2012 Roundup

I spent the last day of the year in the office and despite being confined to my desk, my final bird of 2012 was a splendid male Sparrowhawk as it swooped over the top of a house nearby - Excellent!

Looking back at this year, I have managed to finally see some of my unseen birds, Caspian Gull, Sooty Shearwater and Balearic Shearwater but others like Red Backed Shrike still manage to evade me.  A great year also for statistics with a grand total of 251 species seen with 20 being lifers.  This has now taken me over the scary total of 300 for the UK.

Bird of the year is difficult to decide on - Possibly the Black Winged Stilt in Oxfordshire or Balearic Shearwater off the Scillionian III.  Although, Capercaille and Ptarmigan are right up there especially as they have been birds that I have wanted to see for over 30 years.  However the winner goes to........................

And my birder's wife awards her winner to..............................

 What a great photograph!!

So, next year beckons and while a bird watcher would always hope to top his/her year list from the previous year, I doubt I will ever achieve a total like I did this year (unless I take many holidays indeed and go part time) and I therefore just want to contend with seeing a few on my unseen list next year, notably, Red Backed Shrike and Pomarine Skua - Let's just wait and see.

Happy New Year.

Final Birding trip of the year

I decided that today was the day to do one final twitch and try and increase my year list by one or two birds.  Unfortunately, when I pulled back the curtains all I could see was a blanket of rain.  I therefore decided to head for Slimbridge on the basis that they had hides and I would not get totally soaked.


Upon arriving I received a phone call from my birder's wife informing me that she had gone over a pot hole somewhere in the Cotswolds and had damaged her tyre and wheel.  Fortunately my brother in law sorted her out and got her back on the road and I was able to continue with my day of birding without worrying any further.

I headed over to the Zeiss Hide, as a Green Winged Teal had been reported from there earlier in the week and immediately saw the Bittern who was posing very close by.






I turned my attention to look for the Green Winged Teal and despite careful scanning I could not find it among the many hundreds of Teal present.  I then had a walk over to the other hides overlooking the Tack Piece to view the many thousands of birds present including Lapwings, Golden Plover, Redshanks, Bewick Swans, Dunlin, Wigeon and Teal.

Despite continued searching and a walk back to the Zeiss Hide early afternoon I could not find the Green Winged Teal and before heading home I went via the Peng Observatory to watch the Swan Feed which is always very informative.

Raptor Fest on a car journey

Being Boxing Day and full of food, myself and my Father decided to have a stroll round Draycote to try and walk off some of the excesses of the previous day.

As we headed down Warwick High Street, I noticed the Pigeons from St Mary's Church were agitated and flying round in a desparate fashion.  The reason for their agitated state soon became appararent when a Peregrine Falcon flew low and in a relaxed fashion over the houses.  Raptor number one.

Passing through Kites Hardwick, a Sparrowhawk flew in front of the car chasing some small passerines, while a buzzard watched on, perched on a dead tree.  Raptors number two and three.

Upon arriving at Draycote, the sky opened and provided us with some welcome rain (whatever happened to the drought), so we sought refuge back at the car and had a drive to Lawford Heath to search for any gulls loafing around the fields there by the tip.  Unfortunately, the fields were gull free but as we passed down Ling Lane a female Merlin whizzed in front of the car, then down the middle of the road.  Raptor number 4.

We chose to make our way back to Draycote as the rain has eased off, taking note of individual Kestrels making the most of the break in the rain.  Raptor number 5.

Unfortunately, as we arrived back at Draycote the heavens opened again and the rain seemed to be settled for the rest of the day.  So, we gave up the idea of a walk and headed back home via Princethorpe and Cubbington.  On the way through Cubbington we spotted 4 Waxwings perched on a tree over the road.

So, even though we did not have a walk, we managed quite a special day bird wise, Sparrowhawk, Kestrel, Buzzard, Merlin, Peregrine Falcon and Waxwing.

My biggest twitch of the year

I am not normally one for going on twitches (long distance) but after missing out on seeing the Buff Bellied Pipit yesterday due to permits being then not being issued, I decided to go for it today.

Unlike dedicated twitchers who were probably on the road before sunrise, I awoke from my slumbers at 9:00am and checked the news services to see if the bird was still around.  When I saw that it was I jumped into action and was soon on my way.

An hour or so later I arrived at the Queen Mother Reservoir, with welcoming smiles from the volunteers who had given up their Saturday to register those going in and out of the site - a big THANK YOU to them all.

My register number on site was close to 200 and that was only at about 10:30am, so I would love to know what they had got up to by the end of the day.  It was very busy with birders walking to and from the car park.

Being a major twitch, it was not difficult to see where the bird was showing, all one had to do was just head for this lot and then look down at the causeway as it was extremely confiding and did not seem to be bothered at all with huge lenses being pointed towards it from several feet away.

Not being one for lugging huge equipment around, I managed to get my own record shot on our tiny Canon ixus (slightly out of focus but hey ho!).

A quick scan against of the reservoir then provided a Red Necked Grebe and Long Tailed Duck - Pretty amazing birding with minimal effort.

Although I could have looked at the Pipit for longer, I wanted to make the most of being in the area and decided to twitch the Grey Phalarope at Thorn in Bucks.

After a drive round the M25 car park and then up the M1, I soon arrived at the site, again welcomed by a smiling volunteer and then had an enjoyable half an hour watching the bird and chatting the friendly local birders.

A great mornings birding, made all the better by friendly birders.

 

 

 



Flexi Falcated Day

I have many hours owed to me at work and therefore decided to take a flexi day today.  I was hoping that access would be granted for the BB Pipit in London but after many messages of "it is" and "it isn't", I decided to go and see the Falcated Duck at Farmoor instead.

Upon arrival I was more worried whether or not I would be able to see the reservoir let alone the duck.  The weather was so appalling that I had to think twice before getting out the car.  However, I did venture out and soon found the duck in the corner on F1 just at the start of the Causeway.  It was extremely trim and quite nervy which gives it some characteristics of a wild bird but then who knows?  I didn't stick around to look for the two Slavonian Grebes as my face felt like it was going to freeze to my bins!

As no further news had emerged regarding the BB Pipit, I decided drive a few miles down the A34 to explore Appleford and surroundings to try and find Gulls.  After a brief search I found a flock settled on a mound almost opposite to the entrance to the Appleford Hanson site.  Before the mist and rain descended, I just managed to find an adult Caspian Gull in amongst the GBB, LBB and Herring Gulls - Unfortunately no white winged Gulls were around.

Even though the time was only 13:00 it felt like dusk and therefore I decided to give up and drive home contemplating if I can be bothered to twitch the BB Pipit tomorrow or not.

Waxwings nearer to home

After making a long round trip to see some Waxwings last weekend, the reports of them everywhere seem to be increasing by the day.  Last week, a friend of mine had some in his garden in Warwick but despite searching for them the following day, we could not relocate them and then today on the way to work I thought I had one in flight just opposite Myton School.  My suspicions were confirmed when I ground to a halt in the normal traffic at the end of Myton Road (Leamington end) and noticed some activity round a Rowan tree outside Blockbuster.  I counted at least 20 as they commuted from the top of the nearby warehouses back and forth to the tree.  Unfortunately, I didnt have time for  lunch break today but will check in again with them tomorrow to see if they are still around.

Draycote

A late afternoon visit to Draycote with a friend today gave us good views of a female Scaup off Farnborough Bank along with at least 5 Goldeneye.  The gull roost was impressive but we arrived far too late to optimise our viewing of the larger gulls which seemed to be close to the valve tower and miles away from us.  A brief detour home via Grandborough gave us Little Owl.

Webbs and Waxwings

Myself and my birder's wife had the day off work today to do some household chores but when news broke of 42 Waxwings at Webbs by Upton Warren, we thought we would have a trip over to Worcestershire.

We arrived at 3:00pm and the Waxwings were very obvious, perched at the top of some nearby Poplars making frequent excursions down to berry bushes to feed and then be spooked by some onlookers who in my view were getting just a bit too close.

