The long awaited catch up!

So, with my coursework having been completed within the last hour, and with only the two exams worth of revision to go, I think it is about time I should start writing again...

Right.

 

So, back to October we go.

 

26/10/14

Having had such a good time on the last RSPB fieldtrip, it perhaps wasn't too hard of a decision to join them again for their trip over to Titchwell RSPB. Who would complain at that.

 

On the way over as we drove past Guyhirn, I managed to pick up 2 of the Cranes that had been resident in the area for some time. Another birder beside me saw a further 8 standing in the field, however they were distant and the views weren't great from the moving coach.

 

Arriving at Titchwell I did exactly as I was hoping to do, and walked straight out to the beach to do some seawatching, and I was greeted with the rather joyous sight of a large numbers of others with the same idea. If a Skua went past today I was going to see it!

 

Immediately obvious was the large number of Gulls, and among them were a single adult Mediterranean and 8 Kittiwakes. A flock of Common Scoter were bobbing about on the troughs but the first highlight came as I saw a lone Scoter flying in from the east. Head on initially, it moved parallel to the beach revealing bring white secondarys. I was soon shouting a drake Velvet Scoter was going past! Luckily, there were a number of boats of varying colours offshore, so getting the crowd (particularly the ones sitting adjacent to me!) onto the bird was straightforward.

 

Next up was another self find. A small Grebe popped up in the breakers close inshore to the beach further west than the viewpoint, but being strikingly black and white It was obviously one of the 'rarer' small Grebes. Considering I have little field experience with 'Slav', it was immediately obvious as a winter plumaged Slavonian Grebe due to structure. The entire crowd got onto the bird and it continued to show for much of the afternoon and made for the best bird of the day.

Among the regulars (Gannet, Red-Throated Diver, GC Grebe, and both Guillemot and Razorbill) we also picked out a female Red-breasted Merganser on the water fairly close in, and a further 4 flew past, going west.

 

With no Skuas I moved back onto the reserve for the Gull roost. The usual assembley of waders was present, and 6 Marsh Harriers were buzzing the reedbed. It was here I also caught up with an old friend, as the same female Stonechat that got me onto the Penduline Tit on my last visit was feeding in the same area of reedmace. Sadly, no Penduline today though. Scrutiny of the increasing gull flock produced 2 Yellow-legged Gulls before I had to head back to the coach.

 

 

 

1/11/14

 

I had visited Steart Marshes WWT just a week previously in the hope of catching up with the juvenile Pallid Harrier, having dipped, we returned on the first day of November, but again our luck was out. A good showing of Raptors (Buzzard, 1 Sprawk, 7 Kestrel, 3 Peregrine) was highlighted by 2 Merlin, including a great view of a female as we arrived, which barrelled fairly low over our heads.

 

 

With the bird having not shown again, we moved around the Huntspill Sluice. As we neared Bridgewater we heard the unthinkable.. The Pallid had just shown again (Insert relevant word of choice). Being stuck in traffic we couldn't go anywhere and carried on in the hope it would be viewable from the opposite side of the Parrett River. It wasn't, and we dipped it again. At least 1 female Red-breasted Merganser was feeding in the shallows, which gave slight compensation for the dip. It was from here while scanning for a ochre coloured bird of prey a superb sight of 3 Merlin chasing each other took place low over the saltmarsh. A good count of Avocets were also viewable form here, with 296 being visible among the huge swirling flocks of other estuarine waders.

 

 

Any other day without having dipped a Pallid Harrier and this would have been a good day!

 

2/11/14

 

That annoyance from dipping was relieved somewhat where a standard patch thrash led to the chance discovery of a female BLACK REDSTART! Standing scanning the Lapwings and Gulls within the now flooded quarry, I neglected to look on the small patch of ground adjacent to the hedgeline behind me. Having counted the Lapwing (32) and scanned through the Gulls to little avail, I turned around to see a bird flick up onto the top of a hawthorn in the hedgeline.

 

Getting my bins onto the bird which was only around 50ft away I was slightly perplexed to begin. It was head on, and just a slightly silhouetted greyish brown thing. There just wasn't any marks in this view, but it soon moved slightly, and I saw the quivering red tail!

