Simon and Karen Spavin

White Stork

2012-01-27T12:05:00.000-08:00

Would love to know what these two horses are thinking............."I've never seen a chicken that big before, have you?!"

Had a lovely day out calling at Tophill Low and then onto Fraisthorpe, near Bridlington. A hidden gem! 18 snow buntings on the beach and this white stork behind the church.

Iceland Gull

2012-01-26T13:53:00.000-08:00

Iceland Gull, Grimsby Docks, Lincs. Feeding on fish waste around the processing units. The smell was absolutely disgusting ! Next stop was chips on Cleethorpes front and then on for the rough legged buzzard. A brilliant day!

Long Eared Owl

2012-01-21T13:54:00.000-08:00

Bullfinch and Willow Tit

2012-01-21T13:52:00.000-08:00

Purple Sandpipers

2012-01-15T14:08:00.000-08:00

Taken this weekend at Scarborough, Yorks. Plenty of these feeding in the rock pools when the tide went out.

Peregrine and Shags

2012-01-15T14:02:00.000-08:00

A weekend in Scarborough. The resident peregrines and 2 shags in the harbour !

Mediterranean Gull

2012-01-15T13:59:00.000-08:00

Med Gulls, Scarborough, Yorks

Waxwings

2012-01-15T13:44:00.000-08:00

10 waxwings in B & Q car park, Scarborough today. Everytime they came to the Rowan tree to feed, the local sparrowhawk swept through and put the fear of god into them! With the berries nearly all gone, they will soon be moving on anyway. One of our favourite birds and always a pleasure to watch. They are so smart looking!

Scarborough, Yorkshire

2012-01-14T09:32:00.000-08:00

Scarborough, North Yorkshire. One of our favourite places, a typical seaside town where peregrines are guaranteed and you can get a good bag of chips!

Whooper Swans

2012-01-08T10:51:00.000-08:00

48 whoopers flew in at Wroot while we were watching the Great Grey Shrike. Approx 120 whoopers in the adjoining field now along with 2 Bewicks. Cetti's warbler and water rail also in the reed bed. Pity the shrike was ruined by a 'birder' with 2 uncontrolable, stone throwing kids sporting bright orange hats. Glad he didn't get good views of it!

Great Spotted Woodpecker

2012-01-08T10:46:00.000-08:00

Mandarin Duck

2012-01-08T10:44:00.000-08:00

Striking colours - my kinda bird! 5 of these at Clumber Park today.

Greenland White Fronted Geese

2012-01-02T14:01:00.000-08:00

Had a brilliant day out today around the Humber. Geese species included Been Geese, Greylag, Pink Foots, Canada, Bar Head and these White Fronts.

Today on the Humber

2012-01-02T13:53:00.000-08:00

Lapwing and Golden Plover at Alkborough Flats

1000's of Pink Footed Geese feeding at Barton.

Our first peregrine of the year put them up, a fabulous sight!

Shoveler

Bar Headed Goose

Great Grey Shrike

2012-01-01T09:32:00.000-08:00

Tunnel Pits, Wroot, Lincs. Our first bird of 2012 so started the year with a cracker! Showed fleetingly for about one minute in 2 hours and weather very overcast meaning pics are dire! Still, a decent start to the year. Also in attendance were a cetti's warbler, 40+ whooper swans, 2 bewick swans and 2 ringtail harriers on the way home.

Redshank

2011-12-31T11:36:00.000-08:00

Great White Egret

2011-12-30T07:08:00.000-08:00

Got a call with the location of this Egret that had been seen last week flying over Messingham Nature Reserve. We located the bird but it was flushed by hare coursers approaching quickly from an adjoining field. We re-located it later in the morning but the bird was very wary and was soon spooked.

