27/07/2016 White Stork at Croydon

Wednesday 27 July 2016
Beddington Sewage Farm, Croydon, Surrey


Spent the early evening at Beddington Sewage Farm watching the White Stork.  

• I viewed from the A237, Hackbridge side of Mile Road after trying, unsuccessfully, for over an hour to find the access point from Beddington Lane as per RBA.

White Stork
Courtesy of Alastair Gray

• The views could not have been better with the bird showing well from 100 metres or so.  I stayed for over half an hour hoping to see it fly but it didn't seem remotely interested.

                This is a first for me in the UK.

• The White Stork is a large white bird with black wings and red legs and beak. 

• They breed anywhere from North Africa up through Europe and into Asia. 

• They have a large wing span of up to 7ft in length, to put that into perspective the Common Buzzard reaches around 4 1/2 ft with the Red Kite reaching 6ft wingspan. 

• From underneath these birds have half white and half black wings, they fly with a succession of fast wing beats before then going into a glide. 

• Their diet can be quite varied, anything from worms, frogs and toads to voles, fish and lizards.

Addition to BUBO 2016 UK List:

White Stork   (229)

Addition to BUBO UK Life List:

White Stork   (317)

23/07/2016 Bonaparte's Gull at Oare Marshes

Saturday 23 July 2016
Oare Marshes, Kent

Spent a lovely afternoon with Sara at Oare Marshes where we twitched the bonaparte's gull.  Apparently this is the fourth year in succession that this species has been seen here.




Addition to BUBO 2016 UK Year List:
Bonaparte's Gull (228)  

• The species is named after Charles Lucien Bonaparte, a French ornithologist (and nephew to the former French emperor Napoleon Bonaparte) who spent eight years in America, contributing to the understanding of the taxonomy and nomenclature of birds there and elsewhere.

• Bonaparte's gull breeds in boreal forest across southern Alaska and much of interior western Canada. It winters along the coasts of North America, and in the Great Lakes. It is a rare vagrant to western Europe and the Azores, where it generally associates with black-headed gulls.

20/07/206 Manx Shearwaters all over the place!

Wednesday 20 July 2016
Boat Trip around Ramsey Island, Pembrokeshire

If you can't see the manx shearwaters from land then you will just have to go and see them out to sea! 

With this as my mantra,  I booked on an evening boat trip on the Dale Princess leaving from Martin's Haven, near Marloes.  The trip would take us round the islands of Skomer and Skokholm to see guillemots,  razorbills, puffins etc before taking us into St Bride's Bay to see the spectacular gathering of manxies just before dusk.  A mouth watering prospect.

Weather conditions were excellent with a good westerly breeze and dry, hot conditions.  Just as I was nearing my hotel in Haverfordwest, after a 5 hour drive, I received a phone call from the company telling me the trip was off due to lack of numbers; only 3 people had booked!  Obviously I was devastated and so disappointed.  The company had no solution other than a refund or a trip later on in the week.

With no plan B, I rang Sue and she quickly put one together for me while I carried on driving.  Within 15 minutes she had booked me on a similar trip' operated by a company called Voyages of Discovery' leaving St Julienne at 6 p.m. but going around Ramsey Island a little further north.  Interestingly, I got one of the last two seats on this their second boat put on because of heavy demand. 

The trip itself was just what the doctor ordered.

• On Ramsey Island we could see fulmars and oystercatchers initially and, as we sailed round to the west side, guillemots and the odd razorbill. 

• At north Bishop we saw 50-100 puffins on the water.

• This was followed by the curtain-raiser as thousands of manx shearwaters glided by us en-route to their nesting grounds on the Pembrokeshire islands after a day or so fishing out at sea.  

• There were several sightings of seals as we passed by the islands.

• Went in search of the black guillemot again after breakfast next day, this time in Fishguard Harbour.  No luck again.

• On the way home, next day, I called in at the London Wetlands Centre for lunch.  There was nothing special to be seen around the site but I did manage to see my first ring-necked parakeet of the year.

All's well that ends well and I achieved all that I set out to do.  

Drifting in a boat with hundreds of manxies whizzing past you has to be right up there with my best birding experiences.  

