For several years, the ‘Tyttenhanger Birders’ – myself, Richard Coombes & Steve Blake – have done a number of birding day trips throughout the year.  The trips always involve an early start – usually to get us to our destination before break of day – followed by a fair bit of driving around top birding sites within reach of home (St Albans & North London) and doable in a day.  We usually see lots of birds, sometimes rare ones and total up our day count which usually exceeds 100 species.  The trips are always highlights of the year and a chance to indulge our love of birds and birding in places with a more exciting variety of birds.  Locations have included Kent, Lincolnshire, Somerset, Norfolk and Suffolk.
 
A week ago today, on Friday 23rd May, we did our usual Spring trip to Suffolk except this time it was just Richard and me.  Steve, who had been struggling with a long-term, cancer-related illness, was in hospital and we had just received a heart-breaking message from him to say that his birding days were over and that they were moving him to a hospice.  Today we received the tragic news that Steve had passed away just last night.
 
While we had always known that this was likely to be the outcome it has nevertheless come as a shock and with great sadness.  Of course, my immediate thoughts are with Kate, his wife, his children and grandchildren and wider family and friends.  A private family funeral is to be held but, selfishly, I can’t help recalling all the great birding moments we had together, even as recently as a trip to Norfolk in December last year.
 
In recalling all our good times, I thought I would write up our most recent trip this last Friday as a way of remembering Steve.  Although he wasn’t with us on the trip he was in our minds and conversation throughout the day and would have loved the experience as always.  As well as becoming a good friend, Steve taught me a lot about birding and helped me to slow down a bit and spend longer observing and checking the areas I was in.
 
He had a knack for picking out the rarity and would often find an unusual bird when the rest of us had moved on.  Over the years he added many birds to our local patch (Tyttenhanger Gravel Pits) site list, including a first for Herts in the form of a Penduline Tit.  We laughed and teased when he dismissed a couple of Dotterel in a field in Kent as rabbits.  I insisted we take a closer look and Dotterel they were but I knew that the only reason I had checked was because I had observed him doing the same (usually!).

​I’m sure that Richard and I will do more trips in years to come but they will always come with a twinge of sadness that Steve is not there to share the birds and experiences.  I dedicate our recent Suffolk trip to him and hope you enjoy reading about the birds we found…

​As is our habit, our goal was to arrive at the small village of Eastbridge in Suffolk on the edge of the Minsmere RSPB reserve before first light.  Past visits had proved fruitful with many birds calling in the dark from the depths of the marshy fields and expansive reedbeds.  Working backwards this meant leaving my house in St Albans at 1am.  Come the day before, sandwiches were made, optics assembled and, with alarms set, an attempt at some sleep was made.
 
For me, trying to sleep for a couple of hours earlier than normal is a fairly fruitless exercise and I usually wake up a little hazy, wondering if I did actually sleep at all!  This Friday was no exception but the excitement of the day ahead brings a focus of its own and I also knew a short nap midday could be an option.
 
We headed off and, thanks to a motorway closure on the M25, picked up a Barn Owl just off Junction 24 as it flew over the road:  #1 for the day!  Driving into Suffolk is always a pleasant experience as the air fills with the richness of lush green Spring foliage; roads shrink to lanes and nature takes over.  Muntjac, Roe Deer and Foxes appear in the headlights and this time a Little Owl too.  The sky was beginning to get light even at 2.45am and at 3.20am we arrived at Eastbridge well ahead of scheduled time thanks to clear roads.  Parking up we could immediately hear Reed and Sedge Warblers along with a couple of croaking Marsh Frogs.  Moorhen called while sleeping Mute Swans stood out on the river.  A distant Bittern boomed and a Cuckoo began calling.  Only just audible, a Nightjar could be heard calling – maybe from as far away as Westleton Heath and a Tawny Owl added its squeaks along with early cooing Woodpigeons.

The hoped for Grasshopper Warbler didn’t start reeling as it had done in the past, not did any Water Rails or anything more unusual call from the reedbeds.  We did spook a small group of Red Deer that barked their rather loud alarm calls at us.  With dawn approaching we got back in the car and headed to Westleton Heath with 11 species on the list.
 
Arriving at Westleton at first light is a wonderful experience and, in my mind, how ‘things should be’ when it comes to experiencing nature.  Immediately the churring of Nightjars fills the air and the punchy notes of Nightingales sound out across the heath.  Listen more carefully and it is not long before you can hear Stonechats singing and then the scratchy song of Dartford Warblers.  It’s a race for the ears before all the birds awake and sing – Blackbirds, Song Thrushes, Robins, Skylarks, warblers and so on along with the first movement of birds overhead.

