BIRDMAD

Redwings and redbreasts

2012-02-10T17:21:00.001Z

Had a brief outing today with Mark Stanley to Chipstead station where there were variable numbers of redwing and a few fieldfares. It was cold but with little wind so the snow and ice didn't freeze me too much.

These pictures were taken outside the 'Simply Delicious' cafe, where the rowan berries attracted these winter thrushes. A robin also put in an appearance.

Redwing

Robin

Seeds produce a good harvest.

2012-01-16T13:29:00.001Z

David and I went again to Hampshire this week for the Spanish sparrow. Weleft early and arrived just before dawn. The bird was in someone's garden. Itseemed too early on a Sunday morning to expect them to let people in so we wentfirst to the dark-eyed junko a few miles away. I put some seed down on a treestump a few metres away. Eventually, the junco landed nearby and climbed onto it to feed.Good views were had by all!

Dark-eyed junco. An American bird

After that we went to see the Spanish sparrow (which I had seen in Israel).As luck would have it, the house-owners were both birdwatchers. We took ourshoes off and joined those already inside. I was able to sit by the patio doorsand soon the Spanish sparrow appeared. It seemed happy among the British sparrowsand had, apparently, bred with the locals. Remember that these pictures weretaken through double glazing.

Spanish sparrow (male) taken through double glazing.

After that we went to Blashford lakes for the ferruginous duck and then to WykeRegis, Weymouth for Hume's leaf warbler. We dipped both again so the less saidabout that the better. In compensation, it was nice to see redpoll, siskin andgoldfinch all on the same feeder at Blashford, and about 400 Mediterraneangulls and a young kestrel at Wyke Regis.

Redpoll

Song thrush

Siskins (male)

Kestrel - (male)

Thanks, David, for your company.

The Gambia Birds A - E

2011-12-09T18:00:00.000Z

The Gambia – 11-25 November 2011

Note: This is a long blog in 4 parts. Navigate with links below:

Other parts:

PART 2 Birds F - O for falcons, gulls, herons, kingfishers, etc.

PART 3 Birds P - S for rollers, snake-eagles, starlings, sunbirds, etc.

PART 4 Birds T - Z for terns, warblers, vultures, etc.

The Gambia has been a destination I’ve wanted to visit for some time and I wasn’t disappointed.

I left Gatwick on a not so cold November day and, after a 6-hour flight, arrived to temperatures of 38°C. The plane was a little late so we did no afternoon birdwatching and went straight to our rooms to freshen up before dinner. There's no time difference, which was handy. No jet lag.

The Kombo Beach hotel was nice. We were led to believe that air-conditioning wasn’t included but I was pleased to find that it was. The food was good, always a buffet, and the atmosphere welcoming. It was to be our base for 8 days.

The Gambia is the smallest African country, completely surrounded by Senegal. It’s long and narrow, being merely the banks of the river Gambia, a major river in West Africa. The Gambia is over 300km long but only about 40km wide on average. There is a good main road on the North bank and a not-so-good main road on the South bank. Off the main roads, the going is slow, on soft sandy tracks. Nevertheless, in the main, getting around was OK.

I won’t bore you with a blow by blow account of all the places we visited at or near the coast. We visited a range of habitats and saw a vast range of birds. The trip total for 2 weeks was 324 birds but I saw 311. Either figure is more than my current British life list!! Over 200 birds were ones I hadn’t seen before. Imagine seeing your British list in 2 weeks!

The first day was phenomenal. Over 50 lifers in one day! I was mainly interested in the photography, so I tried to photograph everything. I got reasonable shots of about 200 birds and poor or record shots of another 30 or so. We saw all 9 species of kingfisher and I photographed 8 of them. Only the shining blue kingfisher eluded me. There were 4 species of roller, 16 species of heron/egret, 7 of woodpecker, 11 cisticolas, 11 hirundines as well as large groups of sunbirds, shrikes, weavers and warblers. Raptors were common and I saw 29 species.

At breakfast in the hotel I could admire a constant stream of kites and vultures overhead. Breakfast was early; around 6.30 so we could leave at 7.15. By 13.00 it was too hot to be out. We generally lunched and rested till about 15.30, although some mad dogs or Englishmen went out in the heat!

The bus was ancient with no air-conditioning. The driver, Aladdin, was good. Organisation was well thought out. After we had been dropped off we would walk through a forest, say, and the bus would be waiting for us on the other side.

The Gambian people are very friendly and the place feels safe. Around the hotels there are the usual touristy people offering you taxis, money-changing and more, but they generally left you alone when they saw you weren’t interested.

Our two local guides were Solomon and Abdulai. They knew the areas and where the birds were. They were both excellent at locating birds by call alone so they could then be found and seen.

Vaughan Ashby, the English guide (and owner of Birdfinders) was also excellent at picking up birds from call or sight, giving an almost instant identification. It is testament to his knowledge and experience that he had no lifers at all on the trip.

After 8 nights at the coast we set off for Georgetown about 150km up river. This was much more basic accommodation but the birds were good. No air conditioning here!

After 2 nights we left on a river boat trip where we slowly drifted near to the river banks. Birds were much less afraid of us in a boat. After lunch we set off in the bus for Tendaba camp. This was quite a large camp. The highlight was the boat trip up one of the meandering mangrove creeks where we saw African blue-flycatcher, golden-tailed woodpecker and several species of bee-eater.

Whilst up river we paid a visit to a local school to deliver pens, pencils and other stationery items which we had brought from England. The principal of the school greeted us and we met one of the classes. Both Vaughan and Solomon spoke about the importance of preserving Gambia’s bird and wildlife.

It was not possible for everyone to see everything. With 16 in the group plus 3 permanent guides and one trainee it was difficult sometimes on the narrower forest tracks to assemble everyone in one place to see a shy bird in the thickest parts of the forest or a bird that was small and lived in the high forest canopy. Notwithstanding this, the team did their very best to ensure that everyone saw the birds. Personally, I’m very happy with what I saw and photographed. Photographers are not always welcomed by other birdwatchers. I apologise now to my fellow team members if I inadvertently got in their way sometimes.

The photos following are in alphabetical order. Click on a photo to see a larger version. I have left out typical UK migrants as these will be familiar to most readers. I’m working on a full list of species seen and I will post it here as soon as I’ve worked out how to do it. As there are a lot of photos I will have to split them up and post them over four or five pages. Here are A-E.

Anteater chat - Northern

Apalis - yellow breasted. A forest dweller. Hard to see.

Babbler - blackcap

Babbler - brown

Barbet - bearded. What a strange bird.

Barbet - Viellots

Bateleur - adult. Not common.

Bateleur - juvenile came to check us out.

Batis - Senegal

Bee-eater - blue-cheeked

Bee-eater - European. Never seen one in UK.

Bee-eater - little

Bee-eater - Northern Carmine

Bee-eater - red-throated. Saw a colony of perhaps 500 pairs in disused quarry.

Bee-eater - swallow-tailed. A very elegant bird, as are all the bee-eaters.

Bee-eater - white-throated

Bishop - black-winged

Bishop - orange (Northern red)

Bulbul - common

Bunting - brown-rumped. Should be called 'stripey-faced yellow bunting'!

Bunting - cinnamon-breasted (aka African rock bunting)

Bunting - house.

Buzzard - lizard. Quite common all over.

Cameroptera - grey-backed. More often heard than seen.

Chat - white-fronted black. No white front 'cos this is a female.

Cisticola - rufous. All the cisticolas are quite plain.

Cisticola - singing.

Cisticola - zitting. This is the one we sometimes see.

Cordonbleu - red-cheeked.

Cormorant - long-tailed. Often very pale fronted.

Coucal - Senegal. Many birds are called 'Senegal'. Gambia is surrounded by Senegal.

Crow - pied. Crows sound and fly the same the world over.

Cuckoo - Klaas's. Seen once only.

Cuckoo - Levaillant's. reasonably common.

Cuckoo - Levaillant's.

Cuckoo-shrike - red-shouldered. Had some strange red patches like small wings
that could be raised and lowered. See next photo.

Cuckoo-shrike - red-shouldered, with shoulder patches raised.

Cut-throat. No idea why this bird is so called, ha, ha.

Darter - African. Common in the mangroves.

Dove - namaqua. Male, right, and female

Dove - red-eyed. Ubiquitous.

Dove - vinaceous. Also very common.

Drongo - fork-tailed

Duck - white-faced whistling. Yes, you've seen these at WWT.

Eagle - Whalbergs. Note the narrow straight tail.

Eagle-owl - Verreauxs. A huge bird. Usually, locals were
paid if they knew which trees owls were roosting in.

Egret - cattle. All over the place. Nice though.

Egret - great white. We got quite close to these on the river trips.

Egret - intermediate. A new one for me. What is the sure-fire
way to distinguish it from the great white?

Eremomula - Senegal.

The next part:

PART 2 Birds F - O for falcons, gulls, herons, kingfishers, etc.

The Gambia. Birds F - O.

2011-12-09T17:00:00.000Z

Here is:

PART 2 Birds F - O for falcons, gulls, herons, kingfishers, etc.

Other parts:

PART 1 Birds A - E for Bee-eaters, cuckoos, eagles, egrets, etc.

PART 3 Birds P - S for rollers, snake-eagles, starlings, sunbirds, etc.

PART 4 Birds T - Z for terns, warblers, vultures, etc.

Falcon - lanner. Fairly common.

Firefinch - red-billed. Male. Quite common. Female is also pretty.

Firefinch - red-billed. Female. What a handsome pair of birds!

Fish-eagle - African.

Flycatcher - Northern black. Quite a large flycatcher.

Gonolek - common. What an amazing voice this bird had. Quite electric.

Goshawk - dark chanting - juvenile.

Greenbul - little. Very elusive. Lives in the forest canopy.

Green-pigeon - African. Here with a blue-breasted roller.

