03/09/2016 to 05/09/206 Cornwall Pelagic Trip

Saturday 3 September 2016 to Monday 5 September 2016
Cornwall

We tried out a pelagic trip leaving from Falmouth in Cornwall. Obviously it could not hope to provide the range of seabirds that the Scilly pelagics would but we could, at least, have more time for birding in Cornwall before and after our adventure at sea.  

Saturday

Weather conditions deteriorated as we headed west and as we approached Cornwall it started to rain heavily.  

• It didn't take long to locate the dalmation pelican that has been around the Loe Pool area since May. Clearly this bird was not bothered by the rain.  It was stationary in the water but a little while later it started to move towards the spit giving us some very good views.  This species is a first for Britain if the sighting is ratified.  

Dalmation Pelican
courtesy of BirdGuides

• Next stop, in ever increasing poor weather, was Marazion where a buff-breasted sandpiper had been reported earlier.  It was moving around with the ringed plovers, a little stint, a couple of curlew sandpipers and other waders so it was hard to find at first.  After a couple of good but fleeting views, including a flight view, we managed to see it at rest on the shingle beach for a good 20 - 30 minutes.  The views were really good - from less than 20 metres - but the poor bird looked ever so bedraggled!  Another "lifer" for me!  

Buff-breasted sandpiper
courtesy of M McKee

• Our final destination was a little further east at Perranuthnoe where, with a little help from another birder, we enjoyed smashing views of the hudsonian whimbrel - yet another rare bird that has been around for some time.  

What a great start - 2 "lifers" and a good range of birds seen - and in atrocious weather!

 

Sunday

We only had time for a stroll on Sunday morning as we were due at Falmouth Harbour at 12.30 for a 1 p.m. sailing.  Thankfully we had a fine day with no rain!

The lovely Helford River was our morning destination.  

• The birding highlight of this walk was the Mediterranean gull.

Captain Keith and his assistant were our guides on the afternoon pelagic from Falmouth, west to the Lizard and back covering 75+ miles over a 7 hour period.  

• Highlight of the trip for me had to be the lovely grey phalarope found by Paul in the latter stages of our trip.  It was floating on the water and, being so tiny, was difficult to pick up but once sighted it was a delight to follow.
• 2 balearic shearwaters were a close second and the views were excellent as they came within 25 metres of our boat.
• A distant sooty shearwater provided another year tick.
• Up to 6 storm petrels were seen with about half of them giving really good views.
• Other birds seen included the inevitable manx shearwaters - loads of them, good numbers of fulmars and the occasional guillemots.
• As we neared the Lizard following a course a few hundred metres parallel to the shore line we saw a couple of choughs, several ravens, a kestrel, several buzzards and a few oystercatchers.

As well as the birds, this pelagic voyage provided fabulous views of other marine life

• Up to 90 common dolphins, in 7 different interactions, thrilled everyone on board; many of them coming right up to, and under, the boat.
• We also had frequent views of the harbour porpoises with 17 being seen.
• 2 oceanic sunfish were seen close up.

Captain Keith kept us entertained with his interesting commentaries; his dedication to, and enjoyment of, Cornish wildlife was obvious.   

    

Monday

We began the long journey back to Sussex after breakfast intent on seeing a couple of interesting birds on the way.

• We twitched at least 3 cirl buntings at St Just -  my first ever sightings of this species in Cornwall.
• At Okehampton, in Devon we found a lovely dipper in the stream that runs through the middle of the town.

Ironically, the only species we missed was the osprey in our home county of Sussex at Thorney Island!

A brilliant trip well worth the effort in the most adverse weather at the start.

Additions to BUBO UK 2016 Bird List:

dalmation pelican   (238)

buff-breasted sandpiper   (239)

hudsonian whimbrel   (240)

balearic shearwater   (241)

storm petrel   (242)
grey phalarope   (243)

sooty shearwater   (244)

cirl bunting   (245)

Additions to BUBO UK Life List:

dalmation pelican   (320)
buff-breasted sandpiper   (321)

31/08/2016 Pectoral Sandpiper at Blue House Farm in Essex

Wednesday 31 August 2016
Blue House Farm EWT

I have shown quite an interest in the Essex sites lately, believing that they are very much going under the radar.  So today, with a pectoral sandpiper to "twitch" I took my chance to visit Blue House Farm for the first time.  

When I arrived several birders were heading back to the car park and they all had the same message - " the pectoral sandpiper had been showing off and on from hide 1 but it, along with all the other birds, had been spooked by a hobby and scattered."

