Targeted Surveys @lymnocryptes.bsky.social · 29/09/2026Here’s one hatching out in last few days of July in Weardale Briar. 010
Targeted Surveys @lymnocryptes.bsky.social · 29/09/2026Cettis at a new location this morning Noisy little things Still quite a novelty in inland Durham Gaining a foothold now after a couple of mild winters 1/2 160
Targeted Surveys @lymnocryptes.bsky.social · 29/09/2026Cracking SpotShank at St.Marys Island Northumberland yesterday A nice surprise, but has apparently been there a few days. 54 ssp noted, with total of 70 on 3 recent visits. A pleasant venue 050
Targeted Surveys @lymnocryptes.bsky.social · 06/09/2026Report just in of around x30 birds on the wood edge & tree lined pastures at Muggleswick in August 🎯👍🏻 020
Targeted Surveys @lymnocryptes.bsky.social · 06/09/20262nd September Kings still busy rearing 3rd brood #NEBirding Licensed inspection for NRS. Lack of flooding has helped these over 2025/26 but other territories are suffering from lack of water 060
Targeted Surveys @lymnocryptes.bsky.social · 30/08/2026Thinking along these lines ?? 🧐 (think this pic by C.Bell) 110
Targeted Surveys @lymnocryptes.bsky.social · 29/08/20263/3 Long-eared Owl on garden fence Honestly - it flew there… You can see why they were called Cat Owl 040
Targeted Surveys @lymnocryptes.bsky.social · 29/08/20262/3 Swallows over roost A very small pond Can't see the attraction here Much larger reedbeds on nature reserve close by 🧐 130
Targeted Surveys @lymnocryptes.bsky.social · 29/08/20261/3 Targeted the Swalla roost (Hoping for a Hobby 🧐 I don’t know if they attend hirundine roosts ??) c2,200 present in dull conditions Waited on till dark & sure enough the Leo 🦉🦉appeared & disturbed the roost,& went through to perch hunt from garden walls & fences #NEBirding 180
Targeted Surveys @lymnocryptes.bsky.social · 29/08/20267 various territories checked for 3rd broods, only the 1 active Banks can be traditional & used for many years A spot of maintenance is need every now & then, cutting back Brambles & uprooting Balsam Also made a start of facing off, a new alternative nest site Kingfisher #S1 #NEBirding #NRS 060
Targeted Surveys @lymnocryptes.bsky.social · 29/08/2026Swallows 2,000 in to roost at Elba Park as the Full Moon rose was magical After dark they erupted noisily… Two minutes later we had a Long-eared Owl flying high NEast from that exact spot Strong probability that it made an attempt at the roost 🧐 #NEBirding 050
Targeted Surveys @lymnocryptes.bsky.social · 25/08/2026Under our noses the whole time ! Yesterdays events have been a long time coming HOBBY finally confirmed as having bred on our Houghton patch Delighted to watch a food pass to a very noisy fledged juvenile & just 400 m from the front gate ! #NEBirding NB: Pics from Tony Lee’s back catalog 0230
Targeted Surveys @lymnocryptes.bsky.social · 25/08/2026Third clutch Kings on our Local Patch today These are c13 day old Estimated fledge date is 4th September It’s Hard to believe such bonny 🤩 birds start life in the most terrible foul nest site 🥴 #S1 NestRecordScheme #NEBirding 🤴🎣 @londonkingfishers.bsky.social 1130
Targeted Surveys @lymnocryptes.bsky.social · 21/08/2026August Is August THE Month for us Land Locked Local Patchers ?? 112species for us so far this month, with Hobby added this am (SE) & Garganey yday (MH) All 5 owls present & correct However we are currently Whichatless 😄 Some details in images #BirdingNE #NEBirding 170
Targeted Surveys @lymnocryptes.bsky.social · 13/08/202684ssp noted Rainton 6-9am LWhitethroat defending berries & chasing everything in sight Also Swift Wigeon Yellow WagTSparrow Mandarin Yhammer GSand Treecreeper, juv LrPlover, Jay, Kingfisher Gcrest , Bullfinch, 74HMartin, GWagtail Cettis etc Ssp missed inc GPartridge ReedWarb Redshank #NEBirding 190
Targeted Surveys @lymnocryptes.bsky.social · 12/08/2026Rudimentary Provisional Hectad Maps for Woodcock in VC66 + Startforth District Our current work from 2020shows Roding, Nests & Young from x30 Hectads (c300 Tetrads) The 2000 Atlas (1988 to 1993 fieldwork) confirmed an April to July presence in 22 Hectads (88 Tetrads) To be continued #NEBirding 070
