Teesmouth Bird Club

Any regular viewers of this forum may know I started a thread (desperately in need of an update) nearly a decade ago titled "Cleveland's Next New Bird". New birds are always great fun. The panic and tension of getting to the site. Waiting for the bird to appear and then the enjoyment and social event once the business side of things is done with.

These magical moments are talked about for decades "remember when" indeed.

The downside of all this fun and glory (and of course there is a downside) is that someone (nearly) always misses out! Someone will inevitably
be away on holiday, stuck at work, committed to being somewhere else, in the Pub, recovering from being in the Pub or just plain unlucky and simply misses the bird even whilst still onsite searching (this last scenario aint fun I can tell you and I probably will).

So recently I've been giving the county list and my list some thought (let's face it the birding has been a bit slow to say the least). I wondered how many species have been seen in Cleveland since I've been birding that I still "need" How many could I have seen given a change of fortune? What have I missed and why? What were the missed opportunities?

Here we go then, this is my story...

I have note books going back to 1984, the 13th of May 1984 to be precise. It all started with a Treecreeper in Preston Park! I'm sure the Treecreeper wasn't the first species I'd seen but it obviously made an impact on me as it went in the book on the first line.

By the end of the year I had seen a grand total of 70 species! Now in this day and age it would seem incredible that I only saw 70 species
in seven month but back then I was starting out from scratch with no former knowledge, I didn't know anybody else with an interest in birds
and was only 13 years old so couldn't get about too easily, the only magazine available was British Birds which was to be fair a bit heavy going
for a newbe like me! Of course computers and the internet with all the info at a press of a button was a long way off. kids (Harry) have it so much easier these day's.

The next few years progress was slow, very slow. I ended 1985 with a British list of 131, by the end of 1986 it had grew to a massive 163!
Things had then started to change. Birdwatching magazine was available in the shops and in 1987 as I started to get an interest in the Rare stuff
Twitching magazine (changed to Birding World in 1988) was launched. Even though I had an interest in Rare birds I still had no intension of becoming a Twitcher hmmm...

So briefly back to 30th August 1986 and whilst wandering about Coatham Marsh I got talking to a birder that clearly realised I was a novice and
asked me if I knew about the Greenish Warbler in Locke Park, not only did I not know about the Greenish Warbler but I had already been in the Park and failed to see a crowd of about 60 birders looking for the thing!!! This bird was the first Rarity I had ever seen!
This was the first significant event that sparked an interest in rare birds that will no doubt never ever leave me!
The name of the Birder that told me about the Greenish Warbler was Nick Preston, so everything that's happened since then is all his fault!

Now (if anyone is still reading this and not fallen asleep) lets fast forward to 1989 and the second significant event, The Billingham Double Crested Cormorant. A first for Britain and the Western Palearctic on our doorstep and still the only British record to date (not including Ireland). This is the longest standing bird on my list, British and County. Everything I'd seen prior to this I have seen again since so in effect I could have started my list here and I would still be where I am today numbers wise.

Again lets fast forward to 1993 and the third and probably the most significant event that changed the way I have birded ever since. By 1993 I had started to dabble in Twitching, still not having a wide network of contacts and no job or car things were still slow going.
On 23rd May 1993 Paul Baxter rang and offered me a lift to St.Abbs Head for a Marmora's Warbler! We arrived on site and I quickly and rather luckily located the bird in some gorse. In the distance we could see another group of birders searching so we waved them over and told them we had just seen the Marmora's. These other birders (if my memory serves me correct) included Graeme Joynt, after we had all seen the bird we all stood chatting and talk soon turned to Cleveland County listing as it often does. Graeme then asked me what my county list was on? Around this time I was aware that Graeme had started to keep a list of lists as it were and if I remember correct Martin Blick (Cleveland's No 1 since the beginning of time) was on a huge total of about 311! This number of birds was simply unbelievable! I was on about 270! After being asked that question I right there and  then decided to start "going for it" I was going to start County Listing...I was determined to make Graeme's list...So I'll let Nick off as it's all Graeme's fault after all!