We did not linger long watching the Waxwings but instead drove over to Moors Pools and sat in a more tranquil setting in the new double storey hide.  The Moors pool was full of activity with lots of Reed Buntings on the feeders, many ducks, a small flock of Lapwing and  6 Curlew.  We spent a peaceful 30 minutes there before heading off for the horrors of Webbs Garden Centre.  Just before we left, this chap decided to come and sit on a post for us - No excuses for the terrible picture though.

Farlington Marshes this weekend

A visit to my sister down south gave me the opportunity to visit Farlington Marshes this weekend.  Myself and my birder's wife got up very early and arrived at the site at dawn and started a very wet walk to the east seawall to see if we could find the Red Breasted Goose that was spending time with Brent Geese there.  After a miserable half hour walk of seeing nothing, we met some birders coming in the opposite direction who informed us that they had not seen the bird either, at which point we turned round and headed back to the car.  As we arrived back at the car, caked in mud, we noticed a flock of Brent Geese on the water and as sod's law dictates, the goose was amongst them and very fine looking it was too.

We then decided to try and see the returning Ring Billed Gull at Gosport but got very lost and ran out of time.  So, not the greatest of weekends for birding but at least one unseen bird removed from my dwindling unseen list and the 245th for the year so far - Would love to reach the 250 mark but not sure if that it is achievable given that we have just over a month left till 2013 and the birds I would need to reach such a total would mean a lot of travelling and twitches.

Brandon Marsh Starling Roost

Catching up with a blog entry that I should have input last week - Myself and the Capt made a long overdue visit to Brandon Marsh late afternoon on Saturday to view the Starling roost.  We arrived at about 3:30pm and took the long route to the East Marsh hide clocking a good size flock of Lesser Redpoll en route.  East Marsh hide was fairly full of birders and photographers for that time of day admiring the Redhead Smew and Water Rails bobbing in and out of the reeds.  A fine looking Green Woodpecker was also on one of the islands.  As dusk descended we made our way to the Carlton hide and decided to go a bit further to the new screen and waited for the starling show to commence.  We waited and then waited some more and then waited a bit longer but nothing emerged except for a poor show of about 50 birds who descended into the reeds pretty quickly.  The only other point of interest was a miserable looking Barn Owl who popped out of its box then decided to clamber back in a few minutes later.

Birding at Dusk

Yesterday, after a brief visit by my Father and some of his friends and performing some household chores, I ventured out to Draycote Water to try out the Gull roost.  I arrived at about 3:30pm just as the gulls were starting to arrive en masse and settled myself down near Franklin's Point, as I had no idea where else to go.  It turned out that unfortunately I had chosen the wrong end of the Reservoir, as the gulls were settling down nearer the opposite bank by the visitor centre.  However, I managed to scope good views of the birds and after a while managed to find one white headed individual only to lose it but then find what looked like two adult Yellow Legged Gulls together.  Also, while scanning the roost I chanced upon the Black Necked Grebe, who was right in the middle of them.  On the way back to the car there were many Redwing and Wood Pigeon pigging out on berries.

Today, myself and my birder's wife were meeting relatives just north of Gloucester for a pub lunch and therefore we decided that we would take the opportunity to go to Slimbridge for a couple of hours.  It really was a beautiful day down there with great light which gave us clear views of Wigeon , Golden Plover and Black Tailed Godwits.  A female Brambling was also present on the feeders.

On the way home, after an enormous pub lunch, we went via Hawling to see if they had any Short Eared Owls yet and met a couple of locals who were just giving up hope of seeing one, but had seen one yesterday.  After five minutes of scanning, I thought I spotted one far away on the horizon just as it dipped out of view.  After checking the dry stone wall in the distance, I came across the owl sitting on top of the wall just before it took to flight again.  A good end to a very relaxed day of gentle birding and great food.

Norfolk DEFINITELY birding

Myself and Mike-PCC left early on Sunday Morning destined for Norfolk.  We arrived at 8:00am at the Wolferton Triangle hoping to see Golden Pheasant but this time were not fortunate.  However, we saw a nice view of a Muntjac as it ambled across the road in front of the car and a very handsome looking Jay.

A cross country drive then brought us eventually to Salthouse beach car park where we hoped to see Snow Bunting.  In fact, I was SO certain we would see them that I said I would eat my hat if we didn't - Fortunately, Mike-PCC did not make me eat my hat......  Despite the lack of Snow Buntings, we managed to clock 4 Gannet, 2 Razorbill and 2 Guillemot on the sea and a passing Kittiwake and Red Throated Diver.  The marshes held Pink Footed Goose (a lifer for Mike), Little Egret and Barnacle Geese.

A quick drive to Cley and purchase of permits soon had us on the reserve where we managed close views of Bearded Tits and a Cettis Warbler on the way to the hides along with Brent Geese.  Despite looking for the juvenile White Rumped Sandpiper that had been reported there we just could not find it and walked back to the visitor centre for some ID tips and a possible location.  After securing that information, we marched back to the hide and I soon managed to locate the Sandpiper on Pat's Pool on the edge of an island (another lifer for Mike).  Other birds of note were Pintail, Dunlin and many Wigeon.  Another quick drive took us to Cley Beach car park where we did some further seawatching and saw more Guillemots and Gannets.

After a brief lunch we then drove over to Titchwell.  Two immaculate Bramblings were on the feeders along with Goldfinchs and Greenfinches.  A very quick stroll to beach to warm ourselves up gave us a few waders en route, including Redshank, Avocet, and Black Tailed Godwit.  The beach had Bar Tailed Godwit, Knot (surprisingly another lifer for Mike) and Sanderling and the sea provided Long Tailed Duck, Slavonian Grebe, Common Scoter, Goldeneye, Red Breasted Merganser and Red Necked Grebe.

On the way back from the beach, we popped into the main hide and observed the gull roost which contained a large white headed gull which after discussion could have been an adult Caspian Gull but I am not 100% sure - One of my unseen birds finally possibly seen but then possibly not.........

Today, we visited Holme dunes and found a cracking Shore Lark (another lifer for Mike) and thankfully managed a flock of distant flying Snow Bunting - so I did not need to eat my hat after all!

We tried for Corn Bunting at Choseley Drying Barns but there were no finches around at all.  There were however great skeins of Pink Footed Geese in the sky and the surrounding field held Grey Partridge and Red Legged Partridge and a Hare.  Another quick visit to Titchwell (before heading home) gave us more Long Tailed Duck and a Red Throated Diver.

Southwold and definitely NOT birding

After disgracing myself and making my birder's wife stand and look at a bush (to see a Barred Warbler) for an hour during our anniversary weekend away in Norfolk in September, we decided to have a non birding half week away at a favourite place of ours in Suffolk - Southwold.

I was to be allowed one bird excursion during the week and some side excursions on the way to and from Suffolk.

So, Sunday morning we got up at a leisurely pace (no early 5am departure this time) and eventually left the house mid morning.  En route, we stopped off for a coffee at Anglesey Abbey and a bit of browsing and purchasing in the SHOP.  After what seemed like 3 days, we eventually arrived in the Southwold area and I took advantage of my allowed side excursion which this time was to be a visit to Dingle Marshes where we scored our first Twite of the year.  As the weather then set in, we rushed back to the car and drove the remaining distance to the house in Southwold.  The rest of the evening was then taken up with a visit to the Lowestoft to see the new Bond movie - excellent.

The following day was to be a totally non birding and we therefore got up late again and ambled down to Southwold Pier for the SHOPS.  Fortunately, they did not open till 10:00am which gave me 15 minutes to stare out to sea to check if anything was around (nothing at all except for one Seal).  The SHOPS then opened and my birder's wife went into a browsing frenzy, a sight to behold indeed and possibly to avoid, so I excused myself and arranged to meet her again in 30 minutes.  As I marched down the pier I was called over by a gent and his wife who pointed to something black and white under the pier to see if I knew what it was, and it turned out to be a Little Auk - a great bird for a non birding day indeed.  The rest of the morning was spent SHOPPING and then the afternoon was spent walking to Walberswick for further browsing.  As we arrived back 30 minutes before dusk, we decided to drive over to Hen Reedbeds NR to watch for owls and raptors and managed two Marsh Harriers and a very obliging Barn Owl which floated from just behind us, giving us a really close view.  It was actually the birder's wife, who is typing this sentence, who first saw it - well done, her!

