Roll on next year

It is with a relief that we are at the end of 2018 which has been a tough one with family members playing games, illness and loss of a loved one and continued work issues.  In normal circumstances, one would hope to rely on a steady force to assist in times of trouble, a hobby and people within that hobby to temporarily forget about things but unfortunately that has not been the case.  The less said about that the better as I have no intention of plunging to the same depths of some local birders who enjoy backstabbing, gossiping and lieing.  I can now understand why some birders in our area keep mainly to themselves!

This sounds all very depressing but 2018 was full of good times as well.  I finally managed to see Houbara Bustards and Cream Coloured Coursers and saw some great new birds in the UK, most of them classed as "megas".  The Scillies finally delivered me some good birds and lifers in the shape of Red-eyed Vireo and Grey-cheeked Thrush.  Warwick proved that it is not a total dead zone as far as birds are concerned and that you can see a good variety of birds if you put your mind to it by just staying put in one area.

Below are the highlights of the year in photo format:-

Pied Wheatear on The Wirral

Pied Wheatears in the past have been extremely hard to twitch with some being too distant and others just one or two day stayers.  So, when breaking news of one on the Wirral came up early last week and it remained a couple of days, a twitch was hastily arranged for Friday (if it decided to stick around).

As the week progressed, news came out that the bird was being fed mealworms which quite rightly attracted much criticism online.  Also, it turned out that the journey could be a nightmare with most of the M6 being at 50mph.  It was therefore possibly turning out that this might not be the nicest twitch of the year.  However, as Friday arrived and the news came out that the bird was still there, we departed from Redditch ,where I had picked up the others and it wasn't long before we were crawling up the M6 and the Squire was in his slumbers.

Despite the slowness of the journey, there were no holdups and we made good time that meant we arrived on site at about 11:30am.  As we pulled up, we saw the bird on the sea wall before even stopping - that has surely had to be the easiest twitch I have ever done by seeing a lifer without undoing my seatbelt.

The bird was extremely confiding, the crowd were well behaved and there were no signs of any mealworms anywhere - perfect!

   
We spent about 45 minutes with the bird and then decided to make our way home via Burton Mere RSPB arriving back in the Midlands late afternoon.  

Norfolk escape

Being back in my part of birdless Warwickshire since returning from Scilly was not that fun for the past week.  A huge email inbox was awaiting me at work and lunchtime visits to the Racecourse did not exactly brighten my day.  So, when The Squire contacted me for the possibility of a day trip to Norfolk, I jumped at the chance.  The main aim for him was to secure his first King Eider and my aim was to take a look at the Salthouse 'Eastern Stonechat'.  We had seen both birds by 11:00am and spent the rest of day making our way back west along the coast taking in some birding spots en route.  Good birding with good company - overall a great day and a tonic to get me back on track.

Scillies and Cornwall 2018 - Days 5 to 10

Hasten to add that days 5 to 10 for our trip were not exciting as the first 4.  On Monday we visited Tresco which happened to be one of my least favourite islands but after walking round a few areas I had never visited before with a further visit on Thursday, my opinions may have altered......

Tuesday and Wednesday was spent pottering around St Mary's.  Birds included Long Eared Owl, 2 Richard's Pipits, a few Yellow-Browed Warblers, a dodgy looking Snipe, Jack Snipe, Stonechats, Black Redstarts, Rosey Starling, Water Pipit, Rustic Bunting, Dusky Warbler and my second ever Serin.  If I had a Scilly list I would have also added Great White Egret, Cattle Egret and Spoonbills - but I don't have one.

One of my enduring memories from the trip was views of Samson, an Island I have not yet managed to visit.

On our last day we took a quick  walk to Old Town, saw a Merlin, had a coffee at the Old Town Café and then took the Scillonian back to the mainland.  We opted for a night in Penzance and before heading home on Saturday decided to take in the Choughs round the Lands End area - a perfect way to end the holiday.

Scillies and Cornwall 2018 - Days 1 to 4

The last time we went to the Scillies was back in 2016 which was a very quiet year on the islands for the week we were there on the birds front.  So much so that I decided to abandon going there and opted for the Shetlands instead in 2017.  The draw to Islands however is strong and we decided to book again this year to give them another chance.

As news broke about the Grey Catbird in Cornwall I worked out that there would be a lack of time to go and see it before our sailing on Friday and therefore performed some juggling and in the end managed to arrange to go and see it on Thursday instead.  After waiting a couple of hours it came out of cover just before dusk and performed nicely to the 50 twitchers present - A good start to the trip - Maybe Scillies would be paying me back what it owed me after all.....