Targeted Surveys @lymnocryptes.bsky.social · 08/08/2026Raptor fest, Out West 7-8pm 3HHarrier 2Merlin 6Shorty 4Buzzard doz+Kestrel all from one spot, also Stonechat BlackGrouse, singing Dipper Got home for dusk & managed to connect with a v.early Shortie on the dog walk 070
Targeted Surveys @lymnocryptes.bsky.social · 04/08/2026Evening dog walk on local reserve - had the whole place to ourselves Cracking 650 hirundine flock Wigeon GreenSand Snipe all back Busy families of GC + LGrebes & Common Tern Cracking Leo encounter with a juvenile coming in to check me & Flint out Amazingly ended up putting up a Woodcock 🎯 050
Targeted Surveys @lymnocryptes.bsky.social · 03/08/2026CRAZY This Scolopax feeding on a South Shields lawn on 1st August ! 😳😄🎯👍🏻 Ties in with recent return of coastal waders & recent full moon 🧐 Closest regular breeding sites are 15km inland August records in UK are few & far between #Scolopax26 #BirdingNE #NEBirding 070
Targeted Surveys @lymnocryptes.bsky.social · 02/08/2026A few more Not too many active nests remaining now A phone call from a very experienced bird nester put us onto an active nest with chicks Close by were a fledged family & a couple of singles that ran rings around us 😵💫😀 Also saw Barn Owl Redstart & Greyhen with young #SpotFly26 040
Targeted Surveys @lymnocryptes.bsky.social · 01/08/20262/2 The map ⬆️ dots are Tetrads, 2km x 2km squares We knew very little about them in 2020 Then we started Crawleyside nest site off Bri BirderSouth showed us a c6 Julie’s 1st find 70’ up a Larch Migwires 5 second nest box occupation Amazing what a bit of Targeted effort can achieve 🎯 010
Targeted Surveys @lymnocryptes.bsky.social · 01/08/2026SpotFly map (Durham 2000 Atlas) edited to show our 2021-2026 findings🎯 Dark Blue Hash = 2021-2026 registrations. Light Blue Circles = BOTH Summer Atlas 2000 AND 2021-2026 registrations. Black circles = Summer Atlas 2000 registrations only It’s certainly not a 92% loss in Weardale #SpotFly26 2/2 260
Targeted Surveys @lymnocryptes.bsky.social · 30/07/2026Breeding density in 2 Weardale Monads (1km x1km) with less than 33% tree cover in each square Stanhope: x22 pairs with x16 nests found Rookhope: x26 pairs with x16 nests found (previous max here has been x29 pairs but not as much coverage this year) #SpotFly26 0101
Targeted Surveys @lymnocryptes.bsky.social · 29/07/2026Can’t beat Mr Mandy but how’s about Mr Scribblyjack 🤩🧐👍🏻 130
Targeted Surveys @lymnocryptes.bsky.social · 29/07/2026Summer acrobatics We love the way the adults can take off & fly with their tails fanned Looking out for first brood fledglings helping feed the second lot which we haven’t managed to witness yet this season 🧐🎯 #SpotFly26 040
Targeted Surveys @lymnocryptes.bsky.social · 27/07/2026A local Great Tit today 27th July 2026 A genuine 2nd clutch in a garden nest box Male bringing in 90% of food (mostly insects from spiders webs), while the hen sits on the unhatched eggs. #NestRecordScheme #BirdingNE 021
Targeted Surveys @lymnocryptes.bsky.social · 27/07/2026Lucy lives in a beautiful riverside Birch in Weardale. This is her second brood Looking like several of her neighbours have already departed?? 🧐 #SpotFly26 #NestRecordScheme 060
Targeted Surveys @lymnocryptes.bsky.social · 27/07/2026Bullfinch hatching out today in roadside Briar at Stanhope this morning #NestRecordScheme #BirdingNE 060
Targeted Surveys @lymnocryptes.bsky.social · 26/07/2026A rare sight in NZ34 Yellow Wagtail brood in standing Wheat These aren’t far off flying… But the combine isn’t far off coming in either ! A great local record for the #NestRecordScheme 050
Targeted Surveys @lymnocryptes.bsky.social · 26/07/2026Breeding confirmation with good productivity on another Weardale study site (24th July) 10 SpotFly families plus 3 active nests with chicks & a few more individuals alongside a 1km riverine habitat #SpotFly26 #NEBirding 060
Targeted Surveys @lymnocryptes.bsky.social · 23/07/20263km is regarded as a standard territory in England They can apparently be as close as 1km. Here we’ve had x2 active nests less than 2 linear km apart Situations can be confusing without close inspection, as successful pairs use multiple burrows during season 🧐 #Kingfisher26 030
