Review of 2013

Review of 2013

At the start of 2013 I had made the decision to take the year off from year bird listing (listing all species of birds seen throughout the year).  However, as we crept into February and with a big trip to the Shetlands booked for October, I changed my mind and decided to go for it.  Unfortunately, being that I am in full time employment, restricted by the days I take off and do not have unlimited resources, I will never be able to see as many species as the “big listers” out there and it is therefore just as well that competitive birding is “not my bag” (I prefer to only compete against myself and beat my own previous records).

Last year was a record year for me with the 250 species limit almost broken.  This year, I made things harder for myself; I continued to disallow any birds where there were possible question marks over identification and in addition I also decided to only use the BOURC listing of recognised species instead of the UK400 Club listing (that includes sub species).  Being stricter in my listing has resulted in revisiting previous year lists and revising their totals which means that last year’s reached 247 (instead of 251 which I had previously noted down).

So, the final tally as per BOURC guidelines for this year is 272 and per UK400 Club guidelines is 276 (I have disallowed a Crossbill sp which I saw briefly at Loch Garten in April which could have been a Scottish Crossbill but I will never know).  Both scores are quite respectable I imagine for someone who cannot go birding all the time.

The year had its positives and negatives moments and below are a few of each:-

Positives

• Meeting some friendly birders in Warwickshire (finally).
• Experiencing the Cairngorms in spring and the Shetlands in autumn, both different but equally memorable.
• Meeting new people and making new friends in the Shetlands.
• The final big twitch of the year to see the Brünnich’s Guillemot.
• Helping friends finally obtain sightings of their bogey birds.

Negatives

• Having to put up with miserable birders in all kinds of places.  I know we all have “off” days but it just seems that I meet more miserable people in birding circles than I do in any other walks of life.  Why carry on with something if it makes you so miserable?
• Being subjected to the competitive side of birding.  Why let it destroy friendships? Hobbies are hobbies and are there to be enjoyed.  I love sharing my hobby with others who have the same interest as me and am thoroughly pleased for them if they see a new species that I may not have hooked up with yet and this is because I only compete against myself.  Saying that though, it is always a laugh to send the odd “triumphant text” to those who can take it when a new species is obtained.

Highlights of the year

• Watching a Swift as it came in off the Channel and flew right over my head – magic!
• Seeing a Roller, a bird that I have wanted to see since I was 8 years old.
• Seeing Bee eaters for the first time (even though it was not in the UK but was in the outskirts of Rome).
• I had two target birds for the year – Red-backed Shrike and Pomarine Skua, achieved by the Autumn but a bit of an anticlimax for both even though I have been waiting to see them for many years.
• Finally seeing a Subalpine Warbler in the UK (after dipping on one in Northumberland) a couple of years ago.

Next Year

So, what does next year have in store?  Not sure at the moment, I may give up on year listing and concentrate on twitching but then I may not - Only time will tell as the year unfolds.

I do have a few target birds and they include:-

• Red Footed Falcon.
• Surf Scoter.
• White Stork.
• Common Rosefinch.

And finally - Photo of the year

Sedge Warbler at Otmoor in June

Have a happy new year and enjoy your birding whether it is twitching or patch listing.

Brambling no longer a bogey bird

Great Grey Shrike

After scouting the surrounding countryside recently for a Brambling to show our Christmas guests (for whom Brambling is a bogey bird), we finally ran out of time today and decided that as I had failed in finding one for them myself we would go and twitch some instead.

En route, we took a slight detour to give them another lifer in the form of the obliging Great Grey Shrike at Hopwood - A very handsome bird indeed.

We then proceeded to Lickey Hills in search of Brambling....the bogey bird of the moment.  After walking amongst the trees for about half an hour, we finally saw a large flock of finches flying to a large Beech and followed them at a distance.  I then heard the unforgettable squawking call of a Brambling and we soon were watching them as they searched for seeds on the woodland floor.  Unfortunately the wood is disturbed greatly by dog walkers which kept on scaring the birds away.  It took about half an hour before one of my guests managed to get a really good view of the birds so that she would be confident to identify Bramblings herself going forward.

A good morning's birding with two lifers for my guests and a bogey bird finally broken.

Last twitch of the year (potentially)

Brünnich's Guillemot

An early start and pickup at 6:45am soon saw me and two other birders, Mark and Richard (who I had met in Shetland), winging our way down the M5.  We were not too sure where we would end up today, whether it would be Brixham to see the White Billed Diver or Portland to see the Brünnich's Guillemot.  As we passed by Bristol, news came in on the pager that the Brünnich's Guillemot was still at Portland and we opted for that bird over the White Billed Diver.

