Wilson's Phalarope

Saturday 7th November 2009
I managed to get to Slimbridge WWT just in time to see a Wilson's Phalarope on the Top New Piece; in less than ten minutes after I arrived it took to the air, landed briefly and then took off again flying quite high over the centre, going east. It could not be relocated in a check of the other hides; I'm glad I made it in time for this excellent county tick.
I had spent the morning at Ashleworth and Coombe Hill with Mark, where highlights were as follows: Ashleworth Ham - Five Snipe, c60 Fieldfares, c15 Redwings, c1000 Starlings, a Reed Bunting and 12 Pied Wagtails. Coombe Hill Meadows - Six Teal, eight Meadow Pipits, a Pied Wagtail, c300 Fieldfares and c40 Redwings. Water levels are very low at both sites, but good numbers of winter thrushes are now evident, with Fieldfares in particular very numerous.

Glossy Ibises at Catcott

Thursday 5th November 2009

A business engagement at Bridgewater afforded me the opportunity of checking out nearby Catcott Lows N. R. afterwards for the Glossy Ibises reported earlier in the week. I was pleased to find three Glossy Ibises present, and quite near the first car park, giving great views and looking particularly 'glossy' in the late afternoon sunlight as they fed on the marsh (above and below).




One of the birds (below) is ringed, wearing a metal ring on the right leg and a plastic ring with the letters N4C on the left leg; I shall investigate this for more details.

There was a good supporting cast of birds with 330 Wigeon, 28 Shoveler, 35 Teal, two Pintail, 23 Mallard, 10 Gadwall, two Black-tailed Godwits, eight Mute Swans, a Greylag Goose, 30+ Fiedfares, with a Redwing, and other flocks also seen in the area, a Buzzard, a Great Tit, a Wren and 30 Starlings plus two Roe Deer. Around 3000 Starlings were seen in pre-roost display between Burtle and Westhay.

Gull-fest at Didcot

Saturday 31st October 2009

I spent an excellent day's 'gulling' with Richard and Andy at Appleford (near Didcot), Oxfordshire on Saturday. The target bird was the adult 'Azorean' Yellow-legged Gull, L. michahellis atlantis, which kept us waiting until mid-afternoon, long enough to become very familiar with the gulls on the pit just next to the level crossing. Gulls of particular interest noted were three Caspian Gulls, a first-winter and two third-winters (the third winters were very distinctive with their white head and, small dark eyes), seven Yellow-legged Gulls, an intermedius Lesser Black-backed Gull (much darker mantle and smaller than the usual graellsii) and a few 'Scandinavian' Herring Gulls, L. argentatus arentatus (much larger than the other Herrings) . A count of other gulls on the produced 180 Black-headed Gulls, 560 Lesser Black-backed Gulls, eight great Black-backed Gulls, 160 Herring Gulls and a Common Gull. Other birds seen were 15 Red Kites, a Grey Heron, seven Coot, seven Moorhens, six Little Grebes, five Teal, six Tufted Ducks, two Mute Swans, four Pied Wagtails, five Goldfinches, c60 Linnets, two Meadow Pipits, a Green Woodpecker, a Kestrel and a Buzzard. Most of the gulls had departed by about 1:30pm, but eventually, at 2:45pm, news came that the 'Azorean' Yellow-legged Gull had been located in a nearby field on the other side of the level crossing, with other gulls. After watching it sat on the ground for some time (photos above and below), it stood up and proceed to regurgitate a large chicken bone, no doubt the remnants of it having spent some time earlier on the nearby tip. Perhaps thankfully, my, Nikon's 4500 battery had run out by this time, so you are spared seeing photos of this part of its performance here; photos above and below show its previous, more relaxed phase! Whilst reviewing its earlier meal, it attracted the attention of some of the surrounding gulls, who, licking their bills at the tasty offering on view, started making a move to grab the delicious morsel. They chase the gull as it took to the air, and flew right over our heads, still carrying its take-away in its bill! As can be seen from these photos, the bird has a very distinct appearance, with heavy dark streaking on its head forming a hood effect; when it stood up, it was seen to have pale yellow legs.



