Isle of Man blog

22nd January

Saturday morning I had another visit up to the north of the Isle of Man.
First stop was Ballaugh Cronk just in case another Little Gull was about :)
It was just past high tide so there were very few birds on the beach but there was a flock of mixed finches about which I checked in case of a Brambling but it was just Linnet and Greenfinch.
I quickly moved further up the coast to The Lhen. Here with the tide in the Divers come within 50 yrds sometimes. It took me 2 scans of the sea to find 2 Winter plumage Red-throated divers about 100 yrds out then a little further out another diver surfaced. I got the scope on it and was pleased to see a winter plumage Black-throated diver. Going for the “hat trick” I scanned around and did indeed find a winter plumage Great-Northern diver. Brilliant stuff! None of the birds were close enough for photos though. I then saw a small flock of Geese flying over northwards. Assuming they were the local feral Greylags I had a half hearted look only to find they were Pink-footed Geese!
I was pretty pleased with that as I had missed out on the wintering flock at Glascoe everytime I had tried to see them. I also noticed another flock of finches flying along the dunes north. Curiousity took over so I drove to the next available beach which was Blue Point. I went down to the front edge of the dunes and walked along. I never found the finch flock but did spot a pipit skulking around in the low weeds. It then flew up the beach by about 10 yrds without calling. I thought this was a bit unusual as normally the Meadow or Rock pipits I see always call as they take off. I got close ish again and had a good look. It was a definate Meadow Pipit. Bahh. Never mind one day I will do that and it will be a Red-throated or Olive-backed Pipit :)
I went back to my car and didn’t see anything new so went off to Ramsey again. I had a quick stop to see if the Black Redstart was about but it wasn’t so I then moved off to stake out the Kingfisher again.
This time it was 2 hrs before low tide so I tried up a Pooyl Dhooey (probably spelt wrong). My friend had seen the 2 Kingfishers there at low tide a few days earlier so I parked up by the river and waited.
And waited….. and waited… I had a few things to keep me company as a few small birds kept flying across me into some trees. I checked them all and they were mainly Chaffinch with a few Blue and Great Tit chucked in for good measure. A Sparrowhawk also slowly went through the trees after the finches. After about 3 hrs I decided to cut my loses and head home.
I’m such a gluten for punishment I will probably be there again next Saturday. :)
I took a strange way home and managed to accidentally drive past the Whooper Swan field in Ballaugh. I saw through the bushes that they were extremely close to the roadside so I stopped and got a much better photo than last week.

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23rd January
I found out that while I was up north the day before, there had been 10 Pintail at Langness (my local patch)!! Pintail is a scarce passage visitor to the Isle of Man and I reckon one of the nicer ducks to see. (Especially the males) So with this in mind in the morning I headed straight for Langness.
It was high tide so I expected to spot the ducks straight away if they were still there. Unfortunately most of the ducks had hauled out and were sleeping in amongst the rocks so trying to see them all was a bit tricky. After trying 3 different viewing positions I finally spotted 2 female Pintail a bit south of Madoc’s pool (this is the small pool that’s in line with Madoc’s hill, I’m not sure if this pool has a name so I always just call it Madoc’s Pool.)
Apart from the usual large flocks of Teal, Wigeon and Curlew there was not much else to see bar about 20 Golden Plover. Not many I know but at least its an improvement over the zero that had been here recently!
Wondering where to try next I then found out there was 4 Waxwings seen at the new hospital entrance the day before. 3 months ago seeing a Waxwing was a lifer for me so having only had a few sightings of them I quickly drove the 15 miles north to the outskirts of the capital of the Isle of Man.
I did a drive by first to try and spot or hear the Waxwings with no luck. I then got lost in the new hospitals car park! But managed to eventually find my way out. On my way out just by the entrance gate I spotted the 4 Waxwing in a tree on the right. Not wanting to park where I was I drove about 300 yrds away and was able to find a safe place to park. When I walked back the Waxwings were not in the tree!! Luckily I heard their loverly call from behind me and saw they had moved into the bushes on the opposite side of the road. I managed to walk round the bushes and get the sun (well the direction of the sun anyway) behind me. After about 1 hr one of the Waxwings came down and fed in a bush about 5-6 ft from me. I had my camera up ready for a shot but was looking past it to try and pinpoint where the WW had landed so before I got a shot off the WW was gone again!! NOOoooooo
What an opportunity missed that was!
Slightly depressed at this, I picked myself up when another WW appeared about 10ft away. This time I didn’t mess up my chance and got a shot I am very pleased with.

