27/05/14 Back in Sussex. Black-winged Stilts Breeding at Medmerry nr Chichester

Tuesday 27th May 2014
Medmerry RSPB Reserve near Chichester
 

Paul and I made a late afternoon visit to see the breeding pair of Black-winged Stilts that had caused all the excitement in Sussex since they arrived on 17th May.  The female was on the nest which was only a few inches above the water line.  Because there was a 24 hour RSPB watch some water had been pumped out to avoid a disaster.  The male was busy feeding on an adjacent pond on the other side of the road.  This was not a "lifer" for me as I had seen them in Australia last year.

Black-winged Stilt
Library picture

Previously there were only 7 known breeding pairs in the last quarter of a century with only 2 of these successful - little wonder they had caused so much excitement!

Also seen were Avocets including one with a chick in tow.  A lovely Yellowhammer greeted us after the half hour walk from the car.  Corn Buntings and Ringed Plovers were other interesting finds.  To cap it all a Little Owl was seen on the roof of one of the buildings as we headed back to the car.

This is Sussex's newest site with the sea defences being allowed to be breached only a few months ago and the early indications are that it will be right up there with the best in a short time.





Addition to UK 2014 Bird List
Black-winged Stilt  (261)




RSPB Report June 2014
"The stilts breeding at Medmerry is a tribute to the wetland conditions on the reserve. It is the largest open-coast managed-realignment scheme in Europe, and the RSPB’s newest reserve.
It was created between 2011 and 2013 by Environment Agency and consists of mudflats, tidal lagoons, saltmarsh, wildlife-friendly farmland and dragonfly-rich ditches."

18/05/21014 to 20/05/2014 Now to Wales!!!!

Sunday 18th May to Tuesday 20th May 2014
In Wales with Paul, Christine and Andrew

The team picked me up at home at 06.30 before heading off to Wales.  I had only returned from Scotland at 19.30 the day before!

• First stop was South Wales at Blorenge Mountain near Abergavenny.  Here we saw our target birds fairly quickly.  The Red Grouse stuck it's head up above the heather and then conveniently moved out into the open ground to allow us even better views.  Shortly afterwards, after a brief search, we had excellent views of a Whinchat on a wall down the hillside from the summit.  

Whinchat
Library picture

• After looking at the other birds present we even had time to visit the burial ground of Foxhunter the famous showjumping horse that together with it's rider Sir Harry Llewellyn were largely responsible for Great Britain's one and only gold medal in the 1952 Olympic Games in Helsinki. 

• We then headed up into Mid-Wales near Rhyader where we were booked into the Brynafon Country House (LD6 5BL) for one night.  On the way we stopped at Hanwrthwl, by the river, to look for Dippers.  Having quickly found one we were delighted to also add our other target birds, Pied Flycatcher 

Pied Flycatcher
Library picture

• and Spotted Flycatcher 

Spotted Flycatcher
Library picture

        which were only 10 metres away.  

• In Rhyader we visited the Elan Valley, famous for it's dams where some of the shots for the film The Dam Busters were made.  Here, in the woods by the river we saw our final target bird of the day - the Wood Warbler with it's powerful singing. As a bonus we heard a Garden Warbler from a few feet away in the undergrowth.

Garden Warbler
Library picture

What a terrific first day!

• Early next morning after returning briefly to Hanwrthwl to see the birds again we took the scenic high route west to Fishguard Harbour where we saw the Black Guillemot another target bird of ours.  We were not so lucky in our search for the Grasshopper Warbler at Corsydd Llangloffan although we came tantalisingly close when we heard it reply to our sound recording.  Our final stop was at Strumble Head looking out to sea.  This provided me with a "life tick" when successive groups of Manx Shearwaters flew by, gathering food before heading back to their feeding grounds in or around Skomer Island.



Manx Shearwaters
Library pictures

We stayed at the splendid Kings Head in Pembroke, a stone's throw away from Pembroke Castle birthplace of Henry VII who finally brought to an end the Wars of the Roses in the fifteenth century. 

Another cracking day.

With a "lifer" and two year ticks already I was really looking forward to our final day, a trip to Skomer Island.  On the way from Pembroke we were very fortunate to see a Turtle Dove which flew up from the road in front of us as we drove toards it. 

Turtle Dove
Library picture

On this my first visit to Skomer, we were well rewarded.  Even before we made the short boat ride, we saw four Choughs on the cliffs near the car park.    

Chough
Library picture

There was also a Spotted Flycatcher near the kiosk. On the island itself we saw four more Choughs and some lovely Puffins as well as the Razorbills, Kittiwakes and Guillemots on the cliffs.  We immersed ourselves in the atmosphere and really savoured the birds.  To add atmosphere to the occasion there was a sea of Bluebells with Red Campion interspersed throughout.  We managed to shelter from the thunderstorm that came our way near the end of the visit.  To bid us farewell a Black Redstart and a couple of Spotted Flycatchers made their appearance.  We left the island at 15.00 hours arriving home just after 21.00 hours.