Green-pigeon - Bruce's. Who was Bruce then?

Greenshank - common. I know its common here too but I like them!

Gull - grey-headed. The Gambian equivalent of our black-headed.

Gull - Kelp. A very large gull. Same size as greater black-backed.

Gull - slender-billed

Gull - yellow-legged. Quite a rarity in the Gambia.

Hamerkop. In a class of it's own - literally!

Harrier-hawk - African. A majestic bird.

Helmetshrike - white. Doesn't this look like achild's toy?

Heron - black-headed

Heron - goliath. Certainly lives up to its name. 1.50 m tall. wingspan 180-210 cm

Heron - purple

Heron - striated

Hornbill - African grey

Hornbill - African pied

Hornbill - red-billed

Ibis - hadada

Indigobird - village. Juvenile. Adult is very dark with a pink bill.

Jacana - African

Kestrel - grey. A handsome raptor.

Kingfisher - African pygmy. Doessn't fish. Lives on insects.

Kingfisher - blue-breasted. Just couldn't get a picture showing its blue breast!

Kingfisher - giant. The largest in the world.

Kingfisher - grey-headed. Not common.

Kingfisher - malachite. Nearest kingfisher to our own native species

Kingfisher - pied. Abundant, noisy, argumentative.

Kingfisher - striped. Another generally non-fishing species.

Kingfisher - woodland. Also doesn't generally fish.

Kite - black. Our own type. Note black tip to yellow bill.

Kite - yellow-billed. Note all yellow bill.

Lark - crested

Mannikin - bronze. Female above. They looked lovely on these millet plants.

Night-heron - black-crowned

Nightjar - standard-winged. Female so no streamers.
Stayed put while light was shined on it.

Oriole - African golden. Male.

Osprey which had a large fish.

Owl - Northern white-faced. Look at those eyes!!

Owlet - pearl-spotted. Caused havoc when it flew into a tree.
All the local birds united to try and get it!

Oxpecker - yellow-billed. On a cow's nose.
They eat tics and other unwanted parasites.

The next part is:

PART 3 Birds P - S for rollers, snake-eagles, starlings, sunbirds, etc.

The Gambia. Birds P - S

2011-12-09T16:00:00.000Z

This is:
PART 3 Birds P - S for rollers, snake-eagles, starlings, sunbirds, etc.

Other parts:
PART 1 Birds A - E   for Bee-eaters, cuckoos, eagles, egrets, etc.

PART 2 Birds F - O   for falcons, gulls, herons, kingfishers, etc.

PART 4 Birds T - Z    for terns, warblers, vultures, etc.

Paradise-flycatcher - red-bellied

Parakeet - rose-ringed. Yes, this is the one we have in SE England.

Parrot - Senegal. Senegal again.

Partridge - stone. Amazing duets of calls when they got going.

Pelican - great white

Pelican - pink-backed

Piacpiac

Pigeon - speckled. A lovely bird even if it is only a pigeon.

Plantain-eater - Western grey

Plover - black-headed. Frequented arid fields nowhere near water.

Plover - Egyptian. An iconic bird

Plover - wattled, right, with a Senegal thick-knee.

Pratincole - collared. Huge flocks of these. At least 5,000.

Prinia - red-flanked (red-winged warbler)

Puffback - Northern

Robin-chat - white-crowned. Secretive and in dense undergrowth.

Roller - Abyssinian. One of four species of roller.

Roller - blue-breasted. Common and beautiful.

Roller - broad-billed

Roller - rufous-crowned. Offering a gift of an insect.

Sandpiper - wood.

Seedeater - white-rumped

Shikra. A small raptor like a sparrowhawk.

Shikra, perched - juvenile.

Shrike - woodchat

Shrike - yellow-billed

Snake-Eagle - banded

Snake-Eagle - Beaudouin's

Snake-Eagle - brown

Sparrow - Northern grey-headed

Sparrow-weaver - chestnut-crowned

Starling - bronze-tailed glossy. Note red eye.

Starling - long-tailed glossy

Starling - purple glossy

Stilt - black-winged. Juvenile.

Stork - marabou. I'm sure his mum loves him!

Stork - woolly-necked

Sunbird - beautiful. Male. Well named.

Sunbird - beautiful. Female.

Sunbird - beautiful. Female on nest.

Sunbird - copper

Sunbird - mouse-brown, with green spider.

Sunbird - pygmy

Sunbird - splendid

Sunbird - variable

Swallow - mosque

Swallow - pied-winged

Swallow - red-chested

Swallow - red-rumped

Swallow - wire-tailed. No wires as this is a juvenile or non-breeding

Swift - little

Next post:

Continue to the next posting for the rest of the birds.

PART 4 Birds T - Z for terns, warblers, vultures, etc.

Gambia birds T - Z

2011-12-09T15:00:00.000Z

PART 4 Birds T - Z for terns, warblers, vultures, etc.

Other parts:
PART 1 Birds A - E for Bee-eaters, cuckoos, eagles, egrets, etc.

PART 2 Birds F - O for falcons, gulls, herons, kingfishers, etc.

PART 3 Birds P - S for rollers, snake-eagles, starlings, sunbirds, etc.

Tchagra - black-crowned

Tern - Caspian. Largest tern in the world.

Thick-knee - Senegal.

Thrush - African. Usually deep in the forest.

Turaco - violet

Vulture - hooded

Vulture - palm-nut

Vulture - white-backed

Warbler - melodious

Warbler - oriole. Also very secretive.

Warbler - subalpine

Warbler - Western Bonelli's

Wattle-eye - common

Waxbill - orange-cheeked

Weaver - village

White-eye - African yellow

Wood-dove - black-billed

Wood-dove - blue-spotted (red-billed)

Woodhoopoe - green

Woodpecker - brown-backed

Woodpecker - cardinal

Woodpecker - fine-spotted. Female. Male has all-red crown

Woodpecker - golden tailed. Female. Male has all-red crown.

Woodpecker - grey

Go to:

PART 1 Birds A - E for Bee-eaters, cuckoos, eagles, egrets, etc.

PART 2 Birds F - O for falcons, gulls, herons, kingfishers, etc.

PART 3 Birds P - S for rollers, snake-eagles, starlings, sunbirds, etc.

An hour at Warnham LNR - Nuthatch

2011-10-25T23:05:00.001+01:00

Lynne and I went to Chichester today. On the way we stopped at Warnham Local Nature Reserve. I used to be a member and went there regularly but things moved on and I neglected it somewhat! After a cup of tea we did the circuit. The highlight was a pair of nuthatches at the feeding station. They flew in and out regularly, staying just for a few seconds each time. Lynne liked them. A young magpie also enjoyed the seeds left for the smaller birds.

Nuthatch in classic pose.

Magpie

Treecreeper at Bough Beech

2011-10-25T22:55:00.004+01:00

Today I dropped in at Bough Beech after loading scenery for HMS Pinafore into a lorry for a couple of hours!

There wasn't much about. I got talking to a chap over a cup of tea and we decided to follow the woodland trail towards the reservoir. Near the far end I heard some treecreepers and they soon appeared before us. Unfortunately, there was thick undergrowth between them and us. It was quite difficult to get in position for a shot but, eventually, one of them came near to check us out. Here it is. Lovely:

Treecreeper

Weekend in the Pyrenees

2011-10-16T18:37:00.001+01:00

Lynne and I spent last weekend (Fri, Sat, Sun 7-9 October) with our neighbours in the Pyrenees. The flat was in Les Cabannes, about 600m above sea level. The weather wasn't brilliant but could have been a lot worse. We did some lovely walks in the mountains, especially up the valley of Orlu. Here I took some photos of raptors flying high overhead as well as some marmots. The raptors were difficult to identify on the spot being into the light and very high. At home, examination has revealed that they included a lammergeier (a lifer) and a griffon vulture. They are in the same poor shot, griffon above, lammergeier below.

Griffon vulture above, Lammergeier below

The marmots are here:

Marmots, Valley d'Orlu, Pyrenees

While getting the morning baguette and croissants, I passed a small group of conifers on the side of the road. One morning, returning from the boulangerie, I heard firecrests. I looked to my right and there was one just a few metres from me at eye level! If I'd had my camera I'd have got a killer shot! I took the bread to the flat and got my camera. Needless to say the firecrests never came as close again. I did get one or two more distant shots though. You will know that firecrests are tiny birds.

Firecrest

In the back 'garden' there was a tree which attracted a lot of birds. One was a middle spotted woodpecker. Here it is, quite heavily cropped, I'm afraid.

Middle spotted woodpecker.

Most of these mountain villages had clear mountain streams near or through them. I was surprised not to see dipper until the last day in Ax les Thermes, when I found one just under a bridge in the middle of town.

Dipper

The back 'garden' was actually the grounds of a dilapidated 'palace'. Black redstarts were present as well as a flock of serin.

Black redstart - male

Serin

Shame it was only 3 days!

A high crane from a low point

2011-10-04T08:20:00.001+01:00

In 2009 a sandhill crane turned up in the Orkney Isles. It was only the third time one had shown up in Britain. I didn't go to see it. It did come down to the Highlands of Scotland but that was still too far.

This year another one turned up in the North of England. Still too far! When it came down to Suffolk it was time to go!

After parking, I had to walk about a kilometre with my camera, tripod, etc. Only 10Kg! Ah, well! After 100m a car stopped and the occupants asked me about the bird. They were going to the end of the road, about 100m from where the group was. They gave me a lift. Thank you, whoever you were.

The bird was a long way off and heat haze was a real problem. I started walking round to the sea wall to get a better view. On the way I bumped into a group of farm officials who also wanted to know about the bird. I set up my scope so they could see it. The fields were large with deep ditches. I asked if I could go to where a tractor was working up and down. I'm grateful to Richard Parry of A. W. Mortier Farms for allowing me to get closer.