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Thank god I’m using a Canon 20D as in the bushes the light wasn’t good and I was able to use ISO 800 with hardly any noticeable “noise” on the finished shot.
Happy with seeing Waxwings again and getting a photo I left them to carry on finishing off the last few berries.
On the way home I popped in at Eairy Dam (a small reservoir in the middle of the island) to try and see Tufted Duck. Unfortunately there wasn’t any there. In fact last winter there were Tuftys, Pochard and Gadwall as well as the Wigeon and Teal here but this year there are only the Wigeon and Teal. I’m not sure what’s happened to the other ducks. Have they died or have they decided to winter somewhere else like at the Gravel Pits up at the Point of Ayre. Where the people with access have recorded large amounts of Pochard and Tufted Duck. I did see a few Coot on Eairy Dam though which was a first for the year for me! :)

24th January
I didn’t do any birding today but after work I had an evening trip to B&Q (lucky me!). On the way home a Barn Owl flew across the road! Excellent stuff!. It’s pure fluke if you see a Barn Owl on the Isle of Man during the year. (I only managed 1 sighting through all of last year.)

January 16th - Local patch

I had a quick check of my local area this morning but wasnt confident of finding anything especially with the tide out.
I started at Strandhall and there was nothing in the Gull roost there then I went round to Derbyhaven bay to again try and see if there were any divers or grebes.
As per usual there wasnt but there were about 6 Black Guillemot in the bay now. I then moved back round to scan the intertidal area and found
a Bar-tailed Godwit, always nice to see in the Isle of Man.
I then scoped a different part of the beach and found 2 Golden Plovers. I'm sure last winter we had a flock of 100+ Golden plovers right through the winter but this year apart from a large flock that came through in Oct/Nov I have hardly seen any Golden Plovers. Very strange.
Also a Grey Plover was flushed by a bait digger so I got a nice view of the dark "armpits" as it flew to another roosting position.
The heavens then opened so my quick check turned out to be even quicker and I headed home.

Here is a map of my usual areas I check.

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(In later entries I will get pics of the actual areas.)

Pete.

http://www.manxbirdphotography.co.uk

January 15th - Up North

I couldn’t decide whether to go out on Saturday as the weather forecast was looking bleak. But when I woke up I saw that it was only overcast and not raining as predicted. So I decided that a trip up north was in order.
I haven’t seen any Divers yet in 2005 so I decided the NW coast of the Isle of Man was where to go and have a look. Normally the 3 types of Diver winter off here so I had a good chance.
The day started well when a flock of around 20 Redwing flew over my house.
About 40 minutes and 25 (ish) miles north later a female Sparrowhawk flew across the front of my car as I drove through an area of trees that looked like it had taken a major battering in the storms last week. My first stop was at Ballamona beg field near Ballaugh. I couldn’t miss the herd of 13 Whooper Swan here.
I took a record shot as I haven’t taken a photo of a Whoppa in over a year.

