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or we leave without you we were attempting to walk into grantown before the capercaillies arose and perhaps even find a lek but despite creeping along in complete silence all we had were two crashing out of the trees long eared and tawny owls called while curlew redshank oystercatchers and lapwings could be heard our second grantown site adjoined the first and a female caper was seen briefly and down on the river dippers were singing and there were loads of grey and pied wagtails lazily flapping buzzards spooked rabbits and brown hares and meadow pipits were singing all around along with a single tree pipit i n the birchy area our return walk gave us both goosander and goldeneye on the river along with closer views of the dipper at forest lodge the killer cap eds i think he was called willie once again refused to play ball but we did hear him popping and wheezing a way off but we did not go off piste to track him down he assaulted rob wilson and his crew the following day excellent views of crested tit were had and two crossbills flew over eds back then it was pretty much scottish all the way roe deer were seen and one buck scared the wotsits out of me as it hurtled up behind me before bounding off into the heather and trees mooremor carpark on the shores of loch morlich was next on our tight itinerary and proved invaluable stop and as we had a look at the ospreys on the nest out in the boggy heather they got up to mob a magnificent almost full adult golden eagle that was under a hundred foot up in the woods we soon picked up a couple more crested tits and a very obliging female scottish crossbill it was right at the heavy edge of the range and down south would probably have been called a parrot and even the call was deep enough eds i now wonder if this was actually a female parrot even my drawing looks like one with no sign of any divers on the loch we moved onto forres where there were no black grouse but a fine female hen harrier lunch beckoned and we ended up back in grantown for various things n chips the weather was glorious and we spent another couple of hours in the woods where cresties and both male and female capercaillie were found the male was huge roe deer red squirrels buzzards siskins and singing crossbills made it all the more enjoyable with no need to do the findhorn having got golden eagle we headed across country towards the ythan finding five dapper waxwings in aviemore high street on the way the journey only gave us a few pinkfeet and a single hooded crow it did not seem to take too long but that was probably because i was asleep for most of the journey we did not even have to get out of the car for the king eider as he was paddling around just off the main car park with a small group of common eiders he was half heartedly displaying to the female commons eiders done we once more came back inland and it was dark by the time we reached braemar where a tawny owl greeted us it was my birthday eve so we headed for what passed as the only public bar in the village for a celebratory pint everywhere else was a bit posh and we were in our lived in clothes king common eider we opted to spend the night on glenshee the highest main road in the uk mountain hares in dappled coats scampered across the road in the headlights and once stopped and with the lights out the full panorama of billions of stars in the shimmering milky way illuminated the sky and the vast tail of comet hyakutake blazed from north to south with a pinprick of the brightest light at its head eds it is one of those vistas that is permanently in my head we slept well despite the intense cold 6 th april i awoke at 5 15am snug in my sleepingbag the thermometer in the car said 5c ice had formed on the insides of the windows and adrian w s pillow had stuck to the glass and thankfully not his face i was treated to an interesting version of happy birthday before we ventured out into the cold red grouse were everywhere and they were so engrossed in chasing mates and seeing off rivals that they came incredibly close to us meadow pipits and wheatears were the only other birds around ptarmigan were our main objective but the task seemed to ask much of our luck but as the sun worked its way down the slopes i picked up a mostly white bird as it scuttled across the snow from one snow field to another kettle quickly reloacted it in the scope as she sat motionless amongst the rocks i was well chuffed with that we packed up and left trying not to run over any of the red grouse on the way down the road down to the spittle of glenshee was incredibly steep and impressive skewbald mountain hares were incredibly obvious and a pair of roadside ring ouzels on the heather were a excellent bonus once down at a lower elevation the hares swapped to brown and greylag geese frequented the fields with oystercatchers and lapwings from here we made our way back to the coast and ruddens point passing a sparrowhawk on the way we