Monday, December 31, 2007 - Birding Review Of The Year 2007
What a fantastic year it's been. In a way, this has been my first serious year's birding. Believe me, there was a lot of excitement on 1 January when I started my first ever official year list! I set myself a target of getting 20 lifers in 2007 and achieved this by 25 February during a memorable trip to Norfolk with my Dad and a couple of my birding mentors, Brian York and Dave Lyons.
Once I had achieved this goal, I contented myself with adding to the life list as and when I could, without having any further target specifically in mind. Much birding later, I found myself approaching the 50 mark. I thought I had finally reached this target on 16 November when I latched onto some Slavonian Grebes in Wales, but I later realised that I had forgotten to count Twite and Scaup as lifers earlier in the year, so Black Tern was actually my 50th lifer some three weeks earlier. I must be more thorough next year!
I finished the year with 54 lifers, an average of more than one a week! I'm more than just a collector of ticks though. I've enjoyed seeing these new birds, but some of my best moments have involved the more common species, or have been memorable because of the company I was keeping at the time. As a result, I thought it would be fun to do some awards for the year. More of that later.
Looking forwards to 2008, I have a few goals in mind. Firstly, I will try to list each bird exactly as I see it. That might be tricky early on when virtually everything you see is a year tick, but it wasn't until March 2007 that I started doing this and as a result some of my lifers may be a little out of order, which is a shame.
Secondly, I will draw up a list of 20 birds that I hope to see in 2008. This list will be based on realistic targets. For example, I'm off to Scotland in May, so birds like Scottish Crossbill and Crested Tit will appear, along with a few of the easier birds that I have yet to see, like Yellow Wagtail.
Next, I will compile a dream list. Previously, this would have included Wilson's Phalarope and Lesser Scaup, but I was fortunate enough to see both of these birds in 2007. This list will include the kinds of bird that might take me many years to see, but that's half the fun, isn't it?
The first goal in 2008 is to pass the 200 mark. Only another 7 birds to go, so hopefully it shouldn't be too long before I achieve this milestone. My Dad and I are keen to hit 200 on the same day, with the same bird. That probably means waiting until Scotland in May, but as my Dad has already seen a few birds up there that I need, it's possible that I could beat him to it. Equally, he needs a few birds that I have so the reverse may be true. Whatever happens, I'm sure we'll be celebrating whether it's me or him, or a dead heat.
Okay, enough waffling. Here are some of the highlights of 2007.
Best Lifer
There are a few contenders. The Lesser Spotted Woodpecker that turned up in the garden on 13 August was particularly memorable, albeit a little lucky, and I really enjoyed getting the Tree Pipit and Whinchat within minutes of each other in Wales in May. There can only be one winner though, Wilson's Phalarope. It had been number one on my most wanted list and I still can't believe that I got it on a local patch so early on in my birding career!
Best Self-Found Bird
Absolutely no doubt in my mind on this one. I went to Shenstone on 15 April to tick Corn Bunting and Grey Partridge. Imagine my surprise when I latched onto something unusual nearby. I'd been studying my bird songs that week and new instantly what it was, then up popped a Wood Warbler! Certainly an odd place to find one. I think it was also my first report to the Worcester birding website. What a beauty!
Funniest Moment
When you go birding with Dave Lyons there's usually a tale to tell afterwards. Norfolk was no exception. On 25 February we checked out of our guest house in Wells-Next-The-Sea and went to Holkham Hall. We parked the car and were putting our boots on when I noticed that some of Dave's hair was orange. It looked like he had put turmeric in it! Anyway, Brian suggested that he rub it to get rid of it, but this only succeeded in turning it yellow and spreading it further across his head. We think he must have caught his head on some pollen-laden flowers as he picked his bags up in the morning. Brian was in tears! Dave wore a hat for the rest of the day.
Biggest Dip
There have been a few. I suppose in terms of travelling time and the fact that it was so late at night, the winner would have to be Nightjar on Cannock Chase. We were probably a bit late for them to be honest. Still, Dave Lyons' presence ensured we still had a laugh as the sun descended leaving us in total darkness, with the threat of doggers lurking in every car park.
The Ones That Got Away
I didn't tick a Knot this year. I think I may have seen one in breeding plumage in Devon in April, but I wasn't 100% sure. If I'd known I was going to dip on a few at Bittell later in the year, perhaps I would have been a bit more thorough at the time. No Velvet Scoters despite extensive searches in Wales towards the end of the year. A Tawny Owl called from the oak tree opposite my house in the autumn, but despite a half hour vigil it never revealed itself. No luck with Little Owls or Short-Eared Owls either. A possible Yellow-Legged Gull in Wales in July never showed well enough to confirm its identity, and Red Grouse and Ring Ouzels were almost certainly heard, but never seen. All in all though, I had many more hits than misses and I can look forward to seeing those that evaded me sometime in the future.
Favourite Birds
I can't pick one individual, but my favourites have been Wilson's Phalarope, Grey Wagtail, Wood Warbler, Redstart, Bullfinch, Lesser Redpoll and Fieldfare, mostly for their beauty, but others for their elusiveness.
Best Birding Day
The day at Shenstone that I mentioned above was pretty special, but I couldn't give this award to a day that I spent on my own. In view of that I think I would have to say 22 May, the day we came back from Wales. Bagging Tree Pipit, Whinchat, Cuckoo and Hen Harrier in half an hour was magical.
Here's the year list for 2007 in its entirety:
Blackbird, Black-Headed Gull, Blue Tit, Carrion Crow, Chaffinch, Dunnock, Goldfinch, Great Tit, Jackdaw, Magpie, Moorhen, Robin, Woodpigeon, Buzzard, Mallard, Pied Wagtail, Rock Dove, Long-Tailed Tit, Greenfinch, Coal Tit, Collared Dove, Grey Heron, Jay, Mistle Thrush, Canada Goose, Coot, Cormorant, Gadwall, Great Crested Grebe, Herring Gull, Kestrel, Lapwing, Little Grebe, Mute Swan, Pheasant, Pochard, Reed Bunting, Rook, Shoveler, Song Thrush, Starling, Stock Dove, Teal, Tufted Duck, Water Rail, Wigeon, Willow Tit [lifer!], Bullfinch, House Sparrow, Bittern, Goosander, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Green Sandpiper, Green Woodpecker, Grey Wagtail, Kingfisher, Lesser Black-Backed Gull, Nuthatch, Peregrine, Raven, Skylark, Snipe, Treecreeper, Brambling, Wren, Barnacle Goose [lifer!], Bewick's Swan [lifer!], Curlew, Dunlin, Greylag Goose, Pintail [lifer!], Redshank, Shelduck, Spotted Redshank [lifer!], White-Fronted Goose [lifer!], Blackcap, Redwing, Fieldfare, Great Black-Backed Gull, Goldcrest, Goldeneye, Great Northern Diver, Smew [lifer!], Barn Owl, Common Gull, Crane [lifer!], Egyptian Goose [lifer!], Hawfinch [lifer!], Linnet, Marsh Harrier [lifer!], Red-Legged Partridge [lifer!], Ruddy Duck [lifer!], Sparrowhawk, Stonechat, Woodlark [lifer!], Yellowhammer, Avocet, Bar-Tailed Godwit, Black-Tailed Godwit, Brent Goose, Common Scoter [lifer!], Eider, Fulmar, Golden Plover, Grey Plover [lifer!], Little Egret, Marsh Tit, Meadow Pipit, Oystercatcher, Red-Breasted Merganser, Ringed Plover, Sanderling, Scaup [lifer!], Shorelark [lifer!], Turnstone, Twite, Woodcock [lifer!], Chiffchaff, Siskin, Cetti's Warbler [lifer!], Little Ringed Plover, Garganey [lifer!], Jack Snipe [lifer!], Sand Martin, Corn Bunting [lifer!], Wood Warbler [lifer!], Grey Partridge [lifer!], Lesser Whitethroat [lifer!], Sedge Warbler, Swallow, House Martin, Willow Warbler, Wheatear, Rock Pipit, Razorbill, Whimbrel, Whitethroat, Sandwich Tern, Laughing Gull [lifer!], Greenshank, Dartford Warbler [lifer!], Cattle Egret [lifer!], Gannet, Common Tern, Swift, Reed Warbler [lifer!], Common Sandpiper, Wood Sandpiper [lifer!], Red Kite [lifer!], Pied Flycatcher [lifer!], Dipper, Spoonbill [lifer!], Whooper Swan, Osprey, Grasshopper Warbler [lifer!], Garden Warbler [lifer!], Guillemot, Puffin [lifer!], Kittiwake, Chough [lifer!], Shag, Arctic Tern, Cuckoo, Redstart [lifer!], Tree Pipit [lifer!], Whinchat [lifer!], Hen Harrier, Tree Sparrow [lifer!], Turtle Dove [lifer!], Spotted Flycatcher, Manx Shearwater, Little Tern [lifer!], Black-Throated Diver, Lesser Spotted Woodpecker [lifer!], Hobby [lifer!], Ruff, Curlew Sandpiper [lifer!], Wilson's Phalarope [lifer!], Black Tern [lifer!], Grey Phalarope [lifer!], Little Stint, Common Crossbill, Red-Throated Diver, Slavonian Grebe [lifer!], Purple Sandpiper, Lesser Scaup [lifer!], Lesser Redpoll, American Golden Plover [lifer!]