​It's not long before our total reaches 40 species with flyover Rooks, Jackdaws and Carrion Crows along with Black-headed Gulls and Shelduck.  Some of the common birds we have to work a little harder for but we usually locate them eventually.  Our walk route takes us down through some woodland and here we make sure we’ve homed in on Treecreepers, Coal Tits, Goldcrests and Great Spotted Woodpeckers.  If we’re lucky Bullfinch makes an appearance too but we needn’t have worried as we saw several throughout the day at various sites.
 
As we leave the wooded area and head out into the heath again, we immediately hear one of our target birds for the morning – a Woodlark.  It’s song a lovely liquid descent of minor notes, this time delivered from a tree top but often, as with Skylarks, from high in the air.  Later on in the walk we find another 4 birds feeding in a set aside crop planted for Turtle Doves but none in sight today.

​A calling Green Woodpecker takes us to 50 species while Swifts and Swallows are added along with the first birds of prey of the day – Hobby, Buzzard, Marsh Harrier and Kestrel.  Our circuit of the heath complete we have not managed to pick up Tree Pipit or Turtle Dove – both increasingly hard to come by species reflecting their rather sad national decline.
 
At this point, had Steve been with us we might well have taken a little snack break in the car park as he got out his Jet Boil stove and brewed us all a hot drink.  In these moments we’d refer to him as ‘Dad’ as he insisted we sat down while he made us drinks!  He certainly looked after us bringing far more food and water than he could consume and making sure we were well provided for throughout our day trips – a generosity that many will be familiar with.

​Leaving Westleton we head for Minsmere RSPB but, as is our wont, we pause along the entrance road at every gap in the hedge to scan the fields for Stone Curlew.  The species count continues to rise with smart Mediterranean Gulls in the fields and a Red-legged Partridge taking us to 60 species.
 
We pause at a gateway to a field bordering the woodland and a Sparrowhawk dives out to a chorus of Long-tailed Tit scolding notes.  Soon after I hear a Jay-like alarm call that sounds exactly like a Golden Oriole and call out, “Golden Oriole!”  Sure enough, Richard spots a GOLDEN ORIOLE fly out and along the woodland edge in its characteristic plunging flight and back into the wood but just for long enough for both of us to see that it is a greener plumaged bird, maybe an immature male.  This is a real treat and a proper rarity for the day!  In a previous year we had heard one singing in a nearby wood but, as is so often the case, not actually seen the bird.  Golden Orioles are classically elusive so to actually see it reasonably well was thrilling.

​Just before we reach Whin Hill the fields finally deliver us Stone Curlew including a pair feeding their small chicks.  As we watch, a Lesser Whitethroat calls from along the hedgerow and a pair of Red Kites slowly flap up the valley.  We also check the woods for flycatchers and redstarts but to no avail, although we think we pick up the calls of Spotted Flycatchers somewhere but not for sure.  Later we learn of a more reliable spot for Redstarts in the woods so we will definitely be checking that out next year!  Either way, Jay (sometimes completely missed on our day trips), Collared Dove and Mistle Thrush are added along the way meaning that we arrive at Whin Hill with a healthy 70 species under our belt.

​Whin Hill is one of my all-time favourite viewpoints and was the staging post for the BBC’s SpringWatch programme one year when the team set up a viewing platform from which to conduct the series.  The vista stretches over Minsmere nature reserve, across the reedbeds, lagoons and marshes to distant woods and farmland on the other side of the valley.  It is an excellent place to pick up birds that are moving around in the valley, especially first thing in the morning before the heat haze gets the better of things.
 
Today we pick up our first Cormorants of the day together with Coot, Greylag Geese, Common Terns, Little & Great Crested Grebes, Sand Martins, Great & Little Egrets along with House Martins (#80) and calling Cetti’s Warblers.  In the past we have picked up circling Glossy Ibis or the elusive Cranes but every year is different and the highlight today is a flock of 5 or more Crossbills flying over us and into the woods behind.  A single Hobby is hawking over the reserve but no Red-footed Falcon – a bird on our radar given the large influx of birds into the country over the Spring period.

​We finally arrive at Minsmere RSPB carpark around 9.15am and, after sharing our sightings with the reception team and making use of the all-important facilities, head straight out to the scrape hides.  On entering the hides, you are usually greeted by a raucous cacophony of bird calls as hundreds of breeding waders, gulls and terns all compete with constant jostling and skirmishes on the ground and in the air.  This clamour is also punctuated by the marauding forays of larger gulls and sometimes Marsh Harriers or Peregrines.
 
Today, however, the marshes seem a little quieter although the tern colonies are still pretty noisy.  We have learned however to spend some time scanning every corner of the scrapes as the longer we look the more we tend to see!  Redshank, Avocet and Black-tailed Godwit are immediately obvious along with Barnacle Geese – some with new goslings.  A Pied Wagtail appears and Gadwall, Shoveler, Teal and Tufted Duck are picked out.  A lone Little Ringed Plover is a nice find while later we pick out a couple of Ringed Plovers too.  While Common Terns make up the bulk of the terns a good number of Sandwich Terns are also present along with a few Little Terns.  The usual group of Kittiwakes is also present – perhaps taking a break from the noisy colony down the coast at Sizewell.
 
