James

2025 was an odd year but got some great birding in nonetheless. Migfest as always was a highlight especially with @GeorgieWightman @Northern_Birder @OscarPuls @NatureDan2007 and many more. 16 lifers takes me to 380 for Britain and 308 for Yorkshire after the lumps.

Patch ✅ whooper swans this evening, making their way back north. Common scoter heard last night was also a ✅. #PWC2026 @YorkBirding

Good afternoon around the @YorkBirding area. Starting off with brambling, then moving to the @LDV_NNR with 100 white fronts, 22 bean geese, 2 great egrets, and a stunning, albeit distant, male smew at thorganby.

Great start to the @YorkBirding year. Waxwing at acaster, tundra bean geese and scaup in the @LDV_NNR and great to see the shags at castle Howard this morning with @chrisgomersall1 York list is now on 198.

The #LDV monthly sightings have now been updated on our NNR blog, including December - ldvnnr.blogspot.com/p/dec-25.html. Many thanks to everyone who contributed records and counts throughout the month, in particular to members of @YorkBirding and regular patch birder @Duncbye

Brilliant start to the new year with a trip to the Netherlands. 5 life ✅s were black+middle spotted woodpecker, bufflehead, black-winged kite and ST treecreeper. Other highlights - RL buzzard, Hen harrier, hawfinch, goshawk and the small wintering population of flamingos.

It’s been a real purple patch for the #LDV over the last few days, with the highlight being a juvenile White-tailed Eagle + a male Hen Harrier, drake Smew, Glossy Ibis, two Scaup, two Caspian Gulls, two Tundra Bean Geese & up to 19 White-fronted Geese @YorkBirding

@YorkBirding ✅ 195 and Yorkshire tick ✅ 308 was the colossal white tailed eagle at thorganby yesterday, very happy I managed to catch up with it. Spotted redshank at bubwith bridge was nice too.

After five years in the making, the first copies of the new ‘Birds of the #LowerDerwentValley – a Historical, Conservation & Migration Review’ have finally arrived 🤩 More information about the book can be found on our recent Facebook post (snipped below) 📖🐦🐦‍⬛🦆🪶 @YorkBirding

Life ✅ 383, lesser crested tern from starcross this afternoon. Top tier phone-scoping from me as per. Cirl bunting at the turf hotel was nice to see and great to catch up with @Bird3r

Red-throated diver and red crested pochard at CHL today, @YorkBirding ✅ Unfortunately no sign of the bittern early afternoon

Enjoyable days birding @FlamboroughBird this weekend. Highlights being the dusky warbler(s), LT skua, little gulls, black redstart, Merlin, lots of RT divers and some dolphins. Watching a woodcock fly in off was pretty cool too. Nice to catch up with @EuraKestrel and @Bird3r

Dusky Warbler showing nicely at Flamborough this morning, good to bump into @James_B___ as well. #birding @FlamboroughBird

Nice afternoon @FlamboroughBird , no pallid swift for me but the Pallas’ warbler made up for it. Showed much better than the yellow browed which stayed deep in cover mostly.

Most painful dip I’ll probably ever experience, managed to miss the needletail at bempton, filey, and Scarborough. Had a great few days out anyways, at least the Caspian gull and snow bunting showed well. Great to see so many familiar faces.

After 3 trips and three dips it was amazing to finally get ID’able views of white-winged scoter at Musselburgh today ✅ 381! The marsh sandpiper was showing well too, life ✅ 382. Red necked grebe and curlew sandpiper weren’t a bad support act.

Pechora pipit in Durham today, life ✅ 380! Great to see so many familiar faces. Mega way to kick off autumn.

Migfest 2025 was really fun! Red-necked Phalarope (lifer!), Cranes, Curlew Sandpipers, Garganey, Pink feet, Osprey, Arctic Skua, Tree Pipit, Redstarts, Crossbill and 000s of Meadow Pipit the highlights! Was fantastic to have such amazing company as well!

Another incredible spurn migfest, made 10X better with @OscarPuls @MCRbirder @NatureDan2007 @GeorgieWightman @Elliott81758817 @rossa599 @Northern_Birder @NorthKentBirder and @12broadbentm to name a few. Red-necked phalarope was definitely bird of the weekend. Bring on next year!

Few more of yesterday's Red-necked Phalarope, bird of the weekend by far, incredible to see so close. @James_B___