The best thing for me is that almost every tick carries with it the memory of a great day, a good laugh or something else that made it special, which in my opinion is exactly what birding should be about. Roll on 2008!
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Tuesday, December 4, 2007 - Draycote Water & Slimbridge
I was a bit delicate on Saturday morning after a pre-Christmas drink or two on Friday with friends, but with the prospect of adding a Lesser Scaup to the life list, I managed to summon up the energy to drive to Draycote Water, arriving at a reasonably impressive 9:15am.
There didn't seem to be too many birders about, so I knew it would be a bit of a challenge trying to find this bird in the vast expanse of water amongst so many Tufted Ducks, which it superficially resembles. As time went on one or two more birders turned up, but any decent gen was a bit hard to come by. Even those who had seen the bird seemed to be a bit reluctant to give us too much information. Finally, we stumbled upon a couple of very helpful chaps, who I later found out were Steve Seal and Bob Duckhouse. They got us onto the Lesser Scaup in no time [lifer!] and I would like to thank them for their help. Definitely couldn't have done that on my own.
Other birds of note at Draycote Water were Goldeneye, Goosander and many Redwing. I also had some cracking views of Fieldfare, one of my favourite birds. Alas, in my semi-hungover stupour I forgot to take my camera so a few good photo opportunities passed me by.
Next we headed to Brandon Marsh. We usually pop in there when we've been to Draycote Water as it makes the journey a little more worthwhile [as if getting a Lesser Scaup was not enough!]. We were dead keen to get a Lesser Redpoll in view of events over the past few weeks. We latched onto a flock of Siskins after a bit and sorted through them. I thought I had a Lesser Redpoll amongst them, but just as I did so, the flock took off. Disaster! But within seconds, they came back to the tree we were under, and this time a splendid Lesser Redpoll was perched right up above us [year tick!]. No doubt about this one. Another cracking little bird. Definitely one of my most rewarding ticks this year.
On Monday we spent the day at Slimbridge. This trip had been planned for a few weeks, but took on more significance when the American Golden Plover turned up there at the end of last week. I checked the Slimbridge website every night to make sure it was still there. It was, but in view of the fact that it was amongst 1600 or so Golden Plover of the non-American variety meant I wasn't over-optimistic about our chances of seeing it. My Dad was also keen to see White-Fronted Geese and the wintering Bittern, which were potential lifers for him.
We tried for the Bittern first. Worryingly, we received news that it had been showing brilliantly about 20 minutes before we arrived. Whether this was just sheer enthusiasm from the chap who had not only seen it, but had a rather nice picture of it, or a serious case of 'being gripped-off', I'm not sure, but as he was a pleasant fellow I'll give him the benefit of the doubt. I probably would have done the same if I were him.
We left the hide about 15 minutes later minus our tick [actually, I've already seen a couple this year], but managed to buoy our spirits with what may at the time have seemed like misplaced optimism about seeing the American Golden Plover. However, on the way to the Holden Tower somebody told us it was showing very well. My Dad and I couldn't contain our excitement. We practically skipped the last few yards to the hide, though not hand in hand I should hasten to add, and made our way up the steps. There were quite a few birders there and, yes, they were on the plover! We dashed to the window and got our binoculars up, then looked on in horror as the flock went up!
Call it divine intervention if you will, but as it came back down one of the birders [who in my opinion should be named in the Queen's next New Year's honours list] got back onto the target bird in a matter of seconds. He then proceeded to give an unusually excellent set of instructions as to its location and, with the scope now up and operative, I was able to get onto it with relative ease [lifer!]. My word, it wasn't hugely different to the regular plovers! A bit smaller, a bit darker, a bit paler in the face. That kind of thing. Kudos to the person who first found it.
Having also ticked the White-Fronted Geese here, we decided to have another go for the Bittern. On arrival, we were again told that it had been flying around the reeds about 15 minutes earlier. If somebody had said it had been in the hide itself, eating a banana I wouldn't have been surprised! Anyway, we scanned and we scanned to no avail. We were there for quite some time. Then one of the chaps from the Holden Tower spotted it [though he was now in the Zeiss Hide with us!]. Cue scenes of mass confusion as he tried to pick out some distinguishing features in the bit of the reedbed it was in!
Somehow, I managed to get a handle on where he was looking and a second or so later I had it in my binnies too. My Dad was struggling, however. Despite our best attempts, the bird disappeared before I could steer my Dad to the correct location. The fact that this meant our life lists remained level at 193 had nothing to do with this, I swear!
A good weekend all in all. I think I'll be all birded-out for a few weeks now. My Dad? He's off to Upton Warren on Sunday for that elusive Bittern!
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Wednesday, November 28, 2007 - One Step Back
I had an enjoyable bit of Sunday morning birding last weekend. First off, I headed to Earlswood Lakes to see what I could catch up with. Among the better spots were Kingfisher, Shoveler, Treecreeper and Nuthatch, plus a large flock of Siskins, probably in the region of 50 or more birds. I scanned them as best I could in the hope of a Lesser Redpoll amongst them, but to no avail. After wrestling with my conscience, I also decided that what I thought had been Lesser Redpolls two weeks ago in this same location, were probably Siskins too.
At the time I was happy to tick them as Lesser Redpolls, but so many of Sunday's Siskins looked sufficiently pale and streaky, before shifting position to reveal their tell-tale yellow markings, that I have to hold my hands up and say that I could well have been mistaken a fortnight ago. Annoyingly, I heard what I believed to be the flight call of a Lesser Redpoll as we headed back to the car. Still, I've had a tip-off that Brandon Marsh is a good site for them when it gets really cold. Might just follow that one up.
Next, I went to Bittell Reservoirs. I got a Green Sandpiper with comparitive ease at the upper reservoir, then caught up with another sizeable flock of Siskins at the lower reservoir. Again, no Lesser Redpolls amongst them as far as I could tell. Finally, a bit of scoping got me three Goosander, plus some Pochard and Teal.
