An early return of the cattle egret this year, making an appearance on New Flash on 13^th June and it is still present on the reserve. It's a splendid looking bird in summer plumage with it's rich buff crown and chest with the dagger like yellow bill. As the name suggests the egret likes to follow cattle to pick up insects disturbed by their movement. They will also take frogs and you may see them landing in water with…

Well, the June 1^st was an exciting day with the discovery of a migrating red-necked phalarope on Main Bay. Only the 5^th record at Fairburn of this tiny wader (the last sighting was in October 2013), it made the dunlin look huge when they passed each other. Views were distant either from Bob Dickens hide or the roadside platform and very difficult to pick out due to it's size, hats off to the finder! When these birds do…

A quieter fortnight with a steady flow of migrants passing through, although most have been either single sightings or overflights. Wheatears in particular have been very elusive and difficult to find this year, although we seem to have greater numbers of garden warblers and lesser whitethroats with their songs filling the air in most areas of the reserve, every cloud….

Garden Warbler - Keith Boyer

Flashes

Up…

The birds keep arriving; top of the billing has to be the black-crowned night heron. First seen in flight over the Hicksons Flash area heading east and then located on Village Bay Island on the morning of 2^nd May. Although views were distant, this rare visitor attracted attention until the last sighting on 4^th May. No decent usable images are available due to the distance so the photo below is a library shot, as Jim Bowen…

A busy fortnight on the reserve, a good selection of birds returning or passing through. The range of songs being heard around the reserve is increasing. It truly feels like summer with willow warblers/chiffchaff constantly singing in the background wherever you are, and skylarks filling the air with song, especially on the Coal Tips. Some nice wetland visitors also with a ruddy shelduck making a brief appearance, a

The last two weeks have seen an increase in migrant birds visiting the reserve. Willow warblers and blackcaps can now be heard around the reserve, spoonbills have begun to return to the moat area, and a garganey appeared and has been mobile around the flashes. A little gull has given excellent views on Main Bay and Village Bay and a single black-tailed godwit was seen on New Flash. Not forgetting the Coal Tips where a…

St Aidan's is something of a kestrel's paradise. They are safe from shooting, poisoning and persecution, and the park provides plenty of voles to keep them well fed. You are almost guaranteed to see one, either hunting over the Hillside or Ridge & Furrow, or watching the world go by from the Dragline or the top of a tree. Their graceful, watchful hover is unmistakable in the skies above the reserve.

Kestrels…

The sound of the chiffchaff singing has been heard in several areas of the reserve, lifting the melancholy days of spring when the weather does not quite know what to do with itself. An easily recognisable song as it repeats its name over and over, a good way of separating from the near identical willow warbler as the songs are completely different, the willow warbler has a more fluent song, with a gentle series of descending…

Fairburn Ings 8th March 2019

Another day at Fairburn and the passage of a week makes all the difference to the hawthorn bushes on the way – they’re suddenly green! The blackthorn is at my favourite stage – full of round white buds just ready to burst out, and every year I think the bare black twigs look like they’re decorated with tiny pearls.

Daffodils are out in profusion round the Discovery…

Storm Gareth ruffled a few feathers in the Aire Valley this week, and blew my cobwebs away when I visited St Aidan's on Wednesday. I didn't venture any further than a walk round Bowers – it was difficult staying upright in the wind – where just a few birds braved the choppy waters.

Storm Gareth ruffled a few great crested grebe feathers

Stormy waters

This male tufted duck looks distinctly unimpr…

A single sand martin was seen over main bay on 2^nd March surprising a couple of birders, plus ringed plovers and dunlin moving through signifying the early onset of spring migration and hopefully more species moving through the reserve. Please remember to put sightings in the book at the visitors centre, or if you use twitter post sightings with #fairburnbirds in the text.

Dunlin - Pete M

Flashes

 A barn owl was seen…

Skylarks are taking to the air in song already and can be heard throughout the reserve; it seems that spring is already upon us during this freakish spell of unseasonably warm weather. Reports of early arrivals of swallows and sand martins have been made in some parts of the country so keep an eye out and please report any early sightings to the visitor centre.

Skylark - Pete M

Flashes

A brief visit from a spoonbil…

The skylarks are singing at St Aidan's. Go and have a listen. Birds are warming up their voices ready for spring. It's time to start claiming territories and get ready to attract a mate.