After a few hundred metres I descended into the ditch so as not to be seen by the crane. It was quite hard to make progress along the steep-sided ditch and I kept slipping towards the water at the bottom. Eventually I got to a point where I could lie in the ditch with my camera on top of the bank. The crane was still a long way off. Over the next two hours it came closer. I resisted the temptation to change position when the bird was nearer. Afterwards I made my way back leaving the bird to carry on feeding. Here are the pictures:

Sandhill crane

Sandhill crane showing half of its 2 metre wingspan

Adult sandhill crane

Sandhill crane - detail of head

Better luck with pallid harrier in Sussex

2011-09-27T21:01:00.000+01:00

Although I did see the pallid harrier at St Osyth in Essex, I wasn't ready when it flew up and got no pictures. The bird flew off and was never seen again.

Today (26 Sep) Mark Stanley and I went to Pagham and called in at Burpham on the way. The juvenile pallid harrier was very obliging and made several passes over a strip of uncut grass/crop down the centre of a large field. The field is on the right as you approach the village.

Pagham was OK, with the usual mix of waders, the highlight being an extremely pale almost albino curlew.

After lunch we headed back to Burpham where the sun had moved more behind us. The bird was still there and made a few more flypasts before I had to leave to get back in time for my rehearsal.

Juvenile pallid harrier

Juvenile pallid harrier being
mobbed by a sparrowhawk.

Sabine's gull hangs around for us in Dorset.

2011-08-21T22:34:00.003+01:00

I haven't been twitching for many a month and I have missed the trips a bit. I was sceptical about a gull in Dorset, a gull which could easily fly off at any moment. David Campbell suggested waiting for news on the pager before leaving but I thought it would be best to go early and go somewhere else if the Sabine's gull didn't show.

As it turned out, we saw the first winter gull about 15 minutes after arriving. It was easy to see when you had seen it and realised how different it was from the 1,500-2,000 or so black-headed gulls in the same field! It was quite distant, though it did fly over from one side of the causeway to the other, allowing the odd flight shot. I'd like to see this gull in full breeding plumage; much more impressive!

Sabine's gull - first winter

After the gull and a coffee we went to Acres Down in the New Forest where David was keen to see a honey buzzard. It was raining at first but this cleared the air so visibility when it stopped was good. David picked out a juvenile goshawk in a distant tree while I found a lovely pair of redstarts nearby.

Common redstart - female.

The skies were however almost devoid of raptors until the sun came out. We saw a few goshawks, one being mobbed by a hobby and another by a sparrowhawk!! There were a whole army of common buzzards but no honey buzzards. The sun meant that heat haze set in and made scrutiny of distant raptors more difficult. As time wore on David became more desperate, threatening dire consequences if he didn't see a honey buzzard by next spring!!

By 3.30 the skies were again largely empty, although two lovely common buzzards appeared almost overhead showing as close as any we had seen.

We wandered slowly back to the car, had tea and cake in the farm garden before heading for Blackwater Arboretum. I wanted to see hawfinches and David was hoping for crossbills which were not flying over. The arboretum, a gorgeous oasis of tranquility amid the huge conifers, produced crossbills flying over at regular intervals but denying us any good views of the birds perched. Perseverance paid off, however. Finally, we managed to find some feeding at the top of a very tall tree.

Crossbill - male

There were no hawfinches that day, but there was lots of other avian activity. A great spotted woodpecker bashed away at a very large cone while a coal tit looked on expectantly.

Great spotted woodpecker

A firecrest flitted quickly in the lower branches of a nearby tree. A juvenile common buzzard led us a merry dance, calling constantly. We thought it was airborne and that we couldn't see it only because of the tall trees. It turned out to be perched and was just calling to its mother as young birds do!!

Common buzzard - juvenile

All in all, a very enjoyable day. Thanks David.

Happy hoopoe in Happy Valley.

2011-08-19T21:12:00.001+01:00

Went with David Campbell to see the hoopoe which had been around since Sunday on farthing down. It took about 40 minutes to find it but then it stayed around for about an hour feeding at the side of the grass track. Lovely bird, and nice to have in the area!!

Hoopoe

Subalpine warbler always 'sub' the bush!

2011-08-15T21:50:00.001+01:00

David Campbell asked if I wanted to go for the subalpine warbler of Holland Haven Country Park in Essex.
He needed it for his British list although I had seen the, perhaps even more elusive, bird on Scilly last autumn. I've largely given up twitching this year. As a result, David has overtaken my British total and is now well ahead! I confess I have missed some of the trips.

Anyway, we decided to risk going even though yesterday it had disappeared by about 11.00.

It was showing quite often at the car park but it wasn't exactly an exhibitionist!! The odd glimpse for a few seconds as it flitted through the dense bushes was the most you got. If it did stay for a minute or two it was half hidden in the foliage. Very difficult for photography. These are the best I could get.

Subalpine warbler - male.

Yesterday David and I watched the antics of a juvenile and adult hobbies in Banstead Woods.

Juvenile hobby

Hobby - probably male as he sat there all the time doing nothing!!

Kingfishers at Sevenoaks. An anniversary present for Lynne.

2011-08-01T22:49:00.000+01:00

Lynne likes kingfishers and hasn't seen one for 2 or 3 years. When we visited Sevenoaks wildlife reserve on Sunday we didn't see any. I thought the best way to see them was to come back as early as possible and wait.

We left at 06.20 this morning, which also happens to be our wedding anniversary. A lot was riding on this 'twitch'!! We were the first to arrive and went straight to the hide where I thought the kingfishers would come. Literally 2 minutes later I heard the familiar call and a few seconds later a kingfisher alighted on the post nearby, stayed for 3 or 4 seconds and flew off before I could get a shot!!

I set my camera up and expected to wait an hour or so for his next visit. 5 minutes later he re-appeared and I took a few shots before he dived in and came out with a small fish. This time he stuck around and shook the fishlet before swallowing it on the post. It couldn't have been better!! Lynne very pleased!

Here are the best of the shots.

Kingfisher with minnow

Kingfisher

Dungeness, spoonbills, small birds and a bad back!

2011-06-21T21:51:00.001+01:00

Yesterday, David Campbell and I went to Dungeness. Weather wasn't brilliant but we had a really nice day. David wanted to see the squacco heron that was there on Sunday but the bird had flown!

While David kept a vigil for the heron at the ramp I relaxed photographing small birds near the Christmas hide. Monday being a weekday, the reserve is quiet and the birds more confiding. I was able to get really close to a sedge warbler and a common whitethroat, and reasonably close to some linnets.

Sedge warbler

Common whitethroat

A hobby flew over chasing dragonflies and eating them on the wing as this sequence shows:

Hobby. "I'm hungry! Hope there's some food soon".

"There's a damsel fly. I'll go for it!"

"Nearly there! Get claws ready."

"Gotcha!! Mmm! Lovely!"

"Right. Where's the next one?"

I joined David on the ramp from where we were treated, unexpectedly, to the sight of a pair of spoonbills which flew almost over our heads. I fired off well over 100 shots with my camera above my head and must have pulled a muscle in my back. I was in serious pain this morning! Handholding a 5Kg camera for more than a couple of frames is dangerous!! This is what caused my agony:

Spoonbill

Reed warblers flitted tantalisingly near but they are very difficult to photograph as they only hang around for a second or two. I just couldn't get a photo.

From the hide we saw a pair of common terns on the raft, mating even this late in the season.

Common terns. "I told you to sit on those eggs!"

Back at the visitor centre we nearly stepped on some very small newts, probably smooth newts, that were crossing the path.

We wandered over to the ARC pit hoping the spoonbills might have landed there. They hadn't, but there were more reed warblers! Several times I tried to get a shot without success. The reeds were thick and autofocus doesn't work in that situation. I initially had my camera on a beanbag but it's not possible to focus manually with the focus ring resting on a beanbag! Finally, I put my camera on the tripod and waited. After a couple of failures I finally managed to nail a shot of a reed warbler bringing food back to some youngsters out of sight.

Reed warbler bring food to its young.

A very enjoyable day.

Flying lessons begin for Sutton peregrines

2011-06-18T17:10:00.000+01:00

Now, you'd think that learning to fly from the top of Quadrant House, about 19 stories high, would be achievement enough! However, for these peregrine chicks there were lessons in soaring and diving. They will need these skills to hunt food for themselves when the parents have kicked them out! . . I mean...persuaded their offspring to seek accommodation elsewhere!

First, the male, Dad, called to the chicks while he was soaring in the modest breeze we had this morning. One of the chicks followed him up. and there was some mock hunting and diving. It was quite spectacular!

Here I am, Dad. Show me, show me!! (Male is top left, juvenile below)

OK, son. Follow me into this dive!

Here we go! Wheeeee!! (Dad is lower left, chick follows)

Drama at Quadrant House as first peregrine chicks fledge!

2011-06-14T22:29:00.002+01:00

We knew it could be any day this week but when it happened, none of us was prepared for it. At about 08.30 one of the chicks, No.1 suddenly threw himself off the top of Quadrant House. Clearly it was his/her maiden flight because his feet were down awkwardly and he lost height during the brief circuit. Although dad flew with him on the approach, he didn't quite have enough height to land on the roof again. He clung for a minute or so to the concrete before launching himself again and landing on a lower tower block on the other side of the railway line. Here are some photos showing the heart-stopping sequence.

Dad (top left) shadows his chick on his maiden flight.
Unfortunately the chick is unable to gain enough height.

He clings on for dear life with his claws to the sheer side of the concrete slab

"Can't hang around here all day. I'm off!"

"This is better. I've got my legs up now and life is in the fast lane!
I think I'll head for that other building!"

"Ooops. That building is looming very quickly!!
I'd better put the brakes on"

"Ouch!! Who put the spikes there".

