20241231 American Yellow Warbler, Leybourne Lakes Country Park, Snodland, Kent

 

20241231 American Yellow Warbler
Squeezed in a great bird on the last day of 2024, making 9 BritIsles Lifers this year,
 twice the recent average. A late rush. Clinical day twitch...

20241231 A Yellow Warbler
1st winter male.
Diffused with cadmium yellow throughout.

20241231 A Yellow Warbler
Olive green tones in upperparts.
Pale base to lower mandible and pale brown streaks restricted to upper right of breast
donote 1st winter male.

20241231 American Yellow Warbler
Bird spent most of its time in the Sewage Works, an excellent food supply.
Infrequently showed well in scrub along dyke.

20241231 A Yellow Warbler
Black eye in a very plain face indicative of species.

20241231 American Yellow Warbler
Species first seen on 17th April 1998, Boy Scout Sanctuary, Texas.
262 species in 2 weeks, arguably the greatest trip of all time.

20241231 A Yellow Warbler
Diagnostic yellow inner web in tail feathers shows in this preening shot.
Note white edging to secondary tips.

20241231 A Yellow Warbler

20241231 A Yellow Warbler
Yellow throughout... A 1st winter female is a pale greyish olive overall,
 a different ID proposition.

20241224 Hybrid Gull, Blakeney Quay

 

20241224 Hybrid Gull

20241224 Herring Gull
Paired with this bird. A shorter legged female argenteus.

20241224 Holding territory around Quay and onto hotel roof.

20241224 Hybrid Herring x LBB Gull
Slight yellow tone in tarsus of pale legs. May increase into spring?

20241225 Herring Gull
Black primary wedge.

20241225 Hybrid Gull
Large black primary wedge.
P10s mirror has fused with tip and P9 has a large mirror.

20241214 Grey-headed Lapwing, East Chevington Nature Reserve Northumberland

20241214 Grey-headed Lapwing
Hiding amongst mole hills in grazing field.
Adjacent to main track through reserve...
Adult with red Iris.

20241214 Grey-headed Lapwing

20241214 Grey-headed Lapwing
Strong Westerley winds for 3 days and the bird didn't show as well as this again.

20241214 Grey-headed Lapwing

20241214 Grey-headed Lapwing
Rumours in the tabloid press suggest the bird has been in Britain for much of 2024...??
Where would that Point to in Norfolk....?

20241215 E Curlew
Abundant on sheep pasture here.
Several flocks of c50 birds.

20241216 N Lapwing
Hunkered down out of strong Westerley in recently well ploughed field.
No sign of a grey head...
The Grey-headed only loosley associated with the Lapwing flocks and sat away from them.

20241216 Pheasant
Whilst walking the desert of farmland lanes one comes across major dumps of game by the hedges.
Similar problems for wildlife as in arable NNorfolk...

20241119 Little Auk & Black-legged Kittiwake, Cromer Pier.

 

20241119 Little Auk
Diverting to avoid pier.

20241119 Little Auk

202411 Black-legged Kittiwake
A 1st winter formation.

20241119 Black-legged Kittiwake

20241120 Eurasian Wigeon
West into storm over Cley Beach.

20241120 Common Eider
Cley Beach.

20241120 Eurasian Black Scoter
In snow storm.
Reduced colour saturation.

20241120 Eurasian Black Scoter
Greyscale.

20241122 Common Snipe
Weybourne Beach.
2 within one of the frequent Dunlin flocks moving West.
Note prominent white trailing edge to secondaries.

20241122 Mediterranean Gull
2 ads Cley Beach.
Hang out the buntings and crack open the fizz! A great day for Norfolk birding!!

20241122 Little Gull
Juv blown back East in WNW32.
Weybourne Beach.

20241101 Siberian Chiffchaff, NWT Cley Marshes

 

20241101 Siberian Chiffchaff
Called frequently in bursts of single note.
'sweet' louder than most Sibs.
White underparts especially clean on belly and chin.

20241101 Siberian Chiffchaff
Olive green edges to remiges, forming panel on closed wing. Rectrices also edged olive green.
 Dark alula stands out.

20241101 Siberian Chiffchaff
Pale mid-grey upperparts. Raw Umber margin blended to crown sides.

20241101 Siberian Chiffchaff
More active and louder bird than the norm, moved quickly through hedgerows.

20241028-1130 Arctic Peregrine, Cley Marshes

 

20241031 Arctic Peregrine Falco peregrinus calidus
Excellent shots and ID by GRGS. The bird over the East Bank.
This shot captures the large white cheek patch.

20241031 Arctic Peregrine
Pale forehead and crown.
Crippling series of shots by GRGS The Cley Raptor Guru and Devotee.

20241031 Arctic Peregrine
Pale feet.
Lack of heavey dark feather centres in flanks.

20241031 Arctic Peregrine
Broken moustachial stripe below eye, along gape line.

20241028 Arctic Peregrine
Probably the same bird here on Bull Marsh.
Note pale crown and thin moustachial stripes.
Seen hunting over the scrapes early morn, flushing all wildfowl.

20241028 Arctic Peregrine
Supercilium flares up onto nape.

20241031 Arctic Peregrine
Flank marking detail...

Ref: Millington R. 2011 ID of Arctic Peregrines in Britain. Birding World 24.
        Gensbol B. 2004 Birds of Prey. Collins.
        Forsman D. 1999 The Raptors of Europe and The Middle East.
        Ratcliffe D 1993 The Peregrine Falcon.

20241026 Long-billed Dowitcher
Adult in non-br plumage back at Cley.
Moved by Lapwing and showed a white panel of underwing coverts.
The grey breast meets the white belly without spotting.

20241026 Long-billed Dowitcher
Often hides amongst roosting Teal.

 20181123 Peregrine
Juv low over Cley scrapes.
F p peregrinus

20241130 Arctic Peregrine
F p calidus

20241130 Arctic Peregrine
F p calidus

20241121 Peregrine Falcon
Local ad female with a full crop early morn.
Probably the queen of the Cromer church.

20241126 Peregrine Falcon
Nr Sea Pool.

20241031 Arctic Peregrine
Minimal hood with white dominating the head.