Brünnich's Guillemot

We arrived at Portland Harbour at about 10:30am and joined the hordes of other Birders near the castle to view the Brünnich's Guillemot which spent most of the time out of view underwater (constantly fishing).  With patience, I eventually managed to obtain some record shots and then we had a look at the Black Guillemot, Black Throated Divers and Great Northern Divers nearby.

Twitchers

We then decided to make our way to Portland Bill for a spot of brunch and sea watching.  A brief sea watch produced Guillemots, Razorbills, Gannets, Shags, Kittiwakes and a Red Throated Diver.

On the way back home we briefly visited Chesil Beach to see Mediterranean Gull, Red Breasted Merganser and Red Necked Grebe, a Glossy Ibis just north of Radipole Lake and my Little Owl.

A great day's birding with great company and fitting way to finish off the birding year.

Little Owl

Local birding and a big twitch

Our visitors this Christmas are relatively new birders and desparate to see a Brambling.  So, my mission yesterday morning was to stake out our local woods to see if any could be found there.  After topping up the feeders and waiting for an hour all I could come up with was loads of Great Tits and Blue Tits, a Marsh Tit, a Nuthatch, a Greater Spotted Woodpecker and a Bullfinch.  Looks like they will have to wait for another opportunity to see their Brambling.

This morning after much "umming and aahing" I decided to twitch the Ivory Gull near Hull.  After a long and worrying drive with lots of weather forecasts about the forthcoming storms, I arrived in one piece and found the Gull relatively easily as it loafing around the shore line.  I waited an hour to see if it would come in any closer but as the weather worsened, I decided to give up and got a right a soaking on the way back to the car.  I did manage to obtain some decent scope views and a couple of record shots of what was a cracking bird and well worth the journey.

Managed to get back home safely only to find that my birder's wife had dropped and smashed £40 worth of wine on our driveway.  Not her fault, but just a dodgy wine carrier..grrr!  Hey ho at least I got back safely.

Ivory Gull

Back to local birding

As my birder's wife had gone out for her monthly massage, I decided to take a stroll round my local reserve at Hampton Woods.  On the way, I stopped by my Little Owl tree and said "hello".

Little Owl

The woods this afternoon were alive with birds, Redwing and Fieldfare were busy feeding on the berries while there were scatterings of Chaffinches and a couple of Bullfinches.  On route to the river I refilled the feeders and followed a Sparrowhawk as it hightailed it down the pathway in front of me. The river held two Mute Swans, several Moorhens, a Water Rail in the reeds and a Kingfisher flew past.  Also nearby, were 4 Canada Geese, a large flock of Jackdaw and a mini murmuration of about 200 Starlings.

As I ambled back to the car, the birds had already discovered the newly filled feeders, with Great Tits, Long Tailed Tits, Blue Tits and two Nuthatch taking advantage of a late afternoon feed.

Birds I have now seen at that reserve include:-

Blackbird, Bullfinch, Canada Goose, Carrion Crow, Chaffinch, Coal Tit, Collared Dove, Fieldfare, Goldcrest, Goldfinch, Great Tit, Greenfinch, Grey Wagtail, Jackdaw, Jay, Kingfisher, Long Tailed Tit, Magpie, Mallard, Moorhen, Mute Swan, Nuthatch, Pheasant, Pied Wagtail, Raven, Redwing, Reed Bunting, Robin, Rook, Song Thrush, Sparrowhawk, Starling, Water Rail, Whitethroat, Wood Pigeon, Wren.

Norfolk for the final time this year

This was to be our last weekend trip away for the year.  We booked it back in September so that we could have a relaxing break before the onslaught of Christmas.

Rose Coloured Starling

I took Wednesday afternoon off work and picked up my birder's wife from her work at 4:00pm and we made our way up to Hunstanton, eventually arriving just before 8:00pm (a bit of a nasty journey due to fog). Our room at Le Strange Hotel was excellent as per usual, due to the fact that I am a returning customer and a Best Western rewards customer.  After a quick drink in the bar, we hit the sack so that we could get an early start the following morning.

Our first call of the day was at Holt to look for Parrot Crossbills, unfortunately despite a good search, we just could not find any Crossbills of any kind.  We did however find a finch flock which contained a few Brambling and a Tit flock that contained Goldcrests and March Tits.

