Steve Richards
@thesnapper1978.bsky.social
Avid Staffs & British Birder. Natural history & foreign travel. Heavy Music. Dad to Big Dave.
A couple of hours spent at Birches Valley on The Chase with the family was festive and very pleasant in the afternoon sun. Made even better by several Crossbills constantly knocking round and regularly perching above us.
November 30, 2025 at 5:48 PM
A couple of hours spent at Birches Valley on The Chase with the family was festive and very pleasant in the afternoon sun. Made even better by several Crossbills constantly knocking round and regularly perching above us.
Quick visit to Gailey Res this morning in the drizzle produced Little Egret, 40+Pochard, 4 Goldeneye, Common Sand, c200 Fieldfare #staffsbirds
November 29, 2025 at 2:30 PM
Quick visit to Gailey Res this morning in the drizzle produced Little Egret, 40+Pochard, 4 Goldeneye, Common Sand, c200 Fieldfare #staffsbirds
Quick hour at Gailey Res with Dave before doing the shopping produced 1 Great Egret, 1 Little Egret, drk Wigeon, 4 Goldeneye, a decent count of 97 Pochard, & Cetti’s Wblr #staffsbirds
November 23, 2025 at 1:20 PM
Quick hour at Gailey Res with Dave before doing the shopping produced 1 Great Egret, 1 Little Egret, drk Wigeon, 4 Goldeneye, a decent count of 97 Pochard, & Cetti’s Wblr #staffsbirds
Blithfield 08:20-14:20 walk to top of Blithe and deep end produced 9 Little Egret, 12 Pinkfeet, 47 Egyptian Geese, 300+Wigeon, drk Pintail, 2 Scaup(imm drk+imm fem) with 9 Pochard & 273+Tufteds, 4 Goldeneye, 2 YL Gull(ad & 2nd w), 2 Snipe, 3 Stonechat #staffsbirds
November 22, 2025 at 2:22 PM
Blithfield 08:20-14:20 walk to top of Blithe and deep end produced 9 Little Egret, 12 Pinkfeet, 47 Egyptian Geese, 300+Wigeon, drk Pintail, 2 Scaup(imm drk+imm fem) with 9 Pochard & 273+Tufteds, 4 Goldeneye, 2 YL Gull(ad & 2nd w), 2 Snipe, 3 Stonechat #staffsbirds
At Blithfield Res 2 Scaup(imm drk + imm fem) + 10 Pinkfeet in Blithe Bay 09:50 #staffsbirds
November 22, 2025 at 9:51 AM
At Blithfield Res 2 Scaup(imm drk + imm fem) + 10 Pinkfeet in Blithe Bay 09:50 #staffsbirds
Late morning family walk around Gailey Res was disappointingly quiet. 1 Little Egret, 4 Wigeon & c40 Pochard only birds of note #staffsbirds
November 15, 2025 at 3:59 PM
Late morning family walk around Gailey Res was disappointingly quiet. 1 Little Egret, 4 Wigeon & c40 Pochard only birds of note #staffsbirds
Family walk home over Littleton Pit/Shoal hill was quite productive. Little Egret over, female Gos, Green Wood, small no’s Redwing, sev Siskin, 50+Redpoll, 3 Raven #staffsbirds
November 9, 2025 at 1:53 PM
Family walk home over Littleton Pit/Shoal hill was quite productive. Little Egret over, female Gos, Green Wood, small no’s Redwing, sev Siskin, 50+Redpoll, 3 Raven #staffsbirds
Gailey Res 07:45-11:00 searching for Dusky or Pallas’s Wblrs…I continue to dream! Of note 4 Little Egret, 2 Egyptian Geese, 41 Pochard, Goldeneye, Cetti’s Wblr, 2 Crossbill SW. Also fields opposite holding good no’s of Skylark, Mipits and Pied Wags so worth keeping an eye on #staffsbirds
November 8, 2025 at 11:15 AM
Gailey Res 07:45-11:00 searching for Dusky or Pallas’s Wblrs…I continue to dream! Of note 4 Little Egret, 2 Egyptian Geese, 41 Pochard, Goldeneye, Cetti’s Wblr, 2 Crossbill SW. Also fields opposite holding good no’s of Skylark, Mipits and Pied Wags so worth keeping an eye on #staffsbirds
