An Arctic Adventure 19th - 24th March (Day 5)

Today was to be our last full day in Norway and we were back on the road again. This time we were heading south past Kirkenes and to the Pasvik Valley, where we would spend the night at BIRK Husky. Our reasoning behind choosing this site was because it was a guaranteed location for Pine Grosbeak, one of Si's target birds, and other forest specialities. As with many of the sites we were visiting, they were often better later in the spring, when waders and other migrant passerines were passing through, the recent snow had made accessing many sites difficult, so we didn't know what to expect.

We set off early again as we were keen to get into the Pasvik Valley when there was still time to bird. A scan of the harbour before we set off produced a flock of Purple Sandpipers, Glaucous, Herring, Common, Black-headed and the dodgy Thayer's type gull, and the usual selection of eiders and Long-tailed Ducks. A distant White-tailed Eagle drifted over whilst we were scanning. We started to travel west along the E75, had a brief stop at Nesseby, but there was little to report, and pressed on, but no sooner had we got going a White-tailed Eagle came in off the fjord and flew right over our car. Si was the quickest out of the car and got some amazing photos as it drifted overhead. We continued east and before long had stopped two more times, both times for Hawk Owls, two at one site and one at another.

Hawk Owl - Nyborg Area

Hawk Owl - Nyborg Area

We continued east along the E75 and turned south on the E6 at Varangerbotn. We made good time on our journey, adding a couple more Hawk Owls on the way, before heading south on the 885. Heavy overnight snow combined with a fairly narrow and winding road, made driving conditions interesting, and didn't give much opportunity for stopping and we hence made better time than expected. 

Our first stop in the Pasvik Valley was the National Park Centre where we had good views of both Common (Mealy) and Arctic Redpoll on the feeders, but that was about it. We had been advised that the old birch woodlands were a good site for Three-toed Woodpecker, but the snow was knee deep and none of the trails were open. We decided to move on and continued south through Svanvik and then took a detour along a minor road towards Skrotnes. This road was apparently another good site for Three-toed Woodpecker and we stopped several times, but only saw Willow Tits, Greenfinchs and Ravens. Further along the road, and just as we were about to rejoin the 885, Si picked up a Goshawk; the views were unfortunately distant and the bird was flying away at all times.

We arrived at BIRK Husky and after dropping our stuff off in our room we headed out exploring. Our first stop was the feeders in search of Pine Grosbeak, and we didn't have to wait too long. There were four birds coming in, and when not feeding they tended to sit around on the tops of the pines, occasionally coming lower. Whilst waiting for good photo opportunities we also picked up Siberian Jay, Siberian Tit, Great Tit, Blue Tit, Willow Tit, Bullfinch and Greenfinch.

Male Pine Grosbeak

Female Pine Grosbeak

Siberian Jay

Siberian Tit

Willow Tit

The most common birds on the feeders were redpolls, and they were present in their tens. We spent a long time working our way through them and considering their ID and I have to say that I came away from the experience feeling more confused than when I started. That confusion was not helped when I started doing a bit of research back home. I initially worked my way through the various images and tried to sort out the ID of each bird, but have also sort the advice of Simon Rix (Oslo Birder) who is far more experienced with Common (Mealy) and Arctic Redpolls than I.   

Bird 1 - I initially put this bird down as a Mealy, but deliberated over the ID for a while before doing that. However, Simon Rix thinks this birds probably an Arctic, it has a generally frosty appearance and a small bill with a pinched culmen. The undertail coverts are predominantly white, with the dark central feather, although he is concerned this maybe a bit too broad. Unfortunately I don't have any images that show all of the rump, but what is shown again is predominantly white with a small amount of streaking.

Bird 1 - Probably an Arctic Redpoll

Bird 2 - Common (Mealy) Redpoll

Bird 3 - I initially thought this bird was a Mealy Redpoll, but again there is a suggestion it maybe an Arctic. Unfortunately I don't have any images of the undertail coverts, and only one image showing a very small amount of rump, which is unstreaked. 