The next day was the scheduled birding day with a visit to Minsmere.  However, Minsmere was pretty quiet birdwise except for a few Snow Bunting on the beach and a couple of Knot on the scrape.  The highlight of the day had to be the Red Deer and a magnificient stag taking interest in his harem.  And for the birder's wife, the SHOP.

We had nothing planned for today, except for the drive back and therefore paid a visit to Dunwich Cliffs for Coffee and a browse in the SHOP, another visit to Dingle Marshes to watch the Twite and look for a Richards Pipit (who was not playing at being seen) and then lunch at Minsmere followed by another browse in their SHOP.

So, a relaxing and enjoyable few days away non birding - well almost.  Next weekend will be completely different as I am popping to Norfolk for a day and a half with Mike-PCC.  Hopefully I will manage to secure some of my unseen birds for this year during that visit.

Learing at Birds

Winter definately arrived this Thursday in Warwick with a Brambling flying over my house.  Also, on the way down to Oxford this morning I saw my first Redwings and Fieldfare of the season.  We were on our way to Oxford to meet up with my birder's wifes Godmother and a visit to the Ashmolean for the Edward Lear exhibition (which I highly recommend).

Draycote Revisited

After a particularly rubbish day at work yesterday, I left the office mid afternoon and sort refuge at Draycote Water where I knew a Black Necked Grebe had been spotted earlier in the day.  The Grebe was amongst Coot in Toft Bay and was very active, diving continually, so quite hard to spot at first but worth the journey as it had been an unseen tick (for this year anyway).  As the weather seemed unsettled, I did not risk walking round any further and battled my way home through the rush hour instead.  Note the Tuftie going "Wot you staying at?"

Tour of Britain in Norfolk

Myself and my birder's wife like to get away for our anniversary.  However, unlike other years, our anniversary date leapt upon us quicker than anticipated and we suddenly found by last Wednesday that we had not booked anywhere.  We really wanted to get over to Suffolk or Norfolk to view the Tour of Britain as it passed through East Anglia and after much searching eventually managed to find quite a posh B&B in Sheringham for a couple of nights.

On Friday, we left very early so that we could make the most of the day in Norfolk and as part of the tradition stopped by the Wolferton Triangle to try and get a view of the Golden Pheasants (unfortunately they weren't playing this time).  We then worked our way along the North Norfolk Coast towards Sheringham with a stop at Cley.  Prior to lunch we went into Cley Nature Reserve to see what was about and had a wader fest with Green Sandpiper, Pectoral Sandpiper, Ruff, Dunlin, Curlew Sandpiper and Spoonbill.  We decided to give Norfolk Wildlife Trust yet more of our money by having lunch in the visitor centre and then had a further walk on the reserve (clocking up a Yellow Legged Gull).  By this time, we were pretty tired and had a quick snooze before heading on to our B&B at Sheringham.

The following day, my birder's wife very kindly indulged me by allowing us to go and twitch a Barred Warbler at Holme Dunes but by the time the little blighter decided to show itself we were far too hot and bothered to care.  We then made our way back to Sheringham with a few stops along the way for shopping and beach sitting.

Today, we made our way down to Horstead (just noth of Norwich) via a quick visit to Felbrigg Hall NT and watched the Tour of Britain zip past us.  On the long way home I couldn't resist a quick stop off at Ouse Washes RSPB to try and spot one of my Unseen Birds and thanks to those in the Kingfisher Hide soon had seen my first White Rumped Sandpiper.

Rutland Water Bank Holiday Monday

 As my birder's wife was due to visit a dear friend of ours, I took the opportunity to accompany the Capt for a visit to Rutland Water to help secure her with a few birds missing off her year list.

Our first stop was Manton Bridge where we got her the first species of the day, Osprey, where there was still 4 in residence.  We then made our way to the main Egleton Reserve and Lagoon IV where all the wader action seemed to be occuring.

The water in Lagoon IV was quite low, which offered plenty of opportunities for waders and it was not long before we had spotted Ringed Plovers, Dunlin, Redshank and Ruff.  After a short while we managed to find a Sanderling and a Little Stint before it flew left behind an Island.  In a bid to refind the Little Stint, we moved hides and from the new hide although we could not relocate the bird, we did relocate the Sanderling, along with a Greenshank and a Spotted Redshank.  Further searching produced a female Garganey and a Black Tern.

After the highly productive time we had at Lagoon IV, we headed back to the Visitor Centre, encountering a large tit flock on the way which myself and another birder could have sworn included a female Redstart.  Unfortunately, the flock was moving very fast and we could not relocate the bird again.

 

We then made our way home firstly via the Lyndon Reserve to obtain Tree Sparrow for the Capt's ever expanding list and then Eyebrook Reservoir (which unfortunately had nothing of interest).

Grimley and a Great White Egret

This morning in a bid to enlarge my year list, myself and my birder's wife decided to take a visit to Grimley to see if we could find the Great White Egret who has been residing there for about a week now.

As the site was new to me, I was not too sure where to go but once parked up safely, we wandered to a nearby gate which gave us a view of the ponds and soon saw distant views of the GW Egret which was busy fishing on the edge of the northern most pond.

As we were watching the bird, we became aware of a bird calling from the field behind us and decided to investigate.  Nothing was too obvious but I decided to just check the top of a dead tree and came across a Little Owl.  I rushed to put up my scope but alas was too late as he decided to fly away.

The rest of our time on St Mary's and in Cornwall

Sunday 19th August 2012

We woke up to torrential rain and decided to make use of the morning by finding some waterproof trousers so at least in the afternoon we would not get completely soaked on our pelagics trip.  As it happened, when we had purchased some trousers, the sun decided to come out and shine upon us.  So, the rest of the morning we decided to take a short stroll up to the Garrison to see what we could find.  Unfortunately, as time was against us, we did not find anything worth mentioning and boarded our vessel for the third and final pelagic trip of the weekend.  This final trip was another attempt to see Wilsons Petrol with a cruise to five miles from shore and then drifing and chumming.  As we left St Mary's we encountered a Bonxie and sighted a couple of Manx Shearwaters.  As the evening drew on and we drifted aimlessly, we attracted two Arctic Skuas, a few Storm Petrols and a further Sooty Shearwater.  Unfortunately, as the wind was very slight, the birds were few and far between and it was not long before we were making our way back to shore.  Wilson Petrol and Pomarine Skua will have to remain on my unseen list for the time being.

Monday 20th August 2012

Our final morning on St Mary's involved a march round the Garrison and then onto the Airfield, the Church and back to the B&B.  The woalk produced about 10 Pied Flycatchers, 2 Mediterranean Gulls, 4 Common Sandpipers, 2 Green Sandpipers, a Greenshank and a very confiding Wheatear.

The crossing back to the mainland proved to be very successful indeed with sighings of Bonxie, Arctic Skua, Storm Petrols, Manx Shearwaters and my very first Balearic Shearwater (hurrah, another bird that can be crossed off my unseen list and another lifer).

Tuesday 21st August 2012

After a restful nights sleep in our new accomodation, we ventured out with new optimism and decided to pay a visit to Gwennap Head to seawatch for the morning.  The sea did not seem to produce that much except for the occasional Manx Shearwater and I therefore decided to go for a wander round the clifftops and left the Capt and my birder's wife to continue scanning the horizon.  In my wanders I managed to come across a Whimbrel among the rocks and went back to inform the Capt who informed me that she had located a Balearic Shearwater in the passing birds.  As we made our way back to the car to try and relocate the Whimbrel (who had disappeared), the heavens opened and blessed us with rain.mmmmmm!

For the rest of the day we explored the area, including Drift Reservoir (for an Osprey which we could not find) and Marazion (for a Spotted Crake, which was just too elusive for us) and Nanquidno Valley where we managed to score a lifer for the Capt in the form of a Chough (rubbish shot below).

