Burton Mere RSPB- The rare Trio! (10/09/14)

September often brings up a a good number of passage waders, so it wasn't a surprise to hear of a good build up of birds at Burton Mere RSPB, a place I have been only once before when I twitched the Buff-bellied Pipit earlier in the year.

A nice trio of scarce birds had been hanging around for some time, and so plans were arranged to head up there.

We had only walked to the visitor centre before our first target was seen, and the Cattle Egret was found as it sat on the islands among the Canada and Greylag Geese! I have only seen this species once in the UK (a flock of 4 near Slimbridge), so it was good to catch up with another!

Cattle Egret

There were a lot of people in the visitor centre though, so it didn't take much of a decision to head over to the IMF hide at the opposite end of the reserve to try to locate both of our next targets.

It is the flash here that has seen a large build up of wading birds, and it is fair to say I was impressed very quickly.

It didn't take long for the rather stunning juvenile Red-necked Phalarope to appear, and given some time, but bird swam closer, eventually feeding just the other side of the small reedbed! With the sun moving in the sky, the light got continually better, and the bird just looked even better!

Red-necked Phalarope

Red-necked Phalarope

Red-necked Phalarope

This also allowed for us to scan around as the birds were no longer in silhouette. By far the most common wader on the flash was Lapwing, with around 200, but it was more quality than quantity, and small numbers of desirable wader species kept appearing.

3 Curlew Sandpiper, 2 Little Stint, 5 Spotted Redshank, 7 Greenshank and 15 Ruff among the more common Redshanks and Black-tailed Godwits! A great mixed flock.

The 3rd and final target was soon picked out, and we were watching the Pectoral Sandpiper, and following a slight wait, the bird flew and landed on the island in front of the hide, giving superb views.

With the light now shining onto the birds, you really could see every plumage detail on each of the wader species, which made it all the more enjoyable!

Pectoral Sandpiper

Pectoral Sandpiper

The wider reserve also held a Whinchat, a Cetti's Warbler, as well as good numbers of Pintail, Shoveler and Teal among the other common wildfowl. A single Peregrine flew over, doing its very best to flush as many birds as possible!

All in all a very good visit to this reserve, and one I look forward to visiting again in the future!

MB

Marsh Sandpiper- A 1st for Gloucestershire

29/08/14

 

With news having emerged that a bird very high on my wish list had been found the night before, hasty plans were made to head down the next morning to see it if it had stuck around.

 

The bird in question, a rather stunning looking juvenile Marsh Sandpiper had been found the previous morning, feeding on a flash that had developed in the corner of a flooded field adjacent to the Severn Estuary just outside Frampton on Severn!

Needless to say, I was rather pleased the bird had turned up so close to home, being just over an hours drive away, and when news came up about the birds continued presence the next morning, we were soon on our way.

 

An hour and a half later and the flash was in view and a quick scan across the flood revealed a rather distant diminutive looking wader. The MARSH SANDPIPER!

It was actually everything I had hoped, a very pleasing and good looking bird. It's delicate bill and legs matching to well to its dainty posture and gaint, completely unlike that of the adjacent Greenshanks and Ruffs around it!

Infact I would compare it to be more like a Lesser Yellowlegs then any of the other more common European wader species! Unmistakable.

 

Juvenile Marsh Sandpiper flanked by 2 Ruff

 

Marsh Sandpiper and Ruff (On the deck) with Greenshank and Ruff (Flying)

 Marsh Sandpiper, showing slightly more detail to it's plumage

 

With the target bird having been seen, we were also entertained by a good variety of other birds. The rare Tringa was associating with a very good sized flock of waders, with 9 each of Greenshank (My largest every flock size) and Ruff alongside a Green Sandpiper. 3 Pintail joined the Teals in dabbling the shallow water.

Scanning of the estuary led me to pick up a juvenile Mediterranean Gull, sitting out on one of the exposing sandbanks as the tide dropped.

 

While we were watching the waderfest, news came through that a Black Tern had been found at Upton Warren, and as one of our group needed it for the year we decided to head back up there.

