Pied dogs and Desert Wheatear

Normans first BBRC lifer !



The excitement was all tooo much, especially for Hig who has seen several Deserts before !

Where it all began....

13th October 1985 - my first ever documented birding trip to Anston Stones Wood, South Yorkshire, a grand total of 11 species !

Early days ... waders !

Green Sandpiper at Llyn Alaw on Anglesey 14/8/86, Common Sandpiper and Turnstone at Rother Valley Country Park, Sheffield 2/8/86.

Smew - what a bird !

Rother Valley Country Park 30/12/86 - this was a really special bird, a lifer and at the time just brilliant. It spent the whole winter on the nature reserve and was seen by hundreds of birders, it was joined by two females in the new year of 87. On the day it turned up I was having 5 teeth out at the dentist and all my mates saw it, but I had to wait for a day!

First proper twitch.. oh dear !

Not the most exciting bird but it has still held its rarity value also 20 years later ! Great to have been present on the first big day for this 1st for britain - thanks to British Rail !

my best ever day birding

Over the past 22 years birding, this day is by far the best I have ever had. I should have been at school but wasnt ! The rarity value of the birds at the time to a youngster who has just discovered train travel was just too much..

The highlight was the Booted Warbler at Bempton which was found whilst I was at Filey, I managed to hitch a lift with a birder at Filey - who turned out to be Chris Mills - a now friend based in Norfolk - he even kindly took me home, just in time for school to finish !





This RB Fly was in the same garden as a Barred Warbler near the lighthouse at Flamborough - both ticks !

scotland marathon

I was part of a Farnborough College mad twitch for the Harlequin Duck at Wick, we left on 22/3/91 via the White-billed Diver at Holyhead, Anglesey then onto the American Bittern at Blackpool. The twitch was quite remarkable in that four of us where crammed in to a metro which would only go at 56mph - it took 26 hours to reach Wick ! On the way back we found britains 4th Black Scoter off Embo Pier, Highland, also saw all the Scottish specialities and connected with a Ross's Geese at Lossiemouth, a King Eider on the Ythan Estuary, a Bonapartes Gull at Seafoth and a Two-barred Crossbill in Norfolk - ah.. those were the days !!

A magic day on the Farnes - Aug 96

August 20th 1996 - a magic day to be a warden on the Farne Islands, managing to find both a Booted Warbler and a Yellow-breasted Bunting on Brownsman Island in a mad 20 minute spell !
I was only on the island with Stef McKelwee and we hugged each other and jumped up and down with joy ! The Booted could be approached to within 15 feet as it fed on the open bare earth amongst the Puffin burrows. The Bunting was much harder and was a skulker at times. Both birds remained for several days and were enjoyed by the other wardens. At the time, both represented the earliest records in the UK for both species.

Yellow-throated Vireo, Kernow, September 1990

My first weekend at Farnborough College - I was kidnapped by a local birders mum (John Dixon) and taken by night speed to a little Cornish Valley to join 1000 other bleary eyed birders. Everyone was trained on a small clump of bushed on one side of the valley and if by magic out came a yellow ball of feathers carrying a star spangled banner- causing a massive cheer from all present ! I even went back the following weekend and collected the Red-eyed Vireo in the next valley !

Little Shearwater

Better notes these days !

Best of mates

Higbee and Norman

News from the north !

Our Swedish birding friend Ingrid recently spent a pleasant few days here with birding, vismigging, ringing and lecturing on space science occupying her time. She has just returned home to Kiruna, Sweden (well inside the arctic circle) and sent me these two pics of her house ! - she did say she lost her leaves in the first week of September !

Anyone for a Siberian Tit ? - well here is one I caught earlier !

from the notebook.....

October 15th 2005

pic by Dave Mansell www.eastaytonbirding.blogspot.com

"on checking the village net shortly after dawn I found a yellow-browed in the bottom shelf, the bird was duly ringed and released in to the wood, on flying off it called and to my amazement this was answered by another bird already in the wood. Walking around the dell produced another and different bird in a 40ft net near the main path - this was duly ringed and also released in the wood. Later in the day another and unringed bird was briefly seen in a game crop near the cliff top before our attentions were drawn to a 1st winter Rustic Bunting feeding at the base of the first bit of cover inland of the cliff towards Bempton RSPB Reserve"

Meds in flight

Meds perched

Visible Migration over Sandy Pinnacle

Ingrid Sandahl counting Wood Pigeons and Fieldfares

Over 100,000 birds have been recorded over three local sites so far this autumn, highlights being a Hen Harrier, several Merlins, a Gannet, a Woodlark and scores of pigeons, thrushes and finches.

Random images

Lancer, Marsh Harriers, Wilington at dusk, Starlings