31/12/2017 Final twitches of 2017

Longford, near Gloucester with Sara
Thursday 28 December 2017

I travelled to Gloucestershire with Sara to twitch the Penduline Tit at Plock Court Wetland, Longford.  

Getting to Gloucestershire was the hardest part with heavy traffic and holdups all along the way.  We arrived several hours late, with barely 1 hour of daylight remaining.

• Thankfully the bird was showing well as we arrived and we enjoyed some excellent scope views as it foraged in the distant reeds.

Penduline Tit at Plock Court, Gloucestershire
courtesy of Tony Davison and Twitter

• 
  Winters in the Mediterranean area and is a summer breeding visitor to Northern Europe. 
• A very rare accidental vagrant to the UK, however frequency of visits is increasing.

Blashford Lakes in Hampshire  
Friday 29 December 2017

• A very successful visit to Blashford Lakes to join a hide full of birders for the gull roost resulted in good views of the Ring-billed Gull.

Ring-billed Gull
courtesy of Hampshire & Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust

• 
  The ring-billed gulls' breeding habitat is near lakes, rivers, or the coast in Canada and the northern United States. They nest colonially on the ground, often on islands. This bird tends to be faithful to its nesting site, if not its mate, from year to year.
• They are migratory and most move south to the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic and Pacific coasts of North America, and the Great Lakes.
• This gull is a regular wanderer to western Europe. In Ireland and Great Britain, it is no longer classed as a rarity, with several birds regularly wintering in those countries.

Hazlewood Common, Aldeburgh, Suffolk
Saturday 30 December 2017

My third road trip in as many days saw me head up to Suffolk to twitch the Coues's Arctic Redpoll - a lifer for me!  It has been present since November so I was surprised, and delighted, to find a dozen or so birders with the same intent. 

Coues's Arctic Redpoll
courtesy of Marcus Nash

It was quite windy and the light was not good as we viewed from the entrance to the wooden, white holiday cottage.

• The bird was moving around with the other Lesser Redpolls and a few Chaffinches and was not staying put for more than a second or two.  The scope was proving a hindrance at such short distances so I had to be content with a series of binocular views including an excellent one where the bird moved around the bush flitting from branch to branch and another where it was stationary for a few seconds.

• In the 2 hour spell I also got to see a bonus bird - a Mealy Redpoll.

• Arctic Redpoll is divided into two subspecies, exilipes which breeds widely in northern Eurasia and North America and hornemanni which breeds in Greenland and neighbouring parts of Canada. This bird is an exilipes, also known as Coues’s Arctic Redpoll.
• Apparently, according to historians, it’s first name should properly be pronounced ‘cows’ after its namesake, Elliot Coues, a 19th century American army surgeon and ornithologist. This is the correct pronunciation according to his descendants.

.



Pulborough Brooks, Sussex
Sunday 31 December 2017

My last twitch of 2017 saw me visit Pulborough Brooks on a dull, wet morning.  I spent just over an hour looking for the Temminck's Stint after it went walkabouts just before I got to the Hangar View.

• Thankfully, I refound it, much to the delight of a couple of fellow birders. It was showing well in the distance as it moved along the muddy edges of the pool.

Just as I left the reserve the weather started to deteriorate rapidly, making me feel so lucky to twitch this rare bird at this late stage in the year.

• The species breeds mostly in the Arctic and is rare in this country.
• Temminck's stints pass through the UK between May and mid-June and again between the end of July and October; most birds are seen here in May.

A brilliant finish to the year with 4 twitches, resulting in 5 year ticks and a "lifer"!

2017 UK Year List       293 species my best ever!

UK Life List                  338 species

HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE!

17/12/2017 Birding in the Chichester Area

Sunday 17 December 2017
Dell Quay then West Dean Woods
Chichester

Today, I made an early, 06.45, start to meet up with Paul and the group for a day out in the Chichester area.  We started at Dell Quay, south of Chichester, and spent a fabulous couple of hours watching the birds as they moved up Fishbourne Creek with the rising tide.  Just before lunch, we relocated to West Dean Woods on the north side of Chichester looking for woodland birds and Hawfinch in particular.  As forecast, the rain duly arrived in the afternoon, and we finished early but not before we had seen our fair share of interesting birds including the Hawfinch.

