Due to early lockdown and later self restriction this year has been, with the exception of local “green” birding, my worst year since I started birding although I did manage to see a few good birds with the help of a small number of friends, making this year not a total wide out with one lifer [plus an “armchair” tick-Ross’s Goose] and three Yorkshire ticks as well as a new butterfly and several new moths. Hopefully worldwide and personally things will improve in 2022.
January Start the year with my reliable Cottingham Little Owl at Burn Park Farm
February The possible Siberian Chiffchaff at Haltemprice Farm, Willerby. Thanks to Roy Lyon as mine just weren’t good enough. Looked good but never called for us although the finder reported hearing a good call and I heard what I thought was a Bullfinch on site before I knew the bird was present. See below for a full account.
March No contest this month with, a now rare, Hawfinch in Cottingham at Eppleworth Road Cemetery. Unfortunately this bird caused me some grief with the conflicting issues of respect for the finders wishes and the concern over large numbers of birder, particularly those trying for the best picture, in an active graveyard particularly in the times of Covid 19, against informing those who I believed had the right to see it. Doesn’t help when people who tried to reduce the “publicity” of this bird were spotted on site.
April A low flying Red Kite over the centre on Cottingham on the 2nd is this months pick.
May With the demise of my Nikon P520, for a few weeks I was only taking pictures of moths with my Canon IXUS 130 compact and this month was cool with few moth trapped and a Scalloped Hazel [a pretty regular moth] was the best of them.
June Again a moth but at least Pale Prominent trapped on the 10th was a new one followed by a 2nd on the 18th August.
July First of the good birds and my first time out further than I could walk with Oriental Turtle Dove seen on 3rd in Easington (East Yorkshire] being a Yorkshire tick for most. The picture is again thanks to Roy Lyon.
August Added another new bird for my Yorkshire List with a first record of the extreme rarity, White-tailed Lapwing at Blacktoft Sands RSPB which I eventually saw on the 29th thanks to Ricky Fisher. This time my own photograph with my new Nikon P1000. See the full account below.
September Another Blacktoft Sands RSPB bird with Bluethroat taken on the 19th when I went for a second view of the W-T.Plover with John Hirschfield. See the full account below [Blacktoft Sands RSPB and North Cave Wetlands YWT].
October This is a really awful picture but Long-toed Stint on Astley Lake at Swillington Ings on the 9th was my only lifer of 2021. Also little else to compete with it? We choice to view from below the old private hide instead of going to the RSPB reserve which would have involved a long walk and potentially giving closer but limited viewing due to the crowds present. It is in there somewhere but very hard to make out!
November This month I go for Stonechat at Haltemprice Farm, Willerby on the 6th. Photographed this species at this site on countless occasions but somehow despite the distance and obstructing vegetation this one helped by a quantum improvement in camera is one of my best. See the full account below.
December I end the year with a perennial favourite, drake Smew, this one at Tophill Low NR on Watton NR on the 21st. Full account below.
Top ten blog posts
My second viewing of the White-tailed Lapwing as well as a Bluethroat and my only 2021 visited to North Wetlands YWT.
The drake Smew at Tophill Low NR in December.
Twitching the White-tailed Lapwing
Some “green’ birding in Cottingham/Willerby.
Potential Siberian Chiffchaff in Willerby.
“Green” birding in Cottingham.
The best of the common bird photographs taken while getting to know my Nikon P1000 during the summer.
Autumn Stonechat at Haltemprice Farm, Willerby.
An account of my moth trapping in the first half of 2021.
Late August at Tophill Low NR
Erich's birding and biking blog 