Monday 12 June 2017

12/06/2017 Squacco Heron on Denge Marsh

Monday 12 June 2017
Denge Marsh, Dungeness, Kent

Andrew sent me a text re a Squacco Heron on Denge Marsh so off I went on yet another twitch!

This one was not as easy as it looked.  A road closure on the top road to Rye meant I arrived late and found I had just missed a flight view of the heron from Springfield Bridge.

Some 2 hours were to pass before I got my next chance when the bird showed for a brief flight after it was flushed by marauding Marsh Harrier.  It went to ground quickly before flying again towards the power station.

A couple of us followed it onto the reserve and 15 minutes later we were rewarded with great views, including a scope view, of the bird in flight and on the ground.


The heron is normally found in the Mediterranean or Middle East and is only seen in Britain about once every couple of years.

Thanks Andrew!

Saturday 10 June 2017

10/06/2017 A "lifer"

Saturday 10 June 2017
Twitching


Frensham, Surrey
A good chance to go birding today so off I went to Frensham in Surrey in pursuit of a Red-footed Falcon.  I made my way up to Kings Ridge to join 4 other birders, only to find that none of them had seen the bird yet, despite regular reports of its presence.

  • We decided to split up and search for the elusive creature. Soon I was beckoned to the bottom of the ridge where the bird was showing well.  We enjoyed excellent views of the falcon as it moved around the many dead trees in front of us.




Church Norton, West Sussex
With time to spare, I decided to go home via Pagham Harbour and seek out the Elegant Tern that had been seen on-and-off all day.  
  • When I arrived at around 4 p.m,.the bird was on the Tern Island but only really gave good views when it took to the air.   After waiting for a short period, this duly happened - much to my delight.  Then it went to ground again before flying around once more.  This cycle of events went on until I left.


Elegant Tern
courtesy of Brian Thompson



My first "lifer" for ages!



  • The mind boggles to think what set of circumstances has brought this bird to the UK.  Its usual grounds are the Pacific coast of America! 


A further update on how it came to be at Church Norton.


  • Orange billed terns such as this can be difficult to identify, and just to confuse matters further, they do have an unfortunate habit of hybridising. However this particular individual has previously been in France where it was ringed, and DNA samples taken at the time have proved that this bird is a pure elegant tern.





Tuesday 6 June 2017

29 May to 4 June 2017 Nightjars and Woodcock at Hindleap in the Ashdown Forest.



Hindleap
Ashdown Forest

I made 3 visits to the Ashdown Forest to see the Nightjars and Woodcock.  They were in the same place as last year- at Hindleap, at the top of the hill.  There were 2 Nightjars and I had at least 3 sightings of the roding Woodcock.

Not as easy as in previous years but it's early days still and things should improve.

20 to 27 May 2017 Scotland Trip


20th to 27th May 2017
Scotland
Brian, Graham and Harvey, my Cumbrian birding friends.


Just 2 days after returning from Poland I was off again - this time to Scotland with Brian and my Cumbrian friends Harvey and Graham.  Oh - and Jess, Harvey's dog!  We hired  Laga Lodge, a purpose built apartment by the shores of Loch Sunart on the magnificent Ardnamurchan Peninsula, within easy reach of the ferry to Mull.












  • On my way up to Cumbria, I made two detours, one to RSPB Burton Mere, in Cheshire, to twitch the Buff-breasted Sandpiper that had just arrived that day and the other to Buttermere, in Cumbria, to twitch the Spotted Sandpiper that had been there for some time.


The weather early on in our trip was not conducive to birding, with overcast conditions and some rain.  Nevertheless, we made the most of the things and saw some good birds.


  • Around our accommodation, there were good numbers of Wood Warbler and we saw and heard them at regular intervals.
  • There were also Spotted Flycatchers to be seen around the apartment.
  • We didn't have to wait long for our first sighting of White-tailed Eagle.  On Sunday, over the high ground west of our lodge, we stopped the minibus to watch one as it flew past us down the valley.  Our views were excellent.
  • Ardnamurchan Point, the most westerly place on the British mainland, provided us with some excellent sea watching.  The shelter, adjacent to the lighthouse was our haven as we watched  Black Guillemots and other staples.  The highlight for me, however, was the steady flow of Manx Shearwaters passing close to us. 
  • We managed to see Red-throated Divers and Great Northern Divers in superb summer plumage but we did not find any Black-throated Divers, despite our best efforts.