 

I span to get my scope on it, aimed it at the bird, and just as I got it into focus it flew up, across the quarry, hesitantly at first, but it kept going.... And going..... And going. I kept on it until it was nothing more than a speck, when it suddenly dived down in the vicinity of Burlish Top. I spent the next 3 hours plodding around Burlish, Burlish Top, Moult Plesent etc, but I failed to refind this incredibly brief first for the patch.

 

Presumably this was the bird which then was found on the other side of the golf course a week or so after on the WFC Building.

 

6/11/14

A Uni fieldtrip led us across Wales to Aberystwyth, and we stopped at a number of sites on the way over. One of these was the Bwlch Nant yr Arian Red Kite feeding Centre, where we had excellent views of around 200 Kites. A female Goosander on the pool was also a nice surprise.

 

 

 

Moving onto Aberystwyth for the Starling roost, we stood near the pier and watched the aggregation grow, which despite not being the biggest Starling roost I have ever seen was still fairly spectacular.

 

 

As you would expect though, as we stood, I began to notice large numbers of Gulls roosting offshore, and being the fanatic I am, I just had to go through them. My efforts were rewarded when I picked up an adult Mediterranean Gull fly in from the south and drop onto the water in front of us. Nice!

 

The weather the next day was little short of vile, heavy rain and strong winds. A Rock Pipit pottered along the beach, and I had a flight view of what was probably one of the 5 Black Redstarts in the area as it flicked off the old college building and onto the castle.

 

MB

The Brixham White-Billed Diver! +Everything else!

2/01/14

With what can be regarded as no less than ridiculous numbers of Divers been seen in and around Brixham Harbor, and with 4 species of said genus being possible, it would have been rude not to take an offer given to me on the 31st to head down there.

So in the early hours of the morning, after finding my first Tawney Owl for the year, which perched 10ft away from me, it was towards the meetup point at Upton Warren. 2 car loads of us were heading down, a mixed composition of birders and photographers, and following a smooth journey down, we arrived at the carpark near the breakwater. Even scanning from the car, 3 BLACK-THROATED DIVER were immediately obvious, as were GREAT-NORTHERN DIVERS, Turnstones, Oystercatchers and Shags.

This was going to be good!

For what was a relatively short walk to the end of the breakwater, it took a really long time, as i paused and scanned every few steps. Great-northern Divers everywhere, Turnstones pottering about everywhere, Kittiwakes flying past and Rock Pipits feeding on the rocks!

It was around halfway along the breakwater a 1st winter BLACK GUILLEMOT popped up in front of us at very close range, giving stunning views as it fed just off the rocks. Easily the best views of the species i have had, with each of my previous ones having been distant.

I was then distracted by the 3 BLACK-THROATED DIVERS which had swam in closer, and my scope was then aimed at those.

A GREAT-NORTHERN then joined in with the fun:

While watching this variety of sea-birds, Jarad called out the ICELAND GULL as the wintering 1st winter bird started to circle nearby before flying off out to sea.

It really was all going on!

Catching up with the remainder of the 'Crew' i was told that our main target for the location was showing, and within a few seconds i was onto the WHITE-BILLED DIVER as it fed near to some boats fairly close in. From this range that yellowy bill really stood out to the Great Northern it was feeding with.

It was somewhat of a privilege to get such good views of a species like this. It is rare to see one this far south, but to have such amazing views as we did though made it probably once in a lifetime.

After about 10 minutes, the bird dived, but was never seen to resurface, and we didn't see it again after that! (And neither did anyone else!)

We spent some time scanning from near the end of the Breakwater, with PURPLE SANDPIPERS, Turnstones and even a Grey Seal giving up close and personal views immediately adjacent to us. 

2 SLAVONIAN GREBE were picked out on the far side of the Harbor which was the first grebe species of the day, and again, a good bird to find. With the Harbor being well covered, a lot of the birders in the group turned and scanned the sea, and we were quickly picking up the likes of Gannet, Fulmar, Razorbill, Guillemot as well as even more Divers!