• From hide 1 there were plenty of lapwings and a couple of little ringed plovers but little else.  A little while later a ruff re-appeared and a couple of yellow wagtails flew in but there was no sign of the returning sandpipers or the other ruffs.

I agreed with fellow birders Frankie and Prash to walk to the other 2 hides nearby, check them out and get back to them by phone if I found the target bird.

• From the second hide I found 2 green sandpipers and when they eventually flew off in the direction of hide 1 so I moved on to hide 3. 

 On the way I met another birder who was returning from hide 3 and from the photographs he showed me it was obvious that one of them was a real prospect for the pectoral sandpiper.  

• At hide 3 there was lots of activity and bingo!  There in the middle the action was the pectoral sandpiper feeding with the 5 ruffs, lapwings, mallards and black-headed gulls.  From 25-30 metres the views were superb, enabling me to be sure of the key ID features.  A quick telephone call brought Frankie and Prash from hide 1 to view this rare vagrant.

pectoral sandpiper
courtesy of Prash

Addition to BUBO 2016 UK Year List:
Pectoral Sandpiper   (0237)

A really interesting new site for me!

• They're scarce passage migrants from America and Siberia. A few are seen in spring, but the vast majority appear in late summer and autumn. 

•  It is the most common North American wading bird to occur here and has even started to breed in Scotland very recently.

• The brown breastband (which gives the species its name) and white belly are its most distinctive features.

30/08/2016 Wryneck .......at Shooters Bottom...........at last!

Tuesday 30 August 2016
Birling Gap and Beachy Head
Paul and Group

• I finally got to see the wryneck at Shooters Bottom today.  Previously I had spent over 10 hours looking for this, on 3 separate visits, to no avail.  Today it showed on a number of occasions but only fleetingly each time.  I managed 2 sightings - a good view of it on an oblique branch of a tree and another as it flew a short distance to a new location.  Paul ensured all 13 members of the group got at least one view before we moved away.

• Pick of the other birds seen were the 4+ whinchats we saw near Belle Tout.

• Several wheatears were seen and they looked as splendid as ever.

• By far the most common birds were the whitethroats, stonechats and willow warblers.

• The lesser whitethroats were pleasant additions to our list of sightings.

Clear signs that autumn migration is under way.

Addition to BUBO 2016 UK Year List:

Wryneck   (236)

29/08/2016 Black Tern at RSPB Dungeness this afternoon

Bank Holiday Monday 29/08/2016
Dungeness

A very late start today.  Got to Dungeness just after 4 p.m.  
Very good weather again.  Cooler than of late but still dry and sunny with hardly any breeze.  Target bird was the black tern.


RSPB Dungeness
Started here, hoping to see the black tern that had been seen earlier in the day.  

• In the reception area, I spotted a great white egret.  This total grew to 4 a short time later at Firth hide as they all congregated in the small trees on the opposite bank on Burrowes.

• From the same place I had excellent views of the black tern as it gave a powerful flying demo in front of me.
• Also seen were a ringed plover, a little ringed plover and a couple of dunlin.

Dungeness by fishing boats

I spent a short while seawatching from the fishing boats.  It was so quiet with no wind and mild weather.

• There were at least 6 gannets seen.
• Also present were a small number of arctic terns and a similar number of common terns.

ARC Hide

I finished off at the ARC hide.

• Highlight of this part of the proceedings was a little stint, showing in the distance.
• A garganey, in eclipse mode, was nice to locate.

• A greenshank flew in midway through my visit.

• Among the rest were several ringed plovers and little ringed plovers, a couple of dunlin, a cetti's warbler and several common sandpipers.

Addition to BUBO 2016 Year List:

Black Tern   (235)

A very pleasant and productive trip - as always at Dungeness

27/08/2016 Baird's Sandpiper at Reculver

Saturday 27 August 2016
Coldharbour Lagoon, Reculver, Kent

It was a "no brainer" for me to make the trip up to the NE Kent coast to see the Baird's sandpiper.  The bird, which was first seen yesterday, would be a lifer for me. The weather conditions were superb again with the temperatures a few degrees lower than yesterday and there was a refreshing sea breeze.   

I was surprised how easily I got there, considering it was bank holiday weekend; traffic was heavy but it was moving all the time and I was there in just under 2 hours. 

Coldharbour Lagoon is a good 20 minute walk east from the car park - a chance to get in my 10 000 steps today while I enjoyed the sunshine. 