Targeted Surveys @lymnocryptes.bsky.social · 22/07/2026Day 4 This one hatched on Sunday & is already catching his own fish by Wednesday R.Wear Durham area @londonkingfishers.bsky.social 050
Targeted Surveys @lymnocryptes.bsky.social · 22/07/2026Another species busy with second round of nesting Nightjar with chicks c5 days old NZ02 Western Durham 050
Targeted Surveys @lymnocryptes.bsky.social · 22/07/20262nd brood Kings fledging from a number of locs this last week or so & quite well synchronised 3 sites checked but no third clutches confirmed so far 🧐 Image clearly illustrating the difference between the male & a recent fledgling One of the ID features of young birds is their dark feet.👣 🤴 090
Targeted Surveys @lymnocryptes.bsky.social · 21/07/2026Cracking #Scolopax26 record today from NY73 close to the Cumberland/Westmorland boundaries. Up at around 600m this is a very remote & tree-less area in the North Pennines We have watched early season Roders get up in minus 4 (+ windchill 🥶) from the comfort of the car at Cow Green Res 180
Targeted Surveys @lymnocryptes.bsky.social · 21/07/2026Take our 3 everywhere There’s no reason why trained dogs shouldn’t be allowed on reserves. Here’s one example of sit & stay with our Flint looking at a Jack Snipe 😄👍🏻 110
Targeted Surveys @lymnocryptes.bsky.social · 19/07/2026Goosander are doing well, with a nest on our local patch this season after several seasons prospecting & a full grown family of 7 seen today 020
Targeted Surveys @lymnocryptes.bsky.social · 19/07/2026Breeding confirmation for #SpotFly26 in an additional Weardale Monad in our current 5-year study period. #NestRecordScheme 040
Targeted Surveys @lymnocryptes.bsky.social · 18/07/2026Scribblyjacks starting to drop the cheese & only singing about a little bit of bread… 💛🔨 Still 90+ Monads holding breeders in NZ34 to the East of Durham City in a mixed farmland setting 130
Targeted Surveys @lymnocryptes.bsky.social · 17/07/2026With as many as x90 eggs being laid in a season on our local beck, the mortality rate for Kingfishers must be sky high #NestRecordScheme #S1 030
Targeted Surveys @lymnocryptes.bsky.social · 14/07/2026#SpotFly26 Update on one site 17 pairs (12 nests found) along a 850m stretch of river, over half now fledged Averages c50m per pair several are nesting in much closer proximity & even with much targeted effort we can’t find all nests & are pretty sure some pairs are undetected via inaccessibility 040
Targeted Surveys @lymnocryptes.bsky.social · 13/07/2026Another Long-eared Owl brood in a section of our home Hectad where we seldom venture #BigLugs #Durham #InDuskWeTrust 050
Targeted Surveys @lymnocryptes.bsky.social · 13/07/2026Female incubating second clutch c3 12/7/26 #SpotFly26 Must be somewhere around x50 nests so far this season. 010
Targeted Surveys @lymnocryptes.bsky.social · 13/07/2026A more typical #SpotFly26 nest Sycamore at c25’ Nest in pocket of rot on a long pruned branch wound. 2/2 image shows bird sitting 120
Targeted Surveys @lymnocryptes.bsky.social · 13/07/2026Dipper Interesting to see a Dipper go to roost (21:30) in a flooded (deep) quarry adjacent to a breeding river Splash below suggests it’s in regular use 020
Targeted Surveys @lymnocryptes.bsky.social · 13/07/2026Third replacement for this pair Only the 2nd nest we’ve known in Hawthorn (n=300+) We could not find this at egg stage despite looking straight at it from the other side ! 😄 Sneaky things, 5 healthy nestlings hidden in next to nowt ☺️ #SpotFly26 #NestRecordScheme 020
Targeted Surveys @lymnocryptes.bsky.social · 11/07/2026Clip of nest site We were puzzled as initially it flew in carrying a mouthful of food ! 010
Targeted Surveys @lymnocryptes.bsky.social · 11/07/2026Blondie is a busy mum Feeding her semi-independent young whilst incubating her second clutch It took an hour of watching to work out what was going on & another nest which couldn’t be found cold searching, the bird completely hidden away down in the cavity #NestRecordScheme #SpotFly26 1131
