This is the Real Teal!

There has been a mega rare Baikal Teal at Swine Moor near Beverly in East Yorkshire for a few weeks now, but as it is around two and half hours travel for me to get there I've been 'um-ing and arr-ing' about going.  However, the Leigh Ornithological Society's fieldtrip was to North Cave Wetlands in West Yorkshire today and, as Swine Moor was only another 30 minutes up the road from there, I decided to go for it.  It was worth it!

L.O.S. Fieldtrip to North Cave Wetlands

 

Oh Carolina!

Having been to Watergrove Reservoir in Rochdale for most of the day, I decided to call in to see the long-staying drake Carolina Wood Duck at Alexandra Park in Oldham this afternoon.

Unfortunately this beautiful perching duck is not tickable as it's not part of the official UK Bird List. This is because it's an introduced species from North America, rather than wild indigenous or migrant species. Apparently however, the bird can fly and it isn't ringed, which is unusual for a captive escapee.  

Red-Throated Diver at Watergrove Reservoir in Rochdale

 

This long-staying seabird gave me the runaround for five hours and never once came close, preferring to stay way out in the middle where the water is deepest. It's funny how the bird always seems closer on the other side of a lake or reservoir, but when you get there it's either just as far away or it's disappeared altogether. That's what happened here. Indeed it went missing somewhere for an hour or so around lunchtime before I finally relocated it.

This was my second visit to Watergrove to get a rare Greater Manchester Life Tick and I was so glad to see it because on my first visit it wasn't here, having flown over to Hollingworth Lake a few miles away. And to my annoyance when I got home it was reported back here on Watergrove Reservoir only an hour later.

Although I've year listed a few times in the past, I only keep two lists nowadays: My UK Life list which is approaching 300 birds and my Greater Manchester Life List which is nearly 200 birds. There's a notional virtual club called the GM 200 Club which I hope to be a member of in the near future, so you can see why it was important that I went for this one. 

I have three aims when I go out on a trip like this: 

1) To see the bird visually

2) To get a record shot

3) To get a decent photo

Well, two out of three ain't bad.