• The Baird's sandpiper was showing well from just 30 metres away so I was able to enjoy prime viewing rights over a lengthy period.

Baird's sandpiper
courtesy of KOS

• Baird's sandpipers breed in the northern tundra from eastern Siberia to western Greenland. They nest on the ground, usually in dry locations with low vegetation.
• They are a long distance migrant, wintering in South America. This species is a rare vagrant to western Europe.

• One of the best identification features is the long wings, which extend beyond the tail when the bird is on the ground. Only the white-rumped sandpiper also shows this, and that bird can be distinguished by its namesake feature.

And it wasn't alone; there were several other interesting birds present as well.

• a little stint was in close proximity and was busy feeding on the muddy waters at the edge of the lagoon.
• a greenshank showed up and joined the others.
• 2 dunlin completed the small group.

Addition to BUBO UK 2016 Bird List:

Baird's Sandpiper   (234)

Addition to BUBO UK Birds Life List:

Baird's Sandpiper   (319)

A great late morning/early afternoon visit. 

I called in at RSPB Cliffe Pools on the way home but there was no sign of the black terns - or any other terns - that had been reported there earlier in the day.

• Pick of the birds seen here was the 100+ avocets.

• Also seen were lots of redshank, black-tailed godwits and great black-backed gulls.

25/08/2016 An afternoon in Essex. Wood Sandpiper and Lesser Yellowlegs

Thursday 25 August 2016
Essex 

I didn't get going till after lunch and, after tossing a coin, I opted for a trip to Essex rather than a trip down into Hampshire.  2 reserves stood out - RSPB Rainham Marshes for the wood sandpiper and RSPB Vange Marshes for the lesser yellowlegs.  The weather was sweltering with temperatures around 30 C.




RSPB Rainham Marshes, Essex
After a traffic jam at the Dartford Crossing I arrived at 3.45 pm, leaving myself with little or no time to get to the far end of the reserve and back before the 5 pm close.  

• Thankfully the wood sandpiper was showing well and I located it really quickly.  

• I even had time to admire a hobby that flew high in the sky in front of me.  2 hobbies in 2 days is just superb.

RSPB Vange Marshes, Essex

Less than 25 minutes after leaving RSPB Rainham Marshes I was at RSPB Vange Marshes.  Surprisingly there was nobody around.

• The first bird to catch my attention was the great white egret at the far end of the water.  It looked majestic among the other water birds.

• There were at least 3 ruff showing well just 50 metres in front of me.

• Also in the same area there were spotted redshanks and green sandpipers.

• Pride of place however went to the lesser yellowlegs, in the same area, going about it's own business and totally oblivious to everything else.  The views in the evening light were quite stunning.

• On the other side of the water, on my way back to the car, I detoured to take in a glossy ibis, in the field just to the left of a group of greylag geese. 

• As I was watching the glossy ibis 10 snipe flew overhead.

Additions to BUBO 2016 UK Bird List:

Wood Sandpiper     (232)

Lesser yellowlegs   (233)

A simply glorious and successful visit!

• The wood sandpiper is a passage migrant in spring and autumn, breeding in northern Europe and wintering in Africa.

• A few pairs breed in the Scottish Highlands.

• The lesser yellowlegs is a regular vagrant to western Europe and the odd bird has wintered in GB
• Their breeding habitat is clearings near ponds in the boreal forest region from Alaska to Quebec.
• They migrate to the Gulf coast of the United States and south to South America.

24/08/2016 On my Patch.

Wednesday 24/08/2016
Ashdown Forest

I did 2 shifts on my patch today, starting with Press Ridge Warren in the morning and returning in the afternoon to go round Churlwood.  

It was baking hot with temperatures reaching 30C at one point. 

The most surprising moment came in the evening session when I came across a Naked Rambling group making their way back to the car park after one of their walks!




Press Ridge Warren

There was quite a bit of activity here  - but no honey buzzards.  The highlights are described below.

• Pick of the bunch for me was a hobby seen flying above the trees in the valley below me.

• The whinchat, seen by others last week, was still there today and showed well on the fence to the side of the downhill path.

• A family of stonechats provided me with a prolonged period of amusement.

• At least 6 linnets stuck around for some time.

Churlwood

• Things were much quieter here in the evening but I did get a patch tick when I saw a redstart near the Harold MacMillan clump.

• Near the end of the walk I came across the Naked Ramblers - fortunately at a safe distance for me to avoid an embarrassing situation.