A memorable trip!

Additions to lifetime list:
Manx Shearwater    (259)
Pied Flycatcher   (260)




Additions to 2014 UK Year List:
Whinchat   (228)
Pied Flycatcher   (229)
Spotted Flycatcher   (230)
Garden Warbler   (231)
Manx Shearwater   (232)
Turtle Dove   (233)
Chough   (234)



List of species seen on this trip:
Black Guillemot
Black Redstart
Black-headed Gull
Blackbird
Blackcap
Blue Tit
Buzzard
Canada Goose
Carrion Crow
Chiffchaff   (10)
Chaffinch
Chough
Coal Tit
Pheasant
Common Sandpiper
Coot
Cormorant
Curlew
Dipper
Dunnock   (20)
Fulmar
Gannet
Garden Warbler (heard)
Goosander
Grasshopper Warbler (heard)
Great Black-backed Gull
Great Tit
Grey Wagtail
Guillemot
Herring Gull   (30)
 House Martin
Jackdaw
Kestrel
Kittiwake
Lesser Black-backed Gull
Linnet
Magpie
Mallard
Manx Shearwater
Meadow Pipit   (40)
Mute Swan
Nuthatch
Oystercatcher
Peregrine
Pied Flycatcher
Pied Wagtail
Puffin
Raven
Razorbill
Red Grouse   (50)
Red Kite
Redstart
Reed Bunting
Robin
Rock Pipit
Sedge Warbler
Shag
Shoveler
Siskin
Skylark   (60)
Song Thrush
Spotted Flycatcher
Starling
Stonechat
Swallow 
Swift
Tree Pipit
Tufted Duck
Turtle Dove
Wheatear   (70)
Whimbrel
Whitethroat
Willow Warbler
Woodigeon




This trip's species count = 74

10/05/14 to 17/05/14. In Scotland!!!!!! Black Isle Birding Trip with my East Grinstead RSPB Group

Saturday 10th May to Saturday 17th May
East Grinstead RSPB Trip to Northern Scotland
Black Isle Birding with Mark Finn

Five of us flew out of Gatwick for a 80 minute flight to Inverness where we joined our leader Mark Finn who was waiting with the 8 seater mini-bus to take us bird watching straight away before reaching his home at Balblair on the Black Isle where we met his wife Jo, our lovely cook for the week.  Another member joined us on the Monday.

This turned out to be an epic trip covering nearly 1250 miles across the whole of Northern Scotland, visiting over 50 major sites and "clocking up" a species count of at least 140 including 8 "lifers" and  17 "year ticks"






"Lifers"

Hooded Crow   (250)

Hooded Crow
Library picture

I lost count of the number of these lovely Corvids we saw.



Black Grouse   (251)

Black Grouse
Library picture

One of the most memorable experiences ever.  A 04.30 start to get to get to Corrimony, an RSPB site, where we were joined by the warden for a guided tour with 2 Lekks.  At least 20 males were seen at close range in their full colours.  Because we had a special pass we were able to view from the minibus at really close range without scaring the grouse.  Normally these birds would scatter if humans came within 75 to 100 metres.  What a privilege!



Red Grouse   (252)

Red Grouse
Library picture

While we were on Handa Island  on 13th May we were fortunate to get superb views of a male as it tried to draw us away from the nest.  On the penultimate day we saw at least 6 more, including females, on the Farr Road.

Golden Eagle   (253)

Golden Eagle
Library picture

We searched for these all week with our only success being a pair, at distance, on Wednesday in the Hope Valley.  At last a personal milestone has been passed.

Crested Tit   (254)

Crested Tit
library picture

This bird is hard to find in April and May because as soon as it finds a mate the male hardly sings.  However on the penultimate day we saw one at Loch Garton, much to our delight.

Dotterel   (255)

Dotterel
Library picture

On the last morning just before we left for the airport we had fantastic views of 2 males and the beautifully  coloured female in the snow on Cairngorm Mountain.

Ptarmigan  (256)

Ptarmigan
Library picture

On the same mountain we quickly found several Ptarmigan in stunning breeding plumage.  What a welcome!


Scottish Crossbills   (257)

Scottish Crossbills
Library picture

After another 04.30 start to get to Grantown-on-Spey we saw at least 20 of these birds in the canopy of the Caledonian Pine trees.  The light was almost perfect enabling us to get super views.  This helped alleviate the disappointment of not getting a look in at the highly prized Capercaillie which eluded us all week.







2014 UK Year List Ticks 

Osprey   (219)

Osprey
Library picture

We saw these in several places  At times they were on the nest; at other times they were flying and on one occasion we saw one plunge from height into the water to catch a fish.