Rose Coloured Starling

A bit disappointed, we then headed down to Caister-on-Sea to look for the long staying juvenile Rose Coloured Starling that was situated around the Beach Road car park.  After an hour's search, it looked like we would dip on the Starling as well.  My birder's wife disappeared into a pub nearby for "a natural break" and a coffee and made friends (like she does) with a poor lady who had been widowed for the second time recently, while I continued to look around.  After another 15 minutes I then spotted the bird sitting on top of a telegraph pole.  I managed to obtain a couple of record shots before it then dived down into a nearby garden and I could not relocate it.  I quickly sent the news out to the bird new services and re-met up with my birder's wife.  We decided to fetch the car and in passing gave some other birders directions to where I saw the bird last.  For lunch, we bought some chips and while eating these, I chanced upon the bird again, sitting in a bush in a garden. Unfortunately the other birders had given up and walked way up the road.  On the way out the town, we passed them and gave them further directions - I hoped they eventually connected with the bird.

As we were in the area, we then drove down to Great Yarmouth for a couple of Shore Larks just north of the pier.  We parked up and my birder's wife settled for a coffee while I went for a stroll and immediately saw a movement in the sand, it was one of the birds.  I rushed back to the car to fetch my camera and noticed some birders in a car next to ours, I asked them if they were looking for the birds and they stated that they had tried but could not find them.  We all then walked out to where I spotted the first bird and were soon watching both birds about 25 yards from us.

Shore Lark

Next stop was Waveney Forest to find the mound to observe Rough Legged Buzzards. Unfortunately, as I had never been to the site before, we could not find where to go and we were finally beaten by the dusk and decided to make the long trip back to Hunstanton to stay in our next hotel, the Lodge, where we had booked in for the next two nights.

The following day was supposed to be dedicated to shopping and we headed back to Holt.  I dropped my birder's wife off and then went to look for the Parrot Crossbills again.  Unfortunately, although not foggy like Thursday, Friday was wet and bad conditions for Crossbills which meant that I again could not find them.  I did meet a local birder, who was really helpful and gave me directions to some local sites for Tawnies (but despite going to these, we did not see any).

We then made our way along the coast road gradually back towards Hunstanton, calling in at Holkham Adnams store for some further Christmas shopping and then Titchwell where my birder's wife bought some crackers while I walked to the sea.  For the first time during our visit, I noticed the sheer devastation that hit the east coast recently, litter and debris absolutely everwhere, awful!

A quick scan on the sea gave me a group of Scoter (too far away and fading lade prevented me from picking out any Velvets), Red Necked Grebe, Black Throated Diver and 5 Long Tailed Duck.  The walk back to the car gave me 2 Water Rail and when I met up with my birder's wife (who had seen a Marsh Harrier), we managed a distant flight view of a Bittern.

Male Parrot Crossbill

Today, was our last day and time to check out of the Lodge and make our way back home.  As we finished breakfast, I checked on the bird news and noticed that the Holt Parrot Crossbills had been reported again.  We quickly made our way over there (yet again) and as we drove into the car park field, I noticed the friendly local I had met on Friday who had a male and female in his scope already (very obliging).  The birds were busy feeding in a tree out in the open and we got great views of them to enable us to really look at what makes them different to Common Crossbills (large beaks, thick necks, sturdy bodies etc)

Parrot Crossbills at last - Fantastic!

I mentioned to the local that we did not find the Tawny Owls the day before and he very kindly came with us to the same spot and then onto another site, where we finally found a pair, perched up high in a Pine tree - Probably the best views we have ever had of Tawnies, really gorgeous birds and so difficult to spot as they just blend in so well.

Blurry Richard's Pipit

Another quick look at the bird news for the area gave us our next target bird, Richard's Pipit, which was just one mile away at Kelling.  The bird had been seen about 1.5 hours earlier, in a field filled with debris but despite a search by myself and a few other birders, we could not find the bird although we were kept entertained by six Meadow Pipits and a pair of Stonechats.  By this time, my birder's wife decided to head back to the local Cafe for some lunch and I met up again with my local birder friend again and as we were walking round a pile of debris we both saw a lone pipit take flight, call briefly and then settle in a nearby field - It was the bird.  A further search and then the bird took flight again, this time calling a few times before settling out in the open, where I managed an appalling but record shot all the same.  Looking back at my records, this is only the second time I have seen a Richard's Pipit with the last one being on Portland Bill in the 1980's.

After lunch, we then started on the long journey home and as a bonus managed to spot a couple of Common Cranes at Guyhirn and a mini Starling murmuration over Peterborough.

A fantastic mid week break away, meeting friendly birders, doing a spot of shopping, staying in great places, eating good food and seeing some fantastic birds.

First Cattle Egret for the year

After yesterday's success with the gull roost at Chasewater, I felt inspired and decided to hop down the motorway to Buckinghamshire to go for a Cattle Egret.

Cattle Egret

Upon checking out the route on my new phone, I accidentley discovered that my phone has satnav on it. So, I programmed the destination in and off I went.  I was quite impressed that after 45 minutes and following my phone instructions I actually arrived at the destination.

