March 2015- Alpine Swift, YBW & RND

A lot of uninspiring 'patchworking' of multiple sites was very similar to the latter of last month. A Little Grebe and Water Rail remained on Patch on 1st. 

It was brightened up with a very unexpected site first at Parkes Hall Reservoir on 4th though, when a drake Shelduck was present. Something I didn't expect at all while heading out for an evening walk!

The first highlight of the month came on 6th, when news emerged late evening of a Yellow-Browed Warbler at a sewage treatment works just outside Sedgeberrow, near Pershore. It was in county, so it wasn't too hard a decision to head over there the next morning. It didn't take long to get out first views. A really smart winter gem!

It seems as if these things are now yearly in Worcestershire, which is an anomaly compared to the track record of other midlands countys.

Cracking views were had as it initially used the barbed wire fence adjacent to the sewage beds as a launching post before dropping down to feed on the pans. As it warmed up, insects became more active, and the bird followed them out into the trees, and it spent the latter half of the visit feeding up higher in the trees.

It wasn't exactly far to Ashleworth Ham from here, and with the sporadic appearances of a drake Green winged Teal we gave it a go. Sadly no yank Teal, but a top class list of winter birds. A very good variety of dabbling ducks, and a very good flock of Common Gulls. It didn't take long for my curiosity of the Gull flock to materialize, and it took a matter of seconds to locate one of my targets, a Mediterranean Gull, a rather pretty 2w bird, but soon more Common Gulls flew in, and with them, an adult Mediterranean Gull, Nice!

A Red Kite flew low over, which added another unexpected bonus to the day.

On the 8th,a Barnacle Goose joined a few Canada Geese on the patch. Interestingly, a bird also appeared around this time 2 years ago. Similarly, the both stuck around for some time, and this bird became a permanent fixture of the patch for a number of weeks.

Sometimes in birding you have surreal moments that you simply can't begin to comprehend what just happened, and the 9th March was one of those days. A fairly typical day, a number of lectures, and just a bit dull weather wise. Nothing in the slightest to get exited about right?

With lectures over, I was out into the courtyard and out of reflex the first thing I did was look to the skies, a couple of Feral Pigeon, typical... But as I glanced up, the unmistakable shape of a Swift rose up from behind the building opposite me!!

A Swift in March is always going to hit the 'PANIC' button, more so for the fact I didn't have my bins in hand and I couldn't see any sort of plumage details on it due to the white sky. It was merely a silhouette, but instantly it was obvious it was big and bulky. A few seconds, a couple of flaps, and it was across the top of the building and towards the Church/town centre.

Other than the certainty it was a Swift, which one?!?

Wanting to get people looking to the skies, a panicked tweet went out on my twitter and texts sent to all locals who may be in the area (including a number who were working in the office buildings around me!) in the hope it would be picked up/ people would run out of work.

Minutes of anxiety followed, I now had bins in hand and was scanning the skies, please tell me that wasn't it! As a gut feeling I knew it was an Alpine, but I just couldn't say it with that view.

A minute turned to 5 minutes, 5 turned into 30.

I was now standing around the opposite side of the church, facing towards the town, skies darkening by the minute. And then there it was, 35 minutes after I first saw it, a large Swift came cruising down the road below the height of the buildings, initially with its wings tilted showing its upperwing, then banking to show me its underside, with its huge white belly patch. ALPINE SWIFT! Absolute frigging MEGA! I watched it until it disappeared behind a building and I ran to get a better viewpoint, tweeting about its reappearance as I ran (hence the barely comprehensible message). The first birder arrived only 5-10 minutes after this, and as they arrived so did the rain. And  that was that. It disappeared. Did it roost before the rain? Did it push off ahead of the weather system? Who knows. I stuck around until after dark, and spent most of the next day looking, but nothing, the skies above Wolverhampton returning to the Feral Pigeons and F-15s.

With my enthusiasm levels up high, it didn't take much effort to wake up early on the 14th and get out on patch, and I was in for yet another treat. The Barnacle Goose was still around, but I was anxious to check the quarry, and it was a good job I was, because as I arrived I picked up two waders on the mud at the far end of the flood. RINGED PLOVERS!! Getting the scope on them, I then realised that there were infact 3 waders, a pair of Ringed Plover and a Dunlin! Absolutely mega patch birds! They fed on the mud for around 30 minutes, before taking flight, climbing high and flying off north. Exactly what I had been waiting for when the quarry flooded last autumn!

