Mike Buckland

@mcbuckland.bsky.social

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Birder

The shallow puddle of water remaining at Stiffkey Fen will soon be gone completely in the hot dry weather.
Wild, pure Rock Doves on North Uist feed in the crofts and some nest in dilapidated buildings.
The impeccable Black-throated Diver with its dapper monochrome plumage of pinstripes and spots played off against the gorgeous grey nape, black flanks and necklaced black throat. How do feathers form those patterns?
An unusually showy Corncrake performing at Balranald on North Uist. After calling from the top of some grass bunds in a garden it decided to cross the road in front of me, then continued its calling in full view on the other side of the road. Other than this one I saw another walking and calling across an area of short grass and saw one in flight across a field. All the others remained typically hidden in Irish beds and grass.
Britain’s first Western Reef Heron, its gorgeous navy blue plumage contrasting with a white throat, and stunning thick double head plumes, struts around in the muddy river at Caernarfon in North Wales.
Lapland Bunting is an increasingly rare winter visitor to the north Norfolk coast and consequently a very scarce spring sighting.
Male Finsch’s Wheatear showing the typical broad junction between black throat and black wing. Photographed in Uzbekistan, May 2023.
African Fish Eagles displaying in the Kruger National Park. The 'Kruger Challenge 2026', is a unique, non-profit, conservation fundraising race, with teams competing to record the most species of bird and mammal across the full extent of South Africa's flagship Kruger National Park between 12th and 21st February 2026. The International event, organised by BirdLife South Africa and Rockjumper Birding Tours specifically raised funds and awareness for one of Africa's rarest waterbirds; the small, critically rare and very elusive, White-winged Flufftail. The event was sponsored by Zeiss, together with SANParks, Painted Wolf Wines, Firefinch App, and the Santa Nature Reserve. The Kruger Challenge is staged entirely within the Kruger National Park, one of Africa’s oldest, largest, and most celebrated protected areas. Six teams comprising more than fifty participants from around the world competed in a friendly and exciting contest over an eight-day period. Each team of nine members travelled in its own open safari vehicle, accompanied by a professional safari driver-guide and an experienced volunteer Rockjumper Birding Tours leader. Teams earned one point for every species of bird or mammal recorded, with the top-scoring team crowned the Birding and Wildlife Champions of Kruger during a festive final evening at Berg-en-Dal Rest Camp.
A first-summer Ross’s Gull, a bird of the high and remote Arctic, spent the day following tractors around newly sown potato fields south of Thornham in North Norfolk after an initial brief sighting at RSPB Titchwell. For much of the day it was distant in heat haze but occasionally better views if you happened to be in the right place, but later on gave itself up close to a road feeding with summer plumaged Mediterranean and Black-headed Gulls.
An adult Red-breasted Goose with Barnacle and Dark-bellied Brent Geese in a field at Morston in Norfolk. The bird is unringed and associates with the 7 Barnacle Geese. Perhaps not the ideal host species for a wild Red-breasted Goose? Typically they turn up here with Dark-bellied Brents which do have overlapping breeding ranges.
A very contrasting bird to yesterday’s Todd’s Canada this large, bulky and long-necked Canada Goose is likely a wild canadensis Atlantic Canada Goose. Feeding naturally on harvested beet among a huge flock of Pink-footed Geese it has been seen occasionally in different areas of North Norfolk this winter. Thankfully the few feral Canada’s here don’t generally associate with Pink-feet and haven’t developed a fondness for sugar beet.
Todd’s Canada Goose grazing on Burnham Overy Freshes with host Pink-footed Geese, Dark-bellied Brent’s, Russian White-fronts, Greylags and Barnacles. A smart, small, dark brown bodied individual with slim, thin and relatively short black neck and narrow white face extending under chin.
Female Taiga Bean Goose North Point Norfolk (Photo: Jim Lawrence)
Female Taiga Bean Goose North Point Norfolk (Photo: Jim Lawrence)
Female Taiga Bean Goose (left) beside a feral, some might say ‘oven ready’ Greylag Goose. The wedge shaped head, high and forward eye and long, relatively narrow bill all point to an ID of Taiga.
