Quality over quantity off SMI today in some decent seawatching conditions. An afternoon Leach’s Petrel proved the best of the bunch with Sooty Shearwater, Bonxie, GND and Little Gulls providing some canny back up. #NEbirding

The SMI Casp fest continues with this 1stW out in the murk late pm #NEbirding

The Marden Quarry Cetti’s continued to offer more tantalising glimpses this morning. Fingers crossed it’s the beginning of a protracted stay! #NEbirding

Tyneside’s tiniest typha bed came up trumps today when it pulled in this patch first Cetti’s Wblr. A quite unexpected addition! #NEbirding

Ginormous crops of a distant 1st W Casp off the prom @ SMI this morning. The 10th of the season thus far here #NEbirding

The regular SMI foreshore Water Pipit gave itself up good and proper on the wetland mid morning. #NEbirding

The SMI Wetland Mudfest continued this morning making for a compelling couple of hours with the Water Pipit, Jack Snipe and several Water Rails being the obvious highlights. However a small group of Sanderling scuttling around on the mud was perhaps the most unexpected sighting! #NEbirding

Some fringe benefits of draining SMI Wetland! #NEbirding

Diggerland: with the best of intentions we’ve drained SMI Wetland and embarked on some badly needed silt and vegetation clearance! #NEbirding

Another 1st W Casp off the prom @ SMI this morning. Hopefully the CR details will offer some insight into this geezers past history. #NEbirding

The regular Water Pipit back along the prom @ SMI for its 5th consecutive winter #NEbirding

A late Willow Warbler that sat up nicely in Shetland last week. #UKbirding #Shetlandbirding

Freshly arrived Shortie at SMI yesterday pm. The local Magpies were having none of it and soon drove it off inland! #NEbirding

Firecrest @ SMI Wetland yesterday, not as showy as the image suggests! #NEbirding

The incredibly elusive Haroldswick Blackpoll gave itself up briefly this pm. Got to love those orange feet! #UKbirding #Shetlandbirding

Much calmer day today and we managed to encounter our first Unst YBW of the trip #UKbirding

Tree Pipit slinking through the long grass and looking really rare at Norwick this pm. #UKbirding

Bluethroat in classic Shetland fence post habitat #UKbirding

A canny first few days on the Shetland birding roller coaster. Despite some fierce winds we’ve still managed to connect with some great quality from all points of the compass! #birdingUK

With our Shetland jaunt currently on hold until after Storm Amy abates, a taste of what we could be missing. A beezer of a Sibe Thrush in recovery mode on a Beidaihe windowsill!

A scruffy looking 1st W Casp off the prom @ SMI this morning. After a slow start that’s at least the 7th record since early Sept here. #NEbirding

A bit of a patch rarity in the ‘Bluetail Glade’ at SMI Wetland this morning. I think I’ve seen more Blyth’s Reeds than Treecreepers here! #NEbirding

A new 1st W Casp off the prom @ SMI yesterday, this one with quite an advanced bill pattern. #NEbirding

A slight south-easterly breeze yesterday afternoon promptly delivered 2 YBW’s to the patch, a significant moment in the autumn! #NEbirding

Incoming. My first Pinkfeet of the autumn arriving from the east yesterday pm. #NEbirding

This leucistic Herring Gull stole the show down @ SMI at lunchtime, a true seawatcher’s banana skin if ever there was one! #NEbirding

It’s not exactly been the most productive of Autumn’s thus far on the Mighty Blyth, so this juv Curlew Sand proved most welcome this pm. #NEbirding

The Casps keep coming down @ SMI at the moment. This new 1st W was at point blank range off the prom this morning. #NEbirding

This acro at the top end of SMI Wetland has been upstairs with VAR for the best part of the day. Whatever the eventual outcome it’s been instructional! #NEbirding

1st W Casp on SMI Wetland this morning. The 4th individual here this week and evidence of a canny influx! #NEbirding

Afternoon showers on the back of a blustery south-easterly produced the first patch flycatchers of the year yesterday. This Spotted sat up nicely down at the Wetland tho a Pied lurking in the high canopy of the nearby Cem proved a lot more camera shy. #NEbirding

Even fewer pixels of the Chev White-rumped Sand from earlier in the week! #NEbirding

Just like double-decker buses, a few pixels of the 2nd Casp of the season off the prom @ SMI this morning. Low tide and against the light made for pretty grim images! #NEbirding

A belated first Casp of the season off the prom @ SMI this evening. Not exactly a classic but good enough! #NEbirding

A productive day of strimming and scrub clearance on the wetland yesterday. The ‘Bluetail glade’ is now primed and ready… #NEbirding

Little Egret over SMI Wetland at the weekend, a belated first of the year here for this slacker. #NEbirding

Been trying to track this one down all week with no joy what so ever. Why are some ringing schemes so flipping cryptic! #BirdingUK #NEbirding

Great Shearwater under a sunny Scilly sky #UKbirding

A few more of the brilliant Bonelli’s. Done the maths last night, a cool 39 years since twitching my first on Scilly, in Oct 1986 on Bryher! #UKbirding

The Garrison Western Bonelli’s proved a little more accommodating earlier this morning. #UKbirding

A few ropey record shots of yesterday’s fab Western Bonelli’s high in the pines up on the Garrison. #Birding

Common Dolphin incoming… @scillypelagics.bsky.social

This ad LT Skua came up the wake and passed low overhead during last Friday’s Scilly pelagic, offering exceptional views in the process! @scillypelagics.bsky.social #Birding

Wilson’s Petrel in classic glide mode, the star performer over an excellent weekend out with @scillypelagics.bsky.social #Birding

You win some you lose some. Brief views of a juv harrier coming in-off over the Garrison this morning. ‘Nightjar’ jizz and very rufous below surely pointing towards a Monties / Pallid but it was all over in seconds! Hopefully it might get re-located later🤞 #Birding

The SMI Curlew Sand sat up nicely this evening #NEbirding

A restless ad Curlew Sand off the prom @ SMI this morning. Nice to get an early one after drawing a blank here last year #NEbirding

The times they are a changing alright. A brief lunchtime jaunt into Marden Quarry gave up the celebrity Night Heron along with a couple of almost as rare here juv Little Egrets. A scene utterly unthinkable in my birding yoof! #NEbirding

A big thumbs up to Martin Kerby for the initial discovery and slightly incredulous phone call. Top banana! #NEbirding