A late evening visit to Upton Warren that evening gave me a showy Redshank and a Green Sandpiper, the former being a species I don't see regularly at the site anymore.

The next morning (15th) I was out on patch again, and I again found a good number of decent patch birds, with the highlight being a drake Teal, which came off the 'Wigeon lake' at Blackstone. A Snipe also flew out from the edge of the pool and the Water Rail scurried along the edge of the willows. 2 Yellowhammer gave me a flyover and it was a 3 goose day, with Canada, Barnacle and a flyover flock of 3 Greylags.

On 17th, I journeyed over to Sandwell Valey RSPB to meet with a couple of Uni friends. A few hours of walking around Forge Mill and the RSPB area gave us a few nice birds. My First Little Ringed Plover of the year, a flock of 20 Barnacle Geese, 3 Parakeets and a Jack Snipe in the marsh.
Perhaps the most unusual addition being a Harris Hawk, which repeatedly flew over the RSPB area.

I have been watching Parkes Hall regularly, to not much reward, however on the 18th, a Red Kite flew south over Tenacre Fields. The first in the area for me!

After a fairly standard patch walk on 21st, and working in the afternoon, I was able to drop into Upton Warren flashes for the roost. All pretty standard stuff until late on when a superb adult summer Mediterranean Gull dropped into roost. What a looker!

With news having emerged that a drake Ring-Necked Duck had turned up at Priorslee Lake, Shropshire the previous day, we journeyed up there the next morning. News hadn't been released so we were going in blind but it was great to see on arrival that the bird was still present, and showing increasingly well as the morning progressed. Much better views compared to my previous (and only other) RND in the UK, a very distant bird on the Ouse Washes.

On our success we took a punt to go looking for a specific species, and a while later we were out searching. Not really hoping for much due to it getting towards mid morning it was somewhat shocking to find our targets within a few minutes of leaving the car, and we were soon getting crippling views of 3 Woodlarks, with a 4th singing off in the distance! You really couldn't have asked for much better, feeding in short grass right next to (and often on) a public footpath. Easily the best views I had managed of this species to date!

It then went quiet for a few days, visiting my usual local sites for not a huge reward. So instead I used the lull to practise some digiscoping skills, and this Chiffchaff obliged.

With the month coming to an end, and with migrants arriving, I journeyed over to Ryders Mere with a friend on 26th. Originally we had planned to drop into Stubbers Green but the Brent Geese had flown off, and following an uneventful stop, we carried on to the Mere. A good selection of birds were present but we knew out main target was on the marsh so we walked over there. It didn't take long before the female Garganey flew past us, and over the next hour we had a number of brief views. We walked to check elsewhere, but while doing so I saw a duck in the distance briefly which circled the Marsh. "Looked like a Mandarin" I thought to myself, but given the view it wasn't even worth calling.

We however walked back past the Marsh, and instantly there on the water was a drake Mandarin! Apparently only the 3rd site record and a couple of local patchworkers were soon on their way to twitch it! As we waited for them to arrive, the Garganey flew in, and swam about with the Mandarin for a while, before swimming off into the rushes. We stuck around until the first birder arrived, but as he approached, the Mandarin had flown. It seemed to drop down again in the distance, so following a brief search, the bird was refound on a 'puddle' at the north end of the site. Job done. Everyone was happy.

I was back in the home county on the 28th and again it was time for a roost session at Upton Warren. Again quiet until another Mediterranean Gull, this time a 2s dropped in to roost. Equally as stunning as the adult the previous weekend. Those primarys are just... Wow!

The last birding day of the month was spent on patch, and my effort was rewarded with a very good view of a female Merlin, which barrelled through the Quarry as I was unsuccessfully trying to find a few waders. I wonder why with this bundle of anger and feathers bombing around. Needless, a very good patch bird, and I left the patch very happy that day.

MB

That amazing weekend (Part 2) Patch YBW!

19/10/14

Having found a Penduline Tit in Norfolk the previous day, to say I was on a high is an understatement. I'm barely used to finding unusual birds in my own county, never mind a bird that is a national rarity. But, being tired from the long day that we had just endured I took the decision for a lie in, and as I finally decided to wake up, I walked out of the room and heard what I thought was a rather 'familiar' call. Being in Worcester however, I continued on with my morning routine.

