Stuart Rapson

Lovely morning at CHL. 52 sp. on @birdtrack.bsky.social Reflections on Snipe. 23 Whoopers 1st thing, 20 lifted and flew on 0855 SE. Busy 5 min period 0925hrs, 4 fresh Whoopers came in, Golden Plover, calling, through N, 2 Goosanders through N & 2 Raven, calling,- NE @yorkbirding.bsky.social

20 Whoopers on Castle Howard Lake this morning, most of them fresh in at 0910hrs. You'd think after flying all that way together that they would get on fine and chill!. Next stop Norfolk, no doubt. 50 sp. @birdtrack.bsky.social @yorkbirding.bsky.social

This weekend, 17-18 October, is the International Golden Plover Census. WeBS data will be included in the census, but if you see any flocks of Golden Plover away from wetlands and are able to record a count, we would be very grateful if you could enter this to BirdTrack. Photo: Liz Cutting / BTO

Nutcracker sightings from Netherlands these last days. Surely there must be an arrival soon. 😬🙏🏻

My first autumn record of a female Goldeneye at Castle Howard Great Lake this morning, 10 days ahead of the first in 2025. Others, 6 Whoopers on the lake, 22 Wigeon fresh in, 14 Shoveler, Green Sand lingering, 2 GWE's, and 164 Teal - high number due to low water elsewhere @yorkbirding.bsky.social

CHL. Beautiful morning, 2 nfy sp. for here in Brambling & Barnacle Goose. The goose surveying the area flying up and down the lake before settling. 6 Whoopers, 1st drake Pochard of the autumn, Green Sand, 5 Snipe, 2 GWE's & 2 singing Cetti's. 51 sp. @birdtrack.bsky.social @yorkbirding.bsky.social

CHL. Beautiful morning, 2 nfy sp. for here in Brambling & Barnacle Goose. The goose surveying the area flying up and down the lake before settling. 6 Whoopers, 1st drake Pochard of the autumn, Green Sand, 5 Snipe, 2 GWE's & 2 singing Cetti's. 51 sp. @birdtrack.bsky.social @yorkbirding.bsky.social

CHL. 8 Whoopers flew through low this morning 0915hrs, had a look but carried on without their migration south. 3 remain on on the lake (pic taken yesterday). 11 Shoveler, a good number for here, GWE, RCP, Water Rails showing well and Cetti's in song. @yorkbirding.bsky.social

A pleasant few days @spurnbirdobs.bsky.social this week with a few nfy species. Highlights an American GP out from the Crown, a close up Hen Harrier S through Sammys, a Manx S hugging the nearside Humber shoreline and a nostalgic wander down to the Point.

Been enjoying lovely views of the Osprey at CHL, its 3rd day today. Pic of it wading, bathing and drinking, taken on 24/09/26 which I'd not seen before. Others today 3 GWE's, Green Sand, single Whooper, 49sp. on @birdtrack.bsky.social @yorkbirding.bsky.social

CHL, a great morning seeing a much anticipated, top of my site target list realised with this beauty, a juvenile male metal ringed Osprey. Seen fishing, eating, bathing & drinking. Also a v early September solitary Whooper fab to see and hear. @yorkbirding.bsky.social @birdtrack.bsky.social

4 very early returning / passage Pintail, elegant even in eclipse, on CHL this morning. An uncommon record here. 40 species on @birdtrack.bsky.social incl 2 singing Cetti's (1 v much a subsong). @yorkbirding.bsky.social

CHL looking more wader friendly with Redshank, 1st since 24/3/26, Green Sand, 2nd in last 4 days and my 1st ever records here, and 2 Snipe feeding at S end. A Green Woody, foy and almost same date as last year (12/08/25) 49 sp. @birdtrack.bsky.social incl House lakes @yorkbirding.bsky.social

Unfortunate head feather loss on this male Blackbird, taken at CHL 14/08/26. Reasons unknown but possibly breeding stress tending 2 or 3 broods, parasites or abrasive foraging in the hard ground. Who knows. @yorkbirding.bsky.social

Castle Howard Lake Water Rails. Previous record this year 19/2 here then 3 sightings in last 5 days incl. birds at either end of lake, all adults. Not sure if they may have bred silently or are on the move. Also came across a singing Cetti's today at Low Water, Terrington @yorkbirding.bsky.social

Wood Sandpiper continues its stay at the roadside mudpool at Byland Abbey this morning. Lovely to see a Greenshank in the open and an adult Water Rail against adjacent reeds in the shallows at N end of chl. Common Sand and 84 LBB's at Newburgh Priory. @yorkbirding.bsky.social

Castle Howard Lake. Adult Water Rail on lake margin, 1st record since 19/02/26. Not sure if they breed here. A Sedge W also, uncommon. 50 sp. @birdtrack.bsky.social Low Water Terrington (pic) 2 Kingfisher beauts in flight together, 12 LBB's on rehydration break from mig. @yorkbirding.bsky.social

@northcavewet.bsky.social pleasant morning, 1 of the Eastholm Oak Peregrines in heavy moult, Bittern in flight at Reedbed, Cattle Egret accompanying the Hebridians in centre of reserve, a singing male Willow Warbler 0740 unusual on West Path, 31 Common Gulls overall.

Scotland has just done something quietly brilliant for its birds. New buildings across the country will now have to include "swift bricks", hollow bricks built straight into the walls that give birds a safe place to nest. Scotland is the first country in the UK to write this into law.

Delighted to see the @yorkbirding.bsky.social recording area Dartford Warbler this morning. Too fast for my digiscoping skills so here is one of the Stonechat family that it has been associating with. Into its known 3rd week now on this Yorkshire common.

