Virjinxity! Wryneck, YBW and Spoonbills! (21/09/14)

I have never been on one of the RSPB Stourbridge field trips, however, following some encouragement, in late September I joined them as they went to Portland Bill and Lodmoor RSPB.

Following some banter on the coach, we arrived in the bill car park, and as we had picked up some news from twitter we headed straight up the hill to the area where a Wryneck had been found!

Masses upon masses of Hirundines were everywhere, Yellow Wagtails, Meadow Pipits and a single Grey Wagtail flew over south, so there was certainly plenty of vismig! But, having dipped on Wryneck many times in the past, I was keen to get there as soon as possible. I was in so much of a rush that even a Whinchat perched on a fenceline was almost ignored as the crowd appeared on the track opposite us!

It felt like an age to cover the fields to them, but as soon as we did I saw what looked like a Wryneck as it flicked past me and behind a hedge, yet no-one was looking. Surely that wasn't it! 

A quick question later, and having learnt that they hadn't seen it for a while I went to check out the bird I saw. A short walk later, and there, perched atop a hedge, with a backdrop of the English channel was a stunning WRYNECK! I had lost my "Virjinxity"!

Over the next 30 minutes, the views slowly got better and better, and as people left, the bird became more confiding, and eventually, with only a small group of people, the bird landed on the fenceline adjacent to us and started feeding from the track! Although invisible when on the deck, the bird often flew up onto the adjacent fenceline and hedge, giving absolutely amazing views to all present!

Wryneck

Wryneck

Wryneck

I have dipped so many Wryneck in the past, and so to finally catch up with one put a huge smile on my face, and it was with regret I left the bird to look for another scarcity.

It was clear that overnight there had been a 'significant' (at least by my standards) fall of Chiffchaffs around Portland, and in the Observatory garden alone there were at least 80. Counts from the Ob's staff suggested the actual total was closer to 200! In this fall of 'Phyloscs' a Yellow-Browed Warbler had been located, but it was being very elusive in the dense vegetation, which was literally dripping in birds! Chiffchaffs were flycatching everywhere, and these were joined by two birds that are more akin to the behaviour, as two Spotted Flycatcher perched sentinel over the 'alive' garden.

Most people had given up with the YBW when it hadn't shown for a good hour and a half. However I soldiered on, and just as a group of birder rounded the corner from the Ob's car park, an absolutely stunning bright Yellow-Browed Warbler flitted up above the fenceline!

Calling over the crowd, only 1 got onto the bird, before it disappeared back into the bushes, but despite only being on view for around 15 seconds, as always with these delightful leaf warblers, it was well worth the wait!

With the time now running out, I decided on a quick look out to sea, where 3 Mediterranean Gulls were flying about and a Kittiwake flew past. A Yellow-legged Gull landed on a post outside the cafe, but had flew off by the time I had gotten my camera out.

In the old quarry, the Little Owl was showing nicely to the assembled crowd!

Little Owl

Moving onto Lodmoor RSPB, our first notable sighting was when this stunning little thing flicked up next to us:

Clouded Yellow

A Clouded Yellow!

Again, this had become another of my bogeys, and despite having seen them before, they had steadfastly refused to land. But this one was different, and gave us stunningly intimate views as it perched on roadside vegetation! 

Moving onto the pool, 2 Spoonbills were very quickly located (how could you miss them?!) and gave a great performance as they fed constantly in the shallow water! Not something you expect a Spoonbill to be doing.

Spoonbill

Spoonbill

A small selection of Waders were present, with Lapwing, Green Sandpiper, Common Sandpiper, Black-tailed Godwit, Snipe and Ruff all being present. Walking to the opposite end of the flashes (so I could view the gull flock of course!) I found an early Pintail roosting on the edge of the water. But my mind soon wondered and my reason for walking here was obvious, and I was soon seeing countless Mediterranean Gulls flying into the increasing Gull flock!

All ages were present, and great views were had of all!

Mediterranean Gull

Mediterranean Gull

Bliss!

MB

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

The night that everything was happening!

23/08/14

With the weather conditions looking favourable for the day, with rainshowers following a good northerly airflow, it looked good for a few birds to be moving, and hopefully, dropping in!

The Moors was the first destination, and the first bird I panned onto was a 1st winter Mediterranean Gull, which was perching on the 'Gull rails' in front of the hide. A matter of 30 seconds later, and it was flying off north to feed with other Gulls on recently plowed fields.

2 Little Egrets were flying about the Moors Pool, and the usual array of ducks were knocking around, but with the light falling, it wasn't a hard decision to head to the flashes,

With the sky growing more and more stormy, it was with relief we got to the hide, and it wasn't long until it started raining! No, not water, BIRDS!

