A day full of Birding

I had managed to wangle a day off on Friday 8th May and so decided to start early with another seawatch down at Stokes Bay. It was an overcast morning, and was fairly calm, with a southerly wind gradually veering round to south-east. It was difficult to tell if there was an air of anticipation about the conditions because most of the talk was about the previous days General Election, and the disbelief that the Conservatives had once again got into government, and with a majority. There has to be a genuine fear for Britain's wildlife with them back in.

Sea watching soon took centre stage and a steady trickle of Common, Sandwich and Little Terns drifted by. A winter plumage Red-throated Diver was the first species on note, followed by a couple of Whimbrel. It was pretty slow going with good numbers of Barn Swallows and the occasional Swift coming in, and then Mark Rolfe, who was one of the assembled crowd, picked out a Roseate Tern amongst and small flock of Commons. It took me a while to get on to the bird, but eventually I was on it. I was following the bird east and it had just gone out of sight when Mark called out Hoopoe!!! Amazingly, a Hoopoe was flying along the beach towards us, flew over our shelter heading inland, and then veered west and continued to fly inland. That made up for the bird I missed a few weeks ago in Crawley, when I was in Cornwall. The sea watch continued as it had before the Roseate and the Hoopoe, with a steady trickle of terns and swallows and by 10am, when we finished, the only other species of note were two Mediterranean Gulls, and a Wheatear that landed on the beach in front of us.

I left Stokes Bay and headed to the Haven to pick up some bird food, to keep the parakeet fed. I had a quick scan from the sea front before heading home; there were three Dunlin and a Bar-tailed Godwit feeding on the Meon, several Swifts, House Martins and Swallows feeding over the reserve, but that was all of note.

Bar-tailed Godwit - Titchfield Haven

My next stop was Bunny Meadows. Bunny Meadows is known for it's wading birds and so at this time of year, there isn't likely to be much around, unless some migrants drop in. The tide was pushing up towards high and so there was very little mud left exposed, but five Whimbrel were making the most of what was there.

One of five Whimbrel at Bunny Meadows.

The reed bed was showing little evidence of spring, but there were still plenty of Reed Warblers singing, as was a male Reed Bunting. A couple of House Sparrows were tucked into a dense bit of bramble mid-way along the causeway, which seemed to be an odd location for them, and a Wheatear was feeding on the causeway.

Wheatear - Bunny Meadows

Oystercatchers were the most common wader species, seven in all and two Ringed Plovers and a single Dunlin were flushed off a roost next to the causeway by an off-the-lead dog. Three of the Oystercatchers were colour-ringed, I suspect they will be birds that I have seen before, but noted the combinations anyway. The rings on one bird were very discoloured but hopefully it will be possible to figure it out.

Colour-ringed Oystercatcher - Bunny Meadows

I was just about to head home when news came through that the 2nd CY Bonaparte's Gull was once again back at Riverside Park on the River Itchen at Bitterne. Although I had seen this bird on Monday at Weston Shore, my views were quite distant so I was keen to see it again, and also get some pictures. It has been frequenting the area between Cobden Bridge and a small reed bed to the north, opposite a sewage works, occasionally going into the sewage works and being lost from view. When I arrived it was showing very well but was regularly flying up and down the river, and only occasionally settling down to bathe.

The views were so much better, with the bird on occasion down to 10 metres. There were also around 30 Black-headed Gulls present so it was really nice to compare the two species. The Bonaparte's was so much smaller, and had a more dainty flight than the black-heads, as such it was very easy to pick out as it flew around. Being so close it was easy to pick out the key features, such as the small, all black bill, the grey nape, 'bubble-gum' pink legs and the neat trailing edge to the primaries and secondaries and all white underwing.

Bonaparte's Gull - Riverside Park

Bonaparte's Gull - Riverside Park

Bonaparte's Gull - Riverside Park

Bonaparte's Gull - Riverside Park

Bonaparte's Gull, with Black-headed Gull behind - Riverside Park

Whilst at the Bonaparte's I bumped into a couple of birding mates, and after a quick beer to celebrate with a work colleague, I headed home. What a cracking day it turned out be, starting with Roseate Tern and Hoopoe and ending with a Bonaparte's Gull.

