When in Rome - Go Birding

The last 7 days we spent on holiday in Rome.  As a birder, I decided to revise up beforehand to determine any likely spots for some sneaky birding (as a rest from fighting off hawkers and visiting churches).  However, there seems to be a distinct lack of information as to where to bird in Rome and I therefore did the best I could while in the city.

Rome still remains my favourite city, and I returned there despite not throwing a coin over my left shoulder into the Trevi Fountain 20 odd years ago - So save your money if you visit and buy an espresso instead.

On the first day of our visit we decided to take it easy and headed around the major sights including the Trevi Fountain, the Spanish Steps and the Pantheon.  We concluded the day in Villa Borghese with me getting very excited at seeing my very first Serin.  Other birds of note for the afternoon included, Yellow Legged Gulls, Hooded Crows, Firecrests, Swifts, a Pied Flycatcher, Italian Sparrows, White Wagtail, Monk Parakeets and a Ruddy Shelduck (no doubt of dubious origin).  The park was full of tourists and hawkers trying to thrust red roses at the unsuspecting.  Not the greatest birding spot but could be good first thing in the morning.  Highlight of the day birding wise had to be a Yellow Legged Gull disemboweling a feral pigeon on the Trevi Fountain.

The following day, my birders wife indulged me and allowed us to travel down to the coast where we went for a brief walk in the pinewood at Castel fusano.  The area is forest and open scrub and is mainly used as a place for jogging and cycling for the locals.  However, it is a good area for a mornings birding and with patience, I expect many of the local species should be seen.  We, however were on a schedule and only had a couple of hours before heading off to the ruins at Ostia Antica.  The couple of hours we did have were fine as we managed to find a Woodchat Shrike and some Subalpine Warblers (2 more lifers for me), Cirl Buntings and more Firecrests.  We also heard a couple of Nightingales and a Turtle Dove.  We then spent the afternoon at Ostia Antica which is just as good as Pompei and gave me more Serins, Redstart, Blackcaps, more Nightingales (heard but not seen) and a flyover Hoopoe.

On Wednesday we spent the day at the Vatican and St Peter's Basilica - The only things we spotted there were Cardinals (boom boom!).

On Thursday we went to the Colosseum, Palatine Hill and the Forum and again seemed to be surrounded by Serins.  Palatine Hill also provided me with two more lifers, the first being an unidentified Sylvia (which I later on managed to find out was a Sardinian Warbler) and a Blue Rock Thrush.  The Yellow Legged Gulls also seemed to enjoy nesting on the ruins of the Forum.  We also spotted a Treecreeper which I can only presume was a Short Toed Treecreeper (I believe I heard it call but did not see it calling when viewing it creeping up a tree trunk).

On Friday, we walked down the Appian Way (one of the "not to miss" things to do according to our guide book).  It was a pretty hot day but the views, churches and ruins were all spectacular.  Highlight for the day birding wise were 3 Beeeaters which flew over the ruins of Villa dei Quintili.

Our final couple of days were spent pottering around the remaining churches we had not yet visited and a visit to the Botanical Gardens which are far better option than Villa Borghese (although fairly expensive at 8 Euros each).  However the gardens are tranquil and full of bird song and birds including;  Hooded Crows, Monk Parakeets, Yellow Legged Gulls, Great Spotted Woodpeckers, Short Toed Treecreepers and the usual woodland birds like Wren, Robin, Blackbird etc.

So, overall despite the fact that we were in the middle of a city and had limited time birding, I still managed to walk away with 8 lifers (if you include Italian Sparrow).  No doubt we will return to Rome again one day.

The Two Moors

I headed down to Otmoor this morning at 5:30am.  As I turned off the A34 and headed through Islip, the temperature gauge on my car went from -1 down to -3.  To prevent myself from freezing to the path, I did a quick march to the 2nd screen, which always feels like about 3 miles but probably is only just over a mile and sat myself down to look for the long staying "Fudge" Duck among the Pochard and Tufted Duck.  Knowing what skulking birds theses ducks can be in reed beds, I was not that hopeful (especially after dipping on one at Ham Wall earlier this month).  However, this individual proved to be very obliging and was the nearest bird to the screen.  I did attempt a couple of record shots but the light was not that favourable at 6:30am in the morning and the duck decided to remain asleep.