 

To cut a long story short, we broke down, we were left by Jarad who went on to successfully see the Black Tern as we were luckily being followed by Rob (who we had met at Frampton) who ferried him the last mile to the Moors Pool as we awaited a car fix.

 

A few hours frolicking about the Motorway, and later the Mcdonalds and we were on our way.

 

Guess what.

 

We saw the Black Tern in the end!

 

MB

NORFOLK! Monty's, Dott's and summer migrants

10/05/14

With many of our summer migrants arriving en mass now, and a few scarcer birds appearing, we, that is Mike, Jarad, Neil and me, made plans to head east in the hope of some great birding, and Norfolk, as always, lived up to its usual standards!

 

Our first port of call was right on the county boundary, as it is renowned for a strange and somewhat range restricted wading bird which finds the short grass of the Norfolk and Suffolk Brecklands to its liking!

 

We walked through one of the many Pine woodlands in the area to the hide, where we added a few birds to our day list that we may struggle with elsewhere, and a high pitched song from high up a Pine revealed itself to be a male Spotted Flycatcher.

 

 

The hide was not much further so I carried on, and it was only a short time scanning before a STONE CURLEW was in the scope. Also since the last time I was at this location, the birds were being far more co-operative, they were very mobile, running around, chasing, displaying to each other and calling. Much more enjoyable than watching a snoozy brown blob in a ditch.

For a few minutes, 3 of the birds, a pair and a single intruder started displaying and posing to each other, which was amusing to watch, but it was all talk (or should that be posturing) and no action, and after a while, the single bird crept off after being kicked off by the other birds.
 

One of the birds however was doing its usual sitting in a ditch, but it was still giving decent views.
 

 

 

 

 Having completed a single lap of the Wolferton Triangle, to the usual failure of seeing nothing, we carried on, with our next location being Choelsley Barns as we wanted to catch up with some farmland birds. We stopped next to a likely looking field, and it didn't take long to pick up a Grey Partridge working its way along the set aside margin. Also present were larger numbers of Red-legged Partridge.
A long staying party of DOTTEREL were still also in residence, and we made a stop at the crowd, and we had nice views of the birds as they fed in fields adjacent to the road. Varying numbers have been present during their time of residence, but we managed to count 8, including a few smart looking females. Having life ticked them earlier in the spring, it felt somewhat surreal to be watching my 2nd flock in just over as many weeks, totalling 20 birds.

 

We failed to find our Dove targets, but a distant singing Corn Bunting perched on overhead wires briefly, and a Yellowhammer was also singing its heart out.

 

It was next onto the Mecca, and a very short car journey led us to Titchwell RSPB, where we quickly made our way out onto the marshes. We had barely left the woodland before we were treated to views of 3 RED-CRESTED POCHARD as they flew past us across the track. They picked down on the pool to the west of the track where in total 6 of these stunning flame headed ducks were feeding, 4 of which were actually 'flame headed' males.

 

It was just before making a move to head to the beach, two small ducks flew up off of the reeds, and pitched down on the small reeded pool adjacent to the track, a pair of GARGANEY! They gave excellent views but were almost always obscured, but I managed by far the best views of Garganey I have ever managed, and the drake in particular was a rather stunning example of these delectable chocolate coloured and cream striped migrant dabblers. 

 

A Little Tern was feeding over the brackish marsh, and a few more were out over the sea, but otherwhys our attempt at a seawatch was quite an uncomfortable affair. Strong winds from the southwest were whipping up the sand making focusing on flying seabirds almost impossible. However, we did pick up a Fulmar and a Gannet among a variety of Tern species. 2 female Common Scoter were showing on the water. We quickly gave up, knowing our luck would be better tried elsewhere. Although I managed to avoid any scratches on the lenses of both my bins and scope, my phone screen is now in quite a state due to the 'sandstorm'.

We moved back to the Parrinder hide, where we picked up a number of decent birds. A sleepy Spoonbill was showing distantly in the SE corner of the marsh and a number of waders and ducks were dotted around. A Greenshank was feeding in the shallows, and a number of Yellow Wagtails were on the move!

