Back In The USA - Jamaica Bay, New York

 Jamaica Bay

Our final morning in the New York area was spent in Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge, a place that I have visited several times in the past but not since the devastating hurricane that changed the nature of the site, two years ago.

 Our guides were urban birders extraordinaire Doug Gochfeld (L) & Michael Hilchey

We were treated to some great autumnal birding including seeing loads of Brent Geese and a few Horned Grebes (Slavonian Grebe).

 The beach at Rockaway

We then ventured to a few sites nearby clocking Caspian and Royal Terns, Peregrine and American Oystercatcher.

 Clapper Rail

We glimpsed an semi-elusive Clapper Rail

Nelson's Sparrow

Plus picked up a selection of new sparrows including Seaside, Saltmarsh and Nelson's Sparrows. To be honest, I would have seriously struggled to have recognised any of them if it wasn't for the expert eyes supplied by Doug and Michael!

Back in the USA - Brooklyn Bridge Park and Central Park, New York City

Brooklyn Bridge

The next stage of our journey saw us journey the three hours by road to noisy, full-on New York City.

TUB, Heather Wolf & Vanesa Palacios

 It was here that we caught up with Brooklyn Urban Birder Heather Wolf, who eagerly showed us around Brooklyn Bridge Park, her local patch. What I loved about her was the fact that she started watching this patch in 2010 shortly after it was built and has recently registered her 130th species in the shape of a Sora. She avoided the lure of the bright avian lights in Central Park and instead discovered her own jewel. Full respect to her!

Hermit Thrush

 We saw a host of birds in this very busy site under the shadow of Brooklyn Bridge.

 Hermit Thrush

 Ruby-crowned Kinglet

 Swamp Sparrow

I also registered a couple of lifers including Swamp Sparrow

 Yellow-rumped Warbler

 Grey Catbird

 House Sparrow

 Immature Catbird

 1st winter Ring-billed Gull

 Brent Geese

It was a brilliant morning spent with a birder whose passion for life and for birding unlikely spots was infectious.

 Central Park

No trip to NYC would be complete without a visit to the phenomenal Central Park

Ruby-crowned Kinglet

 We made a brief visit in the afternoon and bagged a load of species including Yellow-bellied Sapsucker, Golden-crowned Kinglet and White-crowned Sparrow.

Black-throated Blue Warbler

Back in the USA - Ithaca, New York

The Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology, Ithaca

 Two weeks ago I started a two week long tour supported by Spain's Extremadura Tourist Board www.birdinginextremadura.com and accompanied by the Tourist Board's Vanesa Palacios. The idea was to give a string of talks about the Extremedura region delivered by Vanesa and cocktail of urban birding stories (also featuring a touch of urban Extremadura) given by me in New York State, Cape May in New Jersey and in the Rio Grande Valley area in Texas. It was a journey that held the promise of meeting up with old and new friends plus plenty of birds.

After the customary frosty welcome from the US Passport Control things improved rapidly once we left Newark Airport, NYC to make the 3 hour journey northeast to Ithaca, New York State to deliver a talk at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology.

 Part of the amazing mural depicting some of the world's birds within the Lab's auditorium

 TUB with some of the Cornell Crew and Vanesa Palacios

 TUB with my great buddy, Matt Young

The talk was well attended and went well. The remainder of our two days in Ithaca were spent birding in the company of Cornell's Matt Young. We saw a whole slew of birds including glimpsing and hearing my first Pileated Woodpecker.

A confiding Great Blue Heron

Falsterbo Migration Festival, Sweden in pictures

 Beach life

 TUB at the Falsterbo Bird Fair

 Lurking in the Extremadura booth

 TUB discussing the UK's Vote National Bird Campaign

 Announcing Sweden's newly elected National Bird - The Blackbird

 Cormorants against a moody sky

 A migrant Common Redstart

 Spot the Spotted Flycatcher (Vanesa Palacios)

 Spotted Flycatcher (Vanesa Palacios)

 Spotted Flycatcher spotting flies (Vanesa Palacios)

Honey Buzzard

Ebro Delta Bird Festival

In mid- September I found myself in sunny Tarragona, Spain in the Ebro Delta some 90 minutes drive south of Barcelona. The Delta is a coastal expanse of ricefields that at this time of year is in the process of being harvested. It is at this time that wonderful marshy wetland areas are exposed after the harvest - a magnet for a plethera of birds. 

 A view from the fair to the coast

 The venerable raptor guru, Dick Forsman, delivering a talk

I was visiting the 2nd ever Ebro Delta Birding Festival http://www.deltabirdingfestival.com/?lang=en as a general spectator. It was my first visit to the area in 13 years but I remembered nothing of it during my exploration!

 Audouin's Gull 

 Can anyone name this dragonfly?

 Little Egret

 Garganey

 Yellow Wagtail (Iberian race)

 Booted Eagle

 This field is rammed with waders - believe me!

 Another Audouin's Gull

 Pied Flycatcher 

 TUB checking a Great Reed Warbler 

The SEO Birdlife reserve next door to my hotel

Old Moor RSPB Reserve, Barnsley

I visited this really neat little reserve that was once an epicentre for mining. Over the years it has been totally transformed. 

 Lapwings with Dunlin and on Curlew Sandpiper. Can you see it?

 Green Sandpiper

 Common Snipe

 Goldfinch

 Common Redstart

 Linnet

A pair of Tawny Owls