Wind swept Wasperton

I left work at 4:00pm today after a particularly naff day and decided to drag my birder's wife out for a quick pre dusk walk round Wasperton to chill myself out (it was either that or hitting the drink!!!).  As we arrived, someone (possibly the landowner) was sweeping his drive and I took the opportunity to ask about access to the river from Wasperton and was advised that unfortunately the gated path that many people walk down which leads to the river is in fact private.  With that knowledge in the bank, I can now begin to work out possible routes for patchworking in the spring without encroaching on private land.

Our walk did not provide us with many birds except for about 15 Linnet going to roost in the usual spot.  Of course, we were slightly hindered as the heavens decided to open at the point we were farthest from the car and the wind was howling round us in icy blasts - not the best birding weather.

Gull Tuition

After long process of trying to get together these past few weeks (hampered by the extreme weather we have been having), I finally managed to catch up with Martin Elliot for some one to one tuition on Gull Identification.  We started the day off with a coffee and Martin giving an explanation of the importance for the need to age larger gulls to enable full identification, this was accompanied with his sketches and some excellent photographs.

By midday, we were ready to go into the field and headed to an area near Wellingborough where the gulls loaf around after feeding on the nearby tip.  Almost straight away, Martin found a 1st winter Caspian Gull, a beautiful specimen, smaller than I had imagined, possibly a female.  During the rest of the afternoon, Martin pointed Herring x Glaucous Gulls, some bizarre hybrids along with two other 1st winter Caspian Gulls and a smashing 2nd winter Caspian Gull.  Right at the end of afternoon, Martin found an adult Glaucous Gull, which has been residing in the area for some weeks.

An excellent and informative day with the adding bonus of a Merlin chasing a Pied Wagtail right over our heads.  What have I learnt? Probably to be more cautious when trying to identify Caspian Gulls and learn more about ageing and to look at the whole bird not just certain features that some birders only hone in on (like the eye, beak and head shape).  What else have I learnt? That I need a lot practise on larger gulls - hey ho!!

Barford Walkabout

I met up with Daniel again this morning and we had a wander around the Barford area.  As we set off, it became very obvious that we had discovered a great area with decent sized flocks of Linnets flying around and good numbers of Reed Buntings and Yellowhammer (I can see why I saw my Merlin the other day, as the area is a great spot for passerines).  The highlight of our circular walk though was finding 6 Corn Buntings, a great bird spot for Warwickshire.  As I had to meet friends for Sunday lunch in Stow, I left Daniel to explore the area and search for the Dartford Warbler, which now sounds like definite sighting back on 27th January by a local birder.

Camera-shy Yellowhammer

On the way home from Stow, we popped by Wellesbourne Airfield to check for Lapwing and Golden Plover.  I counted approximately 150 Lapwing near the main road but could not see any Golden Plover.  However, after waiting 10 minutes, the birds took flight and I managed to count 10 Golden Plover mixed in with the Lapwing before they settled down again.  Another large flock of approximately 200 Lapwing were in flight as we drove home and as a finale for the day,we watched the Starling murmuration gather over Barford wood.

Dartford Chase

After hearing that a Dartford Warbler had possibly been spotted in the Wasperton area on 27th January, I got up early and made my way down there.  I was not confident that I would find the bird, as the directions were vague and I also had combed the area pretty thoroughly on 2nd February.  I walked up and down the main path 4-5 times and the result was negative besides 18 Linnets, 1 Buzzard, 10 Fieldfare, 1 Green Woodpecker and several Dunnocks.

As time was pushing on, I decided to go home via Barford which has some promising Owl fields (I had been there last night and saw nothing except a lone Little Owl).  As I drove along, I chased a male Merlin down the middle of the road before it zipped over the hedge (a bit of a surprise).  Unfortunately, I could find no Owls but the place was teeming with passerines and thrushes, definately needs investigating another time.

This evening I detoured slightly on the way home to watch the Warwick Starling murmuration. Quite a sight and particularly extraordinary in that they have chosed a small band of conifers in which to roost, they literally struggled to all fit.

Birthday Bird

Today was my birthday and for the first time ever I got a birthday bird in the form of a Red-flanked Bluetail.

Yesterday, when I saw the bird appear on Twitter and I saw where it was, I told my birder's wife where I wanted to go as my birthday treat.  So, this morning we ventured forth to deepest south Gloster.  After an uneventful drive (besides a stonechip almost coming through the windscreen) we arrived two miles north of Marshfield at a gorgeous spot - The bird had certainly chosen a very impressive place to hang out. After donning our foot attire, we followed in the steps of Mr Lee Evans who had arrived a couple of moments earlier and after a 10 minutes walk joined the masses of admirers.  The bird was very active and was hard to pin down for a record shot - however I managed the below.  I then managed to obtain some fantastic views of the bird through my bins - a truly spectacular lifer for me.

Red-flanked Bluetail

After looking at the bird for 30 minutes we decided to head back to the car for a cup of coffee and decisions as to what to do for the rest of the day.  Dyrham Hall NT was close by but unfortunately closed, so we opted to make our way home via Aust Warth for lunch.

The high tides in Aust Warth had left a lot of debris on which Meadow Pipits and Reed Buntings were feeding.  Despite many scans, I could not locate any of the Short Eared Owl hiding out in the long grass.

Reed Bunting

Day off at Draycote

Little Grebe

We both had a day off today and after a late start, decided to have a march round Draycote Reservoir.  We went prepared for rain but were buffetted round the reservoir by wind.  No real birds of interest were around till we reached the Draycote Bank area, where there were several Goosander and at least 5 Tree Sparrow on the nearby feeder.  The Outflow area had a female Red Breasted Merganser and another Goosander along with a pre roost of Gulls that contained Black Headed Gulls and Common Gulls.  We had a reviving coffee and cake at the Cafe and then continued along Farborough Bank where the long staying Smew was loitering along with the Great Northern Diver.  We could not find the Long Tailed Duck but were rewarded at the end of our long walk with a Water Rail and Chiff Chaff in Toft Bay.

Great Northen Diver - Now you see it

Now you don't

Visit to Slimbridge

Peregrine

Today, we decided to visit one our favourite places - Slimbridge.  The weather forecast of heavy showers and 70mph blasts did not put us off travelling down there, especially as the morning was perfect with hardly a cloud in the sky.

We arrived at 10:30am and after determining that it was only an hour after high tide, headed towards the Holden Tower to view the thousands of birds congregating on the Dumbles and the Tack Piece.  It really was a spectacular site, the Dumbles was flooded and the river was the highest we have ever seen it (literally bubbling).  Birds viewable from the Tower were European White Fronted Geese, a Greenland White Fronted Goose, Bewick Swans, Dunlin, Golden Plovers, Lapwings, Curlews and Little Stint.

Pintail

After a while, the cold got the better of us and we wandered back to the Visitor Centre, clocking some GCP Common Cranes on the way.  After a coffee and some cake, we had a stroll round the Visitor Centre and then ventured back out again towards the Holden Tower.  This time, we had much better views of the Greenland White Fronted Goose and added Barnacle and Brent to our Goose tally.  A more detailed scan of the Tack Piece gave us great views of Black Tailed Godwits, Teal, Wigeon, Redshank, a Ruff and a Peregrine.

Pochard

Redshank

Tuftie