We moved off from Titchwell, and parked in an area of extensive arable farmland. A Grey Partridge was calling, 3 Marsh Harriers quartering and 2 Yellow Wagtails were flying.
However, what we were looking for couldn't be found, and we spent some time scanning, but with a seemingly vicious looking thunderstorm heading our way, we were contemplating leaving, and infact, were putting our scopes in the car when we were shouted over, and on the adjacent hillside, an absolutely ridiculously stunning male MONTAGU'S HARRIER was quartering! A friggin MONTYS!!
 

 

As many people will know, I have a fondness to Birds of Prey, and for many years I have wanted to catch up with one of these gorgeous elegant Harriers, so to have finally got one in the scope was such an immense buzz!

As the UK's rarest breeding raptor, we really had a stroke of luck to see it, and for the next 10 minutes, we were treated to great views as it hunted low over an area of set aside, showing off its pale grey upperwing, black primarys and secondary bar.

 

It was really a moment to savour! But, with the arrival of the thunderstorm, which as we had guessed really was fairly violent, the Harrier flew off low over the hedgeline, and with that we decided to head off to hopefully dodge the rain. We had driven only a few hundred meters before our escape was realised and it poured it down!

From the massive high of the harrier, we moved onwards to Cley NWT, where it had again reverted back to bright sunshine!
Our main targets here sadly had been flushed by a Hobby not long before, and were not seen for the remainder of the day, which was unfortunate, and many of the birds were 'repeats' from Titchwell. The main highlight probably goes to decent flight views of 3 Bearded Tits along the boardwalk, which often flew up and 'pinged' across the top of the reed's before dropping back down!

A colour ringed Spoonbill dropped in, but ran off into long grass before I could judge the ring colours.

 

 

Other than 2 Greenshank, the pools were quiet so we moved up onto the shingle bank, where large numbers of Sandwich Tern were moving, including a single Little Tern. Further out at sea 5 Gannet we diving and around 30 Common Scoter were moving around, but any further interest was limited.

A Whimbrel flew past calling, which added to the day list, and a Wheatear in the Eye field was also new for the day!

 

With our day now at an end, and on the homeward journey, we totted up our daylist, and between the 4 of us, we managed 112 species, and I personally managed 107, a couple of birds behind my own personal day list record, but honestly I can say it was an awesome day!

 

As I opened the post with! Norfolk came up with the goods again!

MB

#The Midlanders are coming! (Yet again!)

25/01/14

The opening month of the year is always an exiting one for me! And it was with great excitement when 3 of the 'crew' from our last #TheMidlandersAreComing expedition exchanged plans to thrash the North Norfolk coastline. Any birders dream!

 

So, around 4am, the journey started from deepest Worcestershire, and having met the other 2 of our crew, Gert, Neil, Mike and me started burning up some rubber eastwards!

 

Our first destination was one of Royal stature, as we pulled into the small, country roads of the Sandringham Estate. Needless to say, the shady atmosphere was on heightened by a number of cars being parked at awkward angles on the verges and the regular slow drive pasts of a number of similarly shady looking vehicles, with many occupants gazing anxiously down the roads.

Our reasoning for being there on those country roads, surrounded on all sides by large rhododendrons was perhaps no less shady. We were in search of a glimpse of the gaudy Golden Pheasants which inhabit the area.

Having sat in the car for 30 minuites, the sun now up high in the sky, and with no sign of anything 'Golden' we decided to leave, as, if i am honest, the sight of lines of non-native hedgerow were boring us.

So we drove up to the coastal 'resort' town of Hunstanton, where there was significantly more in the way of wildlife!

Our arrival was greeted by thick fog, but from the car we spied 2 Dark-bellied Brent Goose on the beach, as well as Redshank and Bar-Tailed Godwit.Having found a suitable parking spot however, we walked the promenade north, where we were greeted by the presence of a stunning flock of around 150 Dark-belled Brent Goose, with their evocative call piercing through the fog!

 

 

 

From the far north end of the Promenade, we quickly found at least 5 Fulmar on and around the cliffs, but we quickly became distracted when the fog started to lift by the sea. Around 30 Bar-tailed Godwit were feeding at various points along the tideline, as were numerous Sanderling, Redshank, Oystercatcher and Turnstone. A single Ringed Plover flew past, and Dunlins were also moving through.