We visited Mull on two occasions, each time using the ferry from Kilchoan to Tobermory.  Thankfully we planned the visit to coincide with improved weather conditions.  The sun shone brilliantly for us on both days and we were rewarded with some stunning views of the eagles. 


On our first visit, we arrived too late for the first organised, Eagle Watch.  The next session was by prior booking only so we moved on  This proved to be to our advantage as we were to experience our own special viewings of these magnificent raptors.
  • At Loch na Keal, we were directed to a Golden Eagle nesting site and soon had really cracking views of one perched on a branch near the nest.  We even had flight views, albeit very brief ones, as the bird moved to a position nearer the nest. 
  • While we were enjoying this spectacle, a pair of White-tailed Eagles could be seen flying over the hilltops on the opposite side of the loch.  After a while, amazingly, these same 2 eagles flew down the loch, past us heading towards Loch Ba.
  • The other notable sighting on this day was a superb Whinchat some 30 metres from our minibus and showing really well.
  • On another visit, we were to get other views of the eagles, including a superb flight view of a Golden Eagle carrying prey and a perched White-tailed Eagle.
  • On our last visit to Mull, we finished up on the A849, just south-west of Glen More, at the junction of 2 roads in a setting not too dissimilar to the bottom of the Findhorn Valley.  Here we saw 3 Hen Harriers, all ringtails.



Another excellent trip, this time with a modest species list of 90 but including the all-important eagles, our target species.

A most enjoyable experience with my fellow Cumbrians!





  • On the way back to Sussex on Sunday I made a long detour to RSPB South Stack on Anglesey to add Puffin and Chough to my year list.  This was not a good idea - this reserve was inundated with bank-holiday visitors and it extended my journey distance from 380 miles to almost 600 miles.








Monday 5 June 2017

11 to 16 May 2017 Poland Trip

Poland Trip
May 11 to May 16,  2017
Paul and Group (8)

Every now and then you get to go on a tour that lifts your birding experience to a new level.  This trip, to Poland with Paul and the group did just that.  With over 140 species seen,  all of us added to our life lists - in my case by a staggering 14 species.


We stayed in the tranquil village of Bialowieza in the middle of Białowieża Forest, in NE Poland, not far from the border with Belarus. Our guide for the trip was Mateusz, a local lad who was to become invaluable to us.


We got off to an astonishing start on Friday.

  • At 05.30, we saw a Pygmy Owl in the forest just outside of town.  Mateusz lured the bird down to some lower branches so we could enjoy some phenomenal views from our vantage point.
  • After we had seen and drooled over a Wood Warbler, we spotted a Three-toed Woodpecker, our first of 8 different species.  This was soon followed by a second, a Middle Spotted Woodpecker. Just before breakfast, we saw our first, of many, Collared Flycatchers.

Things just kept going after breakfast
  • We saw 3 Wrynecks.  The unusual thing for me about these sightings and the reason I mention them in this blog is that they showed a couple of traits I have never seen before in the UK.  First, the bird gave it's position away by singing -  a series of long whining notes; every sighting I made in the UK came about serendipitously with no giveaway call or song.  Secondly, I have always associated these birds with scrub and low-level bushes; here in Poland, they occupied quite high positions in the trees.
  • Next, our attention was drawn to a Lesser Spotted Eagle that showed well in the skies ahead of us.  It only lasted a short while but long enough for all to get a really good look and appreciate this new species.
  • We didn't have to wait long for the next species of woodpecker to turn up; at 11.00 we had superb views of a Grey-headed Woodpecker
  • Almost from the start, we heard the Thrush Nightingales but we were not able to get a really good view of one,  most of us settled for a fleeting view as the bird moved around the scrub.  Barred Warbler, Icterine Warbler were similar experiences.  We heard a Marsh Warbler but were unable to find it.
  • We had better views of the Red-backed Shrike in the afternoon and to cap a good afternoon session we had excellent views of a Honey Buzzard before seeing a Lesser-spotted Woodpecker fly by.

After an early dinner, we were on the road again for an evening session targeted at seeing a Great Snipe on the marshes.  After donning my blue plastic bags, as emergency wellies, we were off into the marshes.
  • We heard plenty of Corncrakes but try as we may we just couldn't get them to come out into the open.
  • The main attraction didn't disappoint and we had good, distant views of the lek.  At one point, whilst looking at the Great Snipe, we could hear Corncrake, Spotted Crake, Grasshopper Warbler and Nightjars at the same time.



What an incredible first day!