Dell Quay

• A Kingfisher greeted us the start.  It flew onto a moored boat where it perched for a while, allowing us to get cracking views.  This was the first of 4 sightings I was able to get of this lovely creature.

• Almost immediately, Paul drew our attention to a group of 3-4 Goldeneye, including a magnificent drake, in the channel just beyond the Kingfisher.  What a start!

As we moved north along the creek, it was hard to concentrate on the birds because the scenery was quite majestic  The ambiance was so tranquil in the quiet of the early morning sunshine.  With barely a breath of wind, the sea that was as flat as a pancake. 

Pick of the rest of the sightings are listed below:-

• A spotted Redshank was another early sighting.
• Several Pintails were seen, including a couple of stunning males.
• We saw 4 Greenshank very clearly and we think there were at least 6 around.
• It would not be Fishbourne Creek if we did not see Rock Pipit and Grey Wagtail and this time was no different.
• Of the rest, the Brent Geese, Black-tailed Godwits and the Grey Plovers stood out.

A superb 3 hours in perfect weather!

West Dean Woods

 
We then drove to West Dean Woods as the distant clouds started to form and head our way.

• Within seconds of arriving there were Hawfinches to be seen high over the tall trees near to us  Over the next 2 hours we must have had about 10 sightings, most of them quite distant but nevertheless offering good views.
• On the way to West Dean Woods,  I had super views of a low flying Red Kite and later we saw several others.
• At least one Brambling was moving around with the many Chaffinches.
• We had a really good view of some Yellowhammers perched in the high trees.
• Winter Thrushes were present in good numbers as you would expect in this superb habitat.

By mid-afternoon, the rain started and soon after we called it a day, happy in the knowledge that we had seen the target bird and also several bonus birds.

A very happy group of 9 birders!

Alan's comprehensive species list is shown below:-

What ?	Seen ?		What ?	Seen ?		What ?	Seen ?
Little Grebe			Dunlin	Yes		Whinchat
Great Crested Grebe	Yes		Purple Sandpiper			Blackbird	Yes
Fulmar			Ruff			Fieldfare	Yes
Gannet			Black-Tailed Godwit	Yes		Mistle Thrush	Yes
Cormorant	Yes		Bar-Tailed Godwit			Redwing	Yes
Shag			Curlew	Yes		Song Thrush	Yes
Bittern			Whimbrel			Cetti's Warbler
Little Egret	Yes		Snipe	Yes		Sedge Warbler
Grey Heron	Yes		Greenshank	Yes		Reed Warbler
Mute Swan	Yes		Marsh Sandpiper			Blackcap
Bewick's Swan			Redshank	Yes		Chiffchaff
Whooper Swan			Spotted Redshank	Yes		Whitethroat
Greylag Goose			Common Sandpiper			Lesser Whitethroat
White-fronted Goose			Green Sandpiper			Willow Warbler
Pink-footed Goose			Turnstone	Yes		Goldcrest	Yes
Barnacle Goose			Black-headed Gull	Yes		Firecrest
Brent Goose	Yes		Common Gull	Yes		Bearded Tit
Canada Goose			Mediterranean Gull			Marsh Tit	Yes
Egyptian Goose			Herring Gull	Yes		Willow Tit
Snow Goose			Lesser Black-backed Gull			Blue Tit	Yes
Shelduck			Great Black-backed Gull			Coal Tit	Yes
Gadwall	Yes		Kittiwake			Great Tit	Yes
Mallard	Yes		Sandwich Tern			Long-tailed Tit	Yes
Teal	Yes		Common Tern			Nuthatch	Yes
Widgeon	Yes		Arctic Tern			Tree Creeper	Yes
Garganey			Little Tern			Jackdaw	Yes
Pintail	Yes		Black Guillemot			Jay	Yes
Pochard			Guillemot			Magpie
Shoveler			Razorbill			Carrion Crow	Yes
Tufted Duck			Puffin			Raven
Goldeneye	Yes		Collared Dove	Yes		Rook
Goosander			Feral Pigeon	Yes		Starling	Yes
Red-breasted Merganser			Woodpigeon	Yes		House Sparrow	Yes
Ruddy Duck			Stock Dove			Tree Sparrow
Smew			Barn Owl			Brambling	Yes
Common Scoter			Tawny Owl			Chaffinch	Yes
Buzzard	Yes		Short-eared Owl			Goldfinch	Yes
Red Kite	Yes		Little Owl			Greenfinch	Yes
Marsh Harrier			Cuckoo			Siskin
Sparrowhawk			Ring-necked Parakeet			Linnet
Hobby			Kingfisher	Yes		Twite
Kestrel	Yes		Green Woodpecker			Lesser Redpoll
Merlin			Great Spotted Woodpecker	Yes		Bullfinch
Peregrine			Lesser spotted Woodpecker			Common Crossbill
Osprey			Skylark			Corn Bunting
Black Grouse			Swift			Reed Bunting	Yes
Red Grouse			Swallow
Pheasant	Yes		Sand Martin			Hawfinch	Yes
Red-legged Partridge	Yes		House Martin			Yellowhammer	Yes
Grey Partridge			Meadow Pipit
Coot	Yes		Rock Pipit	Yes		Jack Snipe	No
Water Rail			Pied Wagtail	???
Moorhen	Yes		Grey Wagtail	Yes
Avocet			Yellow Wagtail
Oystercatcher	Yes		Dipper
Little Ringed Plover			Dunnock	Yes
Ringed Plover	Yes		Wren	Yes
Golden Plover			Robin	Yes
Grey Plover	Yes		Nightingale
Lapwing	Yes		Redstart
Knot	Yes		Wheatear
Sanderling			Stonechat	Yes		Total	71