The bird was performing to its name and in a field with cattle, while being admired by an ever increasing group of birders.  I decided to take a couple of shots, reprogramme my satnav and come home swiftly (in order to avoid any impending wrath from my birder's wife due to the fact that I am birding again....).

On the way home, I was not so impressed by the satnav, as it took me a weird long winded route home.  I think I will stick to my trusty tattered old map.

Late afternoon, we decided to take a walk round Hampton Woods, which is not that far from where we live.  It is the nearest reserve to us.  Our walks round this wood have previously been completely unproductive with just Bullfinch and Whitethroat being the highlights.  However, this evening proved different with good numbers of Starlings and Jackdaws preparing to roost, a sizable tit flock consisting of Blue Tits, Great Tits, many Long Tailed Tits and two warblers (presumably Chiff Chaff).  Two Grey Wagtails patrolled the river and two very active Goldcrests were round near the feeders and as the gloom descended, we managed to see a couple of Fallow Deer.   The journey back home took us past my Little Owl field which used to have a large log that the Owl roosted in.  Fortunately, the Owl has found a new home in another dead tree in a field nearby.

Chasewater Gull Roost

Glaucous Gull

As today had bright conditions, I decided to take the plunge and drive to Chasewater to look at the gull roost.  It was the first time I had been to the site and was not too sure where to go and pitch up with my telescope.  However, after walking up and down the south shore for about 15 minutes, I eventually spotted a group of other birders and went and joined them.

Glaucous Gull

The roost at Chasewater is far easier to scan than that at Draycote (where the birds are often very distant) and with many eyes searching, one keen observer soon found a juvenile Glaucous Gull and then a juvenile Iceland Gull.  As it grew darker, a couple of Yellow Legged Gulls were also spotted along with a couple of probable Caspian Gulls.  All these were in addition to the many Herring, Lesser Black Backed, Greater Black Backed, Common and Black Headed Gulls present.

A very pleasant afternoon "gulling" with a bunch of friendly Staffordshire birders.

Iceland Gull

Forest of Dean again

After a non birding weekend except for the brief inclusion of a couple of Ring Necked Parakeets, I decided to take today off and go birding again in the Forest Of Dean, this time with my friend, Mike.

We arrived at the Forest around about 10:30am, parked up and started to walk up the path to Kensley Lodge (near Woorgreens Lake).  As we rounded the bend by the Lodge, I immediately got onto a Hawfinch sitting in the left hand side of a Fir tree.  Unfortunately, Mike did not spot it but we hung around for 15 minutes and soon found 5+ birds scattered around in different trees in the area.  We managed to scope a couple of the birds which gave Mike great views of his first ever Hawfinches.  Also in the area were several Brambling, Redwings, Blackbirds and Siskins.

We decided to continue along the path to Crabtree Hill (where I had seen the Two Barred Crossbills a couple of weeks previously) and then out onto the clearfell but despite searching and hanging around for quite a long time, we could not find the long staying Great Grey Shrike.  We saw some Common Crossbills flying overhead and also heard a Two Barred Crossbill but did not see it.

As it was now past midday, we headed back to the car, and after lunch, decided to retrace our footsteps for another try for the Shrike and the Two Barred Crossbills.  As we were heading up the path, we came across a local birder giving directions to some other birders as to where he had seen the Crossbills earlier.  As the location was a drive away, we decided to head back to the car and the local birder very kindly let us follow him to the destination.  A quick walk up a hill brought us to some larches with a good crop of pine cones but despite an extensive search, we just could not find the Two Barred Crossbills.  We did however obtain good views of Common Crossbills, several Nuthatch, Treecreepers and a Great Spotted Woodpecker.

Back to Brandon Marsh

Robin

It feels like months since I have been to Brandon Marsh, so, this morning we decided to go there for brunch and then a gentle stroll to have a look around.

Brunch for me was a full english breakfast, which was not too bad although a bit greasy for me and my birder's wife had poached eggs on toast which was served with a side salad and coleslaw (a bit odd but there you go).

We decided to only head out to the main hide on

Great Tit

the reserve which looks over the east marsh and fortunately had the hide to ourselves for a change (as that hide is usually full to the brim of photographers).  The colder weather had certainly brought in the gulls, as there were a lot loafing around on the pool, including several Herring, Lesser Black Backed and Common Gulls and one Yellow Legged Gull.  The remainder were Black Headed and despite a good search I could not find a Mediterranean Gull lurking in with the crowd.  Other birds of note that we saw from the hide were a Dunlin, Lapwings and one female Goldeneye.