Marazion Marsh, Cornwall - 26th April

My birding today was limited to about an hour at Marazion Marsh this afternoon. We arrived just after lunch, which was slightly fortuitous as the Great White Egret was feeding in a distant ditch, and just about in view. I must admit that I was not really bothered about seeing it, as I regularly see the individual at Blashford Lakes, but stopped for a quick look anyway. A quick look was about all I got, as the bird was deep in a ditch and obscured by reeds, but it was possible to make out that it was a Great White Egret….honest.

Great White Egret deep in the reedbed.....honest

I decided not to wait for a better view and headed along the road scanning over the reserve. There were several Reed Warblers singing, along with the occasional Cetti’s, a single Wheatear was feeding amongst the rabbit burrows and about 50 Sand Martins fed over the reedbed.  

Northern Wheatear

A small willow in the middle of the marsh seemed to be supporting a Grey Heron nest, a single nestling was present in the nest; what I assumed to be the parents were busy feeding on the water’s edge, occasionally taking flight to see off intruders.

Grey Heron

Grey Heron

There was very little going happening on the marsh so I crossed the road and began looking out to sea. Thirty Whimbrel were roosting on the beach, but they were soon flushed by dog walkers and headed off north. I started to scan out to sea and picked up a flock of another flock of around 50 waders that included 48 whimbrel and a single Bar-tailed Godwit. This flock was quickly joined by another 30 Whimbrel, all of them settling on the beach to rest.

Whimbrel and a single Bar-tailed Godwit

Whimbrel and single Bar-tailed Godwit

Resting Whimbrel, except for the one fighting with an Oystercatcher

There was a degree of bickering between individual Whimbrel and some of the Oystercatchers, and the Herring Gulls seemed intent on giving the Barwit a hard time. After about 30 minutes resting the whole flock took flight and headed off north, this seemed an appropriate time for me to head back to St Merryn.

Birding in Cornwall - October 2014

This last week I have been on a family break in Cornwall. I was hoping to connect with some good birds whilst down here, and at the very least see some migrants. We were based at St Merryn, on the north coast and within walking distance of Trevose Head and the Stepper Point/Crugmeer area. 

Booby's Bay - Cornwall

The first spot I birded at was Booby's Bay, which is located on the Trevose Head peninsula. There was limited bush cover on the headland itself, but there was plenty around Booby's Bay and the nearby golf course. Birding was tough and there were very few migrants to be found, in fact the most numerous species was Northern Wheatear, with four birds present one evening, otherwise it was just a scattering of Chiffchaffs.

Northern Wheatear's - Booby's Bay

Around 30 Oystercatchers, a Curlew and a Turnstone were feeding regularly on the rocks in the bay and Northern Gannets were present offshore. Whilst scanning over the bay I noticed a dead seal pup being washed in on the rising tide. On closer inspection it appeared to have been in the water for a while as fur had started to lift from its skin, particularly around the head and face. Blood was still present from what appeared to be its umbilical cord, suggesting that it might have been still born. Looking at the head shape it looked like it was a Grey Seal pup.

Dead Seal Pup - Booby's Bay

The Crugmeer/Stepper Point area was my favoured birding area. The meadows were full of Meadow Pipits, Linnets and Skylarks, and there were plenty of Stonechats present. A small wooded valley that leads to Harbour Cove, had lots of potential for migrants and the adjacent cabbage field was popular with Meadow Pipits and Linnets. There was a report of a Lapland Bunting on one day, but I couldn't find it.

Stonechat - Crugmeer/Stepper Point

Despite the lack of birds there was a good variety of butterflies present, Small Copper, Clouded Yellow, Small and Large White, Red Admiral, Speckled Wood, Small Tortoiseshell, Peacock and Painted Lady were recorded regularly, but the most numerous species was Wall Brown, a species which is quite uncommon in Hampshire these days.

Small Copper - Crugmeer/Stepper Point

Wall Brown - Crugmeer/Stepper Point

Wall Brown's - Crugmeer/Stepper Point

On the 2nd October I met up with a mate and spent the day birding the valleys west of Penzance. We visited Porthcurno, Polgigga, Porthgwarra, Nanquidno, Kenidjack, Bottalack Head and Pendeen. There was little to report of note, Chiffs were present at most places, we had a few Goldcrests, a Blackcap, six Jays at Polggiga was apparently notable, but for me the best birds were two Choughs at Kenidjack and a couple of Balearic Shearwaters past Pendeen. A Buff Tip caterpillar provided a bit of a distraction from the birding, and Clouded Yellows were recorded at most places.