It wasn't much longer and I was out on patch though, and as I was walking up the street I heard the same call again...

Surely not..

Then it went quiet..

Could have been me mishearing a Coal Tit I suppose, which are plentiful in the wood.

I waited around for 15 minutes. Nothing.

I was actually walking away, when I heard it again! "Psweet" and again "Psweet" and again "Psweet".

Agh!! YELLOW-BROWED WARBLER!

I literally sprinted to the small line of tree's the call was coming from, but no mistaking it. I had a Yellow-Brow on patch!!

And then there it was! Feeding in the low branches or a sycamore, at eye height, a superb, crisp looking gem of a bird! Yellows and greens, buffs and whites... Such a classy bird! And it was on the patch! If I could feel any more elated I was surely feeling it now! Self finding Penduline Tit and Yellow-Browed Warbler on the patch in the space of less than 18 hours! Phenomenal! 

Gaining permission to allow a few birder into the site,  I grabbed the phone,and sent out the message about the birds presence, and people started arriving..

Vern was the first on site, and our luck was in. We followed the sound of it incessantly calling, and there it was. Sitting in the tree-tops surrounded in bright orange autumnal colours! Absolutely stunning. And even better, it remained motionless there for about 20 seconds as Vern 'papped' it and as I grabbed some ropey record shots!

Birders came and went, and all went away happy.. Eventually.. As the bird became more elusive it got harder to see, and it went quiet, with no sign whatsoever after about 2, but it certainly gave me a perfect ending to a weekend I will never forget!

Oh, and if anyone is wondering that call that first attracted my attention in my groggy 'just woken up' phase during the morning, have a listen to this. The sound of 'The East'.

MB

That amazing weekend (Part 1)- Penduline Tit!

18/10/14

With the weather again looking rather decent for a trip across to the east coast, it wasn't hard to see why we filled the car with 5 birders very quickly!

With the presence of an Isabelline Shrike lingering on the north coast of Norfolk, and copious numbers of other mouthwatering scarcities lingering around it wasn't particularly hard to find where we would be heading either. And for 4 of us in the car it would our 4th day in Norfolk in 2 weeks!

So, wanting to make the most of our time out east, a stupidly early get up time, and 3 hours later, and as the sun started to rise ahead of us, we were only a short distance from our first location. 2 Barn Owls flitted over the car as we drove, which as always, was a great start to the day.

Walking out to the whirligig at Warham Greens, the seeps of migrating Passerines could be heard, with winter Thrushes and Meadow Pipits on the move. As it grew lighter, the vismig grew stronger, and good numbers of Brambling were moving over west with Chaffinches. Singles of both Redpoll and Siskin also went over, but it was quite clear that people were quickly losing hope for the Shrike. We searched though. Small flocks of waders and ducks gave us flypasts, with Common Snipe and Golden Plover going over and large numbers of Little Egret moved out of their roosts. A single Spoonbill flew past distantly before ditching into the Blakeney saltmarsh but it wasn't exactly the dreamed for start of the day.

As I wandered around, the rest of the group saw the first Yellow-Browed Warbler of the day, but I personally missed it.

Cutting our losses, we chose to move over to Cley Beach, where a Grey Phalarope had been residing for a few days. Luckily this one wasn't hard to see, spinning about on a tiny puddle adjacent to the shingle ridge. Needless to say, scope filling views were had, and we all had a large grin on our faces!

Phalaropes are great birds whenever you see them, but there is always quite special when you see one up close. No doubt a result of the birds innocence, the crowd possibly being the first humans it has encountered in its life. The arrival of a party of Brent Goose flushed the bird, giving us great flight views as it flew across to the road, and then back again! What a smart bird!

Further up the shingle ridge, another hoped for target of the day was showing, and we were all treated to superb views of a rather stunning sandy 1st winter male Snow Bunting. Again, another confiding bird, which happily fed down to about 30ft range. Scope views were again first rate, and it added another highlight to our ever increasing day list.

The Bunting gave us a brief flight view down the ridge, where it was joined by a Wheatear, and both fed happily as we chose to move on to Holkham to look for the Rough-legged Buzzard.

