Rediscovering the Joys of Birding
• Monday, April 7, 2008 - A Plover Fest, a Godwit and a Harrier
After my successful mid-week outing to see the hawfinches, the great grey shrike and to get my new bins I wasn't expecting to do much birding over the weekend. However as it turned out I was able to see some good stuff. There were two brief trips to my local patch, Port Meadow, which turned up some good passage waders and then a trip to Otmoor in the afternoon which saw some harrier action.
Friday had dawned very misty but by lunch time it had burnt off to leave a wonderful sunny and warm spring day. As it was Friday I felt like winding down early from work so at 5pm I took my 20 month son L in his pushchair down to Port Meadow to see what was about. Setting up at the usual point by the entrance to Burgess Field NR a quick scan revealed the usual suspects: ruff, redshank, a large flock of about 250 golden plover. The birds were all rather distant and at that time of day the sun is on the wrong side of them so ID is not easy. I noticed a couple of very small birds who were at such a distance that I couldn't initially make them out. I was going to guess at dunlin and leave it at that but their bills looked wrong. I zoomed right on my scope and gradually as my eyes adjusted to the zoomed-in scope gloom I made out that they were either Ringer or Little Ringed Plovers. However at that distance I couldn't make out the eye ring, nor the bill or leg colour. Fortunately at that point the cavalry turned up in the form of another birder (SB), whom I'd met a few times on the Meadow previously and who was packing a powerful scope (Nikon ED82). I pointed out the birds and he zoomed in. Initially even he couldn't make the telling ID but then one of the birds flapped its wings to reveal no wing bar. Thus a pair of Little Ringed Plover, my first of the year. We carried on chatting and scoping and then I spotted another bird that warranted closer inspection. Again it looked plover-like and was beyond my primitive scope's powers but SB suggested grey plover. There were the flock of goldies to compare against and it did look greyer but that wasn't enough to clinch it. At that point I had to leave for dinner but SB did later e-mail me to say that he's watched it until it flapped it's wings to reveal the telling black "arm pit" and clinch the ID. He also said that a couple of Ringed Plover turned up later as well. So quite a plover fest in the end with all the common plover being present (including the ubiquitous lapwings).
The next morning I went on my daily Port Meadow run, complete with my reserve bins (I don't want to subject my new ones to the rigour of being shaken about as I run). The weather was much colder and there was no sign of any of last night's plovers. However there was single large wader on the far side of the floods. Even through my old bins I could see that it was a godwit in summer plumage and a quick wing flap soon revealed it to be a black tailed godwit. There was little else around though I did have the pleasure of bumping into a couple of other birders whom I'd met previously when they found the Med Gull a while back.
That afternoon I nobly offered to take L out for a few hours while my VLW (very lovely wife) could get on with other stuff. I decided on Otmoor as I'd only been once before and there were some possible birds there that I needed for my year list (harriers, peregrine, merlin, wheatear and cettis warbler). The weather was decidedly mixed with snow flurries and slate-grey skies one minute and then bright sunshine the next. We wrapped up warm and set off, L soon falling asleep in the car and continuing to nap as I pushed him along the path. There was little of note on the bird feeders but just where one got on to the main path there was the loud chirpings of a cettis warbler. I had a good peer around but of course couldn't see it. Walking further along I thought I heard the brief snatch of a sedge warbler but a sudden rain shower put a stop to its singing. On the flooded field by the turn off for the screens (Ash Grove?) there were several redshank, a pintail or two, a large herd of grazing mute swans, a few grey lags, a single barnacle goose (apparently of doubtful provenance), four little egrets and reported also a black swan (which I didn't see). At the first screen there were some swallows battling with the wind and a few tufted ducks and also some little grebes kicking up their usual racket. A water rail had reportedly been showing earlier but was not doing so at present. Onwards to the second screen there was a flooded field with about 20 lapwings loafing about. A couple of grey lag geese flew in to land and then a large raptor flew low over the field scattering it's occupants. I caught a brief glimpse of it as it flew, enough to see that it was a male harrier but not certain enough to nail down the ID. I was not familiar with what the key points are that separate hen and marsh harrier so was going to have to look it up when I got home. I met the local warden who said that it was probably a marsh harrier as the hen's had left already. Anyway, on to the second screen where there were some more noisy little grebes, some tufted duck and shoveler and some sand martins. Behind the screen in the flooded field there was a single little egret. At this point L woke up so we had a little snack and he decided that he wanted to get out of his push chair so I let him walk back, a distance of about a mile. When I got back I looked up the key harrier ID points and decided that it was in fact a hen harrier that I'd seen which was interesting as later on someone else posted a hen harrier on the local news group so I'm more confident in the ID.
Anway, a few more year ticks from an enjoyable few local trips.
118 Little Ringed Plover
119 Black-tailed Godwit
120 Hen Harrier |
Post A Comment! :: Send to a Friend!
|
|
|
|
|
