The catch up- January 2015

Yes yes, I know. Here we go again, 5 weeks without a post.

 

The usual excuses are again exercised, Uni work, and to busy with actual fieldwork to update here. So here we are, another catch up post!

It's better than nothing!

 

1/01/15

After a night partying into the new year, I found myself stumbling through the city centre early the next afternoon after waking at a friends flat. It was straight down to West Park, where I managed to grab a few 'new year' ticks. Nothing special, but highlighted by the wintering Pochard and Shoveler.

 Throughout January I was visiting West Park with regularity, so I wont be commenting on every visit, as the details from which are very monotonous and 'samey'.

 

3/01/15

 

The next birding adventure was pursuing one of my winter pastimes.

GULLS!

Bartley had an Iceland Gull visiting, so it didn't take much coercing to get my ass over there. With most of the Gulls at the west end, I moved around to view through the fence and here I met all the usual assemblage of Gullers. Nothing interesting had come in yet.

 

With the sailing boats having retreated back to dry land for the night, the gulls started drifting out, and so did most of the birders to the usual viewpoint off Scotland Lane.

A matter of minutes after, and I picked up the regular 2w Caspian Gull nice and close in. Needless to say, a few decent views (gull roost standards) were had, and soon after the guys up on Scotland lane picked it up also.

 

Again not much longer after, a return call came, the Iceland just dropped in!

We rushed around the corner, but the bird had flown. Having already set my tripod up, I chose to run the 100 or so metres to the high ground, and a little bit of scanning and BINGO!

3rd winter Iceland Gull!

Very distant, but shining like a beacon among the throng of white, grey and black.

I even managed a couple of record shots (literally!) showing the bird.



 

Iceland Gull (Red) and Mediterranean Gull (Black)

 

A Med Gull was called from near the bird, but no-one other than the finder managed to see it. That was until I reviewed my photos 2 months later and found the bird in question in a matter of 10 seconds. Ah, how easy is this Gulling lark when you don't have to contend with field conditions and  freezing shanking hands! Needless to say. I'm not counting it, but a great reminder about how birds can so easily go 'under the radar'.

 

4/01/15

Patch birding followed, which boosted the year list significantly, gathering a couple of decent patch birds in the process in the form of a Snipe and a flyover Yellowhammer. The Lapwing flock in the quarry had levelled out to 54.

 

6/01/15

With the Great-Northern Diver still being in residence at Ryders Mere, it would have been wrong to not visit right?

 

So I found myself on a muddy shoreline getting cracking views of the juvenile bird as I made my way to Chasewater for the roost. A really nice supporting cast of birds here also, which shows just how top quality this site is, particularly so being within an urban area!



Moving onto Chasewater, it actually turned into a very productive visit. Highlighted by a 2nd winter GLAUCOUS GULL which arrived quite late in the roost. White wingers have been particularly scarce in this area this winter in comparison to the last few years, so to get both within the first week of the year was good going! Add to this, 2 Caspian Gulls and 2 Yellow-Legged Gulls. A very good if very cold visit!

8/01/15

Following a session in West Park, I moved around to Parkes Hall, where a flock of 15 Goosanders (4 drk) greeted m. The Mute Swan remained (the first site record!) and a good flock of 28 Moorhen remained.

10/01/15

A little bit of dirty twitching, or actually, lets rephrase that...  I dropped into Worcester Cathedral to pay homage to the long staying, and often elusive Black Redstart. It was actually the first time I have visited the Cathedral to look for a 'Black Red', which are present most winters. I have heard tales of peope  dipping this birds regularly, but within 15 minutes, up popped the bird, quivering tail and all, out in the sun above the Stonemasons Garden. Cracking scope views were had as it flicked, flycatched and shimmied along the ledges. Always a real treat!

Having just brought a digiscoping adaptor from the Birders Store down the road, this bird was my first 'subject', and it chose to be very obliging.



(Literally the first photo I took with the new adaptor in 'field conditions;)

 

I spent all the time I possibly could with the bird before the time ran out on the parking meter, during which she preformed admirably!



 

Wanting to try out the apaptor further, we moved around the Upton Warren, where, as luck would have it, a 1st winter drake Pintail had dropped in for the day! Not a bird I see at Upton regularly, so very chuffed with that stroke of luck! A Little Egret was also still around.



 

I tried my luck with birds on the feeders, and this stunning mossy male Greenfinch probably turned out the best.



 

11/01/15

Another day, another visit to the mecca (Upton Warren that is). The first work party of the year, and with the allure of Jack Snipe, who could resist. Prior to work, we undertook the usual Snipe count/flush, which proved very productive, with 15 Jack Snipe, and 40+ Commons!