A single Great Black-backed Gull joins a single Common Gull to complete our common gull tally for the day but no sign of the regular Little Gull today.  Walking to the beach Grey Heron and Reed Bunting are the only new additions however, looking back over the marsh, we spot the elusive Cranes as 2 birds fly in and land to feed in the pasture.  We spend some time scanning out to sea but very little seems to be passing save for a flock of Common Scoter which does, however, take our day count to 100 species.

We continue to scan back over the marshes with both Red-footed Falcon and Purple Heron seen recently but to no avail.  Somewhat annoyingly (and perhaps typically) both species are recorded the following day!  Our route back to the reserve centre adds very little except for excellent views of a flying Bittern that came right over our heads.  We also learn that a Kingfisher is nesting in the Sand Martin wall by the café so resolve to make this our goal during lunch.
 
Unfortunately, the café is closed due to staff shortages (perhaps indicative of the recent RSPB cut-backs) so we have to make do with a snack menu.  Once we’ve eaten, we stake out the Sand Martin wall that is a constant hive of activity with Sand Martins arriving and leaving all the time.  A bolt of blue streaks across and I follow a Kingfisher out and over the trees towards the marsh but sadly missed by Richard.  We wait a little longer but it doesn’t return quickly – a shame as Kingfishers are often missed on our day trips despite the fact we’re often in suitable habitat.

We get back in the car and head to Sizewell – the home of the nuclear power station undergoing a huge extension and threatening the very existence of places like Minsmere.  Despite local and wider resistance, the power plant extension is full steam ahead but does seem to have some spin-off benefits in the form of local community projects and, for us, free car parking in the formerly paid car park!  We take the opportunity for a 45-minute power nap (unheard of in my youth but now a necessity) that remarkably sets us both up for the rest of the day.
 
Sizewell is not the most obvious birding destination but does have some unique birds to offer.  Nesting Peregrines are frequently seen while Black Redstarts also breed on the power station.  The scrubland can house Lesser Whitethroats and Meadow Pipits while Fulmars on occasion use the massive iron-clad face of the power station as a cliff to glide along.  Offshore a couple of permanent rigs are home to substantial Kittiwakes colonies – an unusual spectacle on a coastline largely devoid of natural cliffs.

Today however we failed to find the Peregrines but after some searching did find some elusive Black Redstarts.  House Sparrows, Feral Pigeon and Greenfinches were also added to the day list but still no Starlings.  We were confident we’d pick them up as we travelled and leaving Sizewell our list now stood at 107 species.  Our next destination – Hazlewood Marshes – promised us a better selection of waders but what would the tide be doing?  High tide and the whole site would be water with birds confined to small islands while low tide would mean birds were far out on the estuary.

We arrived to a low but rising tide which in many ways is perfect with birds constantly moving in to feed on the exposed mud as the water pushes them out of the estuary.  We needn’t have worried as something else did the job for us with many waders up in the air as we walked out to the hide.  Scanning around and an Osprey (#110) was picked up circling over the river!  We watched as it drifted upriver before hovering and diving for a fish in the water.  A frequent visitor to this site this was however the first time we had connected with one here and a first for our Suffolk day trips – a real highlight.
 
In the general mayhem of flying waders created by the Osprey we had picked up both Whimbrel and Curlew along with Bar-tailed Godwits and Grey Plover.  As the waders resettled, we scanned the mudflats and among the many Ringed Plovers found Dunlin and then a small group of Knot.  Longer scanning might have found us a Spoonbill or Curlew Sandpiper but we had other sites in mind and being now 5pm we didn’t want to run out of light!

​As we left the marshes and drove through the small Hamlet of Oak Hill on the edge of Hollesley what should suddenly appear in good numbers but Starlings (#122)!!  How we had missed them all day is a mystery but day trips always have their quirks with some birds proving much harder or easier to see than expected while others do a disappearing act altogether – notably Nuthatch and Pochard this time!
 
We drove home thoroughly satisfied with our day, knowing that Steve would have loved it too.  Rest in peace Steve and thanks for all the good times – not least for keeping me awake at the wheel on some of our longer day trips!

If I am to drag myself away from my local patch at the start of the 'peak season' then what better place to go than Cornwall!  Arriving on 29th March and departing on 4th April I managed to fit in some good birding that included 3 life ticks!

