Monthly Archives: May 2011

I was in nearby Glasson village when I received a call saying there was a Ross’s Gull currently reported flying around at Port Carlisle. Needless to say I was there within a few minutes, but I couldn’t find the bird, or any birders. … Continue reading →

Well, what an afternoon. I’m still stunned at what I’ve just seen. I was beginning to think I was going to have my poorest skua season ever, and then today happened. I knew the weather forecast looked promising, the Met Office had … Continue reading →

The 4 nest boxes I made and put up in the garden in the winter are all currently occupied – by 2 pairs of Tree Sparrows, a pair of Great Tits and a pair of Blue Tits, and all are … Continue reading →

What a 48hrs, after the huge disappointment of dipping the Kentish Plover, I then struck gold this evening by finding my 2nd BROAD-BILLED SANDPIPER in Cumbria (3rd county record) - at Bowness Railings – and what a cracking little bird it was! The waders were … Continue reading →

The only bad thing about being a passionate patch birder is that sometimes the birding gods will really shit on you from a great height. Someone else will find something good on the area you’ve been checking daily for weeks, whilst you’re at work, … Continue reading →

With winds and weather still far from ideal for skua passage today, it  came as a bit of a surprise when a dark(ish) morph Arctic Skua flew past me at the railings. And here is a really bad pic of it as it headed … Continue reading →

The Little Stint is an uncommon passage migrant in Cumbria, and nearly all records are of juveniles in autumn. Spring birds are much more unusual so this bird was a nice surprise at Bowness-on-Solway today. Other than that not much else … Continue reading →

Years ago when I left the midlands to move to Cumbria I wouldn’t have looked twice at a Little Ringed Plover – they were a relatively common summer visitor to many of the places I visited, but in Cumbria it’s … Continue reading →