All were Great Northern bar a single RED-THROATED DIVER, which flew in from the west and pitched down on the sea on the opposite side of the bay.

After we all had our fill of the excellent location, the walk back to the car started, being equally slow to the walk there.

Again we were treated to amazing views of Black-Throated and Great Northern Diver alongside the Black Guillemot.

 It was while watching this mix-match though that a smaller bird surfaced adjacent to them, which was easily recognizable as a RED-NECKED GREBE! Again, excellent views were had as it fed close by. It was somewhat bizarre to have seen the two rarest of the 'regular' British Grebes before either Little or Great-Crested!

We then took the short journey to a well known winter feeding station for CIRL BUNTING'S, where we had stunning views of this attractive farmland species as it fed on seed put out by birders to sustain them throughout the winter. A flock of 20 eventually came down to feed, and all at close range. The surrounding area produced Yellowhammer and 3 Chiffchaff before me and Jarad went off to scan the sea and Beach.

The beach was quiet, as it was covered in dog walkers, but just behind the surf we were treated to good views of 2 BLACK-NECKED GREBE as they fed in the very shallow water, at times being completely submerged by incoming waves. Further out in the bay, the 4th Grebe species of the day was picked out, as a large raft of 100+ Great-Crested Grebe was visible. A RED-THROATED DIVER was also offshore here, along with yet more Great-northern Divers!

With the afternoon drawing in, we decided to drive the short distance to Dawlish Warren to hopefully catch up with the wintering Bonaparte's Gull.

The walk out to the end of the Beach was long and hard, but we were entertained by Dark-Belled Brent Geese, a small flock of Common Scoter and 2 Great-Northern Diver. A pair of Stonechat were feeding on reeds on the Golf course.

We eventually got to a point which overlooked the Estuary, and we were treated to views of 10 RED-BREASTED MERGANSER as they fed on the incoming tide. The 3rd SLAVONIAN GREBE of the day was picked out distantly, as was a female Goldeneye. Small numbers of Little Egret, Dunlin, Reshank and Curlew were feeding in the shallows and a Ringed Plover flew past calling.

But one thing was obvious. There was an almost complete lack of Gulls, and it was only as the light began to fade that the large flocks in the distance started flying towards us. A single adult MEDITERRANEAN GULL landed on a sandbank, but unfortunately we were unable to locate the American interloper.

With the light fading, and a 3 hour car journey back we gave in as a rainstorm hit. As we walked along the Beach 15 Turnstone flew in, ending the day nicely.

A big thank-you to Vern for the offer for the Day, and to 'my' carload of birders for the banter. Twitching as a group certainly makes it much better! A great day, and a great start to the years birding!

MB

DUCKING & DIVING

06/03/10

OK you all confortable, cause this is gonna be a big one............

martyn from blurred birder had kindly offered my a day out and about, i agreed and this is how the day pans out.........

Out of the house by 7:15 and on our way for our first tick....

we arrived at the top barn actvity lake at around 7:40, we scanned from the road, SLAVONIAN GREBE (lifer 204), we moved closer to the bird and it came at us, the bird came closer still untill i could no longer focous my scope propperly on it.

and this is why:

a frame filler of a 'slav', and what a bird, and what a way for a lifer to act,

come on,

this was outragelously close

martyn with his new spangle dangle camera, produced some out of the world shots, a few of which are reproduced on his blog..

we watched the bird as it ever so slowly followed its prey

along the bank in front of us, diving every 5 secs or so, and producing many fish(i didnt catch any shots though)....

even martyn was amazed how close it was, and he commented on how you proderbly would never see one so close again

but anyways

onwards and upwards

DRAYCOTE WATER being our target, in the centre of a town while stopped at some trafic lights a peregrine flew low over the car, stunning bird whenever you see them..

just as we entered the car park a YELLOWHAMMER aligted on a hedge, a bird i dont see regularly so well chuffed.

we parked at the hensborough bank car park which over looks the reserviour,

oh my bloody hell, THATS HUGE

but anyway, down the hill we went onto the side of the water, scanning as we went, 3 shoveler were picked out in the middle, and small flock of goldeneye and tufted duck were dotted everywhere.

