A nice adult Ross's Goose was a turn up with Pink-footed Geese in fields south of Morecambe this afternoon. It showed moderately well hence the highly sharpened images! #RareBirdsUK #Birding
Alex Jones
@alexhj.bsky.social
UK birder based in North Wales. KS2 Teacher.
A real treat to spend some time watching & photographing the Grey Phalarope at Shotwick Lake this morning. Very busy feeding around the lake margins. Great find by @alexhj.bsky.social #birdingWales @birdsinwales.bsky.social
One that's been on my radar for a while - my first patch Grey (Red) Phalarope. Only second record for the site. Really pleased to see it still present a week on! #Birdsinwales #BirdingWales #Birding
Thrilled to find a patch Pectoral Sandpiper a couple of weeks ago after it dropped in out of the sky calling at sunset. This represents a second individual in almost inside a year at Rhyl on the North Wales coast. #RareBirdsUK #birding #patchbirding
Well that was fun. Sykes warbler at Girdle Ness this afternoon…
A Baird's Sandpiper was found at Burleydam Pool in Cheshire on 19 Sept - although the hopes was high another local bird would be found, not many would've had it down for here. What an autumn it is becoming for these. Only my 2nd UK individual after my last on Anglesey in 2009. #RareBirdsUK #Birding
Usually the Great Orme pulls in a showy annual Dotterel and this year was no exception! Great to see this juvenile in the late afternoon light this afternoon #BirdingWales #Birds #Birding
Just sometimes you've got to be there at the right moment... Bittern at @rspbburtonmere.bsky.social Amazing view of 2 Bitterns recently! #birds #birding
A bit of July butterflying in Dorset following our visit for the Long-tailed Shrike. Lulworth Skipper being the main target with a great supporting cast of Adonis Blue, Marbled White and Brown Argus. #Butterflies #UKbutterflies
Sometimes you've just got to get lucky and this was one of them. Who'd have thought there would be a second first summer Long-tailed Shrike up for grabs this summer delighting many! Thoroughly enjoyable afternoon watching it for over 4 hrs! It eventually showed beautifully! #RareBirdsUK #Birding
The American Black Tern returned to Long Nanny, Northumberland this year for it's 6th year. I got down just before the remarkable announcement of the hybrid Black Tern x Arctic Tern chick making it a first successful breeding attempt between these species #birds #birding #RarebirdsUK
The best bird I have ever seen on Papay (so far).. the Blue-cheeked Bee-eater has now headed away but I managed an early morning viewing before it went. Papay's very own bird of paradise. #Papay #Orkney #rarebirds #beeeater
Yet another May Bank Holiday weekend delivered with the arrival of a smart male Lesser Kestrel to Cornwall. It remained loyal to the area for a few days affording great views for most that visited. #RareBirdsUK #Birds
An after work detour to see this lovely Hoopoe at Gronant, Flintshire (UK) yesterday brought a taste of the Mediterranean to the North Wales coast hot on the heels of my first Spring Wryneck found early on Sunday morning at Burton. #Birds #RareBirdsUK #Birding
One of the showiest Lesser Scaups I've seen, this drake was a delight to go and see recently at The Mere (Ellesmere) in Shropshire, UK often associating with the Tufted Duck present #RareBirdsUK #Birdsoftheworld #Birding
A recent trip to Sorrento, Italy saw us visit Mount Vesuvius where I was overjoyed to walk into 2 Alpine Accentors after missing them in the Pyrenees and Atlas Mountains over the years. Good numbers of Black Redstart were also present.
Of what use to be common wintering grounds for these species along the North Wales coast, there has just been one wintering Snow Bunting (Gronant) and one Shorelark (just outside the region in Cheshire) available this winter. Both really nice to catch up recently #Birding #Birds #UKBirding
A tour through Conwy County in North Wales this morning saw a few notable mentions inc. an unexpected Black-throated Diver from Rhos Point behind 7 Purple Sands roosting at high tide. A Surf Scoter and Slavonian Grebe were a touch distant for images but a Gt Northern Diver was close in #BirdingWales
North Point Pools gave me a rare opportunity to see multiple goose species within a pan of the scope. The most educational was the presumed Taiga Bean Goose which was only my second UK bird in 15+ years. Albeit on the small side, it seemed to fit the criteria for a small female. #RareBirdsUK #Geese
2025 ended in Norfolk with a day to hit a couple of smart, desirable targets: the over-wintering Black-winged Kite and the Eastern Black Redstart. Both showed rather nicely marking an excellent December for rarities in the UK #RareBirdsUK #Birds #Birding
Delighted to catch up with the first winter Lesser Yellowlegs @ the Clwyd Estuary this morning. Feeding mostly in the saltmarsh, and occasionally on the mudflats. A little smaller and more dainty than the Redshanks nearby. @alexhj.bsky.social @birdsinwales.bsky.social #birdingWales
A broken down car and I was left stranded in Rhyl - so I thought I'd try and pick up a few year ticks on the River Clwyd. A Lesser Yellowlegs was one of the last birds I expected to find in January socialising with the Redshanks!
Bonkers weather and road chaos scuppered a proper shot at a New Year bird race however great fun with Tony Kearney + Owen Parsons. A close Slav Grebe at the Spinnies NR was the highlight until @alexhj.bsky.social found a superb Lesser Yellowlegs on the Clwyd! cracking bird ☺️ #ukbiring #birdingwales
This striking drake Bufflehead made quite an early Christmas present marking a potential first for Wales when it was found briefly; a couple of weeks ago in Flintshire. Luckily it was refound 45 miles to the west on Y Foryd, near Caernarfon on Friday 19th staying put for all to connect #RareBirdsUK
Exciting to catch up with the drake Bufflehead that graced Point of Ayr #RSPB over high tide today. No sign of rings & behaving like a wild bird. @rspbcymru.bsky.social @britishbirds.bsky.social #birdingWales @birdsinwales.bsky.social @rspbburtonmere.bsky.social @penrhynbirder.bsky.social
A Lesser Crested Tern was a real turn up for a December after a 20 year absence in the UK. Ranging over 5 miles, it did give itself up after remaining fairly elusive on Saturday on the Exe Estuary, Devon. #RareBirdsUK #Birding
Fantastic to find 2 American Golden Plovers on Dale Airfield, Pembrokeshire, this afternoon. Such an elegant wader. #BirdingWales #RareBirdsUK
Our recent trip to Colorado gave us so many memorable experiences and one in particular was our encounter with this young American Black Bear at Dinosaur Ridge just a few feet away! #BlackBears #Colorado
I was pleased to find 3 Yellow-legged Gulls just outside of Chester, UK on the River Dee. Always a scarer species in the NW but July and August are a good time for passage. #UkBirding