Here some photos of one of the Caspian Gulls (third-winter):

Scillies

Friday 9th October to Saturday 17th October 2009

I have recently spent a great week's birding on the Isles of Scilly, with a host of fantastic memories and of course, photos. The weather was generally like Summer, with plenty of warm sun nearly every day and very little wind. OK, this did mean that the rarities were a bit thin on the ground, but I didn't mind at all. Being my first time on the islands I was wowed by the place, and whilst some Scilly birding may have been disappointed, I loved every minute. Thanks are due to to Richard, Geoff, Nigel, Stu and Paul T. for their great company and many laughs.
(photo above: St. Martin's from the B. N. Islander)

Friday 9th
After an early start, we arrived at Land's End in time for a search in Nanquidno Valley for a Wood chat Shrike which had been about. That was unsuccessful but we did see two Choughs, plus three Stonechats. After the short (15-minute) flight from the Land's End Aerodrome, we arrived on St. Mary's in the early afternoon, and dropped our bags off at the house on Porthmellon just in time to dip a Red-breasted Flycatcher at Parting Carn.

We then headed for Porth Hellick Pool to see 10 Whooper Swans (above) which had arrived there and were to stay on the islands all week, plus a Green Sandpiper and a Snipe.

Saturday 10th
A check on Porthloo beach turned up two Mediterranean Gulls, a first-winter and a second-winter (above), a Curlew, a Wheatear and a Cormorant, while at the Garrison we saw two Yellow-browed Warblers (below) and a Willow Warbler.

It was then off to St. Agnes where I got good views of a Tawny Pipit at Beady Pool (below), Wingletang Bay. A Red-throated Pipit flew over, calling, and carried on flying SW straight out to sea. A Whinchat, two Stonechats and two Wheatears were also in the area.

A Rose-coloured Starling showed briefly but well between the lighthouse and the Coastguards (below), and c45 (European) Starlings were also seen. At Periglis Cove we saw four Bar-tailed Godwits, 20+ Ringed Plovers, three Dunlins, 30+ Turnstones, 96 Shags and three Swallows, and a Common Darter was near Big Pool.

Five Chiffchaffs were at Chapel Field, with another at The Parsonage and a Yellow-browed Warbler. In Barnaby Lane, en route to the Turk's Head, there was another Yellow-browed Warbler, two Firecrests (below) and two Chiffchaffs.

Sunday 11th
On the dullest day, with light rain later in the afternoon, a walk to Peninnis Head after breakfast produced just three Wheatears, two Skylarks, two rafts totaling 500+ Shags and several Gannets. Later, a Kittiwake and eight Little Egrets were seen from the boat crossing to Tresco. On Tresco, three Goldcrests, a Jackdaw and nine Stock Doves were in the Great Pool area, and eight Wigeon, several Teal, a Little Grebe, many Gadwall, three Canada Geese, 21 Greenshanks, 27 Redshanks and a Migrant Hawker were on the pool. A Water Rail was seen at Abbey Pool. An Angle Shades moth visited the house that evening (below).


Monday 12th
I took the pelagic on the Sapphire, which lasted from 9.30am to 4.00pm, and enjoyed every minute. The birds seen were two Fulmars, two Puffins, two Guillemots, four Razorbills, two Arctic Skuas, three Great Skuas, a Meadow Pipit (!), two Common Gulls, a Black-headed Gull, 25+ Great Black-backed Gulls, 10+ Herring Gulls and 30+ Gannets. Other wildlife included an Ocean Sunfish, six Common Dolphins (very close to the boat) and seven Harbour Porpoises, plus a Basking Shark at Porth Minnick, which had been feeding there all afternoon.

Pelagic photos starting with Kittiwake:

Arctic Skua:


Fulmar:

Razorbill:

Great Skua:

Common Dolphin:

Basking Shark:


After the trip I walked to Giant's Castle to see a Wryneck, plus two Stonechats and two Wheatears. On the way, the Basking Shark appeared to be just leaving Porth Minnick and was rounding Tolman Point.

