The Standlake Birder

  BLOG UPDATE _22nd August 2025 Quote from Rare bird alert article   "An extraordinary ornithological milestone has been confirmed at Walberswick in Suffolk, where Zitting Cisticola Cisticola juncidis has bred for the first time in Britain. An adult was first reported at the site on 3 August, representing the first record for Suffolk. Just two weeks later, on 17 August, observers recorded two birds, with one male in full song - an early sign that breeding might be on the cards. Today, the discovery of a family party of five birds - two adults accompanied by three juveniles - has confirmed that this southern European and Asian warbler has nested successfully. The news marks the species’ first proven breeding on the British mainland and a major landmark in the ever-changing avifauna of these islands."   The photo above was taken by my mate Nick  in Lesvos earlier this spring   The Zitting Cisticola, alternatively called Fan-tailed Warbler, is a comparatively...

          This year so far birding has often seemed like trying to get blood out of a stone. Twitchable rarities have been few and far between and even scarce birds have been, well, scarce on the ground. This has made the usual summer birding doldrums seem even duller than usual.   So a juvenile rare Black Stork in Suffolk hence seemed worthy of a visit, and by this I mean a seven hour return journey drive. I’m either desperate or completely bonkers – my ever suffering wife certainly thinks the latter! I’ve only ever seen one in the UK, a brief flyover a few years back at Frampton RSPB so the chance to hopefully photograph this, by all accounts, obliging teenager was very tempting.   White Storks in the UK are troublesome  birds. They went extinct as a breeding species in Britain in 1416 when  the last recorded breeding pair nested on the roof of St Giles Cathedral in Edinburgh. A significant number of recently reintroduced, an...