I filled the bird feeders in the back garden at the weekend too and was rewarded with a good number of hungry birds on Monday. At one point there were three Goldcrests in the fir tree. The Coal Tits and Nuthatches appreciated the feast too.
I've had a lifer in every month this year, so I would love to bag another in December. With this in mind I am thinking of heading to Trimpley Reservoir again on Sunday to see if I can track down the Mandarins. The weather forecast doesn't look too clever, so we'll see how things shape up. Then we are heading off to Slimbridge on Monday. I probably won't pick up a lifer there, but I'm looking forward to hunting down the Bittern, plus it's an excellent opportunity to test my wader identification skills, which have come on leaps and bounds this year. The camera will be along for the ride too.
Lastly, there are plans afoot for a trip to Brandon Marsh [Lesser Redpolls take note!] on 23 December, with a possible visit to the gull roost at Draycote Water afterwards.
Whatever happens, you can be sure that you'll read about it here first!
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Sunday, November 25, 2007 - Wales - Nov 2007 [2 of 2]
We arrived at the Conwy reserve at about 2:30pm. We were hoping to see the Water Pipit that had been sighted there for the last few days, but the gen from the staff was a bit sketchy to say the least. To cut a long story short we didn't manage to locate it.
In the fading light we managed to add a few more birds to the trip list, namely Snipe, Gadwall, Little Grebe and Canada Goose. I also had one of those strange birding moments when I thought I caught sight of a Black-Necked Grebe on one of the pools. It dipped out of view before I could get a really good look at it, but even now I am pretty sure it wasn't a Little Grebe. Logic suggests that it wasn't and I haven't seen any reports of such a bird there, so it remains a mystery even now.
We decided to stick around to watch the Starling roost, which was fairly modest in all honesty, not rivalling the one I saw at Slimbridge in January, but it was nice to see anyway and I did manage to get a couple of reasonable photos.
Saturday was a bit miserable weather-wise, but we still braved the wind and rain to get a bit of unproductive seawatching in at Criccieth. We did manage to add Grey Wagtail to our list that day, however, by stopping off at a reliable haunt on the way back to the bungalow.
On Sunday morning I had a walk up to the 'magic field' and bagged a resplendent male Bullfinch , several Redwing and a Goldcrest along the way. My Dad had gone off to pick up the papers, but he suddenly appeared alongside me in his car, clearly unable to resist the temptation of picking up a few more goodies!
We continued to the 'magic field', flushing a Snipe in the process, a first for me up the lanes here. We had some more Goldcrest, a pair of probable Linnets, which we couldn't be certain of, but didn't get the usually reliable Stonechat despite hearing its distinctive call.
Once back at the bungalow and fully fuelled, we set off again with the ladies in tow for another walk around the lanes. This time I added Stonechat and Kestrel to my list, though my Dad had already ticked these birds earlier in the week.
Later that day we paid a visit to the Glaslyn Whooper Swans before spending about an hour at Porthmadog in the hope of a Short-Eared Owl or Barn Owl. We got neither, but I added Sparrowhawk to my list and we also had a Kingfisher zipping across the water.
Our final bit of birding took place on Monday morning. We had a quick visit to the woodland near the bungalow in an attempt to get Treecreeper and Nuthatch. It was quite cold and windy and fairly quiet, so we headed back, but stopped near St Cybi's Well, which proved to be an excellent decision as a raptor came into view over the trees. I immediately thought it was a Kestrel, but once I had my binnies on it I could see it was potentially something much better. It disappeared from sight, then shot across in front of us at which point I was able to confirm my suspicions. A Peregrine! Never had one here before. Definitely bird of the day.
Lastly, we nipped to Llanystumdwy [try saying that after a few swigs from the hip flask!] in the hope of seeing a Dipper. In keeping with the theme of the trip, we didn't get what we were after, but we did catch up with a few Treecreepers, a welcome final addition to the trip list.
Since returning my Dad tells me has also seen Knot, Common Sandpiper, suspected Green Sandpiper and Woodcock, so our combined list must be around the 90 mark.
Weather permitting, I shall be off to Slimbridge again in December, so there is still a chance of squeezing a few more ticks and maybe another lifer out of 2007. I'll report back in due course.
Here's my Wales trip list:
Blackbird, Black-Headed Gull, Black-Tailed Godwit, Blue Tit, Brent Goose, Bullfinch, Buzzard, Canada Goose, Carrion Crow, Chaffinch, Coal Tit, Collared Dove, Common Gull, Common Scoter, Coot, Cormorant, Curlew, Dunlin, Dunnock, Gadwall, Goldcrest, Goldeneye, Goldfinch, Great Black-Backed Gull, Great Crested Grebe, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Great Tit, Greenfinch, Greenshank, Grey Heron, Grey Wagtail, Greylag Goose, Herring Gull, House Sparrow, Jackdaw, Jay, Kestrel, Kingfisher, Lapwing, Lesser Black-Backed Gull, Little Egret, Little Grebe, Magpie, Mallard, Meadow Pipit, Mistle Thrush, Moorhen, Mute Swan, Nuthatch, Oystercatcher, Peregrine, Pheasant, Pied Wagtail, Pintail, Purple Sandpiper [year tick!], Raven, Razorbill, Red-Breasted Merganser, Redshank, Redwing, Ringed Plover, Robin, Rock Dove, Rock Pipit, Rook, Shelduck, Slavonian Grebe [lifer!], Snipe, Song Thrush, Sparrowhawk, Starling, Stonechat, Teal, Treecreeper, Tufted Duck, Turnstone, Whooper Swan, Wigeon, Woodpigeon, Wren
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Wednesday, November 21, 2007 - Wales - Nov 2007 [1 of 2]
My final visit to Wales this year produced some memorable birds, my fiftieth lifer of the year and a few surprises.
We arrived on Thursday afternoon and immediately headed off to Foryd Bay to see if we could spot any rare grebes or divers on the sea, but it was very quiet and apart from a few Cormorant and Oystercatcher we saw nothing. Things improved in the bay itself where I was fortunate enough to drop onto a Common Gull as soon as I put the scope up. With a bit of patience we managed to add Wigeon, Pintail, Dunlin, Brent Goose, Redshank, Black-Tailed Godwit, Little Egret and a few more gull species to the list.
That evening, fuelled by a couple of bottles of red wine, my Dad and I felt it would be a good idea to have a go for a Tawny Owl. We headed off at about 10:30pm and after a bit of tramping around the lanes and fields my Dad managed to get a response to one of his owl impersonations. Sadly, it sounded as though the bird was about half a mile away, so we decided to call it a night and headed back to the bungalow.
We had enjoyed birding at Foryd Bay so much that we headed down there early on Friday morning too. This time we got a few Greenshank and Turnstone to add to the list. A buzzard posed obligingly on a fence post on our way down, but my pictures of it didn't turn out too well. However, another picture of the beautiful sunrise that greeted us fared a bit better.
After breakfast we headed up towards Conwy. After dropping my wife and her mother off in the town centre, we went to Llanfairfechan for a spot of seawatching and another chance to latch onto a rare grebe or diver. It was a beautiful day and the sea was like a mill pond. Ideal conditions. We saw a number of Common Scoter, but were unable to turn any of them into anything better despite our best efforts.