First up was the long-staying Booted Eagle just north of Penzance that had arrived the day after I left Cornwall in January.  Thankfully it had then stayed put all that time and had developed a routine of appearing just south of Sancreed Beacon each morning.  My wife and I therefore joined the assembled photographers and watchers on top of the beacon first thing along with some inquisitive wild ponies.

I was perhaps the only one present who hadn't seen the eagle yet so was particularly focused on scanning the tall pines at Trelew Farm above which it apparently arose each day.  Sure enough I picked it up a couple of miles south, rising just above the tall pines - my first ever British BOOTED EAGLE.  A pale-morph bird, it then slowly made its way towards us but remained distant, perhaps giving the best views as it glided down below the horizon on occasion.

With the main bird in the bag it seemed rude not to poke my head over the fence of a small paddock at Marazion and see the Hoopoe - one of many birds in this Spring's influx.

The following day I stayed local on The Lizard and picked up a few year ticks in the form of a Great Skua passing with lots of Manx Shearwaters and Kittiwakes off Lowland Point near Coverack.  I also found my first Willow Warblers of the year and Coverack bay held fishing Sandwich Terns.

A walk out along the cliffs and through the heathland around Kynance Cove the next day found me several Wheatears, including my first female of the year, and a smart male Black Redstart.

The 2nd April found me a Red Kite on passage over St Keverne around midday (still a scarce bird here) and then a visit to Loe Bar later in the day connected me with my first Osprey of the year.  I scanned the beach and sea at Loe Bar picking out Sanderlings, a male Common Scoter and a Red-throated Diver but nothing rare...however that was all about to change!

Early the next day, local birder David Collins, messaged to say he had found an adult male Kentish Plover on the beach at Loe Bar - definitely not there the evening before!  I got there as quickly as I could and thankfully immediately got on the bird - my first ever KENTISH PLOVER and a very smart bird at that.

As I arrived to see the plover I was also conscious that many other birders were rushing back past me to go for another rarity that had turned up near Lands End just the day before - an Alpine Accentor.  It would seem rude not to follow suite and later that day, accompanied by my wife and dog Max, I arrived at the stunningly beautiful stretch of coastline north of Sennen Cove.

The bird was favouring a rocky outcrop (Aire Point) just north of Gwynver Beach and walking down the steep slope to the coast path, the azure-blue sea before me, glistening in the sun and lapping at the white sand of the beach made me feel like I had been transported to a tropical paradise!  I don't think I've every 'twitched' in quite such a beautiful setting.

After a 20 minute walk I arrived at Aire Point joining around 10 others all looking for the bird.  It had just been seen but disappeared behind the rock outcrops.  A tense wait followed but all of a sudden it was back in view, seemingly unconcerned about the admiring onlookers.  A set my scope and phone camera up and managed some pleasing shots of what was my first ever ALPINE ACCENTOR.

A subtly beautiful bird with many features only becoming apparent after close scrutiny - its partly yellow beak and speckled white throat for instance.  It behaved exactly like its smaller relative, the much more familiar Dunnock, hopping slowly amongst the rocky, coastal flora.  It struck me that perhaps this remote headland resembled the closest thing to a rocky alpine outcrop in its more usual territory in the mountainous regions of southern Europe.

Both the Kentish Plover and the Alpine Accentor were birds that I had missed much closer to home with both occurring at Pitstone Quarry in recent years.  Needless to say, the Cornish setting was undoubtedly the finer scenery!  I was also later very pleased for my photos of both birds to feature in the Rare Bird Alert Weekly Roundup Report.

My time in Cornwall was up but not before I added my first Whitethroat of the year, singing along the entrance road to Kynance Cove.  Welcome back and I'm sure the first of many still to come!

Barely had a finished the last post and species #100 came into view! A post on the Tyttenhanger Gravel Pits Facebook group alerted me to a male Pintail on the main pit there on 22nd Jan.  Not only the first at the site since 2016 this would also be my 100th species within Five Miles from Home...if it stayed put.

The next day I headed out early to see if I could find it before work but to no avail.  I figured it had probably moved to one of the many other waterbodies nearby but didn't have time to check them.  Fortunately I was able to go out again late afternoon and after checking the main pit again I checked Coursers GPs across the road.

Straightaway I set eyes on the male Pintail swimming with a flock of Teal, Gadwall and Shoveler.  Bingo!  I had recorded 100 species in January for the first time ever - a remarkable number of species to see within such a small area in just one month!

Of course, a whole week of January remains so there may be more to come but for the moment I feel like resting on my laurels!

Double-checking my 2024 lists I realised I'd made a couple of omissions despite my best efforts.  Well, maths never was my strong point but somehow I managed not to add either Rock Pipit or Hobby to my Five Miles From Home local list, despite mentioning them in blog posts! 