Now before I get rolling eyes and 'that look', it must be said that these counts are an intrinsic part of our management regime, and without them, we would never know if the habitat management is working. And as anyone can see from these results, it really is!

Birding was limited throughout the work party, but a Great-Black backed Gull flew over, a very scarce yearly visitor to the Warren, so a great tick to get under the belt so early.

The usual after work birding party moved to the Moors to finish the day, where our luck was in! At very last light, a BITTERN clambered its way to the tops of the reeds. Having had a Bittern found dead only a few days before we were very relieved to still have a bird on site. Infact, it was my first at the Warren in almost 2 years! A great way to end what is always an enjoyable, if hard day!

12/01/15

Another visit to West Park called, and I finally connected with the 2 Ring-necked Parakeets that had been hanging around for a while. Somehow they had managed to elude me for two weeks, but eventually nice views were had of them sqwarking on the island.

Moving onto Stubbers Green, it was very uneventful bird wise, so the less I talk the better. Hitching a ride with a friend and his companion, we then moved around to Ryders Mere, where I took a 3rd helping of Great-northern Diver. Still present and accounted for...



 

Having just arrived, we walked to the nearest birder, who informed us that he thought he had a Caspian Gull. Guiding me onto the bird and I was faced by an absolute cracker of an adult bird! A real classic. 'Daz white' head, small beady eye, long parallel edged bill and best of all, a huge dollop of white of p10, with that classic white tip. Stunner!

 

Our main target though had been eluding us, so with only 5 or so minutes of usable light remaining, we rushed around for another viewpoint on the western shoreline.

Plonking the scope down, 3 seconds worth of scanning....

"GLAUC"

Everyone was on the bird, but the reason I had came up again was to get some video. (It had been showing well for a number of days). Unfortunately it wasn't too close, and annoyingly, wherever it had been foraging it had picked up some dirt on one of its right primarys, and given how dark it was, this was only exaggerated. Not the footage I had hoped, but it gives me something to improve on!

 

16/01/15

Visited Chasewater again in the hope of finding the two headlining Gulls for Mike. Unfortunatly the Glauc was a no show, but Mike picked up the adult Caspian from a couple of nights before. After a winter of trying, I also managed to see the 'White winged' Herring Gull, which was pottering about near the powerboat club.

17/01/15

A rather uninspiring afternoon wardening at the Warren. The usual array of birds were present, but this Blue Tit beside the hide was looking stunning.

 

 

18/01/15

What January would be complete without a visit to Slimbridge WWT. With the weather not being particularly cold (despite my hands still telling me it was!) the numbers of birds around the reserve had not reached their usual peaks, with many having short stopped on the continent.

 

Even though not of the usual size, many of the flocks were still of huge size so certainly gave me something to scan through throughout the day! A flock of Little Stints had been hanging around with the Dunlin flock for much of the winter, and I managed to locate one fairly quickly, rather obligingly pottering about in the long grass pretty close to the hide.



 



The Goose and Swan flocks have been particularly low. Only around 100 White-fronted Geese were on site, add to this only 80 Bewick's Swans and you can see what I meant with my earlier statement. A single Pink-footed Goose was found however, lumbering about at the back of one of the pools on site.

 

3 Avocets were the first to return to the site this year, and while watching 2 GCP Common Cranes from the Sloane Tower, a distant Barn Owl started hunting the reedbeds around the Zeiss Hide, rather confusingly, at around 12:30 in the middle of the day!

 

A Kestrel was showing very well from one of the hides, but unfortunately the crowds in the hide meant the floor was shaking like crazy!

 

 

22/01/15

A walk down to West Park was livened up when this stunning Gull decided to drop onto the pool! A stunning Mediterranean Gull. A great bird for such a site, and luckily it hung around well into the winter so all could come and admire it. Funnily enough, just before I scanned the Black-headed Gulls I remember saying "Wouldn't it be funny if there was a Med Gull in that lot".... A matter of 15 seconds later and I was calling out there actually was a Med Gull in there! Amazing!

 

 

23/01/15

Having noticed the Med Gull was ringed as it flew off, I returned the following day in the hope it would visit again, and luckily, on my very first scan, there it was, perched out on ice revealing its leg-ring code to be PNU9.The midlands seen to have a track records with these 'PNU' birds. I have previously seen PNU4, and PNU5 has been seen a number of times, so this bird made the 3rd PNU bird to be seen in the midlands within only a few years. These Polish Med Gulls certainly do like the midlands!

 

 

The bird was seen throughout January, and continued to visit until at least the 17/02.

