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Doncaster's Black Winged Pratincole

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I don't really consider myself a full scale birder, and I defiantly don't really 'twitch' rare birds all that often. However, on occasion I can't help but jump at the chance to see some amazing animals when they are nearby. This is exactly what happened on Saturday the 6th of July. A rare bird alert came through for my area, and not only was it in my local area, it was literally on my doorstep; I had to give it a go! Quite incredibly, on that same flash a Caspian Tern dropped in, another rarity for the UK!

A Rare Bird Indeed

I didn't have much time to look into this bird before going to see it, so I had to do a quick search as I walked to the location. Black Winged Pratincoles (BWP for short) are medium sized waders with long slim wings and a forked tails and are found in south-east Europe. On occasion they do find themselves on this side of the channel thanks to their exploratory tendencies.

Pratincoles are said to 'hawk' after their prey of small insects, much like a swallow. They are fast and athletic in flight with their forked tail and slender wings giving them away.

I'm no expert but searching online, and matching with anecdotes from experience birders, it seems the last time a BWP was spotted in Yorkshire was in 1909! That's 115 years ago! That's not to say one hasn't popped over since then, it's just not been seen.

Now, this bird is hanging around on a small flash about 50 metres into Nottinghamshire, so it's not technically in Yorkshire currently. It has been spotted flying over into some fields on the Yorkshire side of the border on a few occasions so it has been seen there! I was only fortunate enough to see in Notts, but maybe I'll get lucky if I manage to get back to see it before it moves on.


This is the flash where the bird is hanging out.

Birding Community

There's lots to say about these magnificent birds, but I'm not the best person to do so. But I did want to offer up some comments on the community that surrounds birding. While I have come across individuals who seem to 'gate keep' the hobby and make it really unpleasant for newbies, on the whole the birding community is great. Often there are several very experienced folk who really know there stuff and are happy to share. Over the past few years I've drawn on this experience and it's really opened up more opportunities to photograph these incredible animals.

Notable birds I've managed to photograph because of this community are the Osprey at Sprotborough, Black-crowned Night Heron at Adwick, Cuckoo at Hatfield, Caspian Tern at the same place as the Pratincole, and now this BWP in Doncaster.

So to all those who have assisted me over the years, thank you!

Black Winged pratincole Location

You may have stumbled on this post looking for a location. I don't feel at liberty to share this on the open web, for the birds safety but also to respect the landowner, however searching on Nottinghamshire and South Yorkshire Birding Groups online, checking on BirdGuides and also asking at local nature reserves should get you to the right place. You can always drop me an email and I can help too.

Of course, here is a gallery of images I've managed to capture of the BWP. The conditions were challenging with severe heat haze, complicated backgrounds, terrible hay fever and bugs eating me alive. Regardless, I'm happy with the photographs I came away with!

Image 1 Image 2 Image 2 Image 2

Thanks for reading, and good luck!
Niall,

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Created by Niall Bell (niall@niallbell.com)