With these additions, it turns out last year really was a record-breaking year for me with 153 species recorded within 5 miles of home.  The notable 150th species was not actually the Red-crested Pochard that I wrote about on 16th Nov 2024 but the far more suitable Yellow-browed Warbler I found at Redwell Wood Farm on 9th Oct 2024.  I had crossed the line earlier than I thought!

The counting has not stopped either and I mused at the end of my last post about the possibility of reaching 100 species before the end of January.  Well, I think I might be in with a chance given the week or even the last few days I've just had!

A brief visit to Tyttenhanger GPs took me along the footpath at the back of Garden Wood and what should fly out but a Hawfinch.  It had no doubt been feeding on the yew berries at about head height but then flew into the wood at treetop height.  I walked into the wood a little way and stood in a clearing, trying not to fall down the many rabbit holes.

I saw it fly again so followed it and then I glimpsed it fly back into the top of a tall pine but I could not see it.  I walked back to my original spot in the clearing and caught the tiniest of movements at the top of the tree.  Zooming in with my bridge camera I could just make it out sitting perfectly still on a branch and almost hidden.

I set up my phone on my telescope and tripod in the hope that it would give better views but it flew down into the yews and I thought I'd lost it.  I walked in the direction it had gone and all of a sudden there it was, perched lower down and in full view!  The video below says everything and is certainly the best recorded views I ever had of a Hawfinch.

The Hawfinch was #95 for my local list and a most unexpected and welcome addition!  But more was to come the next day...

I spent the next morning working in town (St Albans) but planned to walk back home along the River Ver at lunchtime. I went via Verulamium Park as my daughter was walking Max the dog so I joined her to walk home together.  However, it seemed rude not to walk the length of the lake to see if the Yellow-browed Warbler was showing - it was but we had just missed it so I scanned the Black-headed Gulls instead.

Out of the 10-20 Black-headed Gulls on the small boating lake one immediately grabbed my attention: a first winter Mediterranean Gull! I love Med Gulls - they are superficially similar to Black-headed Gulls but always very smart in whatever plumage age or season they are in.  I only had my binoculars with me but thankfully local birder and photographer Rose Newbold took some great shots for the record.

The Med Gull of course took me to #96 but I had one more target in mind - the Bullfinches reported at the Watercress Local Nature Reserve - on my route home.  On arrival the reserve was buzzing with activity as usual including a sizeable flock of Siskins intermingled with some Redpolls and other finches.  I waited awhile and then, sure enough a female Bullfinch appeared followed by a beautiful male - #97!

But the day was not yet over and a message from a friend at Shafford Farm informed me that a Blackcap was visiting his bird feeders.  I jumped in the car and carried out a 'mini-twitch' to see the lovely male Blackcap in his garden - #98.

Since leaving Cornwall a week has already gone by and each day has delivered one or two additions to the 2025 5 Miles From Home List.  In fact I am 6 species up on the same date last year so the local area has certainly been delivering!  Since my Cornish trip I have added a further 17 species to the list - some of them expected such as Greenfinch, Sparrowhawk, Green Woodpecker, Raven and Red-legged Partridge but others not so expected.

The Little Owl headlining this post is always a pleasing find - especially as this one at Tyttenhanger Gravel Pits has been harder to find in recent years.  After what appeared to be a good year with 2 pairs at nest holes they then disappeared and have not been regularly seen in the last couple of years.  Knowing they are still there is reassuring as I know of at least two other sites where the main nest tree has been felled - either by the land manager or by strong winds.

Two star birds reappeared while I was away - the Yellow-browed Warbler at Verulamium Park in St Albans and the Black Redstart over-wintering in the roof of St Albans Abbey.

The Yellow-browed Warbler had been giving astonishing views low down at the lake's edge but I had to make-do with treetop views.  Local birder Murray Brown had re-found it on 7th January after it went missing during Christmas.  The Black Redstart - presumably last year's returning bird - was a somewhat peculiar sighting in that the bird has taken up residence in the cathedral roof.  It's believed to be feeding on a healthy supply of Ladybirds but can only be seen when it appears at a small diamond-shaped window at the west end.  I trust it knows how to get out but is no doubt benefiting from the shelter and free food!

The same day saw me visit Stanborough GPs where I flushed a Jack Snipe and Garden Wood at Tyttenhanger GPs where I found an over-wintering Firecrest - both great birds to get on my list so early on.  I was a bit slow with the camera but did manage a distant shot of the Jack Snipe as it (unusually) chose to fly around quite high before dropping back down.

A very pleasing find on 14th came in the form of a Woodcock in a wood at Highfield Farm on the edge of St Albans.  It has become my most reliable site for the birds and will hopefully remain that way for many years more.  A dog walk around the Munden Estate, Bricket Wood the next day gave me a pair of Mandarin Ducks but these were out done on 19th with a flock of 15 at Coopers Green GPs!  The dog walk the next day brought brief views of a Barn Owl that has been regularly hunting at Redbournbury and at least 2 of the resident Cetti's Warblers there.  My list now stood at 90 species.

