Teesmouth Bird Club Newsletter August 2013 (No. 55) Reg. Charity 508850 CONTENTS MONTHLY SUMMARIES Monthly Summaries 1 Chris Sharp reviews the highlights of an atypical spring period, involving a dearth of common migrants but a fine suite Evening Meetings programme 2013-2014 6 of scarce species which got the adrenalin flowing! Wader identification for beginners 6 MARCH 2013 Beefing it up at Saltholme 7 Reports on local outings 7 Local outings August to December 9 Club day trip to Tophill Low 10 Site Guide : North Gare bushes 11 Crookfoot announcement 13 Birdwatching but not as we know it! 13 Blast from the past 15 Profile : Geoff Myers 16 Teesmouth WeBS Spring 2013 Summary 18 Red-necked Grebe, Hartlepool Headland Ian Forrest TBC Publications 20 TBC Clothing order form 21 The TBC Newsletter is published three times a year. Production : Editor Ted Parker, layout Eric James, distribution Chris Sharp, web download Jamie Duffie Long-tailed Duck, Seaton Snook Ian Forrest Long staying winter visitors still present at the Important beginning of the month included Black-throated Diver in Hartlepool Marina, Red-necked Grebe off Hartlepool Headland, three Smews and the drake Green-winged Teal on Dorman’s Pool and a drake See the Scaup on Saltholme Pool. The Tundra Bean Goose was also on Cowpen Marsh and a pair of Long- announcement tailed Ducks was on Seal Sands. about Crookfoot Several Glaucous Gulls and the odd Caspian Gull were to be found on Seaton Common and Bitterns Reservoir continued to be seen on Dorman’s Pool, with up to four birds being recorded at this time. Many on page 13 observers were able to watch these cracking birds for sustained lengths of time as they fed out in the open around the waters edge. The regular wintering Green Sandpiper was at Portrack 1 on 30th and the first Wheatear at Hartlepool on 31st. The last day of the month also saw a Great Northern Diver off Saltburn and three Whooper Swans flying past here. APRIL 2013 Waxwing, Seaton Carew Tim Robinson Lesser Scaup, Saltholme Martyn Sidwell The long staying Hartlepool Red-necked Grebe was in full summer plumage early in the month and showed well in the Fish Quay. Highlight of the month was a fine drake Lesser Scaup at RSPB Saltholme from 3rd. It was only the third Cleveland record and remained in the area until early May. A redhead Smew was at Crookfoot on Common Scoter, Greatham Creek Ray Scott this date, with the three Dormans Pool birds also roundabout and the long staying Buzzard on still present. The first Marsh Harrier of the spring Greenabella Marsh were accompanied by both was at Dorman’s Pool. Several Jack Snipe passed Spotted Redshank and Greenshank. Barn Owls through early in the month, with a particularly also performed well here for the ever increasing obliging bird showing well on Seaton Common for numbers of photographers. A Hawfinch was at several days. A Hooded Crow was here on 8th. Tilery Wood on 6th and four Avocets were on This is the fourth consecutive spring that this Greenabella Marsh on next day. Numbers of this species has appeared on Seaton Common. latter species increased as the month went on, Unfortunately this year it was a brief one-day peaking at 51 by the month’s end. Several small stay. flocks of Waxwings were also recorded at this time. The cold start to spring continued and the first ten days of April saw few, if any, summer visitors. Seal Sands proved particularly attractive for Wintering birds such as the rarer grebes and grebes and divers in mid-month: two Slavonian divers continued to be seen, along with a few Grebes, a Great Northern Diver and two Black- white-winged gulls. A Red Kite was at Scaling throated Divers could be seen, often giving close Dam on 9th and three more passed over Skelton views from the sea wall. The long-staying drake Castle the following day. A Black Redstart was at Common Scoter was also present here. A Hen Hartlepool on 10th and the first Swallow was at Harrier was at Scaling Dam on 16th and the first Bowesfield Marsh on 11th. Both Black Redstart Sandwich Terns passed Saltburn the following and Ring Ouzel were at South Gare on 12th and day. Six Whooper Swans were on Seaton 13th and an Arctic Tern was at RSPB Saltholme Common on 18th, with a single bird at Saltholme on 13th, along with both Yellow and White Pools on 20th. A Water Pipit was at Saltholme Wagtails. This latter species appeared in Pools but proved elusive. A single Little Gull was unusually high numbers for the rest of the month. on Seaton Common on 24th. Numbers of Dark- On most days, double figure counts could be had bellied Brent Geese increased on Seal Sands at in the Saltholme area. An Alpine Swift flying over this time, with 41 present on 26th. A fine the sea at Warsett Hill must have been a splendid summer-plumaged Black Guillemot was off South sight but, unfortunately, it did not linger. There Gare on 28th but unfortunately flew off before the were still 24 Waxwings at Billingham on 14th, crowds arrived. Spring arrived late this year, with while an Osprey over South Gare on 15th was the the first Little Ringed Plover on the Calor Gas Pool first of a good spring for this species. 