There were quite a few Great Crested Grebe present, then I got the scope onto a few more grebes that had a different jizz altogether. Within seconds I knew that they were either Slavonian Grebe or Black-Necked Grebe. I got pretty excited at this point as I knew I was on the cusp of sorting out my fiftieth lifer of the year. After a good ten minutes or so of scoping, referring to the books and a bit of discussion with a fellow birder we were happy to call it. They were Slavonian Grebe [lifer!]. As time went on we saw a few more. Smashing little birds. Hoping to get them in their breeding plumage in Scotland next May. That will be something to look forward to. There is a very poor record shot. I won't embarrass myself by posting it here!
The fellow birder also got us onto a Black-Throated Diver, only my second of the year having nabbed the one at Draycote Water in August. We also added Razorbill and Goldeneye to the list. Originally, we had planned to come here to get the Black Redstart that had been around a week or so ago, but the bird had not been seen for a number of days. Still, it is a great place that I will definitely come back to at some point.
Next up was Rhos-On-Sea. I had some excellent gen that I hoped was going to get us Purple Sandpiper. Twenty minutes or so later we were there and within minutes we had a number of waders on the rocks along the sea front. A quick bit of sorting out revealed them to be Redshank, Turnstone, Purple Sandpiper [year tick!], Ringed Plover and Dunlin. This is only the second time I have seen Purple Sandpiper and although they are a bit of an underwhelming bird in terms of appearance, they are quite elusive so I deem them to be an excellent addition to the year list. They were a lifer for my Dad so he was doubly pleased and so, for the second time that day, we rewarded ourselves with a swig from the hip flask.
Next up we went to the reserve at Conwy, but I'll elaborate on that and the rest of the trip in the next instalment.
Stay tuned, fellow birders.
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Sunday, November 11, 2007 - Another Year Tick
I headed off to Earlswood Lakes on Saturday afternoon as I had it on good authority that Lesser Redpolls had been seen there recently.
With a bit of patience I managed to see a few [year tick!], plus some Siskins, Goldfinches, a Buzzard, a Treecreeper, a Goldcrest, a couple of Shovelers and a Kestrel.
Next bit of birding begins on Thursday when I head off to Wales again.
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Monday, November 5, 2007 - The Early Birder
Call me crazy, but I thought it would be a good idea to have a try for a Tawny Owl this weekend, so took the brave decision to get up at 4:00am on Saturday morning and stroll through the streets and fields of Wythall for a couple of hours.
In case you hadn't guessed from the title, the expedition was unsuccessful, but I did hear some Barn Owls screeching and thought I spotted one briefly by the church on Chapel Lane. Otherwise it was very quiet. I think next time I try this experiment I will consider doing so from the warmth and comfort of my home. I have reasonable views across the fields where I see Barn Owl and hear Tawny Owl occasionally, so this seems to be the more sensible solution.
On Sunday morning I headed over to Upton Warren with my Dad to see if we could see the Bittern. Unfortunately, the fog meant we could see very little and with no signs of it clearing any time soon, we decided to call it a day fairly quickly. We had seen some nice birds though, including Snipe, Kingfisher and a few Redwing.
I may venture to Bittell Reservoir next weekend, before heading off to Wales again for a few days on 15 November. Still hoping to see Lesser Redpoll, Purple Sandpiper, Long-Tailed Duck and maybe one of the rarer grebes this year, plus we have a bit of gen, which might yield us Firecrest and Black Redstart, but I'm not holding my breath for either of those two!
Until next time, happy birding!
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Monday, October 29, 2007 - Birding In Wales - October 2007
My latest expedition to Wales began on Thursday morning. Whilst my three nephews will tell you that the purpose of these autumnal visits is to celebrate Halloween and to have a bonfire and fireworks, it would be a travesty if I didn't manage to squeeze in a bit of birding along the way.
Everybody else was already up there, having travelled up on Wednesday. My intention was to set off on Thursday morning, stopping off on the Berwyns (the largest area of heather moorland in Wales) for a few hours in an attempt to catch up with Hen Harrier, Merlin, Red Grouse, Siskin, Lesser Redpoll and Crossbill. Over the coming days I hoped to get a good hour's seawatch in somewhere, and I knew there would be a couple of early morning excursions around the lanes for the more common passerines and raptors. Plans for the return journey remained flexible depending on what I had or hadn't seen at that point.
I arrived on top of the Berwyns at about 11:45am and decided to spend 45 minutes in the area known to be reasonably reliable for Hen Harrier. I didn't need this bird for the year list having seen them in May in this area, but I felt the area might be good for Merlin and Red Grouse, both potential lifers. I knew the chances of seeing either were slim and I suspect most, if not all, of the Merlin have now moved down to lower land to spend the winter. Not surprisingly neither of them showed. The Hen Harrier didn't make an appearance either, but I added Buzzard, Stonechat and Meadow Pipit to the trip list.
Next, I travelled the quarter of a mile or so to a car park on the perimeter of a conifer plantation. This is where I saw my first ever Crossbills almost a year ago to the day, so hopes were high. I parked the car and wandered down a track to the left, picking up Goldcrest along the way, but the path petered out fairly quickly and so I headed back to the car and took the track to my right. It was all very quiet. A few birds were passing overhead, but I think they were Greenfinches, although I didn't positively identify them.
Suddenly, to my left came a loud chip chip call, and a small flock of birds appeared from one of the trees, settling in another a few yards further down the track. I knew the call was that of Crossbill, but I thought the birds I had seen were Siskins. I quickly set up the scope with the intention of sorting through them in the hope of there being a Lesser Redpoll amongst them, but my heart skipped a beat and I uttered a profanity as I realised I was actually looking at a dozen or so Crossbills [year tick!]. I watched them for at least half an hour, desperately trying to get a decent photograph, but the lighting and the fact that they preferred to feed at the very tops of the conifers made it very difficult, as you will see below.
I still hadn't given up on seeing Merlin, so I reluctantly left and travelled a little further down the road, before having one last look around. I saw another Buzzard, but 15 minutes later I was feeling increasingly pessimistic about my chances of latching onto anything decent and decided half an hour's seawatch in Criccieth might bear more fruit.
An hour or so later, I was there. I picked up several rafts of Common Scoter fairly easily, but they were too distant to pick out any potential Velvet Scoter that may have been amongst them. A few single birds were nearer, but I was unable to turn them into anything better either.
On arrival at the bungalow in Llangybi my Dad and I headed over to St Cybi's Well, which is only five minutes walk away. Half a dozen Ravens had been present for a day or so, displaying over the hill behind the village and it was a good opportunity to see these birds at close quarters.
Friday morning brought a visit to the 'magic field' and here I saw Stonechat, Raven, Buzzard, Green Woodpecker, Great Spotted Woodpecker and Kestrel. Fairly quiet overall though. We headed down to Criccieth beach later with the boys. Whilst they rummaged around in the rock pools, I added Rock Pipit, Gannet and Oystercatcher to the trip list, plus I noted either Guillemot or Razorbill, and what was most probably Manx Shearwater out at sea. We also saw about eight or so Turnstones on the rocks, but unfortunately for my year list there were no Purple Sandpipers amongst them.
There was a real champagne moment on Saturday. As it was a bit of a miserable day, my Dad, brother, my nephew Will and I went to the pub near the Glaslyn valley. We thought we could enjoy a pint or two, then see the Whooper Swans, which arrive here at this time of the year. We did enjoy a couple of pints, but the swans are obviously a little late in arriving this year. However, the injured Whooper Swan that has been resident for a year or two now was present. I bet he or she can't wait for the others to arrive. Not long to go now mate!
Further down the river I spotted a Red-Breasted Merganser and my Dad and I (my brother is not a birder and had headed home with Will) made our way along the bank so that I could try for a photo. The flash from the camera spooked the bird, which flew off and the picture was rubbish, but then I noticed something else in the water. I got the binnies onto it and another profanity escaped from my mouth - it was an Otter [lifer!]!