Tuesday 13th
Five Common Scoter were scoped distantly in The Roads from Porthmellon beach and two Firecrests were at Old Town churchyard. We then headed for St. Martin's where sightings on the island included a Peregrine from the boat just off St. Mary's, two Sandwich Terns and a Kestrel were at Higher Town Bay, a Lesser Whitethroat, a Redwing and a Fieldfare were at Higher Town, seven Red-legged Partridges were near School Lane as was a Pheasant, a Skylark, seven Linnets, c40 Meadow Pipits (but no sign of a Red-throated Pipit seen the previous day), six Golden Plovers and a ring-tail Hen Harrier were at Chapel Down. Looking north out to sea three Sooty Shearwaters and two Great Skuas were seen near a fishing boat as were a pod of at least seven Risso's Dolphins, and several groups of Harbour Porpoise were also present. The best sightings though were of a Minke Whale which spent the afternoon feeding off Watermill Cove (St. Mary's) near the Eastern Isles, which I watched along with many other people from Chapel Down on St. Martin's for some time.

Wednesday 14th
As the warm, sunny weather continued, it was off to Bryher for another superb day. Two Shelduck were spotted off Sampson by Richard from the boat on the way, while on the island we saw a Richard's Pipit near Great Pool, which unfortuntaley flew off just after we got there, but at least I did see it and get good views of it in flight; three Ring Ouzels, six Fieldfares and 20 Redwings were in The Green/Sampson Hill area, a Chiffchaff and a Black Redstart were near the dump, a Merlin was on Shipman Head Down and a Sparrowhawk and two Kestrels were also seen.

Before catching the return boat trip, three Spoonbills were seen in flight having been flushed from Green Island (there were four there in total but the fourth bird apparently landed nearby); the three birds, all immatures, landed back down on Stony Island and we then saw them from the boat (above).

In the evening, I couldn't resist going to see the Wryneck again, which was now on the coast path at Porth Minnick, and was rewarded with excellent views (above). A Black Redstart and two Stonechats were nearby.

Thursday 15th

We returned to St. Martin's following news of a Radde's Warbler, and also a Little Bunting, seen the previous day at Little Arthur Farm. In fact a lot of other birders had the same idea, which was a bit of a pattern for the week given the low number of rarities. The Radde's was a no show but we did get very good views of the Little Bunting as it fed in a weedy field (above), and later mud-bathed in a field opposite. Two Blackcaps and three Chiffchaffs were also seen here. I was glad we and returned to St. Martin's as I wanted to find a real rarity, and a specialty of this island. After a search on Chapel Down near the Damark, I eventually found, on the path, a Red-barbed Ant (below). This is a solitary species closely related to the Wood Ant and found only here and in a location in Surrey.

Other sightings were a Wheatear, several Turnstones, c130 Sanderlings, c110 Ringed Plovers and four Dunlins at Neck of the Pool earlier, a Ring Ouzel and a Redstart were near Higher Town cricket pitch, several Fieldfares (below), a few Redwings and Song Thrushes were at Higher Town, and an immature Arctic Tern and a Stonechat were at Chapel Down.

Back on St. Mary's, a Black Redstart was near the lifeboat station.

Friday 16th
I spent most of the day exploring St. Mary's solo, seeing the parts of the island I hadn't previously been to. My first part of the walk though took me back to Porthloo Beach, where I saw four Bar-tailed Godwits, a Curlew, 13 Ringed Plovers, three Oystercatchers, a Grey Heron, a 2nd-winter Mediterranean Gull, four Mallards, eight Herring Gulls, a Great Black-backed Gull, a Black-headed Gull, eight Gannets offshore, two Pied Wagtails and two Carrion Crows. Sightings on the next section from Seaways Farm to Carn Morval Point were a Skylark, a Linnet, a Stonechat, eight Meadow Pipits and three Swallows and three Meadow Pipits, two Goldfinches and 28 Linnets were at Telegraph. A Water Rail was at Newford Duck Pond (below) along with a Moorhen, 26 Mallards of various shades, two Chiffchaffs, a female Blackcap and two Blue Tits.