I was extremely pleased to get the Barn Owl - after all I've yet to hear or see a Tawny Owl this year.  However, that same evening I popped into Stanborough GPs and was rewarded with a distant Short-eared Owl.  It appeared to fly up from Cromer Hyde farm but then headed off north-west flying higher and higher.  This is a real bonus bird as I didn't record one locally in the whole of 2024 despite there being 4 in the area at the end of 2023.  To have it 'in the bank', so to speak, this early on bodes well for the 2025 year list!

The week was not done however and with gulls on my radar I spent some time checking local roosts.  I trekked out to the back of Coursers Farm where a newly scraped area has been attracting gull flocks.  After some scanning I was rewarded with an adult Caspian Gull that with the Little Owl took me to #93.  A visit to Coopers Green GPs today also revealed a healthy gull roost with a surprise Great Black-backed Gull among them.  This is a bird I usually have to wait until Christmas to see and is maybe the bird that appeared at Coursers GPs this Christmas just gone.  Either way, it takes me to 94 species for my local list and begs the question as to whether 100 is possible before the end of January?  Watch this space...!

As has been my wont for the last few years the New Year saw me visiting The Lizard in Cornwall for a week.  There is nothing that I like better than to walk out along the coastline and encounter the elements and the wild ruggedness of the landscape.  Lowland Point (pictured) is usually one of the first places I head to where usually it is just me and the sea and the rocky shore.  There's always something of interest, either in the bird and marine life or in what the sea has thrown up.  I've learnt to linger, even in a storm, and take time to sift through what can be found.

Mediterranean Gulls and Firecrests are common encounters at this time of year giving the feel of rarity.  Wintering Chiffchaffs and Blackcaps also pop up hinting at the warmer climes - although no sense of that on the first day I arrived.  Instead a storm blew from the southwest throwing foam onto the beach and driving rain.  Guillemots and Razorbills sat on the sea while Kittiwakes along with a single Fulmar and Manx Shearwater sheared past.  And then a small wader flew up from the beach and settled just ahead of me - the first treasure in my search: a Purple Sandpiper!  This was my first ever at Lowland Point in over 40 years of visiting.

Further along the shore I came across three large eels washed up on the rocks.  Each about a metre long I realised they must be Conger Eels - a species I had only ever heard of and never seen.  Perhaps victims of the storm or more likely a fisherman's by-catch.  They looked fairly fresh with just the first marks of gulls beginning to feed.

In the afternoon I opted for the shelter of the wooded valley that leads down to Tremayne Quay on the Helford River.  Along the way, more Firecrests and a brief glimpse of a Marsh Tit as it made its way along with a flock of Long-tailed Tits.  The river banks held Curlew, Redshank and Greenshank - all welcome additions to my year list and by the end of the day I had run up a total of 57 species.

The next day I took advantage of a break in the weather to visit the Helford River again in search of a Red-necked Grebe.  I knew one had been sighted a while back and in previous years I had managed to find one just off the mouth of Frenchman's Creek where it enters the main river.  I scanned with my telescope for a while finding several Great Northern Divers in the process.  Just as I began to lose hope a Red-necked Grebe swum into view - a juvenile bird - and gave good but brief views as it constantly dived, only staying surfaced for less than a minute at a time.

Later in the day, another bird - an adult - was found by another birder and at times both birds showed together.  I, however, had moved on, picking up a very smart Black-throated Diver off Dennis Head and the usual wintering Common Sandpiper on Gillan Creek.  A brief look at Coverack Sewage Works revealed at least 4 Chiffchaffs along with a very pale Siberian Chiffchaff of the tristis race.  This was to be the first of several 'Sibes' with another 3 seen at Helston Sewage Works later in the week along with another obliging Common Sandpiper.

I finished the day on Goonhilly Downs with a hunting male Merlin, my Cornish tally now up to 70 species.  The next day saw me back along the Coverack coast from Lowland Point with the target set as 'Grey Beach' - a sheltered cove that often attracts passerines and waders thanks to the abundance of insects out of the wind and the, presumably, warmer section of sandy cliff.  Last year I found a Water Pipit feeding amongst the seaweed with the Rock Pipits...what might be in store this year I wondered?

Despite there being a flock of around 20 Rock Pipits my search revealed no unusual pipit.  However, I did note many Chiffchaffs flitting around on the cliff, catching flies so I turned my attention to them as previous years had revealed a Siberian Chiffchaff and a Black Redstart.  However, the bird that caught my attention this year was a little Yellow-browed Warbler - my 5th find of this species this year!