Wednesday 22nd August 2012

Having been bitten by the sea watching bug, we thought we would try our fortunes at Pendeen.  The group we had shared the pelagic trips with were there and for following hour or so, we managed to see a couple of Arctic Skuas, 6 Whimbrel and about 1000+ Manx Shearwaters.

In the afternoon we thought we would search for migrants down the Nanquidno Valley but were pretty much unsuccesful.

Thursday 23rd August 2012

Our last day,during which we made our way home via Hayle to see if we could find any waders.  Unfortunately, we arrived the wrong side of the tide and only managed a group of Curlew.  A further detour on the way back was to Prawle Point where we walked east for about 400 yards to observe good views of Cirl Bunting (another lifer for the Capt - who was just being greedy by now).

Stormies and Sooties

Saturday 18th August 2012

After settling into our B&B and a good nights sleep, I had a very plain breakfast, took a dose of Sturgeron and left my birder's wife for the day to potter round St Mary's (she just could not face another boat trip).  Myself and the Capt then made our way to the Quay for a full days pelagic following trawlers and chumming.  Fortunately,  the sea and wind had calmed down a lot since the night before, which was good for our stomachs but not so good for birds.

Our main aim for the day was to locate trawlers and trail them to find out what birds were following them, this involved a trip out to sea of approximately 20 miles.  On the outward trip, we located further Bonxies and Sabines Gulls, along with distant views of Storm Petrols.  As we approached the trawlers, the Storm Petrols came closer and I managed to obtain a few shots.

During the day, we also obtained a couple of distant views of Manx Shearwaters but for me the star bird of the day was a Sooty Shearwater which was following one of the trawlers, this used to be one of my unseen birds and was a lifer for me.

Scillies - Puketastic!!

Friday 17th August 2012

As we boarded the Scillonian III, we were informed by the check-in office that the crossing was going to be rough and they weren't wrong.

As soon as we sailed out of the harbour we spotted our first Common Terns closely followed by an Arctic Skua.  Further out, we came across our first Bonxie and then mid voyage several Storm Petrols accompanied us for a while.  Unfortunately, by that time, my birder's wife and the Capt had retreated inside, both feeling quite queasy.  I have to admit, it was not an easy crosssing and I think everyone was pleased to see St Mary's.

However, our sea faring for the day was not over as we had a 5 hour pelagic trip ahead of us.  Despite the excitement of the possibility of seeing Shearwaters and Petrols, the sea was rocking and rolling far too much and before long about 75% of the ship, including myself were saying hello to their stomach linings.  Unfortunately, most of us were just too ill to enjoy the close views we had of two resplendent Sabine Gulls, close views of Storm Petrols, Bonxies and a single Manx Shearwater.

Cornwall...Here we come!!

Myself and my birder's wife and the Capt have been away for a few days and this is the first of several reports of our time away:-

Thursday 16th August 2012

Around about 10am, the Capt arrived to whisk us away to Cornwall and the Scillies for a weeks worth of birding.

We made great time before coming to a grinding halt on the M5 near Brissal (Bristol) and sat motionless for 40 minutes in the outside lane watching about 15 police cars, fire engines and ambulances fly past.  The lady in the middle lane also caused us much amusement as she spent the 40 minutes rearranging her boot, the back of her car the and back seats of the car in front of her.....I just hope that she knew them otherwise that was just pure weird.  Anyway, fortunately, it appeared that the incident was not serious and we were soon on our way again.

After surviving the vile Exeter Services, we made our way into deepest Devon and Yarner Wood to see what we could find.  Unfortunately, the heavens opened and we decided not to venture any further than the car park and the hide nearby.  The hide proved to be very effective with many Coal Tits, Great Tits, Marsh Tits and Siskin.  As the rain continued to fall, we deciced that further bird watching was not on the agenda for the day and just pushed onto Penzance for our one night stay.

The evening at the Dock Inn proved to be very enjoyable with us coming second in the pub quiz while enjoying a few pints of "Doom".

No birds but more sport

After another couple of weeks of pretty much nothing around on the birding front, we made our way down south on Saturday morning (last week) in preparation for our visit to the Olympics the following day.  As per usual the journey was nightmarish on the M25, things never change.  However, as part of our visit we did get good views of Ring Necked Parakeets.

Upon arrival the following day at the Olympic Park we made our way through the very efficient security checks and were soon inside, marvelling at the sheer scale and stunning architecture of the stadium, made us proud to be British.

We spent the afternoon wandering around the park, taking a brief break to watch Andy Murray being presented with his Gold Medal and then as evening descended, made our way to the Olympic Stadium to find our seats.  The evening itself just flew by watching the Men's 100m Semi Finals, Womens 400m Final, the Women's Triple Jump Final, the Men's High Jump qualifiers and of course the Men's 100m Final - A night that we hopefully will never forget and of course since then Usain Bolt has gone onto to win the 200m and 100m relay.

Upton Warren

After scoring 2 lifers yesterday, the Capt was hungry for further year list additions today and we therefore made a quick visit to Upton Warren where she managed to add Avocet but dipped on the Little Owl which has been seen there regularly.

Slimbridge and Coombe Hill Meadows

After seeing that Slimbridge had a moulting Long Billed Dowticher and Curlew Sandpiper, myself and my Birders Wife decided to make use of our membership to the Wildfowl Trust and make a visit to the reserve to boost my year list.  A quick phone call to the Capt secured her for the day out as well.  After checking out the bird news for the day, we discovered that a juvenile Purple Heron was showing at Coombe Hill Meadows, which was a short detour on the way down to Slimbridge.

After the nightmare of finding a spot to park in the small car park at Coombe Hill Meadows, we made our way towards Grunden Hide and then decided not to negotiate the pathway to the hide itself due to the stinky water involved.

After many false alarms of Grey Herons and about a 30 minute wait we finally caught a glimpse of the Purple Heron as it flew briefly, showing off its orangey/purple plumage to us.  A twitch it may have been but at last one of my unseen bogey birds finally now seen and lifers for all three of us - Hurrah!

The final leg of the journey down to Slimbridge took an unbelievable two hours due to an overturned lorry.  When we finally arrived, I rushed over to the Tack Piece to nab myself  a Green Sandpiper (one species that has continued to elude me this year) and after some searching I finally managed to find one.  I then met up with my Birders Wife and the Capt in the South Lake Hide and after a lot of searching I found the Long Billed Dowitcher in amongst the Black Tailed Godwits and Ruff.  A really beautiful little bird and the first I have ever seen in summer plumage (another lifer for the Capt who was being just greedy).  As time was marching on, we marched our way to the Zeiss Hide and after a few minutes were put onto the Curlew Sandpiper by a friendly birder.

The drive back home was no better than the journey down, as we had to make a detour off the A46 just outside Stratford Upon Avon due to what looked like a very nasty accident.

Myself and my Birders Wife had tickets for the Warwick Folk Festival and were keen to see Eddie Reader but after finding out that she was not due on stage till 10:30pm decided to go home and chill out in front of the TV instead.

Tour De France

Being that it is that time of year again, when Birding ceases and I have not quite got into Mothing yet, another passion ignites itself for the first three weeks of July and that is the Le Tour de France.  This year of course was more special than usual with Bradley Wiggins in the yellow jersey and winning the overall title.

Anyway, myself and my Birders Wife in March time decided to take the plunge and ignore the expense and book ourselves onto the Eurostar to be in Paris for the final weekend of the Tour (little did we know at that time how big the Tour would be this year for the Brits).

So, we made our way down to London mid morning last Saturday, taking in the scenery along the Chiltern Line while clocking Buzzards, Kestrels and Red Kites along the way.  We had a mishap on the journey down as my Birders Wife left her coat on the station and this ate into valuable time the other end in the search for a replacement.  However, we safely managed to negotiate our way through check-in and passport control and soon found ourselves in cattle class with a troupe of French brats (I mean children).  Fortunately, they kept us amused with their antics for some of the journey and it was not long before we pulled into the graffiti laden outskirts of Paris (and I thought London was bad!!).  Our hotel was not that far away and after a pleasant dinner, we had a stroll in Monceau Parc where I managed to find Raven, Carrion Crows, two Grey Herons, House Sparrows, Starlings, Blackbird and a Wren, the air above screamed with the sound of Swifts.