Over the course of the last couple of years, this has quickly became one the most aggravating birds I have spent time trying to find. Multiple trips spent looking for them and still they manage to avoid me! As we pulled into Lady Ann's Drive, a quick phone call from Espen (Who was also birding in Norfolk that bad) said he had just seen the Buzzard flying out towards East Hills! As with my luck though, we drew a blank, and we also dipped the Pallas's Warbler, which we walked the wrong direction for. 2 Red Kite,a Peregrine and 10 Common Scoter were little reward, but this was to prove the only low point of the whole weekend...

As with our last day of the Norfolk weekend, we chose to head back west to finish the day, being slightly closer to home, and it became easily the most productive site of the day. We made our way around the Meadow trail behind the visitor centre, and it didn't take long for a Yellow-browed Warbler to start calling as a Tit flock moved through the Willows. At one point it was calling in the tree right above our heads, when another started to call further away, so there was at least 2 birds present. 

As we walked out of the trail, a female type Merlin sped across over our heads as it barreled east.

Huge numbers of dabbling duck were present, with Teal, Shoveler and Wigeon being the most numerous, and among these were smaller numbers Pintail and Gadwall.

Also present across the extensive areas of mud were good numbers of waders, with all the expected species being present, the highlight of which was a Spotted Redshank which dropped into the lagoon. Among the pre-roosting gulls, a rather dapper Mediterranean Gull was swimming around among the Black-heads, but the sea was calling.

But it was rather quiet! Until the long staying Black-throated Diver surfaced in front of us, which proved to be one of very few birds on the sea. Seeing that our time here could well be wasted we started walking back down the track.

A female Stonechat was feeding from some bulrush on the edge of the path, so it aimed the scope at it, and immediately a smaller bird flicked up and instantly started ripping apart a bulrush head. Smaller than the Stonechat, with a rufous back and pale grey head!!

"PENDULINE TIT!"

There was a Penduline tit feeding no more than 20 feet away from us!

My initial response I cannot post here due to its rather explicit content, but within seconds, the crew was on the bird, Liz had snapped a couple of record shots as I faffed around and called over a number of people standing on the track around us! 

It was hard to believe we had just found a Penduline Tit, and at one of the most 'populated' and well visited reserves in the UK, my first 'BB' self find, ecstatic! Soon the crowd started to develop, and we all enjoyed crippling views of the star of the show as it continued to rip apart the bulrush heads.

Everyone was on it and news went out about its presence, and soon more birders started to appear. Apparently, it was the first Penduline Tit seen at Titchwell in 13 years, so I was incredibly chuffed to find it!

The bird started to move away as the crowd grew larger, and once it moved along the Parrinder bank towards the hide we headed back to the car as more than anything I needed a reality check! 

We returned to find the crowd we had caused...

But the bird didn't show again (Although it was seen again very briefly the next day), so we spent time scanning the Gulls (A single adult Yellow-legged Gull being the highlight) and talking to a variety of NGB's and other birders who had made the rush to get here. Sadly few of them had seen it, with the bird only having been on view 40 minutes but it was a great way to take in that we had just ended the day by finding a BBRC description species!

Get in!

MB

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

The Wyre, The Patch, A Green-Winged Teal and a Yellow Browed Warbler!

16/03/14

Having spent over 8 hours in a car the previous day, I decided to stretch my legs, so I decided on a very long walk from within the county of Shropshire back to Stourport, a route which would take me through a variety of woodlands, farmland and along the river. A good mix of habitats and hopefully I would check some areas that I may not have previously visited!

I didn't particularly plan very well though, so no map, or compass, just me, a sense of direction and some common sense.

The first standout bird of the walk came when I found one of the TWO-BARRED CROSSBILL at Postemplain, calling its head off from deep within the pines. Sadly however, apart from this though the surrounding pine plantations were rather devoid of life.

Moving across the road I then worked my way through the main bulk of the forest, along a variety of rather confusing path! Although very little wildlife was seen, it was great to be able to be somewhere, and not see, or hear a single person! I really was in the middle of no-where! I managed to find my way onto the Dowles Brook valley, and followed this all the way until it outflows into the River Severn. Sadly, again this was rather devoid of life, sadly still a little too early in the year for the forest to be back in the full swing of things!

At the outflow of the brook, a pair of Mandarin and a single drake Goosander were perched together on a log.