A brightly plumaged Eastern Black Redstart at Sheringham, Norfolk catches a Sea Slater, a large, woodlouse-like crustacean found on rocky shores. It spent more than five minutes passifying and dispatching its meal before trying to swallow it. Clearly a difficult snack it sat with its bill pointing skyward and wide open as it tried to force down the bug before sitting uncomfortably on the groyne for several more minutes trying to digest it. If it can deal with the discomfort there is an endless supply of Sea Slaters along the sea defences.
Common Cranes, Glossy Ibis and Black-shouldered Kite at Ludham Bridge and St Benets Abbey, Black-bellied Dipper at Bintree and Eastern Black Redstart at Sheringham. Norfolk is rocking this Christmas!
Hume’s Leaf Warbler (left two) and Yellow-browed Warbler (right two) showing the subtle but distinctive differences between plumage tones and patterns.
Juvenile Red-throated Diver shows a typically white face and gently upturned bill
Three Hume’s Leaf Warblers are currently inhabiting the Holkham NNR and unlike the consistent looking Yellow-browed Warbler show a variety of plumage tones, which seem to change tone in different lights and at different angles. Of the two in Holkham Pines one is grey/greenish above and a bit scruffy (top left), one is buff/cream and clean (top right), and the bird at Wells (bottom) is grey above with lovely contrasting yellow/greenish secondary edges and a pale central crown. Such lovely birds well worth putting in effort to see.
A Hume’s Leaf Warbler showing its distinctive muted shades, buffy supercilium and wing bars was joined in a flock at Holkham Pines in Norfolk by a Pallas’s Warbler, a Yellow-browed Warbler, a Siberian Chiffchaff, 3 Common Chiffchaffs and a Firecrest! Norfolk November birding at its best.
The juvenile American Golden Plover at Titchwell RSPB briefly lands beside a roosting Northern Lapwing on the saltmarsh beside the main path. The darker, greyer plumage, small size, long wings and bright white supercilium contrast with the more golden European Golden Plovers it is associating with.
A Yellow-browed Warbler quickly moving along a coastal hedge at Warham Greens showing a double wing bar and long supercilium
A Eurasian Woodcock, intricately marked in hues of brown, reaches the beach at Cley after a lengthy sea crossing in rough winds only to be met by a hunting Peregrine.
The tiny and highly camouflaged Sand Running-Spider Rhysodromus fallax is almost invisible when stationary. It moves very quickly running briefly before pausing and its markings blend incredibly with the sand.
A juvenile Red-backed Shrike sat in an Elder in the sunshine
A male Yellow Bunting singing in the wonderful forests at Karuizawa when we eventually located him, a surprisingly showy Japanese Green Pheasant, the subtly attractive Japanese Accentor on the slopes of the iconic Mount Fuji and a Ryukyu Green Pigeon enjoying a light shower on Amami.
Middendorf’s, Sakhalin and Styan’s Grasshopper Warblers were all seen eventually on the Spring tour of Japan. A skulky, challenging group of birds by any standard.
Phylloscopus Leaf Warblers seen and heard around Japan in Spring 2025 were Ijima’s Leaf Warbler, Sakhalin Leaf Warbler, Japanese Leaf Warbler and Eastern Crowner Warbler.
Lidth’s Jay glows purple and blue in the torchlight, Amami Theusb high up on cables and a dazzling Ruddy Kingfisher showing a purple sheen across its back, with the target Amami Woodcock finally giving great views on the road.
The bright orange eyes of the Japanese Scops Owl shine in the torchlight, a very relaxed Ryukyu Scops Owl sitting calmly at its day roost and the huge and imposing Blakiston’s Fish Owl catching fish in a small stream.
The very local Iriomote Tit tantalises over the path on Iriomote Island, two confiding Ryukyu Serpent Eagles show no fear and a delightful Ryukyu Flycatcher shows off his sulphur yellow throat as he sings in the forest.
Four species of Robin seen in Japan - Japanese, Ryukyu, Okinawa and Izu
Okinawa Rail, Amami Woodcock and Amami Thrush on its best
A Collared Pratincole resting on Simmond’s Scrape at Cley NWT in North Norfolk this morning.
A pair of Bar-headed Geese freshly arrived (all the way from Holkham) at North Point Pools
An adult Glossy Ibis feeding near Stiffkey looks stunning in its breeding plumage. Reddish tones to head and body with glossy green wings.
An exotic Hoopoe feeding in the sand dunes at Burnham Overy. Its recurved bill, pinkish orange plumage including a long crest and zebra patterned wings make it a very distinctive bird.