Eider   (220)

Eider
Library picture

Having missed these in the south east of England I was relieved to find one within minutes of leaving the airport.  Over the week there must have been hundreds for us to enjoy.


Wood Sandpiper   (221)

Wood Sandpiper
Library picture

This was an unusual, but welcome surprise finding.  

Twite   (222) and (258 on Life List)

Twite
Library picture

We were lucky to spot a small flock of 5 Twite on one occasion.

Dipper   (223)

Dipper
Library picture

As expected, we picked up a Dipper on day one and saw several during our stay.

Grasshopper Warbler   (224)

Grasshopper Warbler
Library picture

I managed to get a best ever view of a Grasshopper Warbler early on in our stay.

Wood Warbler   (225)

Wood Warbler
Library picture

We saw at least ten of these delightful singing birds.

Ring Ouzel   (226)

Ring Ouzel
Library picture

In the car park, below the visitors centre, for the Fenicular train up Cairgorm Mountain Mark I got a fleeting glimpse of a Ring Ouzel.


Puffin   (227)

Puffin
Library picture

We saw half a dozen or so on Handa Island.



Other Highlights

There were many highlights other than those mentioned previously and a summary follows.

Divers
We saw all three divers, none of which were new to me.  However what was new was this was the first time I had ever seen them in full breeding plumage and it was stunning.  

Red-throated Diver
Library picture

The Red-throated Diver really had a red throat and the Black-throated Divers and the Great Northern Divers really were in their "Sunday-best clothes".

Black-throated Diver
Library picture

Great-northern Diver
Library picture

Slavonian Grebe
The most handsome bird of the week just had to be the Slavonian Grebe in full breeding plumage.  I had seen many of this species previously but this was my first summer sighting.  

Slavonian Grebe
Library picture

The colour combination was awesome and was a complete transition from the black and white winter dress.  

Skuas
Our trip to Handa Island was not only to see Red Grouse.  Nice though that was, the principal reason was to observe the Skuas that were nesting there.  Great Skuas were present in numbers (around one hundred) with the Arctic Skuas just beginning to arrive with six there at the time of our visit.  This was a truly spectacular event with these huge birds nesting close by and putting on a magnificent flying display in this lovely setting on a fine day. 

Great Skua
Library picture

  

Great Skua
Library picture

Arctic Skua
Library picture

Arctic Skua
Library picture

What a contrast to my previous sightings at sea on the south coast where the birds were clearly visible but very distant.

On the cliffs there were thousands of Razorbills, Guillemots (including at least six "bridal" Guillemots with their characteristic white spectacles) and Kittiwakes together with good numbers of Fulmar and other gulls.  We saw half a dozen or more Puffins among the many birds there.


"The last field in Britain"
The furthest north we went was to Durness on the NW coast and we looked for birds in the so called "last field in Britain".  Even here there were surprises with a Garganey, a Green-winged Teal and a whole host of common waders.


Other Wildlife
There was plenty of other wildlife to observe including Red Squirrels, Bottle-nosed Dolphins, Grey and Common Seals, Red and Roe Deer and the lovely Mountain Hares.







This was an epic trip, one that I shall never forget.  It totally surprised me in that I was not expecting to visit the whole of northern Scotland or to see such a variety of birds and places.  The scenery alone was worth the visit but the wildlife just turned it into a awe-inspiring occasion.

Our leader, Mark, was pleased with our sightings.  He felt we were unlucky not to see any White-tailed Eagles.  The fact that we missed out on Capercaillie did not surprise him as there are now more and more birders chasing an ever decreasing pool of these birds.  He was bitterly disappointed and very surprised not to hear or see any Corncrakes at Durness where he had a previously unblemished record.

As for us, we found it exhilarating with 04.30 starts, long days and a surfeit of birding. 