We then ambled back to the visitor centre and enroute I took a couple snaps before a browse round the shop and back home.

Gloucestershire yet again

Jack Snipe

I decided to take the day off today and pop down to Slimbridge in a bid to see the two juvenile Glossy Ibis that have been roosting there each night for the past fortnight.

Wigeon

As it is a fair drive, I decided to make a day of it and arrived at the site at 11:30am.  My first destination was the shop where I bought a few small Christmas presents for my birder's wife.  I then strolled over to the Holden Tower where I ate my lunch while watching gulls loafing on the Estuary and Canada, Barnacle, Greylag and White Fronted Geese munching on the lush grass.  I then made way slowly back towards the Visitor Centre stopping off for the longest duration at Martin Smith Hide which was a great vantage point to watch Lapwing, Golden Plover, Curlews, Dunlin, Black Tailed Godwits and Wigeon all being harassed now and again by a Peregrine.  Highlight was a Jack Snipe creeping around the reeds at the back of the nearest pool.  A quick stroll round the rest of the reserve and hides and a stop off for a coffee made it near 4:00pm and time to head for the South Lake where the Glossy Ibis roost.

True to the form and at 4:25pm the Glossy Ibis glided down onto the Causeway of the South Lake. A great end to a great days birding.

Glossy Ibis gliding down onto South Lake

Glossy Ibis

Visit to Gloucestershire again

After my jaunt down to the Forest of Dean yesterday, I had to make almost exactly the same journey today but this time just to Cheltenham.  Myself and my birder's wife were meeting some friends for Sunday lunch and a catch up with them as we now won't see them till after Christmas.  En route, we popped into Evans Cycles and I finally purchased some winter clobber to enable me to continue cycling in the colder weather.

I had in mind a quick detour down to Slimbridge on the way home but it was too late for that so I managed instead to get us to leave in time for us to go via Hawling arriving at dusk to look for Short Eared Owls.  I seem to recall, that it was about this time last year that I did the same thing and as per last year, we stopped off in the same layby and spotted an Owl perched on the same wall before taking off and floating out of view (exactly what happened last year).

Great Grey Shrike at last (oh,,,and Two Barred Crossbills)

As my birder's wife was busy today meeting friends and going shopping, I thought I would take the opportunity to head south and either go for the Glossy Ibis (that fly into Slimbridge to roost) or to look for Two Barred Crossbills and Great Grey Shrike that have both been seen on and off near Woorgreens Lake in the Forest of Dean.  Birdguides broke the news that both the Shrike and the Crossbills were around by the time I left at 11:00am.

Two Barred Crossbill

By the time I arrived at Woorgreens Lake, after another horrendous journey, the news services were reporting that at least 15 Two Barred Crossbills had been seen, so I was extremely hopeful.  However, the directions to the area they were being seen from were not that clear and I, being a bit of a numb-skull managed to walk round the lake twice and get extremely muddy before eventually working out where I should be going.  When I got my bearings I walked up Crabtree Hill in completely the wrong direction which did actually have its advantages as I spotted the Great Grey Shrike in a middle of the heath perched on a dead tree.  After asking a walker for directions, I eventually found the area where the Crossbills had been seen and joined about 20 other birders (including one who had a voice like a fog horn but fortunately left after a couple of minutes) to wait and see if they would fly into the Hemlocks.  As the minutes passed, many birders gave up waiting and then after about an hours wait, the two remaining birders and myself were rewarded with our patience of the briefest of glimpses of about two or three perched on the top of a nearby tree (with one calling away constantly).  I did have time to get some record shots, the above of which is the best and shows off the white bars nicely.

Quick visit to Farmoor

A quick visit to Farmoor this morning gave me a Common Sandpiper, lots of Pied Wagtails, a Mipit and the Red Necked Grebe.  Couldn't find the Slavonian Grebe but I did not walk round or have my scope.

A twitch 20 minutes away

It is very unusual for a real rarity to occur in the Midlands, probably due to the location as we are about as far from the coast that you can get in the UK.

On Friday, a Dusky Warbler was reported from Marsh Lane NR about a 20 minute drive from me.  Unfortunately, I could not get to go and see it then but dragged myself out of bed at dawn yesterday and drove the 'long' distance to the reserve.  As I turned into the reserve a message appeared on Twitter that confirmed that the bird was still there and after a 5 minute walk and a donation to the West Midland Bird Club (who own this excellent reserve) I was fortunate to view the bird pretty much straightaway.  During the hour that I was there, the bird showed and called on a number of occasions and I managed brief views of the bird in typical phylloscopus poses.  I also took the opportunity to catch up with Dennis who I seem to only bump into in Norfolk or Scotland, so it was unusual to seem him on home turf.  I then decided to scarper as more birders were starting to arrive with probably a total of about 30 to 40 being there by the time I left.