Owlet Plantation

2011-12-28T10:19:00.000-08:00

Goldcrest

Long Tailed Tit

Treecreeper

With a howling wind blowing there wasn't a lot to see so we decided on a woodland walk to Owlet Plantation. There didn't seem to be much about, the morning's dog walkers had put paid to that. A couple of great spotted woodpeckers, flocks of redpoll and the few birds above were just about it.

Grey Seals

2011-12-24T14:38:00.000-08:00

Went on our annual trip to Donna Nook to see the Grey Seals today. They really are very photogenic and were very close to the fence due to the mornings high tide. Found a waxwing in the car park but this didn't hang around. Called to see the rough legged buzzard at Withern on the way home, a lovely bird but very distant.

Red Kite bonanza

2011-12-22T13:54:00.000-08:00

Finished the day off by calling at the Red Kite roost where 15 birds came in. We left at 2.30pm so more kites will have arrived. Plenty of buzzards about and a green and great spotted woodpecker.

Messingham Nature Reserve

2011-12-20T11:39:00.000-08:00

Curlew

Kestrel

Redpoll

Widgeon

Marsh Harriers

2011-12-20T11:35:00.000-08:00

Alkborough Flats this afternoon to see 30+ Marsh harriers come into roost at Blacktoft Sands. Also saw a hen harrier, a pair of peregrines and lots of white fronted geese.

More Ethiopia Birds

2011-12-20T11:22:00.000-08:00

Basra Reed Warbler

Cinnamon Bracken Warbler

Cordon Bleu

Crowned Plover

Egyptian Vulture

Red Kite

Silvery Cheeked Hornbill

Tawny Eagle

Wattled Plover

Nuthatch

2011-12-11T13:43:00.000-08:00

Ethiopia

2011-12-03T11:07:00.000-08:00

Have just returned from two weeks in Ethiopia traveling with Altiplano Bird Tours. It is the year 2004 there! We saw a total of 395 birds, 228 of them being new. We had excellant company, a lovely group and had a real good laugh. The accommodation was very mixed, from one extreme to the other. We can laugh about it now but at the time it all seemed pretty grim. The food was worse than I imagined, we lived on Cuppa soups, biscuits and Coca Cola, but we survived! The only down side to the trip was the birdguide, Aziz Ahmed of Birding Ethiopa, who was well out of his depth. He had no knowledge or interest of anything smaller than a chicken and the sights they inhabited. He failed to do any homework on the sights we were to visit meaning we missed out on many 'wanted' birds. Infact, after the first week he totally gave up and hardly got out the van. Transport was arranged through Roha Tours who left vehicle engines running at all times making filming almost impossible. We would not recommend Aziz Ahmed as a bird guide. After a few days, Kev was put in the front seat as our main 'spotter' and made an excellent job.

The country was very green as we arrived just after the rains had stopped. Aid and charity workers were still there and we got the feeling that the country was still only one step away from starvation again. Animals grazed every piece of land, where crops should have been growing. The population was huge, again making self sufficiency very difficult.

Places we visited included Addis Ababa, Awash National Park, Wondo Genet, Bale Mountains, Negele Borena, Yabello and Lake Langano. A huge distance in such a short time, but very enjoyable.

We would definately recommend a birdwatching trip to Ethiopia.

Ethiopia Raptors

2011-12-03T10:44:00.000-08:00

African Fish Eagle

African Hawk Eagle

Augar Buzzard

Bateleur

Black Shouldered Kite

Lesser Spotted Eagle

Tawny Eagle

Steppe Eagle

Pallid Harrier

Lanner Falcon

Martial Eagle

Pygmy Falcon

White Headed Vulture

African Harrier Hawk

Augur Buzzard, dark morph

Ethiopian Wolf

2011-12-03T10:28:00.000-08:00

Ethiopan Wolf or Simion Wolf. There are 500 of these wolves left in the world and we were fortunate to see 3 of them in the Bale Mountains. The rarest canine in the world. Quite small, just slightly larger than our fox and very similar in appearance.