At Gailey Res 2 Crossbill flew SW over dam 08:38 #staffsbirds
November 8, 2025 at 8:39 AM
At Gailey Res 2 Crossbill flew SW over dam 08:38 #staffsbirds
After work visit to Gailey Res produced 2 Great Egret, 4 Little Egret, 2 Egyptian Geese, fem Shoveler, 39 Pochard, fem Goldeneye #staffsbirds
November 7, 2025 at 4:57 PM
After work visit to Gailey Res produced 2 Great Egret, 4 Little Egret, 2 Egyptian Geese, fem Shoveler, 39 Pochard, fem Goldeneye #staffsbirds
Quick after work visit to Gailey Res in the fading light produced 2 Little Egret, 2 Egyptian Geese, drk Shoveler, 9 Pochard, fem Goldeneye #staffsbirds
November 3, 2025 at 5:57 PM
Quick after work visit to Gailey Res in the fading light produced 2 Little Egret, 2 Egyptian Geese, drk Shoveler, 9 Pochard, fem Goldeneye #staffsbirds
Pleasant few hours at Gailey Res this morning but pretty quiet. 4 Little Egret, 18 Pochard, 4 Snipe, small no’s Redwing & Fieldfare, sev Siskin of note. Also big no’s of Woodpigeon heading South off The Chase #staffsbirds
November 2, 2025 at 10:44 AM
Pleasant few hours at Gailey Res this morning but pretty quiet. 4 Little Egret, 18 Pochard, 4 Snipe, small no’s Redwing & Fieldfare, sev Siskin of note. Also big no’s of Woodpigeon heading South off The Chase #staffsbirds
Quick after visit work to Gailey Res produced 1 Great Egret, 2 Little Egret, 8 Pochard, 1st w Common Gull #staffsbirds
October 27, 2025 at 6:32 PM
Quick after visit work to Gailey Res produced 1 Great Egret, 2 Little Egret, 8 Pochard, 1st w Common Gull #staffsbirds
Couple of hours at Gailey Res this morning produced Great Egret, 12 Whooper Swan over North 07:32, 3 Egyptian Geese, drk Wigeon, 24 Pochard, 2 drk Goldeneye, 7 Goosander over, 1st w Common Gull, 14 Fieldfare, Cetti’s Wblr #staffsbirds
October 26, 2025 at 9:40 AM
Couple of hours at Gailey Res this morning produced Great Egret, 12 Whooper Swan over North 07:32, 3 Egyptian Geese, drk Wigeon, 24 Pochard, 2 drk Goldeneye, 7 Goosander over, 1st w Common Gull, 14 Fieldfare, Cetti’s Wblr #staffsbirds
At Gailey Res 12 Whooper Swan flew over North 07:32 #staffsbirds
October 26, 2025 at 7:33 AM
At Gailey Res 12 Whooper Swan flew over North 07:32 #staffsbirds
Good family walk at Blithfield 10:00-15:00 produced the juv White-Rumped Sand still along Admaston Reach, 5 Whooper Swans(3ad,2juv) in Tad, Great Egret, 2 YL Gull, 6 Golden Plover, 2 Dunlin, Green Sand, 3 Curlew, 2 Stonechat #staffsbirds
October 25, 2025 at 2:50 PM
Good family walk at Blithfield 10:00-15:00 produced the juv White-Rumped Sand still along Admaston Reach, 5 Whooper Swans(3ad,2juv) in Tad, Great Egret, 2 YL Gull, 6 Golden Plover, 2 Dunlin, Green Sand, 3 Curlew, 2 Stonechat #staffsbirds
After work visit to Gailey Res produced 1 Great Egret, 1 Little Egret, Australian Shelduck, 8 Pochard g #staffsbirds
October 24, 2025 at 4:37 PM
After work visit to Gailey Res produced 1 Great Egret, 1 Little Egret, Australian Shelduck, 8 Pochard g #staffsbirds
After work visit to Gailey Res was pretty quiet. Of note 3 Little Egret, Australian Shelduck, 6 Pochard, Cetti’s Wblr #staffsbirds
October 22, 2025 at 4:34 PM
After work visit to Gailey Res was pretty quiet. Of note 3 Little Egret, Australian Shelduck, 6 Pochard, Cetti’s Wblr #staffsbirds
Successful visit to Spurn with some great views of the Black-Faced Bunting. Good to get this one back after missing last years Rimac individual.