2 A Shore Lark flew over Boulby on 16th. Two Black-necked Grebes on the sea off Hartlepool on this date were presumably the same birds that appeared at Saltholme Pools the following day. Two Garganeys were on Seaton Common on 18th, along with an early Common Tern at RSPB Saltholme and a Red Kite over Redcar. The first Little Terns were off South Gare on 20th, with Whitethroat at Dorman’s Pool the same day. An Iceland Gull flew past Saltburn on 21st but more spectacular were six Common Cranes which flew over Hartlepool Docks on the same day. Yellow Wagtail, Saltholme Eric James Another single bird was over the Jewish Cemetery on 22nd. Two Lapland Buntings and two Tree Pipits were at Saltburn as spring migration began to take off. A Redstart was at the Jewish Cemetery on 22nd, a Blue-headed Wagtail was at RSPB Saltholme on 24th and Cuckoo and Whinchat were at Scaling Dam on 25th. An Osprey was over Seal Sands on 26th. An obliging Ring Ouzel was at Belasis late in the month and an early Arctic Skua was off Hartlepool on 27th, along with 19 Manx Shearwaters. MAY 2013 After a very cold start to the spring, the weather finally warmed up in May. The birding was also White Wagtail, Saltholme Ian Forrest excellent throughout the month with good numbers of scarcities seen. The month began fairly quietly with a summer plumaged Spotted Redshank on Greenabella Marsh, a female Scaup on Saltholme pools and a few Whinchats passing through. Up to four Redstarts were singing in Newton Woods, the largest count for many years, and several Tree Pipits were also singing here. A Black Redstart was at Boulby on 5th. Although common waders such as Dunlin and Ringed Plover were extremely scarce this spring, a good run of the scarcer waders commenced on 6th when a Pectoral Sandpiper was found on Seaton Common. What was presumably the same bird reappeared here on 14th before moving to RSPB Black-necked Grebe, Saltholme Renton Charman Saltholme where it remained until 18th. A Temminck’s Stint and three Wood Sandpipers were on Saltholme Pool on 7th, with a Little Stint here on 10th and 11th. A Montagu’s Harrier was over South Gare on 8th and a Great Skua was on the beach at Redcar on the same day. A Red Kite lingered at Wynyard on 11th for over an hour allowing several birders to catch up with this species in Cleveland. Ospreys were over Greatham and Roseberry Topping on 12th. The Lesser Scaup was last seen at RSPB Saltholme on this date. A female Red-backed Shrike showed well on the Zinc works Road and Ring Ouzel, Belasis Martyn Sidwell was the first of a record number for this species in spring. 3 Wood Sandpiper, Saltholme Mick and Sylvia Brennan Thrush Nightingale, Hartlepool Headland Ian Forrest Red-backed Shrike, Zinc Works Road Martyn Sidwell Wryneck, South Gare Ray Scott Significant May falls have been rare in recent years. Good numbers of common migrants were at the coast, however, on the 15th. The selection at Hartlepool included Lesser Whitethroat, Spotted Flycatcher, Redstart, Whinchat and Sedge and Reed Warblers. South Gare performed even Bluethroat, South Gare Martyn Sidwell better, with a fine male Bluethroat, Wryneck and Marsh Warbler. Another Bluethroat was in a Marske garden and Red-backed Shrikes were at Warsett Hill and Seaton Carew. In addition, a male Pied Flycatcher was at North Gare. The following day saw a Nightingale species at South Gare but the views were too brief to clinch the identification. Much more obliging was a Thrush Nightingale at Hartlepool on 18th. The bird gave superb views in the old putting green and was present for four days. It was the first Cleveland record for 17 years. Not to be outdone, South Gare responded with a Red-breasted Flycatcher Marsh Warbler, South Gare Martyn Sidwell and three more Red-backed Shrikes. The Wryneck was still present and allowed some great 4 Initially found on Seaton Common it quickly relocated to Cowpen Marsh via the Long Drag. Remarkably, a second bird was found on Dorman’s Pool the following day.