Eastern Chanting Goshawks

2011-12-03T10:21:00.000-08:00

Stunning birds, very nearly the bird of the trip!

Ethiopian Mammals

2011-12-03T10:17:00.000-08:00

Beisa Oryx

White-mantled Black Colobus

Salt's Dikdik

Ethiopian Hare

Grant's Gazelle

Black-backed Jackal

Klipspringer

Mountain Nyala

Common Warthog

More Ethiopian birds

2011-12-03T10:06:00.000-08:00

Somali Ostrich

Marabou Stork

Nubian Woodpecker

Abyssinian Catbird

Abyssinian Black Wheatear

Heuglin's Courser

2011-12-03T08:14:00.000-08:00

Found one at night whilst out nightjaring and then John stumbled upon one roosting.

Prince Ruspoli'sTouraco

2011-12-03T05:18:00.000-08:00

Hiding away ! This was voted 'Bird of the trip'. We only saw this one, found by Kev (well done that man!) and later re-found by Simon.

Woodpeckers

2011-12-03T05:14:00.000-08:00

Nubian Woodpeckers. Other species seen included Bearded, Abyssinian, Cardinal and African Grey Headed. Photography not always easy due to foliage!

Kingfishers

2011-12-03T05:10:00.000-08:00

Grey Headed Kingfisher

Malachite Kingfisher

Pied Kingfisher

Striped Kingfisher

Nightjars

2011-12-03T04:20:00.000-08:00

Plain Nightjar

Slender Tailed Nightjar

Star Spotted Nightjar

Ethiopia snaps

2011-12-03T04:16:00.000-08:00

Team Altiplano at the top of the Bale Mountains

Stresemann's Bush Crow

2011-12-03T04:12:00.001-08:00

Carmine Bee Eater

2011-12-03T04:09:00.000-08:00

Carmine Bee-eater. Lots of pics as it was Karen's 'bird of the trip'

Little Bee-eater

Madagascer (Olive) Bee-eater

Wattled Cranes

2011-12-03T03:58:00.000-08:00

Wattled Cranes - stunning birds in an equally stunning landscape

Shrikes, Barbets and Sunbirds

2011-12-03T03:52:00.000-08:00

Common Fiscal

Isaballine Shrike

Rosy Patched Bush Shrike

White Rumped Shrike

D'arnaud's Barbet

Double Toothed Barbet

Variable Sunbird

Ethiopa

2011-12-03T03:41:00.000-08:00

The face of Africa

These two kids stayed with us all the time at the fish farm. She was absolutely beautiful with a smile to die for. They soon tucked into their Asda'a digestives !!

Local food - Injera. Resembled an old towel out of a swimming pools lost property. Tasted like one aswell ! We gave it a wide berth and stuck to breakfast bars and cuppa soups. The food in Ethiopa was even wose than I imagined, a good diet!

So proud of her Hannah Mantana crocs x

Karen always takes loads of kids clothes to give away. This little lad was absolutely terrified of me (probably never seen a white person before) and didn't seem too impressed to be given an England strip!

We had to have armed guards with us a couple of times. It's quite reassuring knowing there's an AK47 with you when you are near the Somali border!

One of the better places we stayed at.

Karen emerging from our hobbit house. A warthog had just run past her ! Very basic accommodation and we shared our room for 2 nights with something that liked to eat and move the soap. Dread to think what it was!

5* Positive luxury !

I had to show you this. This is the worst place in the world that I have ever stayed. The Green Hotel. No running water whatsoever. No flushing toilet, just a bucket ! Bare wires everywhere...........and we stayed here for 2 nights. We had a cockroach as big as my hand, no joke.

