Regular readers of this blog will know that quite a few of my more distant birding trips are based around ferrying my various children to and from university. Having recently retrieved my younger daughter from far away Aberdeen it was now the turn of my son to start the next generation of this process as this autumn he is begining his first year at York University, studying Mathematics. As usual, in the weeks leading up to our departure I was keeping a keen eye on the birdage in the North East. Indeed, the start of September hosted a great period of classic east coast birding with loads of goodies being dumped there by the prevailing easterly winds. However, in the two weeks leading up to our departure the winds switch round to westerlies and there was precious little to excite me as I looked around for something to go for. In the end, given the lack of tempting goodies, instead I offered my eldest daughter and her fiancé a lift back to Newcastle where they now live and decided to stay there and do some birding based around that location.
Day 1 York & Newcastle
There is little to report on the first day, in terms of birding at least. My son seemed to be taking remarkably little up to Uni with him so there was enough room for my daughter and her fiancé, who live in Newcastle but who had been staying with us for a few days, to come along for the ride as well. We set off at around 9 a.m. and arrived at York a little after midday. I had feared an unruly scrum given that so many people would all be arriving on the same day but in the end it all went surprisingly smoothly. We had soon got all his belongings installed in his spacious and comfortable room (with an en suite no less!) and said our goodbyes. As with my other children, it was surprisingly emotional saying goodbye and leaving him there after all these years of having him constantly around. Not that he seemed that bothered - he was too excited and preoccupied with all the impending freshers events.
Next it was on the Newcastle where my eldest now lives. The journey was uneventful and we arrived late afternoon and after a walk to stretch our legs after the journey, we settled in for the evening.
Day 2 Dunbar
There was remarkably little on offer in terms of target birds in the immediate North East area so in the end I decided to take the train up to Dunbar where a certain Steppe Grey Shrike was in residence. This subspecies had at one stage been elevated to full species status before being demoted again, pending a thorough review of the whole Grey Shrike complex. Still, it would certainly count as a Gnome Tick at least on some level and was by far the rarest thing around to go and take a look at. It turned out that the train journey, at only 1.25 hours would be significantly faster (and a whole lot more pleasant) than the drive up there and since the bird was a mere 20 minutes walk from the station, it was a bit of a no brainer to "let the train take the strain" (for those old enough to remember that slogan).
So I got up reasonably early and walked the 20 minutes from the house down to the station, pausing to watch a flock of calling Pink-footed Geese fly over the city. The train journey along the Northumberland coast was very picturesque in the sunshine and I enjoyed the luxury of not having to drive to my twitch target. I think I'm right in saying that this was actually the first time I've ever twitched by train. I arrived in Dunbar at around 10 a.m. and took in the sights and sounds of the town as I walked northwards towards the coast where the bird was located. As I left the station another flock of calling Pink-foot flew overhead.
I had wondered how easy it might be to find the bird as the RBA instructions were a bit vague and the ariel Google Map pictures hard to interpret. I needn't have worried - as soon as I turned into the park I could see a dozen or so birders in the distance and as I walked up to them I could see the star bird itself, perched nearby on a stone wall and evidently completely unphased by its admirers. In fact "unphased" is a bit of an understatement as it seem oblivious to any birders whatsoever. It casually went about its business of hunting insects on the closely mown lawn by the wall without any concern for those standing nearby who were papping away. It seemed to be finding plenty of food and would regularly fly down from its perch to nab some unsuspecting beetle or fly. Sometimes it would hop about on the grass itself, and occasionally walk around to pick up food. All in all, its behaviour was surprisingly un-Shrike-like.
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| The Steppe Grey Shrike "porning it" on it's favoured wall |
The Steppe Grey Shrike (Lanius excubitor pallidirostris) is native to Central Asia and parts of northern China, Iran, Afghanistan and Pakistan. Formerly considered either a species in its own right or a subspecies of the Southern Grey Shrike (Lanius meridionalis) complex, it is now classified as a subspecies of the Great Grey. The pallidrostris tag means "pale billed" a trait which this first winter bird had though adults have the usual black bill.
I set about taking some photos with my Superzoom camera as the bird showed off to everyone. I must admit that after a while I started to get a bit bored. It had been so easy and the bird so showy that I soon felt that I had got my fill. There's something to be said for having to earn your tick - it's somehow more satisfying than just walking up to it and seeing it immediately.
