6 new bird species added to my UK list this Autumn

I bumped into a long lost birding pal earlier this year and found out he'd got well over 500 bird species on his UK list with around 400 of those in Yorkshire alone!  I was impressed and told him so, and if I'd been more of a twitcher I might have been envious, but it's never been my scene. Mind you, having maintained that friendship and chased a few rare birds around Yorkshire, it's a scene I'm rapidly embracing. 50+ years birding in the UK, and though I say it myself, a good birder, I'm definitely mediocre when it comes to numbers of species seen - so an additional haul of 6 new birds for my own UK list this autumn, all in Yorkshire - has been most welcome!

The White Tailed Lapwing at RSPB Blacktoft and Green Warbler at Buckton (featured in my last post) started things off nicely, then a couple of  misses - a Western Bonelli's Warbler at Flamborough was gone before I  had the opportunity, and then a Red-flanked Bluetail at the same location was frustratingly elusive and I left empty handed. Better luck with the Long Toed Stint at RSPB St Aidan's though (only the 5th ever record for the UK) - 100s of birders there for this tiny speck of a wader, and it wasn't close either and my pics were rubbish!

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Long Toed Stint, RSPB St Aidan's, 11/10/21. Pic - Tony Dixon

A week later Spurn hosted  a Two-barred Greenish Warbler (a first for the reserve) and thankfully this bird was neither distant nor shy. Like nearly of the rarities about this autumn it's of Asiatic origin and this one breeds in Mongolia / Siberia - it was a 10th record for the UK.

Two-barred Greenish Warbler, Spurn, 18/10/21

Two-barred Greenish Warbler, Spurn, 18/10/21

There was a  Taiga Flycatcher, a 5th record for the UK, mid October at the foghorn station at Flamborough but it was gone before I could get up there, but as luck would have it another, or the same one, turned up nearby at South Landing in early November. It wasn't a good sign when I turned up and found out the bird hadn't been seen for an hour, and fed up with hanging around making small talk with other birders, I went for a stroll and ended up standing by the bridge over the beck. 10 minutes later a small grey bird with white outer tail feathers flew right over my shoulder and into a bush - I knew it was the bird, and with luck it perched for just long enough for a quick record shot. It was seen in the same general location on and off for the rest of the day but that view was mine alone.

Taiga Flycatcher, South Landing, Flamborough, 05/11/21

The photo doesn't do the bird justice (not helped by that unfortunate twig!), it was a great looking bird and a magical, if brief, moment of birding pleasure.  These birds breed in Eastern Russia / Mongolia wintering in Southern Asia, and there's a school of thought suggesting that some birds from this region are choosing to fly West across the top of Europe and possibly wintering in Africa / Southern Europe. Either way, being able to see such birds and marvel at their journeys is one of the many thrills of birding.

Things got even better when one of the many birders there turned up a Red-flanked Bluetail skulking around in the undergrowth. With a handful of UK records most years it's not in the 'mega' rarity bracket  but I'd never seen one so this was an added bonus. Everyone there struggled to get a good view and I had to crouch down to get a decent line of sight but I got some reasonable views in the end, no chance of any pics though. My 'twitcher' mate Tony did get some decent pics of both birds over the next few days when the Bluetail in particular was showing really well.

Red-flanked Bluetail, Flamborough South Landing, 09/11/21. Tony Dixon

Taiga Flycatcher, Flamborough South Landing, 06/11/21. Tony Dixon

A none too shabby half dozen birds to add to my UK list - up to 293 now. A week later there was a Pallas's Warbler on the golf course at Flamborough, again not mega rarity and I didn't get a chance to go see it, but it reminded me of the first of two of these beautiful little warblers I saw in between South Landing and Flamborough headland some years ago.

Pallas's Warbler, Flamborough, 15/10/2013

Pallas's Warbler, Flamborough, 14/11/2021

The comings & goings of October plus standout local birds - Hen Harrier & Short Eared Owl

October, the month when birds from further north begin arriving in earnest to winter in the UK. I love this time of year, still get a thrill when the first Redwings & Fieldfares arrive and usually have a few extended days on the east coast somewhere to witness a bit of incoming migration. Not the case this year though - an almost complete absence of favourable winds did nothing to blow in any of the usual 'falls' of migrants, and I just couldn't match any free days in my diary with decent weather periods, so its been very much a 'bits and pieces' October for me.

