Sheepwash

8/05/13

2 Common Tern were the only decent birds on show at Sheepwash, but it must be said that one of them were showing amazingly well!

9/05/13

3 Common Tern were present briefly, before all flew out before i had decent views. A singe Common Sandpiper was also present, and 3 Linnet were showing up on the mound.

MB

Upton Warren all dayer

4/05/13

Sleeping in a hide is  the most uncomfortable thing ever!

Not to mention those bloody Oystercatcher 'piping' all night right outside the hide. The BHG were loud, but it was the OYC's that were stupidly loud. Needless to say, little sleep was had.

Me and my hide sleeping companion, the now famous Biking Birder woke around 3 am in rather humorous fashion. And we decided to head out to see if any birds were singing. Very little was, however a calling Tawney Owl was the first highlight of the day in the morning gloom. It must however be said that at that time in the morning, it is an exceptionally beautiful time to be out, with very little background noise with nothing but Bats and the occasional snippet of birdsong for company.

Back in the hide we waited for sunrise, and to say it was slightly disappointing was an understatement. Very little bar the usual were present 2 Curlew probably being the 'pick of the lot' but those had been present all night calling, which proceeded to fly off south as the sun rose.

Moving onto the Moors proved to be the best decision of the day. Firstly, a male Cetti's Warbler was pulled out of the nets. This bird being particularly welcomed, as having become extinct at Upton for over a year, it seems like they have again reached the point of recolonization, a great story, and one showing that if the habitat is there, the birds will come, despite the very fragmented range of Cetti's Warbler in the Midlands.

2 Common Tern moved through the Moors very quickly, vis-mig in action, and a Common Sandpiper was showing. A stop in the car park for a quick natter proved to be the best 5 minutes of the day, as a 3rd Tern flew in, but immediately stuck as different. At that second news was passed via the phone that a RED KITE was flying over the Education reserve, everyone in the car park connected, but in doing so, most forgot about the Tern. Luckily, the Tern dropped down briefly, confirming my suspicions as to it being an ARCTIC TERN!

Within a few minutes the bird flew off north, directly over our heads!

From here onward the day petered out, as i slogged along to find common species such as Sparrowhawk and Jay, both of which eluded me until mid-afternoon. I managed to 'grip back' a Lesser Redpoll, which was widely 'twitched' by the day listers along the East shore of the Moors Pool.

By 5pm, to say i was completely exhausted was an understatement, so, moving away from the crowds, i moved to the north end of the North Moors to try to listen for a Grasshopper Warbler, and a Cuckoo had been heard calling here earlier in the afternoon. Lying on the floor i had a quick 30 minute relax, but needless to say, none were heard.

It was great to have summer migrants back in very good numbers, particularly warblers, Sedge Warblers really did seem to be in every suitable bit of habitat!

MB

Birding in my 'secret' woodland spot.

1/05/13

Ahh, the first day of may, and a nice day it was too! So an afternoon visit to my 'secret site' following my lesson was in order. Following the usual route i walked past the Tawney Tree, to find that as usual, he was perched up on top, giving nice views in the sunshine. Moving on, i quickly found my first Lesser Whitethroat of the year on the hill tops, getting brief views of it as it moved along the gorse. Dropping back down to the LSW area i then spent the next 2 hours stood in one spot as the LesserPecker was calling, but refusing to show. A brief bout of drumming confirmed that the bird was the male, and after a considerable amount of time, i got a brief flight view as it flew from the dense trees to the other area of dense trees on the opposite side of the track.

The male Pied Flycatcher was still singing in his spot, and showing nicely!

2/05/13

Visiting the woodland again failed to produce any new birds, however, had stunning views of the Pied Flycatcher, much less mobile than usual!

MB

Birding the Avalon Marshes and Chew

28/04/13

What a way to finish April! With a trip down south into the stunning county of Somerset to visit the recently publicized birding hot-spot of the Avalon Marshes

Neil Duggan (@NeilDuggan80 on Twitter) had again offered the trip, and i gratefully accepted, knowing of a whole host of amazing birds present in the area at the time. Pied Billed Grebe, Black winged Stilt, Whiskered Tern, Woodchat Shrike, as well as all the residents. It'd be a good day!

Arriving at the parking spot as Ashcott Corner, nestled between two fabulous extensive reedbed reserves, one owned by the RSPB, Ham Wall, the other by the Natural England, Shapwick Heath NR we took the unanimous decision to head straight to the 2nd viewing platform on the RSPB side. The walk up was incredible, as only a few meters onto the reserve we had already clocked Cuckoo, Marsh Harrier, and numerous Cetti's Warblers!

Our walk along the track was constantly, and i do mean CONSTANTLY followed by Cetti's Warblers, with easily 15 counted in the time we were on site, and that was only the Ham Wall side, they were everywhere!

A Grasshopper Warbler briefly reeling near the first Platform.

At the 2nd Platform, we were informed the Pied Billed had been heard singing a little earlier, but to cut it short, we didn't see or hear it throughout our visit, which was a huge shame.

But then again, there were loads of amazing birds.