10/12/2017 Dungeness in the Wind and Rain with the EGRSPB Local Group

Sunday 10 December 2017
RSPB Dungeness then Lade Gravel Pits

The strong winds and flooded roads had a devastating effect on numbers for our December outing to RSPB Dungeness.  Most members cried off the day before after looking up the forecast.  On the day Terry and Alan set off but turned back after the roads became too dangerous.  Only Elizabeth and Mark, Michael and I were able to get through.

The weather at Dungeness was initially wet and very windy but it slowly started to clear, becoming dry by late morning.  Dungeness is a bountiful habitat for wildlife and, despite the inclement weather, we were rewarded with an excellent day's birding, a species count of 50 and some very interesting birds.

The strategy at first was to observe birds on Burrowes from the shelter of the hides along from the visitor's centre.  We moved gradually from Dennis's hide through to Denge Marsh hide, calling at each of the others hides in turn.  We then retraced our steps to the warmth and comfort of the visitor's centre for lunch.  Luckily, the staff were serving complimentary mulled wine which, under the circumstances, was most appreciated.

• Perhaps the biggest spectacle was provided by the 200+ Shovelers that congregated at the far end of Burrowes and seen from Scott hide.  This had to be the largest gathering of these birds any of us has ever seen.  What made them stand out from the 100+ Teal, 100+ Tufted Ducks, 100+ Pochard and 1000+ Cormorants was their fabulous plumage which showed so well in the prevailing lighting conditions.

• Two Kingfishers were seen, one from the visitor's centre just after we registered and another, giving a more prolonged sighting, from Scott Hide.  Two female Goldeneye gave us a real treat as they drifted past Makepeace hide.  There were 20+ Pintail around with some stunning males showing well. 
• The star item had to be the 3 Great White Egrets that were scattered around the pit opposite Denge Marsh hide.

• After lunch, we moved across the road to the ARC pit, stopping off at the cottage to get our customary view of the famous Dungeness Tree Sparrows at the feeders.  A Snipe and yet another Great White Egret were the highlights of this visit.

