Red-Throated Diver in Amble Marina

There has been a long-staying Red-throated Diver in summer plumage at Amble in Northumberland recently and as it looked to be staying for a while more I decided to go for it today.  I made the three and a half drive from Manchester to the free car park at Amble Braid and after a walking only a couple of hundred yards there it was, happily sleeping in the marina.

I've seen plenty of these birds before both on the sea and sometimes inland but usually in their winter plumage when they don't have the red throat and are mainly grey and white.  So to see one so close in summer plumage was a real real treat.

Apart from the very obvious red throat, I particular like the striping on the back of the head and neck as well as the red eye.

This bird did spend a lot of time asleep or partially asleep and drifting with the flow of water in the marina.  When it did awake it set off fishing amongst the boats and I lost it for a while.  So I left it for a while and had a walk around Amble Harbour, a place I really like. There were the usual Eider ducks and various Gulls in the harbour area and one or two Terns diving for fish, but nothing to keep me there too long.

I returned to find the Diver asleep again but back out in the open. As I was staying in Ashington tonight, which is only 20 minutes from Amble, I could spend as long as it took to get some more photos.  The bird eventually did awake and as the tide was rising and filling the marina, it came pretty close at times.

Woodchat Shrike in Daresbury - Lifer

It's been quite a while since I had a new bird to see, a Lifer as birders call them. This is really all I go out for nowadays as, since Covid, my birding mojo has at an all time low.  This is despite getting a new mirrorless camera over 18 months ago, but I am determined to resume bird photography as I enjoy being out and about so much.

And even if there is a rare bird about, I tend to wait to see if it hangs around for a while - there's nothing more frustrating than going for a bird which departed before you arrived.  Anyway, this Woodchat Shrike was being reported for a few days in Daresbury and so I decided to go for it.

I've seen a Red-tailed or Turkestan Shrike, a Red-backed Shrike and several Great Grey Shrikes before so this makes the fourth species I've ticked of this bird. I often think that it should be thought of a 'bird of prey' because I've seen them catch lizards and frogs and I believe they will take even small birds.