 

With the fog having now, we were able to scan the sea, and soon our list of ' desirble' birds was increasing. 20 RED-BREASTED MERGANSER were feeding offshore, as were a few Great-crested grebes. Good numbers of Teal and Wigeon were flying past distantly, and these included 4 Shoveler, a single Goosander and oddly, 2 Mute Swans! Certainly the latter i was not expecting on a seawatch!

 

Next up, it was further north east along the famous coast road. Holme Dunes.

 

On the pool immediately opposite the car park a Greenshank was feeding, a species i have never previously caught up with in January! The pool also hosted healthy numbers of Little Egrets, Redshank and a couple if Bar-tailed Godwits, with more on the tideline. A wisp of 4 Snipe flew over us and our first Grey Plovers of the day were feeding from the wet sand.

 

 

Hundreds of ducks and geese were feeding in the fields behind the beach, mostly comprising of Wigeon and Teal. The Greylag flock held a single Pink-footed goose, but my main highlight was getting decent views of at least 3 MARSH HARRIER, including one pristine, stunning male! In my opinion, Marsh Harrier are one of the best breeding birds we have in Britain, and i still always get that moment of excitement when i pan onto one!

Bring on the day they're breeding in the midlands!

A single Buzzard, Sparrowhawk and a fly through Peregrine completed the bird of prey list for the site!

Next it was onto the site of our first twitch. Burnham Ovary, where a certain Buzzard was currently in residence. It felt somewhat blasphemous driving past Titchwell RSPB without stopping, but our plan was to take shape!

Our scanning for Buzzards was fruitless, with only 4 Commons seen, but it was more than made up for by 2 stunning RED KITE which drifted in and hunted over 'Gun hill'. In common with the aforemented Harrier, Red Kite must go down as one of the most graceful birds to watch, gracefully swaying its tail from side to side to adjust its trajectory as it sweeps low over open fields, and this time having a backdrop of the North Sea!

 

 A single Barnacle Goose was feeding in the fields, as was a large flock of Brent goose,but with time wearing away, and with their being no sign of our main target, we took a unanimous decision to head inland.

Why?

A long staying party of PARROT CROSSBILLS have taken up residence in a wood just on the edge of Holt country park. However, before we had gotten to far from Burnham we drove past Holkham, where we managed to 'tick' Egyptian Goose for the day without even slowing the car!

 

 With some excellent map reading skills from Mike, we arrived at the location of Edgefield woods without any problem!

 

A short walk later and a small crowd appeared staring into the tops of pine tree's. It took a matter of a few seconds to realise where the birds were, and soon after, we were all getting decent, if often obstructed views of 4 PARROT CROSSBILL as they fed in the tops of the tree's

 

 They really were quite a pain to get a decent view of! Looking almost vertically to see a bird jump from one branch to another! Occasionally however, the birds would appear in the open, showing off their massive bulk, which, even though there were non for direct comparison obviously dwarfed Common Crossbill (2 flew over calling)

 

Having all been satisfied with this life tick, and having got decent views, it was time to head off again. We had to pay homage to the Norfolk birding gods.

Titchwell here we come!

We rushed straight to the beach, which was sadly looking very different to the last time i was here! The recent tidal surge had all but destroyed the dunes, so much so that it is not an exaggeration to say there were non! The power of the sea!

Luckilly however, the surge did not damage the main reserve, unlike the fate of many other reserves along the coast.

 

The sea was practically dead. Around 100 Common Scoter could be seen offshore, and 30 Goldeneye in nice and close, but otherwhys it was painfully hard going.

 

We started walking back towards the Parrinder hide, birding as we went, and the birding soon picked up! A good selection of waders were present, including Oystercatcher, Avocet, Grey Plover, Golden Plover, Lapwing, Sanderling, Turnstone, Dunlin, Redshank, Black and Bar-tailed Godwits, Curlews and a very good sized flock of Ruff (28!). A single Knot joined the Lapwings on the freshmarsh briefly, but nothing could prepare us for the next 10 minutes.

 

We were guided onto a female SCAUP, and soon after one of our group picked out a nice 1st winter MEDITERRANEAN GULL on the islands.