Shortly afterwards, chick No.2 followed suit but just managed to scramble back onto the roof of Quadrant House! Here are his pictures:

No. 2 approaches the top of the Reed Building after a short flight.
It looks as if he won't make it!

Will he? Won't he?

Oops! Not quite high enough!

Wow! Just made it.

Later, dad patrols the skies.

We're still not sure whether there are still four chicks. The longer we can see only 3 chicks the more likely it is that the fourth one has died or flown off alone.

Watch this space for more news.

Sutton peregrines - Sunday 12 June. Dad is active.

2011-06-12T17:05:00.001+01:00

Rather quiet this morning. Weather was dull and calm. There was no wind to assist the youngsters.

A squirrell chewed on a banana skin nearby:

Grey squirrell

When I arrived there were 3 chicks all together on the edge but by the time I had taken my camera out they had moved. Two chicks look at the male on the ledge below them:

"Here, Dad! Go and catch us some breakfast!!"

The male peregrine flew twice but the female just relaxed! The male brought back something both times. First it was a medium sized bird and he threw it to the chicks. The second time he caught a swift and ate it himself!!

"Right, this one's for me!"

Sutton peregrines nearly ready to fledge!

2011-06-11T19:51:00.006+01:00

The 4 chicks born to the peregrine falcons on the roof of Quadrant House, Sutton are in the news. They're on the front page of the Sutton Guardian this week.

On Friday, 2 of the chicks were trying out their wings while running along the parapet but the adults weren't taking much notice. They were doing the same today:

Today, the adults were more active, flying round the building and calling to encourage the chicks. This shot shows the parents. The male is on the left. He's considerably smaller than the female but the angle of this shot doesn't show the female at her full size.

Male peregrine left - female right.

Here is the female in flight to encourage the chicks. They didn't all hatch at the same time (because the eggs were not all laid at the same time) so only the first ones to hatch are nearly ready to fly. The others will take a few days longer.

Peregrine falcon - female

At one point both adults went after a pigeon. The chase was very exciting for about 200 metres before the pigeon got away by plummetting into a tree!

Later the male caught a small bird (perhaps a sparrow) and dropped it to the female without landing:

I'll keep you posted as the young birds fledge. Watch this space!

Birdwatching in Poland May 2011

2011-06-10T23:06:00.001+01:00

I was really looking forward to this trip but not to the mosquitoes!

Sunday 22 May 2011

On arrival at Warsaw, Trevor Hatton and I waited for the guide and the other two in the party, Edward and Mandy, to arrive. Then we set off for the Białowieża Forest. It was clear as we got nearer that this was an immense expanse of forest. On the way we saw wild European bison and a singing ortolan bunting! I was excited for the next day.

We had dinner soon after arrival at the modest lodge in Białowieża village itself, and then settled down for a good night's sleep after the journey.

Monday 23 May 2011

All the best houses have a white stork's nest on the chimney. Here's one a couple of doors away from our pension:

White stork

We set off to just a couple of km. down the road where the day started well with barred warbler, thrush nightingale and a common rosefinch (all lifers). We heard great reed warbler and pale backed woodpecker too.

Barred warbler

On to the next bridge where we saw redstart, white wagtail and linnet. Cruising around we also came across ictarine warbler and spotted flycatcher.

Ictarine warbler

Spotted flycatcher

At the next forest stop we saw wood warbler and red-breasted flycatcher in breeding plumage. We were to see several more red-breasted flycatchers. Wood warblers are rather common birds in Poland.

Red-breasted flycatcher

Wood warbler

Off then to another bridge over the river to the nest of a middle spotted woodpecker and the perch of a collared flycatcher, again, both lifers.

Middle spotted woodpeckers changing duties in the nest

Collared flycatcher

After lunch we saw a lovely common rosefinch in full breeding plumage.

Common rosefinch

We also came across several nuthatches. Note how pale the underside is, almost white compared with our nuthatch with its rufous underside.

Nuthatch

We also heard another river warbler in the village park but it was keeping a very low profile! In the park we saw a lesser spotted woodpecker and a pied flycatcher. We also saw the enormous black woodpecker; as big as a crow but rather shy. I saw this bird about three times but I was never to able to get a picture.

Lesser spotted woodpecker

Later that day we visited the restricted area of the forest. Entry was with a qualified guide only and we were let in by one of the rangers! We enjoyed close views of another middle spotted woodpecker's nest.

Middle spotted woodpecker

Later, we waited quite a long time near the nest of the rare three-toed woodpecker. The female poked her head out once or twice but the male did not appear!

Three-toed woodpecker

On the way back to the pension some whinchats were soaking up the last rays of the setting sun while a solitary corncrake called from the meadow. Meadows in Poland are not the green sterile affairs we have in England but rich in wild flowers giving them a green, red, blue and yellow tint.

Whinchat

Tuesday 24 May 2011

Next day we were up early and were rewarded by a lesser spotted eagle flying over:

Lesser-spotted eagle

Then it was off to find a grey-headed woodpecker in the local park. Here he is at the nest:

Grey-headed woodpecker

We made a stop hoping to find citrine wagtail (at the Westerly limit of its range). It wasn't there (although I had seen citrine wagtail in Israel in February). There were, however, hundreds of marsh terns including all 3 varieties, i.e. black tern, white winged tern and whiskered tern. Great! They were distant but we were due to go to the other side of the marsh later so I wasn't worried. On the other side we had a spot of lunch by the railway line to Belarus and saw a lovely penduline tit, a little crake and a pair of golden orioles.

Penduline tit

We had an early dinner because we were due to see pygmy owl at dusk. We suffered the many mosquitoes and saw a silhouette of the pygmy owl against the pale sky for a few seconds only. We then had to pack for the early start the following day.

Wednesday 25 May 2011

We headed off towards the Biebrza Marsh, the second centre for our tour. On the way we started to see red-backed shrike, which had been strangely absent until then. Great grey shrikes were also to be seen reasonably often.

At some fishponds we saw a juvenile rosefinch, a red-necked grebe, several great reed warblers and a great crested grebe.

Red-necked grebe

Further on a Montagu's harrier hunted for about 15 minutes and a pair of marsh warblers appeared briefly.

Montagu's harrier

Further still on more fishponds, seven white-tailed eagles fished over our heads. They're not the most handsome of birds but they were certainly striking and impressive!

White-tailed eagle

We could not tarry however and we pressed on to the house which was a gem. Set almost in isolation in the heart of the marsh was our agri-tourism house. It was fairly new and with an unrestricted view out over the marshes. After dinner we went out to explore.

It's difficult to describe the feeling of being in a place so isolated that there is no mechanical noise at all. It's wonderful, and allowed us to hear the sounds of the countryside. This included bitterns booming from what must have been miles away. The same was true for hoopoes. A pair of red-backed shrikes prospected for a nest in the back garden and a pair of black redstarts had already made their nest and hatched their young in the rain guttering on the left of the porch. We watched them bring food to their young while we drank a cool beer!

Black redstart with food for chicks

Thursday 26 May 2011

We went to a wet meadow which was a stronghold of a vanishingly small population of aquatic warblers. A savi's warbler reeled unseen in the corner. We stayed for an hour or so but the warbler did not want to show. The others wanted to go and look for lady's slipper orchid. I decided to stay and let them pick me up later. When they had left I walked back along the boardwalk. My eye was attracted to some movement in the reeds and there, sure enough, a small warbler with pronounced eyestripe was moving through the reeds. I managed a few shots and, further on, more experienced birdwatchers confirmed that it was an aquatic warbler. I quickly sent off a 'grip' text to the others.

Aquatic warbler

While I waited for the others to return I staked out the savi's warbler. It was reeling almost constantly and I saw it once briefly but I was unable to get a picture. The others picked me up. They hadn't seen the orchid. They decided to return in the evening. In the meantime we drove to the centre of the marsh where we hoped to see marsh terns flying near.

We lunched at a spot where the terns were swooping near and it should have been possible to get good pictures. I hadn't bargained for them being so fast, and my camera's autofocus system did not work very well unless the terns were against the sky. If there was any sort of background, the camera would focus on that! After several hundred photos it was possible at home to choose just a handful that were acceptable.

White winged tern

Black tern

Whiskered tern

On our way out of the marsh a lovely garganey fed close to the road.

Garganey

At yet another stop we were treated to a wonderful show from a thrush nightingale, which has to be one of my favourite birds of the whole trip.

Thrush nightingale

There was also a nice blue-headed wagtail.

Yellow wagtail (blue-headed)

We tried at another spot again for citrine wagtail but to no avail. I was lucky enough to see bluethroat but it flew away before the others could get to it!

Bluethroat (white-spotted)

Back at the house a common buzzard flew over.

Common buzzard

Before dinner I sat down to watch the pair of red-backed shrikes do a little flycatching in the garden. This is the female:

Red-backed shrike - female

After dinner we went back to the aquatic warbler which did appear on cue this time! Finally we went back to a site not far from the house for nightjar which flew around us.

Friday 27 May 2011

We packed up for the journey back to Warsaw. On the way at a small pond we saw turtle dove and I finally got a picture of a golden oriole. They are quite fast and elusive.

Golden oriole

Further on Przemek noticed a river warbler from it's call. Unfortunately, he wound down the window and threw his arm out causing the bird to seek cover!! It did circle us a few times and I was able to get a record shot.

We stopped at a bridge for sandwiches. A great reed warbler was singing nearby. I went down to get closer. Patience was rewarded. The warbler took about 15 minutes to climb higher and higher, singing most of the time. Gorgeous! By the road, Przemek was trying to coax a corncrake out with a recording. These are shy birds but when one appeared close he waded into the meadow with his recording at full volume! Needless to say we saw no corncrake!

Great reed warbler

The trip back to Warsaw was slow as there is a large road building programme going on in Poland.