Now to the present. The Cleveland list currently stands at 378 species. I have seen a total of 350 of them (92.6% to be precise). I only know this because it say's so on the TBC website!

That leaves 28 species I have not seen.

Nine of these species have not been seen in Cleveland by anyone currently active birding today. (Ferruginous Duck, Little Bittern, Gyr Falcon, Baillon's Crake, Macqueens Bustard, Pallas's Sandgrouse, Tengmalm's Owl, Chough and Cirl Bunting).

A further Four have not occurred since I have been birding (Long-toed Stint, Black-billed Cuckoo, Dusky Thrush and Lesser-grey Shrike).

Five were what I class as Unexpected Fly by's, as in you just had to be there. These birds are just not twitchable (Little Shearwater, Wilson's Petrel, Black Kite, White-tailed Eagle and Little Swift).

Another Five species although not fly by's were only seen by the finders and those who were lucky to be present on site at the time of discovery and not widely twitchable (Black Grouse, Cliff Swallow, Olive-backed Pipit, Pallas's Grasshopper Warbler and Aquatic Warbler). The vast majority of Cleveland Listers still need these species.

I'm now left with only five species...one of which is what I call an expected Fly By. Sandhill Crane, 29th September 2011 (my 40th Birthday). Tracked down the East Coast, anyone who had the time and wasn't otherwise engaged had time to position themselves where they thought best, some won, some lost. I on the other hand had gone to Fair Isle, Shetland to stay at the new Obs and to avoid any unwanted 40th Birthday family/friend type celebrations. As i was away from Cleveland with no chance of getting back to see the bird I don't class this as a "missed oportunity" I simply wasn't here to see it. The only way to avoid this scenario is to never leave the county (now there's a thought)!

So Four species left all having occurred whilst I've been birding and whilst I've been "at home" in Cleveland. These are my missed opportunities.

Serin - Locke Park -  24th December 1985 to 14th April 1986.

I knew about this bird, I'd read about it somewhere. Maybe in the Northern Echo that on a Saturday had a small sightings report by the Late Brian Unwin if I remember correct. This at the time is how I learnt what had been seen. My note books also prove that I had visited Locke Park on three occasions whilst this bird was present! At the time I had no idea where to look for it or indeed what it actually looked like but
how different things could have been had I just bumped into any other birders watching it! To this day there has not been another Twitchable Serin in the county but surely it's got to happen again...hasn't it?


Ivory Gull - Saltburn - 31st January 1986 to 8th February 1986.

One of Cleveland's most famous rare birds ever, widely twitched at the time, photographed by every man and his dog (as it showed at very close range) but not seen by me. Again I was aware of the presence of this Arctic Gull, I'm sure I have a newspaper cutting of it somewhere and what really hurts is I can remember asking my parents for a lift to see it! The weather at the time was horrid and the answer I got was "It's too cold, the weathers to bad" Now at the time my list was on 135, rare birds didn't mean a great deal to me if anything at all so I guess I just accepted it
and probably went out and had a snowball fight with my mates instead. As the years have gone by this has played on my mind probably more than any other  bird (maybe). I obviously knew about it and knew it was rare, I obviously wanted to see it as I asked to go! So why, why, why did I just not get on a Bus and go and see the bloody thing? To make things worse Birdwatching magazine had not long been launched and in it was a monthly column by Richard Millington. The next issues was titled "unblocked At Saltburn" if only! I still have that article somewhere...

Raven - Sleddale - 1st to 6th April 2006.