• Elizabeth, Mark and I finished the day at Lade Gravel Pits where we soon saw a fabulous Slavonian Grebe at the far side of the water.  After a thorough search, Mark spotted the Long-tailed Duck in the same area and we enjoyed a good, if brief, view of this bird before it disappeared behind some reeds.  A close drake Goldeneye looked immaculate in the fading light.  Also seen was a single Wigeon - the only one seen all day!  By the time we moved to the sea, near the car park at Lade, it was getting very dark and with a high tide, we drew a blank in our search for the waders that had eluded us all day.

An exciting day battling against the elements but well worth the effort.

07/12/2017 Barred Warbler at Titchfield Haven

Thursday 7 December 2017
Titchfield Haven, Hampshire


A very late start today due to the horrendous, wet, weather this morning.  Target bird was the Barred Warbler that has been at Titchfield Haven for a couple of days.  With better weather due mid-afternoon, I journeyed down hoping that the warbler would come out to feed. 

• Things worked as planned and the bird was showing well as I arrived.  It was barely 10-15 metres away, feeding on the berries.  No need for a telescope for this one.

Barred Warbler 
courtesy of Gareth Rees, Twitter and RBA

Another easy twitch!

06/12/17 Parrot Crossbills at Santon Warren in Norfolk

Wednesday 6 December 2017
Santon Warren, Norfolk

I was reunited with my scope today after it was returned to Cley Spy by Swarovski following a month in Austria being repaired.  I agreed to collect the scope in person in the hope of finding a rare bird whilst I was in the Norfolk area.  Boy was I lucky!

Parrot Crossbills were around and in large numbers when I got the call to say my scope was ready.   

• I was able to twitch these lovely birds on the way home this afternoon after drawing a blank on the way up this morning.  
• A brilliant scope view of 4 of them in a dead tree in the conifer wood near the car park by the railway crossing provided the highlight of the day.

What a delight!

25/11/2017 RSPB Pulborough Brooks with the East Grinstead RSPB Group

Saturday 25/11 2017
RSPB Pulborough Brooks.

Another great turnout for our November visit to RSPB Pulborough Brooks.  On a crisp, cold, autumnal day, 17 members were rewarded with an interesting trip, with over 50 species seen.

The highlights are itemised below.

• 2 Peregrines were seen from the Winpenny hide.  It is not often we see 2 together.  What made it more unusual was that they were on the ground rather than perched on a tree or a post.

• Winter thrushes were very much in evidence as you would expect at this time of year.  We enjoyed splendid views of Redwing and Fieldfare throughout our visit.

• Waders were thin on the ground and we had to satisfy ourselves with a dozen or so Black-tailed Godwits, a few Snipe, a Redshank, a Dunlin and a single Ruff.

• Incredibly we saw 3 Swallows flying over the water on the brooks.  They should have long gone overseas.

• At least 4 Pintails  brought us great delight and complemented the Wigeon, Teal Mallard, and Shoveler.

• Pick of the passerines were Bullfinch, Siskin, Stonechat, Greenfinch, Long-tailed Tit, Goldcrest, Nuthatch and Redpoll.

• A couple of Buzzards and a Kestrel were seen but we were out of luck with Red Kite.

A very satisfying morning!

A planned trip to the Burgh in the afternoon had to be abandoned as there were no car parking spaces when we arrived.  Several groups were visiting the area today and most seemed to be following a plan similar to ours - the RSPB reserve in the morning and the Duke of Norfolk's Estate in the afternoon.

22 to 24 November 2017 In NW Cumbria

Wednesday 22 November to Friday 24 November 2017

Spent a very short time in Cumbria visiting family.  

• On the way up, on Wednesday afternoon, I was rewarded with brilliant views of 25+ Red Kites on the section of the M40 between the M25 and Oxford. 

 On Thursday, Brian took me to Bowness-on-Solway for a Cumbria Spectacular!  With the Scottish hills (and Criffel in particular) providing the backdrop, the views were as outstanding as the birding.