Our pre-breakfast outing on Saturday took us to the Orlowka Protected Area, the oldest part of the National Park.   Incidentally, Mateusz regarded 05.00 as a late start! Dawn in Poland at this time of year is shortly after 03.00


  • At around 05.30 we saw our first Golden Orioles as 2 flew by. Shortly afterwards we had great views of 4 Cranes, flying overhead.
  • The highlight of this session, however, had to be a Black Woodpecker seen as it flew through the forest.  We managed to get a second sighting later on as well as hear it calling as it passed by - marvellous!
  • Yet more Spotted Flycatchers and several excellent sightings of Red Squirrel made this another memorable outing and well worth getting up for. 
  • After breakfast, I saw my first Great Reed Warbler of the trip I soon came to recognise the really loud call/song of this delightful bird.  We were on the trail of the White-backed Woodpecker but were not having much success, although Andrew managed a fleeting view of one.
  • It was nice to watch House Martins picking up mud for nesting purposes at a lonely farmyard location.  This was the first time that I had ever seen this behaviour and it fascinated me.  All the way to Poland to be intrigued by House Martins!
  • It was now tough going in our search for the elusive White-backed Woodpecker.  The Red-breasted Flycatcher was also proving difficult to see with only a few people getting a glimpse of it.
  • We had more luck with the Lesser-spotted Woodpecker; Paul heard it drumming and soon after we had excellent flight views.

Another eventful day with some excellent new birds. We really had to work hard for them and we still didn't get the desired result with respect to the White-backed Woodpecker.




  • Our pre-breakfast walk by the local railway station on Sunday targeted Rosefinch and we were lucky to see some, including a stunning male showing well at the top of the tree right at the end of our visit.

  • By now we were taking Middle Spotted Woodpecker, Great Reed Warbler, Wryneck, Cuckoo and Common Tern for granted, such was the level of birding we were experiencing.


  • After an early 07.00 breakfast, we were off on a 2-hour road trip to the Biebrza Marshes with a new guide for the day.  On the way, I managed to miss a small flock of Bee-eaters flying overhead.  I was more fortunate with the stunning male Montague's Harrier that flew by the side of our car.



  • Our target species was the White-winged Black Tern and they were showing really well as we arrived, along with many Ruff in wonderful summer plumage.  This was yet another awe-inspiring experience in a terrific habitat.
  • It wasn't long before we saw our first White-tailed Eagle of the trip, looking really stunning in the perfect late morning light.
  • Just before midday we even saw our first Hoopoe.
  • The early afternoon session was memorable for the Whiskered Terns and the Black-winged Stilts.

We were biding our time, waiting for the early evening, to maximise our chances of seeing our target species the Aquatic Warbler



  • By way of a distraction, we enjoyed watching a Penduline Tit
  • The Aquatic Warbler was most obliging, offering us numerous, excellent views at the top of the reeds.
  • However, this was eclipsed, for me, by the sight of a majestic male Montague's Harrier flying low over the reeds and barely 100 metres from us.



 Just fantastic - what a brilliant habitat!






  • On Monday, our pre-breakfast outing yielded the best view of the Icterine Warbler.  It was simply stunning as it sang away just a few metres ahead of us.
  • Our guide for the day was Erik, the father of Mateusz.  Try as he may, he had no luck with finding his target species, namely the Citrine Wagatail.  We did, however, see another Hoopoe, more Cranes, 15+ Great White Egrets and a Penduline Tit.
  • The highlight of this session had to be the Osprey which flew over as we were on our way and 2 Honey Buzzards which we encountered near the end. 
  • A somewhat underwhelming day was brought to a fantastic climax by Mateusz, who joined us for a short while in the early evening after he had finished work for the day.  He had consulted some of his friends and was anxious to make one last gasp effort to locate the White-backed Woodpecker.  We arrived at the aforesaid nesting site and positioned ourselves at a sensible distance to see the bird without disturbing it in any way.  Right on cue, the bird arrived and we were able to get some excellent views of this lovely woodpecker.  What a lovely gesture from our guide - he was under no obligation to do this but he had gone the extra mile on our behalf.  Thank you,  Mateusz!



  • We ended our trip on Tuesday with a final visit to the park by the railway station and saw the usual suspects - Rosefinch, Great Reed Warbler, Thrush Nightingale and  Serin.  We had no luck locating the Syrian Woodpecker that had been seen there the previous day by other birders. 


  • We just had time to visit the reserve to see the Bison before leaving for Warsaw and flying home.  Wolves and Wild Boar were also seen.