 

 

Marsh Harriers were circling over the reedbed looking back towards the south, when all of a sudden, the hide was lashed by horizontal rain!

 

 

 

In the distance, a huge flock of around 6000 Pink-footed Goose battled past as the storm grew ever worse, and it was only a few seconds before the first lightening bolt struck the floor, illuminating 9 roosting Marsh Harriers as they were spooked from the reedbed.

 

It was surreal to be watching these gorgeous Raptors battling against the wind and rain, and to often share the same field of view as a lightening bolt striking the floor, a memory that I'm sure will stay with me for a long time! Absolutely amazing!

 

However, just as quick as it arrived, the storm had moved east, and we were again treated to gorgeous clear weather, and a stunning sunset.

 

 

Stunning isn't it,

 Look at those stripes on that hat!

 

If you would prefer a version without the addition of a 'Suited birder', see the additional option below.

 

But no!

 

It didn't end there, we moved down the track slightly, to where the reedbed joins the path, and we stopped and scanned. And its a good job we did, as soon after, our model from the above photo was calling out the presence of a stunning ringtail HEN HARRIER! In the fading light, its pale rump patch stood out like a beacon, and as we watching this gorgeous, rare, and sadly persecuted bird of prey, a BARN OWL flew across and started hunting in the same field of view!

 

This is what Norfolk is about folks!

 

What a way to end the day!

 

With the sun now set, a cheeky Suffolk cider in a nearby Thornham pub finished the day off nicely. 98 species, great company, and great location. That's what birding is about!

MB

Yanks and Sibes!

22/09/13

Anyone that knows me as a birder will know i have a fondness towards waders. And the autumn months certainly bring us some excellent wader action here in the UK.

With our geographical location being right on the edge of the continent, and being the first landfall for many Yank and Arctic waders we are often spoiled for choice. An it was exactly that situation when i heard news of the wader flock developing in the Severn Estuary around Slimbridge. This build up invariably brings a higher chance of rarities and it was when James Lee's, Warden of Slimbridge WWT, found a stunning 1st winter Buff-breasted Sandpiper out on the estuary with the Dunlin flock, when my recent partner in crime (That crime being dirty twitching), Neil D was contacted to arrange an impromptu visit on the Sunday, as access has been arranged out onto the foreshore of the Dumbles to search the flock.

First off, a huge hats off to the Wardens of Slimbridge WWT for allowing this type of access, not only on this one occasion, but for the many times that they have done over the last few years. It certainly was a privilege to be out adjacent to the Saltmarsh scanning the waders. 

As you could imagine, being a weekend bird it was very popular, and just prior to the arranged time the Holden Tower became very full, with the queue eventually stretching off down the Holden walkway. Luckily, we had arrived early and were at the front of the queue.

Soon after we were trudging out onto the shore, and soon after the tide was fast approaching.

And so were the waders.

We were soon surrounded by the sound of Ringed Plovers and Dunlin, and once they were pushed closer i soon started picking out waders.

A pale juvenile CURLEW SANDPIPER was soon showing well in the nearest group, but the search for the Yank continued. Not long after, while scanning the mudflats away form the main bulk of birds i scanned onto an obvious orangey coloured wader. A short quick run through some grass led it out into the open, revealing it to the the BUFF-BREASTED SANDPIPER. A quick shout out was followed by the usual pleads for directions, and it was at that moment i realized why i was a crap twitcher, How the fuck do i get 80 people onto a Starling sized bird in the middle of the mud with no other reference point or adjacent bird other than a small area of saltmarsh grass the bird was feeding in? There really was nothing at all, as i backed away from the scope Neil grabbed a quick look as i tried to navigate people onto the area, but as i was doing so was told the bird had just took flight when my directions became redundant.

Tip one- If on a twitch with me looking for waders, make sure your standing next to me so if i do pick something out you can just grab a look through my scope rather than having to suffer my pathetic directions.

Luckily, the bird was seen again a few times, but again, it was only seen briefly by a select few or in flight, not exactly the most accommodating Buff-breast then when you consider some of them plod around by your feet.

With the 'biggie' now successfully 'gotten' (Twitching slang for the uninformed out there) i relaxed and started going through the rest of the ranks of waders.