Buff Tip Caterpillar - Kenidjack Valley

We ended the day with a visit to Ryan's Field at Hayle where two Little Stints, a Curlew Sandpiper, 100+ Dunlin and two Curlews were present. 

Another good birding area was Park Head, which we visited on the 3rd October. We walked from Porthcothan along the cliff, there were good numbers of Gannets feeding offshore, at least 40 Great Black-backed Gulls and 15 Oystercatchers roosting on one of the offshore islands. On shore there were at least 100 Meadow and 20 Rock Pipits, 50 Linnets, six Stonechats, two Wheaters and a Chiffchaff.

Northern Wheatear - Park Head

On our final day and the way home I decided to make a slight detour and call into Davidstow Airfield. I was hopeful that the overnight rain would have brought in a good yankee wader, but alas that was not to be. At least 20 Pied Wagtails were feeding over the grassland, along with a flock of around 35 Linnets and 15 Meadow Pipits.

Pied Wagtail - Davidstow Airfield

Common Ravens are regular at Davidstow, this time there were just the two, and half a dozen Northern Wheaters were still present.

Northern Wheatear - Davidstow Airfield

A mixed flock of large gulls was made up of mostly Lesser Black-backed, about 25 and five Herring Gulls. It is often quite easy to get close to the birds roosting on the airfield as it is possible to drive right up to them, as was the case with these birds. Two of the Lesser Black-backs were ringed, one with just a metal ring, that I couldn't read, and the other a black darvic ring, with white numbers and letters on it.

Adult Winter Lesser Black-backed Gull - Davidstow Airfield

The darvic ringed bird was an adult and having carried out a bit of research it appears likely that it is a bird ringed by Paul Veron on the Channel Islands. I will let you know when I find out the details.

Adult Winter Lesser Black-backed Gull - Davidstow Airfield

Five go birding in Dorset - April 2014

It was a step back in time to the 1980's yesterday (18th April) when I got together with four mates for a trip to Portland for some birding. It had been a long time since I had been birding with them all at the same time, and probably even longer since we had squeezed five birders into the car. Given that it was a long weekend there had been much discussion about which day to go, but the predicted overnight cloud and light north-easterly wind made us go for Friday. Unfortunately the slight low came through early and so there was no overnight cloud, but there was still a brisk north-easterly wind.

Top Fields
We arrived early and started in the top fields. The initial lack of migrants in the first field changed in the second as a mixed flock of northern wheatears, whinchats and common redstarts fed frantically. The wheatears were spread out over the field and moving between the surrounding hedgerows. Their constant flicking between the two made them difficult to count but we estimated around 25.

Male Northern Wheatear

The whinchats and redstarts in contrast were easier to count since there were far fewer present with three and two, respectively. Birds in the bushes were generally proving more tricky to see, except that is willow warblers that were present in good numbers around the field margins. With patience we eventually managed to tease out a few blackcaps and a lesser whitethroat.

Male Northern Wheatear

From the top fields we next headed to the west cliffs. We had picked up a summer plumaged golden plover flying over earlier, this had now settled in a field, but was looking a little nervous due to a couple of inquisitive horses. A couple of common whitethroats were added to the list of migrants and a male peregrine flew over low.

West Cliffs

A steady stream of hirundines were flying along the West Cliffs. Predominantly these were made up of Barn Swallows but a handful of houses martins were also passing through. Guillemots and shags were starting to take up residence on the cliff ledges, with larger numbers sat on the water along with a handful of razorbills. Sea passage was slow; a few gannets and fulmars were lingering off shore and a sandwich tern passed by but that was about all of note.

Hut Fields and Observatory Garden

There was a report of a singing grasshopper warbler around the obs garden so we headed there next. Willow warblers were the most numerous species with the supporting cast being blackcaps and a couple of whitethroats. The grasshopper warbler was skulking in a patch of bramble to the east of the obs. It was occasionally reeling, which I found extremely difficult to hear, thereby highlighting the fact that my hearing has not yet fully recovered.

Culverwell

We next headed over to Culverwell and back up to the Top Fields. We saw a few more blackcaps and willow warblers on the way, and another reeling gropper but that was about all.

Reap Lane/Barleycrates Lane and Avalanche Road Hump

After a visit to the local pie shop for lunch we headed to the Reap Lane - Barleycrates Lane area. There had been a ring ouzel present in the morning, we did not catch up with that but we did add a few more common redstarts, whinchats and a further 24 wheatears to the daily totals.

