11/12/2015 The Burgh for Short-eared Owls

Friday 11th December 2015
The Burgh

Shaun and Alan invited me to join them for at the Burgh to look for Long-eared Owls.  We spent a pleasant couple of hours there just before dusk.

• Starting from Canada Farm we quickly spotted a flock of 10+ Corn Buntings ahead of us.  Soon afterwards we came across a flock of 40+ Fieldfare flying over us. 

• A couple of Red Kites were seen next from the high path, quickly followed by a group of 12+ Grey Partridges in the valley below us and a couple of distant Buzzards.

• A little further on we heard then saw a Raven before sighting a group of at least 8 Yellowhammers perched in a nearby tree. At least 3 Kestrels were seen on this visit.

• By now dusk was approaching and it was time for the main act. True to form a lovely Short-eared Owl flew low in the valley below us.  Unfortunately, it started to rain and for a while there was no further activity.  Thankfully things improved and we managed to get further views of this lovely bird.

A smashing visit to one of my favourite sites.

09/12/2015 Weir Wood Reservoir

Wednesday 9th December
Weir Wood Reservoir

Another good weather day - another good birding day!  This time the venue was Weir Wood Reservoir near East Grinstead.

• Pick of the birds at the feeders at West End was the Marsh Tit, closely followed by the Coal Tit and the Great Spotted Woodpecker.

• On the water the superb Kingfisher provided the highlight.

• Switching to the dam end provided sightings of Goldcrest and a superb Grey Wagtail.

• Pride of place however had to be the Great Northern Diver seen from the north bank to the west of the picnic area.  Add to this Green Woodpecker, Fieldfare, Redwing and Jay and you have a really good package.

3 hours of sheer joy!

Today's species list:
Black-headed Gull
Blackbird
Blue Tit
Buzzard
Canada Goose
Carrion Crow
Chaffinch
Coal Tit
Cormorant
Fieldfare
Gadwall
Goldcrest
Goldfinch
Great Crested Grebe
Great Northern Diver
Great Spotted Woodpecker
Great Tit
Green Woodpecker
Greenfinch
Grey Heron
Grey Wagtail
Greylag Goose
Jay
Kingfisher
Long-tailed Tit
Magpie
Mallard
Marsh Tit
Moorhen
Mute Swan
Redwing
Robin
Starling
Teal
Woodpigeon
Wren
Total = 36

07/12/2015 Dungeness and Long-eared Owl

Monday 7th December 2015
Dungeness

I couldn't resist the chance to use the break in the poor weather to nip down to Dungeness to see the Long-eared Owl that has been around for a week or so now.  With little or no wind and temperatures of 13 C it was ideal birding conditions.

• The Long-eared Owl duly obliged - just 50 metres from the visitors centre in a tree beyond the dipping pond!  I enjoyed excellent scope views before I set off to go round the reserve.  

Long-eared Owl
Courtesy of Andrew Killick

• Some of the Dungeness staples for this time of year were present too, including 3 or probably 4 "redhead" Smew, at least 4 Goldeneye - including a drake, a Great White Egret, 3 or 4 Tree Sparrows and a Marsh Harrier.

• A stunning male Brambling was a surprise visitor to the feeders.

A super couple of hours and much needed after the recent spate of wet weather.

Today's species list:

Black-headed Gull
Blackbird
Blue Tit
Brambling
Carrion Crow
Caspian Gull????
Cetti's Warbler (h)
Chaffinch
Coot
Cormorant
Gadwall
Goldcrest
Goldeneye
Goldfinch
Great Black-backed Gull
Great Crested Grebe
Great Tit
Grey Heron
Greylag Goose

Herring Gull
Kestrel
Lapwing
Lesser Black-backed Gull
Little Egret
Long-eared Owl
Magpie
Mallard
Marsh Harrier
Moorhen
Mute Swan
Pintail
Pochard
Robin
Shelduck
Shoveler
Smew
Starling
Teal
Tree Sparrow
Tufted Duck
Wigeon
Wren
Total: 42

27/11/2015 East Head near Chichester Rain stopped play!

Friday 27th November 2015
East Head, nr Chichester, West Sussex

Nine of us braved the wet conditions and made our way to East Head.  Unfortunately the weather deteriorated until, after almost 2 hours, we decided to call it a day.  Nevertheless we managed to get in some birding.

• Brent Geese dominated the scene, as you would expect here at this time of year.