I came home on Sunday, via Criccieth where I picked up a Red-Throated Diver off the sea [year tick!], then Porthmadog where I saw Redshank, Curlew, Teal, more Ravens, a few Red-Breasted Mergansers, Lapwing, some Common Gull and three Black-Tailed Godwits. I stopped off again on the Berwyns and saw one lone Crossbill, plus what I think was a male Hen Harrier ghosted over the top of the conifer plantation. I wandered much further through the plantation than I have before. Some cracking habitat, which warrants much more birding in the future.
All in all, a great trip. About 60 species seen and a couple of year ticks to boot. No lifers as far as the birds were concerned, but the Otter more than made up for that. I'm back up there in November and hope to be spending a day on Anglesey, which could yield a few newbies. Only a couple of weeks to go!
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Monday, October 8, 2007 - The Birding Week 08/10/2007
I spent a few days in Ross-On-Wye this week. Whilst birding was not top of the agenda, the binoculars did travel with me in the hope that I might bump into a Goshawk. Without going into the boring details, I did have three possible sightings, but nothing conclusive enough to warrant a new tick on the life list.
Not a great deal else was seen to be honest. Highlights were a Raven, a probable Peregrine and numerous Buzzards, but there were no lifers nor year ticks to be had.
On Thursday we went to the National Bird Of Prey Centre near Newent. Well worth a visit. They have many captive birds including several different types of owl. An excellent opportunity to get up close and personal with some amazing birds. They have at least two flying demonstrations daily and despite only intending to see one demonstration, we spent so long looking around the captive birds that we ended up staying for the second one too.
On the day we were there, they flew Harris Hawk, Southern Horned Owl, Great Grey Owl, Eagle Owl, Lanner Falcon, Kestrel and a pair of Turkey Vultures, plus a few others that escape me at the moment. All in all it was excellent value for money and somewhere I will almost certainly pay another visit to one day.
I returned home on Friday afternoon and immediately checked the web to see what had been around the local patches whilst I had been away. The first thing that I noticed was that a Grey Phalarope had turned up at Earlswood Lakes on Wednesday and had hung around until at least Thursday. A glance at another website told me that the bird had been seen there on Friday too, though I didn't know when or exactly where.
Undeterred by this lack of gen, I dashed off down there expecting to be greeted by a host of fellow birders, but the place was very quiet. A bad sign. As I was scanning the lakes from the central causeway a chap stopped his car to ask me if I had seen the phalarope. I explained that I had only just arrived, but that I wasn't too optimistic in view of the lack of activity and he drove off. Just then, I heard a bit of a commotion and noticed a pair of Black-Headed Gulls harassing a small bird further along the Windmill Pool. I scurried up the path running alongside the pool and found the bird, which turned out to be the Grey Phalarope [lifer!] as expected.
I had remembered to pick up the camera and I must have taken in excess of fifty pictures of the bird, four of which turned out quite well! I was a bit worried about the chap in his car at this point, so was pleased to see him turn up a few minutes later. Two more birders arrived shortly afterwards, then I bumped into a pair of birding friends on my way back to the car. As I made my way back down the causeway, more birders were beginning to arrive. I did my good deed for the day by pointing them in the right direction and headed home.
I went along again on Saturday with my father, but the bird had gone. Unfortunately, my Dad has dipped on two phalaropes in the space of as many weeks, but takes consolation in the fact that he connected with Great Skua, Arctic Skua and Velvet Scoter whilst in Scotland.
We then headed off for Upper Bittell Reservoir to see if we could get the Little Stint, a potential lifer for my father and a year tick for me if we were successful. We knew it would not be easy, after all we would be looking for a bird about 12cm long from a distance of about a quarter of a mile away! Not discouraged by this fact we arrived, set up the scope and began surveying the water's edge. It takes me about forty minutes just to get my eye in at Bittell, but we were lucky enough to have a fellow birder present who was very pleasant so we were able to have a bit of a natter, which made the situation a bit more pleasurable.
Finally, I picked up a small wader across the reservoir. Not a Little Stint, though. After a bit of debate and with the assistance of the other chap we decided it was almost certainly the Curlew Sandpiper that has been reported there recently. The scanning continued for another fifteen minutes or so until I picked up two tiny waders. For a starter, there were supposed to be two Little Stints present, so this was a good sign. Secondly, they were undoubtedly much smaller than the Curlew Sandpiper. Beyond that, it was extremely difficult to make out much detail, but the jizz [general impression of size and shape] of the birds was good for Little Stint and the plumage and bill length, so far as we could tell, was good too. On balance, we decided it had to be Little Stint [year tick!]. Despite seeing this bird twice now at Bittell, I have to say I would love to get a bit closer to one!
That's about it for this week. The autumn passage seems to be tailing off a bit now, but here's hoping something else drops in during the next week or so. Remember, I only need one more lifer to take the year's tally to fifty! I would love to achieve that target this year as the law of diminishing returns means I will struggle to get anywhere near it again.
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Sunday, September 30, 2007 - The Birding Week 30/09/2007
A few things to report this week, including another lifer.
Firstly, on Monday my wife and I had a stroll along Bittell Reservoir. It was fairly quiet apart from the usual species that you tend to see and I was unable to pick out anything of note at the upper reservoir, despite recent reports of juvenile Arctic Terns, Curlew Sandpiper and one or two other smaller waders. We did, however, spot a Hobby hawking over the field behind the reservoir. This was a lifer for Mrs Telescope and possibly the best views of this bird that I have had. Excellent viewing.
We then headed off to the Lickey Hills, not for anything specific, but I thought we might connect with a few woodpeckers maybe. However, it was fairly quiet up there. I did see a couple of Nuthatch and caught up with my first Treecreeper for a few months, but that was about it really.
On Tuesday, I saw further reports of Arctic Tern and Black Tern at Bittell, so I decided to pop along after work. After a bit of effort I got the Arctic Tern, though I have to be honest, telling these birds from Common Tern is still quite a challenge for me. Shortly afterwards, I thought I had the Black Tern in my sights, but they were too far away to be sure. I had to wait patiently for ten to fifteen minutes as one inched its way across the reservoir. Then it was close enough to identify [lifer!]. Quite a small bird, with a short tail. An unexpected yet welcome addition to the life and year list.
Not a great deal else of note this week. A number of Jays have been quite active in the field opposite the house this week. I don't remember seeing that many Jays last year, but I can't seem to get away from them this year. Lots of Mistle Thrush too, but hardly any Song Thrush. I guess it just happens that way some years.
On Saturday afternoon I spotted a pair of Muntjac deer in the farthest field from the house. Having first seen them a few weeks ago, I wonder if they're going to become regular sights now? Also, whilst I was writing this blog, a Grey Heron flew right over the top of the house.
Should get out next weekend with the scope. I'll keep an eye open for any rarities passing through before deciding where to head to. Until next time, happy birding!
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Sunday, September 23, 2007 - Red Letter Day
I didn't think I'd be writing about this particular piece of news for quite some time, but several strange twists of fate over the last couple of days ended up with me being face to face with the bird that has been number 1 on my wanted list for some time. The story goes something like this:
It started on Friday when I came down with a stinking cold. Having struggled through work, I decided that the best remedy was to fight fire with fire and picked up a chicken madras from my local Indian takeaway on Friday evening. I have to say, I did feel quite a bit better on Saturday, but was still a bit chesty and frail, and on waking up this morning I decided to stay in bed a bit longer, which is quite out of character for me.