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I then was going to go about 5 miles north to The Lhen for the divers but something made me change my mind and try the nearby Ballaugh Cronk. This is also a shingle beach like at The Lhen but at Ballaugh Cronk you can park right at the edge of the beach and when the weather is bad it’s always nice to be sitting in your car. Luckily for me when I got to the car park there were no dog walkers parked up so I was able to park at the closest point to the sea. At Ballaugh Cronk there is a small stream that runs into the sea. However, before it meets the sea it turns and flows about 100 yards parallel to the shore then turns left into the sea. On this stretch were approx 100 Black-headed Gulls so I had a good scan through them as I always do with BH Gulls looking for a Little Gull. Apart from this time I was also looking for a Common Gull as I hadn’t seen one in 2005. I drew a blank on both. In between the stream and the sea were 15 Ringed Plover and 10 Turnstone in amongst them were 2 Knot.
I then heard a few peeps from a finch flock and I located them on the washed up debris at the top of the beach. The flock included 3 Linnets, 4 Greenfinch, 2 Grey Wagtail and 2 Twite. This was my closest view of a Twite for well over a year so that was good.
I then had a look out to sea for Divers but it was just too exposed and choppy to see anything. In the meantime more Gulls had flown in and I saw 4 Common Gull in them. I then had another look through the Black-headed Gulls just in case and as I was doing so spotted a Turnstone on the near edge of the stream.

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I went back to scanning through the BH gulls from front to back and as I got to the last few flying gulls I spotted a tiny one fly in. It looked about two-thirds the size of the BH Gulls and instantly I thought ooer what’s this. Could it be a stunted BH Gull or was this a lifer floating towards me head on?
My next thought was do I grab my camera and go for a record shot or do I get a positive ID. I went for the latter.
By now the bird had got within 50yards still flying head on but now I could see a dark cap!
Brilliant!!! A Little Gull. I then grabbed the camera to try and get a record shot but when I looked back through the bins to find it I saw the Little Gull bank sharply and fly off north with the wind. As it banked I got a good view of the wings and mantle and the pattern reminded me of a 1st Winter Kittiwake. This confirmed it as a 1st Winter Little Gull. Unfortunately I watched it quickly fly north up the beach and out of site. I phoned the record to my friend who was on a beach further north so he could keep an eye out for it. I stayed for another hour hoping that the Little Gull might work it’s way back but it never did. I didn’t manage a record shot of the Gull but did get a photo of the area instead :)

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I finally left and headed for The Lhen. The sea here was much calmer so I scanned with my bins hoping to quickly pick up a diver. After three scans I had only managed 1 Eider and 2 Guillemots so I brought out the big guns (scope) and set to work. On my second scan I finally spotted a diver flapping quite far out. But it dived before I could ID it. After 10 minutes of searching for it I refound it and was able to ID it as a winter plumage Red-throated Diver. Amazingly within another 10 seconds I found another RTD !! Where that one was hiding when I scanned before, I don’t know. Happy with that I was about to go when I spotted another Diver flying from right to left. I got the scope on it and even though it was far out it looked to me like a Great-Northern Diver. Luckily enough it landed and I was able to confirm it as a Great-Northern Diver. As I was leaving I had 2 big Raven fly in front of me. That was three firsts for 2005 in about three minutes!
I then headed for the town of Ramsey on the NE coast. On my way, a female Hen Harrier flew across the road in front of me and I got a fleeting view but as per usual with these birds it carried on deep into the fields rather than staying near the road. So even though I stopped the car I wasn’t able to get a nice long view.
When I got to Ramsey I went straight to the harbour as two Black Redstarts have been wintering here. My friend had seen the female in the morning so I had a look around but saw nothing. I decided to sit it out. While I did, I saw my first Rock Pipit of the year and unusually for this area 2 Meadow Pipits. About ten minutes later I saw a small dark bird land behind some Iron Girders. It then popped out and revealed itself as the male Black Redstart. Brilliant!
I was doing well today so I thought I would have a go for the Kingfishers up the river.
The tide was 2 hrs from high so I thought I might have timed their passing into the harbour to perfection but with it being a very high tide the water was at a higher point than I thought it would be. I still stayed for an hour just in case but I saw nothing at all. It then started to chuck it down so I decided to call it a day. But what a great day it was!! :)