If any of you are thinking of going to this area of Poland, we saw 132 species in the five days with 13 lifers for me. We needed insect repellent all the time. The cost of living is quite reasonable.

Israel trip with Birdfinders - Final days 6 and 7. Sunday & Monday.

2011-06-04T11:10:00.005+01:00

Sunday 27 March 2011

This was our last full day. A brief trip to Shulamit Park produced the usual mixture of migrants.
This is a yellow vented (or spectacled) bulbul, a common bird in Israel but a lovely one.

Yellow-vented (or spectacled) bulbul

After an ample breakfast, we headed up to the mountains where there was a good chance of a large raptor passage. Our guides' hunch was correct. In about 75 minutes we enjoyed a constant passage of several hundred raptors. There were many steppe buzzards but also a number of black kites, steppe eagles, booted eagles, a long legged buzzard and an osprey.

Our next stop was Holland Park again. Whilst we were let loose all over the park, our 2 guides headed up to the far end. With hindsight, I can only imagine they had prior information which they wanted to check before calling the group. At some point Martyn had to come and find everybody, giving them instructions to make for a particular bush at the very far end of the park. This seemed rather inefficient and an example of poor communication.

Anyway, the bush in question was alive with small warblers. It gave me my first views of Ruppell's warblers, subalpine warblers and, very briefly, Menetries warbler.

Ruppell's warbler - male

Subalpine warbler

After Holland Park we headed again to Yot Vata for lunch. Then we split into 2 groups. I was loosely with a group looking for Caspian plover whilst the others looked for greater hoopoe larks. The Caspian plover hadn't been seen for a few days and I thought the chances were very slim. I stayed in the same place mainly photographing a northern wheatear beating the living daylights out of a beetle!

Northern wheatear - here he is about to start on the beetle!

Northern wheatear - "I'll have these legs off!"

Northern wheatear - the fight continues!

I also came across a woodchat shrike. . . .

Woodchat shrike - lovely bird

. . . an isabelline wheatear. . .

Isabelline wheatear

. . and a red-throated pipit.

Red-throated pipit

Subsequent, we split up again. Some of the group went looking for the reported Oriental turtle dove whilst others, including me, went to the salt pools looking for greater sand plovers. We did eventually see one very distantly, but the Oriental turtle dove was not to be seen. At the end of the day we watched a pair of very unselfconscious little crakes which came right out into the open about 10 or 15 m from us.

Little crake - female (sorry for the quality of this shot in the half darkness. It was taken at ISO 6400)

This happened while we were waiting for dusk and the arrival of some Lichtenstein's sand grouse . They did eventually arrive but they landed on the far side of the pool instead of near us. We could just make out their silhouettes on the other side of the pool.

Monday, 28 March, 2011

This was the day of the 350 km drive back to Tel Aviv. However, we did make an early visit to a site close to Eilat in search of a hooded wheatear. It was not to be found but we did see a white tailed wheatear, a common cuckoo, some blackstarts, an eastern Bonelli's warbler and a very pale short-toed eagle.

Some of our number were keen to see long billed pipit. As we got closer to Tel Aviv we stopped at a nature reserve in the southern Judaean hills. The guides left all of us at the top of the valley whilst they drove most of the way down again, leaving unclear instructions. As a result I didn't see spectacled warbler and only saw long billed pipit in flight rather than being able to see it perched. This was another example of poor communication.

Nevertheless, I was very happy overall with the birds I had seen on the trip. James and Martyn used their experience and truly astounding call recognition ability to find many birds that I would never have seen. I would certainly recommend Birdfinders.

After the usual strict security at the airport, our flight was on time and arrived at Luton a few minutes early. It was quite chilly while we waited for the minibus to take us to the off-site car park. We finally got to bed at about 2 in the morning, exhausted but exhilarated by the trip.

Garden warbler at Banstead.

2011-05-10T20:50:00.001+01:00

I had mistaken a blackcap in my garden for a garden warbler on song alone, so I was happy that David Campbell told me about 1 or 2 at Banstead Woods. I went up to meet him and we went to the spot where he regularly saw it. We heard it a few times but it was quite a while before it eventually showed. A lovely bird. Even though it is rather plain, its song is fabulous.

Garden warbler

Israel trip with Birdfinders - Day 5. Saturday.

2011-05-03T21:20:00.000+01:00

Before breakfast I was in Shulemit Park by the hotel. The bottlebrush tree was a lovely backdrop to the local birds. The migrants were in other parts of the Park.

Blackcap - male

Blackcap - female

After breakfast we went back to the sewage pools at Km 19 where we had been previously. In the reedbeds we saw Dead Sea sparrows, Sardinian warbler, woodchat shrike, red-throated pipit, isabelline wheatear and a fine male namaqua dove nearby.

Isabelline wheatear

Sardinian warbler

Namaqua dove - male

Red-throated pipit

Also present were 2 spotted eagles which drifted off towards Jordan.

Spotted eagle

Next stop was the saltpools of Km20 where there were a couple of hundred slender-billed gulls, 25 ruffs, etc.

It was our last chance to go to the firing range for desert species so we drove north to Ha'Meishar plains. Larks abounded including thick-billed, greater short-toed and bimaculated.

Thick-billed lark

Our main target was crowned sandgrouse and we were lucky to come across a flock of over 100 which allowed us to approach relatively near.

Crowned sandgrouse. Female on left, male on right.

We moved to a different range where we were fortunate to encounter a small flock of bar-tailed larks.

Bar-tailed lark

There was little else of note, despite a diligent search till just before sunset. Ah well! Back to the hotel for another splendid buffet dinner.

Radipole / Lodmoor dowitcher and more

2011-05-02T20:49:00.002+01:00

On my way to Plymouth I called in to Lodmoor to see the long staying long-billed dowitcher. It was a little more colourful in summer plumage:

Long-billed dowitcher, an American wader

Also present were some bar-tailed godwits in breeding plumage:

Bar-tailed godwit. The worm was taken and washed before being eaten

Bar-tailed godwit. You can see the barring on the tail.

some whitethroats:

Common whitethroat.

some sedge warblers:

Sedge warbler

a magpie which tried out the post used by kingfishers:

Magpie

and a kingfisher, shown here leaving the nest:

Kingfisher leaving the nest

and here on the usual post:

Kingfisher

Makes me want to go back in a couple of weeks when the young are out!

Israel trip with Birdfinders - Day 4 - Friday.

2011-04-25T22:04:00.006+01:00

We picked up a breakfast box from the hotel reception and left shortly after 6 AM for what was going to be a very long day. Israel has many military firing ranges. Entry is prohibited during the week but permitted during the Israeli weekend. We drove 100 km to Hyyon plains firing range in light rain. It was cold on arrival and the wind was cool. Initial searches gave nothing apart from a couple of desert larks.

Desert lark

A gorgeous male pallid harrier flew purposefully by.

Pallid harrier - male

When the sun came out a beautiful Temminck's lark appeared and showed well for 10-15 minutes.

Temminck's lark

A desert rat also made an appearance!

Desert rat

The greater hoopoe larks that we were apparently looking for did not appear. Brown-necked ravens did.

Brown-necked raven

We went back to the buses to eat our boxed breakfasts, before driving another 100km to small pool and reedbed where a Clamorous reed warbler responded quickly to a call. We had good though distant views before it retired back to the reeds. At a stop at the services for a drink 2 blackstarts entertained us nearby.

Blackstart

On again to the resort of Ein Gedi where Lynne and I decided to eschew birds for an hour or so to take a dip in the Dead Sea! Well, you've got to swim in the Dead Sea once haven't you? Swimming wasn't really possible. The water gives such buoyancy that the only comfortable position is on your back. If you turn onto your front the buoyancy is such that it feels like someone is holding your legs and lifting them up so as to push your face in the water. Very disconcerting! 10 minutes was enough and then we got out.

Me and Lynne in the Dead Sea

I photographed some Tristram's grackles but failed to get a shot of the attractive orange wing panels which are visible mainly when they are in flight.

Tristram's grackles (aka Tristram's starlings)

We went back to the carpark where a visible migration watch was in progress. We saw several raptors, vultures and cranes over the high cliffs. We decided to go higher and went to a car park in the mountains overlooking the Dead Sea where we observed some fairly large-scale migrations of common cranes, black storks, etc. with frequent views of Egyptian vultures and griffon vultures. Lynne talked to the local Bedouins who were having a picnic and they kindly gave her a cup of tea! We also saw a pair of sand partridges, black stork, kestrel, pallid swift, alpine swift and white-crowned wheatear.

Black stork

White-crowned wheatear

At sunset we went to our rendezvous with the Official Israeli guide who was to show us Hume's owl and Nubian nightjar. The first was in a steep sided gorge where we had brief views of a male Hume's owl. We then moved to a kibbutz near the Jordanian border where nightjars perched on the paths and could be picked out with torches without flushing them. We had views of several nightjars in flight and on the ground only 3-4 metres away.

Nubian nightjar

We had got the 'big five', and now came the long drive back to the hotel where we arrived, exhausted, just before midnight.

Israel trip with Birdfinders - Day 3.

2011-04-23T07:38:00.001+01:00

Day 3. Thursday, 24 March, 2011

Next to our hotel was Shulamit Park, a magnet for migrants. On other days, several of the others had gone birdwatching even before breakfast. I decided to go as well today. The park is planted with many trees, and the lawns are watered every day. At the top of the central mound, where the winos sleep, there is a very attractive bottlebrush tree which attracted most of the migrants. Wryneck, eastern olivaceous warbler, eastern Bonelli's warbler, blackcaps, lesser whitethroats and Spanish sparrows were all in evidence. However, I was not in the park. A small heron had been seen in the marina and I got up before 6 AM to see it before it flew away. I saw it only briefly and distantly and against the light of the rising sun. It was a striated heron.