 

 

 

While trying to find the Med Gull for a friend, we were caught in a heavy snowstorm. This Shoveler looked about as happy as I was to be in such weather. (Grim)

 

31/01/15

The last afternoon of the month was spent at Upton Warren, looking at the Gular pouch angle on Cormorants. Such a glamorous life.

 

This Cormorant however, was looking absolutely fabulous!

 

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

Heading North West- Buff-Bellied Pipit and Surf Scoters!

It was late on the 27th that Tim Jones posted that he was thinking of going for the Cheshire Buff-bellied Pipit and wondered it anyone would join him, and with the next day (A Tuesday) being my day off, i inquired, and soon after plans were being made for the day!

We arrived at the end of Station Lane early the next morning, and we went about scanning the Pipit flock that was present. Some time later, it seemed as if the bird wasn't present, as we could not find it. While on a brief break from scanning the close Pipits, a scan across the fields towards the Estuary revealed a single drake Pintail, as well as distant flocks of Wigeon and Teal. A Little Egret and 50 Pink-footed Goose flew past, but we still couldn't pick it out. A pair of Stonechat kept us occupied, but soon after Tim had picked up the BUFF-BELLIED PIPIT, and soon after that we were both on it.

Initial thoughts that i may have been overlooking it were cast out as i scoped it. It really did stand out significantly from the Meadows. That fairly plain brown mantle, hindneck and crown stood out the most to me, but i was struck by a fairly clean and striking bird. Those white wing bars were very prominent and after initially being a little further away, the bird started walking and feeding straight towards us, and for a good space of time, the bird went of to preform very well for the assembled crowd!

 

It was as the Pipit moved closer that a familiar call rang out, and a second after, a stunning pale SIBERIAN CHIFFCHAFF flew past us, landing on the fenceline at intervals calling its head off!

After a good time watching both birds, we took the decision to move on. A brief stop at nearby Parkgate revealed little. A flyover Black-Tailed Godwit being the pick of the lot in my opinion!

The previous night, plans were made to head to my favorite country after leaving Cheshire, and after a fairly short 40 minute drive, we pulled up at the beachfront at Pensarn, and started scanning from there. Soon after, i was looking at 3 somewhat distant, though perfectly identifiable SURF SCOTER as they loafed offshore with a massive number of Common Scoter, all of which were showing in the same scopeview. Two of the birds were immaculate drake birds, but the 3rd was a fairly discreet female bird. The males almost gleamed in the sunlight, and the white patches on the hindneck and forecrown stood out like beacons, as did that huge brightly coloured bill!. Even with my fixed magnification eyepiece, it was clear that the female bird was paired to a male, and she would shadow his every move.

As with the usual MB mentality, a record shot is better than no picture, so despite the range, i took a few max zoom photos. And it seems as if one is identifiable!

Our view. The Scoter flock were about halfway between the low water tideline and the distant wind turbines.

It was crazy to see such a massive Scoter flock, as it stretched right off into the distance!

A scan of the sea revealed a few other birds also, and 5 Red-Breasted Merganser, 3 Red-Throated Diver and 10 Great-crested Grebe were seen.

What a day!

MB

Excellent Midlands birding!

5/01/14

Remember how in the last post i said i saw some pale looking Redpoll's with a Goldfinch flock on the Golf Course at Lineholt?

Well it turns out that an hour or so after we left, a local birder went on to find a stunning flock of Mealy Redpoll!

I wonder!

Anyway, i returned the next day, and i was treated to decent views of them as they fed in the tops of birch tree's along the southern edge of the Golf course. It was hard to estimate numbers in some very dense tree's, but while i was there a flock of 25 Redpoll were present, including at least 18 MEALY REDPOLL!

Most were of the 'greyish' kind, but there were also around 5 really stunning pale birds (Check out the 2nd bird in the video!).

Looking into the setting sun made it hard to get anything other than silhouetted or 'darker than real life' photos, but as usual i tried!

8/01/14

My first visit to Sheepwash this year was rewarded with a good flock of 35 Goosander. More impressive though in my opinion was the 29 Tufted Duck, one of my highest counts from the site! 2 Shoveler and 16 Pochard completed the list of 'highlights'.

I was shocked by the lack of Pochard on the lake, as usually by this time of year the flock is nearing 40! Sadly, as shown by the recent WeBS survey, it seems as if numbers of this red-headed diving duck have declined hugely in the UK. Reasons for this are fairly clear, and perhaps more-so this winter. Mild winter temperatures throughout Europe means that many of our winter species don't have to travel as far to reach a reasonable winter climate, and many of 'our' birds are now regularly wintering on the continent.

9/01/14

With the year list off to a flying start, Neil Duggan again offered a morning out birding in Staffordshire and north Birmingham. Our reasoning?