• I missed a Mediterranean Gull at the start but managed to catch up with it at the end.

• As we walked along the sands we saw 30+ Sanderlings at close range - wonderful!  Later on we caught up with 8 Red-breasted Mergansers, including one close, stunning male.  Golden Plover, Dunlin, Ringed Plover and the odd Turnstone made up the shore birds.

• An over-wintering Sandwich Tern made a welcome sight. 

It was nice to get out, albeit for a short while, and see some lovely birds by the sea.




Today's species list:
Black-headed Gull
Brent Goose
Dunlin
Golden Plover
Little Egret
Mediterranean Gull
Pied Wagtail
Red-breasted Merganser
Ringed Plover
Sanderling
Sandwich Tern
Shelduck
Turnstone
Woodpigeon

21/11/2015 In Cumbria birding with friends and family Barnacle Geese in their hundreds!

Saturday 21st November 2015
Anthorn and Campfield Marsh

Sue and I spent the weekend in Cumbria visiting family and friends.  It was only possible to fit in one day of birding -  Brian, Kenny and myself headed to the north west corner of the county to Anthorn and Campfield Marsh on the Solway Firth coast.  The weather was cold but dry with clear skies.  To the west was Criffel, pick the Scottish hills on show and to the south east were the snow-capped Lake District fells with Skiddaw gleaming in the sunshine. 

• The star item had to be the Barnacle Geese, with well over 1000 of them on the estuary from Anthorn round to the nature reserve at Campfield Marsh. 

• At the lovely village of Anthorn we also saw Golden Plover, Dunlin and a Knott.

• Pick of the birds at the feeders at Campfield Marsh was the Tree Sparrow.  It's nice to see these birds flourishing in Cumbria.

• On the path down to the hide we saw Bullfinch, Goldcrests and a couple of Fieldfare.

• From the hide, the pick of the many birds on show were the Pintails and Goosander.

Our target bird was the Snow Goose but try as we may we just could not find it among the Barnacle Geese.  One of the volunteers at Campfield said it tended to split it's time between the English and Scottish sides of the Solway and we were probably just unlucky today.  We were happy with that until, on the way home, we stopped to chat to a couple of other birders and discovered that they had seen the bird earlier - among the Barnacle Geese!

A terrific day out in one of the most beautiful settings you could wish for! 

Today's species list:

Barnacle Goose

Black-headed Gull

Blackbird

Blue Tit

Bullfinch

Buzzard

Carrion Crow

Chaffinch

Coal Tit

Collared Dove

Common Pheasant

Coot

Curlew

Dunlin

Egyptian Goose

Fieldfare

Gadwall

Goldcrest

Golden Plover

Goldfinch

Goosander

Great Crested Grebe

Great Spotted Woodpecker

Great Tit

Greenfinch

Grey Heron

Greylag Goose

Herring Gull

House Sparrow

Kestrel

Knot

Lapwing

Little Egret

Magpie

Mallard

Moorhen

Mute Swan

Nuthatch

Oystercatcher

Sanderling

Shelduck

Shoveler

Snipe

Starling

Teal
Tree Sparrow
Tufted Duck
Turnstone
Wigeon
Woodpigeon

Total = 50

14/11/2015 Sevenoaks Country Park and Bough Beech with the Ashdown Bird Group

Saturday 14th November 2015
Sevenoaks Country Park
Ashdown Bird Group

Never having been to the Sevenoaks Country Park before, I was mightily relieved when Shaun decided that the outing should go ahead, despite the atrocious weather.  7 of us braved the rain and we were rewarded with over 3 hours of decent birding.

• 3 species of geese were seen - Greylag, Canada and Egyptian and the usual duck species were seen on the water.

• Waders were sparse but we did manage to spot Snipe and Lapwing.

• A small flock of Siskins seen in the alders near the visitors centre was the pick of the woodland birds. 

After relocating briefly to Bough Beech in the afternoon we added Shelduck and Great Black-backed Gull to our species list, bringing our total for the day to a respectable 43 species.