April 1st 2006 (Yep April fools) news broke that Richard Taylor had seen three Raven up at Sleddale! Now raven is a very hard bird to see in Cleveland. All previous modern day records are one observer sightings and this appeared to be a real opportunity not to be missed!
I and a fair few other made our way up to the moors and for some reason and I still don't understand why we all stopped by the Chevrons nr Commondale (outside the county boundry). Whilst having a chat and deciding what to do a Adult male Hen Harrier drifted by, not a bad start. Then news filtered through that Steve Keightley and Stew Hinley were watching a Raven up at the farm feeding on a carcass, we all dashed up only to find the bird had gone! After an hour or so Jamie Duffy called a ringtail Hen Harrier so attention diverted to watching this bird when a Raven was heard to call overhead but unfortunately it had already crossed the county boundry into North Yorkshire! Several hours later with no further sign we all gave up and went home. If only that Hen Harrier hadn't appeared we may just have seen that Raven in Cleveland!
The next day the plan was to be up at Sleddale very early. First light would have been a good idea but no...I on the other hand had drank to much the night before and slept in!!! I was woke by a call to say Two Raven were again at Sleddale feeding on the carcass. Things then got worse as I chose to go up via Birk Brow only to find Morgans scrap yard was on fire and I got diverted off down a load of back roads and eventually just got to Lockwood Beck when again I got a call to say the Ravens had flown from Sleddale but Graeme Joynt
was watching them over Lockwood Beck! I was at Lockwood Beck and jumped out of the car and started scanning around, not only did I see no Ravens but I also couldn't see Graeme!?! I got back in the car and started to drive and within seconds there was Graeme stood by his car, hidden from my view in a dip in the road! A Hidden Dip to top all Dips...If only I'd got that phone call 10 seconds later I may have just bumped into Graeme watching the Raven's and seen them flying off towards the coast. Needless to say I spent the rest of the day up at Sleddale but failed to see any raven on this day or several other day's I spent up there in the following few weeks.

Siberian Accentor - Hunt Cliff, Saltburn - 15th October 2017.

The last addition to the Cleveland List and a true "Dream Bird". I arrived pretty much the same time as everyone else and after a few hours I really thought the chance of seeing this bird was about nil. A few other birders were setting off to take a look at a nearby Pallas's warbler so with a change of scenery needed I decided to join them...as I walked away from the Accentor site and towards the Pallas's I made the comment that if I'd realised how far it was I wouldn't have bothered. I watched the Pallas's for about 30 seconds and instantly felt the urge to return
back to look for the Accentor. On my return my phone got some signal and all my missed calls came through just as I heard the Siberian Accentor had been seen! This is one bird I totally blew.
Whenever I go on a twitch I have set myself a rule that I never drift away from the main site, I never drift away from the people I have travelled with (safety in numbers, who want's to be the one in the car that 's missed the bird. If there is a chance the bird is still present stick it out until you are the last man standing unless you really have to leave that is. On this day I broke every rule in the book and it's cost me one of the greatest birds ever to grace the county! What a missed opportunity...


So there we have it, my "missed opportunities". Sorry if this reads like a load of over self indulgent nonsense but I do hope it's made for some light hearted reading and it's intended to be a bit of fun. Birding is meant to be fun isn't it? Please note this was all written from memory except checking a few dates so a few inaccuracies may have slipped in!

As much as we all love to connect with a new bird for the county nothing, absolutely nothing can replace the joy of gripping back a previous missed opportunity! I hope one day I get the chance...


Anyone else like to share there moments of miss fortune?

Cheers

Ian.

A great read Ian, brings back memories, good and bad. I sometimes wonder why I do it, but it's addictive and there's nothing quite like it.

Ha! Yes keith, you were with me at the failed Raven and Sibe Acc attempts if I remember correctly? We laugh about it now but at the time it was terrible...

Nice one Ian, a good read. It also prompted me to carry out a quick analysis of the 28 species I haven't seen in Cleveland.

I started birding locally when I moved to the area in July 1986. The very same Locke Park Greenish Warbler was also my first BB Rarity. A few weeks later I self found a Yellow Browed Warbler, also in Locke Park as this was clearly the best place to look for rarities. I was hooked.

Following the same categorisation as yourself, the first nine species not seen by anyone active today are of course the same.

Birds not seen since I started are the same, but with the addition of the Ivory Gull.

Fly By's not seen are Wilsons Petrel, Black Stork (I really should have met you to show you the Essex Skippers that day Ian), Black Kite, White-tailed Eagle, Little Swift, also Serin as the last twitchable bird was the Locke Park individual a few months before I moved into the area.  More recent records have all been fly overs.

