Waders, Geese and a Bluetail!

19/02/14

Slimbridge has been hosting huge numbers of waterbirds throughout the winter, particularly waders, and it was due to this that i decided a trip down was in order!

Immediately obvious, even from the car park was the huge flock of around 2000 Golden Plover which were feeding and flying around the Tack piece. With the early morning sun behind us, it was a pleasure to sit and watch the numerous waders, ducks and Swans scattered across the flooded meadow.

Moving onto the Holden tower, everything started to happen at once. The White-Fronted Goose flock was unfortunately not playing ball, and had decided to feed along the seawall to the north, and was unviewable.

So, i concentrated on scanning the hundreds of Dunlin looking for a scarce wintering bird. At least 800 were scattered across the flooded Dumbles, no doubt still exploiting the food rich soils that had been deposited by the very high tides on many occasions throughout the year. With some scanning, i picked up one of the LITTLE STINTS feeding way out on the Dumbles, but it soon flushed with every other bird, and once they resettled, it (or another) was re-located! Feeding on the pool in front of the hide!

I always enjoy this stunning tiny wading bird, their restless activity and subtle beauty in winter, and indeed every plumage is just irresistible. I am always amazed when these stunners stay to winter in the UK, as they really should be in southern Europe/ Africa at this time of year!

Against this Lapwing, you can clearly see just how small these birds are, tiny little gems, and one which always brightens up a day!

But it was soon back to scanning Geese, and while scanning the Barnacle goose flock which had been pushed up onto the Dumbles by the tide the Dark-Belled Brent Goose appeared. Sadly however, my first 'decent' view of it over the winter revealed that its wing was really not in good shape, and the bird was constantly dragging it behind and along the floor. A sad fate for any migratory bird, but luckily for it, there aren't too many places too much better for Geese to reside than at Slimbridge.

Somehow i can't see this bird leaving, so you would presume that this bird will become a permanent fixture of the feral Barnacle Goose flock.

Meanwhile, the White-Fronts flew up, and flew slightly further out onto the Dumbles to allow some viewing. A short while later, and i picked up the TUNDRA BEAN GOOSE as it happily fed alongside its Russian friends.

Now, i understand i may have caused some controversy by agreeing with the Slimbridge wardens about this bird being a Bean Goose, but out in the field, it really did look convincing as one, despite its smaller than average size (but which still fits within variation of the species). The 'worrying' features mentioned by some were not obvious like they were in some photos that seemed to suggest characteristics of a hybrid origin.

Scoping from the Holden revealed a singe Avocet roosting on the Top new piece, and also rather surprisingly a flock of 37 Grey Heron perched out on the estuary edge where the Little Egrets usually perch, which, upon enquiring, i was informed was a new record for the site!

With the superb Siberian gem still present in the beautiful Shire valley not much further to the south, it would have been rude not to have visited for seconds!

And a short while after, we were again watching the stunning 1st winter male RED-FLANKED BLUETAIL, and luckily, in much more enjoyable circumstances. A small gathering of around 10 birders/ Photographers, and a Bluetail playing hide and seek in a Hawthorn in the sun!

What is not to love!

With the obviously more relaxed surroundings, the bird often would perch up regularly for long periods of time, a massive contrast to it being constantly harassed and pushed around the first time i saw it. It really gave me the chance to admire its beauty as it commuted from 'its' Hawthorn and the ground where mealworms had being placed.

Do i need say any more?

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

Birding and Guitars

3/01/14

Finding myself in Edgbaston  to pick up my new guitar, it would have been rude not to drive the couple of miles up the road to admire the Great-Northern Diver that had (Somewhat ridiculously) taken up temporary residence on the Swan Pool in Sandwell valley!

So, with my Les Paul Studio sitting on the back seat, it was a short drive through the back streets of Edgbaston and Smethwick to our destination. A quick walk out to the lake edge and the GREAT-NORTHERN DIVER was showing on the far side of the pool.

Having seen around 40 the previous day, i chose not to walk around to the other side to get a closer look, and after a short time, decided to cross the road to Forge Mill Lake. Sadly, the amazingly close views of the previous day, and with them seeming almost 'common' i was left somewhat with a glazed look in my eyes. Around 20 Goosander were feeding there, as were very good numbers of Pochard. Moving around the the partially rebuilt RSPB center, i looked over the feeders, and soon found my main target. WILLOW TIT.