Castle Howard Lakes. 49 species this morning @birdtrack.bsky.social including this South Lake & the Dairy Ponds. 5th record of 2026 for Common Sandpiper today. Dabchick, Coot & Gadwall prefer to breed on the these smaller lakes rather than the Great Lake. 49 species @yorkbirding.bsky.social

Birds of the Lower Derwent Valley review This is a truly wonderful book dedicated to an area rich in birdlife, says Josh Jones: https://bit.ly/4vAh81f

Blacktoft Sands Part of flock of 32 Spoonbills voraciously feeding on Marshland. Incredible numbers compared to my early birding years. 13 Beardies feeding on edge of reeds here. c.130 Blackwits, 7 Ruff & 3 Spotshanks,1 in summer plumage,on Singleton.

Castle Howard Lake Greenshank announced itself, doing 2 or 3 laps before settling adjacent the island, resting not feeding. My 2nd record here (05/0925) Others 5 Teal, 45 Mandarin, 6 black fluffball Tufted ducklings with 19 adults and a juv + adult Grey Wag @yorkbirding.bsky.social

Castle Howard Lake. An unlikely combo this morning - female Common Scoter and Dabchick together. Others included 2 Common Sands, 5 Teal, Kingfisher and Grey Wagtails made for a pleasant visit. 46 species on @birdtrack.bsky.social @yorkbirding.bsky.social

Castle Howard Lake. Common Sand again this morning following 3 here 2 days ago. RCP has relocated onto South Lake. 1 drake Teal following unseasonal flock of 9 on 22/6. Good to record lots of breeding evidence,Dabchick, Gadwall etc. 53 species on @birdtrack.bsky.social @yorkbirding.bsky.social

Castle Howard Lake. A new species for me this morning with a pair of Common Terns, feeding over the lake. Courtship noted with the lead bird, presumably the male, carrying food and both calling excitedly At one point a Jay was harassing / mobbing one of them over the lake. @yorkbirding.bsky.social

An enjoyable morning on the @bbs-birds.bsky.social at Menethorpe, my fifth year, 40 sp. today highlight being a new record for the square (from 2008) of a beauty, a Kingfisher which rested here in the Willows on the Derwent. @yorkbirding.bsky.social

Pleasant morning at Wheldrake Ings @ldvnnr.bsky.social Lovely to see broods of 6 Shoveler and 8 Gadwall on the Pool. Also drake Wigeon,Teal on there and a surprise drake Pintail dropped onto the ings. Small flock of Lapwing landed, 14 in total, Snipe and Redshank. @yorkbirding.bsky.social

Red-footed Falcon at Bubwith Ings again this morning. A lovely small falcon hunting up and down the Derwent. Park at Derwent Bridge cp and walk a mile up the N bank footpath, to the gate. NO access beyond this as NNR above here. @yorkbirding.bsky.social @ldvnnr.bsky.social

Delighted when this Temminks dropped in 0918hrs onto Kilnsea Wetlands @spurnbirdobs.bsky.social in front of the hide. Pleased also to see it feeding well on Bloodworms, as vid, to seemingly show a plentiful supply of wader food available.

Fabulous day @spurnbirdobs.bsky.social, pic of waders at Warren Gate, Bartails, Grey Plovers, Knot, Dunlin, Turnstone. Others around the area : Short-eared Owl, Spoonbills, beautiful M Marsh Harrier, Whimbrel, Osprey (yesterday) plentiful Yellow Wags and Whimbrel.

#Birds #Bahrain Environmental issues, a consequence of Trump's Gulf war, must now include early departure of 99% of wintering migrant wader species - after 700-plus disruptive intercept explosions, today's migrant wader count was zero, breeding tern count 1 pair Saunders's

Completed our 1st @bbs-birds.bsky.social visit at Seaton Ross today. An unusual 27 nr. Curlew noteworthy which I understand from my @yorkbirding.bsky.social colleagues may well be possibly Icelandic breeders en-route supported by us also recording 4 Whimbrel, a new species on the square. 43 species.

Fab weather over our 12 days. Ardnamurchan peninsula pic Ben Hiant - highest peak, with close up WTE's. Displaying Mergs at Castle Tiordan, Manxs' & 3 Gavia sp. Isle of Eigg pics Bay of Laig with backdrop of Rhum Cullins plus Finger of God. Confiding Twite. Isle of Muck, pic Gallanach Bay, White Wag

1st @bbs-birds.bsky.social completed today at Menethorpe. Notables 9 Oycs (4,3,2) in different transects, a Nuthatch calling in flight, 10 Sand Martins through direct on mig, 4 Kites(2,1,1) in diff transects & 110 Common Gulls in one flock SW along Derwent at 0820hrs. @yorkbirding.bsky.social

1 of the (4) Egrets tried to take an MA duckling, hovering over it. The female flew up successfully several times chest-bumping it away. 93 Godwits on Swantail. nfy Lesser Whitethroat 2 GBBB's briefly dropped in. Late Common Gulls moving N c.50 @ldvnnr.bsky.social @yorkbirding.bsky.social

Some ominous footage gathered a few days ago from one of the Willow Tit nests we are monitoring. GSW are the most common predator of WT nests in Britain, and having increased by ~400% since the late 60s, it's not a threat that's going away. Let's hope this one has amnesia... #UKBirding #Yikes

Stamford Bridge Flash. 5 years since last record so in context a rare bird here - Pr Tufted Ducks. 2 pr Gadwall, 3 Teal and a new in drake Shoveler. CHL fairly quiet, 49 Tufted remain and a GWE. Hanging Grimston Wold, windy for songsters, no Redstart yet. A Yaffle calling. @yorkbirding.bsky.social

Snow Bunting - Cairngorm, one of about 20 birds in the car park.