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| Hopping around on the mown grass in a very un-shrike-like manner |
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| The Dunbar coast was looking very pretty in the sunshine |
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| A Dunbar Redshank |
I wandered back to the star bird which was now feeding on the seaward side of the wall but still offering crippling views. I sat on a bench and watched it as I ate my packed lunch and took some more photos. At one stage it went into a bush on the cliff side - in this kind of habitat it started to look less out of place and somehow more Shrike-like.
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| Above and below, in more suitable habitat for a Shrike |
Some video footage of the bird
Eventually it was time for me to make my way back to the station to catch my train . On the way I found a single Knot roosting on the rocks with some Turnstone but apart from that there was nothing else of note. The journey back was uneventful and I took advantage of not having to drive by having a little nap on the train. Then it was back home to my daughter's where we caught up on each other's news and settled in for the evening.
Day 3 Blacktoft Sands
I had been wondering what to do on my way home. I'd been hoping for some kind of decent rarity to turn up at least vaguely en route but there turned out to be very little on offer. I looked to see what route Google Maps was proposing to get home and saw that it was suggesting a little dog leg along the M62 East to meet the M18, thereby avoiding the traffic jam that is the A1(M) after it splits off from the M1. I remembered that this would take me very close to RSPB Blacktoft Sands, a nice little reserve where I'd seen the White-tailed Lapwing a few years back. There was a juvenile Pectoral Sandpiper there that was commuting between Blacktoft and Alkborough Flats nearby. Given that there was little else about, it seemed like a reasonable plan to drop in on the way to take a look. After all, the weather was lovely and sunny and I didn't have much else to do. And so it was that a little after 9 a.m. I set off south, turning up at the reserve in due course at around midday. As I tooled up I could hear some calling Pink-footed Geese from the nearby fields.
Upon enquiry, the warden there told me that the Pec Sand was still at the Singleton hide - the furthest hide to the east, some 400 metres away so I duly headed off. A whole succession of birders passed me the other way before I twigged that this was probably a bad sign so I finally asked one who told me that the Pec Sand had been flushed by a Sparrowhawk and had flown off. I decided to check for myself and entered the hide to find that the pool in front of it was indeed almost completely empty apart from some sleeping Teal and a single Green Sandpiper.
Somewhat disappointed I decided to work my way back, stopping in at the various other hides before returning later to see if it would return. The next two hides were just as empty. One thing I noticed was that the water levels were really low. The warden later told me that the extra high tide due later in the week was expected to reflood the pools. As I was walking between the hides a flock of noisy Tree Sparrows flew into the hedgerow from the reedbed. I'd been wondering where they were as they were usually on the feeders as you enter the reserve but there'd been no sign of them this morning.
The last hide I visited was the Marshland Hide where there were actually a few birds to look at. On a distant island of rocks were half a dozen Snipe, a similar number of Ruff, a Black-tailed Godwit and another bird tucked up asleep that looked interesting. Once I got my scope on it I could see that it was in fact the Pectoral Sandpiper. Given that there were quite a few other birders in the hide I was somewhat surprised that they'd not already picked it out but they all had cameras rather than scopes so maybe that was why. I called it out and put it out on RBA as others might be looking for it. I'd been told that up until now it only ever frequented the Singleton Hide so for it to be here was a change in behaviour. I took some video footage though in the heat haze the quality wasn't that great.
Some rather hazy digiscoped video of the bird
Apart from the target bird there were a few loafing duck, a hidden singing Cetti's and the occasional call of some Bearded Tits (though I never actually saw them). There were quite a few Swallows hawking over the pool and the occasional Stock Dove went over. I sat for some time just enjoying the peace and quiet and watching the Pec Sand sleep, then wake up to preen and finally start to feed. It was all very pleasant.
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| The view from the Marshland Hide |
With time marching on, it was time to head back to the car and start the long slog back down south. There is little to say about it other than it was long and rather boring though I had Radio 4 to keep me company. I arrived back late afternoon for a welcome cup of tea and a chance to catch up with the family. It had been a good first run up to York Uni and with three years of it still to come
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