Snettisham RSPB and Frampton Marsh RSPB - 27th July

On 27th July, while on annual leave at our cottage in the Cotswolds, I planned a three wader tick day. I was up early and headed to Snettisham arriving at high tide where my first British tick, a very pale looking White-rumped Sandpiper, showed well on the shoreline feeding with Dunlin. As the tide fell there was a shout of Western Sandpiper but unfortunately, this bird was rather distant on the mudflats and did not show close to the shore as it had done on previous days - but it was wader tick number 2. My eBird checklist for Snettisham can be seen here.

After Snettisham I then headed north into Lincolnshire and to Frampton Marsh RSPB where an adult summer Pacific Golden Plover showed well in the gloom - wader tick number 3! The heavens opened and I began the drive back to the Cotswolds passing through some torrential downpours on my journey. My eBird checklist for Frampton Marsh can be seen here.

Bempton Cliffs RSPB Reserve - 20th July

On 20th July I finally succumbed to the draw of the Black-browed Albatross that has been summering at Bempton RSPB - a site that I had never visited before. First seen as an immature bird in Norfolk and Yorkshire in 2016 and seen annually at various locations on the east coast of the UK and on the near continent, particularly Germany, since. This year the bird had been present at Bempton since 28th June coming into cliffs for a few days before disappearing for a day or two then to return. 

I set off from home early and arrived on site at 09:15. Initially the bird was distant and sat on the water with Gannets but after a while it flew towards the cliffs and was watched circling Bartlett Nab. However, the bird was always a little distant and i didn't obtain the crippling eye-level views that many other birders had during the summer. My eBird checklist for the morning can be seen here

Langford Lake, Wiltshire - 11th July

My blog has been very much neglected this year due to a number of reasons, mainly as I have been working to get my eBird fully up to date with all of my lifetime observations - I now think I am more or less there and hope to start blogging once more.

I am going to start with working through some of my best birds of the summer. On 11th July I visited a site that I had driven past many times but had never visited, Langford Lake in Wiltshire. A female Red-footed Falcon had been present for a number of days, the bird did not disappoint as it showed well in Great Meadow and was actively catching Emperor Dragonfly and Black-tailed Skimmer. My eBird checklist for the morning can be seen here.