A few photos from Shetland earlier in the month with Oriole Birding.

A few local highlights since I last posted on here. It’s not been a classic autumn for me by any means but a few decent birds to be found.

Great to be on the old patch this morning. Druridge Pools was excellent with the Grey-headed Lapwing making an appearance, a surprise 2cy Glaucous Gull, 2 BT Divers, 6+ Velvet Scoter & a Slavonian Grebe offshore. A male Hen Harrier was at Widdrington Moor Lake too. Northumberland & Tyneside Bird Club

Some of my British birding and wildlife highlights from 2024. Not a vintage year in my opinion but some great moments and people. Happy new year!

Had a really nice time watching Fenham Flats from Guile Point this afternoon. As well as the thousands of waders, ducks and geese, highlights included 11 Slavonian Grebes, 20+ Long-tailed Ducks, GN Diver, Scaup, Merlin and this smart drake Pintail x Mallard hybrid!

After a relatively quiet day of birding in east Norfolk yesterday it was a nice surprise to call in at Martham and find the group of Tundra Bean Geese had increased to seven. Hopefully a sign of some wildfowl arriving from the continent.

Just back from leading Oriole Birding Estonia tour with Tarvo Valker @birdinghaapsalu. An awesome trip with lots of great birds seen. Very hard to pick a favourite but stunning views of this Northern Hawk Owl has to be up there. Made even more satisfying by the four attempts it took us to see it!

We had great views of seven species of woodpecker on last week's Oriole Birding Estonia tour: Eurasian Three-toed, White-backed, Middle Spotted, Lesser Spotted, Great Spotted, Black and Grey-headed.

Another superb owl encounter from our Oriole Birding Estonia tour was this Eurasian Pygmy Owl just overhead.

A few more highlights from Estonia earlier in the month. Oriole Birding

Steller's Eiders on Saaremaa Island, Estonia on 9 March. We had very good scope views at two sites and a total of 87 birds overall. Oriole Birding

Just back from a great week of birding on Lesvos. Our first afternoon (20 April) produced brief views of a female Rüppell's Warbler, Eleonora's Falcon, our first Black Storks and Short-toed Eagles of the trip and a lifer in the form of this Dalmatian Pelican at Kalloni Salt Pans.

Day 2 on Lesvos (21st) began with a visit to the Tsiknias River and highlights including a showy male Citrine Wagtail, Pygmy Cormorant & Black Storks. An evening at the Kalloni Salt Pans gave many waders, a flock of Gull-billed Terns & a Quail which showed itself while singing!

Couldn't resist a look at the Carlton Marshes Red-footed Falcons yesterday evening. And it was so worth it with stunning views of five birds perched in the trees (three males and two females)

Our 3rd day on Lesvos started at Metochi Lake where a minimum of 7 Little Crakes performed well plus Spotted Crake, Squacco Herons & Little Bitterns. Nearby we saw our first Eastern Orphean Warblers & Western Rock Nuthatches of the trip among many other great birds!

A superb evening for waders on patch at Buckenham Marshes with Dan Monk. No less than 18 Wood Sandpipers but also Spotted Redshank, Bar & Black-tailed Godwits, 10 Greenshank, Dunlin, LRP and a mighty 31 Common Sandpipers!

The 3rd afternoon of our Lesvos trip was spent back at Kalloni Salt Pans and the Tsiknias River. An Isabelline/Turkestan Shrike (possibly the former) was great to watch & there was no shortage of waders. Both Baillon's & Little Crakes were showing by the river ford at dusk.

Probably my favourite birding on Lesvos was a morning at Ipsilou Monastery. An arrival of migrants included many Golden Orioles, flycatchers, Wood Warblers & a Common Rock Thrush. And the usual great birds incl Cinereous Bunting, Sombre Tit, Western Rock Nuthatch, wheatears etc.

Hudsonian Godwit was one of my most wanted birds in Britain so it was amazing to get such good views of the female at Titchfield Haven this morning! Those underwings are a sight to behold!

It's fair to say a walk around Strumpshaw Fen looking for moths with Dan Monk was more exciting than expected! This 2cy Pallid Harrier circled us briefly before crossing the river and heading high west mid-afternoon. What a bird to see on patch!