First in were a party of 3 female RUFF, which dropped in just as the rain started. But they were extremely cautious to land, and spent around 15 minutes circling the flashes repeatedly. They just wouldn't land.

They did eventually, and luckily, they were directly in front of the hide!

After some time preening, and no doubt acclimatizing to their new surroundings, they flew off into the shallow water at the back of the flash, and fed for the rest of the night among the increasing numbers of Gulls!

A mere 20 minutes after, and I picked up another flock of waders dropping out of the sky and flying low across the surface of the 1st flash. These small Caladris dropped straight onto the first island they came across, showing themselves to be a flock of 4 Dunlin, joining the 3 already present to make a decent total of 7 birds!

As the light dropped, the Gulls continued to arrive, and with the thronging masses were two juv- 1st winter Mediterranean Gulls, sitting side by side on one of the gravel islands out in the middle of the flash. They continued to sit and snooze side by side, Presumably the same two that I had the previous weekend that had arrived together!

Not a bad couple of hours considering!

MB

Out birding in Cambridgeshire with the Worcester crew

5/04/14

 

Road trip!

 

It was another day out with the Worcester crew, and with Mike, Jarad and Neil, it was going to be a good trip!

 

Having seen last years 'proven' wild Baikal Teal I wasn't in much of a fuss to see the bird that had chosen to appear at Fen Drayton RSPB in Cambridge, but when I was offered a lift, and with a rather mouth-watering array of 'rares', I just couldn't say no!

 

So, our first destination was Fen Drayton, and sadly, the day soon reached its low. The Teal had gone, and hardly any ducks remained whatsoever! We were joined by another foreigner to this 'distant land' when Hughie appeared along the path.

Infact, it was a struggle to be too exited by anything that was present, a single female Marsh Harrier made a brief fly through visit and decent numbers of Goldeneye were present on the many pools. Infact, it was the hybrids that were the best birds of the trip. A Tufted x Pochard was present on one of the pools, but the most interesting bird came in the form of a rather odd looking Wigeon, which showed characteristics of both Eurasian and American Wigeon. However, the crew had practically fallen asleep at the lack of birds by this point, and we chose to head on.

 

We moved to Pymoor, where a drake American Wigeon was being reported, but in our searching of the masses of ducks we failed to locate it. Later in the day it also became obvious we had also not picked up another duck......

 

Stunning females of both Marsh Harrier and Peregrine flew through, flushing everything in the process.

 

Despite the lack of yanks, I was amazed by  the huge numbers of ducks still present, Pintail, Wigeon and Teal all being represented by very large numbers, and a flock of 40 Whooper Swan remained, which I thought was quite late, and indeed proved that this trip would work out to be worthwhile.

 

It was while scanning we received news of a female RING NECKED DUCK just up the road, so a quick car journey and we were soon pulling up, and within a few moments an obvious female 'Ring Neck' could be seen distantly from the river banks. It really was very distant, but very good light meant that it was perfectly identifiable. Even on shape alone it stood out a mile!

 

From this viewpoint, it was also clear of the huge volumes of ducks that remained on the Ouse Washes! Literally thousands!

With the weather feeling so 'springish', it was also great to see, and hear a Yellow Wagtail as it bounced over our heads! Always a great bird to have so early in the year!

 

With limited time remaining before having to head back, news of a Spoonbill at Ouse washes RSPB had us making a detour, and soon upon arrival at the hides, we were greeted by stunning views of a rather beautiful looking summer plumaged SPOONBILL!

 

What was even more outstanding though, was the fact that the bird was awake THROUGHOUT our visit, and was constantly feeding, which made a rather refreshing change to most Spoonbill records!

 

Again, it was somewhat of a "Midlander meetup" as again Hughie was present, and we all enjoyed this rather scarce visitor to our home counties.

 

 

 

 

Perhaps more  impressive though, were the sheer numbers of waders that were present, mostly consisting of two species. Hundreds upon hundreds of 'islandica' Black-Tailed Godwit were roosting on a couple of the spits, creating carpets of red, and many Ruff were strutting around in fine summer garb! What could be better! We had 60+ of these rather gaudy waders as they waded their way through the shallow waters outside the hides

 

 

Our time here was as I said, limited, and therefore we had to leave, but my first taste of the Ouse washes certainly 'whet my appetite', and I can see a return visit coming on soon!

 

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

Public transport twitching

2/10/13

Agggh!

Don't you just hate it!

I do, i hate public transport.

But anyway, following an unusually smooth journey via a bus, and then a train, and then a short period of walking, me and the Gornal birder arrived at Doxey Marshes in Stafford to look for the Yank wader found the previous day.