A bittern was heard booming in the reedbeds earlier this week and there are coots-a-tooting all across the reserve. The black-headed gulls heads are turning brown, and the great crested grebes are becoming worthy of their name…

The recent cold snap saw most of the reserve iced up displacing a lot of the wildfowl; as a result sightings over the past fortnight have been limited although some good numbers occurred of some species on odd days. One of the highlights being 55 goldeneye turning up to roost on the coal tips along with the goosanders,  a whole lot of displaying going on which was quite a sight.

Teal - Pete M

Flashes

The most notable…

Something to brighten up the run of intermittent grey and wet days has been a number of sightings of red-crested pochard. A female was seen from Charlie’s hide on the 19th and 20th, after a male and female were noted on the 18th.The pair were displaced by the icy weather and were rediscovered on Parkers Pool on the 26th. The male is a stunning looking duck with a rusty-orange round head, red bill and black breast…

Well, the start of another year’s birdwatching is well under way. You can enjoy birds as just a casual observer out for a walk and enjoying what you see or you could begin a list recording what you see either at a local reserve or area you frequent, known as a “patch”. It is a good way of learning about birds, linking birds to different habitats and also what you are likely to see at different times of the year. If your…

As we enter the quiet winter spell it’s an ideal time to develop your identification skills if you are new to birdwatching, or just enjoy a walk taking in the surroundings. The discovery trail is an excellent place to spot our smaller birds, plus redwings and fieldfares.

Redwing - Pete M

Take the time to stop for a while and see what you can find. Little gems such as goldcrests and treecreepers are easier to…

As the days get shorter and winter starts to kick in and time is spent searching through flocks of wildfowl and gulls in the hope of spotting something scarce visiting the reserve, it’s a bonus to come up with one of our scarcer visiting birds tucked away amongst mobile flocks of finches. A mealy (common) redpoll was discovered feeding with a small flock of lesser redpoll amongst the alders on the riverbank at the…

Just when you expect reserve to be quieter three more local rarities turn up, albeit briefly and only seen by a handful of observes who happened to be in the right place at the right time. First up on Monday 5^th November was a brief sighting of a great grey shrike in the Hicksons Flash area, these birds are scarce autumn migrants and winter visitors with between 150-300 individuals expected throughout the UK.

Great…

Animals at or near the top of a food chain fascinate and thrill. Raptors and owls mesmerise with their size, skills and spectacular aerial displays. Fanciful or not, you’ve got to respect a bird that when it looks your way, seems to express a contempt that almost says “you mean noth-ing to me.”

Insouciance personified; red kite at the top of the hill opposite the main lake.

For their size, their…

The most notable bird around the reserve over the last fortnight turns out to be a raptor again, a female merlin making a couple of appearances in front of Lin Dike hide. The first sighting was on Sunday 28^th October where it decided to have a bath in front of lucky onlookers; the second sighting was a week later on Saturday 3^rd November to strike a pose. The merlin is the smallest European falcon, often seen flying low…

A very exciting visitor stayed for around an hour on 20^th October, a harrier appeared over new flash sporting a white rump and a ring tail, a hen harrier! Flying with easy effortless wingbeats between gliding, the harrier moved effortlessly across spoonbill flash before descending out of sight into robins reed bed for a short time. When the harrier reappeared it flew off in a westerly direction, watched until it was a…

It was an unseasonably summery day when I visited St Aidan's this week. A clear-blue-sky day with barely a breeze to stir the reeds. The insects were certainly taking advantage of the warm weather, with ladybirds taking to the air en masse. A few Small and Large White butterflies were exploring hedges and flowers all around the Park, while Small Coppers have been seen around the reedbeds and by the sluice. Migrant Hawker…

Another reserve rarity turning up recently, this time a UK resident species which means we now have a full complement of the tit family at Fairburn with the arrival of a marsh tit. It is very similar to our other scarce breeder, the willow tit, careful identification is required to separate the two species as they look identical at a glance. Marsh tit plumage has a duller overall appearance and the bill has a pale patch…

Autumn migration is in full swing and this is the time to be on the lookout for birds passing through on migration south. One such bird which always creates excitement is the marsh harrier, a regular passage migrant and occasionally over-winters on the reserve. The largest harrier species, typically seen flying low over marshes with steady wing beats between glides on raised wings whilst hunting. If you are walking around…