The pale CURLEW SANDPIPER was picked out in almost the same spot. And 2 LITTLE STINTS (Both juvs) were feeding nearby.

The warden then moved the gathering slightly to where the main flock were gathered and soon many more waders were being picked out, a nice 'peachy' CURLEW SAND was soon picked out, which was showing nicely.

After around 2 hours i didn't manage another views of the Buff-Breast, but the other mix of Arctic Siberian, Arctic and single yank waders made a very good variety. Among the 100c Ringed Plover, 300c Dunlin we found 4 CURLEW SANDS (3 juvs, 1 ad), 4 LITTLE STINTS (Strangely of the same age combination as Curlew Sand, 3 Juvs, 1 ad).

The high tide had also given us 12 LITTLE EGRET and a small flock of Wigeon amongst the expected large numbers of Curlew, Gulls and Geese.

Away from birds, we were surprised by the continued presence of the HARBOR SEAL fishing off the Dumbles throughout high tide.

We then decided to 'work' the rest of the site. A single LITTLE RINGED PLOVER was still showing in the Rushy Pen (we saw it earlier in the morning) with 2 GREEN SANDPIPER and small numbers of Blackwit. 2 Pintail were close to the hide

The remainder of the action was centered around the Zeiss hide, where a wild 2nd summer COMMON CRANE was showing close to the hide, giving stunning views.

 A decent sized flock of Teal, Lapwing and 38 Golden Plover held small numbers of Redshank, but also the hoped for juvenile SPOTTED REDSHANK, showing at the far end of the flash. A large flock of 15 RUFF were also feeding here after flying in as were 2 GREENSHANKS. To finish off the list of waders, 4 Snipe fly in and also started feeding in the shallow water, making that our 16th wader species for the day.

 I dropped into Upton Warren upon our arrival back in the home county, where a nice gathering of 3 juvenile male RUFF were showing close to the hide.

MB

My last month- July

3/07/13

Patch

A family party of 5 Grey Wagtail were showing on the river in stourport town center, 2 adults and 3 Juveniles. At one point, the two adults were mobbing an American Mink as it ran along the edge of the river for a good distance, only once the Mink was about 100m away from the young, did they stop mobbing it.

Moving further downriver, i moved onto a small site of heathland adjacent to Hartlebury Common on the patch side of the road, where a Cuckoo was heard singing, and 2 Willow Warbler were also singing. The 2nd area of the patch to hold breeding birds this year!

4/07/13

11 Goosander (adult female with 10 young) flew upriver past Lickhill, presumably the female which was seen to have chicks earlier in the year on patch. 2 Eclipse male Mandarin were still present at Lickhill, and the 5 Grey Wagtail were still showing.

12/07/13

A survey for Mandarin Duck came up with a new record count for the patch, when 16 birds were found, 2 eclipse drake, 3 adult female, and 11 nearly fledged chicks, including these birds which favored a log on the edge of the river.

A large emergence of Scarlet Tiger moth had me seeing over 40 of these stunning moths, with the main emergence centered around Blackstone.

13/07/13

Visiting Upton Warren with the Girlfriend, we worked our way across both sides of the reserve. At the Moors, we quickly located the 3 BLACK-TAILED GODWITS, feeding on the East Islands, other-whys it was quiet, bar the first returning Pochard of the winter (a drake), 10 Common Tern and a Cetti's Warbler.

The Flashes revealed the expected Wader species, with 9 Green Sandpiper, and a single Common Sandpiper. The trio of Blackwits dropped in, before flying off south when flushed by a Sparrowhawk. A juvenile Little Ringed Plover had also joined the wader's, but was obviously raised elsewhere.

18/07/13

A drop into Sheepwash had me seeing a Marbled White on the mound, my 2nd sighting at Sheepwash this summer. Slightly more expected though was the Gull flock, which included a LBBG, with the leg ring K+H. I have personally never came across a bird with a + as the middle character, so if anyone can shed any light on the record, please do.

19/07/13

A friday afternoon drop into Upton Warren had us seeing a nice array of waders. A moulting male RUFF was showing on the Flash, as was a adult GREENSHANK. 35 Avocet were still in attendance, while other migrant waders were 7+ Green Sandpiper , 1 Common Sandpiper and a Dunlin. 16 Curlew spent some time on the flash before flying off.