After a fitful nights sleep, being in a strange bed in a strange city, we were up and about early the following day and soon found ourselves on the Champs Elysees where scaffolding etc was being erected ready for the days racing.  Every other passerby seemed to be British with some wearing false sideburns in honour of Bradley.  As we had hours to wait for the race, we walked over to the Eiffel Tower and mingled with the crowds looking upwards at the biggest meccano set in the world.  A pleasant snack lunch set us back over 10 euros and it was not long before we were viewing the Tour advertising caravan moving along the banks of the Seine.  We then found ourselves a shaded spot and waited a further 90 minutes for the Peloton to arrive and then zip past at an unhealthy rate of knots.

Although we knew that the Champs Elysees would be absolutely crammed packed with people, we then made our way over there and grabbed a spot about 30 people back from the front and watched the race on the large TV screens provided.  It was nail biting stuff but amazing to see Bradley win the Tour and Mark Cavendish take his fourth consecutive win of the final stage.  Although we had not been able to see the race that well, as a bonus we then found that the spot we had chosen was an ideal position to view the awards ceremony and we cheered along with the other thousands of Brits as Mark Cavendish  and then Bradley Wiggins took to the podium to be awarded their trophies. A great day for british cycling and hopefully we will have a repeat performance next year but that time for Froome who worked so hard for Bradley on this tour.

The following day besides myself mourning that the Tour was over for another year, we took a whirl wind tour of Paris clocking up all the sights (Monmartre, Sacre Couer, Notre Dame and the Louvre).

Forest of Rain (Dean)

Yesterday, myself and the Capt decided to pay our annual visit to the Forest of Dean to view Nightjar and Woodcock.  The weather forecast seemed almost favourable, so we thought we would risk the journey and therefore made our way down there early afternoon.

After making good time, we arrived in the area at about 17:00pm and made some stops at Yew Tree Brake Cemetery, Woorgreen Lake and the Speech House Arboretum to see if we could find any of their specialist birds, which include Firecrest, Redstart, Hawfinch and Crossbill.  Unfortunately, during the journey down, the heavens had opened and the forest seemed very quiet indeed except for commoner species, including Jay, Treecreeper, Nuthatch and a mother Wren scolding us and calling in her fledglings which were having fun in the bracken (despite it being sopping wet).  We then made our way over to Cannop Ponds for the Capt to add Mandarin to her year list, at which point the heavens opened again and the rain continued solid for about an hour.  The next visit was to Nagshead RSPB, which again was extremely quiet except for (presumably) the warden, playing music at top blast in his open jeep (thanks for music....not!).

By this time, we were both fairly damp and despondent and made our way dejectedly to our last point of call, Boys Grave.  This year, we had come prepared and dowsed ourselves from head to foot in midge repellent, then walked the short distance to the usual viewing point.  A short while later, we were joined by Mike-PCC and his wife, who are holidaying in the area.  Seeing Mike-PCC lightened our moods and it was not long before we spotted our first of many Woodcock flypasts.  At about 21:20pm, the Nightjar started churring and continued to do so for about 30 minutes.  During this time we were fortunate enough to see scope views of the bird as it churred away on top of a dead tree.  The journey home also provided roadside views of Tawny Owls on three occasions.

Unseen BIrds at Brandon

For the first time this year my birding attempts live up to the title of this blog.

After having missed seeing target species Grasshopper Warbler and Green Sandpiper at Otmoor at the weekend, I decided to punish myself further with an evening visit to Brandon to see what I could miss again.

Not surprisingly, due to the weather I had the whole of Brandon to myself.  In fact, there was little there besides some Lapwing and Rabbits and therefore unseen birds for 2012 still include Green Sandpiper, Greenshank and Grasshopper Warbler.

Hopefully, the weekend will bring a reversal of current birding fortunes with a visit to the Forest of Dean to see some of the specialities such as Nightjar and Woodcock - That is if it actually stops raining for a few minutes.
After speaking to the Capt briefly this evening, she directed me to the below link which explains why the weather is so appalling at the moment.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-18783422

Brandon, London and Otmoor

Myself and the Capt decided to go up to Brandon for the evening on Friday night to see if the rain had downed anything that had been passing overhead.  I took my wellies on the assumption that the place would be flooded and we would not be able to negotiate our way to the hides without wading through stretches of water and mud.  Surpringly enough, it was mud and water free - but also pretty much bird free other than the usual species of duck and warbler.  However, we had an enjoyable evening catching up with each other's birding exploits over the past few weeks.

The following day, Saturday, I and my birder's wife made our way down to the "big smoke" to meet up with her lovely Godmother.  After taking a detour via Reading and arriving in London later than expected I managed to persuade my birder's wife to take a walk through Hyde Park so that I could clock up another wanted species for the year (as long as my estimates of the distance were accurate as her shoes weren't suitable for anything longer).  Walking through the park is always a pleasure, although slightly marred this time by the persistant drone of helicopters, presumably monitoring a march happening not far away.  We soon heard the familiar squawking of our target bird and then spotted the Ring Necked Parakeet as it flew into a nearby tree and disappeared into the foliage.  Not long after, we saw another do the same, and then a small flock flew overhead.  It is always rather surreal seeing these exotic birds in a London park.  The rest of the day was spent wining and dining followed by a visit to the Cabinet War Rooms (now entitled "Churchill War Rooms") which I can recommend as an interesting and moving exhibition.

And so to today, Sunday.  Despite the showers, myself and the Capt decided to venture down to Otmoor to see if I could score Grasshopper Warbler and Green Sandpiper (which continues to elude me).  However, despite our efforts in trying to locate an obliging reeling Gropper, we just could not find him by sight.  There were also no sign of any Green Sandpipers.  Our visit was not totally wasted as we did have great views of Red Kite, Turtle Dove and Hobby.

No birds - Just Torch Bearers

The last week has not been that condusive for birding with just a few birds of interest in the UK, all of them miles away.  So, I have concentrated on household chores and gardening over the past few days while keeping an eye on my garden feeders, which are attracting up to 10 House Sparrows at once, they are literally eating me out of house and home with the amount of seed they are getting through.

A highlight of the weekend was of course the arrival of the Olympic Flame in Warwick, with a good turnout of people to witness the event.  After seeing the flame a couple of times, we had a couple of bevvies with friends and then a walk on the Racecourse where the Skylarks were uncharecterically very quiet.

Bird free day in the Cotwolds - Almost

Myself and my birder's wife had family business to attend to in the Cotswolds today.  However, I took along my bins and telescope just in case.

As we pulled away from our first destination a brown owl shape flapped across the road, it could not have been anything other than a Tawny, the first I have seen for a couple of years and in broad daylight as well (it must have been disturbed big time by something).

The day progressed without any further birding incidents and on the way home we took a detour to Hawling  to see if we could hear any Quails, alas no, as the weather had again turned for the worse.  However, I cannot complain, a Tawny is always worth seeing.

Back to Brandon...Back to Reality

After a very exciting few days birding last weekend, I thought I would get back to reality and make a long overdue visit to Brandon Marsh again last night.  As I pulled in and entered the code to gain access to the reserve, I was welcomed by a cacophany of bird song that included Reed and Sedge Warblers and Reed Buntings, a promising start to the visit.  However, as I approached the Wright Hide, the heavens opened and the weather just closed in for the remaining time I was there.  The cloud cover was so heavy that I could hardly even see that far through my Bins despite it being well before dusk.  So, after an hour or so, I gave up and headed home, not even bothering to wait 15 minutes to see if the Otters would turn up.  A harsh lesson that has fully reminded me that Birding is not always about rushing around seeing the best birds but seeing the day to day species and appreciating them for what they are.  So, highlights of the trip out were a beautiful Green Woodpecker that flew in front of Carlton Hide and a Jay causing lots of alarm calls from small passerines in the wood.

Ibis, Herons and Spoonbills

I decided that a visit to relatives down on the South Coast was long overdue and therefore myself and my birder's wife made our way down to the Southampton area on Friday night.