Sadly, this is a species that has all but disappeared from my home county, and it is hard to believe that i once had both Willow Tit and Tree Sparrow visiting my garden! Within a few seconds through, the bird had flicked onto the feeder, collected its seed and flew off to eat/stash it away somewhere, and i didn't see it again.

Somewhere nearby, i found myself watching a party of RING-NECKED PARAKEETS, as they flew around calling, and eventually settling on tree's in someones back garden, where i was able to scope them through a hedgeline, 2 metal fences and across a school playing field! Thankfully, being the school holidays, there were no issues with doing so!

4/01/14

Having such a great start to the year was made even better when Neil Duggan offered me a day out, collecting a local rarity and then heading down to Slimbridge for their spectacular wintering flocks!

The TWO-BARRED CROSSBILLS were being as elusive as ever, but were tracked down in a stand of pines as they called incessantly for a while before flying out and disappearing altogether! As i had hoped,the Two-Bars became my 100th species for the year. A good number of Common Crossbill were also showing, some landing in trees adjacent to the path!

With short winter days, time was limited, so we then started towards Slimbridge, but a spur of the moment trip had us dropping into Lineholt, were other than a distant flock of 10c Redpoll sp (Associating with Goldfinch on the Golf course) nothing was seen. Interestingly, one or two looked fairly pale, but with the light and distance they were hard to ID with certainty.

Our arrival at the car-park at Slimbridge was greeted by masses of circling Lapwing and Golden Plover over the tack piece, and it was here where we first headed. Bewick's Swan were dotted along the flooded fields, surrounded by thousands of Lapwing, Golden Plover, and hundreds of Black-Tailed Godwit!

It was clear though, that the most activity was from the Holden tower, as following a very high tide, a large layer of silt created ideal feeding opportunities for thousands of birds. And i mean THOUSANDS! Around 3000 each of Lapwing and Golden Plover, nearing 2000 Dunlin (The most i have ever personally seen here in winter) and similar numbers of both Wigeon and Teal, it was immense!

This is surely the meaning of birding in a British wintertime!

Despite these massive numbers of birds, numbers of White-Fronted Goose and Bewick Swan were seemingly well down, with only 170 White fronts and only 30 Bewicks! The reasons for this are clear though just by walking outside and looking at the sky. A very mild winter (and hence the almost no-stop rain) means our northern and eastern visitors have no need to venture so far west to find sufficient food, so they are currently feeding somewhere in Germany or the like. Certainly not in the UK!

While scanning Teal and the very far edge of the Dumbles however i was surprised to find a female GOOSANDER sitting in with them just off an area of floodwater, well back from the estuary edge! Certainly not a bird i exactly associate with flood water!The resident BRENT GOOSE was showing fairly well on the Dumbles edge.

The Zeiss hide was very quiet in comparison. But 4 Avocet made up for the lack of birds as they roosted on the somewhat flooded flash. A Cetti's warbler was showing stunningly well on the edge of the reeds, which was a real privilege!

With the light fading, and after a quick check of the 'south finger' we decided to look for Egrets at Court lake at Frampton. A Kingfisher, 6 Little Grebe, 10 Pochard and very good numbers of Tufted Duck were noted, but we failed to see any Egrets.

MB

Northerners, Yanks and Sibes

10/11/13

With news of a Penduline Tit in south wales, plans were arranged with Neil Duggan to head down there and see this stunning example of a male bird.

For those who would be interested, Neil has recently joined the local Blogsphere and can be found here, so therefore, if you want to read about my birding exploits a month before i get around to posting it, or want to follow the birding exploits of a fellow local birder, head over there!

As if by coincidence, Martyn Y (Formally of 'Adult Plumage', 'Regional Birding' and 'Blurred Birder' fame- So many in fact that i'm not even sure which ones which anymore!), Kay D (The Lover of Black Redstarts (Ochruros) ) and Richard P (Local Birding) were also heading down to Newport Wetlands.