Having finally risen from my slumber at about 8:30am, I staggered to the computer to pick up what birding news I could, but instead of my usual tour of the birding websites I decided to spend half an hour or so creating an account for my Dad on Birdguides. Having done this, I then typed up a short set of instructions for him and emailed them to him. He's headed off to Scotland this morning so is keen to keep an eye on what might be around whilst he is up there.
So, it's about 9:10am and only now am I starting my tour of the websites. For some reason, I leave the Bird Forum till last. I don't know why I did that, but when I did finally take a look at 9:13am, I saw a post from a fellow birder stating possible Wilson's Phalarope at Upton Warren on the Flashes. It was only posted three minutes previously, so any earlier and I wouldn't have seen it!
Wilson's Phalarope! This is a bird of near-mythical proportions. I nearly twitched for one a few weeks ago, but it would have been a bit of a drive and I didn't really want to see it without my Dad being there. If I had, I would have felt bad about it.
Anyway, I rush into the bedroom, start babbling to my wife about it and before you can say Jack Robinson, I'm showered and ready to go. Having very little hair helps, but even if I had a barnet like Julia Roberts I guess I could have worn a hat!
Okay, so it's about half an hour later and I'm at Upton Warren. A quick dash to the hide reveals that word has travelled fast. There must be about ten scopes in there already. And I thought I'd got there quick! Still a few spare seats though. I grab one fast. A few minutes later and there must be about 20 birders in there now, all frantically phoning their mates. Arthur Jacobs [Upton Warren legend] asks 'Has anyone got hold of Gordon yet?'. 'I'm already here!' comes a voice from the farthest reaches of the hide. Brilliant!
The bird isn't showing yet, but the chap to my right points out roughly where it vanished a few minutes ago. It turns out I'm looking in completely the wrong direction, however, as the bird pops up and back down again without me seeing it. Surely I'm not going to dip on it? That would be too much to take.
Suddenly, several people are on it again, perhaps the whole of the hide, with the exception of me of course! I ask the chap to my right if it's out. He tells me it is and suddenly I have it in my sights. Wilson's Phalarope [lifer!]!
If I hadn't stayed in bed so long and if I hadn't looked at the birding websites exactly when I did then I wouldn't have seen it reported, by which time it might have been too late. I wouldn't have wanted to go without my Dad either, but as he was probably halfway to Scotland by then there was nothing I could do about it. Of course, the bird could always hang around for a few days, but I wasn't about to take the chance! I guess it was just meant to be. Sadly, in my haste to leave the house I didn't pick up my camera so I don't have a record shot, but I can always get that next time. If there is one!
Finally, on the way home I got flashed by a speed camera and, to be honest, I couldn't have cared less! Why? A speeding fine: £60. Wilson's Phalarope: priceless!
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Monday, September 17, 2007 - Two Out Of Three Ain't Bad
Don't let the title fool you, I didn't catch up with outsized singer Meatloaf this week! Instead I did a spot of twitching yesterday and managed to bag the Curlew Sandpiper [lifer!] at Upton Warren, then caught up with the Ruff for a second time at Holt, the latter being a lifer for my Dad.
However, I then dipped on the Knot at Upper Bittell Reservoir in the evening, a bird which is proving to be my 2007 bogey. I thought I had had one in Devon in April, but was not certain enough to tick it and now I'm hoping a few more pass through during the Autumn passage so that I can add it to the year list.
Time was a bit short yesterday as my Dad had to get home in time to watch my nephew play rugby, so I'm afraid that we were a bit guilty of acting like dudes [birding term for those who, amongst other frowned-upon activities, have a tendency to turn up, get their tick and bugger off again]. We were only at Upton Warren for about ten minutes, before heading off to Holt. Having got the Ruff almost immediately we then went to Grimley and enjoyed good views of a Kingfisher for all of five minutes before setting off home again!
Otherwise, it has been a fairly quiet week, though I did have a Swallow fly over the garden last Sunday, which was a first for the year, and yesterday morning, a pair of Muntjac deer turned up in the field opposite my house at 6:30am. I've never seen them around here before so this was a bit of a surreal experience!
The Autumn passage seems to be in full flow now, so with a bit of luck there could be some good stuff to go for locally over the next few weeks. Then I have a couple of expeditions to Wales to look forward to at the end of October and November, so I have a chance of squeezing another half dozen or so birds out of 2007.
Next year there are plans afoot for a trip to Devon in February, Norfolk and Suffolk in April and the highlands of Scotland in May, so if I don't pick up some quality birds there then serious questions will have to be asked!
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Sunday, September 9, 2007 - A Hoot Of A Week!
A few things to report this week.
First off, I walked to work this week so picked up a few nice birds along the way, namely Great Spotted Woodpecker, Nuthatch and Kestrel. I also heard a Green Woodpecker along Brick Kiln Lane, but didn’t see it.
Tuesday night was a bit special. I went outside to collect the wheelie bin just after 10:00pm and no sooner than I had stepped out of the front door a Tawny Owl called from the oak tree just over the road. I waited patiently to see if it would show. Alas, it did not, but in a twist of irony a Barn Owl did float over whilst I was waiting! I continued my surveillance from the bedroom window and heard it call again about half an hour later, but still no sign. Shame, as it would have been a lifer.
On Friday I went to Weston-Super-Mare for the day. I couldn’t resist trying for the Spotted Crake and Little Stint at Coombe Hill Meadows on the way, having first sought consent from my long-suffering wife. Sadly, neither birds showed up, but it was good to find out where this reserve is in case future twitching opportunities present themselves.
Before we set off for Weston-Super-Mare, a pair of Bullfinches turned up in the garden. Other good birds in the garden this week included Coal Tit and a Wren this morning.
Weston-Super-Mare was pretty uninspiring as far as birds go. Just gulls, gulls and more gulls really. Still, they say if life hands you a lemon, make lemonade, so I now have some reasonable pictures of a Starling, Lesser Black-Backed Gull and Herring Gull to add to my growing collection of amateur snaps.
On Saturday I had a stroll around the lanes and picked up a Goldcrest in Wilmore Lane and then Buzzard, Sparrowhawk and Kestrel along Barkers Lane and Tanners Green Lane. Map of Wythall courtesy of Google is attached. The Resolution building where I work is at the top left of the picture.
I had planned to nip out this morning and have a look for the Great White Egret that turned up at Grimley yesterday, but it appears that it did not hang around. Too bad. Let’s see if next week brings anything worth going for!
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Sunday, September 2, 2007 - The Birding Week 02/09/2007
A very quiet week by all accounts. The only thing of note was a flock of about 20 Pied Wagtails at work on Tuesday and Thursday.
Therefore, I shall take this opportunity to talk about the regular visitors to my garden. On Bank Holiday Monday I was out there with the camera and managed to take a few snaps of them. Please excuse the quality of some of them!
The Nuthatch has always been a visitor to our garden and I think it was this bird that first got me interested in birding because it was so different to anything I had ever seen before. They love the peanut feeder especially, though I actually ended up taking a photograph of one on the seed feeder.
The Coal Tit was around too. They are less frequent, but I see them most weeks.
The smaller birds you can rely on day in and out are Great Tit, Blue Tit, Robin, Dunnock and, best of all, Goldfinch. The latter never used to be around, but having noticed a pair one day a few years ago I started putting out niger seed and they are now ever present.
Among the larger birds, Woodpigeons are never far away, plus Jackdaws and Collared Dove. Wrens are scarce as are House Sparrows, Bullfinch and Greenfinch, but they do appear from time to time, unlike Song Thrush, which I have not seen in the garden this year.
