20250803 Zitting Cisticola & Black Stork, Suffolk Coast

 

20250803 Zitting Cisticola
Male in frequent song flights over reedbed, Walberswick, just out of shot over mill...
Diverted for British Isles tick on way to shoot a Black Stork...
Zitter's first seen in Mallorca 1989 as Fan-tailed Warbler and assumed it would be bagged living on the South coast.
Odd the species is still classed as a Mega Scarcity in Britain?
Following a wide-ranging circular song-flights the bird dived straight into cover...
Proved rather difficult to switch from bins to camera which then locked onto Dragonflies &c.
'ziit' repeated in flight. Or 'tzet' better.

20250804 Black Stork
Juvenile Boyton Marshes.

20250804 Black Stork

20250804 Black Stork

20250729 White-rumped Sandpiper & Pectoral Sandpiper, Snettisham

 

20250729 Pectoral Sandpiper
A shy and retiring bird.

20250729 White-rumped Sandpiper

20250729 White-rumped Sandpiper

20250729 Med Gull
A photogenic Gull on mid-lagoon.

20250729 White-rumped Sandpiper

20250729 Pectoral Sandpiper
With Dunlin and Redshank.

20250729 Common Tern
Just fledged juvenile and pair.

20250729 Red Knot
Roosting 2hrs before HT at 1000hrs.

20250729 White-rumped Sandpiper

20250729 Greenshank
2 juv on mid-lagoon.

20250729 Pectoral Sandpiper
Kept very distant unlike the WR Sand. Shots before the heat haze got up are ok.

20250711 Northern Gannet, The Bass

 

20250711 Bass Rock

20250711 N Gannet
Sky pointing.

20250711 Statue to Birding & The Scottish Seabird Centre, North Berwick

20250711 Puffin
The Species doing well on Craigleith.

20250711 N Gannet
On a level with Guga. Photographically better than Bempton...

20250711 N Gannet

20250711 Guillemot

20250711 N Gannet

20250711 The Bass

20250709 White-winged Scoter& Velvet Scoter, Musselburgh Lothian

20250709 White-winged Scoter
First sighting of bird with Velvet flock of males at some distance...
Expertly located by 'Stuart the Bike', so shot away at flock, Big Black at 16890mm achieved ID.

 

20250709 Velvet Scoter
Noted that male Velvets came in close on seawall...
Is this the Brit Isles mecca for Velvet's, and shots?

20250710 Surf Scoter
Early morn of 10th, sea as a mill pond...!!

20250710 White-winged Scoter
Swam inshore to join male velvets diving for food.

20250710 White-winged Scoter

20250710 White-winged Scoter
Passing eclipse male C Eider on its way inshore to join feeding male Velvet flock...
The larger bulk of the Eiders body and head was obvious even at maximum distance,
and when the birds were roosting.
Note the broken nose shape of the White-wing's bill.

20250710 White-winged Scoter
Broken nose profile compare to the Velvet's smooth concave  profile.

20170127 Velvet Scoter
48 off Titch with EB Scoter. As good as it gets in Norfolk.

20161205 Velvet Scoter
With a record Long-tailed Duck flock off Titch.

20250710 Lesser Black Backed Gull
At the mouth of the Esk River early morn.
Intermedius uppers tone this far North... but strong bill and bulky.

20250710 White-winged Scoter
Larger and more rounded head with a very deep bill base.
Sea-duck just off the sea-wall!

20250713 White-winged Scoter
Joined 3 female Velvets off The Cast nr Prestonpans

20250713 Velvet Scoter
Numbers still increasing off Musselburgh after 5 days.

20250704 Caspian Tern, Cley Marshes

 

20250704 Caspian Tern

20250704 Caspian Tern
Underparts.

20250704

20250704 Yellow-legged Gull

20250704 Caspian Tern
Upperparts. Short white tail with a couple of darker feathers...
Inner secondaries have slightly darker grey centres,
but overall the bird is in adult breeding plumage.

20250704 Caspian Tern
Loafing with Med and BHGulls on Simmonds.

20250704 Caspian Tern
Middle of Pats.

20250706 Caspian Tern
Appeared 0547hrs on Simmonds after probably roosting out on Blakeney Harbour.

20250706 Caspian Tern
Flies inland at 0719hrs SSW to fish.

20250706 Caspian Tern
What a wingspan.