Today's species list
Blackbird
Black-headed Gull
Blue Tit
Canada Goose
Carrion Crow
Chaffinch
Coot
Cormorant
Dunnock
Egyptian Goose
Gadwall
Goldfinch
Great-crested Grebe
Great-spotted Woodpecker
Great Tit
Greenfinch
Grey Heron
Greylag Goose
Herring Gull
Jay
Lapwing
Little Egret
Long-tailed Tit
Magpie
Mallard
Mistle Thrush
Moorhen
Mute Swan
Pheasant
Pied Wagtail
Pochard
Robin
Shelduck
Shoveler
Siskin
Snipe
Teal
Treecreeper
Tufted Duck
Wigeon
Woodpigeon
Wren

11/11/2015 Ferring Beach with the Brighton & District RSPB Group

Wednesday 11th November 2015
Ferring Beach
Brighton & District RSPB Local Group

15 of us spent a smashing 4 hours birding on the south coast, just west of Worthing, at Ferring.   We started walking west from the car parking area at Sea Lane/Marine Drive along to the BlueBird Café before turning inland and following the east bank of the river (Ferring Rife).  We crossed to the west side at the bridge and returned via East Kingston and Kingston Lane.

The weather was mild with temperatures into the mid teens.  Conditions were, however, blustery, particularly along the sea front.

• We saw more birds at the very start of our walk than at any time after.  They were in the field just north of Marine Drive and only 100 metres away.  They were all sea birds, sheltering from the strong breeze.  They included good numbers of Common Gull and Black-headed Gull.  There was a single Great Black-backed Gull and a few Herring Gulls.  Close by there were good numbers of Turnstone, Ringed Plover, Grey Plover and Starling and a single Dunlin.  When we returned, 4 hours later, most were still there but there were a few more Black-headed Gulls and 20+ Sanderlings had joined the wader group. 

• A small flock of Brent Geese flew west as we started walking towards the café.

• The walk along Ferring Rife was quiet but we saw a lovely Grey Wagtail as we crossed the bridge to start the return leg.

• On the west side of the river we enjoyed good views of 4 Little Egrets and a succession of good views of a Jay in splendid plumage.

• Along Kingston lane we got excellent views of 3 Red-legged Partridges.

Another delightful mid-week walk and a chance to meet up with Reg, from the Shoreham birding group, after a long time. 





Today's Species List
Black-headed Gull
Blackbird
Blue Tit
Brent Goose
Carrion Crow
Chaffinch
Common Gull
Common Pheasant
Dunlin
Dunnock
Goldcrest (h)
Great Black-backed Gull
Great Tit
Green Woodpecker
Grey Heron
Grey Plover
Grey Wagtail
Herring Gull
House Sparrow
Jay
Lesser Black-backed Gull
Little Egret
Magpie
Moorhen
Oystercatcher
Pied Wagtail
Red-legged Partridge
Ringed Plover
Robin
Sanderling
Starling
Turnstone
Woodpigeon
Wren
(34)

04/11/2015 Caspian Gull at Dungeness

Wednesday 4th November 2015
Dungeness, Kent
with Paul and Alastair

At the end of my shift yesterday with Weir Wood Reservoir Conservation Group, Alastair told me about a Pied Wheatear that had been reported near Felixstowe in Suffolk and we agreed to go and twitch it today.  In the meantime Paul expressed an interest so we agreed to travel together with an early 08.00 start. 

By the time we had negotiated our way through Tunbridge Wells news came through that the bird could not be found so we resorted to plan B and travelled to Dungeness with our target bird a Caspian Gull that had been seen there earlier in the day.

• We couldn't find the reported juvenile bird with a red (Polish) ring on the beach but Paul managed to spot an adult male Caspian Gull among a mixed group of gulls from Makepeace Hide on the nature reserve mid-afternoon.



Adult Caspian Gull
Library picture

It's nigh on impossible to have a bad day at Dungeness and today was no different with winter wildfowl arriving early.  Some of the highlights are given below:-

• A couple of "redhead" Smews, my first of the autumn/winter were seen from Scott Hide.  These birds have arrived early!
• Also from Scott Hide, a couple of female Goldeneye were seen.
• My favourite was a female Ruddy Duck - most of my previous sightings have been of the male variety.
• a lovely female Goosander was a welcome sight.  These birds are quite rare in our neck of the woods.
• A couple of Black Redstarts were seen.
• At least 2 Great White Egrets appeared during our brief visit.
• There were at least 3 Yellow-legged Gulls on the water, viewed from Makepeace Hide.
• A smashing male Pintail flew by then landed on the water to provide us with additional beauty.
• The usual suspects were there,of course, Little Grebe, Great-crested Grebe, Pochard, Tufted Duck, Wigeon, Teal, Gadwall, Mallard, Mute Swan and Marsh Harrier.
• I managed to miss a Kingfisher on 3 occasions.
• On the sea we saw a couple of Guillemots and several Kittiwakes.