As usual, Alan provided us all with a trip species count - please see his spreadsheet below.




As trips go it can't get much better than this.

  •  lots of birds, many of which were new to me.  


  • and it was so cheap!  B&B for less than £28 pppn, 2-course evening meals with 3 beers for around £10, cheap flight £114.81  etc.  The major expense was my share of the guiding costs and even that was only 150 euros for the 4 days.






Birding  in Poland (mostly in the Bialowieza Forest)
Ref May 2016 trip report Sussex Birders May 2017 May 2017 lifer? Further Notes
Mute Swan 15 Seen Seen
Whooper Swan 15 Seen Just two or three birds
Greylag Goose 19 Seen The only goose that breeds in Poland
Gadwall 25 Seen Seen
Mallard 25 Seen Seen Most common duck
Pintail 25 Seen
Shoveler 27 Seen Seen
Wigeon 27 Seen
Garganey 29 Seen Seen At Biebrza Marshes
Pochard 31 Seen
Tufted Duck 33 Seen Only seen once
Goosander 45 Seen
Grey Partridge 55 Seen Seen a couple of times
Red-legged Partridge 55 Seen Whilst driving east from Warsaw
Corncrake 57 Heard Heard Many heard in different places but never seen
Pheasant 59 Seen Seen
Little Grebe 65 Seen
Great Crested Grebe 67 Seen Seen
Cormorant 79 Seen A few here + there outside of the forest
Bittern 81 Heard Heard Booming at Simianowski Lake
Great White Egret 83 Seen Seen
Grey Heron 85 Seen Seen
White Stork 85 Seen Seen Must every village have at least one nest?
Osprey 93 Seen Single bird seen at Simianowski lake
White-tailed Eagle 93 Seen Seen Great views at Biebrza Marshes
Lesser Spotted Eagle 97 Seen Seen
Spotted Eagle 97 ????? Distant bird above woods at Biebrza Marshes. Not included in totals
Marsh Harrier 103 Seen Seen
Montagu's Harrier 105 Seen Seen On drive from + to Warsaw
Common Buzzard 109 Seen Seen
Honey Buzzard 111 Seen Great views of one flying over near river + later more distant views of two more
Goshawk 113 Seen Watched for some time from place with the sand dunes in Biebrza Marshes
Sparrowhawk 113 Seen
Kestrel 117 Seen
Hobby 119 Seen Seen Just one flew past Paul's car
Spotted Crake 125 Heard Heard Many heard in different places but never seen
Coot 127 Seen Seen
Moorhen 127 Seen
Common Crane 129 Seen Seen Small numbers seen regularly
Black-winged Stilt 135 Seen Just three birds but so elegant
Lapwing 147 Seen Seen
Wood Sandpiper 155 Heard Seen Quick view in the marshes at in the village + better views of two in Biebrza Marshes
Redshank 157 Seen Seen
Bar-Tailed Godwit 159 Seen A few birds but stunning in breeding plumage
Great Snipe 161 Seen Seen Distant views lekking
Snipe 161 Seen Seen
Woodcock 161 Seen Seen Seen at the Great Snipe Lek
Ruff 167 Seen By far the most numerous warbler but views often distant
Black-headed Gull 181 Seen Seen the only gull we saw
Gull-billed Tern 199 Seen
Common Tern 201 Seen Seen
Black Tern 207 Seen Seen
Whiskered Tern 207 Seen Seen
White-winged Black Tern 207 Seen Seen Just beautiful. Particularly good views from bridge as we approached Biebrza Marshes
Feral Pigeon / Rock Dove 215 Seen
Wood Pigeon 215 Seen Seen
Collared Dove 219 Seen Seen
Cuckoo 221 Seen Very often heard + regularly seen
Pygmy Owl 227 Seen Seen What a first bird in the forest!
Tawny Owl 231 Seen Heard
Nightjar 235 Heard Heard At the Great Snipe Lek
Swift 237 Seen Seen
Hoopoe 239 Seen A few good views
Black Woodpecker 243 Seen Seen Great views three times in the Strict Reserve
Grey-headed Woodpecker 243 Seen Seen
Great Spotted Woodpecker 245 Seen Seen
Middle Spotted Woodpecker 245 Seen Seen
Syrian Woodpecker 245 One reported in local park but could not find it
Lesser Spotted Woodpecker 247 Seen Seen