Sandgrouse and Flancolins

2011-12-03T03:24:00.000-08:00

Chestnut Bellied Sandgrouse

Chestnut Naped Francolin

Crested Francolin

Owls

2011-12-03T03:17:00.000-08:00

African Long Eared Owl

Greyish Eagle Owl

Flycatchers

2011-12-03T03:13:00.000-08:00

African Grey Flycatcher

African Paradise Flycatcher

Northern Black Flycatcher

Starlings

2011-12-03T03:09:00.000-08:00

Greater Blue Eared Glossy Starling

Superb Starling

White Crowned Starling

Ethiopa

2011-12-03T03:06:00.000-08:00

A beautiful country. We arrived there just after the rainy season so it was still very green.

More Ethiopian Birds

2011-12-03T02:58:00.000-08:00

Bruce's Green Pigeon

Lemon Dove

Namaqua Dove

Vulturine Guineafowl

White Cheeked Touraco

Jacana. The lily pond was fabulous, covered in purple flowers.

Spotted Creeper

Abyssinian Roller

Kittlitz's Plover

Red Throated Wryneck

Sacred Ibis

Spotted Thick Knees. Seen on the road while we were 'nightjaring'

Hornbills

2011-12-03T02:40:00.000-08:00

Abysinnian Ground Hornbill - not the prettiest bird around!

Red Billed Hornbill

Silvery Cheeked Hornbill

Von der Decken's Hornbill

Ethiopia

2011-12-03T02:27:00.000-08:00

Bale Mountains. Had a couple of days in this area and was lucky to see 3 Somali Wolves. The peak of the mountain is 14,200 ft (4377 metres) above sea level. We have never had altitude sickness before but we certainly felt it at this height - not pleasant! The view was stunning.

Prospective bird guides. Local lads with a growing knowledge of birds, look out for these 3 muskateers in the future! They welcomed their Airwalk hats and Armarni T Shirts !!

Giant Lobelia in the Bale Mountains

These locals were panning for gold in the river

Fetching the water, although I wouldn't fancy drinking it!

Termite mounds. The redness of the earth makes them a wonderful sight.

Is the whole of Africa covered in thorns??

Tortouise in one of our hotel gardens. He was around 2ft long!

Ethiopia Birds

2011-12-03T02:12:00.000-08:00

Batis

Black Winged Lovebirds

Black Woodhoopoe

Levaillant's Cuckoo

Straw Tailed Whydah

Eastern Paradise Whydah

White Bellied Go-away Bird

White Headed Buffalo Weaver

White Winged Cliff Chat

Rouget's Rail

2011-12-02T12:27:00.000-08:00

Black Crake

2011-12-02T12:25:00.000-08:00

Water Monitors

2011-12-02T12:24:00.000-08:00

Water Monitors - about 4 foot long !

Flamingo's

2011-12-02T12:22:00.000-08:00

Greater and Lesser Flamingo's

Just getting closer to these lovely birds, when a local arrived and let their 4 dogs run straight through them, pushing the birds nearly out of view.

Egrets, Pelicans, Storks and Herons

2011-12-02T12:17:00.000-08:00

Black Heron

Great Cormorant

Great Egret

Great White Pelican

Hamerkop

Long Tailed Cormorant

Marabou Stork

Pink Backed Pelican

Squacco heron

Western Reef Heron

Bustards

2011-12-02T12:04:00.000-08:00

Arabian Bustard

Kori Bustard

Thrushes

2011-12-02T12:02:00.000-08:00

African Thrush

Mountain Thrush

Little Rock Thrush

Ethiopia Birds

2011-12-02T11:56:00.000-08:00

Cape Teal

Common Sandpiper

Cordon Bleu

Greenshank

Cameroptera

Somali Bunting

Streaky Seedeater

Wire Tailed Swallows

Desert and Isabaline Wheatear

White Browed Sparrow Weaver

White Faced Whistling Duck

Wood Sandpiper

Desert Wheatear

2011-12-01T08:21:00.000-08:00

Bempton Cliffs. Went the day after we got back from Ethiopia and just about got hypothermia !!