In the afternoon I had a prearranged appointment with Mike-PCC for us to go birding.  As the wind had picked up we thought we would not travel that far and made our way to Balscote Quarry to see if we could spot a Great Grey Shrike that has been there the past week.  The Shrike was being sensible and was keeping its head down so we gave after an hour wait and headed home.  Great Grey Shrike is becoming a bit of a bogey bird for me this year with me dipping on two in the past two weekends.

A trip down south

After not making the trip to see the Semipalmated Plover on Hayling Island last weekend, I decided to take the plunge and try for it this weekend instead.

It took well over two hours to reach Black Point on Hayling Island and I was certainly glad to arrive after a horrendous journey on the M3 where the visibility was practically zero due to torrential rain.  There were about 60 birders there already and I settled in at the end of the pack (not sure if a group of twitchers/birders can be defined as a pack) and sat down to wait for the tide to come in.  After an hour of waiting, you could visibly see the tide moving waders off the mudflats in the distance.  However, it then started raining and continued to do so with driving wind for the next hour which made it near on impossible to try and look at anything through bins or a scope.  Despite being cold and wet, it was nice to see the waders coming in and flocking together.  The roost gradually got bigger and bigger and contained a mix of Dunlin, Ringed Plovers, Grey Plovers and Sanderlings but by 4:30pm, with no sight of the Semipalmated Plover, I had had enough and decided to leave (many other birders had already left due to the conditions).  However, just as I was leaving, someone had spotted the Semipalmated Plover and I managed to obtain views of the bird through the scrum that then ensued.   I was too cold and wet though to bother to obtain a record shot and also every single piece of equipment seemed to have sand on it.

This morning after drying off my jeans and rucksack at my sister's house (who lives not that far away from Hayling Island), I set off for Mudeford Quay in Dorset where I obtained a brief view of the Roseate Tern there battling the wind.  I waited for another hour but could not find it again.  My next stop was then Sturt Pond at Milford to view a Red Breasted Goose associating with Brent Geese.  I wonder if it is the same bird that was with Brent Geese at Farlington Marshes last year?  I then decided to make my way back home with a stop at Beaulieu Road Station to see if I could find a Great Grey Shrike.  It always surprises me how small shrikes are but despite a good look around, I could not find the one which has been in that area for a few days.

As the wind was really beginning to get stronger, I decided to make my way home and made just one 10 mile detour in order to see my first Hoopoe (above) of the year (in the UK).

Twitch to Rutland Water

After a lovely evening and welcome home dinner by my birders wife on Saturday evening, I woke up yesterday to breaking news of a Leach's Storm Petrel that had been seen at Rutland Water, along with a Grey Phalarope.

A Leach's Storm Petrel was at Draycote Water a few years back and I always regretted not going to see that bird and therefore we decided to take the opportunity to have day out and finish off my holiday in style.

The bird was fairly difficult to spot on the water but eventually we both obtained good views of it flying (being mobbed by Black-headed Gulls).

The Phalarope was no where to be found but we decided to stick around the area for the rest of the day and just as we were leaving, news came out that it had been relocated. So, we turned the car around, headed back and after a brief walk soon had good views of the bird feeding about 20 feet away.  The below photograph gives a good indication of how small Phalaropes are compared to Black-headed Gulls.

Grey Phalarope and Black-headed Gull

Shetlands Day 8 - 12/10/2013

My final day on Shetland and another early start to make the most of my final morning before my flight at 11:25am.  Again we worked the surrounding area nearby the hotel but unfortunately could not find anything new.

In summary, a great time was had by us all even though we did not manage to travel to Fair Isle.

Other birds that we saw on our trip included:- Redwing, Bonxies, Long Tailed Ducks, Great Northern Diver, Black Guillemots and Red Throated Divers.  Mammals and cetaceans included Otters (practically everyday), Harbour Porpoise, Grey and Common Seals and a Hedgehog.

Shetlands Day 7 - 11/10/2013

The beautiful Wilson's Phalarope

News had broken the previous evening of a Wilson's Phalarope at Sand, Shetland Mainland and a Pechora Pipit at Toab.  So, we made an early start, making our way back South across Unst and then Yell and by mid morning had connected with the stunning Wilson's Phalarope, a truly brilliant bird and one that I have always wanted to see.  Also, a Shetland first for Judd, so everyone in our group was very satisfied with the start to our final day.  Next on our list was the Pechora Pipit and after a search in the nearby gardens we found the bird in vegetable field. After a while, we soon obtained good views of the bird as it briefly alighted on a fence before disappearing into some cabbages but as per usual I managed to obtain one of my classic flight shots!!

