23/01/17 Scotland Day 2

It was Coastal day today as we headed out to the Moray Firth.
Lots of birds to see today - in fabulous weather.

• The Divers were there in good numbers with plenty of Red-throated Divers and Black-throated Divers.  There was at least one Great Northern Diver.

• We were lucky to see a couple of Iceland Gulls with a 1st winter bird at Burghead and a 2nd winter bird at  Lossiemouth east beach.

• By far the handsomest bird was the drake Eider - this species was present in large numbers.

• Incredibly there was a single Hooded Crow early on - a rarity on this coast.

• Grey Partridge, Corn Bunting, Shag, Red-breasted Merganser, Long-tailed Duck, Goldeneye, etc helped make up an impressive day list of well over 60 species.

A terrific second day with stunning scenery and loads of birds.

22/01/17. Scotland Day 1

An early 8.15 start to see Black and Red Grouse near Dorbach Lodge NJ.074.170.

• There were at least 10 male Black Grouse at the Lek and showing well in the good lighting conditions.  We also had good views of a Red Grouse and a couple of distant views.

• Then we were off to Loch Garten to see the Crested Tits.

• The Capercaillie search in Inverladen Wood was thorough, but unsuccessful and took well over 3 hours.

• The late afternoon session by the River Spey was more productive with good views of Goldeneye.  I saw my first Redpolls of the year in the canopy of the tall trees overlooking the river.

A underwhelming start despite the early successes.  Too much time in the van on bumpy roads with no sightings was a little hard to bear on the first day.

20/01/2017 Travelling up to Scotland

Saturday 21/01/2017
Barr Loch
RSPB Lochwinnoch

• Set off from Workington with Brian at 07.00.  We decided to make a detour near Glasgow to twitch the Hooded Merganser at RSPB Lochwinnoch.

RSPB Lochwinnoch.

• This turned out to be a very good decision and we got to see a really beautiful bird in all its glory. Thanks to a helpful local birder who we met in the car park, we were directed to Barr Loch and to the Ranger, Zul, who pointed us to the correct area on the opposite side of the Loch.

• The merganser had temporarily disappeared down a channel.  It soon re-appeared and gave us some superb views as it moved around, before going onto the bank for a nap.

What a great start - a lifer on day 1!

Loch Garten

Arrived at Mount View our hotel for the duration and, after dropping off our bags, we then made our way to Loch Garten for the last hour of daylight.

• We had close views of 3-4 Crested Tits as they came to the table for food along with the Coal Tits.

Incredibly there was only 4 of us in total to witness this spectacular event.

Roll on tomorrow when our trip starts proper!

20/01/2017 Cumbria and it's 150

Friday 20 January 2017
Cumbria

Spent a great day with brother-in-law Kenny and good friend Brian.  The weather was really good with clear skies and no wind.

Whitehaven Marina

• It took some time but we eventually located the Black Guillemot and enjoyed good scope views.
• There was a lovely Long-tailed Duck on the sea just outside the Marina.

• No sign of the Black Redstart.

Workington Harbour

• Stumpy, the one-legged be Mediterranean Gull stole the show by flying close by and landing at good strategic viewing points.
• At least 2 Purple Sandpipers could be seen from the end of the pier.

Siddick Pond, Workington

This was alive with birds.

• At least 10 Whooper Swans were on display with 4 of them being juveniles.
• The Redhead Smew was showing well on the small pond.
• So too were the Goldeneyes.
• Goosanders were present in good numbers.

River Derwent, Workington

Water levels were high so it did not bode well for us seeing our target bird - the Dipper.

• No need to worry - we saw at least 2 finally.
• Before this we were both surprised and delighted to see a Common Sandpiper.
• A splendid Grey Wagtail also showed up.

A terrific day which fittingly ended with the dipper sighting, my 150 species of 2017

19/01/2017 Heading up North

Thursday 19 January 2017

Heading up to Cumbria prior to a 4 day birding  holiday in Scotland with Heatherlea.

Brilliant lighting on M40 and I managed to see at least 10 Red Kites on the stretch from the M25 to Oxford.

Stopped off at Pennington Flashes for a planned break.  A lovely Willow Tit soon came to the feeder at the Bunting Hide.  Lots of Bullfinches and Reed. Buntings too.  From the Teal Hide I saw my first Bittern of the year.  There were so many Goosanders around and showing well.

I had to carry on with my journey and missed the gull roost where an Iceland Gull and a Mediterranean Gull were expected.


A good start.

18/01/17 The Arun valley

Wednesday 18 January 2017
The Arun Valley, West Sussex

• I was late in getting to Rackham Woods today - with heavy traffic around Lewes and Brighton. 

• With little to see we moved on to Coldwaltham where we were unable to find the Great Grey Shrike but we did see lots of Chiffchaffs

• At Lavington Common we saw a Dartford Warbler and, just as we were leaving after lunch, at least 4 Siskins high in the trees above us.

• Next stop was Waterwoods, at Arundel, for our annual twitch of the Firecrests.  This visit was one of our best with at least 2 of them showing well from 10 metres or so.

• My final stop, before leaving early, was Swanbourne lake where we saw 10+ Mandarins.

• I had to leave early to get home and pack for my journey north to Cumbria and then Scotland.  The rest of the group went on to The Burgh where they added Hen Harrier, Corn Bunting, Grey Partridge, Short-eared Owl and Red Kite to our day list.

A lovely day out and, after a quiet start, some super sightings!

16/01/17 You win some - you lose some!

Monday 16 January 2017

You win some.

Last Thursday, on my way to see the Purple Sandpipers at Newhaven Tidemills I saw what I was 95% sure was the Serin that had been seen here before Xmas.  As it was not listed as currently present I decided it was probably a mis-ID on my part and moved on.  

I intended to mention it to Paul on the following Saturday but, with an itinerary that involved several changes of venue plus the fact that my mind was on the immediate journey up to Norfolk, it never happened.  

Incredibly, it was Paul himself who spotted the bird on the following Monday!

On reflection, it was the Serin I saw.  What is worrying is that 95% sure was not enough for me to go public.  Why?

You lose some

Paul emailed me with the news that the DNA tests on the Stejneger's Stonechat at Dungeness proved negative - it was not the Siberian species after all.  It was a discoloured Stonechat as postulated by Ploddingbirder many weeks ago.

No change to my 2017 list total!