Scarborough Break from 1st to 3rd September 2009

In need of a break after our son's wedding, my wife and I decided to get away to Scarborough to pamper ourselves a little. We managed a bit of birdwatching, stopping off at Blacktoft Sands on the way up there, and making quick visits to the fantastic Bempton Cliffs and Flamborough Head.

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Green Sandpiper - Blacktoft Sands

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Black-tailed Godwit - Blacktoft Sands

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Tree Sparrow - Bempton cliffs

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Spotted Flycatcher - Bempton Cliffs

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Whinchat (female) - Bempton Cliffs

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Fulmar - Bempton Cliffs

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Gannet - Bempton Cliffs

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Jackdaw - Bempton Cliffs
. Common Whitethroat - Flamborough Head
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Stonechat (juvenile) - Flamborough Head
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Turnstone - Scarborough
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Herring Gull - Scarborough
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Great Crested Grebe - Scarborough

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Common Pheasant (black form) - North Yorkshire Moors
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Sandwich Tern - Sandsend, near Whitby

River Soar near Zouch on 19th August 2009

It's a rare day that I go out on my boat and don't see a Kingfisher. Photographing them, however, is another matter as they are usually seen flashing over the water ahead of us, and then dissapearing into the trees. This day my luck was in with this juvenile male bird - shame about the intruding reed in the first pic!

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Rutland Water on 16th August 2009

Earlier in the year, I had been at Rutland water when there were up to twelve Yellow Wagtails present. It was very frustrating as some were quite close to the hide, and my camera was in for repair. This time I was doing a spell of duty at Shallow Water hide, and the Dexter cattle had attracted a number of wagtails, with a few Yellows amonst them. Unfortunately they did not get close enough for good photography, but I did manage a few record shots.

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