Additions to BUBO 2016 UK Year List:
Manx shearwater   (226)
Ring-necked parakeet   (227)

• The manx shearwater is the only visiting seabird to this area that migrates to the southern hemisphere for the winter; they over winter off the coast of Argentina. 

• Over half the world’s population of manx shearwaters breed on Skomer, Skokholm and Ramsey. 

• They are burrow nesters and very clumsy on land which makes them very vulnerable to predation. Because of this, one of the pair will stay down the burrow with the chick whilst the other goes out to sea fishing. They leave at dawn and return at dusk, not risking the final flight to their burrows until darkness has fallen to avoid being seen by potential predators. 

• You won’t see a shearwater near land during daylight hours. Sometimes 30,000 birds an hour can be seen off the headlands heading to the islands as darkness falls. 

• They will fly low over the water, wing tips shearing the surface of the waves, harnessing the ground affect for a highly efficient flight. It is from the method of their flight that the name ‘shearwater’ is derived. They can fly up to 50mph with scarcely a wing beat and easily travel millions of miles in the course of their life span.

19/07/2016 Nightjars at Hindleap with Paul and Group.

Tuesday 19 July 2016
Hindleap, Ashdown Forest

Another special night in the Ashdown Forest with superb views of 2 male nightjars at Hindleap.

16/07/ to 17/07/2016 Sabine's Gull in Derbyshire

Saturday 16 July 2016


Carr Vale NR, near Mansfield

• Arrived mid afternoon, in good time to see the sabine's gull that has been around for several days.  Stayed for over an hour to watch this bird forage in the shallow pond and take flight occasionally to relocate to a new position. 

Addition to BUBO 2016 UK Year List:
Sabine's Gull   (226)





Adult's should be on the breeding grounds round the Arctic Circle now whereas second calendar year birds are thought to stay on the wintering grounds in the southern oceans.  





Sunday 17 July 2016

Anglesey, North Wales

Up at the crack of dawn, travelled to South Stack, arriving around 9.30 a.m.

• I was greeted by a pair of choughs as I drove up towards the visitor's centre.  They continued to show up at regular intervals throughout the morning.  

• Try as I did, I was unable to see any manx shearwaters out at sea - my first disappointment of the day

• I relocated to Holyhead Harbour for the afternoon to look for the black guillemots - my main reason for making the trip. I so wanted to see this species in summer plumage.  Incredibly I could not find any!

Addition to BUBO 2016 UK Bird List:
Sabine's Gull   (224)
Chough   (225)


Addition to BUBO UK Life List
Sabine's Gull   (316)



What started as a great weekend finished in a disappointing way.  Never mind - 2 lifers in the space of a week, at this time of year can't be bad!

14/07/2016 Out and About.

Thursday 14 July 2016


Groombridge with Sue, Anne and Chris

Unfortunately the site was much overgrown due to the wet, humid conditions of late and movement around the ponds was not easy.  

• Birds were at a premium and apart from a kestrel, a green woodpecker, 3 swifts, 2 house martins and a blackcap there was nothing of note.

Hopefully we can get some help from the working party to improve matters before our next visit.






Sisinghurst Castle

After Groombridge , Anne and Chris invited us to go round Sissinghurst Castle Gardens, made famous by Veta Sackville-West and Harold Nicolson in the 1930's.   There were too many people present to allow the birds to show well. 

• Nevertheless I did manage to watch a lovely grey wagtail down by the stream, away from the crowds. We were entertained by the sparrows as we ate lunch outside the cafe.

• Also seen were a couple of sand martins and a blackcap.

Churlwood, Ashdown Forest


I spent the last couple of hours of the day on my patch at Churlwood.

• At 9.35 p.m. I heard a nightjar churring in the distance, down towards the MacMillan estate from my position in the car park.  After a 5 minute walk I got the briefest of views of it as it flew over the skyline above the trees.  Just like a few days ago it seemed to churr at the start only and then flew around almost in silence, in marked contrast to a few weeks ago when the action was much more overt.

Not much to shout about on the birding front but a lovely day out.

13/07/2016 Twitching the Collared Pratincole

Wednesday  13 July 2016
Ham Wall RSPB, Somerset

• Drove up to Somerset this morning to twitch the collared pratincole that has been there since 10 July. The bird duly obliged with some smashing flight views in front of an appreciative, large audience. 