Considering the lack of activity across the country today, we did very well!












Additions to BUBO UK 2015 List of Birds:
Caspian Gull    (270)

270 equals my total for the whole of last year, which I thought would be unrepeatable!

28/10/2015 Pallas's Warbler near Beachy Head

Wednesday 28th October 2015
Horseshoe Plantation
Beachy Head, Sussex

I decided to twitch the Pallas's Warbler that was reported this morning on Rare Bird Alert.  Paul had arrived some 20 minutes before me and, along with the other birders, was fortunate to see the warbler at it's best in the bushes on the perimeter of the west side of Belle Tout Wood. 

• Unfortunately it decided to move around before I got there and it was some time before we found it again moving with the Long-tailed Tits and the Blue Tits.  It moved so quickly from place to place and I was not able observe it using my binoculars. 

• We followed it to the side of the wood and out onto the slopes but always unable to get a good, clear sighting.  After 90 minutes or so, feeling somewhat frustrated, I left to go home for lunch, intent on returning in the afternoon to try for better views.

• I invited Shaun to join me for the late afternoon session and we met up with Alastair who had come from work to twitch the warbler.  It had been showing well earlier but, like this morning, it had gone walkabouts before we got there.

Pallas's Warbler
Library picture

• Quite soon we were on to it but we were again unable to get good views as the bird moved rapidly around the low trees.  This time however we all managed to get several fleeting views of the bird in our binoculars - enough to see the key ID features, much to our delight.

• Other birds seen included a female/juvenile Blackcap, a Sparrowhawk, a couple of Peregrines and several Goldcrests .

Quite a chase but well worth it - this bird is a real beauty!  Satisfied but intent on getting longer sightings in future.






Addition to BUBO UK Life List of Birds:
Pallas's Warbler  (308)


Additions to BUBO UK 2015 List of Birds:
Pallas's Warbler   (269)




Pallas's Warbler

• The Pallas's Warbler is a rare  migrant to Britain, turning up in varying numbers each autumn.
• They should spend the winter in southern China but incredibly some make it to our shores.
• This arrival is normally associated with easterly winds which carry the birds to the east coast around mid-October to early November.

• The key features are the bold eye and crown stripe and the pale lemon yellow rump.

24/10/2015 to 27/10/2015 Norfolk Trip

Saturday 24th October to Tuesday 27th October 2015
North Norfolk Coast

This year's trip was similar to the previous two years.  An absence of NE winds meant that scarce migrant birds were not present and we had to work really hard for our year ticks and life ticks.  Only a week earlier there had been a glut of twitchable birds around in the more favourable weather conditions.   Nevertheless we had a great time and managed to see loads of birds.

• The only life tick I managed was a Little Auk which we saw on Monday afternoon on the sea at Titchwell.  Thankfully the seas were calm and the bird showed very well just below the horizon as it headed east.



Little Auk
Library picture



• I also managed a year tick when we called in at Caister-on-Sea on Saturday morning on the way up to our hotel.  A lovely male Siberian Stonechat sat very obligingly on the wire fence less than 100 metres away from the assembled birders and provided some brilliant views.

Siberian Stonechat
Library picture

• Norfolk in autumn would not be right without the geese.  On Saturday morning, after our twitch of the stonechat at Caister-on-Sea, we visited Horsey where we sighted our first big flock of Pink-footed Geese.

Each morning, starting at 06.15 and finishing at 08.00, we went on Paul's legendary pre-breakfast birdwatches.  We had varying degrees of success:-

• The highlight of the Sunday morning walk was watching a Peregrine take out a Teal from a small flock that were flying over the marshes at Holme Dunes NNR. 
• On Monday morning at Gypsy Lane, on the north-east side of Titchwell village, the main focus of attention was the Barn Owl seen hunting over the dunes at first light. 
• Amazingly, on our last morning at Titchwell, we had no success in our search for Snow Buntings or the Shore Lark but we did get excellent close up views of Sanderlings.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

After breakfast each day, we visted various well-known birding locations on the north Norfolk coast:-

 

• At Cley next the Sea, on the first day, we saw our first ringtail Hen Harrier of the trip and a Black Brant among the many Brent Geese on show.
• The main birds of interest at Burnham Norton, on Sunday morning, were the 50+ Egyptian Geese on show and the Bearded Tits seen flying over the reed beds.
• Unlike last year, we had no luck at Burnham Overy in our search for the Rough-legged Buzzard on Sunday morning.
• We took in the roost from Warham Greens on Sunday evening where we had spectacular views of ringtail Hen Harriers and Marsh Harriers. 

