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Graham Etherington

@britishbirder.bsky.social
469 followers 349 following 130 posts

Norwich-based birder,football fan (Stoke City) and scientist. Birding patches are Waxham, Potter Heigham Marshes, and Heigham Waterworks. Frequent Shetland and N.America visitor. BOU 512, BOU self-found 323, ABA688. OM1 user. Ise images under CC-BY-NC 4 0

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Graham Etherington @britishbirder.bsky.social · 21h
The calm after the storm! There was a big clear-out of birds on Shetland last night, but there were lots of very tired auks along the shoreline of Reawick this afternoon. Here, a Common Guillemot (left) and a Razorbill (front right) cruised the shoreline together.
RazorbillCommon Guillemot
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Graham Etherington @britishbirder.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
After days of empty bushes on Shetland, yesterday's raging south-easterly winds brought loads of birds! As well as seeing the 'headline' Siberian Blue Robin, I also found 2 Little Buntings and an Olive-backed Pipit. Great way to spend your birthday 🎂
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Graham Etherington @britishbirder.bsky.social · 03/09/2026
My second trip across the Turnip Curtain into Suffolk this week! This amazing, bold juvenile Red-footed Falcon is the tamest one I've ever encountered, and spending an hour with it this afternoon felt like a real privilege.
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Graham Etherington @britishbirder.bsky.social · 31/08/2026
Question: I'm thinking of splashing out and getting a Swarovski ST balance, and was wondering if anyone has been using one and can offer some advice, pros/cons. Any situations where it can't replace a high-end scope and tripod (I have a Kowa TSN 99a) - seawatching? Also, straight or angled? Thanks.
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Graham Etherington @britishbirder.bsky.social · 13/08/2026
Great Crested Flycatcher added to the British List, plus new 'first' records changed for Collared Dove and Canada Goose. #UKBirding bou.org.uk/british-list...
bou.org.uk
Changes to the British List (13 Aug 2026) - British Ornithologists' Union
The British Ornithologists’ Union Records Committee (BOURC) has made the following decisions with regards to the British List: View the British List The following species has been added to Category ...
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Graham Etherington @britishbirder.bsky.social · 08/08/2026
Let the birds come to you! Pleased I resisted the temptation to spend the morning at Horsey to see the Black Stork again. Instead, I went looking for waders on the Yare Estuary and then found the Black Stork flying low around Burgh Castle after losing height from crossing the Yare Valley #UKBirding
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Graham Etherington @britishbirder.bsky.social · 01/08/2026
The wife and I rented an electric boat from Martham Ferry Boat Hire today. Those electric boats are great! No loud diesel engines so you can't hear any birds singing, and with a bit of steady manoeuvring, this Bittern allowed us to get really close without flushing it. Great morning out!
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Graham Etherington @britishbirder.bsky.social · 24/07/2026
Yesterday's flying ant hatch produced some really nice birds over my suburban Norwich garden, including 8+ Med Gulls, Hobby, and lots of swifts. No Meds yet this morning, but this partially albino swift, present for its 3rd year, was among a big swarm of around 100 swifts.
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Graham Etherington @britishbirder.bsky.social · 20/07/2026
Two twitches in three days! An early evening visit to the Oxon Long-tailed Shrike proved fruitful. The bird was fairly close most of the time, occasionally coming down to about 30 metres. Many thanks to the farmer and volunteers who organised access. #ukbirding
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Graham Etherington @britishbirder.bsky.social · 20/07/2026
Although it's tempting to take the presence of fluffy juvenile Wheatears as proof of breeding, dispersing juveniles from outside the county can be seen in Norfolk as early as the end of June. This bird is a prime example, feeding around the paddocks along Stone Road, Halvergate yesterday.
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Graham Etherington @britishbirder.bsky.social · 18/07/2026
A short jaunt down to the Suffolk/Essex border today to spend a couple of hours watching the Hudsonian Godwit. Really nice views! Great to spend some time chatting to @deansmatthew.bsky.social and @camstu.bsky.social also!
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Graham Etherington @britishbirder.bsky.social · 28/06/2026
I've just about recovered from a bad concussion that I suffered in April and am starting to head out into the field a bit. I have a great morning at Hickling NWT today, with lots of waders, Spoonbills, Hobby, etc. Butterflies too, with Swallow-tail and Purple Hairstreak. ebird.org/checklist/S3...