A seaduck that continues to elude me, as well as a whole host of excellent species!

Aqualate mere was playing host to a good number of ducks, so arriving at dawn we took the relativly easy tack towards the hide. While walking down the fenceline however it became clear we were quickly going to regret our decision, the boardwalk was under 2 ft of water!

Reluctantly we continued walking, we had come to far not to search! And within a short distance, both of us and our boots were inundated with water. Even my wellies were not enough to keep my toes from getting wet!

Our suffering was rewarded along the boardwalk when 2 WILLOW TIT were feeding along the hedgeline feeding and calling. After a few seconds watching, we continued on. 

The Mere was very full of water, but our task had become even harder than thought!

Every one of the ducks were on the very far side of the lake, and because of that were very hard to view. For an hour we scanned, in which Neil expertly picked out a drake Pintail (which i couldn't pick up until much later), but neither of our target species were showing!

With time passing on, and with us both needing to be in Dudley by 2, we took the decision to move on, and we were soon pulling off onto the backroad at Gailey. Again our confidence was taken from us when we were told out main target had flown out half and hour or so before! Not only that, a seriously heavy rainstorm then hit, and as well as being birdless, we were now soaked from head to toe!

Luckily, the GREAT-NORTHERN DIVER was showing as we scanned and sheltered from the sailing buildings. The weather was truly awful by now, and here is a photo of the Diver to give you the idea!

We chose that as our time to leave. Not much longer after that, we were pulling into Engine lane, just outside Brownhills where the GLOSSY IBIS from had reappeared from the previous year was currently residing!

The bird wasn't too hard to locate, and was showing very well in the 2nd paddock, feeding around the feet of the horses and in the deep mud!

It was somewhat surreal to think that the bird, originating from somewhere on the Iberian Peninsular had somehow found its way to rainy, and somewhat dreary Brownhills, and then chose to spent the winter there!

I can tell you, if i had wings, Brownhills would certainly not be my first choice of Winter home!

With Stubbers Green being on the way home, it would have been rude not to have a look. And a few minutes after, we were pulling up adjacent to the pools. Worryingly, there were very few gulls present throughout our visit, with no more than 80 large gulls at a time. A adult YELLOW-LEGGED GULL dropped in briefly for a wash, but it was soon off out again to feed on the tip. Just after mid-day however, the visit was somewhat enlightened by the appearance of one of my favorite winter birds!

ICELAND GULL!

The great thing about Stubbers though, is as well as having great Gulls like this, you get really stonking views of them. Personally, these were probably the best views of an Iceland as i have had.

As well as being a very 'crisp' looking adult, what makes this bird more interesting is its life history! Every winter since it was in juvenile plumage, this bird has returned to North Birmingham, and i have managed to catch up with it in 2nd winter, 3rd winter, 4th winter and adult plumage's! It is great to think that this bird has found something it likes with the area. Maybe its the prominence of Landfill in the area? Or maybe its proximity to Chasewater to roost? Or even possibly the fact it just likes Walsall!  Whatever it may be, i'm very glad we have this bird returning year after year!

MB

Waterbirds and a Chat

5/10/13

An evening drop into Upton Warren was fairly eventful. A stop at the Moors revealed a pair of PINTAIL which were the first i had seen here this year.

The flashes faired slightly better though, with a nice little array of waders. A single winter plumaged DUNLIN was feeding at the back of the flash before flying north towards the Moors Pool after only a few minutes. The other wader highlight was a flock of 5 RUFF which were very mobile around the flashes, feeding incessantly.

It has in fact been a very good year for this species at Upton Warren, with an almost continual presence throughout the entire autumn period, which contracts significantly to the last few years which has seen relatively few records of fairly short staying birds. Singles of both Green and Common Sandpiper were also present.

6/10/13

As i had still failed to connect with a Whinchat this year i became very tempted by news of the presence of 3 around Holt, so early the next morning i headed down there, and after a short walk, a single stunning juvenile WHINCHAT perched up close by, flycatching from an area of amazing looking habitat.

I find it incredible that i could manage 10 months into a year without seeing a Whinchat, considering the numbers of them i saw last year it came as somewhat of a shock. It has been clear that they have been either scarce or short stayers for most of the summer and i also haven't found any this year, so i was very grateful for this chance so late in the year to catch up with one.

As you would expect, a visit to this area couldn't be completed without the visit into the Camp lane Pits, where i was surprised to see the large number of 8 LITTLE EGRETS, the 2nd largest count in Grimleys history. They were well spread out across the pools but occasionally a number of them would join up briefly for a fly around.