A poor record shot of a Common Redstart

And another, this one is slightly harder to spot

A male pied flycatcher had been reported at Suckthumb Quarry, so this was our next stop. Willow warblers were again commonplace but initially there was no sign of the pied fly. We worked our way around the edge of the quarry and then into the back end of the small copse at the Avalanche Road hump. As we entered the copse we picked up the pied fly immediately, and what a cracking bird it was. Spring pied flys are not a common sight for any of us and this bird showed well for a few minutes before heading to the tops of the trees and out of sight; unfortunately we didn't find it again.

Male Pied Flycatcher

Throughout the day we recorded 10 species of butterfly, which included the typical early species brimstone, peacock, comma, small white, orange tip, speckled wood and small tortoiseshell. Species that were new for the year for us all were holly blue, wall brown and amazingly a very fresh clouded yellow.

Wall Brown Butterfly

By the end of the day we were content with what we had seen and probably slightly surprised, given the fine weather we had had throughout the day. We left Portland and after a brief stop at Lodmoor RSPB reserve headed home.

Back in Boscastle for Easter - March 2013

With a four day break for Easter, it was off down to Boscastle for a spot of west country birding. With the continually cold easterlies along the south coast, migrants have been few and far between on my local patch, so I was hoping to add a few to my year list this weekend. We drove down late on the Thursday night, and on Friday morning I took the chance to check out Valency Valley. It was bitterly cold and the hazy sun did little to add any heat, nonetheless there were some signs of spring breaking through.

Opposite-leaved Golden Saxifrage - Valley Valley

The flora in the valley is typical of a damp wooded valley and is carpeted with bluebells, although only one or two were in flower. Opposite-leaved Golden Saxifrage covers the dry stone walls and wild daffodils are abundant in Minster churchyard. The flora this year was way behind last year, in part due to the cold weather, but mainly because it was a very early Easter this year. Greater stitchwort, red campion, primrose and ramsons were all in flower, but only a few of each.

Bird wise there were no migrants present, I would have at least expected the odd chiffchaff or blackcap, but alas no. The usual woodland species, blue, great, coal and long-tailed tits, treecreeper and goldcrests were all very visible though. Even the river itself was fairly bird less although I did eventually find one dipper and a grey wagtail. It was good to compare the British race of dipper Cinclus cinclus gularis with the nominate black-bellied C. c. cinclus that I saw in Norfolk earlier this year. Although difficult to make out, the red brown on the lower breast are just visible in the image below, the underparts are uniform dark on black-bellied.

Dipper - Valency Valley

On Saturday 30th March I had to visit Bude and took the opportunity to walk along the cliffs. It was a gloriously sunny day and by the time I arrived there were people and dogs everywhere. Fortunately the pitch and putt course was cordoned off so not too many dogs were straying onto it, and so an ideal refuge for newly arriving northern wheatears. The most I saw at any one time was five, but birds seemed to be continually moving through, so I am sure there were many more. Some of the male birds were just stunning, as the individual below...such quality birds wheatears!

Northern Wheatear - Bude

As I settled down to photo the wheatears, my attention was distracted by a moth that settled between my legs to get out of the wind. Due to the cold weather moths have been a bit of a rarity this year, and this March moth, as it turned out to be, was my first of the year. Quite what it was doing in the middle of a pitch and putt course with no cover was a bit of a mystery. I guess it had been disturbed from its place of shelter and got blown there in the brisk wind.

March Moth - Bude

Another migrant that is typical of this time of year is white wagtail Motacilla alba alba, the nominate subspecies of the British pied wagtail M. a. yarrellii. White wags have a plain grey mantle and rump, a black hood with a clear border between the hood and mantle.

Pied Wagtail - Bude

Unfortunately, none of the birds I saw were white wags, but I did manage to get some great views of a couple of pied wags that were more intent on feeding than bothering about me.

Pied Wagtail - Bude

On the way back from Bude I stopped briefly at Davidstow Airfield, another good place for migrants and waders. There were at least 20 wheatears scattered around the area, a couple of ravens croaking loudly as they attacked a grey heron and that was about it. Crowdy Reservoir wasn't much better so I headed home. As I did a flock of around 50 golden plover put in a brief appearance, wheeling around before settling back down on a recently ploughed field.