After breakfast we left at 7:45 AM as usual and drove to kilometre 33 to look for Dunn's lark. On arrival at this desert site there was a solitary car. Nearby, a photographer had set up a hide and a small battery driven water fountain to attract the birds. I wondered what he thought of 16 birdwatchers suddenly descending on his remote watchpoint! In the event, we only saw desert larks, a bar tailed lark, a woodchat shrike and a flyover short-toed eagle. We also flushed a large Cape hare, which bounded off into the distance.

Bar-tailed lark

Cape hare

We moved on to Yot Vata. On a nearby site of acacia forest we hoped to find Arabian warbler, one of the "big five" most wanted birds. Arabian warbler is a very localised bird, but it is resident and sedentary. At first we saw eastern Bonelli's warbler, hoopoe, a couple of very nice blackstarts, etc before the Arabian warbler eventually appeared and showed well for several minutes. We also saw a scrub warbler and a gecko, and some people saw a couple of sand partridges in the distance. Flyovers included a black stork and booted Eagle.

Arabian warbler

Geckoey thing

Next stop was the Yot Vata sewage ponds where we found our first cattle egrets, reed warbler, squacco heron, woodchat shrike and, further on, citrine wagtail and Dead Sea Sparrows. A little further on we heard our first turtle dove and a masked shrike performed for several minutes nearby. On the way back an amazingly confiding wryneck performed on the path in front of us.

Masked shrike

Black-eared wheatear

Wryneck

It was only a short hop to the cafe at Yot Vata where we had lunch, followed, for me, by the now traditional large ice cream! As it was fairly warm, we went up into the mountains to the Shizzafon sewage ponds. These were sewage ponds with a difference! There wasn't much water and the ponds were landscaped with attractive vegetation, bushes, reeds, etc. Here we enjoyed squacco herons, linnet, bluethroat, citrine wagtail, Northern wheatear and a solitary white stork.

Citrine wagtail

Black-winged stilt

Northern wheatear

White stork

Having found no hooded wheatears we made our way back to the fields at Yot Vata. This yielded several firsts for me including a small number of Cretzschmar's bunting, an ortolan bunting, large numbers of white wagtails, greater short-toed larks, bimaculated larks, desert wheatears and yellow wagtails. There were also smaller numbers of red-throated pipits, water pipits, Siberian stonechat, woodchat shrike, masked shrike, and kestrel. One kestrel caught a quail and proceeded to eat it on a roll of straw in full view! Finally, a couple of tawny pipits were another first for me. A fitting end to another good day!

Cretzschmar's bunting

Desert wheatear

Ortolan bunting

Tawney pipit

Kestrel with quail (alive when we first saw it)!!

Israel trip with Birdfinders - Day 2.

2011-04-17T21:43:00.002+01:00

Day 2 Wednesday 23 March 2011

After a fantastic first day, with over 30 lifers, the 2nd day was bound to be harder. After an abundant breakfast we made a brief trip to Holland Park in Western Eilat. This relatively green area on stony ground yielded a couple of eastern Bonelli's warblers, Arabian babbler and eastern olivaceous warbler.

Arabian babbler

Eastern olivaceous warbler

Yellow-vented (spectacled) bulbul

As there were not many migrants here, we moved to the Eilat Birdwatching Centre. This was really quite lush but, apart from a nice pair of laughing doves, a purple heron, a squacco heron, another eastern Bonelli's warbler, a distant Kentish plover and a graceful prinia, there was little else of note.

Eastern Bonelli's warbler

we saw large flocks of slender-billed gulls, greater flamingos, black-winged stilts, avocets, Garganey and shelduck, as well as reasonable numbers of much closer Kentish plover, little stint and a single white pelican.

Laughing doves

On again to the salt pans at kilometre 20. At the entrance we saw a marvellous little green bee-eater on the fence. On the water we saw large flocks of slender-billed gulls, greater flamingos, black-winged stilts, avocets, Garganey and shelduck, as well as reasonable numbers of much closer Kentish plover, little stint and a single white pelican.

Little green bee-eater

Slender-billed gull

Little stints

Kentish plover

About 50 km north of Eilat lies Yot Vata, a cultivated area with recently cut hay fields. It also has a very nice cafe with an ice cream parlour and picnic tables in the shade. We enjoyed a lazy lunch and an enormous ice cream here before starting the serious business of scanning the fields for larks and other small birds. We spread out across the field, flushing several quails as we went. Apart from several hoopoe we saw large numbers of greater short-toed lark, bimaculated lark, crested lark, yellow wagtail (black headed), Northern wheatear and water pipit.

Greater short-toed lark

Crested lark

Next stop was the sewage ponds of Kibbutz Eliphaz . Here we found many white wagtails, a citrine wagtail, a squacco Heron, several bluethroat, a common snipe, more black-headed yellow wagtails, a grey wagtail and flocks of Spanish sparrows. Overhead we saw some European bee-eaters on migration.

Citrine wagtail

Bluethroat (red-spotted)

European bee-eater on migration.

At the end of the afternoon we drove back to the Eilat beach on the Red Sea where we were greeted by a friendly Western Reef Heron.

Western reef heron

Offshore we had distant views of white-eyed, Siberian, Caspian, Armenian and slender-billed gulls. A few sandwich terns fished nearby. Just before we left, a pied Kingfisher came to hover just above our heads.

As dusk came we headed to the hotel for another abundant dinner before the bird report and bed!

Israel trip with Birdfinders - Day 1. Here it is!!

2011-04-10T21:47:00.002+01:00

Lynne and I went on this trip, the first of its kind that we had ever been on. I did a lot of twitching last year, but I came to the conclusion that it was far better to spend petrol money going abroad where I would see loads of birds instead of chasing after one here that I mightn't even see!

After the 5 hour flight from Luton to Tel Aviv we met up with our guides James Smith and Martyn Kenefick. We set off in 2 minibuses to the Guvelot Kibbutz. This was basic accommodation for the overnight stop.

Day 1 proper. Tuesday 22 March 2011.

We set off early the next morning with a packed breakfast, but not before I had found a Syrian woodpecker in a tree near our chalet. When we got on the road, almost immediately a great spotted cuckoo flew in front of the bus followed by common myna birds nearby.

The main target birds this morning were McQueen's bustard and cream-coloured courser, 2 of the big 5 birds that we would be looking for on this trip. We stopped in the middle of the desert and piled out to scan the horizon. Very soon we had located both birds in the far distance (too far for photographs but visible with the scope), along with woodchat shrike, desert lark, and various distant raptors.

We then moved on to a set of sewage ponds to look for sandgrouse. After sitting still for a while we managed to see black bellied, spotted and pin-tailed sandgrouse, as well as a black shouldered kite, pallid harrier, hen harrier, bluethroat, oriental skylark, short toed lark, crested lark, zitting cisticola, black winged stilt, lesser whitethroat, white wagtail, yellow wagtail, spur-winged plover, and several more common waders.

Zitting cisticola

We also witnessed mass migration of several hundred white storks, common cranes, red-rumped swallows, common and pallid swifts, and various raptors including Steppe buzzard, long-legged buzzard, lesser spotted eagle, short-toed eagle, black kite, and Western marsh harrier. We were lucky in having James Smith as our guide. James has been to Israel every year for the last 21 years and has done 6 annual raptor migration surveys, so he was able to pick out the various species with consummate ease.

Migrating white storks

Short-toed eagle

Long-legged buzzard

Pallid harrier - male

Pallid harrier - female

We moved on to another reservoir area where we saw a number of relatively common waterbirds, ducks as well as 3 southern grey shrikes.

Southern grey shrike

At the next stop we saw masked shrike, Northern, Isabelline, desert, Cyprus, pied and mourning wheatears, blue rock thrush and the rare Syrian Serin (otherwise called Tristram's Serin). This was turning out to be a brilliant first day. I was ticking so fast my pen tip was on fire!

Eastern mourning wheatear

Nubian ibex

Palestine sunbird - male. The female is just too drab to put up!

Desert lark

Eastern black-eared wheatear

After lunch we set off again and stopped much further south in the Negev desert looking for larks and especially broad-billed larks. We did see short-toed, calandra, bimaculated, crested and broad-billed larks before the day was out, as well as trumpeter finch, Isabelline wheatear, etc. At dusk, another pallid harrier came into the distance but we were piling in to the buses to head for Eilat.

The Dan Panorama Hotel was really nice. A luxury hotel with lovely rooms, fabulous buffet food and friendly service. The food was too good really and we certainly put on weight after the trip! Lynne was in her element with the huge range of vegetarian food. After dinner, we had the bird report and, after one drink, we sloped off to bed, exhausted!!

Day 2 - soon!

Ring ouzel just up the road - Great lifer. Israel trip report coming!

2011-04-08T14:38:00.000+01:00

Ring ouzel has long been my bogey bird, until last Monday. David Campbell sent a message on Saturday that a male had been seen at Canons Farm. I had just gone on a walking weekend in Sussex so I couldn't come back. The bird was still there on Sunday. Good. Would it. . . wouldn't it stay? Monday morning I arranged to pick David up at 6.15 and we went to the spot. Yes!!! There it was. A new lifer. Here is the best pic:

Male ring ouzel.

The previous Friday David rang with reports of a Leach's storm petrel near Reading. I'm not doing long distance twitching any more, but this wasn't too far so I agreed to go. I did wonder what a pelagic bird was doing at this time of year on a freshwater gravel pit, and it was April 1st!! However it wasn't a hoax and here is the poor record shot to prove it.

Leach's storm petrel.

By the way, I am working on the pics of my recent Israel trip, but I have about 2,500 photos to go through so it will be a few days yet. Be patient and visit again.

Common Crane near home, Beddington

2010-12-05T15:32:00.000Z

This morning I had a call from David Campbell to say that there was a crane on the lake at Beddington. I got my stuff together and made my way over. In half an hour I was watching a gorgeous juvenile crane. It was at the other end of the lake but it was a year tick and close to home. Thanks, David.