Continuing south, I finally made it back onto patch, where 2 Mandarin and 3 Goosanders were quickly located. Again though, from here, it all went quiet, and I finally plodded back home many hours after I first started out! A very tiring, but enjoyable walk!

17/03/14

A drake Tufted Duck was present on the reservoir behind my Dudley house! My 2nd of the spring!

20/03/13

A journey out to Sheepwash was rewarded with a flock of 11 Goosander, but other than that, it was rather hard to be enthused by the visit. Sadly, it has been very quiet at this location for most of the winter!

21/03/14

It was with luck, that the Green-winged Teal that had been found the week before had stayed around all week, and late on the Friday, some spare time had me heading over to Warwickshire for a couple of birds. Eventually, we made our way down to the flashes at Morton Baggot. Initially, there was no sign of the Teal as we scanned the closest flash (e.g. where it had been seen), but when walking further still, I could scan the distant flash, and among a small flock of Eurasian Teal was a 'yank' interloper with some white on it going the wrong way!

Drake GREEN-WINGED TEAL!

With the light fading, it was near impossible to digi-scope, but in my typical enthusiasm, I still tried!

A single Wigeon joined the Teal flock on the distant flash, but the most interest was on the near flash, where my first 2 LITTLE RINGED PLOVER of the year were feeding! I always have a moment of joy when picking up my first migrants of the year, and with LRP they are one of my favorites, so it was great to have seen them fresh in from Africa! 5 Green Sandpiper also probed the muddy edges of the pool, and a single Common Snipe made an appearance in the tussocks!

22/03/14

This morning was all about the Mandarins, and I fairly quickly located 7 along a stretch of the river. As you would expect, they were being very flirty this morning, and the males were rather aggressive towards each other. A fairly even split could be seen, with 4 drakes and 3 females, which is a typical count, with there usually being more drake Mandarins about than females.

One of the pairs were checking out one of the nestboxes, but had some trouble getting back out.  

Two of the 3 females:

And three of the four drakes.

Later the same day, we took the same route as we had the previous night, and after dodging a heavy rainshower, we arrived again to Morton Baggot, where we again found the GREEN-WINGED TEAL, but in much better light.

However, it was again distant of the far flash, but after about 10 minutes, it flew across to the near flash where we had great views of it as it fed adjacent to a small flock of Eurasian Teal again.

It spent much of its time hiding from us in the 'channels' in the field, and often dropped out of view, but it slowly dabbled its way closer to us. It never approached really closely, but scope views were decent. In the times the bird was running across between the channels, you could see just how different it was to Teal. Other than the obvious vertical white bar along the breast side, the extent of the salmon colour was also noticeably stronger. The head pattern also differed, with the yellow border of the green eyestripe being very pale, and almost non-existent.

Soon after though, and unknown reason sent the bird  into the sky with the rest of the Teal flock and dropped back onto the flash, where it fed alongside one of the Little Ringed Plovers from the previous night!

23/03/14

I had been wanting to catch up with the Yellow browed warbler again since i had brief, and somewhat unsatisfying views just before it went back to roost back in February. So, having arrived at Uffmoor wood for yet another visit we made our way along the track.

Within minutes, we had been thoroughly soaked and pelted with hail as we walked, but by the time we arrived at the far end of the wood it had cleared and we were treated to bright sunshine!

It was after just clearing the dreaded mud patch that i heard a call that i had been hoping for! The search had been made a whole lot easier!

The distinctive, loud 'Psweet' call rang out from the small birches adjacent to the track, and soon after, there hopping from branch to branch in a small area of holly was the stunning  yellow and green  of the YELLOW BROWED WARBLER!

Much easier than last time!

Over the course of the next 30 minutes, we were treated to good on/off views and it moved around, occasionally latching onto a passing flock of other small passerines. It quickly came clear it was particularly prone to doing this in the presence of both Goldcrest and Long-tailed Tits, but if it strayed from 'its' area too far it would double back and wait for the next flock to pass through its temporary territory.

In one of these 'passes' the bird gave stunning views down to about 15ft, but being so restless, i couldn't find it while trying to digi-bin it! A shame because at that range i may have actually got a decent photo of it!

I did manage to get one photo though that doesn't completely hide the bird behind twigs, but it was just flying off.

Take a look at those legs however! Bright yellow! Stunning!