3 Marsh Harrier were hunting the reedbeds, one of which was a stunning male. But here is one of the females.

Initially, we could only pick up 1 GARGANEY, but as time went on, it became apparent that there was infact 4! All of which were drakes, and all looking absolutely stunning! Even despite the distance, i managed a couple of shots which i am happy with.

After a bit, someone called out they had two 'pale' Sandpipers, and upon getting onto them confirmed that 2 WOOD SANDPIPERS were hunting the margins. The distance was around the same to that of the Garganey's, but with a Sandpiper, it was a fair bit harder to get a picture, but i tried, and i got a few in which you can tell is a Wood Sandpiper, you just have to trust me.

Do you see it?

As can be seen with the direction the scope is facing, every decent bird was tucked up in the far right hand corner, exactly where the Stilts had been the previous day, but had now departed.

At least 4 BITTERN were around, 2 of which were seen. One of those flypasts gave stunning views for around 30 seconds as it flew the entire length of the pool. However, the true birder i am, i chose to savor the moment rather than grab the camera. So here is the distant bird:

Added to this, an amazing supporting cast was present. 5 Little Egret flew through, as did single Ringed Plover and Dunlin. A male Yellow Wagtail was on the islands and another Cuckoo was heard calling.

Conscious of the time, we headed back to the car, stopping at the 1st Platform again as a giant white bird was sitting there!

GREAT EGRET!

This was one of our targets, so was great to see up so close, its green lores and black bill contrasting to the plain yellow of the Grimley bird.

The bird strode around in the shallows while i took some footage. But again, we had to move on.

A very last minute decision to head onto Shapwick heath to check the first pool was rewarded almost immidiatly with another stunning flight view of a Bittern, of which again, there were at least 4 birds. The others 'booming' from within the reeds. 2 WOOD SANDPIPER were present on the mud as we arrived, much closer than the Ham Wall birds, so the scope went up immidiatly  but once up, i aimed the scope, and there was nothing. A few seconds later i was informed they had flown...

A female Garganey was picked out among the ducks. Wader wise, 62 Blackwits were stunning to see and a lone Dunlin.A Little Egret was also hunting the shoreline.

We had received news that the Woodchat Shrike was showing again near Chew Valley Lake, so we decided to drop in there before Neil had to head back to his sons Cricket match.

Pulling up, we walked to the crowd, and what i did not expect to see was a WOODCHAT SHRIKE perched up on the hedgeline just on the other side of the fence, a mere 30ft away! Initially obscured, the bird emerged in full view, and gave absolutely unbelievable views as it dropped down onto the gate to feed. Is there anything to say other than Wow!

We had literally scope filling views as the bird perched on the hedge, occasionally dropping down to the floor (which was even closer than the hedge) to feed.

With our out and out highlight of the day seen, we decided to head back, where i was dropped of at Upton Warren to have a quick look there before i headed home. The flashes was quite bar the usual, so i headed to the Moors, which had 2 Dunlin and a Green Sandpiper. Not too much longer after the Dunlins flew out north. Vismig!

All in all, a total day tally of 98 Species, so close to breaking the 100 barrier!

An awesome days birding, despite bad behavior of the 'rares' that didn't cooperate!

MB

Day listing at Upton Warren

27/04/13

Well OK  not a full day, but as we had gotten away from the gardening job early, we arrived at Upton around 3, and stayed until dark, in total picking up 69 species.

Walking around the North Moors Pool i was rewarded when i heard a GRASSHOPPER WARBLER singing from within the reeds adjacent to the track. Needless to say, after some time the bird didnt show, but i had a nice time sitting watching/Listening to Cetti's, Sedge and Reed Warbler, Not a bad start!

A Garden Warbler was showing on the Causeway.

Moving down to the East hide, i was immidiatly greeted by a stunning ARCTIC TERN, a nice pale bird, which flew around low over the pool briefly while we were battered by heavy rain before flying off south and dropping onto the Sailing Pool. A Water Rail was showing to the right of the hide, as was 2 Common Snipe.

I picked up two Falcons flying towards me, and as they sped past the hide i saw red under-tail coverts and shouted HOBBY!

We had great views of the birds as they gained height on a thermal just to the north of the Pool, and they flew around for a few minutes before flying off in the direction of Upton Warren Village, My first Hobbies of the year! 2 Green Sandpiper were showing in the 'Seasonal pool'.

Moving down to the flashes, i paused briefly at the Sailing Pool and had views of the Arctic Tern as it hawked the pool with the Swallows and Martins. I even tried for some photos.

May i just say, Digi-scoping a flying Tern is hard!

On the Flashes itself, 5 BLACK-TAILED GODWIT'S graced the shallow waters, all showing varying signs of summer plumage. All seemingly of the 'islandica' race due to their very vivid orange tones. The two birds in the center of the photo are simply stunning!

Despite having been around for a protracted period of time, the birds were actively feeding, and therefore it didn't come as a surprise to hear that they flew off the same night

A few Common Sandpipers were also showing, including one down in front of the hide.

To end the day, the 3rd Hobby for the day flew through the flashes late in the evening, before ending up circling over the Sailing Pool, visible from the platform on the back of the hide.

MB