My first trip to Hawthorn Dene this morning. What a hidden gem! Lovely views of the first winter Siberian Stonechat and the beautiful Durham coast. @durhambirdclub.bsky.social

My ‘photo’ of the Isabelline Wheatear today at Seaburn. What a beautiful bird, wonderful location and fantastic weather. @durhambirdclub.bsky.social

Nice one Bob! @b0bh.bsky.social @teesbirds.bsky.social

Seaton Snook over high tide this afternoon: Little Stint, Knot, 6 Grey Plover (including one really stunning adult summer), 7 Whimbrel, 10 Bar-tailed Godwit, 14 Sanderling, 4 Brent Geese. Missed the White-tailed Eagle. @teesbirds.bsky.social

Nice selection of waders at Castle Lake, Bishop Middleham in the sunshine this afternoon. 11 Ruff, 4 Curlew Sandpiper, 2 Ringed Plover, Common Sandpiper, Wood Sandpiper and Snipe. @teesbirds.bsky.social @durhambirdclub.bsky.social

Broom Moth caterpillar near Lordstones this afternoon feeding on bracken. Beautifully marked on the sides @teesbirds.bsky.social

A family trip to Kiplin Hall this afternoon with the bonus of seeing a Hornet. The furthest north I’ve seen one in the UK. A bit too mobile for a good photo. It was big! @teesbirds.bsky.social

Pectoral Sandpiper, Ruff, LRP and 3 Snipe at Margrove Ponds at 7.40pm. @teesbirds.bsky.social

3 adult Roseate Terns at South Gare this afternoon in the rocky spot; also Wall butterfly at Paddy’s Hole.

Pale phase adult Pomarine Skua just gone north close in at Hartlepool Headland. 11.24am @teesbirds.bsky.social

Saw something unusual on a stroll near Osmotherley this morning. A Fieldfare! It was with a Mistle Thrush. What’s it doing in North Yorkshire in the summer? @nybirdnews.bsky.social @teesbirds.bsky.social

White-letter Hairstreak visited my Yarm garden this morning; only the second ever record @teesbirds.bsky.social

Beautiful day out last Thursday at Culzean Castle Country Park. Location and weather simply stunning.

Gentle stroll by the river at Hutton Rudby this afternoon. Finally got an Orange Tip to settle. Also Grey Wagtail, Marsh Tit and a fresh Speckled Wood. @nybirdnews.bsky.social @teesbirds.bsky.social

Along Baysdale Road, Kildale this afternoon. Blowing a gale and no Ring Ouzels but 2 lovely male Wheatears and a handsome and noisy male Stonechat. @northyorksbirds.bsky.social @teesbirds.bsky.social

Beautiful walk at Marske yesterday @teesbirds.bsky.social

@durhambirdclub.bsky.social The wonderful sight and sound of 5 Whooper Swans at Hurworth Burn Reservoir late afternoon. Within a few minutes they took off, circled around a few times and then headed north.

Feeling more spring-like this morning near Ingleby Arnecliffe. A melodious Song Thrush and lots of Snowdrops. @nybirdnews.bsky.social #NEBirding

Another grey day in less than beautiful surroundings, but illuminated by the birds on Teesside. Common Sandpiper and Grey Wagtail (Billingham Beck), Avocet, Black-tailed Godwit and Great Egret (Saltholme), Short-eared Owl (Greenabella) and Grey Plover (Seal Sands). #NEbirding

Adult winter Mediterranean Gull at Newburn on the beach from the larger car park @teesbirds.bsky.social

Iceland Gull still at Haverton Road gull roost at 2.55pm but no sign of Caspian Gull. Not warm. @teesbirds.bsky.social

WHAT. A. BIRD. The White-billed Diver on Ladyburn Lake, Druridge Bay Country Park, today. The fifth species of diver for this small freshwater lake! #NEbirding #rarebirdsUK

An amazing day yesterday with White-billed Diver, Grey-headed Lapwing and Ross’s Gull locally. Here’s a short phone video of the latter taking flight (I think). @teesbirds.bsky.social #NEbirding

Looking at Bewick's Swan records from Cleveland in the last 10 years. Jan 15 - 3 flew in at Redcar Nov 17 - 5 S off H/pool Nov 18 - 2 Saltholme Nov 21 - 1 S off H/pool Blank years 2016, 19, 20, 22, 23, 24! So the 2 birds at Saltholme were the only twitchable birds in the last decade! #NEbirding

A few pics of the five Egyptian Geese that were on the Brine Fields opposite the Greatham Creek Carpark this morning. I like the photo with the standard Teesside Birding Industrial Background! #NEbirding

Great Northern Diver, Hartlepool Headland. @teesbirds.bsky.social @rspbengland.bsky.social @rspb.bsky.social 🪶

Chilly at South Gare this morning with frozen mini sand dunes. A fitting context to stumble across 8 Snow Buntings. @teesbirds.bsky.social

Female Ring-necked Duck still at Bolton-on-Swale this morning and a Great White Egret. Great northern Diver at nearby Ellerton Lake. #NEBirds

2nd winter Caspian Gull with yellow colour ring (German?) this afternoon in the gull roost on Haverton Hill Rd #NEBirding

Made it to Ropner Park this afternoon just before the rain to see the Red-crested Pochard in all his finery. Also 9 Goosander (1 drake), 6 Ring-necked Parakeets and 5 Stock Dove. @teesbirds.bsky.social

Didn’t see it but what a fantastic bird and beautiful painting.

Three British Ticks were mopped up in 2024. Indigo Bunting in May, Pale-legged Leaf Warbler in Sept and Scarlet Tanager in November! Three ticks ain’t bad for me and best of all, they were all in the North! The PLLW was surely bird of the year in Britain? British list now stands at 528…

Three new county ticks (Durham Bird Club area) for me in 2024 👌: Indigo Bunting, Dark-eyed Junco and Baikal Teal. Due to travelling to 🇫🇮 more often than usually, I had less time for birding in the autumn, so hopefully 2025 will bring again more good birds. #NEbirding 🪶

Birding looks to be tough going for the next couple of days, so time to look back on 2024. Only one Cleveland county tick this year, but a great one at that! The superb Dark-eyed Junco at Hartlepool in April. We were so lucky to get another chance at this species in the county! #NEbirding

A few photos of Snow Buntings from South Gare this morning. Nine were on the beach. Good to end the year with a year tick! 😬 #NEbirding @nybirdnews.bsky.social