October 21, 2025 at 7:29 PM
Successful visit to Spurn with some great views of the Black-Faced Bunting. Good to get this one back after missing last years Rimac individual.
Blithfield 07:30-11:30 produced the White-Rumped Sand showing nicely along Admaston Reach. Also Great Egret, 18 Little Egret, 2 Goldeneye, 2 YL Gull, 8 Golden Plover, 4 Ringie, Dunlin, 2 Green Sand, 4 Curlew, Snipe, 20 Fieldfare, Rock Pipit, 3 Stonechat #staffsbirds
October 19, 2025 at 12:12 PM
Blithfield 07:30-11:30 produced the White-Rumped Sand showing nicely along Admaston Reach. Also Great Egret, 18 Little Egret, 2 Goldeneye, 2 YL Gull, 8 Golden Plover, 4 Ringie, Dunlin, 2 Green Sand, 4 Curlew, Snipe, 20 Fieldfare, Rock Pipit, 3 Stonechat #staffsbirds
Quick after work visit to Gailey Res was decent with drk Common Scoter on fishing lake & Rock Pipit briefly on c’way before flying East 16:50. Also 2 Great Egret, 3 Little Egret, 2 Egyptian Geese, 8 Wigeon, 4 Pochard, Cetti’s Wblr #staffsbirds
October 15, 2025 at 4:12 PM
Quick after work visit to Gailey Res was decent with drk Common Scoter on fishing lake & Rock Pipit briefly on c’way before flying East 16:50. Also 2 Great Egret, 3 Little Egret, 2 Egyptian Geese, 8 Wigeon, 4 Pochard, Cetti’s Wblr #staffsbirds
After work check of Gailey Res produced 1 Great Egret, 3 Little Egret, 7 Wigeon, 8 Teal, ad Common Gull. No sign of the recent Whooper #staffsbirds
October 14, 2025 at 4:55 PM
After work check of Gailey Res produced 1 Great Egret, 3 Little Egret, 7 Wigeon, 8 Teal, ad Common Gull. No sign of the recent Whooper #staffsbirds
An hour at a foggy Gailey Res revealed the Whooper Swan still present late morning with 11 Mutes showing well on the sailing lake. Also 7 Pochard present. #staffsbirds
October 12, 2025 at 10:59 AM
An hour at a foggy Gailey Res revealed the Whooper Swan still present late morning with 11 Mutes showing well on the sailing lake. Also 7 Pochard present. #staffsbirds
Gailey Res fog bound but ad Whooper Swan still present #staffsbirds
October 12, 2025 at 9:19 AM
Gailey Res fog bound but ad Whooper Swan still present #staffsbirds
After yesterday’s Needletail success, thought I was dreaming when @belvidebirding.bsky.social phoned me to say he had a flock of White-Rumped Sands. 8 1st w birds!!! They flew East so I dashed to Gailey Res on the off chance. No joy but found only my second record of Whooper Swan there #staffsbirds
October 11, 2025 at 5:59 PM
After yesterday’s Needletail success, thought I was dreaming when @belvidebirding.bsky.social phoned me to say he had a flock of White-Rumped Sands. 8 1st w birds!!! They flew East so I dashed to Gailey Res on the off chance. No joy but found only my second record of Whooper Swan there #staffsbirds