• Pick of the day for me was the sight of 100+ Whooper Swans on the estuary near Anthorn.
• Not far behind, was the sight of 1000+ Barnacle Geese at the same place.
• Between Bowness-on-Solway and Port Carlisle, we saw hundreds of Pink-footed Geese flying over.
• At RSPB Campfield Marsh we had superb views of a Tawny Owl perched on the branch of a tree some 50-100 metres away.  At the feeders, there was an abundance of Tree Sparrows as well as a few very welcome Greenfinches.  A couple of flyover Siskins caught our attention.
• Most of our effort was taken up following the several thousand Golden Plover in the hope of finding the single Dotterel that had been seen with them recently.  Try as we may we could not find it, but the movement of the plovers was a spectacle in itself.

On the way home on Friday, I detoured to Shrewsbury to twitch the American Night Heron at Quarry Park in the Dingle Gardens.  

• This had to be the easiest twitch of the year; the heron was sitting out on a branch of a bush, enjoying the sunshine, not more than 10 metres from me.

Superb!  

NW Cumbria is right up there with the best birding sites in the country.  

07/11/17 to 09/11/17 Norfolk Tour with Chris Mills

Tuesday 7 November to Thursday 9 November 2017
North Norfolk Coast

My final tour of the year was a cracker with a species count of 110 and some memorable birding experiences.  7 of us, including a lively U3A group of 5 women from Crowborough, met up with Chris Mills at the Burleigh in Hunstanton for the 3-day event.

We started, at first light, at Snettisham where, as well as a high tide spectacular, we enjoyed some terrific visible migration.  There were birds everywhere with numbers well in excess of 100 000!

• Our trip got off to a flying start!  Even before we reached Snettisham we spotted a pair of Barn Owls in a field adjacent to the road so we stopped and admired the views.
• As high tide approached we watched in awe and wonder as the birds began to move.  We are talking about huge numbers of Knot, Oystercatchers and Pink-footed Geese.  The Knot tended to stay at sea instead of flying inland to the nearby gravel pits so they made up a stunning "murmuration type"  spectacle as they weaved in and out during their flight.  The skeins of geese were a joy to see.  

Snettisham at first light
courtesy of Chris Mills

Knot on the move
courtesy of Chris Mills

Snettisham again
courtesy of Chris Mills

• Visible migration (VIS_MIG) centred on several birds.  There were huge movements south of Starlings, Chaffinches with associated Brambling and winter thrushes, predominantly Fieldfare and associated Redwing.  It was reminiscent of the hirundine migration events we see on the south coast in the autumn.

We returned to the Burleigh around 10.30 am for a very late, cooked breakfast before heading off to Holme.  

• Our target bird was Shorelark.  We walked east along the shore for about 500 metres when Chris heard the bird flying near us.  We watched its flight for a while until it went to ground some distance ahead of us but try as we may we could not find it again.

We were also keen to see more visible migration and we were rewarded with some exceptional sights.  

• The most fascinating species was blackbird and we watched several birds coming in off the North Sea seeking refuge at the nearby pines and other trees.  I suspect that this was the event of the trip for Chris and he had reports of huge numbers of these birds on the move.
• Lapwings were another species on the move in huge numbers - again Chris was ecstatic.
• A quick sea watch gave us Red-breasted Merganser and Common Scoter but not much else.
• After a late lunch, we headed for the bird observatory at Holme.  Pick of the sightings here were the Raptors.  Kestrel and Sparrowhawk were seen.
• We ended the day at Thornham where we soon found our target species - Twite.  Also seen was a Peregrine Falcon and a Merlin.  A delightful Kingfisher put in several appearances.

Our second day was much quieter, with far fewer birds, but just as interesting.  We started at Kelling Quags before heading for Cley in the afternoon.

• At Kelling Quags, we had superb views of a Spotted Redshank as it moved around among the Dunlin.  Despite our best efforts, we could not find the Jack Snipe that had been seen previously. On the sea, we added Eider and Long-tailed Duck to our list.  We also had a distant view of a Short-eared Owl as it came in off the sea - another example of VIZ_MIG.  Our first Red Kite was a welcome sight.

• At Cley, we went onto the reserve to see the Grey Phalarope and after a short delay, it duly put in an appearance.  From the hide, we could see other birders watching a flock of birds so we exited the reserve and drove round to the beach where we soon found the flock - between 40 and 50 Snow Buntings. We then spent the next 30 minutes or so watching these lovely birds as they moved around.

