Northumberland - Grey-headed lapwing

An opportunity for redemption having missed out when the grey-headed lapwing was discovered in Durham during the Easter of 2024. Heading to Cyprus on the day it was found is obviously nothing to complain about but by the time of return, the bird had moved on. It was an intriguing bird as during the course of the year, a few sporadic sightings were recorded in Scotland and further afield.

Fast forward to the winter and totally unexpected was its return (or another bird?) found in the Northumberland. It was a no-brainer - and the long drive was finally rewarded (after an agonising search) of really great (although mostly distant) views of this far-east Asian breeder.

Seeing it in flight was a real highlight but the bird inconveniently settled within a grassy field at distance. Depsite great scope views - it was just out of range for the camera.

A week later (12th January) - a return visit was made to the area - this time flying up on British Airways from Heathrow to Newcastle to hit a few of the local sites. The previous week had seen a number of scarce rarities but by the time of arrival, most of these had moved on.

The main highlights were a lovely flock of twite, scaup, red-throated diver and common scoter at Druridge Pools, three drake and a redhead smew, ringtail hen harrier, Mediterranean gull and golden plover at Widdrington Lakes, and a drake American wigeon, and tree sparrow at Big Waters NR.