Brambling, Flamborough, 06/10/2021

I twitched a couple of  the few rarities that were around - a Two-barred Greenish Warbler at Spurn and a Long-toed Stint at St Aidan's (details and pics here) and picked up a few common passage migrants from a couple or 3 trips up to Flamborough Head - a few Siskins and Bramblings in off the sea, the odd Wheatear, a Spotted Flycatcher and a Jack Snipe flushed from the cliff top, but slim pickings really and the first year for a while I've gone without a single Yellow Browed Warbler.

Spotted Flycatcher, Flamborough, 06/10/2021

Best birds of the month by far were much closer to home with a stunning Short Eared Owl on my own patch at Fangfoss  - a great record for the York area and my first at Fangfoss, and then a few days later a ringtail Hen Harrier through Wheldrake Ings. 

Short Eared Owl, Fangfoss Park, 16/10/2021

Short Eared Owl, Fangfoss Park, 16/10/2021

The Hen Harrier was my 4th this year in the York area and I seem to be gaining a bit of a reputation locally for turning up these most impressive of raptors. It was a group of noisy crows that put me onto this one as I was walking down the river Derwent between Bank Island and Wheldrake bridge. It didn't hang around and flew off NW hotly pursued by said corvids.

Hen Harrier, Wheldrake Ings, 21/10/2021

Hen Harrier, Wheldrake Ings, 21/10/2021

Painted Lady, Wheldrake Ings, 21/10/2021

On the same day, an unseasonably warm one for October I had another great record but not a bird - a Painted Lady butterfly which could turn out to be the latest ever for Yorkshire. 

My first Redwings of the autumn were at Flamborough on the 6th but the only mass influx was over the 13th / 14th of the month when there was a brief lull from the prevailing westerly winds and tens of thousands were reported nationwide. I had maybe 400 over Fangfoss along with smaller numbers of Fieldfares, Song Thrush and Blackbirds, and over the next few days a noticeable increase in birds such as Meadow Pipit, Skylark, Robin, Yellowhammer and Chaffinches. 

Yellow Wagtail & Ruff, Alkborough, 07/10/2021

My only trip out of Yorkshire during the month was a few hours at Alkborough Flats on the Lincolnshire side of the Humber. I met up with my birding pal Mark P. and on another incongruously warm day we weren't at all surprised to see 6 Barn Swallows and a late Yellow Wagtail, both of which turned out to be my last of the year. 

As per usual at Alkborough it was the wading birds that took the eye with good numbers of Black Tailed Godwits (c55) Redshank (c50), Spotted Redshank (15), Dunlin (c140),  Curlew, (c20) Golden Plover (c260), Lapwing (c200) plus the odd Avocet, Ruff, Snipe and Ringed Plover. Great light on the day produced some pleasing images of the waders viewable from the main hide.

Common Redshank, Alkborough, 07/10/2021

Dunlin, Alkborough, 07/10/2021

Mixed waders, Alkborough, 07/10/2021

 Other good birds on the day included a Water Rail scurrying across the mud right in front of the hide, 10ish Bearded Tits, a couple of Mediterranean Gulls, a Kingfisher and several skeins of Pink Footed Geese over and looking slightly incongruous against a clear blue sky.

Pink Footed Geese, Alkborough, 07/10/2021

Elsewhere around the patch in October it's been the usual comings and goings with a steady build up of ducks and geese at both North Cave Wetlands and the LDV (Lower Derwent Valley), and there were 5 Goosanders back on the brickyard pond behind my mother's house in York on the 20th. More Stonechats about (one of the few birds that seem to be actually growing in numbers) including 4 at North Cave along with a Wheatear on the 1st were notable, as was a latish Common Whitethroat on the 5th, a male Blackcap on the 14th, and 6 probable Bramblings over on the 13th, all here at Fangfoss Park. 

Whilst it was thrilling to add a couple of new species to my UK list this month, the highlight for me was the Short Eared Owl - you just can't beat that feeling of seeing a new bird on your own local patch! Here's a few more pics from the month - 

Northern Wheatear looking at a passing Stonechat, North Cave Wetlands, 01/10/2021

Stonechat, North Cave Wetlands, 01/10/2021

Teal, North Cave Wetlands, 01/10/2021

Female Kestrel, Flamborough, 06/10/2021

Grazing Highland Cattle, Wheldrake Ings, 21/10/2021

Hovering Kestrel, Wheldrake Ings, 21/10/2021

Long Tailed Tit, Fangfoss Park, 25/11/2021