Bird 4 - Common (Mealy) Redpoll

Bird 5 - Common (Mealy) Redpoll

Bird 5 - Common (Mealy) Redpoll

Bird 6 - Common (Mealy) Redpoll

Bird 6 - Common (Mealy) Redpoll

Bird 7 - Coues' Arctic Redpoll

After a fair while at the feeders we decided to go and have a wander and followed a track through a patch of woodland to a frozen lake. It was very quite bird wise and the only birds of note were Willow Tit, Siberian Tit and a few more redpolls. After our stroll we nipped down to the river that bordered BIRK Husky. We were right on the Russian border at this location, with the boundary running down the middle of the river. Neither of us have ever been to Russia so we scanned the landscape looking for any birds for our Russian list. Si quickly picked up a Dipper (Black-bellied) that was feeding along the edge of the river, on the Russian side and then a Whooper Swan flew downstream, landing in front of us before swimming to the Russian side of the river.

Dipper (Black-bellied) in Russia

Whooper Swan in Russia

With the light now fading we headed back to our room, briefly popping out to pick up a couple of beers. Later in the evening a couple of other guess who were staying came in and told us that the aurora borealis were showing outside, we quickly grabbed our cameras and ran out but had missed the best of the display.

A faint Aurora Borealis display

End of Year Review, December 2013

So here we are at the end of my third full year writing this blog, I hope you have enjoyed its content and would like to thank all those who follow it and those who have visited over the years. This year (2013) has been an interesting one for me as back in February I started a new job, which I had hoped would give me more spare time to enjoy bird ringing and other natural history activities. In reality, more spare time meant more out of work social commitments, which did limit the amount of free time I had, and three stints in hospital were certainly not welcome. Despite the set backs I still had a great year which resulted in several new birds in for me in Hampshire, over 20 new moth species in the garden, a couple of new birds in the hand and ended with a British tick (Brunnich's guillemot). In typical fashion for a year end post I thought I would do a quick summary of my personal highlights of the year, and please feel free to share yours with me.

January
The start of the year for me was all about trying to see as many bird species as possible on the patch. There were no real highlights to speak of with this, that came in the form of a recovery notification from the BTO of one of the common nightingales that I had ringed at Botley Wood. Unfortunately the bird was found dead in France 488 days since being ringed, which was not good news for the bird, but was my first foreign control of this species since starting the project.

Adult Common Nightingale - Sadly found dead in France

February
The long staying and very confiding black-bellied dipper at the BTO HQ Thetford in Norfolk was the first that I had seen in the UK, and got my annual Norfolk pilgrimage off to a good start.

Black-bellied Dipper - Norfolk

March
Eurasian siskins came into my garden in good numbers this year and I ended with a record number of 40 new birds ringed, beating the previous best of 12 back in 2003. Individuals were trapped throughout January, February, March, April, May and one bird was re-trapped in August. The peak month though was March when 22 new birds were ringed.

Male Eurasian Siskin

April
The return of the common nightingale is always a highlight for me and this year was no exception. At least eight singing males were back on territories, and I managed to catch four of those, one being a bird from May 2009. This month was also memorable for the presence of a singing male common redstart and a lesser spotted woodpecker, both found whilst surveying for nightingales.

Retrap Adult Nightingale - Botley Wood

May
Being my 25th wedding anniversary this year my wife and I took short break to the Greek Island of Rhodes. There were no new birds for me but we did have a great trip with a variety of wildlife being seen. The highlight for me had to be snake-eyed lizard which was stunning beast, the resultant blog post has become the most read post on this site. 

Snake-eyed Lizard, Rhodes

June
The undoubted highlight for me this year was being invited out to ring northern goshawk pulli. I had ringed common buzzards before but the size of these birds, in particular the females and their talons was amazing. The low point was being savaged by a cat and spending four days in hospital with an infected arm.

Juvenile Goshawk

July
Mothing really took off this month and checking the trap before work became near on impossible due to the numbers present. On one date I recorded 250 moths of 90 species in the garden and by the end of the year I had recorded 310 species. The second high point was surviving being knocked off my bike by a car and only needing seven stitches in a gash on my chin and having mild concussion for 48 hours.

White Satin Moth - a new species for me

August
Ringing was starting to get into full swing at Titchfield Haven and on 17th we ringing 223 new birds, with 24 of those being garden warblers, the most we have ever caught in one day by a long way.

Garden Warbler - Titchfield Haven

September
This month was memorable for two amazing highs, catching my first, and second, Clifden nonpareil moths whilst staying at Castlehaven on the Isle of Wight; and seeing the first brown shrike to ever be recorded in Hampshire. An excellent find by Bob Marchant.