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Graham Etherington @britishbirder.bsky.social · 22/06/2026
If you're a keen house lister, keep 'em peeled for Curlew today. Much rarer than Whimbrel over Norwich, but at least 2 over the city this morning. Bbut more importantly, one of them was over my house! House tick number 98!
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Graham Etherington @britishbirder.bsky.social · 27/04/2026
Wow! Popped into the garden to get on a 'Commic' Tern seen by @perilsofbirding.bsky.social over the Waterworks reservoir, only to see what I thought were two high Commic Terns. I rattled off a bunch of photos, only to realise they were Little Gulls!!! A real garden mega in Norwich!!! #Norfolkbirding
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Reposted by Graham Etherington
Princeton University Press @princetonupress.bsky.social · 23/04/2026
Announcing The Bird Guide: North America! This landmark field guide, published in association with @cornellbirds.bsky.social, will set a new standard for North American bird identification. Publishing in early 2027, the guide is now available for pre-order from booksellers everywhere. 🐦‍⬛ 📙
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Graham Etherington @britishbirder.bsky.social · 14/04/2026
Incredible scenes at Sweetbriar NWT today when this female Sparrowhawk took a Jay and devoured it in front of me, much to the indignation of the local corvids!
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Graham Etherington @britishbirder.bsky.social · 12/04/2026
Great to see the Norfolk Black-winged Kite at Sea Palling this morning. It's getting closer to my Waxham patch! #NorfolkBirding #UKBirding
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Graham Etherington @britishbirder.bsky.social · 10/04/2026
At @earlhaminst.bsky.social it's always nice to get a brand new @nanoporetech.com flow cell, but in spring it's even better. You can recycle the woollen packaging by putting it into a bird feeder, which birds will use for nesting material. Here's a Blue Tit doing just that. youtu.be/r6b00j0PXRo
youtu.be
ONT nesting material
YouTube video by Graham Etherington
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Graham Etherington @britishbirder.bsky.social · 08/03/2026
Made a rare trip 'up north' to North Norfolk today. Lovely flock of 13 Long-tailed Ducks (5 drakes) on the sea, plus Black-necked Grebe, Scaup, Raven, a showy Water Rail, plus lots of summer-plumaged Med Gulls and lots of waterfowl and waders
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Graham Etherington @britishbirder.bsky.social · 15/02/2026
A neck-ringed White-fronted Goose that I had just west of Gt. Yarmouth on 14 Feb was ringed in north Holland on 12 Dec 23, and was seen in Salmorth, Denmark on 5 Dec 25 and then Haarzuilens, Holland on 18 Jan 26. Full details here (login needed) submit.cr-birding.org/animals/1744... #NorfolkBirding
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Graham Etherington @britishbirder.bsky.social · 01/02/2026
As well as the Iceland Gull, there's plenty of other stuff at Sea Palling to see, such as 6 Purple Sands, lots of Turnstones, and 5 Caspian Gulls (4 2cy and 1 adult).
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Graham Etherington @britishbirder.bsky.social · 01/02/2026
Had a great morning looking at gulls at Sea Palling today. Star of the show was this 2cy Iceland Gull #NorfolkBirding
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Graham Etherington @britishbirder.bsky.social · 02/01/2026
Great to finish up the day with some lovely views of Short-eared Owls in east Norfolk today. Probably up to 10 birds at this one site.
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Graham Etherington @britishbirder.bsky.social · 02/01/2026
Saw the New Year in at the same place I saw it out - Filby Broad. The female Ring-necked Duck showed quite closely, but always into the sun, and the drake Ferruginous Duck did the right thing and occasionally woke up.
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Graham Etherington @britishbirder.bsky.social · 02/01/2026
Lovely to see 2025 out at Filby Broad on Wednesday. I was delighted when this Red-necked Grebe popped up out of nowhere, right next to the boardwalk, and then the 3 Eider (1 drake, 2 ducks) swam out into view.