As you can only look at a sleeping duck for so long, I headed back to the car via the hide and clocked the other birds that were on the reserve, which included Wigeon, Teal, Pintail, Reed Buntings, Red Kites and Lapwings.

After a quick drive I was soon at the other moor (Farmoor), where I ambled along the causeway observing 4 Scaup, a Red Crested Pochard, two Wheatear, Rock Pipits and a very flighty Black Redstart.  Out in the centre were at least two Little Gulls (which provided far nearer views than we get at Draycote Water).  On the way back to the car I bumped into a couple of Birders who I had seen at Otmoor and as we were chatting, a Sand Martin (my first for the year) flew over our heads.

A great mornings birding with quite a few species that I do not see that often.

Gardening Birding

Decided to stay in today partly because I am suffering from a cold and partly because it is so darn cold outside.

The cold weather spell brought in a good few species this morning to my feeders and the surrounding gardens.  A peak count of 14 Goldfinches in trees nearby, several Great Tits and Blue Tits, a male Reed Bunting and one Siskin (my first of the winter for the garden) - No sign of our Brambling though.

Brandon and Draycote

This morning the weather forecast was overcast and I therefore decided to make a visit to Brandon followed by Draycote.  The plan was a good one, except upon arrival at Brandon I firstly found it to be flooded with access only available to one hide and secondly it decided to tip it down with rain which then turned into snow.  After an hour of waiting for the rain/snow to cease, I eventually gave up and made my way back to the car and then home to defrost.  Brandon was particularly devoid of birds except for a few bedraggled Lapwing and a busy Kingfisher who performed many flypasts.

As the day went on, the rain did eventually stop and the sun tried to come out, so I decided to try again and this way made my way with my birder's wife to Draycote.  The weather had presumably kept visitors away as the car park and area was very quiet except for the odd mad jogger and cyclist.  Birds of note were 4 Tree Sparrow on the Tree Sparrow feeder, two Goldcrest and two Grey Wagtail near the outlet and some loafing larger gulls in the centre.  At one point it almost felt like Spring as we heard our first Chiff Chaff singing for the year.

Garden Brambling

As I was just about to jump into the shower this morning, I caught sight of our occasional Brambling visitor on our seed tray.  The bird for once was fairly obliging and hung around for 5 minutes which gave me just enough time to get these shots.

Home via Slimbridge

After a great Saturday evening and comfortable stay at a hotel in Hembury, we headed home first via Aust Warth for breakfast and possible Short Eared Owls (which we unfortunately dipped on) and then to Slimbridge.

A bitter east wind kept many people away from Slimbridge.  We took our time and visited a lot of Slimbridge that we normally miss out altogether, including the Kingfisher hide and the captive species.  Bonus of the day was when a Goshawk passed in front of the Zeiss Hide and Common Cranes appeared on the Tack Piece.

In the afternoon, we walked round Frampton on Severn and Splatt Bridge The bitter wind accompanied by fine hail eventually got the better of us and sent us back home to some warmth.

4 Counties

This weekend saw us pass through four separate counties, Warwickshire, Worcestershire, Gloucestershire and Somerset (unless you class Bristol and area as separate county then Avon makes five instead).

We were attending a 60th birthday party for a dear friend of ours in Bristol on Saturday evening and as we were in the area we thought we would make the most of it and do a spot of birding in the area.  After an early start on Saturday day morning we headed first to the most obvious port of call, which was Ham Wall RSPB to view the long staying Pied Billed Grebe.  The car park was pretty clear when we arrived, possibly because the bird had been at the reserve for over two weeks and most twitchers had been and gone.  So, after a short walk when we arrived at the 2nd viewing platform there was not any jostling for space and the bird obligingly decided to show clearly for a couple of minutes.  As time was a factor, we decided not to hang around but go and find the Ferruginous Duck and Ring Necked Duck which were a further 400 metres down the path.  Unfortunately, despite extensive searching I could not find the "Fudge" Duck but did locate the Ring Necked Duck and even managed a record short.  Other birds of note in the area were a couple of Marsh Harriers and at least 3 booming Bitterns.

A quick march back to the car and short drive then took us to Catcott Lows NR to view a visiting Spoonbill,  Great White Egret and a surprise star of the show, a Water Pipit near the hide.

As my Birder's Wife started to make noises about the loo and lunch, we winged our way to some services and then made our way back up to Bristol and had lunch at Aust Warth while waiting for some long staying Twite to make an appearance.