While on the M5 though, we heard news of Great Grey Shrike in the Forest of Dean, and with Two-bar Crossbills reported the day before it was worth the effort! Being only a few miles off the M50 it was worth the effort, so with no news having come out from Newport, we took a diversion.

Arriving at Woorgreens was greeted with confusion.

Where do we go?

As we walked up to the somewhat picturesque Woorgreens Lake, i heard the familiar 'glipping' of Crossbills as a flock of 15 flew over. Sadly that proved the be the only view we had of Crossbills, and no-one else found any rarer ones either! 2 Wigeon were the only birds 'of note' on the pool. 

But anyway. To cut a long story short. We saw nothing. The Shrike did a bunk and didn't reappear for the rest of the day. We plodded around the Woorgreens/ Crabtree Hill area for a good couple of hours, but other than calling Brambling and Marsh Tit it was very quiet species wise.

Having contacted the other 'midland crew' down at Newport, it seemed as if the Penduline had done an overnight flit!

Not going to plan!

Right, what now? How about we cross the Estuary to Slimbridge WWT? Some nice birds around there, AND, if the Penduline was to be refound, we would be in a decent position to head down there via the Severn Bridge and the extortionate £6,20 toll charge!

As a lover of all things weird and wacky, my main priority was to get to the Rushy Pen to see the Purple Sandpiper. Within minutes of being on site we entered the Peng Observatory, and upon inquiring about the Sandpiper i was guided onto a wader at the back that looked suspiciously like a Redshank.........

So i then set about scanning the shorelines. Within a few minutes i came to the conclusion that it wasn't there!

At this point, i remembered reading on the site wardens Twitter that the bird was showing down to a few feet from the office buildings. Moving to the opposite side of the 'hide' i poked my head around the corner, and there is was! A mere 10ft away! Insane! A 1st winter PURPLE SANDPIPER!

Not being able to get my scope on the bird due to the somewhat awkward angle, i lifted my camera to my bins and took a few shots.

And its a good job i did! Very soon after, a brief chase form a coot pushed it out, further into the middle and it was then relentlessly hounded by Jackdaws until eventually, it just gave up and flew out towards the Estuary.

And that was it, gone. A far to brief sighting.

So then we walked to the Zeiss Hide, via the 'decoy' area. No Chiffchaffs were showing, so we moved on. A completely packed Zeiss hide were all looking out across the Teal flock. Of which there were a few.....

Yeah, a few in the 2000-3000 range!

And why was everyone looking? Its close new world cousin, a yank interloper was present among the ranks.

After some scanning, i eventually picked up the drake GREEN WINGED TEAL, its vertical white stripe making it stand out quite easily once you knew the basic area it was in. Sadly though, it was very inactive, no doubt well and truly knackered after its long haul across the Atlantic.

The birding from here was actually very good, as thousands of birds were present. Two GCP Common Cranes were wading in the shallows, which, as always, was an awe inspiring sight! However, the more interesting 'stuff' were the smaller birds, most particularly the waders!

Among the small flock of Dunlin we were informed a Little Stint was present, and after some time, a winter plumaged LITTLE STINT emerged from the flock and fed along the shallow waterline.

 Soon after, a winter plumaged SPOTTED REDSHANK was found, wading in deep water at the back of the flash, and, on occasions, swimming quite actively! A flock of Golden Plover flew over, with a small number of Black-tailed Godwit and 6 Ruff.

In the Reedbed, a Cetti's Warbler was showing superbly!

With news of a Great-nothern Diver just down the road, we started to leave, moving again via the 'decoy' area to look for Chiffchaffs. We met up with a searching birder and walked the boardwalk. At the end i became aware of a gathering of birder/photographers on the opposite side of the hedgeline looking towards us.

And it soon became apparent why, as a striking Chiffchaff popped out of the ivy at close range. And by striking i mean a smack in the face obvious SIBERIAN CHIFFCHAFF. Very white underparts with an almost pale grey/light brown back. Actually a very attractive bird!

If i needed any more convincing, the bird spent some time calling, sounding almost like a Bullfinch, and it was joined by a Common Chiffchaff, just further emphasizing how different it was!