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Graham Etherington @britishbirder.bsky.social · 29/12/2025
After the run of easterlies we've had over the past week or so, you can now almost 'expect' to find Tundra Bean Geese in large flocks of Pink-footed Geese in Norfolk. Here are two of the five birds that I saw at Wickhampton today. Lots of Russian White-fronts in the flocks too. #NorfolkBirding
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Graham Etherington @britishbirder.bsky.social · 27/12/2025
What a mega day!! Started by twitching Great Shearwater (Norfolk tick) off Winterton. Sooty Shearwater and Snow Buntings from there too. Then I found 8+ Tundra Bean Geese at Horsey. Then, at St. Benet's Abbey, I had great views of Black-winged Kite, Glossy Ibis, Short-eared Owl, and 7 cranes. Wow!
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Graham Etherington @britishbirder.bsky.social · 26/12/2025
Now this is my idea of a Christmas Robin! Eastern Black Redstart at Sheringham this afternoon. It remained elusive in the cold easterly wind for most of the morning, but eventually did the decent thing and returned to the ornamental gardens.
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Graham Etherington @britishbirder.bsky.social · 22/12/2025
A really nice day in the sun out in East Norfolk today. As well as the four Tundra Bean Geese, I also had 2 White-fronts, as well as 6 Bewick's and 29 Whooper Swans #NorfolkBirding #UKbirding
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Graham Etherington @britishbirder.bsky.social · 22/12/2025
Tundra Bean Geese have been really thin on the ground this winter, so I was really pleased to find four at Horsey this afternoon (an adult, with two first-winters behind, shown here). #NorfolkBirding
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Reposted by Graham Etherington
Max Hellicar @birdingtothemax.bsky.social · 10/12/2025
Epic recovery report just received! ⚠️ A Turnstone I trapped using a homemade walk-in trap has been recaptured in the 🌍 world’s 🌎 northernmost continuously inhabited settlement. Ringed on 12 February 2024 in Southend-on-Sea, Essex 🇬🇧, it was re-trapped on 08 June 2025 in Alert, Nunavut… 🇨🇦 (🧵 1/2)
Recovery map, showing the distance between ringing (12/02/2024) and encounter (08/06/2025) locationsTurnstone ringed in Southend-on-Sea in February 2024Qikiqtaaluk Region: the administrative region of Nunavut where Alert is located. May 2025.
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Graham Etherington @britishbirder.bsky.social · 05/12/2025
The last of three supermoons in 2025 occurred last night. December's full moon is also known as the 'Cold Moon', so you could describe last night's as a #SuperColdMoon. This uncropped image was taken at 6.30am today with a Nikon Coolpix P1100, using the moon mode.
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Graham Etherington @britishbirder.bsky.social · 21/11/2025
Dusky Warbler! This morning's sunny and calm weather provided the perfect window of bird-finding opportunity. So my pre-work visit to Brancaster turned out to be a good call, when I found this little chap 'tuk'ing away in a hedgerow near the Branodunum Roman Fort. #ukbirding #norfolkbirding
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Graham Etherington @britishbirder.bsky.social · 16/11/2025
Dawn to dusk birding at Horsey, from the village, out along the Nelson Head track, and south to the Winterton plantations. I never found that 'biggy', but Sibe Chiffy, a VERY late Willow Warbler, Hen Harrier, and fabulous Caspian Gull made it a very nice day ebird.org/checklist/S2... #ukbirding
Siberian ChiffchaffSiberian ChiffchaffWillow WarblerCaspian Gull
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Graham Etherington @britishbirder.bsky.social · 26/10/2025
There's been a really good influx of Firecrests into East Anglia this week, with double-figure counts on the north Suffolk coast. Here's one bird that put on a nice show at Horsey, Norfolk this morning.
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Graham Etherington @britishbirder.bsky.social · 19/10/2025
I love finding Pallas's Warblers, so I was delighted to find this bird at Sidestrand, Norfolk today. There was also a really nice mix of birds along the coast today, including Firecrests, YBWs, Chiffs, Bramblings and other finches, thrushes, Skylarks, pipits, and more.