Common crane. The grey herons were curious!!

Frozen Oare Marshes

2010-12-01T22:05:00.004Z

Oare on Monday was a frozen waste but there was no snow then. A male marsh harrier was quartering the reeds around the East Flood when Mark Stanley and I arrived.

A walk around the sea path revealed c. 75 shelduck on the shore, 80 avocets huddled together against the wind, and a fair number of curlew, redshank and dunlin.

The East Flood was iced over apart from a small area near the road where a number of teal, wigeon, lapwing, mallard, common gulls and shoveler congregated, joined by a single ruff.

What do water birds do in the freeze? They skate!

Shoveler on ice

Common gull. It sat down on the ice a moment later!

A little grebe was very close, on the channel between the road and the bank, as this stretch of water was also not frozen. Whenever we crept up on it, it dived. When we had put our cameras in the car it appeared nearer than ever!! We did get some shots of it anyway, probably nearer than ever before.

Little grebe

The widgeon were also very close and showing very well!

Wigeon

Rustic bunting in Whitstable.

2010-11-21T22:35:00.000Z

Lynne, my wife, wanted to visit her parents in Blean, which is only 3 miles from Whitstable. Coincidently, a rustic bunting was reported in Whitstable today. Naturally I offered to take Lynne down to Kent!

I rang David, who was at Canons farm as usual. He was a little hesitant about coming because he had some coursework to do but the prospect of another lifer was too much for him. It would be a lifer for me as well.

This had to be one of the easiest twitches of the year. On arrival, the rustic bunting was only 15 or 20m away and showed well for the hour or so we were there. However, it is a small bird and it spent all its time rummaging through grass which was taller than it was. This made focusing rather difficult. it also didn't like being out in the open, so it would dart quickly from one tuft to another. Nevertheless, we were able to observe its plumage and habits carefully.

Rustic bunting from the side

Rustic bunting from the back.
Note the pale spot on the back of the head.

David wanted to go to Reculver to see the hooded crow that lived there. we were not so fortunate on this second quest however. The sun quickly set and we had to go and pick Lynne up. The hooded crow would have to wait for another time!

Waxwings finally come South.

2010-11-21T22:15:00.000Z

I was becoming increasingly frustrated at seeing reports of hundreds of waxwings in the North. When were they coming down here? David Campbell rang me at about 3:30 PM on Friday afternoon to say that small group had been seen not far from Epsom Downs. I drove over there, but by the time I found the correct spot it was nearly dark and there were no waxwings.

David rang again on Saturday morning to say that there were now 11 waxwings. I went straight over and there they were. Over the next 2 hours a number of birdwatchers came and went. Some of the locals came out to ask what we were looking at and they were interested to know that these delightful birds were on their doorstep. It was lovely to see these gorgeous birds again although the light was very poor and it drizzled on and off all day.

Waxwing

Lesser yellowlegs in Oxford

2010-11-21T22:03:00.000Z

I went to see this American wader on 5 November before it disappeared. On the day I went the weather was rainy; just my luck! I didn't check the pager before I left home or I would have seen the 'no sign' message. Anyway, I got there and met another photographer coming back who said he'd been there for 3 hours but there was no sign of it. Oh, dear!!

I got to the water and scanned the far bank. There were loads of golden plover, mallards, black-headed gulls, etc. but no yellowlegs. I did come across a wader with very yellow legs and my heart jumped, but it was only a ruff!

The rain was driving into the end of my scope, obscuring my vision, so I walked upwind so I could look with the wind more behind me. Then, there it was on a small island in the middle of the flood. I moved nearer and it flew to a marshy area nearby. I gave it a wide berth and moved beyond it, waiting for it to come nearer to me. It was still raining but I knelt down on the wet grass to lower my profile.

I followed the bird for about 15 minutes but I didn't want my camera to get too wet. I headed back to the car.

Lesser yellowlegs

Scillies 20-30 October. My first autumn migration.

2010-11-03T18:11:00.009Z

This was my 3rd visit to the Scillies in a little over a year, but my first trip for the autumn migration. From the ferry I saw 2 Manx shearwaters, several guillemots, 1 or 2 razorbills and a lot of gannets.

Wednesday 20th

I arrived at St Mary's about midday. As my case was being delivered directly to the B&B I went straight off to see the sub-alpine warbler. I met David Abbott who had been to the Scillies many times and we looked together. After a brief glimpse of the bird (it was very elusive) I got the 2 o'clock boat to St Martins for the red-flanked bluetail. On arrival, I met Colin Mackenzie-Grieve, who kindly showed me the way as it was quite a walk. Within minutes I was getting close views and pictures of this handsome and obliging bird.

Red flanked bluetail

I rushed down to the south of the island for the melodious warbler. After a few minutes the bird also appeared. I didn't want to miss the last boat so I made my way north again to the quay. On arrival, I learned of a jack-snipe on a very small pond near the beach. It was in full view and didn't move all the time I was there. Jack-snipe rely heavily on camouflage not to be seen. They will remain motionless until you almost step on them before they move.

Jack snipe St Martins.

The bluetail and the 2 warblers were all lifers. My first day had been a success. I sent a few grip texts to David Campbell!

That evening I had a meal in the Scillonian club, followed by the bird log. The bird log is where a full list of all birds seen on the islands is compiled. You can then know which birds have been seen where and decide what to do the next day.

Thursday 21st

I spent the morning on St Martin's, at Porth Hellick. There were a number of yellow-browed warblers, goldcrests and a common snipe close to the seaward hide. News came over the pager of a common rosefinch on St Martin's. I got the 2 o'clock boat.

The bird was quite a long way from the quay. I stopped to watch a pair of male pheasants fighting.

Pheasants

Further on, I surprised a group of red-legged partridges.

Red-legged partridge

When I arrived at the field where the rosefinch was I learned that it was in a flock of about 300 chaffinches. They were in a field of quinola and they were difficult to see when they dropped down. There were also 3 brambling, as well as fieldfare and redwing. Every 15 minutes a sparrowhawk would swoop down and scatter the chaffinches. After 45 minutes the rosefinch hadn't reappeared and I had to get back for the boat. I watched some rock pipits and a cheeky wren on the quayside. No lifers today but I enjoyed the pleasant walks and the fine weather.

Friday 22nd

I decided to go back to St Martins for more pictures of the bluetail. I spent much of the day with a birdwatcher from West Yorkshire. On arrival, the bluetail was amazingly tame. On its circuit it would flit between the bushes and the path, jumping down literally at my feet 1 or 2 metres away! Sometimes it was too close to photograph and I had to wait for it to go further away! We watched it for quite a while before taking a walk through the gorse looking for Dartford warblers.

Red-flanked bluetail

After lunch we walked further up the island to the top of the hill where we saw 2 ravens and an aerial display by 2 sparrowhawks.

Goccha!!

Nah! I can fly upside down. . . . . .

See?

We started back to the quay from the far end of the beach hoping to see the Richard's pipit which had been seen there for a few days. There were 2 birdwatchers in front of us who flushed it at one point. We quickly made our way towards them and I managed to get a few shots of the pipit before it went into the marram grass again. Another lifer!

Richard's pipit

Back on St Mary's we went to see a common scoter in Porthcressa Bay. Whilst there, I watched the turnstones dodge the spray whilst they were on the rocks.

Turnstones

At the B&B I sorted through my photos, had a cup of tea, listened to the Archers and relaxed until dinnertime at the Scillonian. Lovely!

Saturday 23rd

I spent today on St Mary's. In the morning I took some pictures of a kite surfer as he was lifted by the strong wind.

I explored Lower Moor where some water rails were very vocal and occasionally came out. I wandered through the lanes to Porthloo beach, where 3 pale-bellied Brent geese were very close inshore. News came on the pager of a cattle egret. The light was fading and we called Spider to pick us up. On the way there Spider picked the egret up in flight. We got out of the cab and watched it circle over Porth Hellick before it disappeared. Not many people saw it and it was gone the next day.

Cattle egret

Sunday 24th

Sunday was quiet. The highlight was a serin up near the riding stables. A serin is a very small bird and it was with a mixed flock of other finches. Quite a few people were watching it so it was eventually picked out and I was able to take some distant photographs.

Serin

Monday 25th

David Campbell was due to arrive today at midday so I decided to stay on St Mary's and go and see the serin again. On the way I looked at the feeding station, took some pictures of a large flock of siskin and watched some redwing eating berries.

Siskin

Redwing

As soon as he got off the boat, David joined me at the serin site. He was very keen to see the sub-alpine warbler so we wandered down there. Typically, someone had just seen it but it was as elusive as ever. After a while, I decided to go to the pumping station and Porth Hellick. While in the seaward hide a water rail flew in and dropped down right in front of me before running quickly into a clump of reeds. Later I met 2 birdwatchers who said they had just come from seeing the sub-alpine warbler. I asked them if young blond lad had also seen it. They told me that David had flushed it from round the corner but hadn't actually seen it! How very unfortunate for David.

I wandered back to meet David and we waited 2 or 3 hours until dusk, but the elusive warbler did not show.

Tuesday 26th

David and I decided to go to Content Farm. We wandered up there slowly via Porthloo, stopping for elevenses at Juliet's garden, then up round the golf course to Telegraph and then to the farm. This yielded 2 black redstarts, which we watched for some time.

Black redstart

Spider had told us about a small, strange raptor that he had seen on several occasions and which exhibited features of a sharp-shinned hawk. The bird had been seen again by Newford Duck Pond, so David and I went to join quite a large crowd. At one point I did notice a small raptor for a few seconds over the tree line, but it was too quick to get a photo. The general opinion amongst the assembled birders was that it was the subject bird. David didn't see it because he was showing me something on his iPhone. I got the blame! We stayed until dusk with no further sighting (echoes of the sub alpine).