Northern Wheatear - Davidstow

Sunday 31st March began with an early morning stroll around the cliffs at Boscastle, before being confined to the house for domestic duties. I started with a stroll through the scrub on The Stitches before settling down in a sheltered spot for a bit of sea watching on Willapark. The Stitches were predictably quiet with chaffinch, robin and dunnock being the most numerous species. The cliffs too were extraordinarily quiet with no fulmars or herring gulls settled on their usual nesting places, although the offshore islands were covered with birds. The sea was a bit more lively with fulmar, guillemot, razorbill and shags all present, a flyby male peregrine added to the excitement and a steady trickle of meadow pipits moved west. A sudden flurry of activity by the auks attracted a couple of sandwich terns, who made quick work of catching and swallowing their prey before the herring gulls got to them. As I was leaving I had the feeling I was being watched and suddenly noticed a peregrine sat watching me. It seemed more intrigued than perturbed by my presence, probably because it knew I no chance in getting too it on the unstable cliff face.

Peregrine Falcon - Boscastle

Monday 1st April began as Sunday with an early morning stroll around the cliffs at Boscastle, before packing up and heading home. This morning I did  the route in reverse, looking at the sea first before heading up to the scrub on the stitches. The sea was much as the day before, even with two sandwich terns feeding just offshore, but then a couple of close gannets and an adult kittiwake came into view. Two male peregrines were sat on the cliff face, one was calling constantly, presumably trying to scare off the intruder from its territory. This went on for about 10 minutes before the intruder took to the wing and flew north, watched all the way to the horizon by the other bird. It was nice to see that two fulmars had taken up residence on a suitable nesting site since yesterday morning, just maybe spring is on the way. The Stitches were as quiet as the previous day, with the only new species added being a jay and a couple of fly over linnets.

Northern Fulmars - Boscastle

Davidstow Airfield and Crowdy Reservoir 28th and 29th August 2012

I have had a few days off from work this week and so popped back down to Boscastle for a short break. The village itself was fairly quiet bird wise and most of the Fulmars had left their breeding ledges and returned to sea, and a few Shags loitered offshore. I had a couple of free moments during my stay so decided to go to Davidstow Airfield in the hope of a yankee wader. I started up by the old control tower and immediately picked up two Ruff.

Juvenile Ruff

Both birds appeared to be juveniles, since they were strongly tinged buff below, with dark centred feathers on the upperparts, again strongly fringed buff. 

Female (left) and Male (right) Ruff

There is a marked difference in size between male and female Ruff, with the males being considerably larger than the females (reeve). These two birds showed a considerable size difference and therefore were probably a male and female.

Female (left) and Male (right) Ruff

Continuing around the airfield I came across a mixed flock of Dunlin (16) and Ringed Plover (8) roosting on one of the concrete runways. They had tucked themselves down into tussocks of grass on the cracked runway; all of the Dunlin appeared to be adults, whereas the majority of the Ringed Plover were juveniles.

Roosting Dunlin

I decided to walk on to Crowdy Reservoir, as occasionally there are some interesting birds there. Five Common Buzzards, three Common Ravens and several Goldcrests were the pick of birds seen on the way; but at Crowdy Reservoir a lone Black-tailed Godwit was present on the northern bank, roosting with three Common Sandpipers. This was the first time I have seen this species here. Two Great Crested Grebe and a mixed flock of Herring and Lesser black-backed Gulls was all that was on the water.

Two Ruff and Local Pony

I headed back to the control tower, seeing a couple of Northern Wheatears on the way, and the two Ruff again, before heading off home. On 29th I headed back to Davidstow for an hour, this time with the car which was just as well, because no sooner had I arrived the heavens opened, and boy did it pour!

Pouring Rain at Davidstow

The mixed flock of Dunlin and Ringed Plover were feeding on the grassland near the control tower, even in the pouring rain. It is amazing to see how these tiny waders are so hardy and seem oblivious to the harsh weather conditions.

Mixed flock of Dunlin and Ringed Plover

The two Ruff seem to have moved on, but I did find another mixed flock of Dunlin and Ringed Plover in another part of the airfield. The only other bird of note was a juvenile male Northern Wheatear, that looked a bit wet after the downpour. 

Despite its wet appearance it was easy to age this bird since its upperparts were heavily fringed with buff edging, and grey feathers were showing from beneath the brown juvenile feathers on the back. With the beginning of another torrential downpour I decided it was time once again to head home, no yankee wader for me this time.