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Reposted by Graham Etherington
Belvide Birding𓅪 @belvidebirding.bsky.social · 11/10/2025
One of the most incredible WTF!! moments I have witnessed in 41 years birding Belvide. 8 White-rumped Sandpiper on the north shore between 4pm-5.30pm. Just short of a British Record of 11 on the outer Hebrides. Thought I'd lost the plot when I saw them. Still pinching myself. #UKbirding
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Reposted by Graham Etherington
Joe Stockwell @joestockwell.bsky.social · 29/09/2025
Yellow-browed Bunting trapped, ringed and released at the Swannery. It's flown to the hedge which runs alongside the Swannery grounds and the bird may be viewable from the permissive path heading west from Grove Lane.
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Graham Etherington @britishbirder.bsky.social · 21/09/2025
Wowzer! Now that's a Black-throated Blue Warbler. Back into Central Park for my last morning in the US. Lots of migrants around, including 11+ Swainson's and 1 Grey-cheaked Thrush, 2 Veery, Blue-headed Vireo, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Ovenbird, N. Waterthrush, Myrtle Warbler ebird.org/checklist/S2...
Black-throated Blue WarblerRose-breasted GrosbeakNorthern WaterthrushVeery
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Graham Etherington @britishbirder.bsky.social · 21/09/2025
A small flurry of migrants in Central Park, New York on Friday. Palm, Black-throated Blue, and Chestnut-sided Warblers were new for the trip, plus a few other migrants such as Eastern Wood-Pewee, Red-eyed Vireos, Brown Thrasher, Parula, Magnolia Warbler, and lots of Redstarts.
Chestnut-sided WarblerAmerican RedstartAmerican RedstartSwainson's Thrush
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Graham Etherington @britishbirder.bsky.social · 19/09/2025
Today's birding destination, Central Park, #NYC
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Graham Etherington @britishbirder.bsky.social · 19/09/2025
Today's birding destination, Central Park, #NYC
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Graham Etherington @britishbirder.bsky.social · 17/09/2025
Today, I've been on the fabled Monhegan Island. A great dawn flight included 8 Cape May, 6 Yellow, 3 Myrtle, 1 Black-throated Green, and 2 Black-and-White Warblers, 5 Parula, 2 American Redstarts, Dickcissel, Scarlet Tanager, 9 Red-eyed and 1 Philly Vireo, Clay-coloured Sparrow, and 50+ Flickers.
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Graham Etherington @britishbirder.bsky.social · 15/09/2025
Although tame by their standards, the annual Maine Audubon Society Bar Harbor pelagic was still very enjoyable. Loads of Wilson's Petrels (500+), Pom Skua (8), Great Shearwater (20+), Cory's Shearwater (1), Red-necked (200) and Grey (2) Phalaropes, and Humpbacked, Minke, and Fin Whales were great.
Pomerine SkuaWilson's Storm-petrelGreat ShearwaterRed-necked Phalaropes
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Graham Etherington @britishbirder.bsky.social · 14/09/2025
We had the day in Acadia National Park, near Bar Harbor, Maine. Good diversity with passerines, waders, and gulls. Below is White-throated Sparrow, Solitary Sandpiper, a juvenile Ring-billed Gull, and 2 Lesser Black-backed Gulls.
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Graham Etherington @britishbirder.bsky.social · 13/09/2025
My last morning in Lubec, Maine, was really good for warblers and vireos. In one bush alone, I had Black-and-White, Blackpoll, and Black-throated Green Warbler and Northern Parula. Also had both Red-eyed and Philadelphia Vireo, White-throated Sparrow, plus Yellow and Myrtle Warbler and Yellowthroat.
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Graham Etherington @britishbirder.bsky.social · 12/09/2025
One of the great things about staying in Lubec, Maine, is that if you get up early enough, you get to be the first person in the USA to see the sun rise.
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Graham Etherington @britishbirder.bsky.social · 12/09/2025
Lots of good video opportunities at Lubec Bay, Maine this morning. Here is a juvenile Least Sandpiper sheltering in the tide line.
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Graham Etherington @britishbirder.bsky.social · 12/09/2025
Last photos from Lubec Bay, Maine, for today. Adult White-rumped Sandpiper, Adult and juvenile Semi-palmated Sandpiper, and juvenile Least Sandpiper.
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Graham Etherington @britishbirder.bsky.social · 12/09/2025
Lots of good video opportunities at Lubec Bay, Maine this morning. Here, White-rumped Sandpipers feed with adult and juvenile Semi-palmated Sandpipers
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