Collared pratincole

• I did't have enough time to look for the little bitterns that were present.  An obliging water rail was a bonus and , on the way home, I saw several red kites on the M3 as I neared the M25 intersection.

Ham Wall RSPB is the site where I saw the Hudsonian Godwit on my way up to North Wales for a birding holiday with Brian, Graham and Harvey two years ago.
The collared pratincole is a bird of open country, and is often seen near water in the evening, hawking for insects. It is found in the warmer parts of Europe, southwest Asia and Africa. It is migratory, wintering in tropical Africa, and is rare north of the breeding range.

It is a rare vagrant to the UK





Addition to BUBO 2016 UK Year List:
Collared pratincole   (223)

Addition to BUBO UK Life List:
Collared pratincole   (315)

11/07/2016 Nightjars again!

Monday 11 July 2016
Old Airstrip, Ashdown Forest

Back on the trail of the nightjars after a couple of weeks break.  I thought I'd start at the Old Airstrip as the lighting conditions are better there and it promised to be a bright night.

It was not until 9.40 p.m.that I heard the nightjar churring and it was to be the only sound I heard all night.  I was standing at TQ 424303 at the far end of the airstrip, 50 metres before the point where the path heads down the hill.   I couldn't pick up the nightjar in flight after the churring stopped so I began to wander trying to find it.

After 10 minutes I saw it flying close by, to the north of the airstrip, and I enjoyed brilliant views of it until gone 10 o' clock.  Unusually, the nightjar flew without making the usual "cuick,cuick" sound.

I checked the other end of the airstrip (car park end) but couldn't find any other nightjars.

A steady return to my normal routines!

27/05/2016 to 02/07/2016 Pterodroma.....Pterodroma........Pterodroma............Pterodroma.........................in magical Madeira!

Monday 27 June 2016 to Saturday 2 July 2016
Pelagic Trips 1 - 3 operated by Madeira Wind Birds


I have just come back from an outstanding holiday in Madeira, having seen some of the most amazing sea birds.  As birding trips go it has to rank up there with the best.

The raison d'être for going to Madeira was to address some unfinished business from last year's Scilly Pelagic trips when Paul and I missed out on a fea's petrel.  No such problems here in Madeira. 

• On our very first trip we hadn't even left the bay when we saw two fea's petrels flying close to our boat. Over the rest of the week we were to make more than 50 sightings from at least 17 birds present with most of them seen on this first outing.

Fea's Petrel
Courtesy of Madeira WindBirds

The first pelagic trip also turned out to be very special in several other ways.

• Bird of the trip had to be the Zino's storm petrel with at least 8 birds present on the first trip on Tuesday, giving over 25 sightings.  Endemic to this region, it is one of the rarest and, unfortunately, one of the most endangered species in Europe.  To see this number of birds was truly astonishing.

Zino's storm petrel
courtesy of Madeira WindBirds

• The white-faced storm petrel, seen on the second pelagic trip was another astonishing sighting, a bird rarely seen in Europe.

White-faced storm petrel
Courtesy of Madeira WindBirds

Now take a look at the support cast.

• Madeira storm petrel, seen mainly on Wednesday's second pelagic trip.

Madeira storm petrel
Courtesy of Madeira WindBirds

• Wilson's storm petrel, normally very rare, accompanied us on the first and third trips for hours at a time.

Wilson's storm petrel
Courtesy of Madeira WindBirds

• Cory's shearwaters were everywhere and could even be seen from the hotel. Out at sea they formed the guard of honour for their more illustrious counterparts.

Cory's shearwater
courtesy of Madeira WindBirds

• We even managed to find a  Scopoli's shearwater (almost identical to the Cory's Shearwater) although nobody picked up on it till later when they looked through the photographs they had taken.

• Almost as ubiquitous were the lovely Bulwer's petrels, common in these parts but rarely seen elsewhere. 

Bulwer's Petrel
courtesy of Madeira WindBirds

We managed to go on all 3 of the pelagic trips on offer. These are definitely not for the faint hearted; the boat used is basically a rubber vessel powered by a couple of Yamaha engines.  It travels at high speeds but bounces off the waves causing a huge splash as the front end reconnects with the water.  

The map below shows our journeys, different of course each day to ensure a different set of birds.