Pete
http://www.manxbirdphotography.co.uk

January 8th - Tromode

Last week I noticed someone had recorded Goosanders at Tromode.
So with these being very scarce on the IOM I decided that my Saturday morning would be spent going for these. Now last year there were 2 Goosanders wintering at Tromode and I noticed that they only spent overnight in the pond and would fly up river as soon as it got light. So with this knowledge I got up at 7am and drove the 10 miles to Tromode. Luckily for me I got through all the roads before the Police got up and shut the roads due to trees and power lines down! :)
I got to Tromode in the pitch black but still went and had a look and spotted the Male Goosander in the nearest corner on the pond. I decided to retreat back to the car and wait for the light to start to come up rather than go and frighten the Goosander. After about 20 minutes the light was starting to appear so I went back and the Goosander had already gone into the middle of the pond. But this time there were 3 females with it (or so I thought).
I then spent the next 2 hrs crawling round the pond trying to get in a positon where the Goosanders would swim past so I could get a photo. The best shots were in the end when I just walked along the path with the Male sleeping and then took a shot from by the side of a tree!! Slightly annoying, after I had spent alot of time and effort crawling around as not to disturb them and it looks like I didnt need to.

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At one point when I was sitting by a few trees I heard some noisy Long-tailed Tits coming through. I have learnt to always check these flocks as other birds like to join them. Straight away I spotted a bird in the tree above me that didnt have a long tail. I got the bins on it and it was a female Siskin. Thats a good bird for me, I usually have to put alot of effort into finding them.
Then another bird flew onto a tree by the side of me and started scooting up it.
A loverly Treecreeper. Unfortunately in the scramble I goofed up both pictures and also a Long-tailed tit photo even though it was only at about 5 ft range!! arhghgh.
By 9.30am I had expected the Goosanders to have flown but due to the torrents in the nearby river, I can only assume the Goosanders had decided not to risk it. I decided then to leave them alone and try and see if I could get to the nearby Kerrowdhoo Reservoir. Here I was hoping for some diving ducks and an extremely super remote chance of a Smew.
Unfortunately the road to the reservoir was closed due to fallen trees!
bahhh.
I turned for home and decided to check Derbyhaven Bay. With the winds reduced but still up at the force 8-9 I had again hoped for some Diver/Grebe action. Last year with winds like this I found Great Crested and Slavonian Grebe in the bay which are both extremely scarce visitors to the IOM.
Unfortunately though there were no Divers in the bay but I did count 9 Black Guillemots in winter plumage. Also there were 9 Eiders.
I drove round to the beach side and noticed 3 Black Guillemots extremely close in. So I got out and nearly got blown over and went for the beach.
I waited for them to dive then legged it into position. I managed a few sharp shots inbetween alot of blurred shots.

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I didnt stay too long as I kept getting blown over onto the wet sand.
Before going home I had a quick check of the Langness side (which was getting the full force of the wind) and noted a Male Shoveler in an advanced eclipse stage and 1 Knot on the Stinky Dubh. There were also the hundreds of Teal that winter here every year. After that I quickly retreated home to get dry and warm! :)

Ps. When I got home and went through my Goosander pics I noticed that one of the "females" was actually a 1st winter Male! . whoops :)

January 3rd - sighting

I decided to stay in today to relax for work tomorrow.
At about 4pm I got a call from my friend up north telling me he had a 1st winter Glaucous Gull in Ramsey and he had been trying to phone me for 2 hrs!
arhghghghg. and he wasnt able to relocate it after it flew.
double arghghghghgh!
I haven't seen a Glaucous Gull for well over 10 years so to have not been able to see this bird was a major downer.
With me being back at work tomorrow the next time I can get to Ramsey in daylight is Saturday the 8th. Its extremely unlikely this bird will stay till then.
Ramsey is doing well for scarcities at the moment though.
Glaucous gull today
Scaup yesterday
Black throated Diver the day before that.
over 100 Waxwings the week before.
2 Black Redstarts staying for the winter.
and possibly the only 2 Kingfishers on the entire Isle of Man.
It's certainly putting the rest of the island to shame at the moment.