The Great Spotted Woodpecker appears from time to time and usually hangs around for a few days when he does, favouring the peanut feeder. The Lesser Spotted Woodpecker that showed up a couple of weeks ago was probably a one off and I doubt if I will see it again.
Other erratic visitors over the past few years have included Siskin and Lesser Redpoll, which were around during the very cold spell in March 2006. A Goldcrest will often pop up in the winter and maybe later in the year too. In fact, one paid a brief visit to the garden on Monday, but has not been seen since. Not a great photo unfortunately.
Birds that have been observed from the garden, as opposed to in it, include Redwing, Lapwing, Barn Owl, Cormorant, Raven, Pheasant, Grey Heron and Buzzard. Living opposite a field does help!
Anyway, here’s my all time list of birds seen either in or from the garden:
Barn Owl, Blackbird, Blackcap, Black-Headed Gull, Blue Tit, Bullfinch, Buzzard, Canada Goose, Carrion Crow, Chaffinch, Coal Tit, Collared Dove, Cormorant, Dunnock, Goldcrest, Goldfinch, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Great Tit, Greenfinch, Grey Heron, House Martin, House Sparrow, Jackdaw, Jay, Lapwing, Lesser Redpoll, Lesser Spotted Woodpecker, Long-Tailed Tit, Magpie, Mallard, Mistle Thrush, Moorhen, Nuthatch, Pheasant, Pied Wagtail, Raven, Redwing, Robin, Rock Dove, Rook, Siskin, Song Thrush, Starling, Stock Dove, Swift, Woodpigeon, Wren
A Robin in the garden
A Great Tit on the peanut feeder
A Dunnock in the fir tree
Barney enjoying himself on the lawn
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Sunday, August 26, 2007 - The Birding Week 26/08/2007
A few things to report this week, though nothing of huge significance.
On Monday I went to Brandon Marsh and spotted 2 more Hobbies from the Carlton Hide. It’s like buses isn’t it? Nothing for 37 years, then 4 come along in 2 days! Terrible photo follows.
I also saw several Kingfishers, but none hung around for a photo opportunity. Judging by the quality of the Hobby snap, perhaps this was just as well!
No more birds of note were seen, but I did have a splendid flapjack from the tearoom. I may have imagined it, but whilst I was drinking my coffee I thought I saw a Willow Tit on the bird feeders. Not certain enough to tick it, but I have already seen one this year so didn’t lose any sleep over it.
On Tuesday afternoon I couldn’t resist popping up to Bittell Reservoir to see if I could locate the Greenshank that had been around for a day or two. I didn’t see it unfortunately, but afer much perseverance I did identify 2 Ringed Plovers, which I was quite pleased with considering how distant the viewing is there.
Having replenished the feeders in my garden yet again, it was nice to see the Nuthatches making regular appearances at the end of the week. I had hoped to get a photo, but found my camera was out of juice. Maybe next week. Also in the garden today was the first Goldcrest for several months.
With the camera fully charged I spent an hour or two at Upton Warren this afternoon. On a non-birding note, I spotted this excellent specimen on the footpath to the East Hide.
Correct me if I am wrong, but I think this is an Elephant Hawk Moth caterpillar. Good work!
Anyway, back to the birds. There were an extraordinary number of Snipe on the Flashes today, plus several Green Sandpiper and Common Sandpiper, and some Dunlin too. With a bit of help I also managed to see the Black-Tailed Godwit, though it remained pretty well hidden in the vegetation. At about 4:30pm a Sparrowhawk flew over, causing quite a commotion. I confess I immediately identified it as a Kestrel before being corrected by someone with far superior knowledge than my own [not hard!]. Still, if in doubt I always think shouting Kestrel is the better option! Or maybe I should just keep quiet when I’m not sure. Who knows?
Anyway, it made me realise that I still have a long way to go before I can consider myself a really good birder, which is quite humbling and an excellent lesson to take away with me at the end of another enjoyable birding week.
Snipe at Upton Warren
Black-Tailed Godwit at Upton Warren
Green Sandpiper at Upton Warren
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Monday, August 20, 2007 - The Birding Week 20/08/2007
What a week! No doubt as to what the highlight was for me after the Lesser Spotted Woodpecker [lifer!] showed up in the garden on Monday. Being able to snatch a reasonable photograph of it was a bit of a result too. Unsurprisingly, it has not been seen since.
Elsewhere, I noticed 2 Swifts over the house on Wednesday evening and then 2 more at work on Thursday during a stroll around the grounds, but none since. I think most of them have moved on now.
On Sunday I went down to the little village of Holt to see if I could find the Ruff that had been reported there. I spent a good couple of hours there. If you get the chance to go I can heartily recommend it. It reminded me of Bowling Green Marsh in Topsham, Devon with the amount of geese, ducks and waders that were there.
I quickly located the Ringed Plover that were present and saw a couple of smaller waders in amongst them. My initial thought was that they might be Little Stint, but I think my heart was ruling my head as on closer inspection they were a pair of Dunlin. No sign of the Ruff at this point.
I scanned the field several times and picked up all the usual waterfowl, plus some Common Tern, some of which were clearly juveniles. Then I saw some movement behind the vegetation to the right of the field, followed by a glimpse of some promising-looking plumage. I thought I had struck gold, then noticed this bird had a large bill. Curlew was my initial reaction, but it turned out to be a Snipe. Nice spot though.
There was an unexpected bonus when another chap who was present picked up a pair of Hobby flying over [lifer!]. They remained in the vicinity for a few minutes and I managed to get the scope on them and got some nice views. Second lifer of the week. Good work!
Just as I was preparing myself to miss out on the Ruff, it showed up in the centre of the field, wading around in the mud [year tick!]. I knew at this point that that was going to be my lot for the day [though I saw later that 3 Greenshank had been reported there too – I never saw them!] so I headed home. A nice end to a memorable week.
Here’s my Holt trip list:
Black-Headed Gull, Buzzard, Canada Goose, Carrion Crow, Common Tern, Coot, Dunlin, Goldfinch, Green Sandpiper, Hobby [lifer!], Kestrel, Lapwing, Little Grebe, Mallard, Moorhen, Mute Swan, Pied Wagtail, Ringed Plover, Robin, Ruff [year tick!], Sand Martin, Snipe, Swallow, Teal, Woodpigeon
And here are the birds I would like to see before the end of the year:
Crossbill, Knot, Lesser Redpoll, Little Stint, Long-Tailed Duck, Red-Throated Diver
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Monday, August 13, 2007 - Mega Garden Bird!
There was much merriment today when a Lesser Spotted Woodpecker showed up on the peanut feeder [lifer!].
I rushed upstairs to get the digital camera and managed to get a reasonable photo seconds before it flew away.
Very unexpected, but obviously a very welcome addition to the life list!
I wonder if it will make another appearance? Stay tuned to find out.
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Sunday, July 15, 2007 - Another Lifer!
Got a bit twitchy when I saw that Little Tern had been seen at Earlswood Lakes yesterday, so I nipped down there this morning and with a bit of patience I managed to see one [lifer!]. My first lifer at Earlswood Lakes, I think.
I also spotted a Common Sandpiper, which I flushed on my way back to the car.
After dipping on Nightjars earlier this week it was nice to have a bit of success.
Until next time, happy birding!
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Monday, July 9, 2007 - Further Welsh Adventures
Ashamed as I am to admit it, I have just spent another 7 days in Wales. Whilst this was never meant to be an intensive birding holiday, I did take my binoculars with me wherever I went so I ended up with a reasonable trip list anyway.