Our final day took us to Stiffkey and then to Burnham Overy.  Again it was much quieter than on day 1 but, again, we did see some interesting birds.

• We soon saw the 2 Cattle Egrets on the south side of the A149 trunk road before we crossed the road to look for waders on Stiffkey Fen -  a Greenshank being the best of the bunch.
• We then went looking for Harriers from the car park by the coastal path just to the west of Stiffkey.  We were rewarded big time with excellent views of a distant male Hen Harrier and yet another Merlin.
• From the road west of Holkham Hall, on the way to Burnham Overy, we twitched the Great White Egret to complete our 3 Egret set and saw our first White-fronted Geese of the trip.  In superb lighting, we admired the circling Red Kites and enjoyed watching a Stoat chasing a Rabbit.
• We finished the trip, as we started,  with a close view of a Barn Owl in a field adjacent to the A149.

• A great trip, in excellent company, resulting in a birding experience to savour.  
• Visible Migration certainly appeals to me.  
• How refreshing to see the cream of Norfolk birding waxing lyrical about migrating Blackbirds/Lapwings and the like rather than the rarities. 

04/11/2017 Dusky Warbler at Sandwich Bay

Saturday 4 November 2017
Sandwich Bay


On a miserable, wet day I journeyed to Sandwich Bay to see the Dusky Warbler.  

• When I arrived there were 8 other birders, including Lee Evans, on a mound overlooking a clump of trees.  The warbler had been seen on and off all morning, following a familiar loop around the bushes just ahead of us.  After a while, it appeared but quickly flew to an adjacent bush, then into an area of scrub, then into a huge gorse bush.  Lee moved around the bush trying to lure the bird out using sound mimicking techniques.  It then flew some 20-30 metres, allowing us good views, before disappearing.

Well done Lee Evans!

02/11/2017 Lesser Scaup at Blashford Lakes

Thursday 2nd November 2017
Blashford Lakes, Hampshire

Another fine day so I carried on twitching - this time down into Hampshire to Blashford Lakes. 

• The Lesser Scaup was in the NE corner of Spinnaker Lake as per Bird Guides and was showing well.

courtesy of Mark Leitch, Hampshire Birding Group

Well worth the effort!
Making up for lost time!

01/11/2017 Rock Thrush Twitch

Wednesday 1st November 2017
Blorenge, Gwent, South Wales

This was my first opportunity to go birding since the Yorkshire trip, so I decided to treat myself.  The Rock Thrush seemed to be lingering in Wales ready for my visit so how could I resist.  On a bright sunny day I left home mid morning and arrived in Wales just after 2 pm.  

Thankfully there had been several sightings earlier in the day so confidence was high.  The site was Gilwern Hill, some 1300ft up in the beautiful Brecon Beacons National park near Blaenavon in Gwent.  As I made my way to the quarry I met a couple who had just seen the bird and they advised me to stay on top of the quarry where the bird was showing from 50 metres or so.  

• They were right - although the bird was not showing as I arrived.  Within minutes it appeared on the rocks ahead of me and I was able to get superb scope views.  It had a really mottled appearance with white fringed uppermost feathers and a rich orange, yet mottled, underparts.

Rock Thrush
courtesy of  South Wales Argus

The Rock Thrush was a first for Gwent and only the third in Wales - the last one being in the 1980's.  

• The common rock thrush (Monticola saxatilis), formerly rufous-tailed rock thrush or rock thrush, is a chat belonging to the family Muscicapidae. It was formerly placed in the family Turdidae. The scientific name is from Latin. Monticola is from mons, montis "mountain", and colere, "to dwell", and saxatilis means "rock-frequenting", from saxum, "stone".

• It breeds in southern Europe across central Asia to northern China. This species is strongly migratory, all populations wintering in Africa south of the Sahara. It is an uncommon visitor to northern Europe. Its range has contracted somewhat at the periphery in recent decades due to habitat destruction.

Back on track with a "lifer"