Rediscovering the Joys of Birding
• Thursday, May 8, 2008 - Sunrise warblers, a Black Tern and a Marsh Harrier
The other morning I was going for my usual run across Burgess Field Nature Reserve and I noticed that even at 7:30am surprisingly few warblers were singing. This got me wondering how much of a difference there was if one were to get up in time for the dawn chorus. Another reason for this interest in warbler song was that I'd discovered that my distinction between the songs of the sedge warbler and reed warbler was not as precise as I had hoped and I was in fact wondering about my supposed reed warbler sightings at Rainham Marshes the other week. As those birds had only been glimpsed through the reeds I was worried that they could in fact have been sedge warblers. I'd been boning up on the two songs and felt I now had a much better idea on the differences so I decided to test out my knowledge and also to see what difference there was to singing levels by aiming to arrive at dawn. I picked Otmoor RSPB reserve as a good location where one can see all 10 of the common warblers (with cetti's being the 10th) and resolved to get up in time for dawn.
Accordingly this morning I'd set my alarm for 5am but actually awoke at 4:30 so decided to get up. This was just as well as when I checked, I'd not actually switched on my alarm! I was down at Otmoor at 5:15 just as it was getting light. There was plenty of bird song everywhere and I could even hear a cetti's singing next to the car park so I set of with eager anticipation. A pair of yellowhammers on the path leading up to the main reserve were an interesting starter; sedge warblers and whitethroats were singing everywhere and there were several grasshopper warblers reeling in the field next to the car park. Once I got to the main path along the reserve I soon located what I was pretty sure was a reed warbler and sure enough was able to see it and identify it positively - the reeds are comparatively sparse there so one can often get good views of the birds. As I made my way down to the turn-off for the first screen I found several more reed warblers and sedge warblers and managed successfully to distinguish between them with the song first and then to ID them afterwards. I also had an excellent albeit brief view of a cetti's warbler along here. Cetti's are not uncommon at Otmoor though they are more usually seen than heard.
Apart from testing my warbler song knowledge, the key birds that I was looking out for were lesser whitethroat (the last of the 10 warblers that I still need for my year list) and turtle dove which are well known at Otmoor in the summer. I soon found a singing lesser, though he remained obstinately hidden from view. I made a note of the location and resolved to come back later in case I didn't find any others. When I got to the turn-off for the first screen I decided to nip down there to see if anything was about. There wasn't much there but I did take a rather nice photo of the sun coming up over the clouds.
I then headed back down towards the path to Noke, which I'd been told the last time was a good and often over-looked location for birds. Setting off down this path I saw the first of several cuckoo sightings (though it may have been the same bird repeatedly). I also heard the purrings of a turtle dove and soon managed a sighting. There were redshank calling in the field on my right and I eventually saw four of them flying around. I also found another singing lesser whitethroat though it seemed to be singing on the far side of the hedgerow which was behind a ditch so there was little I could do other than wait. After about five minutes it broke cover and flew a few yards further along the hedge before immediately identifying itself by breaking into song. Thus a brief but definite view and another year tick. At the end of the path I checked out the local pools but there was nothing of interest so I headed back towards the main area.
Re-checking the large pool on Ash Grove field I managed to locate a bobbing common sandpiper at quite close range. There was also a lone distant little egret. I was just starting to think about heading home when I saw a large bird in the distance by the first screen. I was wondering about a harrier though it could have been a heron so I thought that I'd go and take a look. I was glad that I did because whilst the bird that I'd seen did turn out to be a heron, a female marsh harrier soon appeared on the scene and started quartering over the reed beds at close range. At the same time a black tern appeared and started hunting over the water. At one stage I had both of them in my bins at the same time, both birds being less than 50m away. The tern soon departed but I watched the harrier for almost 5 minutes before she flew out of sight. Although marsh harriers are well known at Otmoor at this time of year it was still a great sighting and in fact another Lifer for me.
I decided that I'd had enough by this stage and headed back to the car, tired but very pleased with my mornings work. The only bird that I could reasonably have expected but had not seen was a hobby.
On the list front, my positive sighting of a reed warbler saved me from another embarrassing list correction and there were three more ticks to add to the list:
161: turtle dove
162: lesser whitethroat
163: marsh harrier (LIFER)
It's getting harder now to see where the next ticks are going to come from. There are some passage waders that I could pick up (sanderling, knot or any sandpiper other than common) but there aren't any more certainties. I may need to pick the brains of some local experienced birders to see what can be found at this time of year in this area.
Dip or Glory! (someone else's phrase but I rather like it). |
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