The best bit of news is that there are Spotted Flycatchers apparently nesting near the bungalow in Llangybi. I noticed one when we arrived and then spotted [no pun intended!] a pair later on in the week. They were perched on the ash tree in the front garden. Excellent stuff.
The Greater Spotted Woodpeckers continue to visit the feeders in the garden regularly, but I did not spot the Siskins this time. Blue Tits, Great Tits, Chaffinches and House Sparrows are all regular visitors too.
There were good numbers of Gannet in the sea near Criccieth, plus Manx Shearwater and Sandwich Tern. Along the shingle beach I had Ringed Plover, Oystercatcher, Sand Martin, Swallow, Cormorant and Rock Pipit. There were many Herring Gulls, but I did see a few Black-Headed Gull there aswell.
On Thursday we paid a visit to Borth-Y-Gest. It was raining, so we sat in the car eating our sandwiches. I glanced behind me and spotted a gull with yellow legs and knew immediately that it was not a Lesser Black-Backed Gull. By the time I had wheeled around and grabbed the binoculars it had taken flight. I did get another glance at the legs and remained satisfied as to their colour, but the bird flew towards the estuary and landed some distance away from me. Sadly, I did not have the scope to hand so had to wait patiently for it to return. I did notice, however, that the the gull’s back was mid-grey, darker than that of a Herring Gull. When it finally returned, it flew over head before disappearing behind the terraced houses that border the harbour. On balance, I am fairly certain that it was a Yellow-Legged Gull, my first one as it happens, but the views I had were not really good enough to be conclusive.
I paid my first visit to the nature reserve at Penrhyndeudraeth on Friday. I was keen to see it as it is a prime site for Nightjars, though the weather was never really good enough to contemplate an evening visit to see them. However, I did see Redstart, Whitethroat, Bullfinch, Linnet, Meadow Pipit, Buzzard and Raven up there. Hopefully I will get up there next year for the Nightjars. A trip to the ‘magic field’ that evening added Stonechat, Goldfinch and Skylark to the trip list.
That was about it. No lifers, no year ticks even, but a very pleasant, relaxing week. I probably won’t be up there now until October when I hope to get a few divers, sea ducks and maybe some Crossbills with a bit of luck. Can’t wait.
Trip list:
Blackbird, Blackcap, Black-Headed Gull, Blue Tit, Bullfinch, Buzzard, Carrion Crow, Chaffinch, Collared Dove, Cormorant, Dunnock, Gannet, Goldfinch, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Great Tit, Greenfinch, Grey Heron, Herring Gull, House Martin, House Sparrow, Jackdaw, Jay, Kestrel, Lesser Black-Backed Gull, Linnet, Magpie, Mallard, Manx Shearwater, Meadow Pipit, Mistle Thrush, Mute Swan, Nuthatch, Osprey, Oystercatcher, Pheasant, Pied Wagtail, Raven, Razorbill, Red-Breasted Merganser, Redstart, Ringed Plover, Robin, Rock Dove, Rock Pipit, Sand Martin, Sandwich Tern, Shelduck, Siskin, Skylark, Song Thrush, Spotted Flycatcher, Starling, Stonechat, Swallow, Swift, Whitethroat, Whooper Swan, Willow Warbler, Woodpigeon, Wren
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Friday, June 22, 2007 - More Birding In Wales
Another trip to Wales from Saturday 16 June to Wednesday 20 June threw up some more good birds, including a couple of year ticks.
The first stroke of luck was on top of the Berwyns, which is quickly establishing itself as an essential stop off point on the way to North Wales. This rugged moorland is located near the village of Bala and has delivered Crossbill, Tree Pipit, Whinchat, Cuckoo and Hen Harrier in the last eight months or so, and I have heard Red Grouse up there too. On Saturday I picked up my first Spotted Flycatcher of the year [year tick!] in the conifer plantation. This is actually only the second time I have seen this bird, the first time being in the Lake District in 2003 when I was a very average birder.
On Sunday, we headed down to Criccieth in the afternoon and spotted a Gannet out at sea, before picking up the Rock Pipit that had eluded me and my friends in May. It was feeding a youngster and I managed to get a few decent photographs of it. We also had some Sand Martins down on the beach, but nothing else of particular significance. I had some fun in the rock pools, however, discovering a few crabs and fish.
On Monday I did some slightly more intensive birding along the cliffs near Aberdaron. We had thought about going to Bardsey Island, but decided not to in the end. However, from the cliff walk you can see the island and we were hopeful that scanning the sea around this area would prove worthwhile. Along the cliffs there were high numbers of Whitethroat and Yellowhammer and I managed to get some really good pictures of the latter.
We scoped some small islands out to sea and noted that there were many small seabirds on the rocks and in the water, but they were a little too distant to identify. Logic suggests that the majority were Guillemots, with some Razorbills thrown in, but there could have been Black Guillemot too, which would have been a year tick for me. We shall never know for sure.
Further along we had some Choughs, then we noticed that a number of seabirds were making their way from Bardsey Island across the water not too far away from us. With a bit of patience we managed to make out that most of these were Guillemots and we noted some Gannets too, then we realised that there were Manx Shearwater [year tick!] there aswell, which was a lifer for my father as he had missed out on them in Islay last year. Bardsey Island has many thousands of pairs of breeding shearwater, so if you can’t get to the island itself then I expect these cliffs are probably one of the premier places in Wales to go looking for them.
Shortly afterwards, we picked up Fulmar on the cliffs and more Choughs with their young, plus Linnet, Meadow Pipit and also a Sparrowhawk as we made our way back to the car.
We paid another visit to Coed Aber on Tuesday and had excellent views of a Peregrine up on the cliffs near the falls. We again failed to find a Ring Ouzel, but did pick up a female Redstart and heard a few warblers including Wood Warbler. We stopped off on the coast road on the way back and got Curlew, Whimbrel, Little Egret and Red-Breasted Merganser, but failed to find the Spoonbill in Foryd Bay, which we saw last month.
On Tuesday night we couldn’t resist going for Storm Petrels at Criccieth as the weather was quite rough, but unfortunately we failed in our quest. That was about it, except for an early morning excursion on Wednesday to Criccieth beach and the cob at Porthmadog where we sorted out more Gannets, a Redshank and a Common Sandpiper.
My final count was 74 species, excluding a few birds that I was not 100% certain of. Not too shabby for a relatively casual bit of birding.
Trip list:
Blackbird, Blackcap, Black-Headed Gull, Bullfinch, Buzzard, Canada Goose, Carrion Crow, Chaffinch, Chiffchaff, Chough, Coal Tit, Collared Dove, Common Sandpiper, Cormorant, Curlew, Dunnock, Fulmar, Gadwall, Gannet, Goldcrest, Goldfinch, Great Black-Backed Gull, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Great Tit, Greenfinch, Grey Heron, Grey Wagtail, Guillemot, Herring Gull, House Martin, House Sparrow, Jackdaw, Jay, Kestrel, Lapwing, Lesser Black-Backed Gull, Linnet, Little Egret, Magpie, Mallard, Manx Shearwater, Meadow Pipit, Mistle Thrush, Mute Swan, Oystercatcher, Peregrine, Pheasant, Pied Wagtail, Raven, Red-Breasted Merganser, Redshank, Redstart, Robin, Rock Dove, Rock Pipit, Rook, Sand Martin, Shelduck, Siskin, Skylark, Song Thrush, Sparrowhawk, Spotted Flycatcher, Stonechat, Swallow, Swift, Treecreeper, Whimbrel, Whitethroat, Wigeon, Willow Warbler, Woodpigeon, Wren, Yellowhammer
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