After dark, news came through of a red-breasted flycatcher up on the garrison.

Wednesday 27th

Immediately after breakfast, David and I went to the garrison. After 10 minutes or so we saw the red-breasted flycatcher in the pines. After watching this nice bird for a while we went to the pumping station where a dusky warbler had been seen. This bird was very mobile but we did eventually get reasonable views.

Red-breasted flycatcher

David decided to go to Tresco after lunch but I stayed on St Mary's. I had good views of a reed warbler at the pumping station.

Reed warbler

After that I went back to the garrison to get some better shots of the red breasted flycatcher. I managed to find a spot a little closer with the light behind me away from everyone else. Patience paid off. The flycatcher came quite close at times, as did some goldcrests, which were very mobile.

At the Scillonian club there was a lot of talk about the mystery bird and David was keen to track it down. However, we decided to go to St Agnes the following day. A spotted Sandpiper had been reported and we were both keen to see it. However, we arranged with Spider to pick us up at 8 AM so we could spend a couple of hours looking for the mystery accipiter. Our acquaintances Peter and Jamie agreed to come with us.

Thursday 28th

After an early breakfast, Spider arranged for us to go into the field of a local farmer where the hawk had been seen. The 4 of us watched for an hour and a half before Spider picked us up to take us to the harbour. Amazingly, the boat for St Agnes was full and they wouldn't take us! David and I therefore went back to the field to continue the vigil until the next boat at 2 PM. Although we saw a couple of sparrowhawks there was no sign of the mystery bird.

Sparrowhawk

We were entertained by a hunting Merlin which scattered a flock of chaffinches in the next field and caught one of them. The noise was tremendous. The Merlin then took his prey into a nearby tree.

On St Agnes we looked in vain for a turtle dove which had been seen. We continued on to the beach where we enjoyed spectacular views of the spotted sandpiper which foraged only 10-15m from us.

Spotted sandpiper

Also present were some rock pipits and meadow pipits

Rock pipit

Meadow pipit

Friday 29th

This was a fairly relaxed day with no new birds. David and I went to Porth Hellick where we finally managed to see a firecrest, as well as a jack snipe on the Lake. We ended up at Porthcressa beach to see a single red-breasted merganser.

Surprisingly, the ferry sailing was cancelled today, apparently because of poor weather. Some cynics, however, said it was because the ferry wasn't very full!!

Saturday 30th

A trip to Lower Moor gave us wonderfully close views of a greenshank.

Greenshank

We were due to get the ferry at midday but, even more amazingly, it was cancelled for a second day, something which the owners of our B&B said had not happened for the last 35 years! The B&B had closed and we had to move next door for one more night. As we had more time, David and I went back to the garrison. While he looked at the red breasted flycatcher from the usual path, I ventured into the pines, making my way carefully round the back to a position where I hoped I would be able to take shots of goldcrests or the flycatcher. I had carefully manoeuvred myself into position over a fallen tree when David rang. He had seen a warbler which looked good for Blyth's reed warbler and he urged me to go back immediately to take a picture. This was easier said than done. I had to get myself off the trunk, make my way back through the pines and along the path again. When I was nearly there I heard someone shouting demonically at the top of his voice but couldn't hear what he was saying (maybe that was just as well!). On arrival I realised it was David screaming in desperation because the bird had just disappeared. Unfortunately, it did not reappear that day or at all. I got the blame for that as well! David was in poor humour for the rest of the day!

David

Sunday 31st

At first light we went back to the garrison hoping to see the promising warbler. It did not reappear and we had to be at the ferry by 8.15. The crossing was uneventful. Here is a juvenile kittiwake.

Juvenile kittiwake

An American bittern had been seen north of Penzance. I was travelling back to Sutton with David and his parents and Josh Jenkins Shaw. The weather was awful but we drove north hoping to see the bird. After 45 minutes in the driving rain, cold, hungry and with the long journey to Sutton ahead of us, we gave up. David's parents had thoughtfully bought us Cornish pasties. They were really tasty. Thanks to Gordon and Lois.

At Exeter we just had time before dark to see the American golden plover (a lifer).

Overall, the trip was very satisfying and relaxing. I met several friendly birdwatchers and I enjoyed the evenings at the Scillonian club. 5 lifers on the Scillies and one more on the way back was a reasonable number. Thanks, as always, David for your company.

A brief trip to Newhaven

2010-10-19T10:54:00.000+01:00

I am trying to concentrate on increasing my British list, so I went to Newhaven to see the rose-coloured starling which had been around for a few days. It hadn't been reported by the time I got there, but on arrival, the small group had just seen it. After 5 or 10 minutes it appeared again, allowing some fairly distant views. I went round to the other side of the hollow and got a couple of additional shots before heading home in time for lunch.

Norfolk - missed one got one!!

2010-10-15T23:45:00.000+01:00

Left early today for the red-flanked bluetail at Waxham. Got there at 09.15 but went the wrong way. Spent a long time on the dunes. It didn't matter because the bird wasn't there. A ringtail hen harrier quartered the nearby field.

Hen harrier

As backup, went to see the Pallas's warbler at Warham Greens. That wasn't there either. There was a yellow-browed warbler though. As I hadn't got a shot of the one I saw for a millisecond at Holkham a couple of weeks ago, I decided to see if it would show. At the 'pit' the bird had been seen a few minutes before my arrival. I waited with the others and after a while a brambling appeared.

Brambling

After a little longer the yellow-browed warbler appeared but it was very mobile and kept darting in and out of the ivy. I did get a shot but it was a little distant. I clearly wasn't going to get a better one so I headed back to the car as I had a long way to go.

Yellow-browed warbler

I had almost got back to the car when I met a couple I had seen earlier. Just at that moment the man saw the Pallas's warbler in the oak tree right by my car. I quickly got onto the bird in my binoculars, but it was even more mobile than the yellow-browed warbler!! It was in the top of the tree just below the canopy and then flitted in an out of the bushes giving tantalising views of its sillouette. Finally it flew to the bushes on the other side of the track and I was able to take a quick shot before it disappeared again. Well, the day hadn't been too bad after all.

Pallas's warbler

Solitary sandpiper - an American vagrant.

2010-10-12T07:52:00.000+01:00

Yesterday, I went further than I normally like to twitch for the solitary sandpiper at Black Hole Marsh, Seaton in Devon. I started off going to Chew Valley Lake for the ferruginous ducks but, when news came in that the sandpiper was still there, I re-set the satnav for Devon, my home county!!

On arrival the bird was fairly close; 40 metres but it then flew closer, under the bank where no-one could see it. Eventually it moved away as it fed and good views were had by all. It's very similar to a green sandpiper but has a dark rump in flight (green sandpiper is white), is slightly smaller and more delicately built and has narrower wings. The tail is thinner, too.

Solitary sandpiper.

After watching it for 45 mins I headed off to Chew Valley where I got distant views of the ferruginous duck about 500 metres away in a flock of about 1000+ tufted ducks and pochards.

Baird's and semi-palmated sandpipers in one day

2010-10-10T23:27:00.002+01:00

I had a text from David Campbell to say he had a day off school and should we go for the semi-palmated sandpiper at Abberton reservoir. I wanted to go for it but was hoping to pull clear of David in our British lists. Ah, well! I do enjoy birding with David so off we went. We decided to go for the Baird's sandpiper at Holland Country Park first as the Abberton centre wasn't open when we arrived. The Baird's is an American wader. The hide was fairly close. It was a steel shipping container on top of another one. The bird was last seen a few minutes before we arrived (isn't it always the way!!) so some people leaving allowed us to get a seat by the window. An hour and 45 mins later the bird finally came into the open after many tantalising views of the top of its head and other small parts of its body. By the way, the main difference between this bird and a dunlin is that the wings are much longer. When the bird is standing, the wingtips extend far beyond the tail. I think this is visible in the picture below.

Baird's sandpiper.

Having got one in the bag, we quickly headed for Abberton where the reputed semi-palmated sandpiper was 500 metres away, albeit in good light. Close scrutiny of the several little stint sized birds by several birwatchers eventually concluded that the distant bird had to be the semi-palmated sandpiper. The photos I took are so distant / bad that I'm not putting them up. As an extra, little stint was a year tick for me as well!

We had to get back for David's tutor so we just had time for 15 minutes on the causeway before heading home. This produced 2 males and a female red-crested pochard. I was pleased about them. I had seen one in Hyde Park recently but David was not too happy that they were truly wild!

Red-crested pochards

Anyway, 2 lifers in one day was very satisfactory. We started back well pleased with ourselves.

Tern lifer in Hyde Park and Alder flycatcher in Norfolk

2010-09-28T08:27:00.001+01:00

Sunday was a day of ups and downs. First was the trek in the rain, with David Campbell, for 3 miles on soft shingle to see the alder/willow flycatcher on Blakeney Point. We saw it in driving rain in the strong northerly wind but it was not very satisfying. Viewing was almost impossible with rain and/or condensation on lenses, scope and camera so I got no pics at all. The trek back was just as hard, taking an hour and 25 mins each way!! We did get a brambling though (year tick)!

Back at the car, we were both sodden and I could actually pour water from my boots. We spent the rest of the day in wet clothes. David needed the red-necked phalarope so we went to nearby Stiffkey where I stayed in the car while David went off to see it.

Then to Wells-next-the-sea for the Bonelli's warbler. We joined a fairly large group looking for it in the dense woods and I was sure we'd see nothing. However, the cry went up and the bird was visible several times in as many minutes. As a bonus the yellow-browed warbler showed briefly as well. That was 3 lifers in one day. We toyed with the idea of going for the common rosefinch but it was getting late by now.

Next day, Monday, I was planning on a lazy day at home when the news of a white-winged black tern in Hyde Park came in. I jumped on the train and a few minutes after my arrival there it was (lifer). Easy! And here it is: