MAY proved a pretty good month for local birdwatchers. The highlight was a brief visit by a black kite, reported near Aldborough St John.

This rare raptor has been spreading north through Europe and the number of British records has increased considerably in recent years.

This bird, if confirmed, will actually be the second local record. The first, and indeed the first one ever seen in Yorkshire, was a bird spotted in the Hambleton Hills near Kepwick as far back as 1975.

Its commoner cousin, the red kite, was also seen in May, with a bird at Leighton Reservoir mid-month. This used to be a rare bird but the success of the English re-introduction scheme has seen a very significant increase in numbers and if the species does not already breed locally it is surely only a matter of time before it does.

A number of other scarce (and spectacular) species were seen during the month, including a little egret at Nosterfield. This is another example of a species that has seen a spectacular northward movement. Only a comparatively few years ago it was mainly restricted to the Mediterranean and then expanded northwards into the Low Countries and Northern France, with the first UK breeding in 1996.

Nosterfield also attracted a spoonbill, one of only a handful of local sightings of this striking bird.

I was lucky enough to spot a fulmar flying low over a traffic jam on the A1 near Leeming Services on Monday of last week. Superficially similar to a gull, the fulmar is actually related to the shearwaters and albatrosses and remains a rare bird inland although incredibly it has actually bred in this area, at Sutton Bank.

These birds hold the record for the furthest inland breeding by the species anywhere in the world. The bird I saw, however, was more likely to be moving high overland and briefly brought to earth by a rainstorm. Interestingly, at least five other inland records were reported in England that day, which implies a significant cross-country movement.

Waders were also on the move, including unprecedented numbers of dunlin, with more than 300 seen at Nosterfield on the 19th, on which date 40 were at Bolton on Swale.

Sanderling were involved with the same movement, with up to nine birds in the Nosterfield area and two at Scorton. Other wader records of note included wood sandpipers at Pepper Arden and Newsham ponds, black-tailed godwit at Bolton on Swale and, at Nosterfield, knot, turnstone, little stint, at least three wood sandpipers, 52 ringed plovers and up to seven whimbrel.

Other records of note during May included 12 Arctic and two common terns at Nosterfield, where up to three garganey were also seen. A hobby was seen near Morton on Swale bridge and there were unconfirmed reports of a crane seen at Cleasby gravel pits, near Darlington.

Looking ahead to June, this tends to be one of the quieter months for birdwatchers, although it can be a good time to listen for quail. This tiny cousin of the partridge is far more often heard than seen, with its distinctive "wet-my-lips" call, usually heard from standing crops.

Numbers fluctuate widely between years and sometimes they are almost completely absent, but there have already been reports of quail in Durham and Northumberland, so it's worth listening out for on your next evening stroll.