At Trenoweth in the Jac-a-Ba garden there were two Goldcrests and a Chiffchaff, and a Grey Wagtail and a Kestrel were at Watermill Cove. It was at this point that I got a call from Richard about a Radde's Warbler, seen the previous day, which had been re-found at Carreg Dhu. This was on my route anyway, and after a pleasant walk up Watermill Lane and past Holy Vale, I arrived at Carreg Dhu. It was soon obvious that the bird was not going to play, so after a pit-stop at the Longstone Cafe I headed through Higher Moors to Porthellick Pool.

The ten Whooper Swans were still present and very close to the hide (above), and a Jack Snipe was feeding in the open at the edge of the pool (below). I also noted a Water Rail, four Moorhens, three Greenshanks, a Little Egret, c20 Swallows and a Meadow Pipit here.

There was little of note on the extremely pleasant coast path back to Old Town, just three Rock Pipits at Porth Minnick. Not long after getting back, news came through from Richard that had me and Geoff racing to Sandy Lane, near the Longstone Cafe. After some wait, and in fading late, the re-re-found Radde's Warbler finally showed, and gave good but all too brief views, before skulking back off into the undergrowth as is the habit of these birds. We returned via Lower Moors where a Snipe, a Water Rail, two Moorhens and a Chiffchaff were just about seen at dusk.

Saturday 17th
The last day, but with the return flight not until mid-afternoon, there was plenty of time to make the most it, starting with a Curlew and 15 Turnstones on Porthmellon Beach, a Black Redstart, and two Bar-tailed Godwits and two Rock Pipits at Porthloo. A female Blackcap was near the Longstone Cafe and a Firecrest was at Carreg Dhu.

Whilst sipping ale at The Old Town Inn, Geoff noticed a Black Redstart on the roof of the pub (above). These birds seemed to be quite abundant on the island by the end of the week. The walk back took us through Lower Moors again, where a singing Chifchaff and two Jack Snipes (below) rounded off the week nicely.

The total species count was 106 for the week, with a handful of lifer's thrown in: Tawny Pipit, Red-throated pipit, Rose-coloured Starling, Richard's pipit, Little Bunting and Radde's Warbler. Then there were the cetaceans, Common and Risso's Dolphin and Minke Whale, and the Basking Shark - all lifer's - as was the Red-barbed Ant.

Green Woodpecker

Sunday 4th October 2009

A Green Woodpecker in the garden this morning (above), also on Friday a singing male Chiffchaff and again yesterday.

Slimbridge

Saturday 26th September 2009

At Slimbridge WWT this morning with Mark, the best birding to be had was from the Zeiss Hide, where the highlights were a Little Stint, seven Ruffs, 22 Snipe, a Water Rail, two Spotted Redshanks, 12 Redshanks and six Black-tailed Godwits. Another five Snipe were showing well from Martin Smith Hide (above and below) and a Cetti's Warbler was seen at Robbie Garnett Hide whilst another was heard within the grounds; three Swallows were seen over the Tack Piece; 21 Black-tailed Godwits were on South Lake. There wasn't much of note at Middle Point, four Ravens, a few Curlews, lots of Shelduck and a Little Egret, and the only migrants noted were a total of five Chiffchaffs between Robbie Garnett Hide and Middle Point.

A pair of House Martins were still active at a nest on the centre building feeding three young (below).

Weekend Sightings

Saturday 19th - Sunday 20th September 2009

A trip to the GWT Lower Woods reserve on Saturday afternoon turned up some interesting wildlife including a Hornet (above), a Grass Snake and a Long-winged Conehead (below);

Also a Helophilus pendulus hoverfly:

Mothing at Jake's in the evening on National Moth Night produced a few species before it started raining:
Setaceous Hebrew Character

Lesser Yellow Underwing

Broad-bordered Underwing

Large Yellow Underwing

Common Marbled carpet

Brimstone

Ghost Moth

Dusky Thorn (below)

Highlights of a morning's birding with Andy on Sunday were:
Fretherne/Saul Warth - A Little Stint, two Ringed Plovers, c10 Dunlins and a Wheatear; Sharpness - Three Chiffchaffs, two Blackcaps and c70 Goldfinches.