Pechora Pipit - Honest!!

We spent the remainder of the afternoon in different sites in the nearby area, including Sunburgh Head on which we obtained cracking views of another Blyth's Reed Warbler.

Blyth's Reed Warbler in very unlikely habitat

Also, nearby at Quendale we found another Long Eared Owl (right out in the open) and a Siberian Chiff Chaff.

Long Eared Owl

Shetlands Day 6 - 10/10/2013

Our final day on Unst and we made the most of it by getting up early again and working nearby gardens to try and find any skulking migrants.  Unfortunately, the only things we could find were commoner birds such as Blackcaps and Chiff Chaff.  We also paid a visit to Clingera, Baltasound to try and find a Red-backed Shrike that had been reported but unfortunately could not locate it.

Twite on a wire

Mid morning we decided to go back to the areas we had covered the previous day including a garden at Valyie where Blyth's Reed Warbler and Long Eared Owl had been reported for the past few days.  One of our group managed to find the Long Eared Owl in the top branches of a Pine and I spotted a pale grey bird as it flew from almost under my feet. After spending some time, we eventually obtained decent if not brief views of the bird to identify it as a Blyth's Reed Warbler.

We eat our lunch back at Skaw in the hope that the Little Bunting had not moved on (but it obviously had) and then spent the afternoon in Uyeasound looking for (but not finding) Mealy Redpolls.  However, we did obtain great views of the resident Twite and a handsome Whooper Swan.

Mr Whooper

We finished the day off back at Clingera, Baltasound and managed to find the Red Backed Shrike and splendid little Goldcrest.

Shetlands Day 5 - 09/10/2013

Day 5 of my Shetlands Trip was spent on a new Island for me, Fetlar, in pursuit of a Rustic Bunting, a pleasurable day, especially when the bird showed well (eventually) and in good company, catching up with old acquaintances including Ashley from Oriole Birding.  Below is another classic photo of mine in which I like to test my own ability to spot the bird among the foliage.

Rustic Bunting - Honest!

As there did not seem to be many other birds on Fetlar, we managed to catch an early ferry back to Unst (via Yell) and made our way to the most northern house in the UK at Skaw to look for Little Bunting.  The wind had really picked up by the time we arrived and was a chilling Northerly making it definitely feel that we were far up North but alas the Little Bunting had decided to make the wise decision in moving on and so we had to console ourselves with the opposite. Also, nearby was a pale Chiff Chaff showing traits of the Siberian sub species.

Tame Snow Bunting at Skaw

Enroute back to the hotel we paid a visit to a garden where we knew there were Hawfinches and before and using then Minibus as a hide we had the best ever views of one feeding in full view  within feet away - Amazing.  Also, nearby was a (Eastern) Lesser Whitethroat.

Very obliging Hawfinch

Shetlands Day 4 - 08/10/2013

Subalpine Warbler being non skulky

Another half day of waiting to see if we would get a flight to Fair Isle and after a morning's wait, the flights were again cancelled.

It was decision time for Shetland Wildlife to amend our holiday from a Fair Isle based one to a Shetlands Mainland based one instead and after discussing with us, we were soon on our way northbound for Yell and Unst (with all our onward travel and accommodation rearranged - all very impressive I have to say).

Enroute, we visited Mid Yell to spot an Eastern Subalpine Warbler which was putting on a performance very unlike the Subalpine Warblers I have seen abroad.

We arrived at our final destination late afternoon and after a great meal and quite a few beers, retired to our beds ready for another early start the next day.

Shetlands Day 3 - 07/10/2013

This was meant to be the day we were to fly to Fair Isle and to keep a long story short, after spending most of the day sitting at Tingwall Airport, the flights were eventually cancelled due to bad weather.

Eastern Olivaceous Warbler - Honest!!

Shetland Wildlife were again very efficient in organising alternative accommodation for us all for the night and on our way to our new hotel(s), we again tried for the Eastern Olivaceous Warbler.  This time the three of us in the group who had not yet seen it obtained good views and I managed to take the world's worst photo of one.  One of the enduring memories I will have of this holiday was seeing two of my trip companions "chest-bumping" in celebration that I had finally connected with the bird.

The good news for me was that my new hotel had a Valhalla Ale on tap but cannot remember which one!!

Shetlands Day 2 - 06/10/2013

An early start was in order for our first expedition which was to go out and find a Lesser Yellowlegs.  Unfortunately, despite extensive searching, we could not find the bird - Our 1st dip of the day.  We therefore headed back to the hotel for breakfast.