 

 

 

 

 

The best birding experience of the whole trip was at RSPB Titchwell on Monday afternoon.

 

• After a pretty uneventful morning on the reserve, we were about to go for lunch when Chris spotted a Bittern flying west in front of the Parrinda Hide.  In near-perfect lighting, we enjoyed superb views of this special bird. 

• At lunch, news came through of a sighting of the Great Grey Shrike on the east bank on the autumn trail, where we had no luck earlier.  We returned quickly to where we were and lo and behold there it was displaying from the dead tree away to the east of us. 
• While we were admiring the shrike we witnessed an altercation between a corvid and a Rough-legged Buzzard.  The buzzard looked majestic in the bright sunlight as it moved around before disappearing behind some trees.
• We abandoned our plans to go to see the roost on the high tide at Snettisham to stay at Titchwell and boy were we rewarded for this!  We saw 8 Red-crested Pochards on the Freshwater Marsh and the Little Auk on the beach.

•  We took an hour to go the short journey from the beach back to the car - such was the rich pickings we made.  There were Short-eared Owls, ringtail Hen Harriers and a Barn Owl to see and enjoy.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tuesday was a huge let down for us.  After drawing a blank on the pre-breakfast jaunt up and down the beach at Titchwell we headed home, calling in at Breydon Water for an unsuccessful attempt to twitch the American Golden Plover and also visiting Waxham for another "dip" with a Pallas's Warbler. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



Despite the disappointing end to the trip we had a great time overall with well over 100 birds seen and some memorable moments!







Addition to BUBO UK Life List of Birds:
Little Auk   (307)


Additions to BUBO UK 2015 List of Birds:
Siberian Stonechat   (267)
Little Auk   (268)

Trip Species List:
Avocet
Bar-tailed Godwit
Barn Owl
Bearded Tit
Bittern
Black-headed Gull
Black-tailed Godwit
Blackbird
Blue Tit
Brambling   (10)
Brent Goose
Bullfinch
Buzzard
Canada Goose
Carrion Crow
Cetti's Warbler (h)
Chaffinch
Coal Tit
Collared Dove
Common Gull   (20)
Common Scoter  
Coot
Cormorant
Curlew
Dunlin
Dunnock
Egyptian Goose
Eider
Feral Pigeon
Fieldfare   (30)
Gadwall
Gannet  
Goldcrest
Golden Plover
Goldfinch
Great Black-backed Gull
Great Crested Grebe
Great Grey Shrike
Great Spotted Woodpecker
Great Tit    (40)
Greenfinch
Greenshank  
Grey Heron
Grey Partridge
Grey Plover
Greylag Goose
Hen Harrier
Herring Gull
House Sparrow
Jackdaw   (50)
Jay
Kestrel  
Knot
Lapwing
Lesser Black-backed Gull
Lesser Redpoll
Linnet
Little Auk
Little Egret
Little Grebe   (60)
Long-tailed Tit
Magpie  
Mallard
Marsh Harrier
Marsh Tit
Meadow Pipit
Moorhen
Mute Swan
Oystercatcher
Peregrine     (70)
Pheasant
Pied Wagtail  
Pink-footed Goose
Pintail
Pochard
Red Kite
Red-breasted Merganser
Red-crested Pochard
Red-legged Partridge
Redshank    (80)
Redwing
Reed Bunting  
Ringed Plover
Robin
Rock Pipit
Rook
Rough-legged Buzzard
Ruff
Sanderling
Shelduck   (90)
Short-eared Owl
Shoveler  
Siberian Stonechat
Siskin
Skylark
Snipe
Sparrowhawk
Spoonbill
Spotted Redshank
Starling   (100)
Stock Dove
Stonechat
Tawny Owl (h)  
Teal
Tufted Duck
Turnstone
Water Rail (h)
Wigeon
Woodpigeon
Wren   (110)
Yellowhammer  
Yellow-legged Gull  

(112)















Siberian Stonechat

• The Siberian Stonechat is migratory and insectivorous.
• It breeds in open rough scrubland and rough grassland with scattered shrubs. The breeding range covers most of temperate Asia, from about 71°N latitude in Siberia, south to the Himalaya and southwest China, and west to eastern Turkey and the Caspian Sea area. It also breeds in the far northeast of Europe, mainly in Russia, but occasionally as far west as Finland.
• The wintering range is from southern Japan south to Thailand and India, and west to northeast Africa.
• On migration, small numbers reach as far west as western Europe, and exceptionally as far east as Alaska in North America.