In order to not bore my birder's wife too much, I decided to get up early the following morning to tick off some of my wanted species and found myself at Farlington Marshes at 6:00am.  I had the Marshes to myself besides some workmen from the Environment Agency and a fellow birder who obviously had got up far earlier than myself, as he was finishing the circuit just as I was starting.  Farlington Marshes is a reserve I have popped by many times but not actually walked round and I cannot believe that I had not made the effort until this weekend.  It truly is a fantastic place with many habitats, from marshland, bushes, grassland and coastal mudflats which offer lots of exciting birds to view.  I immediately hooked up with the first of my wanted species, a Little Tern, which was fishing very close to shore.  I then proceeded round the reserve and soon arrived at the "Deeps" (two small pools of water sitting in the grassland) which have hosted a Glossy Ibis for the past couple of weeks.  Unfortunately, there was no sign of the Ibis but there were plenty of loathing Blackheaded Gulls, Little Egrets and a Bar Headed Goose associating with some Canada Geese.  I consoled myself that I had at least seen the Little Tern and continued on with the circuit.  As I approached the hut that lists recent sightings, I caught a glimpse of something black on the pool behind and lo and behold it was the Glossy Ibis which was looking absolutely resplendent in the early morning sunshine.  I tried to digiscope the bird but unfortunately could not hold the camera still due to the strong wind and only just managed the above record shot.

I then headed back to wake up my birder's wife and we headed out again but this time towards the New Forest.  Our first port of call was Pennington Marshes, where I thought we could try out for the Night Heron which had been seen there briefly earlier.  To be honest, I was not holding out much hope as I have had problems with this species in the past, especially with the bird that appeared in Warwickshire last year, which I finally managed to see after spending many hours waiting.  This time proved to be far different, after a 10 minute wait looking across a fishing pond at a heavily vegated island, I spotted a heron flying towards us which was the bird in question.  It proved to be very obliging and landed in a nearby tree and posed for us for a couples of minutes allowing me to obtain a great record shot (far better than the Ibis).  We then decided to walk out to the sea front, where the tide was in and the wind very strong, both conditions not that condusive for many birds and the only thing we spotted were some Little and Common Terns resting up from battling the strong gusts.  We decided to break for lunch before making our way into the New Forest to try for two more of my wanted species, Firecrest and Dartford Warbler.  After a brief look at Hawkhill Inclosure and Beaulieu Road Station, we finally found a Firecrest at Bolderwood but it took a fair bit of hunting.  The Dartford Warblers were hiding away from the strong wind and would have to wait for another day.

The following day (Sunday) we made our way to the Purbeck Peninsula to stay for one night and after quickly checking in at our hotel, we made our way to Langton Matravers which is the start of a walk to the "Dancing Ledge" on the "Jurassic Coast".   After 20 minutes of walking we were on the "Ledge" looking out to sea, with nothing between us and France except for "blue", my phone certainly thought so anyway, as it picked up a french network.  The "Dancing Ledge" is an excellent place for sea birds and before long, during which a bold little Rock Pipit fluttered round us , we had good views of Puffin, Razorbill and Guillemots (further species notched up).    As the weather began to close in we made an uphill dash back to the car and found somewhere to eat in nearby Corfe Castle.

Today, we decided to venture forth to Durlston Country Park for some further sea bird action and during our 2 hour visit managed Greater Black Backed Gulls, Lesser Black Backed Gulls and Herring Gulls, Guillemots, Razorbills, Gannets and one Manx Shearwater moving eastwards.  Birds in the bushes and on the cliffs included Rock and Meadow Pipits, Black Redstart and young Kestrels.  As time marched on, we started to make our way back home via Arne RSPB reserve where I was hoping to see Dartford Warblers which had so far eluded me during the weekend despite many efforts to try and see one.  Again, I was not fortunate and I had to contend with another year first instead, two fine looking Spoonbills and Simon King, who was apparently visiting the Reserve on one of his Nature Holidays that he leads.  We walked round the heathland twice but just could not find any Dartford Warblers, plenty of everything else, including Woodlarks but not the pesky Dartfords.  On the way back to the car we decided to broaded our horizons and watched the Dragonflies and Damselflies on the bog pool and even managed to capture an almost decent shot of a Four Spotted Chaser.

Alas, our time was running out and we started the long journey home.  I decided to make one final pitstop in the New Forest and while I left my birder's wife in the car finishing off her coffee,  I took a walk down a path with gorse on each side and finally managed to catch up with a very bold Dartford Warbler singing from the top of a bush (finally the last of my weekend target birds seen but only after hours of searching).  A great few days away, with good company, good weather and great birds.

Phalarope and Cranes

After a relatively bird free long weekend, I managed to squeeze in a couple of hours at Slimbridge this morning with my birder's wife and we managed to catch up with the the female Red Necked Phalarope that has been frequenting the Gloucester area over the past couple of weeks.  Other birds present were a few Black Tailed Godwits and a couple of the Somerset Levels released Cranes that have made their way back to the area.  Bird of the day has to be though the female Red Necked Phalarope who looked very splendid indeed.  That spot will keep me going till our next trip in a couple of weeks time to the New Forest.

Early Otmoor

As I always seem to wake up at 5am each morning at the moment, I thought I would not waste any time trying to fall back to sleep and got up instead and made my way over to Otmoor.  My main reason for driving down to Oxfordshire was to try and see two elusive species for me, Grasshopper Warbler and Turtle Dove.

Fortunately, as I made my way down the M40 the weather improved from sheets of rain to just overcast and by the time I pulled into the carpark at Otmoor the birds had got over the shock of the downpour as the place was awash with song.

First birds of the day were 3-4 Skylarks and a Snipe drumming in the distance.  The main path from the car park was alive with warblers including Chiff Chaff, Willow Warbler, Garden Warblers and Blackcaps and the electricy wires had a nice flock of pristine Linnets.

The field near the carpark had at least two Grasshopper Warblers reeling but after a 45 minutes search I just could not locate any.  As I was waiting, I heard the purring sound of a Turtle Dove and I eventually managed to locate it sitting on a dead branch just behind the entrance.

I decided to give up on the Groppers for a while and wandered up the path towards the hide, the walk provided me with great views of male and female Cuckoos, Red Legged Partridges and many Sedge Warblers singing their hearts out, including this very obliging chap who posed for me nicely (digiscoped with my phone - as I had forgotten my camera...again).

The hide itself did not provide any new birds for the day, so I decided to amble back to the car, stopping for another fruitless half an hour trying to track the Groppers.  Hey, at least I managed to catch up with some Turtle Doves, they really are just fantastic and beautiful birds.

Golden Oriole and Stone Curlews

Early Saturday morning (at 6am) saw myself, Mike-PCC and the Capt on the road heading towards Norfolk for our big day out birding.  The Capt was predictably grumpy at that time of the morning and had a snooze in the back of the car on the drive up while myself and Mike-PCC clocked up some species, including a kamikaze Red Legged Partridge who unfortunately ran under the wheel of my car.

After making good time, we arrived at Lakenheath Fen by 8am and walked to the normal view points for the Golden Orioles.  It was 30 minutes, with the day heating up quickly before we heard the familiar song of an Oriole.  It was probably another 30 minutes before we got a very quick sight of a single bird flying over the top of the wood and that was to be our one and only glimpse - not very satisfactory really.  As we were on a schedule, we then made our way back to the car and clocked up cracking views of Bearded Tit, Sedge Warblers, Reed Warblers, Marsh Harriers and Hobbys.  A quick check on the river produced some Common Tern but no Garganey (although they had been reported as being seen).

We then drove over to Weeting Heath LNR and quickly made up for the poor view of the Golden Oriole we had earlier on with fantastic views of Stone Curlews, in fact, the best views I have ever had when visiting this reserve.  We also managed to track down a Woodlark, thanks to a friendly birder who pointed it out to us and had a very obliging Spotted Flycatcher outside the entrance to the West Hide.

We decided to have lunch at Mayday Farm but unfortunately due to the time of day and heat could not find any birds except for the odd Siskin.  A further search round the Thetford forest produced Goldcrests and many Nuthatch and a quick trip back to Lakenheath before heading home provided us with a pair of Garganey on the river.