January 2nd - Ramsey

The day before, my friend from the north of the Isle of Man had told me of a 1st winter male Scaup which was in a boating lake in Ramsey. He said it was showing well but I didnt realise just how well till I saw his photographs.
So I decided to try for it today. I got up early and went the 20 ish miles northwards for first light.
I got to the lake and scanned near the cafe as I was told to but couldnt spot anything. I tried all the other bits of the lake but nothing. A bit glum I went off to the harbour to wait for the wintering Black Redstart.
About 30 minutes later I got a call from my friend telling me the Scaup was still there!
I went back and there it was sitting right next to a marker buoy! (Im claiming that from my viewpoint the Scaup was hidden by the buoy :) )
The Scaup was associating itself with a white farm duck so we managed to bring that duck close by using bread and the Scaup came with it. Down to 10ft range! Unfortunately the light was harsh, low and from about 2 o clock. So the majority of my photos came out dark but I did manage a few when the bird had the light side on. This was one of those.

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I also attempted some shots when I was lieing down, to try and get that loverly blurred foreground and background effect but the results werent as hoped. As the body of the bird was always half covered by a small wave.
Still happy with the shots I got ( I took about 90 and ended with about 4 or 5 good ones) we moved around the park trying to photography Mistle Thrush . These birds were very wary though and pics were impossible. The reason for them being wary could have been the Sparrowhawk we saw blasting through the trees.
I then went back for the Black Redstart but again it wasnt showing. With the tide being out I decided to see if I could find where the Kingfisher hides during this state of the tide. The normal place to see it on the Sulby Rivers final corner before meeting the harbour was all mudbanks so I walked further up river. I was hoping to also see the Little Grebes that winter on this section but they weren't to be found. I got to the furthest allowable place up river (which was not far, probably about half a mile) and hadnt spotted or heard a Kingfisher. Turning back, I spotted a Hooded Crow quite close having a drink. I managed to approach quite close and get a half decent photo.

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The walk up the river was fruitless with no Kingfisher or Little Grebe and with no Waxwings left in Ramsey I headed home.

January 1st - Langness

My local patch is at Langness & Derbyhaven on the Isle of Man.
Due to the recent strong winds I went to check Derbyhaven bay to see if any Divers or Grebes had been sheltering there.
The only birds in the bay were a couple of Shag
A bit disappointing but during this winter the bay hasnt produced any Divers or Grebes so far which is a bit strange.
I was heading home when I spotted 7 Chough feeding on the beach. They dont usually feed on this side of the peninsula but I think due to the very strong westerly winds they were feeding in a more sheltered area.
I parked up and they flew off as usual but after about 30 minutes they plucked up the courage and started coming back. A one point I had a Chough about 12ft from my car and I was able to get my best shot to date of a Chough.
I sent the record of the colour rings into our recorder and he told me that the bird was rung in the nest in May 2003 and was from a nest about 5 miles up the coast.

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Pretty happy with this, I then noticed all the birds go up. Assuming there was a Peregrine around somewhere I starting looking for it and spotted the big female coming in low from the breakwater area. She didnt catch anything and then headed over the golf course to try her luck at Langness.
I then was going home but took a detour to Scarlett which is on west side of Castletown bay ( Langness is on the east side )
Here were 3 female Goldeneye and not much else. The amount of Goldeneye wintering here seems to be dropping ever year. I hope that trend stops soon or I will have no Goldeneye to watch soon.
Also here was another Peregrine, this one came in over my head and stooped on a Redshank, making it take evasive action and it sploshed itself in the sea!
The Peregrine never tried to pick it up and the Redshank luckily wasnt overcome by the waves and flew off.
Not bad for the first day of the year 2 Peregrine sightings. There was not much else of any note here so I headed home.