwick. Andy G was just leaving as I arrived and he gave me some quick advice on where to look. It was good to see him smiling after a successful twitch. 

As I parked on the grassy strip next to Thornwick cafe, I could see a line of fellow birders on the far side of the gulley scoping the area and was soon among the throng, looking intently into the nettles. I hastened round under glorious blue skies.

Within minutes, the birder next to me announced he had the bird and after a few tense moments, and with some generous help from a couple of neighbouring birders, I got on the right spot on the gulley side, where I could see a stripy head bobbing about in the shadows.  The sparrow was deep in the nettles, and tricky to see. With patience, I added a gingery back, some complicated bits of head pattern, and some streaky underparts; bit by bit, I was assembling a Song Sparrow.

 

Shortly, it gave itself up and hopped out into the open on to an umbellifer stem, to the delight of all present, showing off its black-streaked white underparts, which coalesced into a central spot, and a stripy grey and chestnut head. 

 

What a cracker - definitely like a cross between a Dunnock and a bunting, as described by the finders of the first British record on Fair Isle, decades ago. After a minute or so, it hopped back into the nettles to continue gleaning insects from the leaves. Over the next half an hour, it showed well every five minutes or so, but sadly didn't sing while I was there. I was delighted; what a relief to see this bird! 

Having got great views, it was time to get back; I had to cook tea for the kids and take Sol and his mates to Air Cadets, so off I went beaming again as I left Flamborough for the second time this week.

And in a final twist to the tale, the bird has not been seen today, Wednesday, so if I hadn't been able to go yesterday afternoon I would have dipped.