After some walking around the site not knowing where to go we eventually saw the usual 'congregation' of birders that accompanies a rare bird and headed to that point.

With no news having emerged from the site that day we weren't sure if the bird was still on site, but we were relieved to hear that the bird had been seen briefly earlier that morning, but it was very elusive in among the vegetation.

It took some time, and we were in site for most of the afternoon, but we eventually had decent views as it worked its way along the rear shore of the flash. PECTORAL SANDPIPER is a species i have only caught up with once before, that being the long staying bird at Upton Warren a few years ago so it was nice to see another of these American waders.

The bird spent most of its time associating with Common Snipe, just as my last bird did, however, just as i had been told, the bird spent most of its time hiding in among the vegetation. Interestingly, a 'Pec' had been seen at this site a few weeks before on a Snipe count. This raises the question had the bird just been there all along but its elusive nature meaning it hadn't been seen.

Other than the Pec, i was left fairly impressed by the site, 3 Barnacle Goose were showing from a hide and waders were represented by a single Green Sandpiper, 2 Ruff and probably around 50 Snipe.

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

Catching up (AGAIN!)

As i'm sure you have all come to expect of the blog over the last few months, it has become fairly inactive. Much of my time has been fairly full recently and a recent change in personal circumstance has left me with very little motivation to do anything, particularly blog orientated work. I appologise for the complete lack of posting, and i will try to create a regular routine again.

21/08/13
A day out around Cannock chase was rewarded with 5 Spotted Flycatcher around the car park.

We then moved onto Blithfield Reservior, where i luckily stumbled across a juvenile BLACK TERN as it hawked over the water to the north of the causeway. A further exploration of the area produced, Little Egret, 5 Ringed Plover, a juvenile Ruff, 5 Yellow Wagtail and a single Tree Sparrow. Aside from the Black Tern, my other personal highlight was seeing my first Clouded Yellow butterfly.

23/08/13
6 Willow warbler (4 juv) were nice to find on the patch.

Later that morning, i headed to Grimley Camp lane pits, where 3 Little Egret, 6 Ringed Plover and 4 Yellow Wagtail were showing.

Following a period of work, i then headed to Upton Warren for the Roost, where a single LRP was 'hanging on', Ringed Plover (Ad and Juv), Dunlin,7 Green Sand and 2 Ruff.

The only passerine of note was a Lesser Whitethroat.

24/08/13

The following night, i again dropped into Upton Warren for the roost, the LRP and the 2 Ringed PLover remained, as did the Dunlin but Green Sandpiper numbers had increased to 8. A GOLDEN PLOVER flew north over calling which was a nice addition to the list. 2 1st winter Common Gulls roosted with 1000c BHG. The Lesser Whitethroat also remained.

25/08/13

A early morning vismig session was very quiet, a single Common Gull was seen briefly and a Lesser Whitethroat was found.

For the last time of the weekend, we dropped into Upton Warren as they were having somewhat of a wader fest. The highlight goes to a flock of 6 RUFF, but vismig in action was shown by 2 juvenile Dunlin which dropped in.

MB

Catch Ups

11/08/13

A drop into Upton Warren was rewarded with a juvenile ARCTIC TERN, a juvenile RUFF, 5 Curlew, 2 Common Sand and 7 Green Sand, a nice array!

20/0813

Back to patch, and it was equally rewarding as the last visit, with 2 Lesser Whitethroat, a Garden Warbler, Blackcap and 3 Whitethroat found. Warblers were certainly moving! A adult HOBBY was found hawking over Lickhill farm briefly following migrating Swallows.

Later the same day i dropped into Eyemore Wood, which, aside from 5 Marsh Tit and 30 Goldcrest there was little of note birdwise. However, my first Painted Lady butterfly was found feeding on Buddlia.

Moving onto Shenstone, i saw my 2nd HOBBY of the day, this time a Juvenile while looking (and failing may i add) to find Clouded Yellow butterfly.

MB

Upton Warren roosting

10/08/13

Again, i have to apologize for the lack of posting during the last few weeks, a return to education, a holiday and a load of birding time has again put me over a month behind on the blog work. The one good thing about that though is i have a fair old bit to write about again!

Dropping into Upton Warren for the roost i was met by a friend, who immediately put me onto a stunning immaculate juvenile Mediterranean Gull!

A stunning bird, and in as fresh plumage as you can get a juvenile, with the bird having not started its moult yet!

A juvenile Cuckoo was also seen briefly, which was nice to see as i don't usually have much luck with them but the main attention was on the waders, the most uncommon of which was a juvenile Ruff. In addition, Oystercatcher, Lapwing, 5 Green Sand, 2 Common Sand and 21 Curlew were showing.

As the light dropped a Little Owl appeared on its usual perch!

MB