All in all, not a bad day out with 3 new species for the year for me and 3 lifers each for the Capt and Mike-PCC.

Dreaming of birding

After having a birding free week, the impending mega trip I have scheduled with the Capt and Mike-PCC must have been playing on my mind this morning as I was dozing.  I recall in my dream that I went on a twitch to a deserted church school garden surrounded by hedges to see a Citrine Wagtail and a Red Throated Pipit.  The dream was that vivid that I can remember the exact patterning on the Citrine Wagtail's head, which is very odd as the Wagtail in my dream was nothing like the real life version - I blame it on the home brew that I had drunk earlier in the evening.  It also could have possibly been the beginning of birding cold turkey, after all I have not been out and about since last Sunday.  Our birding trip tomorrow should reverse any further symptoms.

Tomorrow, after an early start (well not that early) at 6:00am we will make our way to Lakenheath Fen in Norfolk to try and see the ever elusive Golden Orioles that turn up there this time of year.  Our previous trips to the area have not been that successful with me only seeing a pair of Golden Orioles just once in about 4 trips.  Hopefully, as the weather forecast is good for tomorrow we may be more fortunate this time. We also hope to visit Weeting Heath for Stone Curlews and then go to the Mayday Farm area for other species like Woodlark, Tree Pipit, Redstart etc.  A nice looking Green Carpet Moth joined us in our conservatory this evening.

200 but not counting

Today, with all good intentions, I started driving over to Summer Leys LNR for a change of scene and stopped by at Napton Reservoir en route to try and spot the resident Grey Wagtails there (who always seem to evade me).  Fortunately, today they decided to grace me with their presence and performed very nicely.  The banks of the Reservoir also gave wonderful views of House Martin, Swallow and Swift as they swooped past me catching the little midgies in the air.  As I trudged back to the car,  I realised that the Grey Wagtail was the 200th species of bird for me this year, which to me is quite an achievement as I only on average manage to go birdwatching once every week or two.  Of course, my birder's wife will remind me that I am not doing a year list this year, as I have officially declared that this year I am just concentrating on obtaining those species that remain on my unseen list (which is gradually diminishing in size).  Anyway, this realisation made me decide that I just could not be bothered to drive any further and a well-timed text from the Capt made me turn round the car and make my way over to Brandon instead (for a more leisurely afternoon).  Half an hour later, I met up with the Capt who informed me of what she had been up to during the weekend.  This included informing me of the virtues of her other hobby, bell-ringing, which seems to involve tugging on ropes in a church closely followed by tugging away on a pint glass of real ale, followed by another......and another.......and another.

Even in mid afternoon, Brandon was alive with birdsong and we soon managed to clock up the following:-  Chiff Chaff, Willow Warbler, Blackcap, Garden Warbler, Cettis Warbler, Sedge Warbler, Whitethroat, Lesser Whitethroat (heard), Cuckoo, the Hirundines and Swifts.  I also caught glimpses of unidentified day time micro moths....mmmmm....this may be downward spiral as there are far more moth species in the UK to contend with compared to birds.

We decided to only walk round half the reserve stopping by the Wright hide, and the first bird we found as we opened the flaps was yesterday's Wood Sandpiper that had stayed the night, this pleased the Capt immensely.  Other notables were Common Sandpiper, Little Ringed Plovers, Ringed Plover, Dunlin, Redshank and Oystercatchers - almost a wader fest.

So, after completing our circuit, we both made our way back to our respective homes each happy with our additional year ticks (although, mine was not official!).

Wild Flowers and Vids

Myself and my birder's wife had some business to attend to along with a visit to Ikea this morning and decided to do all that after a quick visit to Brandon to buy some wild flowers and view the newly arrived Wood Sandpiper.  We managed to squeeze into the Teal hide and immediately spotted the Sandpiper on the mud to the right of the hide.  These type of Sandpipers are one of my favourites and I therefore, before leaving home made sure I was well prepared for the visit by packing my digiscoping equipment and took the opportunity to try out video digiscoping the bird - a bit shaky and over exposed but not too bad for the first effort.   A quick visit to East Marsh hide provided close views of the Lapwing chicks and the Red Crested Pochard pair busy feeding.  On the way out, we purchased our wild flowers for our garden and had a coffee and slice of cake in the tearrooms, where the catering is excellent at the moment, especially the breakfasts.

Garganey

A glance at the Brandon Birding website when I was at work earlier notified me of a drake Garganey on East Marsh Pool today.  As the Capt and my birder's wife were not available for a trip out, I made my way over on my own.  The car park was surprisingly quiet when I arrived and when I got to East Marsh Hide I had it totally to myself.  All quite surprising, considering Garganeys are cracking birds and always worth looking at.  Maybe all the Brandon regulars and others have seen Garganeys already this year.  I found the bird quite quickly, mixing with a Gadwall and managed a few record shots, although not very good.  Besides the Garganey, there were no other new arrivals and the walk back to the car brought the usual warblers and two cuckoos over the Newlands Reedbed.

A quick inspection of our nestbox at home confirmed that our family of Blue Tits have fledged already, unfortunately we were not at home when they left and we will never know how many the busy parents managed to rear.  The good news is that our resident Hedgehog continues to visit and seems to spend most evenings stuffing her face and setting off our security lighting.

This Weekend

This weekend I mostly did other things besides birding.  However, I managed to squeeze in two and a half hours worth  between yesterday and today.  Yesterday, en route to friends in Kidderminster, we visited Upton Warren Moors Pool to try and see the 1st Summer Little Gull who has now been there for a couple of weeks. It was very obliging and did a few flypasts for us showing off its plumage nicely.  Other birds of note were Common Sandpiper and a very fine looking male Reed Bunting.

After a boozy evening and a chinese meal we then came home via the Wyre Forest (Dowles Brook).  I have always found visits there a bit hit and miss, with only a few of the speciailities being spotted or hardly any.  However, today was entirely different.  After a slow start, we spotted our first Tree Pipit and took a turning off the main drag to search for Wood Warblers.  Although, we could hear plenty, we could not see them in the canopy but were directed to one by a friendly birder and got amazing views of it as it perched on a branch above the path and sang it's heart out.  As we turned back to go back to the main path we spotted an area that seemed to be alive with insects and as my birder's wife was busying herself taking photographs of the wild flowers and bugs, I took the opportunity to scan the trees as there seemed to be a fair amount of activity around a little brook.  After a couple of minutes, I caught a glimpse of a female Pied Flycatcher and then as we drew closer, a Spotted Flycatcher and then a pair of Redstarts who perched in the tree above us.  An amazing five minutes of birding was then had as we watched all these species that were in the same vicinity.  The walk back to the car brought us more Tree Pipit, a singing Redstart, Raven and these amazing creatures (Adela reaumurella, I believe).

Birding from the back door

Not all Birding has to be done from excellent places like Brandon Marsh, Draycote Water, Norfolk, Scotland and the Coast (although I do have a mega day trip planned with the Capt and Mike-PCC later this month to score Golden Orioles and Stone Curlews in Norfolk) but can also be done at home.  For example, the trees close to my house attracted 6 Swallows the other day swooping under the branches catching midgies and I also enjoy our resident Buzzards that occasionally soar high above us on thermals.  There is also a Sparrowhawk who flies quite casually low over the garden to a cacophany of various alarm calls and our Wood Pigeons are busy trying to find an alternative nest site to their normal one which is used to be in a bush, now cut down by a neighbour.  However the highlight at the moment is a family of Blue Tits who have taken up residence in a nest box outside our back door, with eggs that have recently hatched.  Also, after months of believing we have a resident Hedgehog, we have finally seen it and believe it to be a pregnant female - She certainly is enjoying the food we put out for her and now can be seen most evenings stuffing her face then turning round and pooing in the same food bowl..

So, save some petrol and look out your back door, you'll be surprised at what you might see.