Three-toed Woodpecker 247 Seen Seen Stunning views of male and female feeding young
White-backed Woodpecker 247 Seen Seen Took a lot of finding but well worth it
Wryneck 247 Seen Seen Seen in trees!!
Skylark 249 Seen Seen
Woodlark 251 Seen Seen
House Martin 261 Seen Seen
Swallow 261 Seen Seen
Meadow Pipit 267 Seen Few. On one occasion two in a tree pestering a Cuckoo
Tree Pipit 267 Seen
White Wagtail 269 Seen Seen
Citrine Wagtail 271 Seen "reliable area" was flooded
Grey Wagtail 271 Seen Beautiful "blue-headed" bird at Biebrza Marshes
Yellow Wagtail 271 Seen Seen Single bird near Biebrza Marshes
Dunnock 275 Heard Just one all trip in a clearing in the woods when hunting Nutcracker
Robin 277 Seen Seen
Thrush Nightingale 277 Seen Seen More often heard than seen!
Bluethroat 279 Heard Maybe glimpses of one bird in the undergrowth
Black Redstart 281 Seen Seen Everywhere in the village
Redstart 281 Seen Seen
Wheatear 283 Seen
Stonechat 293 Seen
Whinchat 293 Seen Seen
Fieldfare 295 Seen Seen Seen quite regularly around the village
Song Thrush 295 Seen Seen
Blackbird 297 Seen Seen
Barred Warbler 303 Seen Seen Often hard work to see.
Blackcap 303 Seen Seen
Garden Warbler 303 Seen Heard
Lesser Whitethroat 305 Seen Seen
Whitethroat 309 Seen Seen
Aquatic Warbler 315 Seen Great views in late afternoon sun at Biebrza Marshes
Sedge Warbler 315 Seen Seen Heard + seen often
Grasshopper Warbler 317 Seen Heard Heard at Great Snipe lek
River Warbler 319 Seen Possibly too early for them.
Savi's Warbler 319 Seen Seen Probably heard more than seen
Marsh Warbler 321 Seen Seen At Simianowski Lake
Reed Warbler 321 Heard Only heard Simianowski Lake
Great Reed Warbler 323 Seen Seen Noisy blighter. Often good views
Icterine Warbler 325 Seen Seen Best views in park in the village
Willow Warbler 329 Seen Seen
Wood Warbler 329 Seen Seen Often heard in the forest.
Chiffchaff 331 Seen Seen
Firecrest 337 Seen
Wren 337 Seen Seen
Red-breasted Flycatcher 339 Seen Seen Only a few seen
Spotted Flycatcher 339 Seen Seen
Collared Flycatcher 341 Seen Seen Stunning little bird + often seen
Blue Tit 343 Seen Seen
Coal Tit 343 Seen A few here + there
Great Tit 343 Seen Seen
Crested Tit 345 Seen More heard than seen a few times deep in the forest
Marsh Tit 345 Seen Seen
Long-tailed Tit 347 Seen A few here + there
Penduline Tit 347 Seen Seen Seen in a couple of places
Nuthatch 349 Seen Seen
Treecreeper 351 Heard Seen Small number considering how many trees!
Great Grey Shrike 353 Seen Just one in marsh land near the village
Red-backed Shrike 355 Seen Seen A few
Magpie 361 Seen Seen
Jay 363 Seen Seen
Nutcracker 363 Seen Only seen by Chris
Jackdaw 365 Seen Seen
Carrion Crow 367 Seen Seen
Hooded Crow 367 Seen Seen First bird of the trip seen from the plane!
Raven 367 Seen Seen
Rook 367 Seen Seen
Golden Oriole 371 Seen Seen Often heard + some good views but had to be worked for
Starling 371 Seen Seen
House Sparrow 373 Seen Seen
Tree Sparrow 373 Seen Seen
Chaffinch 377 Seen Seen
Linnet 379 Seen Few single birds
Goldfinch 381 Seen Seen Few
Greenfinch 381 Seen Seen Few
Siskin 381 Seen Seen More often heard than seen
Serin 383 Seen Seen At supermarket in Hajnowka + better view in village park
Hawfinch 385 Seen Seen Lots + often feeding on the ground
Common Crossbill 387 Seen Few
Common Rosefinch 389 Seen Seen Stunning male seen on two days in the park
Reed Bunting 393 Seen Seen
Yellowhammer 399 Seen Seen
Corn Bunting 403 Seen Seen once near the village
Total seen 107 131
Total heard only 6 10
My holiday list 113 141 0 Total
Seen by others 0
Total Trip list 113 141
Ref equals page number of illustration in Collins second edition