Isabelline Wheatear

2011-11-06T13:50:00.000-08:00

Spurn Point, Saturday 5th November. Glad we saw this as it had gone by the following morning. A new UK bird for Karen bringing her UK total to 307. Other birds of interest during the day were hooded crow, scaup and twite.

Bittern

2011-11-06T13:46:00.000-08:00

Messingham Sand Quarry today

Snow Bunting

2011-10-30T14:13:00.000-07:00

Lesser Yellow Legs

2011-10-30T14:09:00.000-07:00

Found today within the Scunthorpe reporting area, extremely distant though.

Short Eared Owls

2011-10-30T14:06:00.000-07:00

It's always nice to find your own birds and these short eared owls were no exception. They were not at Worlaby Carrs, infact nowhere near and there was just us two watching them - heaven!

Squacco Heron

2011-10-29T13:15:00.000-07:00

Arrived at Attenborough Pits, Notts to be told by all the birders that it had all kicked off earlier and we had missed the altercation! Apparently a fisherman was determined to fish in exactly the same spot as the squacco, he was asked politely not to but continued. Many words were exchanged and eventually the fisherman had all his tackle thrown in the river by a birder - YES!! The squacco re-located but did eventually give us this fly past before seeking an alternative reed bed at the other side of the pits where it remained hidden for the rest of the day.

Short Eared Owls

2011-10-29T13:08:00.000-07:00

11 short eared owls now at the circus we know as Worlaby Carrs. The rough legged buzzard is still there along with 2 hen harriers. Amazing how both the harriers (one is a male) flew past us the other night and not one 'birdwatcher' saw them.............that just about sums it up! We can remember the good times when there was just 8 of us birding down that lane, good times. I often wonder what Miles would make of it all??

Rough Legged Buzzard

2011-10-29T13:02:00.000-07:00

Whilst at Thornton Curtis last Saturday looking for the stork, this rough legged flew over. Always gaining height and certainly going away from us. It was being mobbed by crows. It flew up and over Deepdale until it was lost from view.

Whoopers

2011-10-25T05:16:00.000-07:00

The first of the whoppers have arrived back for the winter. Same fields as last year, now how do they manage that? Quite funny that their chick is far bigger than the parents.........who ate all the pies?? See how long it is before the rest of the group arrive back. While in this area we went to Misterton Carrs, what a waste of time. The site was once totally setaside and we have had owls and hen harriers there. Not any more..... now 100% wheat as far as the eye can see. Thats another site gone.

Hen Harriers

2011-10-21T13:19:00.000-07:00

A fantastic week at Worlaby Carrs with a stunning rough legged buzzard, 2 hen harriers and 8 short eared owls. The above pic shows 4 owls which give that buzzard some serious grief!

Glossy Ibis

2011-10-16T13:09:00.000-07:00

Glossy Ibis at Saltholme, the RSPB reserve in Cleveland.

Jack Snipe at Spurn Point

2011-10-13T14:52:00.000-07:00

It's amazing how quickly these snipe disappeared when they sat down. They were sometimes quite difficult to see when standing. How well they blend in.

White Wagtail

2011-10-13T14:43:00.000-07:00

An excellent day at Spurn with 4 jack snipe, a ring ouzel and 1000's of redwings and fieldfares. A few late swallows flew south.

More Jack Snipe from Spurn Point

2011-10-13T11:48:00.000-07:00

4 jack snipe on Canal Scrape, Spurn Point. It was amazing how they simply disappeared when sat down, becoming almost invisible.

Ring Ouzel

2011-10-13T11:45:00.000-07:00

This female ring ouzel was with the redwings and thrushes around canal scrape, Spurn. The colour on the redwings was stunning. Also in the reeds were 4 jack snipe.