Making the most of the sun I visited Kynance Cove in the evening where a pair of Choughs were enjoying the clifftop thermals and a Peregrine soared across the downs.  The rain however, returned with a vengeance the next day so I headed out in the car for some roadside birding.  In a sodden field full of Redwings I found 3 Cattle Egrets but the rain denied any decent photos.  At this time of year, finding any livestock puts you in with a good chance of finding these birds and flocks of up to 100 have been seen in previous years.

Moving on to Gunwalloe Cove and some more car window viewing I found a Red-throated Diver on the sea with a lone Guillemot.  Diving constantly, the diver (and the weather) denied me any decent shots but I did manage just one record shot!

The next day, in contrast, was sunny and bright and I joined two local birders - Steve & Joe - for a visit to Loe Pool in the hope of locating the regular wintering Bittern.  Joe had a secret weapon in the form of a thermal imager and very quickly located a likely heat-blob in the reedbed.  Sure enough a Bittern-like area of feathers could be seen but the bird quickly moved further into cover and out of sight.

We moved around to the other side of the reeded area noting several Cetti's Warblers, a Firecrest, Kingfisher and at least 3 squealing Water Rails as we did.  Once again we located the likely Bittern heat-signature and before long we had managed to train my scope onto the bird.  We all had reasonable views of this highly elusive and highly camouflaged bird before once again it disappeared.  The short video clip below shows how well-hidden it remained!

Three Goosander were also on Loe Pool and on the way home I picked up a juvenile Marsh Harrier near the Lizard village and Golden Plover and Snipe over Goonhilly Downs.  My Cornish year list had reached 89 species with one day left but more rain forecast.

Undeterred, the next day I headed out to Lowland Point for a good soaking but, truth be told, I find battling the elements somewhat therapeutic - especially when I know there's a hot shower to go back to!  The wind was blowing directly onshore with no chance of shelter.  In a short lull in the rain I scanned the sea revealing a steady passage of auks - Guillemots and Razorbills - along with a strong passage of Kittiwakes.  Three Manx Shearwaters went past too and a Cetti's Warbler called from Godrevy Beach.  The real find however, and a sad one at that, was a dead Common Porpoise on the beach.  The Great Black-backed Gulls had begun to tuck in and when I walked back later the tide had reclaimed the corpse.  It is not the first cetacean I have found on this beach and it is always a sorry sight, particularly as I had seen a small pod of porpoises heading past Lowland Point just a couple of days ago.

I reported the dead porpoise to the Cetacean Strandings Investigations Programme (CSIP) based at the London Natural History Museum.  Here you can report both dead and live strandings and hopefully the information will contribute to a better understanding of these ocean-going creatures.

My time in Cornwall was up but my stormy visit to Lowland Point gave me one more gift in the form of a Whimbrel - a scarce wintering bird and no doubt one of the first to be recorded in Britain this year.  Soaked through I could return for my hot shower with 90 species under my belt for the week and a respectable 114 for my British Year List 2025.

Happy New Year everyone!

New Year's Day saw a Herts Bird Challenge to see who could find the most species on New Year's Day and kick-start those year lists.  Sadly the weather was terrible so few ventured into the field and yours truly, being perhaps the most lunatic of all, found the most birds!  No prizes but just the confirmation that time spent in the field, regardless of the weather, can produce a good variety of birds.

Before the rain set in I managed to find 2 of the 3 the long-staying Great White Egrets at Tyttenhanger Gravel Pits along with a brief appearance by an adult Yellow-legged Gull.  The usual species were present including a squealing Water Rail so with 45 species under my belt I headed to Stanborough Gravel Pits.

Again, the usual highlights were present including Wigeon, Stonechat & Green Sandpipers.  A lingering Lesser Redpoll was also a welcome New Year addition.  The real highlight was a single Golden Plover that battled low against the driving wind and rain taking my day total (and year total) to 65.  My nice new notebook was already soaked through with the elastic strap detached from the soggy paper.

A quick visit to Frogmore Lakes on the edge of St Albans got me lovely eye-level views of about 30 Siskins all feeding on alders in the rain.  I finished at Verulamium Park, hoping that the Yellow-browed Warbler might reappear but instead had to settle for Egyptian and Greylag Geese, Peregrines on the Abbey, a Mistle Thrush, and fly-by Kingfisher.  My New Year total finished on 75 species and I went home to dry out!

The next day, I added a Great Spotted Woodpecker and caught up with the juvenile Marsh Harrier at Coursers Gravel Pits.  2025 was off to a good start with 77 species on year list and most importantly on the Five Miles from Home 2025 List!  Now, to focus on my 'other patch' with a trip to The Lizard in Cornwall.

2024 is almost over and 'man-flu' and heavy misty weather had somewhat subdued the final week of the year.  However, a few final highlights were to be had most importantly in the form of an adult Great Black-backed Gull that appeared on 28th Dec at Coursers GPS.

