July and August...

We're running out of time with this review of the year by instalments thingy, so to quicken the pace here's my equivalent of the Boxing Day sales: two for the price of one. Not sure what I was doing in July, but checking my hard drive it can't have been wildlife photography. Some big gaps between downloads as the birding doldrums set in no doubt. Those barrels which were scraped produced:

Kestrel at Kimmeridge: my photo of the month for July

House Martin in the Lake District - a flying visit to mark my brother's 50th

Collared Pratincole on the Somerset Levels - a short range twitch after work

The Arne café Nightjar - bird of the month for July by virtue of the great views it afforded 

Brown Hairstreak at Alners Gorse - my first in Dorset

August was a bit more productive thanks to a holiday with the family on Dartmoor, a trip to Kent to catch up with my old pal Matt Jones over from New Zealand, a spot of mid-week twitching for a first for Britain and the start of autumn migration on the patch.

Three of us dashed off to Minsmere mid-week for this Western Purple Swamphen - the first record for Britain - which didn't stay until the weekend but later relocated to Lincolnshire. Bird of the month for August

A Silver-spotted Skipper on Fontmell Down was one of the highlights of August

Kingfisher at Grove Ferry in Kent - my photo of the month for August

Goosander on the idyllic River Dart in Devon

Male Redstart on Darmoor

Spotted Flycatcher on Dartmoor

We joined several hundred others at Arne for Hen Harrier Day in August - protesting at the illegal persecution of these rare and remarkable birds of prey

Sedge Warbler at Swineham

A bit of birding

It's a quiet time of year for birding, and, as recent posts attest, butterflies have offered more interest in the warmer weeks of July than the slim pickings available on the avian front. Some birds are on the move though, including a Collared Pratincole, a rare visitor from Southern Europe which arrived on the wonderful Somerset Levels the week before last. With the light evenings there was time to pay a visit after work to look for it and the other good birds which can be found there - a calling Little Bittern and several Great White Egrets among the highlights.

Collared Pratincole shows rufous undwerwing coverts

The Pratincole was hawking insects over the pools

A poor photo but shows the diagnostic white trailing edge to the secondaries

Always distant, this was about as close as the Pratincole came

Glastonbury Tor

Great White Egret - easy to see at Ham Wall

Prat in curls?

A few months ago I offered Northumberland to the Scots as part of a deal to keep Scottish birds on my list (if they vote for independence), partly on the basis that I'd never had a tick there. That's all changed now having seen a Bridled Tern there earlier this month, and this week, back again for a family holiday, I've also seen a Collared Pratincole (my second) and a Stilt Sandpiper (my third) in the county. Had the Bridled Tern shown a bit quicker a few weekends ago I might even have had time to twitch a Black-winged Pratincole which put in a brief appearance. So I now fully accept it's not a county list to be dismissed lightly by cocky southerners. And the deal is off, Scotland.

The Northumbrian mid-week twitching scene, I've discovered, seems to consist of the same dozen or so good natured blokes (or blurks, as they are called up here). I bumped into one as I parked the car at the scene of Monday's mini-twitch and had to listen carefully to the description of where he had seen the Pratincole (pron. Prat-in-curl). 'Flying o'er wor heeds', it transpires, roughly translates as 'look up'.

Neither the Pratincole nor the Stilt Sand was more than 45 minutes away, so I was able to twitch them without seriously interrupting the flow of the family holiday. Monday, before the Pratincole was found, we spent back on the Farne Islands, introducing the children to the smell of guano and the territorial violence of Arctic Terns. I struggle to get them to enjoy birding trips with me mostly, but the sight of aggressive Terns repeatedly attacking innocent passers-by, and Dad getting crapped on regularly by seabirds, amused them greatly. Amid the fun, a few pictures were taken.

This Arctic Tern on the lighthouse wall didn't appear to be guarding a nest or chicks...

...but it certainly had an attitude problem

A more placid Arctic Tern

Still many Arctic Tern chicks at various stages of development as with my last visit in early July - this one of the younger ones

Guillemots packed all the available ledges just over a fortnight ago - now just a handful are left, including this Bridled Guillemot

A few pairs of Fulmar were on nests on Staple Island

Fulmar as it's meant to be seen - gliding on straight wings

Fulmar chick - fluffy, but not a bird to cuddle as it will spit foul-smelling oil at you

Still plenty of Puffins bringing food to nests or just loafing on the cliffs of Staple Island

Looks like a good year for sandeels

Shag - the only seabird that breeds on the Farnes and then sticks around for the winter

A prehistoric looking bird...

...even more so with the chicks

A bit of an ugly duckling, if truth be told

The Collared Pratincole, present for just one evening near Ashington, showed distantly but well

The white rump, and contrast between black primaries and otherwise brown upperparts can be seen here. With scope views a white trailing edge to the wing could also be made out.

This view shows a rusty underwing and black border to the throat

Puffins, Staple Island



Puffin, Staple Island