Red-breasted Flycatcher

After breakfast, we headed over to Hoswick to view the Eastern Olivaceous Warbler.  Unfortunately, the weather was not on our side with persistent wind and rain showers and after about 2 hours of staring at a bush with no movement besides the odd Chiff Chaff or Blackcap, we gave up - Our 2nd dip of the day.

We then decided to head over to Voe to try for an Arctic Warbler but despite an extensive search we could not find it, although we did come across a lovely Red-breasted Flycatcher, which was a welcome addition to my year list.  So, our 3rd dip of the day was not too bad.

Upon hearing that an Arctic Warbler had been seen in Lerwick, we then headed over there but could not find that bird either - 4th dip of the day.

On the way back to the hotel we tried for the Eastern Olivaceous Warbler again.  I managed to see the head of the bird for a split second but feel I could not count that as a "tick" and therefore we again dipped making it an impressive 5 dip day.

Shetlands Day 1 - 05/10/2013

I had been keeping an eye on the wind the week before I was due to travel up to the Shetlands and was not anticipating much from the trip, as the forecast was a shift from South Easterlies to South Westerlies.  After sitting in Glasgow airport and then on the runaway and then back at the terminal because Air Traffic Control had decided to reroute my final leg of the journey to Sumburgh, my mood slowly became that of despair.  As, while I was pulling my hair out in a soulless airport terminal, many birders were enjoying mega's such as Eastern Olivaceous Warbler and Thick-billed Warbler on Shetland Mainland.

I finally arrived at Sumburgh Airport and was met in arrivals by Judd from Shetland Wildlife who was to be my (well, our group) guide for the week.  I had decided to travel with Shetland Wildlife as it was my first foray to the Shetlands and I wanted a hassle free time where all food, accommodation and travel details had already been arranged (and they were very efficient with all of this).  I also felt a guide may be in order as I would be venturing into new birding territory and areas of identification where I at times would probably require assistance (we all have to start somewhere and I ain't afraid to admit that there are areas of birding identification that I still need to hone).

Thick-billed Warbler torpedo

Anyway, Judd whisked me away in a minibus to Geosetter, where a group of about 50 twitchers or birders (choose which ever expression you prefer) were gathered round a crop field in which the Thick-billed Warbler was hiding.  It had been agreed with the landowner that a controlled flush of the bird could be carried out by  Shetland Wildlife and two of them made their way to where the bird was last seen.  This allowed everyone present to obtain good clear flight views of the bird.  My photo shows the bird in torpedo mode.  Also in nearby bushes was a Yellow Browed Warbler.

On the way back, I was dropped off so that I could view a Short-toed Lark which obligingly dropped onto the driveway up to our Hotel.

Short-toed Lark

After two lifers within 30 minutes, I was again more excited as to what the following days would produce and during the evening met my companions for the following week ahead

Breakfast at Brandon

Common Snipe

After an early morning bike ride which half killed me, I decided to take my birder's wife out for breakfast at Brandon Marsh to replace the calories I had burnt off earlier.

After breakfast, we strolled over to East Marsh Hide where we soon discovered we had missed out on a Curlew Sandpiper that had been there earlier.  We were not that concerned as we have seen quite a few Curlew Sands this year but it would have been nice to see one on our home turf for a change.

We sat in the hide for a few minutes while I fiddled around on my new bridge camera try to find out how it worked.  An obliging Snipe was on the water's edge in front of the hide and the above photo shows how powerful the zoom on my little new camera actually is.

At last an Unseen Bird seen

Red Backed Shrike

After waiting for 30 years and always being in the wrong place at the wrong time or just too far away to go and see Red Backed Shrikes, I finally bit the bullet and decided to travel down to Greenham Common this morning to finally try and nab one of my bogey birds.  The bird has been at the site for a few days now but was not reported till late yesterday and therefore I was unable to make it down there. So, this morning, when news broke that the bird was still there, I left immediately.

Red Backed Shrike

I do not know Greenham Common at all and it took me a while to locate the area where the bird has been seen but after searching for 30 minutes I saw the tell tale signs of tripods and camera lens and within minutes soon had the bird in my sights.  Unfortunately, views were limited as the crowd viewing the bird had pitched up quite a distance from the area it was preferring. I at least managed to obtain a record shot and on the way back to the car, managed to update the blurred photos I have of Whinchats.

Brandon Marsh and Pec Sandpiper

Pectoral Sandpiper blurred

Ruff

This morning I was debating whether or not to drive to Rutland to add Pectoral Sandpiper to my year list.  Fortunately, God sent one to Brandon Marsh which saved me a long drive.  Also on East Marsh this morning was a Ruff.

The obliging East Marsh Hide Water Rail