23/07/13

Another patch visit, again to count Mandarins had me counting 15 birds, but of a completely different combination of ages/sexes. I will have to wait until the end of the summer to judge the true figure, but looking through my notes and photos, it would seem that 20+ Mandarin have summered/being raised on the river this year.

3 Eclipse drake, 3 juvenile drake, 3 adult female and 6 un-sexed juveniles were found. A new brood of chicks was found, the 3rd breeding record of the year, with a female with 2 still downy young in tow. A single Emperor dragonfly was hawking the river, and a multitude of Brimstone butterflys were on show, including one which decided it wanted to use me as a perch!

Masses, potentially above 1000 very young Frogs were found, literally each step you would take 40 spring out of the grass below you! Some sight!

24/07/13

While looking for Dragonflys around the Gadwall lake at the south end of the patch, a loud 'glipping' sound alerted me to the presence of a flock of 5 CROSSBILLS flying over! Only the 2nd patch record, and the largest flock to date. With the large number in the country currently, it may be worth looking through these migrant flocks of Crossbills, even in the midlands, as their cousin, the Two-Barred Crossbill is also experiencing a influx!

Get looking folks!

MB

Slimbridge- American Wader, Ducks and Harrier.

28/08/12
Our annual late August visit to Slimbridge was held today, and it combined with the presence of a decent rarity. I had been keeping a fairly close eye on the bird reports from the @Slimbridge_Wild Twitter page and the WWT website, and i was quite dissapoined that the Wader flocks that usually build up at this time of year on the estury had not really materialised, combined to that the fact that high tide was just as the centre closes, i knew that esturine wader's might not be noted.

And i wasnt wrong!

Just starting on the way down i was checking twitter when a new tweet popped up, Spotted Crake and Long-Billed Dowitcher showing from South lake hide. Awsome, be there in 40 minuites!

We arrived to a rather full south lake hide, and i was informed that the Crake hadent shown, and the Dowitcher was hidden amongst the sleeping Godwits, of which there was a 200 strong flock of!
We stayed in the hide for about 1 1/2 hours hoping the Crake would show or the Dowitcher would emerge. Eventually, the LONG-BILLED DOWITCHER did  wake up, and walk from behind a Godwit, showing itself briefly before heading back to sleep.
On this, we decided to wander.
Wood Sandpiper has been abit of a bogey this year, and i havent caught  up with one. However, one had been showing from the Robbie Garnett hide for a few days now, an easy tick and run, surely?

NO

 

 

Combined with the Crake, these two birds were the most stuborn birds of the whole day, and we spent hours looking for both!

 

 

We walked up via the Rushy, where i quickly spotted a female GARGANEY dabbling with the Teal. Briefly, it swam into the close bay in front of the hide, and i was treated to great views of this migrant duck as it swam around briefly, before swimming back with the rest of the Teal.

 

 

From here though, it briefly went downhill. We stopped off at the Robbie Garnett hide, and spend a good hour looking for the Wood sand, apparently it was frequenting a small 30ft stretch of the shore that was hidden by reeds from the hide!! Ahhhhhh.

 

We then moved into the Holden Tower, were a brief, distant flypast of 30 Dunlin was the only esturine wader activity of the day!

 

We dropped into both the Robbie Garnett (Still no Wood sand) and the Rushy (Garganey now at the back), where 2 PINTAIL were showing right at the back of the pool.

 

While walking through the 'Birds of a suspect origin' sections of the centre it became obvious that most of the birds from the Zeiss hide had been flushed while we were just heading over there!

We scanned the Lapwing flocks, and picked out a few RUFF and a GREENSHANK, most of which then landed on the South lake. Anyway, we continued our journey to the Zeiss, were i had my dinner that i had prepared, a nice Cheese and Ham Bagguette, lovely.

As expected there wasnt much birdlife here as much of it had been flushed, however, initially, 3 RUFF were grounded among the Lapwings.

