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Iain Manfield @iainmanfield.bsky.social · 1d

This could be my new favourite BirdTrack list.

White-tailed eagles bothering Great northern divers in the bay. Ringed plover, ~30 of them, sheltering behind clumps of seaweed, with Turnstone on the beach. Red grouse and Raven over the moor. And quite some scenery.
#skyebirds #highlandbirds

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Iain Manfield @iainmanfield.bsky.social · 3d

Female Little crake looks a good fit. The distribution map in my Collins field guide has it in Austria.

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Iain Manfield @iainmanfield.bsky.social · 4d

Reward for sitting on a Skye beach in #stormAmy y'day a lifer Storm-petrel.

Those first microseconds
Swift!
This late?!
Wait, lots of white.
Petrel?!
What does a petrel look like?

Remember the field-guide..
Square tail. Black head & bill. Wing-bar - not really.
#Skyebirds #highlandbirds #ukbirding

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Iain Manfield @iainmanfield.bsky.social · 4d

I've been amazed how low WTE will fly and manoeuvre. I watched one this week, in Sleat, tussling with Buzzards at tree-top height.

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Iain Manfield @iainmanfield.bsky.social · 6d

As a mainly land-locked birder, I love coming to Skye for the "unfamiliar" - eagles, divers, gulls and, best of all, Gannets.

As much fun though is the familiar doing unfamiliar (to me) things. Why shouldn't a Dipper pick over seaweed or Bullfinch eat heather seed?
#Highlandbirds #ukbirding

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Iain Manfield @iainmanfield.bsky.social · 7d

Another year I’ve not seen Hen harriers in the #YorkshireDales in breeding season. Dales habitat looks like successful Bowland habitat though.
No records ever in May & June. July records likely “brood managed” birds 2021.

Orange dots on zero are all the dates without HH.
@raptorpersuk.bsky.social

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Iain Manfield @iainmanfield.bsky.social · 9d

Fun birding back in Harris for a few days - here looking from North Harris into Lewis.
Golden eagles over the peaks, White-tailed eagles over the sea. Great northern divers on the sea and Golden plover & Ringed plover feeding on the machair.

Great skua from the ferry coming over.
#Highlandbirds

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Iain Manfield @iainmanfield.bsky.social · 13d

Last year on Skye, I watched two Raven taking turns to fly just above a White-tailed eagle eventually pushing it to the ground. Looks like lots of birds don't want these eagles flying around!

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Iain Manfield @iainmanfield.bsky.social · 18d

Membership of the RSPB or the local group not required to join us next time. Or any special bird ID ability or experience.

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Iain Manfield @iainmanfield.bsky.social · 18d

First coach trip y'day of the new @rspbleedslocalgr.bsky.social season - to Teesmouth and RSPB Saltholme.

Curlew sandpiper the best bird of the day - a first for ~1/3 of us, inc me. Fun checking the ID and picking them out from Dunlin.

71 spp on the bird-list for the day. Swift was a surprise.

RSPB Leeds Local Group @rspbleedslocalgr.bsky.social · 28d

A full list of our Indoor Meetings and Coach Trips for the 2025/2026 Season is now available on our website. Please click on the link below for more information! #Leeds
group.rspb.org.uk/leeds/news-b...
Photo courtesy of Jonathan (our newsletter and website editor)

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Iain Manfield @iainmanfield.bsky.social · 24d

Few Ring ouzel records in Aug & Sep – @birdtrack.bsky.social reporting rate graph. Hard to find in the #YorkshireDales too – my all-time data below.

3 Ring ouzel in a Hawthorn in a wooded ghyll last w/e suggests I need to look in places away from the short-grazed turf of spring habitat.
#ukbirding

Two graphs of Ring ouzel records through the year. Top graph shows Ring ouzel national records from the BTO BirdTrack database peaking in April as birds arrive in the country, with fewer records in May and June. There is another peak of records in October as people see migrant birds heading south again. In between there are few records in July, August and September. Where do the birds go?
In the bottom graph, my own Ring ouzel records from the Yorkshire Dales week-by-week over all years. I've seen Ring ouzel in most weeks from late March to early July. But I also see the dip in records in July to September, with no records in August and now just a second record from September.

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Iain Manfield @iainmanfield.bsky.social · 28d

Wheatear and Whinchat at the weekend in areas of the #YorkshireDales I'd not seen them during spring & summer. Spotted flycatcher in the city.