• It resembles the closely related European Stonechat, but is typically paler, with a white rump and whiter underparts with less orange on the breast, and with distinctly longer primary feathers in the wing.

• In this last feature it more closely resembles the Whinchat, in both an adaptation to long-distance migration.
• The summer male has black upperparts, lacking the brownish tones of the European Stonechat, a conspicuous white collar, white scapular patch and white rump, a restricted orange throat and black head

Little Auk

• The little auk is a small seabird, the size of a starling. It is black above and white below, and in flight it shows dark underwings. It has a black stubby bill, and a short neck and tail.
• It flies with very fast whirring wingbeats low over the sea.
• It is a winter visitor to the waters around the UK in small numbers each year.
• It breeds in the Arctic and winters in the North Atlantic.
• Some birds enter the North Sea in autumn and large numbers can be seen passing offshore during gales.

20/10/2015 Weirwood Working Party Mandarins, Snipe and Kingfisher

Tuesday 20th October 2015
Weirwood Reservoir

On my usual Tuesday stint at Weirwood Reservoir I took time out to admire the birds on show in the delightful lighting conditions that prevailed.   The highlights were:

• Two brightly coloured drake Mandarins that stole the show for me, alongside their female compatriots.

• At least 4 Snipe seen feeding on the muddy edges of the water opposite the viewing hide.

• I managed to see one of the 4 Kingfishers that were about.

Just the job to get me ready for our Norfolk trip starting this Saturday.

15/10/2015 Grey Wagtail in our Garden

Thursday 15th October 2015


A rare, but very welcome, visitor to our garden this morning  -  a Grey Wagtail.  It wandered around our patio in the rain.

14/10/2015 Pagham Harbour with the Brighton and District RSPB Local Group

Wednesday 14th October 2015
Pagham Harbour, West Sussex
Brighton and District RSPB Local Group Monthly Outing

Spent a lovely 4 hours or so on the south coast at Pagham Harbour - one of our best sites in West Sussex. 

Right from the start we saw some really good birds:

• On the Ferry Pool there was a Green Sandpiper, 10+ Golden Plovers and 25+ Black-Godwits as well as the usual suspects.  With a low tide there was no sign of the Avocets.

•   A lovely Kingfisher halted our progress as we tried to move out into the reserve.  It perched on the pipe spanning the inlet, providing us with lovely views for some considerable time.

• A Spotted Redshank, in one of the channels, was a delightful find as we made our way out towards the spit at Church Norton.

• At least 14 Avocets were seen, hunkering down in the muddy reed bed.

• My bird of the day was a Little Grebe, in stunning plumage, among the reeds, again as we walked out towards Church Norton from the visitor's centre.

• Over 40 Red-legged Partridges were seen in the fields.

• The Brent Geese were out in force with 40+ seen.

• A smashing Whimbrel was seen from by the concrete blocks by the spit.

 

Today's Species List
Avocet
Black-headed Gull
Black-tailed Godwit
Blackbird
Blue Tit
Brent Goose
Buzzard
Canada Goose
Carrion Crow
Chiffchaff
Coot
Cormorant
Curlew
Dunlin
Dunnock
Gadwall
Golden Plover
Goldfinch
Great Crested Grebe
Green Sandpiper
Grey Heron
Grey Plover
Greylag Goose
Herring Gull
Jay
Kestrel
Kingfisher
Lapwing
Little Egret
Little Grebe
Magpie
Mallard
Meadow Pipit
Moorhen
Mute Swan
Oystercatcher
Pheasant
Pied Wagtail
Pintail
Razorbill
Red-legged Partridge
Redshank
Robin
Rook
Shelduck
Shoveler
Spotted Redshank
Starling
Stonechat
Swallow
Teal
Turnstone
Whimbrel
Whinchat
Wigeon
Woodpigeon
(56)

Quite a species list today indicating a great range of birds on view.

10/10/2015 Twitching! Long -billed Dowitcher.