But, just about when i was finishing my Bagguette, a further 4 RUFF flew in, giving us a total of 7 birds infront of us. A single GREENSHANK was also here. Scanning through the flocks of Duck was quite uneventful, no Wigeon, no Pintail.

Thinking i might try my luck at the Crake again, and to now be able to get some photos of the Dowitcher as the sun had moved slightly away so hopefully the birds wouldnt be silouetted.

Well i'll just say what happened, another hour, another no sign of the Crake, and my worst nightmare was unfolding, the Godwit flock was still sillouetted! But i though i cant leave without at least a record of the Dowicther, which wasnt showing particularly well.




A very nice number of Waders were on the South lake, and it was great to be sifting through the large numbers of Lapwing and Black-Tailed Godwit's, picking up RUFF'S, GREENSHANKS 80c Redshanks and Green Sandpipers. and of cause, the LONG-BILLED DOWITCHER, which was now feeding.

As i said, most of the wader flock (Including the area with the Dowitcher) were in strong sunlight which was bouncing off the water, and i could only get backlit shots of the birds.

 

Hoping the light would be better later in the day we left so that we could walk to Middle point, stopping at each hide on the way up. The Garganey had now dissapeared, and a longish stint in the Robbie Garnett one again revealed no Wood sand.

However, this Hawker sp Dragonfly was showing on reeds infront of the hide, another 'Odonta' (I believe thats how you spell it to add to the digi-scoped list!

 

 We walked down the Holden Walkway to the Middle point, stopping halfway to view from a gap in the hedge where you could see some of the 'invisible shoreline' where the Wood Sand was. And amazingly, we could see the WOOD SANDPIPER! However distant, but still, i finally got it, about 4 hours after first trying to see it!

 It was obvious there wasnt going to be any waders other than a few distant Curlew on the estury, however, i find that the Middle point 'hide' is a nice place to have a sit down, you really do think your miles away from civilisation, and , with it being a 'wall to wall' blue sky day, it was a nice place to just have a  nice stop and wait.

 

We noticed abit of commotion over the dumbles as the Curlews and the Gulls 'got up', and i quickly scanned over there and saw a 'Buzzard' circling quite high up. After abit, i looked again, as i wasnt particularly certain over its ID. And by now, it had came closer and it wasnt just a Buzzard like shape now. I quickly noticed its tail looked strangely long, and its wings sightly odd, but i couldnt tell why. But the bird was still sillouetted.

I thought that the bird looked 'odd', so decided to call to 'get onto this Raptor'. By now though i had glimpsed a pale head, and called out MARSH HARRIER!. The bird then proceeded to circle above our heads, by which time i'd got the bird in my scope, and i enjoyed great views of a new species for me! Tick 1 off the 'Bogey List'

The bird, then slowly dropped lower as it flew past us, over towards the 100 acre, dropping down behind the tree line.

A very large Gull flock was developing on the mudflats to the north, however way to far away to ID, and 2 LITTLE EGRET's were also showing far to the north. However, we got lucky as another LITTLE EGRET had chosen to hunt the small pool just infront of the viewpoint.

 

 

 

 

2 PEREGRINE were flying, and perching around on the mudflats.
Moving up to the slightly higher viewpoint behind us on the Seawall, we scanned the fence lines, and i picked up 3 WHEATEAR, which is always a nice addition to the day list. I again looked to the north, and i picked up the MARSH HARRIER hunting low over the reeds at the 100 acre area that you can see. A few more views were had as it moved back and forth over the reeds.


I wanted to have one last look for the Crake on the south lake, and to cut a long story short, the bird didnt show again untill after closing time, by which time we had arrived back home. The LONG BILLED DOWITCHER was still showing and feeding, but slowly became less active.

 

 

 

The wader flock had grown further since we were last here, and the 230 Black-Tailed Godwits were joined by, 3 Greenshank, 80c Redshank, 3 Ruff, which was a nice little list. 

 

 

Highlights for the day were:

LONG BILLED DOWITCHER

MARSH HARRIER

Wood Sandpiper

Garganey

2 Pintail

3 Little Egret

9 Green Sandpiper

1 Common Sandpiper

c80 Redshank

4 Greenshank

7+ Ruff

3 Wheatear

 

MB