Clifden Nonpareil at Castlehaven, Isle of Wight

October
There were many highlights during October, but these were sadly all overshadowed by the untimely death of Tim Lawman, a popular and active member of the Hampshire birding scene. The highlights were finding a yellow-browed warbler at The Hampshire and Isle of Wight Trusts (HIWWT) Testwood Lakes Nature Reserve, and then another at Anton Lakes whilst waiting for Hampshire's second ever Radde's warbler to show. The semi-palmated plover at Sandy Point on Hayling Island, a truly amazing find by Andy Johnson. And if all that wasn't enough, it ended with us catching our first, and Hampshire's third Radde's warbler at Titchfield Haven. What an autumn this turned out to be!

Radde's Warbler at Titchfield Haven

November
Ringing bearded reedlings (or parrotbills) at the HIWWTs Farlington Marshes reserve was a real treat, but the undoubted highlight had to be the phenomenal starling roost of 10,000 to 100,000 birds at their Blashford Lakes nature reserve. As natural history spectacles go this is one of the best I have seen and is still continuing as I write this post. If you get the chance it is definitely worth a visit and if you are lucky you may even get the see one of the two bitterns wintering there.

A Murmuration of Starlings at Blashford Lakes

December
There is only one contender this month and that was the Brunnich's guillemot in Portland Harbour. We were heading home after spending Christmas in Cornwall and made the short detour. A cracking bird and a British tick for me to end the year on.

In Search of Winter Birds - Norfolk 2013 Day 1

So here we are again back in Norfolk for a spot of winter birding and a chance to catch up with birding friends from around the country. Our trip would normally begin at Lakenheath Fen, but this year we decided to start in Thetford. An odd place to start one might think, but this year a black-bellied dipper, the nominate (European) race of the British sub-species, had decided to take up residence on a small stream next to BTO headquarters. 

Black-bellied Dipper Cinclus cinclus cinclus, Thetford, Norfolk, the nominate  race from 
Northern Europe and North-western France. The resident race in the UK is 
Cinclus cinclus gularis, which is distinguished by the presence of a reddish brown 
colouration beneath the white throat.

During previous visits to Norfolk when this sub-species has been present, we have spent hours looking, but to no avail, this year however, we spent seconds looking and there it was! Unfortunately, the light was very poor and combined with steady rain photography was difficult. We spent a good half an hour enjoying what proved to be a very confiding individual, in stark contrast to the birds I normally see in Valency Valley, Cornwall. The British sub-species of dipper has a rich reddish brown colouration between the white breast and the dark brown belly. This individual lacks this reddish brown patch, as can be seen on the picture above.

Eurasian Otter Lutra lutra feeding along the river bank on the Little Ouse, 
Thetford Photo A. Mason

Before heading on to our next stop we had a quick stroll along the Little Ouse in Thetford is search of a resident otter. Initially we were unsuccessful before an animal was spotted feeding along the opposite shore. The otter was feeding directly under the bank and when submerged it could be followed by a line of air bubbles breaking the surface. In recent years the otter population has seen a marked recovery and many individuals, as this one can be very approachable.

Whooper Swan - Lakenheath Fen

Content with our views of otter and dipper we headed on to Lakenheath Fen. The birds have not been guaranteed at Lakenheath this year, probably due to a combination of the high water levels and the mixed weather conditions (one day mild, one day freezing). We did manage to see the usual species, such as marsh harriers, bearded tits and a brief view of a flying bittern. 

A lone whooper swan, which was associating with the local mutes swans, was a welcome surprise, and a male barn owl gave us prolonged views for a while, but unfortunately it was the other side of the river so the the views were distant. A hunting peregrine provided us with  a brief but exciting view, whilst flocks of lapwing and fieldfare moved steadily overhead. 

Barn Owl (Male) - Lakenheath Fen

Having exhausted the birding opportunities at Lakenheath Fen we headed north to our accommodation at Great Bircham. Our journey was briefly interrupted for a flock of over 100 Bewick's swans, before pressing on to our destination. 

Bewick's Swans

So by the end of our first day we had seen 64 species of birds, the highlight for me was undoubtedly the black-bellied dipper, but for others the otter was the star. The most interesting thing was undoubtedly the large movement of lapwings and thrushes, movements such of these are usually associated with cold weather but there is no cold weather in the forecast....where are all these birds going?