5 were feeding in the small pool below the north end viewpoint.

It was also great to have the sight and sound of 100+ Wigeon around the pool, with also small numbers flying over. It is a sound i look forward to every winter and i'm very glad its back !

MB

Its been a long time!

It really has been such a long time since my last post, and am just dropping by to say that posting will again commence from now onwards as i am now mostly done towards my coursework, which has been one of my biggest inhibiting factors. Having just returned from a birthday weekend away with 'The Girlfriend' it seems like a good time to fill in the gaps of the last month!

21/02/12

Talking about the Girlfriend, all the way back in February we went for a walk at Arrow Valley Lake as i knew that Goosanders had been seen there recently, and we quickly located 13 of these stunning ducks, including 7 drakes. 15 Tufted Duck were also around the lake, and a Reed Bunting was seen near the visitor center. We were also able to get some great close up views of BHG's, including a few nicely marked 1w birds!

A couple of Tufties were showing very closely nearby!

27/02/13

I again went for a walk to look for LSW in a woodland to no reward, i'm really struggling to catch up with them this year! A stunning male BRAMBLING was still showing, starting too acquire some aspects of summer plumage.

2 Green Woodpecker were showing well on some short cut grass.

 And i was happy to see that both of the resident pair of Tawney Owl were out on top of their stump.

28/02/13

A visit to sheepwash was fairly productive, 37 Goosanders was a very good count, one of my highest of the winter infact, as was 47 Pochard. 8 Shoveler were still present, and the Tuftie flock numbered 20. 30 Linnet were still up on the 'mound' proving as flighty as always. 5 Lesser Redpoll were showing well in the wooded bits.

1/03/13

Roost birding at Bartley revealed a Yellow-legged Gull, but i manadged to miss the Caspian that was being watched from the dam.

2/03/13

A quick twitchy stop into Bittel reveled that the stunning adult drake SMEW was still present, choosing to reside in the furthest corner possible from the viewpoint on the Bittel farm Causeway. The Smew was keeping company with a single female Goldeneye, while a flock of 10 Goosanders were also present.

3/03/13

A patch visit was fairly uneventful bar 2 Snipe which flew over my head at Blackstone.

6/03/13

Another visit for LesserPecker and again drew a blank. I have been spending regular 3-4 hours in this woodland frequently and still am failing to see them. 4 BRAMBLING were still around, as was a Peregrine and the Tawney Owl was perched up on the top of the tree in beautiful sunlight, highlighting those gorgeous rufous tones.

A Nuthatch was showing down to 6ft on some food that had been put out.

13/03/13

Another failure to find LSW. A male and a female BRAMBLING were still near to the feeders. The Tawney was still out, and the Peregrine was still in residence. A small flock of 10 Siskin were flighty.

14/03/13

Sheepwash was doing well at retaining the Shoveler flock, as there was now 9 birds, including 3 birds showing very well adjacent to the path. 13 Goosanders were widely spread across the pool, but the Pochard flock had halved to 20 birds. A Kingfisher did a flypast along the river.

15/03/13

I do love my roosts. Again i visited Bartley as a Med Gull had been roosting regularly  Neil Duggan was also in the area and dropped in also. It was like a big birders meet up as 8 birders were present, the most i have ever seen at the location. Eventually the stunner of an adult MEDITERRANEAN GULL was located while suffering the freezing wind. For me however, the highlight goes to a pair of Peregrine which shown very well off the dam, apparently a very rare bird at Bartley, as they hunted the roosting Gulls. A Curlew flew off as the Peregrines entered.

16/03/13

I have a fondness for Grimely due to its superb looking habitat, and with waders starting on the move it seemed like a logical choice. We first dropped into the Holt flashes, where a flock of 75+ Wigeon were feeding, along with a fair few Lapwing and two Oystercatchers. I picked up two GREEN SANDPIPERS which were either migrants or some of the wintering birds. Moving onto the Camp lane pits we added a drake Pintail and a small flock of 6 Curlew, 2 Redshank were on the flooded middle section as were 2 Oystercatcher.

Following this we dropped into Upton Warren where i quickly got the 14 Avocet. 3 OYC flew north and 1 Curlew was showing. 3 Chiffchaffs were my first 'spring' birds and 2 Water Rail shown. A single 1w Common Gull dropped in among the roosting Gulls.

17/03/13

I struck lucky on patch with 2 Greylag Goose, an insane patch rarity. I have only previously had fly overs but these two birds were 'decked' and were showing on the Lickhill pool.

  (You can see both birds in this photo, even if only a tiny portion of the 2nd birds head)

And now i can get into the more 'juicy' recent birds in my posts following this,

MB