Homeless by Calvin Taylor Lee

2011-10-08T12:54:00.000-07:00

Homeless by Calvin Taylor Lee of One Click Photography. Model: Lucy
All copyright belongs to Calvin Taylor Lee. Thank you Calvin, love your work x

Red Breasted Goose

2011-10-08T12:48:00.000-07:00

Red Breasted Goose and Scaling Dam Reservoir in North Yorkshire. The first time we have been there and was so impressed. There were 1000's of geese and ducks there. The water is shared with plenty of water sport enthusiasts but bouys stop the boats coming into the wildlife area. A cosy hide and friendly locals made it an excellent day.

Whitby, North Yorkshire

2011-10-08T12:42:00.000-07:00

Wonder if they sell pints in there? If so, "I'll have one of those"............

Whitby Abbey, a Benedictine abbey built in 1220 which inspired Bram Stoker to write Dracula. Whitby was also the place where Captain Cook sailed the HMS Endeavor from. A place steeped in history and one we must return to on a sunny day.

Leucistic Starling

2011-10-03T11:40:00.000-07:00

Leucistic starling at Pyes Hall, Lincs. I wonder if it knows if a different colour ? Very easy to spot in this very active flock.

Donna Nook

2011-10-02T10:53:00.000-07:00

Donna Nook on the Lincs coast showing the start of the bombing range in the distance. In a couple of months 1000's of grey seals will be on the beach to give birth to their pups and the whole site will be covered in people. It was far better when the seals were kept a secret!

Alkborough Flats

2011-10-02T01:59:00.000-07:00

We were hoping to see a stunning sunset tonight but afraid clouds got in the way. Still, was nice to see the site from the Maze and how the high tides have flooded the farm land. The crane came into roost in it's usual field and a few noctule bats emerged.

Long Billed Dowitcher

2011-10-01T08:16:00.000-07:00

Freiston Shore, Lincs. A long way to go on such bendy roads and in such sweltering heat - is it really October? But well worth it. A new UK bird for Karen, bringing her UK total to 302. Needed an ice lolly stop on the way home.

Autumn by Calvin Taylor Lee

2011-10-01T01:10:00.000-07:00

'Autumn' by Calvin Taylor Lee of One Click Photography, Brigg, Lincs.
A fantastic photographer with superb eye for detail. Copyright for all pics belongs to Calvin Taylor Lee.

Sandhill Crane

2011-09-25T07:44:00.000-07:00

An invitation from Wayne and Clare to go with them to see the Sandhill Crane at Loch of Strathbeg, Aberdeenshire, Scotland just couldn't be turned down! So we set off at midnight on Friday arriving at the site at 7am the following morning. Managed distant glimpses of the crane before it flew off to neighbouring fields to feed for the day. The RSPB ladies soon had it tracked down and equiped us all with maps and local knowledge, we set off to re-locate it, which we did quite a few times! Good views were had of it feeding on recently harvested fields. Quite a small twitch really, with only about 50 people there. The RSPB ladies at the reserve were so helpful, thank you. With Wayne at the wheel and Clare as co-pilot and navigator, a good day was had by all. The trip took a mere 23 hours with 900 miles covered. This was Karen's 300th UK bird, glad it was a stunner! The day was topped off with a Black Scoter at Blackdog and a fish and chip supper! A fabulous (but very long!) day.

Dunlin and Knot

2011-09-25T07:15:00.000-07:00

Dunlin and Knot at Rimac this week. Was on the hunt for the buff breasted sandpipers which had flown over us earlier. Not wanting to waste such a lovely sunny day, we walked to the sea where the tide live was alive with little waders.

Lincs coast

2011-09-25T05:37:00.000-07:00

Rimac, Lincolnshire. A huge saltmarsh and beach which stretches as far as the eye can see in every direction. Our trip was to hopefully see a couple of buff breasted sandpipers reported the previous day. After a hours stroll towards the area they prefer, 4 waders flew over us and headed south. Three of these being the sandpipers! Oh well, you can't win them all! Still, as you can see, we had the whole beach to ourselves in the lovely September sun.