drove out onto the headland that over looked the bay and it was full of birds on a crystal flat sea it took no time at all to find four drake and a female surf scoter along with both common and velvet scoters mergansers long tailed ducks and eider we also found red throated black throated and two great northern divers along with two red necked and five slavonian grebes there were a few razorbills gannets and gulls moping around but there were no purple sandpipers with the dunlin turnstones and redshanks on the rocks below two sandwich terns errickked their way north on again and good doze later i awoke in scenic tyne wear searching for somewhere to view the river blyth and its moulting adult white billed diver it was easily found and we watched our second this year from the grounds of a new housing estate being warily watched by security guards all the flight feathers were moulted so it was not going anywhere there were eider and goldeneye and a black swan with the mutes white billed diver south a bit more to silksworth in sunderland where the 1w laughing gull had reappeared after a five day absence tony found the bird on the lake almost immediately and we were not even out of the car it was already attaining the blood red tip to the bill and was very adept at catching bread after this troke of luck we called it a day and hit the a1 homewards after a superb birthday weekend away laughing gull 8 th april an early morning excursion with kettle tony and jon clifton to look for lady amhurst s pheasants in beds and although we heard quite a few only tony was lucky enough to see one a tawny owl was heard and there were muntjac green and great spotted woodpeckers and a couple of sparrowhawks we were not too far away from the rickmansworth drake lesser scaup and our arrival was time with the mist lifting and this fine adult was quickly found as it actively fed with a small flock of tufted ducks sand martins flickered across the pit and lrps and redshanks fed on a small scrape lesser scaup i was almost being dropped off back at my car at the brentwood little chef when a female ring necked duck at bowyers water came on so i said my farewells and headed that way and soon had this smart rusty bird in the scope only my second female and coincidentally i saw that on the same day as my first lesser scaup an excellent end to the day 9 th april my first real day out in the countryside with andrea and thomas and the day was a great success with a couple of nice walks and a few bonuses including 50 waxwings in tattingstone on the way up covehithe was our first stop and a stroll up towards benacre provided us with nice wheatears pied wagtails female black redstart hundreds of redwings and fieldfares and a variety of waders and wildfowl on the broad that included a female eider goldeneye little grebes a shag and a knot with some ringed plover and dunlin a lone fulmar headed south and swallows began to trickle through lunch was taken at southwold followed by a walk around the shops before going onto minsmere where thomas was a quiet a s mouse in the hides there were avocets and a few more duck but it was the marsh harriers that stole the show a nice male stonechat brightened up things as the weather really never got better than overcast while we were there south again and a quick roadside stop in woodbridge gave us 13 more waxwings i took the scenic route home via the reservoirs alton water had all three hirundines while at abberton where there were still goldeneye and 30 stunningly bright yellow wagtails on towards heybridge where the little owls were surprisingly in their usual tree and did not even fly off when i stopped we ended up at the pub at heybridge basin somewhere they knew but i did not and we sat by the lock and watched the lights slowly drain from the sky while black tailed godwit curlew and redshank wandered by below while oystercatchers roosted on the small boats a greenshank flew over calling and despite the late hour the sedge warblers were still singing and rounded up a quality day 10 th april my lunchtime stroll at the chase produced five willow warblers three chiffchaffs and three swallows 14 th april a spur of the moment trip to bradwell for the male white spotted bluethroat that had not even been found before i left home it was found twenty minutes after we arrived and amazingly showed very well alongside a hedge in a ditch in the middle of a seemingly random field there were corn buntings linnets and chaffinches but no other migrants on a cold day so we retired to a pub in one of the hanningfields followed by a walk around the reservoir nature trail there were lots of new birds for andrea a summer plumaged red throated diver was the star find and sand martins abounded along with lrps a variety of duck and of course some yellow wagtails white spotted bluethroat 16 th april another good dag chase visit with a nice green sandpiper and the first cuckoo and whitethroat of the year snipe and shelduck still shared the slack with