There are five untwichable birds:- Black Grouse, Cliff Swallow, Olive Backed Pipit, Pallas's Grashopper Warbler and Aquatic Warbler. I was very close to Olive-backed Pipit, driving past Burger King on my way to the headland when RCT paged out the bird by the car wash. I was there within a minute of the news breaking but  it had already gone.  I was at South Gare first thing the morning of the Cliff Swallow, but had left to go to Hartlepool for some reason. Two near misses.

I was away for the twitchable Black-Winged Pratincole, South Gare Roller and Melodious Warbler.

That accounts for all 28 species. I suppose the closest I came to these was the second sighting of the Pratincole. I was out birding that day, driving as far as the North Gare Car Park. I had a quick scan of the nearest fairway before stopping halfway back to the road to photograph a Pink-footed Goose. Geoff Iceton stopped for a chat & I recall moaning that there wasn't anything about as usual  

I remember your Raven disaster well. We both set off around the same time and recall being baffled as to your chosen route. Surely via Kildale was the quickest route? This proved the case as I had a good few minutes watching the Ravens on the carcass before they flew off  

I won't mention the Accentor, Pallas's Warbler, really!!  

Cheers
Martyn

Great reply Martyn!

You're one of a very few that I can think of that has a County List as big as it could be...having only missed birds due to holiday's! Must be good to know you could not have done anything more other than never going away!

A few near misses though! Didn't know you had been to the Gare on Cliff Swallow day! I was on Long Drag when I got told about that bird...didn't fully realise the enormity of it at the time! Must have been some moment for the lucky few...

Had you been at home or rather at work when the Black-winged Pratincole was at Saltholme you would of had to be quick off the mark to get there in time...just missing it would have been worse than missing it due to a holiday!

...and yes Pallas's Warbler! I will never ever look at one again without thinking about that Accentor...

Cheers

Ian.

Really enjoyed reading this.  You almost started me off listing (and I started birdwatching around the same time as you and I think I've only gone more than 1/4 of a mile out of my way for a rare-ish bird on four occasions since then).  You must have a book in you on Cleveland birders (though not sure if I would dare read it as I would probably end up hooked )

Brilliant idea Mr Bond, it would make a great read, I like the way Ian writes, always entertaining.

Hi Ian,

Finally got around to adding my thoughts. A very enjoyable read, Ian - very eloquent and engaging!

I'm a relative newcomer to Cleveland listing, arriving on Teesside in July 2001. Hence my paltry total of 300. The good thing about this low number is that I still have plenty of relatively easier species to add. I'm missing all of your 28, of course, and numerous others prior to 2001. Sandhill Crane was the most painful dip as I chose to go to Dorman's Pool instead of the coast. Only putting 2 hours in the Saltburn pay and display car park meant I left the Siberian Accentor so dipped on that too (at least I saw the one at Hendon). Others that I could have seen, with a bit more commitment, include Alpine Swift over the power station (perhaps lack of belief that it would linger), Great Snipe at South Gare (that it would be visible as it was getting dark) and Little Bunting at Hartlepool (I think because I'd already been out rather a lot that week). Red-eyed Vireo and Black-winged Pratincole I arrived just too late. There are others that I could have gone for but keep thinking that surely I shouldn't have to twitch them, e.g. Turtle Dove and Red Kite. I missed the recent Saltholme Night Heron by going to Scotland the day it arrived (although I did see the one at Holme Fleet in 2005 after a 3.5 hour wait). Still missing all the rarer shearwaters and petrels as I struggle with prolonged sea watching and have not yet managed to get any that are tracked up the coast, despite several attempts.

I'd also really like to see a few other species that I DID see added to the Cleveland list, but these are currently deemed unacceptable. These include White-headed Duck, Ross's Goose, Ruddy Shelduck and, perhaps even, Lesser White-fronted Goose. Maybe Red-breasted Goose and Hooded Merganser are rather too much to hope for.

For all the angst of missing many rarities, I do encourage myself with those that I did manage catch up with - including several that I only just made it before they disappeared (Laughing Gull, Cattle Egret). Cleveland is a fantastic county. Let's hope for some more additions this autumn. Lesser Grey Shrike at Zinc Works Road sounds good, though a twitchable Turtle Dove will do me!

Cheers,

Gary