Having bagged a good 'cast', we took the last minuite decision to check the Holden tower, where we quickly locacted the Dark-Bellied Brent Goose out on the Saltmarsh, and 23 Eurasian White-Fronted Goose.

So, with the light now fading fast, we decided to hot foot it down to Sharpness Docks, after a while of moving around, we eventually found ourselves at the SARA building, watching a stunnning GREAT-NORTHERN DIVER showing very well on the tiny pool adjacent to the old lifeboat station.

What a way to end the day!

MB

#TheMidlandersAreComing Part 2

11/05/13

Once we had our fill at the two Breckland sites, we decided to head North, with our destination being Titchwell RSPB.

On the way however, we were distracted occasionally. A brief stop around a small pool in the middle of a country field resulted in a Common Sandpiper, Oystercatcher, Yellowhammer and Shelduck.

Our next stop resulted in a shout from one of our group of "Partridge". Naturally, we stopped, however it proved to be 'only' a Red-Legged. Nice views of Hare's were had here also. Moving onward again, we stopped at some pig fields, where a large flock of 30c 1st summer Common Gulls were present, and a drive past of a town pond resulted in a pair of Egyptian Goose.

By this point, a journey that should have taken around an hour was nearing double that, but a couple of Red-Legged Partridge running along the road prompted another stop, which proved to be the 3rd lucky decision of the day. Jumping out of the car we spied a small pool, which we decided to have a quick look at, and in doing so two small Doves flushed out from the Hawthorn and Gorse. A brief view got us interested, as a very obvious brown tinge could be seen on the birds upperwings, but they dropped down again. A short time passed and they flew up again, confirming the suspicion that we were watching a pair of TURTLE DOVE!

Our 'quick stop' plan was abandoned as we enjoyed flight views of these birds before they flew to the opposite side of the field. And while searching for them again, we went on to find 3 GREY PARTRIDGE along the same field edge! Awesome, both of our targets from the same field! 4 Red-legs were also present, as was Oystercatcher, 3 Shelduck and 2 Greylags.

Then it was onto Titchwell. We arrived during a massive rainstorm so retreated to the Cafe before heading out.

The first marsh was heaving with birds. My own personal highlight being 2 stunning LITTLE TERN. 32 Brent Goose flew past, with a small number dropping onto the pool, all being Dark-bellied birds. A pair of Red-crested Pochard were showing.

Waders were very well represented, around 80 Bar-tailed Godwit also had 2 Knot and a Grey Plover in the flock, with Turnstones and small numbers of Dunlin also present.

Moving to the new Parrinder hide we had stunning views of Grey Plover....

 Little Tern.....

Turnstone.....

 And a mass of Bar-tailed Godwit.

It was while standing here i scanned the freshmarsh and saw a large white bird flying in from the west.

SPOONBILL!

Elation! One of my biggest UK bogeys, having dipped 5 or 6 birds in the last few years, it was finally great to catch up with one of these birds. An obvious full adult, with fully white wingtips and a strong yellow throat patch.

Waders on the brackish marsh were a little harder, but good numbers of Grey Plover were welcomed, all in summer plumage and looking amazing! A Little Stint was calling as it gave a stunning flyby at close range and a Greenshank was showing distantly. A very good smattering of year ticks!

We moved onto the beach for a spot of seawatching, and were quickly rewarded with a pair of COMMON EIDER among a small flock of Common Scoter all showing fairly nicely inshore.

 Way offshore however were much larger (in the hundreds) numbers of presumed Scoter, but just to distant to ID as anothing other than black blobs flying. A load of Little Tern were fishing, and we saw 2 Sandwich Tern offshore, as well as multiple Common and 2 Arctic. Great Black back was logged, as was a Gannet, which was very distant.

Closer however, large numbers of Sanderling, Dunlin and Ringed Plover were hunting and probing the tidal edge on the upcoming tide, with a few Grey Plover and Barwit intermixed.

 Moving back, we had further stunning views of Turnstone in summer plumage.

 And views of the Red-crested Pochards.

We then decided to tally the day list in a nearby pub in Brancaster, with a combined list o f 109, with my own personal list being 108, the only bird i didn't get which others did was a Kingfisher which was calling at Titchwell.

Anyway, i have no reason to complain, my first ever 100+ day!

MB