The bird did manage to elude us for some time after this though, until it proclaimed its present from right next to the track!

It was feeding in the leaf litter!

Here we had prolonged views as it slowly hopped its way through the leaves, flicking them to find food underneath, in a similar fashion to Thrushes! I couldn't help but feel privileged to see this behavior, as it is something that I was not aware this species did! It just seemed so wrong for a 'Phyllosc' to be hopping around on the floor like that. Presumably this is something the bird had learnt in its presence within Uffmoor, as it would have been one of/the only place where it would have been able to find food during the 'colder' winter months?

If so, that is a great piece of opportunistic learnt behaviour from this eastern migrant!

As many of you many know, I have a bit of a 'thing' with 'Leaf warblers'. Each of them are incredibly smart looking birds, with those mossy greens and lemon yellows contrasting to clean white underparts! Combine that with their tiny size, their epic migrations and their scarcity, and you have a truly incredible bird!

To have one wintering in a rather shoddy Worcestershire woodland has been a pleasure!

MB

Yellow-Brow finally comes out to play!

17/02/14

The amount of time i have spent in Uffmoor Wood has been unreal. And it was all for no reward. It is probably one of the most dead woods i have ever been in, and not to mention the fact that it is a very shady area to be hanging around in, particularly early morning and late evening.

And it was exactly the latter that i was doing today. I had been walking around at the far end of the woodland for a couple of hours, with nothing more than a few Goldcrests to show for it! 

With the light fading, i walked down one last time heading north along the furthest track, and walked down the steps at the end until i reached the stream. Finally, there was some bird activity here, and a decent flock of around 7 Goldcrest were frantically feeding before they were dropping into roost in the adjacent Holly bushes. 

Sensing the opportunity, i thought it would be worth spending the last dying 10 minutes of light searching for the elusive little Siberian gem here. A short time later, a bird caught my eye as it dropped from the top of a holly covered tree trunk down into a section of the holly adjacent to me. A second after, it jumped out onto a branch no more than 15 feet away from me, and there stood a bright yellow supercillium and double yellow wingbars! THE YELLOW BROWED WARBLER!

Any bad thoughts were immediately overridden as i savoured close views of this stunning little bird after so much effort to try and see it, that long supercillium contrasting to the darker eyestripe below! The mossy green upperparts contrasting to the silky white underparts and yellow legs! What a Stunning looking bird!

It really does make seeing birds so much better when you have put a large chunk of time trying to find them!

Like the Goldcrest's, soon after, the Warbler flew into the area of adjacent Holly, and didn't re-emerge, probably heading off to roost, and with that, we chose to beat a hasty retreat!

You don't want to be in Uffmoor in the dark!

MB

YBW Drawing

A quick drawing between essays of the YBW currently in Wocrester
MB

YELLOW-BROWED WARBLER!

10/03/12

A nice text to wake up to in a morning is that a rare bird has been found nearby, however, it is odd to say the least as to the location of where this one was found.
Saturday is a busy day for us, so we headed out early to hopefully connect with the bird quickly!

Warndon, Worcester.
I found myself standing on a cycle path wedged between a housing estate and a main road, and as i walked up to the crowd, i was informed that it had just been seen again, and after abit, the bird was feeding in view in an overhanging tree (tree just to right of centre in photo), and was showing well, I though i may as well try to get some Digi-scoped photo's, so i went back to the car to get my scope.
Came back and the bird was still up in 'its' tree (in the entire 1 1/2 hours i spent here, the bird spent 95% of its 'in view' time in this tree), however i struggled to get any photos and the bird soon dissapeared.
A wait ensured, but it was again relocated in the tree, but again i was struggling!
At least the crowd was easier to photograph!




After abit, the bird reappeared, and this time i struck lucky, getting a single photo with the bird in the frame!


^
That photo made me happy :)
(Record shot of YELLOW-BROWED WARBLER)

All i ask with my photo's is that they are recognisable, and this one is good to me :)

Times like these make you realise that birds can, and do turn up anywhere, at anytime, and often under odd circumstances (The bird was found while a birder was checking a Moth trap!).
So there you go folks, get out there and look!

Oh, and for your infomation, funnily enough, this was my first Warbler species of the year!! A good start may i say so, and this was quickly followed by my 2nd warbler tick of the year, when a female Blackcap appeared!

MB