List of species seen:
Pink-footed Goose
Greylag Goose
Light-bellied Brent Goose
Canada Goose
Mute Swan
Whooper Swan
Shelduck
Gadwall
Wigeon
Mallard   (10)
Shoveler
Garganey
Teal
Green-winged Teal
Tufted Duck
Eider
Common Scoter
Long-tailed Duck
Goldeneye
Common Merganser   (20)
Red-breasted Merganser
Red-legged Partridge
Grey Partridge
Pheasant
Black Grouse
Red Grouse
Red-throated Diver
Black-throated Diver
Great Northern Diver
Little Grebe   (30)
Slavonian Grebe
Fulmar
Gannet
Cormorant
Shag
Grey Heron
Osprey
Red Kite
Sparrowhawk
Buzzard   (40)
Golden Eagle
Kestrel
Peregine
Moorhen
Coot
Lapwing
Golden Plover
Ringed Plover
Oystercatcher
Common Sandpiper   (50)
Greenshank
Wood Sandpiper
Redshank
Whimbrel
Curlew
Turnstone
Sanderling
Dunlin
Snipe
Kittiwake   (60)
Black-headed Gull
Common Gull
Herring Gull
Lesser Black-backed Gull
Great Black-backed Gull
Common Tern
Arctic Tern
Sandwich Tern
Great Skua
Arctic Skua   (70)
Guillemot
Razorbill
Black Guillemot
Puffin
Rock Pigeon
Woodpigeon
Collared Dove
Cuckoo
Swift
Great Spotted Woodpecker   (80)
Jackdaw
Rook
Carrion Crow
Hooded Crow
Raven
Skylark
Sand Martin
Swallow
House Martin
Col Tit   (90)
Crested Tit
Great Tit
Blue Tit
Long-tailed Tit
Treecreeper
Wren
Dipper
Goldcrest
Grasshopper Warbler
Sedge Warbler   (100)
Willow Warbler
Chiffchaff
Wood Warbler
Blackcap
Whitethroat
Robin
Wheatear
Redstart
Stonechat
Blackbird   (110)
Redwing
Song Thrush
Mistle Thrush
Starling
Dunnock
Grey Wagtail
White Wagtail
Pied Wagtail
Meadow Pipit 
Tree Pipit   (120)
Rock Pipit
Yellowhammer
Reed Bunting
Snow Bunting
Chaffinch
Brambling
Scottish Crossbill
Greenfinch
Redpole
Siskin   (130)
Goldfinch
Twite
Linnet
Bullfinch
House Sparrow
Tree Sparrow
Ptarmigan
Dotterill
Greater ScaupRing Ouzel   (140)


Species count for this trip = 140

04/05/14. Dungeness

Sunday May 4 2014
Dungeness NR
With Paul and group (7)

Travelled from Collier Row on a glorious Sunday morning and had a really good experience, one that was much needed in view of recent events with Sue's uncle Steve.

The highlight had to be the Hobbies that we saw circling above us for most of the day.  There were at least four.  The views were as good as you are likely to get anywhere.

Hobby
Library picture

 




I also managed to add 5 other ticks to my year list taking my total way past the 200 figure:

• Little Ringed Plover  



Little Ringed Plover
Library picture



 

• Lesser Whitethroat  

Lesser Whitethroat
Library picture

• Swift   

Common Swift
Library picture



• Sedge Warbler  

Sedge Warbler
Library picture

• Reed Warbler



Reed Warbler
Library picture

Today's species list:
Little Ringed Plover
Hobby
Lesser Whitethroat
Swift
Sedge Warbler
Reed Warbler
Ringed Plover
Lapwing
Grey Heron
Little Egret   (10)
Pintail
Common  Scoter
Black-headed Gull
Herring Gull
Common Gull
Lesser Black-backed Gull
Great Black-backed Gull
Swallow
Cormorant
Blackbird   (20)
Robin
Linnet
Wheatear
Black Redstart
Little Tern
Common Tern
Sandwich Tern
Woodpigeon
Jackdaw
Carrion Crow   (30)
Raven
Chaffinch
Magpie
Avocet
Grey Plover
Greenshank
Dunlin
Turnstone
Coot
Moorhen   (40)
Gadwall
Mallard
Tufted Duck
Shelduck
Greylag Goose
Mute Swan
Common Whitethroat
Pochard
Buzzard
Pheasant   (50)
Great-crested Grebe
Fulmar
Marsh Harrier
Sparrowhawk
Peregrine
Oystercatcher
Curlew
Whimbrel
Bar-tailed Godwit
Common Redshank   (60)
Dunnock
Cetti's Warbler (h)
Long-tailed Tit
Blue Tit
Great Tit
Tree Sparrow
House Sparrow
Starling
Reed Bunting



Today's species count = 69



Additions to UK 2014 Year List:
Little-ringed Plover   (205)
Lesser Whitethroat.  (206)
Hobby   (207)
Swift   (208)
Sedge Warbler   (209)
Reed Warbler.  (210)

02 and 03 May 2014 Old Lodge NR. Tree Pipit, Redstarts and Cuckoo

Friday 2nd May and Saturday 3rd May 2014
Old Lodge NR, Ashdown Forest

• A flying visit to Old Lodge on Friday afternoon resulted in my seeing a lovely Tree Pipit in the canopy of a tree about 75 metres away. It then rose above the tree, performing it's customary "dance" routine before flying to some other nearby trees.   

  

  Tree Pipit
  Library picture

• On Saturday, late morning, I had superb views of a Cuckoo as it flew out of a nearby tree, from which it had been calling.   

Cuckoo
Library picture

  

• Also seen was a pair of Common Redstarts as they tried to build a good nest.   

Redstart
Library picture

Additions to UK 2014 Year List:
Tree Pipit.  (202)
Cuckoo.  (203)
Redstart    (204)