A six-hour round-trip almost ended miserably, but the bird in question saved the day and appeared at the 11th hour - again - and enabled me to add yet another lifer to my British list. Not the most spectacular birds (or the most salubrious of surroundings - a retail park in Dundee!), but a great bird to get nonetheless. I had arrived too late (it was a creature of crepuscular habits) and therefore had to wait four hours for it to come back in to roost. Anyway, it arrived just

The delayed start on the Scillies didn't bode well, but I saw some decent birds despite the curtailed visit. About 10 Grey Phalaropes off the boat on the way over was nice, whilst the islands themselves coughed up a few good birds as well as a mega (but sadly one I had seen before). 'Best of the rest' included Serin (only seen a couple of times before in the UK and my only photos of this species), Wryneck (frustratingly brief views), Yellow-browed Warbler (eventually), Firecr

Postponed Scillonian crossings (as a result of the storms) played into my hands when 2 ultra-mega rarities appeared on the east coast. So, when I should have been at Britain's furthest south-westerly extremity, I found myself taking the long-way round via Flamborough (East Yorkshire) and Mundesley (Norfolk) and connected with two lifers in the same day - indeed within a four-hour period. The first appeared on the footpath next to us (there were some 30 twitchers awaiting in t

Reports of the two classic autumn waders paying their annual visit to the local mudflats drew me out, and it didn’t take me long to find them. The tide was out, but I noticed the large Dunlin flock swirling around at the water’s edge in the distance and set off on a mission. Gradually, the flock got used to my presence, and I was able to approach to within shooting range. There were a good few hundred waders in all, mostly Dunlin, and very soon I was quick to spot a few juven

Still smarting from the potential-Tern-lifer disaster, I was keen to add to my life list while I still had time on my side in the summer holidays. I’d queued this one up for a while but kept having second thoughts given the fickle nature of the bird in question. It was also on the Isle of May, which involved another long drive and a costly boat ticket and was the subject of intermittent bird reports which only filtered out via the usual social media and Birdguides grapevines

The star birds in Norfolk were a juvenile dark-morph Long-tailed Skua off Holme (sadly too fast and distant to photograph), Red-necked Phalarope at North Point Pools (NPP), just east of Wells, accessed via a dirt track (distant, heat-haze-affected views only), Red-backed Shrike (nice close views of a juvenile at West Runton – but again, heat haze ruined many of my shots), Glossy Ibis (briefly and distantly at NPP), Spoonbill (a remarkable 18 at NPP), another at Titchwell and

A quick dash down to a familiar haunt (Walberswick) paid off this time - at last - and I managed to connect with the family of Zitting Cisticola in the reeds behind the beach. The relief was immense, despite the fact that these birds (8 in total, I believe, the result of a couple of successful broods) were probably here for the long haul. Views weren't great, but I got plenty of distant but clear views of juveniles mainly and the odd adult. I had to settle for poor record sho

I didn't start well, dipping on the Hoopoe in Worcestershire in the morning (I missed it by an hour), and then also promptly dipping on the major rarity in Gloucestershire that evening. I stupidly left the main viewing point and then turned round 10 minutes later to watch others in the distance waving in my direction. But it was too late. By the time I got back there, the bird had gone to roost. I was livid. The next morning, Thursday, I woke early and shot off back to the ra

Late April birding back in the UK was nothing special, but I did come across a flock of Whimbrel and also got some nice (but distant) shots of Osprey and Marsh Harrier near their nest sites. Round on the loop trail boardwalk, I also got good view of Cuckoo, which showed well in the evening light. Indeed, I got one of my best flight shots here one evening. Early May began well with more Whimbrel around at the usual places, and I enjoyed photographing common stuff, including su

Close to 40 degree C and 90+ % humidity (and only one hotel with a pool) weren’t exactly the greatest of selling points and add to this the many hours spent sitting in mosquito hotspots waiting for hours for a bird to appear, and you can see why I had my reservations! The long-haul flight was a real drag, too, one compounded by the last-minute diversion to Istanbul following the latest attacks on Qatar, the original stopover location. Anyway, the prospect of seeing and snappi