Rediscovering the Joys of Birding
• Thursday, March 6, 2008 - Cotswold Smew and a Great Bustard bonus!
As I work from home with a great deal of flexibility I have decided that I should periodically reward myself with a little mid-week birding outing. After all my boss (who lives in Switzerland) goes snow-boarding one morning a week. So this morning I decided to take a trip to the Cotswold Water Park to try and see some of the winter visiting ducks before they all leave. In particular I wanted to target smew and scaup, both of which I'd missed on my trip to Staines reservoir and both of which were being seen regularly at the CWP. I did my research and had decided that I was going to go for lakes 46/48 and then 29 and finally pit 95 to see if the Great White Egret was still there.
I woke up early this morning to a clear but cold day. I was wondering whether the lakes would all be frozen and whether this would be better or worse for seeing the birds but I decided to take a chance anyway. I'd noticed on Port Meadow that the ducks hang around quite stoically when the water freezes over. The drive there was uneventful and I arrived at the vistor centre at about 9:30 to get a map and to ask about parking and access etc.
I managed to find 46 ok though initially there didn't seem to be much around, just a few great crested grebes and coots. Then right at the far bank I saw something with a reddish head though it quickly swam behind some submerged trees. It looked like a redhead smew though I'd not got a good enough view to confirm it. Then it flew away and I saw the wing bars which seemed to clinch it. Pleased with myself I then walked around to 48 where there was an obvious viewing point. A few pochards and tufted ducks and a couple of ducks that had me really puzzled: they were about tufted duck size and there seemed to be a duck and a drake: they swam around together and seemed to be a pair but I just couldn't ID them. I was looking into the sun so the colours weren't clear but I could see it well enough and couldn't match it to anything in the guide book. The closest I could come up with was a female goldeneye and then it twigged: it was a female and a juvenile goldeneye. My thinking they were a duck and drake had really confused me.
On to the next lake complex which was 29, 30 and 35. I just got to lake 30 and with the naked eye could see a few distant white blobs. They'll be gulls or something I thought but I'd better check. To my great surprise they turned out to be drake smews. In fact there were two drakes and a duck as well as several goosander. Really pleased with myself I walked on towards lake 29, seeing a mixed flock of goldfinches, chaffinches and reed buntings feeding by the path. There was a large flock of widgeon grazing on the grass at the top of 29. Walking round to the side I managed to see another drake smew and then at the far size there was a female smew, a pair of red-crested pochard, more goosander and then right in the distance a couple of drake scaup about which I was most chuffed. On the way back I saw another pair of smew on lake 35 - one of the drakes from 30 having been chased off. So that was 3 pairs of smew - a most excellent find.
Time was marching on but I nipped down to pit 95 where a great white egret had been seen recently though not in the last few days so I wasn't expecting much. It was interesting terrain: a disused gravel pit with lots of small pools of water between lots of hillocks. All I could see here was a little egret plus a quantity of shoveler and teal and a pair of gadwall.
I decided to head off home but thought that I would go back a different route in order to see if I could find the great bustard that was part of the release scheme and which had been showing well at Foss Cross in the last few days. I found the location and started scanning the area. I saw a parked car in the layby and asked the occupant if he was a birder but he was just making a phone call. Further on I saw a birder scanning a field with his bins. He reckoned that it was the correct field and I did agree that it looked right from the photos I'd seen but there was no obvious sign of a bustard. I set up my scope and started scanning and then I caught sight of a small grey object which on closer inspection turned out to the the head of the bustard which was sitting down in the kale crop. Shortly after it got up and began wandering about seemingly quite happy and not minding his two distant admirers. A great way to finish off the trip.
I don't know what the normal position is with regards to released birds and "ticks". I know that the plethora of red kites that are around Oxon, Bucks, Berks etc are all originally released birds which are now well established. I'm going to count it for now, partly because my year list needs boosting though I appreciate that it's not strictly kosher.
I've also been through my life list and eradicated all the birds that I wasn't sure I'd seen from my earlier days including scaup so that made 3 life ticks on the trip. Most excellent! My year list is now approaching 100.
095 Smew (LIFER)
096 Scaup (LIFER)
097 Great Bustard (Release scheme - LIFER) |
Post A Comment! :: Send to a Friend!
|
|
|
|
|
