2025 Twitchers Review

2025 Twitchers Review

The year began with notable flocks of Lesser White-fronted Goose about Norfolk.
No British ticks in the county this year until Decembers form tick...

January saw tests of the 300mm with x2telecon against Ticker's Big White on a Greenland White-fronted Goose which concluded with the acquisition of The Big Black... Using this lens with the MC20 was too much reach...?! Often pulled back into the range of the MC14, currently the preferred set up.

March saw a close encounter with a hunting Female Pallid Harrier in the Holt area well away from the Warham Greens roost site. 
Also a colony of Willow Tit were discovered in Mid Norfolk but the birds have proved difficult to locate in the second winter period.... Submission yet to be made.

20250428 Dark-breasted Barn Owl
Yellow Ochre extends down the back and inner side of the tarsus feathers.
Shot taken at F9 with MC14 at 1680mm, best Big Black set up.
Processed with Elements 2025 using Depth Blur.

This guttata form was twitched near Bourne Lincolnshire, a great bird and straight onto the British List...

The Raptorial Admiral shot a Booted Eagle over the Glaven in April cementing his promotion to 1st Sea Lord, Order of the Boot...

The Eagle returned in May to the delight of the Combined Fleets.

It took to July before the first 'full tick' was secured, The White-winged scoter at Musselburgh along with excellent shots of Velvet's.

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

A trip down the Suffolk coast in August to shoot a tame juv Black Stork surprisingly provided the 2nd tick as I changed course to a male Zitting Cisticola at Walberswick.

20250909 E Honey Buzzard
Low over the Dunes.
Intermediate - Dark morph juvenile.
Note barring in the axillaries, paler undertail coverts and greater underwing coverts.

This Honey was found at Waxham in September. Is this the shot of the year? Promotion to the Raptor Response Fleet and medals followed...

The tick rate was very slow to this point and it was looking like a very poor year, but then a White-throated Needletail was caught up with at Filey Brigg and Scarborough Castle. A classic full retrieval twitch over three days... is this the bird of the year?!

20251010 White-throated Needletail
Over Scarborough Castle from Royal Albert Park.

Also in October the Black-faced Bunting at Spurn brought the rate up to normal. Are all new ticks now North of the Humber Bridge...?

20251021
Lacked grey in ear coverts, face and neck sides, only detectable in the nape.
Probable 1st winter female.

November passed without due effort made... and therefore without ticks.

But then a Lesser-crested Tern settled into a routine on the Exe in December and could not be turned down.

20251212 Lesser Crested Tern

The stunning and confiding Eastern Black Redstart at the Esplanade, Sheringham provided the end of year form tick and a direct hit... is this the shot of the year?!

20251225 EB Redstart
In bright conditions the yellow gape line shows well, cf dull shots above.
Note broken white eye-ring.

8 British ticks this year which is one above the average figure for the last 11 years... so retrieved to ok at the last, during the late end of year actions.
This includes two dry dock ticks which will not be spoken of here...