Reminds me of the "Nature Notes" article I wrote last year about "Migrant bird surprises".
www.wharfedale-nats.org.uk/post/migrant...

Migrant Bird Surprises

www.wharfedale-nats.org.uk

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Iain Manfield @iainmanfield.bsky.social · Sep 7

After seeing no waders for weeks around the #YorkshireDales, pleased to get Lapwing, Common sandpiper and Snipe for my Wetland Bird Survey today. @webs-gsmp.bsky.social. Surprised to get 6 Greenshank drop in, calling loudly, just as I was packing up - a new species for this (under-recorded) site.

Wetland Bird Survey (WeBS) | Goose & Swan Monitoring (GSMP) @webs-gsmp.bsky.social · Sep 5

This Sunday is the first count of the core winter counting period of WeBS, which runs from Sept to March (inclusive). It's an exciting part of the year, with migrants arriving to overwinter in our relatively mild climate. So you never know what could turn up on your WeBS site!

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Iain Manfield @iainmanfield.bsky.social · Sep 7

Yesterday in the #YorkshireDales, the sun appeared briefly when I was near some Creeping thistle - bringing out butterflies.

I had Painted lady (pic) as exotic, but I've seen them regularly in the hills the last few weeks. 7 species for the day-list. @bcyorkshire.bsky.social @yorkshiredales.org.uk

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Iain Manfield @iainmanfield.bsky.social · Sep 6

That's interesting Dawn. I've recorded more Robins in recent weeks - juveniles singing might explain it. I'll make more of an effort to get bins on them as well to check juvenile or adult.

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Iain Manfield @iainmanfield.bsky.social · Sep 5

Swallows flying through my Woodhouse Moor park patch this morning plus a Willow warbler.

Spotted flycatchers, again - the same 3 as last week or new ones? 🤷‍♂️

Tricky finding birds with only Robins singing and few calls from anything else. Still a respectable 27 spp for the week. ✔️
#patchbirding

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Iain Manfield @iainmanfield.bsky.social · Sep 1

Spotted flycatcher the best of last week's walking-to-work birding. Three birds equalling my record count over the years in the park. Matching the peak in Yorkshire reporting rate (orange line).

Tawny owl back at it's roost in a broken tree.

27 spp for the week.
#patchbirding #ukbirding

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Reposted by Iain Manfield

RSPB Leeds Local Group @rspbleedslocalgr.bsky.social · Aug 31

Our next indoor meeting is taking place on Wednesday 17th September starting at 7:30pm. The speaker is Dennis Atherton who will be talking about The Biggest Week in American Birding. The meeting will also include The Group's AGM. All welcome! #Leeds

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Iain Manfield @iainmanfield.bsky.social · Aug 25

A photo in the style of Leeds's own John Atkinson Grimshaw.

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Iain Manfield @iainmanfield.bsky.social · Aug 24

Interesting, thanks.

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Iain Manfield @iainmanfield.bsky.social · Aug 24

Losing Willow warbler and Ring ouzel from the Yorkshire Dales would be a big loss for me. Chiffchaff replacing Willow warbler, but are there (southern distribution) species to replace Ring ouzel and Twite? Whinchat also heading north?

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Iain Manfield @iainmanfield.bsky.social · Aug 24

7. Guide rather than resist ecosystem change. "Build it and they will come" - Build and maintain high-quality habitat. Egrets and Spoonbill nesting at RSPB reserves Fairburn Ings and St Aidans in Yorkshire, Great white egret this year in Wales. Something positive at least?

Iain Manfield @iainmanfield.bsky.social · Aug 24

Super - such a pretty little bird. Sounds like your trip to Cornwall has been great for wildlife spotting.

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Iain Manfield @iainmanfield.bsky.social · Aug 23

Spotted flycatcher passed through my Leeds patch ~10 days ago. Still birds on territory in the #YorkshireDales today.

This juvenile bird with adults in Hubberholme churchyard. Spot fly the only bird I've seen eat butterflies - here's one bashing the wings off a Red admiral.
#ukbirding

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Iain Manfield @iainmanfield.bsky.social · Aug 19

Bonus visit to my @webs-gsmp.bsky.social in the #YorkshireDales. A few Lapwing the only wader. Everyone else has the plovers, sandpipers, 'shanks...

Surprised to get a Whinchat (with Stonechat) but shouldn't have been - pic of adult and juvenile on @birdtrack.bsky.social reporting rate graph.

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