A Hobby it is

As I was preparing dinner, I received a phone call from the Capt who had taken the initiative by looking out the window and deciding that the still evening would be excellent for spotting a Hobby.  So, I bolted down my dinner and we made our way over to Brandon Marsh (my third visit in three days).  As we arrived, we thought we would check out a report of a Whinchat on the top reed bed opposite the visitor centre and soon found it in the middle perched on a bush.  Also, close by was a Grasshopper Warbler reeling.  Unfortunately, as per normal the bird was heard but not seen.

We took the long route round (via Sheep field) but did not see or hear much out of the ordinary.  A brief visit to East Marsh hide gave us Red Crested Pochard and Carlton hide gave us a female Cuckoo and my first Hobby for the year.  Unfortunately, no sign of the Nightingale.

On the way back we popped into Jon Baldwin hide and observed 7 Common Tern that are now on the reserve and also spotted the Common Sandpiper who flew in and landed on the bank just below the hide.

As we left the hide, we were asked by some photographers if we had seen the otter, as apparently it had been seen just five minutes before - we must have completely missed it - oh well, you can't see everything!

Early Evening at Brandon

After the successes we had at Brandon yesterday, I took the Capt for an evening stroll at Brandon to try and score her some new species for this year.

The difference just one day makes to the level of water is amazing.  Only 36 hours ago, all paths to the main hides were completely under water yet today they were completely clear and even dry in places, I felt a bit foolish wearing wellies (but as least I went prepared).

I took us the same route as yesterday, past the Windmill on towards Sheep field and before long we had Chiff Chaff, Blackcap, Willow Warbler, Whitethroat and Garden Warbler.   Unfortunately no sign of any Lesser Whitethroat or the Nightingale (at Carlton Hide) but we managed good views of Cettis Warblers, Sedge Warblers and Reed Warblers and rounded off with a Cuckoo calling from the usual dead tree over Newlands Reed Bed.

Early Morning at Brandon

I managed to drag my birder's wife out of bed at 6:30am this morning and we arrived at Brandon at 7:25am. We started our visit with a walk past the windmill to Sheep Field hoping for a Lesser Whitethroat but managed to clock up Willow Warbler, Chiff Chaff, Blackcap and Garden Warbler (my first for the year) instead. As we reached the Wright Hide we finally heard the familiar rattling sound of a Lesser Whitethroat and soon found him flitting around the top of a nearby bush. He posed for us for a moment then darted into some brambles. As we seemed to be on a roll, we then proceeded to march to Carlton Hide for the Nightingale. Well, when I say marched I actually mean waded, as the paths were completely flooded -(just as well we were wearing our wellies). When we arrived at Carlton Hide we were met with questions from those already in the hide as to whether we had come in a boat to rescue them. After asking about the Nightingale, we were told that it had been appearing on and off.  So, we decided to settle down and wait for it to come back from it's lunch break. After just over an hour we were rewarded with our patience and had stunning views of the bird sitting in a bush singing it's heart out - lovely! As the cafe was about to open we then paddled our way back and I bought my birder's wife breakfast as compensation for getting her up so early on a Saturday. Hopefully, we can do a repeat performance tomorrow afternoon with the Capt (who does not do early mornings).

Windy Birding

And I don't mean I had been for a curry the night before.  The wind at the top of Balscote Quarry had a chill factor of -2 degrees yesterday.  This was my second visit in the past week to see the Dotterel in the usual field at that destination, but my prime reason for visiting again was to see the two Whimbrel and a Whinchat that also had arrived.  Unfortunately, the conditions were so appalling that anything small was taking refuge in the now lush hedges bordering the field.  I did manage distant views of the two Whimbrel and find some Tree Sparrows and lots of Yellowhammer (that are always a pleasure to see) but just could not find the Whinchat (a bird that I always trouble with seeing each year).  As my birder's wife was (sensibly) in the car keeping an eye on time and keeping dry, I was soon ushered back in her direction as we were on a strict deadline to meet friends within minutes and therefore my birding for a day came to end (not that I would have wanted to stay out in those conditions anyway). 

Tuesday 24th April

As it was my birder's wife's birthday, I did my best husband impression (well, actually I don't need to) and wheeled out some beautiful ear rings for her and took her out for a outing to a nearby National Trust property not that far from us.  It was at this same National Trust property that my interest in birding was re-ignited 6 years ago (after being dormant for 19 years).  I seem to recall seeing my first Treescreeper and Nuthatch for years and this re-ignited the beast of birding within me and tempted me to visit Brandon Marsh - it was downhill from then on.  Obviously my trip to the National Trust property had other motives, in that there was a Dotterel showing at Balscote quarry 2 miles away and so we just had to make that slight detour on route.   The bird was not showing that well (just hunkered down asleep) and so we moved on hastily and spent the rest of an enjoyable day pottering around the National Trust property.

Last Weekend

As my birder's wife was visiting her lovely God Mother last weekend, I decided to give them both some quality time together and ventured up north on my own instead.  My main aim for the weekend was to finally try and see some species that have eluded me previously (notably Capercaillie and Ptarmigan).

After a very long drive, I arrived at my first destination, the Glenshee Ski Resort, where I understood that I would be able to scope Ptarmigan from the car park.  I suppose, in theory you would be able to do that if you could see more than six feet in front of you - I arrived in a blizzard.  Fortunately, the storm cleared up pretty quickly and after getting my bearings, I had a wander up a nearby path encouraged by the sounds of Red Grouse all around me.  After a while I got my "eye in" and started to see the grouse but unfortunately, although very nice to see, they were the wrong type of grouse.  However, I was not about to give up and kept on scanning the ski slope above me and after about half and hour, finally clapped my eyes on my very first Ptarmigan.  I then saw another and then another and another, all within 100 metres from me - One of my bogey birds finally nailed, hurrah - I called my birder's wife as a celebration and decided to make a hasty exit from the area as it was far too cold for my liking.  After being taken on a 30 miles detour (because a road was closed), I finally arrived at Boat of Garten, checked in and ventured out into the field again.  A quick visit to the Loch Garten RSPB reserve gave me a Crested Tit and great views of male and female Crossbills.
The following day I dragged myself out of bed at 4:45am and made my way over to Loch Garten for the Caper Watch and after 2 hours of frustration, I finally obtained my first view of a Capercaillie (but just his head - not very satisfactory).  I then hightailed it to a nearby well known Black Grouse Lek and managed to see good views of a male performing 50 metres in front of me (and one other observer) before flying off.  No further sightings were then seen except for a female who flew into a nearby treetop to observe all her potential suitors.  After a large scottish breakfast, I decided to keep up the pace and ventured over to the Cairngorm and soon was put onto three Ptarmigan by some friendly birders, while having Ring Ouzels whirring round the car park.  The adrenalin by then had really kicked in and I decided to then venture up to Burghhead on the Moray Firth to try for another new species, White Billed Diver.  Unfortunately, as the weather up till then had been very unsettled, there was a lot of swell and besides numerous Long Tailed Duck, Guillemots, Razorbills, Common Scoter and the odd Sandwich Tern, I could not find any divers.  Fortunately, just as I was about to depart, some local birders arrived and within minutes had found two of the divers - new species number three.  As tiredness started to set in, I made my way back to Boat of Garten via Lochindorb (to see Black Throated Diver) and then collapsed into bed.

The following day, I decided to use the services of Steve Reddick of http://www.highlandwildlifesafaris.co.uk/ to drive me and another punter round to all the local sites (even though I had been to most of them already).  If you want to see most of the specialities (including Mammals) in a day on a multi habitat safari and you do not know the area then a day out with Steve is highly recommended.  His love and enthuisasm for wildlife is infectious and during the day we managed some superb views of Capercaillie, Black Throated Divers, Slavonian Grebes and an Otter munching away on a fish in Loch Morlich - The only downside was another early start of 4:15am.

On my last day, I decided to spend time in the Findhorn Valley on a search for raptors and after 4 hours had managed to clock Kestrel, Buzzard, Peregrine and 2 Golden Eagle.  Other highlights included Ring Ouzel and this youngster.

The long journey home with a slight detour via Loch Leven brought me another new species in the form of a Blue Winged Teal (another species that has eluded me several times in the past).