By far the worst conditions were on Wednesday, with the highest swell, making the return leg against the prevailing northerly winds  particularly challenging.  Unfortunately this coincided with Paul and I choosing to be in the front of the boat for the day.  We were absolutely drenched from the spray and just a tad fearful for our safety as the boat  rode the high waves.  It was certainly the longest 2 hours of my life.  As always, there was a gain and our reward was to have the best seats in the house for the appearance of the white-faced storm petrels.



Whilst Paul and I were at sea, Bridget was walking the footpaths of mainland Madeira and making notes on the sites where the endemic birds were.  As a result of her diligence we were able to use each morning session to seek them out.  Our results are described below.

• Pride of place went to the Madeira firecrest, so much like our own bird but subtly different with a shorter white supercilium and slightly longer bill.

Madeira firecrest
courtesy of Madeira WindBirds

The Madeira chaffinch is so friendly that it approaches you rather than you go looking for it.  

Madeira chaffinch
courtesy of Madeira WindBirds

• Last but by no means least was the Madeira or Trocaz pigeon.

Madeira Pigeon
courtesy of Madeira WindBirds

As well as the 3 endemics we found several other interesting birds on the mainland.  Below is a summary.

• Plain swift which is similar to our swift but with a faster wing beat and a more erratic flight pattern.

Plain swift
courtesy of Madeira WindBirds

•    Common Waxbill

Waxbill
courtesy of Madeira WindBirds

•    Rock sparrow

Rock sparrow
courtesy of Madeira WindBirds

• Spectacled warbler, with it's white eye ring but otherwise similar to our common whitethroat.

Spectacled warbler
courtesy of Madeira WindBirds

• Berthelot pipit

Berthelot pipit
courtesy of Madeira WindBirds

• Madeira yellow-legged gull, which is similar to our version but with slightly darker wings.

Maderian tellow-legged gull
courtesy of Madeira WindBirds

Atlantic canary
The Canary is native to the Macaronesia area (Madeira, Azores and the Canary Islands) and is widespread here in Madeira. 

Atlantic canary
courtesy of Madeira WindBirds

Our last night on the island was to produce yet another magical birding experience.  

• The Zino's petrel breeds high in the mountains of Madeira with one of the parents remaining on the nest while the other spends days at sea foraging for food, returning under the cover of darkness.  
• In our case this turned out to be between 10.30 p.m. and 12.30 a.m. so 8 of us drove to the summit and then made the 30 minute trek to the viewing zone.  Again, this activity is not for the faint-hearted.  1800 metres in the dark, albeit with the help of torches, is no joke.  It is, however, most exhilarating with some outstanding views of the mountains and the night sky.
• Whilst on the top of the mountain we came across a group of 3 or 4 researchers putting up mist nets to try and catch Zino's.  Among the group was Francisco Zino, after whom, the bird was named.  What a delight to shake hands with such a pioneer.
• Right on cue, the Zino's started arriving.  We sat on the floor of the footpath and listened to the wailing sounds.  A lucky few managed to catch glimpses of the birds as they flew overhead.  After just over an hour we left.

Other birds seen but not mentioned previously:

Common tern

Goldfinch

Feral pigeon

Kestrel

Grey Wagtail

Blackbird

Blackcap

Moorhen

Muscovy Duck

Coot

Little Egret

Roseate Tern

Dunlin

Robin

Bonxie

Manx shearwater

Turnstone

Collared dove

Hoopoe (x 2)

There was plenty of other wildlife around too.

• We saw 4 different species of dolphins, including Common bottlenose, short-beaked common, striped and Atlantic spotted.
• We had a couple of sightings of whales.  A sperm whale showed well on the surface.
• Turtles were around as well.  Hugo, one of our tour leaders, managed to rescue one that had been caught in some fishing lines.
• I saw a monarch butterfly by the harbour and a clouded yellow up in the hills.

Looking back on the trip it was an amazing experience, similar to the Scilly Pelagics that we have been on in the last couple of years but an invaluable complement to them. 

•  Incredibly, Madeira is easier to get to; we flew out early morning and were able to go birding on the island just after lunch on the same day.
• Financially, Madeira is cheaper too with lower travel costs, lower hotel costs and good food (and drink) at very reasonable prices. 

 Pterodroma.....Pterodroma......Pterodroma.....Pterodroma........

Nice one Paul!