Now a really scarce visitor to Herts (less than 10 records this year in the whole of Herts), this sighting becomes #151 for my 2024 Five Miles From Home List and mirrors my only sighting last year on 24th Dec 2023.  This also means that my local list hits a new record count with the previous highest total being 150 in 2023!

Gulls unsurprisingly have been the focal point for December and Coursers GPs together with the fresh quarry scrape at Stanborough GPs have been the key areas.  Both a third winter Caspian Gull and an adult Yellow-legged Gull have been seen on and off at Stanborough while a smart adult winter Mediterranean Gull appeared at Coursers GPs on 22nd Dec.

Aside from gulls December has been fairly quite apart from the already-mentioned Yellow-browed Warbler at Verulamium Park in St Albans last seen on Christmas Eve.  Sadly it could not be relocated in time for the Herts Bird Club Christmas Count.

That's it for 2024 (I think) so Happy New Year one and all! Let's see what 2025 brings...

A weekend of family and friends staying over meant that my expectations of getting out birding were quite low.  However, the great thing about birds is that they can and do turn up anywhere.  A leisurely stroll around Verulamium Park in St Albans with family in tow held no great expectations but the lakeside and riverside habitats always make me keep my radar out for something like a Firecrest.

Pausing to point out the ducks and fish along the river to my 5 year old nephew coincided with some noisy calls from a bird across the river that I knew immediately to be that little Siberian gem - a Yellow-browed Warbler.  I had my camera with me but only 2 hands so I enlisted my daughter's help to both video the general area with her phone and play the call on playback on my phone while I fumbled around with my camera.

The warbler responded to the calls but never came close enough for a glimpse let alone a photo and instead seemed to move further into the wooded area.  Time was up and I had to make sure that neither my nephew or my dog ended up in the water and returned to join the family group.

Pleasingly, others were able to locate the warbler the next day and David Hutchinson took the excellent photo of the bird that heads this post.  The find was my 3rd local Yellow-browed Warbler this year and follows the big autumn influx across the country.  I wonder how many more are waiting to be found?

I was preparing myself for an '11th hour' scramble to get to my 150 species target for my annual "Five Miles From Home List" but then Sun 10th Nov dawned and, before I knew it, the target had been achieved.  Sitting comfortably on 148 species for the year, I had assumed another 2 species would be possible but didn't expect to get both in the same day!

The previous day had seen a Black Redstart appear at Stanborough Gravel Pits and a hybrid Caspian Gull so I knew the easterly winds were once again doing their job.  Both species were however already on my list so I still held out hope for something new.

Slow into the field I decided to visit Coursers GPs first and I arrived just after 9am.  As seems to (annoyingly) often be the case, all the birds went up in the air as I arrived, disturbed by some unseen threat - maybe a fox along the bank.  However, this time the melee of birds allowed me to immediately pick out two small waders flying around - Dunlin.  I watched them settle back down along with a larger wader on the distant mud.

My immediate thought was a Redshank but once the scope was focussed I could see it was a Ruff - new to my local year list and the one wader I felt I had missed this year!

There have been very few Ruff records in the county this year so to get one so late on was really pleasing.  The 2 Dunlin stayed close by the Ruff but always distant from me and I left them feeding together to check Stanborough GPs - after all other birds may have arrived elsewhere.

Arriving at Stanborough just long enough to establish that there wasn't anything extra to be seen I got a text from local birder, Steve Pearce, to say that a Red-crested Pochard was on the scrape lagoon at Tyttenhanger GPs!  This is a less than annual bird in the area so I knew I had to back-track the way I had come as this would be the target #150 for the year!

Arriving at Tyttenhanger GPs the male Red-crested Pochard was immediately viewable, staying close into the bank and only a few metres away from us.  A beautiful bird, albeit in Category C as a 'naturalised' bird, this species nevertheless takes the honour of being the cherished 150th species for the year on my Five Miles From Home List. 

That said, I could argue that the Ruff was the true 150th as I have resigned myself to lumping both Mealy Redpoll and Lesser Redpoll together as a single species.  That would make the pochard #151 but I have decided, rightly or wrongly, to align my lists with the current accepted list of species so have to forfeit Mealy and Lesser in favour of just 'Redpoll'.

Before I sign off, it is worth mentioning another sighting that I almost ignored at the time - a smart Caspian Gull at Coursers GPs.  It immediately stood out from the Herring Gulls around it but my mind was on other things.  Thankfully, I took a few record shots that others were able to confirm as a 3rd winter/sub-adult Caspian Gull.

All of this leaves me once again amazed at the sheer variety of species that can be seen in the year all within 5 miles of where I live.  It also leaves me wondering what else might still to be found this year with over a month left to go...I am still missing Great Black-backed Gull after all!