Brown Booby and Buff-breasted Sandpiper

 

I can’t help but wonder at the problems this summer signifies in terms of climate damage, and a part of me is  seriously concerned about the long-term implications of this many Caribbean, American and other regional birds in the Western Palearctic.  But on the simplest level, as a man who loves birds, knowing there’s a Brown Booby two hours from home two weeks after a Red-footed Booby is exciting and irresistible.  Kris and I waited as long as was possible to go and see this, and after a week of agonising news on the east coast (having been a day too late to see the Brown on Bishop Rock in the Scillies) we drove over early on the Saturday morning into mist and murky light.

I love South Gare, and Teeside in general; the people there have been unfailingly welcoming and our birding karma in the area seems to centre around helping a lady get to the hospital after she had fallen and broken her leg last winter while looking for waxwings.  We do incredibly well here, having seen Greater Sand Plover, Lesser Yellowlegs, King Eider, Yellow-browed Warbler and Red-backed Shrike in the locale previously.  

On arrival we followed the crowd to incredible views of the Booby, moving from buoy to buoy, being harassed by herring gulls, and generally being fearless.  There’s been some controversy about boats, and in general I’m against the instinct to get closer, even to get a great photo (as some have successfully done), but this bird wasn’t in the least bothered, and seemed more concerned about medium sized gull threats than anything humans were doing.

Having watched her fish and fly and preen for an hour, we heard news of a Buff-breasted Sandpiper near Saltholme and set off to make it a double day of exceptional birds with chesty names.  The BBS was one of my favourite birds of the year; obviously different from the traditional British waders; feisty and mobile, feeding relentlessly and showing well for an hour before flying away.  We visited the seal watchpoint for Pectoral and Curlew Sandpiper, and Spoonbill before heading off to dip an American Golden Plover at Banks marsh in Lancashire on the way home.  

It’s strange to have a birding “relationship” with an area, but I really do feel connected to this place.  From the honest and hard-working ladies serving breakfast at Morrisons early on, to the locals who stopped and asked what we were looking at a dozen times and more, Redcar and the area around it is my kind of place: industrial, real, and full of potential with amazing birds and people who appreciate them.