Grey Catbird

The trip over to the islands on Friday morning was pleasant with a dead calm sea which didn't produce many birds except for a few Guillemots, 2 Razorbill, 1 Manx Shearwater, 1 Great Skua and lots of Gannets.  However, it was good for the prevention of sea sickness and we did instead have good views of Dolphin, some Harbour Porpoise, a Minke Whale and several Tuna (presumably Blue-Finned).  As we landed, we received news that a Red-Eyed Vireo had been seen on Bryher, so I left my Birder's Wife and Companions for the extra boat scheduled for birders to go and see the bird.  I was in so much of a hurry that I forgot my camera....so the picture of the bird below is even worse than normal.  Fortunately the bird performed well for the crowd of admirers.

Red-Eyed Vireo Twitch

Red-Eyed Vireo naff photo through bins using my phone

The following day we decided to go to over to St Agnes and I again left my Birder's Wife and Companions to go stake out the very elusive Grey-Cheeked Thrush in Covean.  After 2.5 hours of absolutely nothing besides the back of a Boat Shed, I met the others for lunch at the Turks Head before going back to the Boat Shed for another stint.  I know I should never have had the pint at lunch, as the bird decided to appear to one other birder present when I had decided to abandon my post for a wee - Not the best of days.

Not a wise choice when waiting for a bird to appear

 However, the following day I went back to St Agnes and we scored the bird after just 15 minutes of waiting.  Result!

The rest of that day was spent walking round St Agnes taking in the beautiful scenery and some Troon Ice Cream while securing a Melodious Warbler and a Red Backed Shrike - Quality birding on a quality Island.

Saxon Mill Fields at stupid o'clock

Saxon Mill fields at dawn

I closed my front door quietly early on Sunday morning and placed my hand on the windscreen of my car only for it to stick to a layer of ice, I wondered for a second why I was being so stupid and didn't retreat back to the warmth of my bed.  However, I had arranged to meet Lizzy and Jack at Saxon Mill Fields for a spot of birding and vismigging that morning and decided to brave the 1degree temperature.

As I climbed the small hill where vismigging is done from, the rising sun and cloud formation was creating a lovely sight over the spire of Old Milverton Church.

Lizzy and Jack were at their usual spot and had already recorded their first Redwings flying over for the autumn.  As it grew lighter, Jack's sharp eyes pinpointed birds way in the distance which my poor middle-aged eyes could not grab onto without the help of binoculars and over the course of the morning we recorded a decent passage of Meadow Pipits and Skylarks going south (185 degree line) and Redwings, including a single Fieldfare going west.

Even though I am not a believer in the hype surrounding certain places in South Warwickshire being significant flyways for certain types of migrating birds, it is obvious due to its location in the kink of the Avon on slightly high ground that Saxon Mill Fields could attract something a bit more unusual, especially as it is watched by someone with infectious optimism and sharp eyes.

For me, I was just glad for a change of scene away from the heavily disturbed Racecourse.  Talking of which, please could the birder I was speaking to on the Racecourse the other day contact me via this blog so that I can keep you updated on birds seen and projects being undertaken.  Also it would be great if you could supply me with your records and also past records for when you used to walk at Saxon Mill fields - Thank you.

Back on patch and back to reality

After spending early afternoon with "Champ" Bradders and "Proud Mum" Bradders at their Saxon Mill patch and having great views of a Yellow Wagtail, I felt inspired to be back at the Racecourse and ventured out early this morning.

It definitely felt autumnal with a heavy ground mist making everything very atmospheric and photogenic, so much so that even I couldn't fail when taking a picture.

There were nothing of note bird wise except for visible movement of Meadow Pipits along their usual SSW route at about 60-70 birds per hour.  I'll be out again tomorrow morning at the same time to see if I can luck in on a Tree Pipit (if not too late).

Norfolk Weekender

After twitching the Booted Warbler in Lowestoft, we made our way over to Norfolk and spent the rest of the afternoon and the following morning at Titchwell.

I once read a derogatory tweet from someone about mingling with the dudes (*) at Titchwell and from that moment decided I didn't want to become like that person and their attitude towards birders who may not be as experienced or knowledgeable.  This is probably because some would accuse me of being a dude but to be honest dude or non dude I would far rather be nice to people than superior and judgmental.  Also, if it wasn't for people who love the outdoors and a spot of birding (even though they may not know what they are looking at all the time) then places like Titchwell may not exist, as membership fees do come in useful!  So, our visits Titchwell are always a positive experience by assisting so-called 'dudes' who ask for identification of different birds and by talking to them instead of just growling and of course my #Birderswife always enjoys meeting different people.

Unfortunately due to strong WSW winds the east coast appeared pretty quiet during our stay but then we couldn't really complain about seeing Spoonbills, Great Egret, Turtle Doves, Little Stint, Curlew Sandpiper, Black Tailed Godwits, Knot, Grey Plover, Arctic Skuas, Gannets, Eider, Dunlin, Avocets, Bearded Reedlings, Water Rail, Merlin and Marsh Harriers (to name a few).

Probably the best news we had when away for the weekend was that our friend Jack Bradbury had won the Best Young Birder award at Spurn Migfest in his age category.  Congratulations to him on such a great achievement.

(*) Dude is a pejorative term sometimes used to refer to birders who have all the equipment but don't actually know a lot about birds.

Booted on the way to Norfolk

After dipping two Booted Warblers in Shetland last year, I felt that all Booted Warblers owed me and it was fortunate that one came up in Lowestoft a day before we were due to drive to Norfolk for an anniversary weekend.

So, when the bird came up on the Bird News Services as still being there just before we were due to leave on Friday, I dropped the bombshell to my #Birderswife that we were taking a slight detour.

It so happened that Neil, Squire and Chris were also on the road ahead of me and a few calls between us assisted in guiding me to the right area in Lowestoft and it wasn't long before we arrived at the destination.  After reports the day before, I was expecting a long wait for the bird to show but as we arrived it immediately it obliged us with great views.  A great start to the weekend on the east coast.

Booted Warbler

More Lifers - Not Birds but Cycling Legends

Interestingly, since my last blog entry I have had a read of some of my previous posts over the years in which I used to talk about failed twitches, lack of birds on the Racecourse, cycling and the number of dog turds on my patch.  You may (or may not) be glad to know that I don't change and those of you who follow me on Twitter could testify that I continue to talk/moan about exactly the same subjects frequently.  So, on that note, let's continue....

Greipel in full on sprint mode

Yesterday saw the Tour Of Britain come to Warwickshire, so I decided to book a half day and try and score some more Cycling Legend Lifers.  Previously, from other Cycling Events I have attended I have notched up Mark Cavendish, Bradley Wiggins, Chris Froome, Thomas Voeckler, Cadel Evans, Peter Sagan, Tejay Van Garderen, Richie Port, Edvald Boasson Hagen, Berhard Eisel, Michael Rogers, Philippe Gilbert, George Hincapie, Marcus Burghardt and Vicenzo Nibali to name a few.

I clocked off just before Midday and marched into Warwick in time to first witness the break away and then the main peloton (two minutes later) turn right and make their way up Theatre Street.  I chose exactly the same spot as I did for the Women's Tour earlier in the year and was awarded with excellent views as the riders slowed down ever so slightly to climb the tiny ramp.

Team Sky Bus

On the way back home I decided to go via the Racecourse and managed to find a single Whinchat, which proved to be pretty elusive.  Even though I do frequently moan about the Racecourse, it has been fairly good this autumn so far, with Whinchat yesterday and a Wheatear plus a Spotted Flycatcher about two weeks ago.  As with all birds on the Racecourse, due to disturbance, the Whinchat proved to be a one day stayer and was not there today (or appeared not to be).

I then drove into Leamington Spa, walked round the Race Village before parking myself at some barriers to await the finish of the Race.  The finish was exciting as per usual, with the commentators whipping the crowd up which added to the atmosphere.  It was great to see Andre Greipel secure victory and afterwards I went to watch the Awards Ceremony followed by a stroll round where the Team Buses were parked up.

Sir Dave

To celebrate a fantastic day of excitement and action I finished it off with a 21 mile bike ride round some of the roads the Tour had crossed earlier on in the day.

Tour De France victor 2018

Significant New Lifers for the day:  Geraint Thomas and Andre Greipel.

Back again

It certainly has been a long time since I last posted.

I originally abandoned this blog to discourage some competitive birding I was being subjected to.  At the same time, I decided to stay on social media via Twitter, while limiting details of all my sightings.  That situation has now resolved itself, although my time on Twitter has equally had its ups and downs as I am a sensitive person and may tend to overthink.  It is clear that Social Media exposes a person to the good and bad behaviours of people who share the same interests and I have struggled at times with all the nastiness that surrounds our hobby, but then there are so many great things about Birding as well and that is why I thought I would resurrect this blog to record some of those things.  I hope you enjoy the read.