a bit along draycote bank we picked up the 2 GREAT NORTHER DIVERS (lifer 205), apparently showing well but allas, well to far out for a decent photo, we stopped and watched these for a bit while scanning the res. nothing new was picked up so onwards we went....

in a small wooded area a bullfinch called. we continued towards the outlet and i saw a 'white' bird dive, was this him, we waited for a seemingly long time for the bird to resurface, then BANG

DRAKE SMEW(lifer 206) ohhhhh, what a stunner of a bird, it was quite close to the bank, but like the slav grebe, was diving rapidly(but you cant predict where it will come up like the slav).

i managed some photos:

but the red necked grebe was obviously not on this side, so we headed of to farnbourgh bank, we walked around to the opposite side of the res' and stopped half way up with picking up a load of GC grebes on the way up,

a male sparrowhawk was in a hunting mood and chased a feral pigeon acrosss a field but the pigeon got away, boooooooooo
a curlew called, but wasent seen
a few goldeneye were close in and wigeon, teal and yet more GC grebe were in toft bay, then i picked up the diver swimming towards us away from the boats, it got closer and closer, and closer, and closer untill it run out of water and swam past us at no more the 20-30 range, but it failed to raise its head:





the crowd quickly built as more and more birders piled in to get stunning views of the diver.

a good wait followed, we all wanted that 'head up' shot, and then it awoke, i didnt take advantage and only got a couple of 'keepers'.


after it moved from the crowd and back towards me where it did a swim past and duly fell asleap.

and just to prove a point, this is how close the diver was on 0x zoom:


hows about that then, how close is that !!!!!!!!!!!!!

out of hundreds and hunderes of millions of gallons of water in the res, it chose to go right next to the very busy path.

god bless you GND

we were near the boat club centre when the drake SMEW flew past into toft bay.

next loaction TAMWORTH:

and these beautys:



WAXWING x3

as always, the birds shown superbly atop the trees in the centre of an island, my first chance to get a decent photo of one, but the 'milky' white sky was horrible.


and all 3:


to be honest, i didnt think i was going to catch up with any this winter, so to see just a few is well worth it, and a great time watching and photographing these,

the birds started to decend on the berrys and we all poised to get the shot not agains the sky when

'ZR'rrrrrrrrrrrrrr' in comes the pair of mistle thrush to force the waxwing onto wires near the school, where they all posed beautifully:

and nice of them was they lined up from left to right: juv/1st winter, ad female, ad male, zoom in on the pics and see if you can tell how i aged them........

so its looks as if the flock of waxwings in tamworth is a family, cool........

now we didnt stop too long here as people with camera's and scopes in a public road next to a school, not the best idea.....

so onwards,

CROXALL

a pair of oystercatcer were here and a flock of 9 REDSHANK, a bit of scanning along the bank with my scope got me onto my first RINGED PLOVER of the year, feeding in close company of 2 teal, a few goldeneye,tufted duck etc were here so we moved to another hide.

LITTLE EGRET

a little egret's head was pokeing up out of the tussuks

a pair of shelduck were floating about and a linnet flock was at the back of the pool in fields.

now to WHITEMORE HAYE

8 BARNICLE GOOSE were feeding away from the canada's and were quite wary, a coincidence they tured up at the same time of year as the 'wild' birds and were feeding in exacly the same spot..........

mind you i didnt even raise my camera to them

a couple of yellowhammers were heard.

but there was no sign of the pink footed geese,

we walked down the road to where tree sparrow ARE, not a single bird..........

we drove around the fields scanning the swans but nothing 'odd' came out.........

so now, a last bird to raise out spirits higher,

at a tip

only a GBBG was picked out so we quickly left for nearby stubbers green, and almost the 1st bird i dropped onto was this......

2nd winter ICELAND GULL, a very bleached bird feeding up by the sailing club side, scope views were good and i was able to savour the bird unlike last time:

a wing stretch:

another birder arived and the iceland duly dissapeared, LOL

and that just about concludes my day out with martyn

and a special thanks to martyn for inviting my on his birding day out, the day was immensly enjoyed and i will have to buy you a couple when i can go to the pub

cheers mart

MB