Saturday10th October 2015
Fishtail Lagoon, Pennington Marshes, Hampshire

I finally found time to travel to Hampshire to twitch the Long-billed Dowitcher at Pennigton Marshes.  The weather was just right with dry, clear conditions and little or no wind.

• Just as I got there, at 13.30, most of the birds on the water took to the air - something had obviously spooked them.  A group of 30 or so birders had been watching the Dowitcher but it had disappeared in the large flying group.  Just my luck - 10 minutes earlier and I would have had excellent views.

• Not to worry because I stayed when all the others departed, waiting for the bird's return.  It took over 90 minutes of patience and diligent birding but I finally got my reward when just on 15.00  the star bird showed 100 metres in front of me.  It was busy feeding so I watched it for fully 5 minutes before it swam away and entered the vegetation in the lagoon and disappeared again.

Long-billed Dowitcher
Courtesy of D.K. @aves_bird

• This was my second twitch of the week.  Last Sunday I "dipped" on the Wilson's Phalarope at Vange in Essex - this time I was a day late and the bird had left.

Well worth the effort!

 

 

 

 

 

Addition to BUBO UK Life List of Birds:

 

Long-billed Dowitcher   (306)

 

 

 

Addition to BUBO UK 2015 List of Birds:

 

Long-billed Dowitcher   (266)




Biology 

• The birds, which hail from North America, often reach Western European coasts during their migration. 

• Every year those sorts of birds are migrating so they're going from north down to the south.  

• Depending on the seasons they bump into various different weather patterns.  It's very easy for a bird to get shifted... if it made its trajectory just a couple of degrees off, over several thousand miles that could throw it a long way out of its range.

03/10/2015 East Grinstead RSPB Outing to Beachy Head

East Grinstead RSPB Group

October Outing to Beachy Head

On a fine, sunny, day 10 members ventured down to the south coast at Beachy Head. The itinerary included a visit to the bird-ringing station at Whitbread Hollow prior to a walk down to Cow Gap.  We then relocated to Birling Gap for a walk out to Horseshoe Plantation before finishing off with a quick visit to the mature gardens at the top of Birling Lane.

 

·         Bob Edgar and his team gave us an excellent insight into the workings of the ringing station and we were then privileged to witness several birds being ringed, weighed, sexed and measured before being released.  Pick of the bunch had to be the lovely Goldcrests - weighing just 4 grams.

 

 

 

 

·  Blackcaps dominated the scene at Whitbread Hollow with at least 10 seen as we walked from the ringing station down to Cow Gap.  There were also good numbers of Chiffchaff, Stonechat and Song Thrush.  Perhaps the rarest bird seen was the Lesser Whitethroat on the way down to the ringing station.

 

 

·         Throughout the trip we were accompanied by large numbers of Swallows and House Martins flying around us as we went on our way. 

 

 

·         At Horseshoe Plantation a superb female Whinchat had to be the bird of the day.  We had excellent views of it as it flitted from bush to bush.  Surprisingly we only saw one Wheatear flying by as we returned to the car park from the hill top – perhaps the large number of walkers had caused them to move.

 

·         There was not too much action by the sea with only Herons, Little Egrets, Redshanks, Cormorants, Great Black-backed Gulls and Oystercatchers on view.

 

·         Larger birds seen included a Raven, a Buzzard, several Kestrels and a couple of Sparrowhawks.

 

 

·         Try as we did, we were unable to find any Yellow-browed Warblers despite at least 2 reports of them being seen earlier in the day at the top of Birling Lane.

 

A great day out, in gorgeous weather, with at least 40 birds seen.  The early (08.00) start, to take in the bird ringing, did not deter anyone and everyone seemed to gain something from the experience.

 

Today’s Species List:

Black-headed Gull

Blackbird

Blackcap

Blue Tit

Bullfinch

Carrion Crow

Chaffinch

Chiffchaff

Cormorant

Dunnock

Goldcrest

Goldfinch

Great Spotted Woodpecker

Great Tit

Green Woodpecker

Grey Heron

Herring Gull

House Martin

House Sparrow

Jackdaw

Jay

Kestrel

Lesser Whitethroat

Linnet

Little Egret

Magpie

Meadow Pipit

Oystercatcher

Pheasant

Raven

Redshank

Robin

Rook

Song Thrush

Sparrowhawk

Stonechat

Swallow

Wheatear

Whinchat

Whitethroat

Woodpigeon

Wren

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