two lrps 17 th april news broke too late of an american coot at stodmarsh the day before and so i managed to leave work at 4pm and meet up with steve b to head down there we avoided traffic and were soon on site and thankfully it was immediately on view in fact it swan right past us before we realised it was there the red knob was very deep in colour and only visible colour wise in certain lights at other time it appeared like a black gemstone set into its head it was continuously harassed by the coots and when he eventually got chased around a bend and out of view we packed up and walked back passing sedge warblers whitethroats and common terns on the way a swift pint in the red lion and then onto sheppey for the crane but it was too dark really and we had to be happy with marsh harriers and a little owl 18 th april at the chase two redshank had joined the now three lrps with 18 teal 16 shoveler and two shelduck reed and sedge warblers were in and phyllosc numbers had gone up 21 st april oliver s near colchester zoo was where our day started with a pleasant walk in the spring woods while up above a male goshawk and a couple of sparrowhawks were seen there were many new migrants with whitethroats cuckoos turtle doves blackcaps garden warblers and house martin in along with green woodpeckers and jays there was masses of wood sorrel wood anemone primroses violets and lesser celandine and a grass snake slithered through the blooms fingringhoe beckoned for lunch and birds nightingales not only sung their hearts out but showed incredibly well too the only new migrant was a lesser whitethroat and three whimbrel flew over calling before we headed back to abberton where i found common terns and five scaup along with yet more wonderful yellow wagtails 22 nd april a pre work visit to the chase just after a rain shower was as good as i had hoped with 70 house martins and a few sand martins and six swifts 23 rd april at the chase today there were only two swifts but there were higher numbers of all three hirundines which included a swallow with rich rusty red underparts two common terns dropped in but did not linger and 14 yellow wagtails on the slack was the most i had ever had here all the shoveler had moved on 25 th april hirundine numbers were well down at the chase but three were a lot of wood pigeons and a pair of stock doves drinking on the slack single yellow and grey wagtails flew over and the cuckoo was still singing 26 th apri l a walk down to the chase allotments gave me three each of blackcap and whitethroats along with a single garden warbler and several pairs of greenfinch 27 th april dungeness was disappointing with no interesting terns and only a few passage divers gannets and scoter black redstart and wheatear sang from the power station compound but there were not really many warblers around except whitethroats marsh frogs croaked from the long pits on to pegwell bay and its osprey which after a little patience showed very well and even caught a fish without us noticing the group of dotterel at sandwich had not been seen so we headed for stodmarsh and a much more relaxed look was had of the american coot beardies pinged and a couple of hobbies whizzed around we ended the day at church wood blean where over the sound of countless wood ants going abut their business a nightingale sung and of the three woodpeckers we found only lesser spotted was seen a male redstart singing high in the canopy rounded up a pleasant but slightly underwhelming day in kent posted by howard vaughan at 06 00 no comments email this blogthis share to x share to facebook share to pinterest friday 17 april 2026 17th april 2026 day 1 northern greece for bird s wildlife naturel i arrived very late last night from stansted and dancho kindly met me at the airport and after a fitful night s sleep i awoke to the sound of the first early crested lark followed shortly by a couple of magpies and a poooping hoopoe i was no longer costa rica or suffolk but in thessaloniki in northern greece the rest of the small crew had arrived before me and we all came out onto our balconies pre breakfast were red rumped swallows and barn swallows circled and house sparrows and starlings welcomed in the day breakfast and a quick look outside and four tree pipits flew over high calling and a surprise roller lazily flew through which was a very nice start we packed up and navigated our way through and around the smoggy metropolis and were soon at the suburb of paleokastro which as the name suggests is next to a now disused quarry where we spent our first time in the field exploring it was most rewarding with wing flapping piebald eastern black eared wheatears and song flighting slaty blue rock thrushes there were western rock nuthatches collecting food and even a pair of black redstarts with the male fizzing every now and then eastern black eared wheatear eastern black eared wheatear cirl buntings buzzed and woodlarks spiralled above while crested larks were taking the ter...