Early March - 2013

To say March started with a bang for me was a bit of an understatement, another Patch Mega found its way into my notebook on the 2nd during a sunny saturday afternoon walk along the river. Taking my time as normal and giving the reed edge a good scan I totally missed the Bittern that erupted from the water edge about 3ft away, scaring me out of a good 10 years of my life, I quickly tried to setup my tripod, fumbling with my camera as this awesome mythical patch bird disappeared across the water meadows. As you can see from below I didn't manage a picture worthy of posting, but what a bird to have wintering on the patch about 300 yards from the front door.

This weekend also signalled the return of the Barn Owls to the water meadows, maybe I had just missed them throughout the winter but I manage to see two different birds hunting the long grass a good mile or so apart on both saturday and sunday afternoons.  

Distant Barn Owl

With my workload during the day starting to pick up due to our Tradeshow event at the NEC in April, finding time to visit Rooksbury Mill at lunchtime pretty ceased to exist, a trend that I still haven't had chance to remedy. So the odd evening I could sneak out on the river proved crucial in discovering the comings and going of spring.

Plenty of Duck life on the waterways with the Mallard Drakes starting to loose a little of the stunning colour they've held for most of the winter, Gadwall seem to be present in a lot higher numbers than throughout the past couple of months, showing up in groups of 6+ on various parts of the patch.

Mallard Drake

Gadwall At Dusk

The Goldcrests still seemed to be present everywhere as I counted a whopping 13 singing birds one evening on a river circuit walk, with the now daily increasing addition of Chiffchaffs that also got into double figures. The local Kestrels seemed to be quite active showing up quite often, along with a pair of Buzzards one with particularly pale coloration's.

Chiffchaff

One evening on the way home from work, I was positive I saw a lone Hawfinch rise up with the flock of Chaffinches feeding on the edge of the main road through the village, a quick look back for the next couple of nights confirmed that it must have just been a bloody big Chaffinch.

By the middle of the month a lot of Fieldfare and Redwing were showing up in the garden and around the fields surrounding the house, maybe fuelling up for there journey onwards, with several Redwing venturing quite close to the front room window for a stunning view one drab morning.

On the 16th Nat was down for the weekend so we took off down to Farlington Marshes, with reported sightings of Spoonbill & Red-breasted Goose over the past couple of days I thought it was about time I got some slight rarities on my year & county list. On a pretty drab day with plenty of rain in the air we soon picked up a white dot feeding on the far side of the reserve, Spoonbill or at least what looked like a Spoonbill. At this stage of the month there were still plenty of Brent Geese around Langstone Harbour as small skeins flew this way and that landing out on the mudflats and then coming back in again to feed on the grassy meadows.

If Brent Geese were still present in their thousands, Shelduck congregated in their hundreds, I don't think I have ever seen so many in one place. As we walked around to the far side of the reserve we spotted a strange Cape/Ruddy Shelduck hybrid sleeping in amongst the more striking commoners. This also gave us a better view of the Spoonbill now feeding on the shallow lagoon, brilliant to see it working its head back and forth bill under the water sifting through for food.

Incoming Shelduck

We encountered plenty of other species, Teal, Wigeon, Mallard, Stonechat, Bar-tailed Godwit, Little Egret, Sanderling, Dunlin, Kestrel & Sparrowhawk, but two new year ticks came as we almost made it back to the car, a female/juvenile Marsh Harrier rising up from the reed bed and spooking the thousands of Brent Geese that were feeding nearby, quite the sight.

If one stunning raptor wasn't enough we caught a quick glimpse of a female Merlin zooming between bushes further down the path. No Red-breasted Goose but well worth the visit.

With stomachs rumbling, a quick stop in Pizza Hut replenished the energy levels as we drove around the expanse of Langstone Harbour to the Spinnaker Tower and the seafront at Southsea. Having seen the reports on going birding for most of the winter I suddenly had the urge to try for what would be a new lifer for me, having not taking the species of birds I've seen throughout my life to seriously until a couple of years ago, I still have no recollection of catching up with this species before, the Purple Sandpiper, a winter visitor to our shores and one that doesn't visit in huge numbers. 

With high counts of 21 and 27 recorded during the winter, but none posted for a couple of weeks I wasn't sure if my luck would be in or not. So braving the now brighter but defiantly blowier weather we wandered along the promenade right up to the castle and believe it or not just 3ft the other side of the railings, 3 tiny little Purple Sandpipers hunkered down in any cracks they could find sheltering from the bitter wind. 

I never once imagined I would see them so close, and had to admit I was shocked by how they were to find. So as usual another good days birding down on the south coast.

Purple Sandpiper

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The Last of February - 2013

Apologies, apologies to my regular blog readers, who are now not really so regular as I haven't posted for such a long time and seem to be so far behind with every post. So hopefully over the next week or so I can briefly summarise the past couple of months and get back up together with things.

The end of February was pretty slow, with extra hours at work starting to pick up, and weather at weekends pretty poor, opportunities to get out around the patch with the camera seemed to come at a minimum. Reports of the Bittern on the river by Dad and the ex-river keeper Jeff where still coming in at least once a fortnight, and several fruitless evenings and sunday afternoons were spent wading up and down the flooded banks to no avail.

Whilst waiting for the Bittern I did manage to stalk pretty close to a young Roe Doe as the light started to fade, getting within 20ft before she spotted me, insisting on a stare off for a good 2 or 3 minutes before she decided she didn't like the look of me and disappeared off into the water meadows.

Roe Doe

Plenty of Mute Swan activity on the river with the Cobs starting to look a little more enthusiastic about the forthcoming breeding season. Some interesting preening poses and plenty of wing flapping and postulating gave some nice photo opportunities.

The Conductor

As seems to be the norm now, the sound of Goldcrest song seems to follow me where ever I go, at least 3 pairs still present in the garden, and one even popped out onto a low branch to belt out another sweet chiming tune. There definatly seems  to be more Goldcrest about this Winter/Spring than I have ever seen before, which must be a good thing right?

As with the Goldcrests, numbers of Chiffchaff seemed to start to multiply towards the end of the month with at least a dozen seen and heard along one full length walk of the River, whether wintering birds starting to show off in hope of a mate or a steady but early influx of summer visitors.

Chiffchaff

A slight random call was received one monday evening as I made my way home from football, Joe Stockwell a good twitcher friend of mine had spotted some Shelduck on a flooded corn field just outside the village. In such a bizarre place the next morning I was up bright and early and out to investigate. And sure enough as the mist rose off the frosty ground, 6 Shelduck swam and fed on a rather large puddle in the middle of this crop field. Not to bad a patch tick!

Patch tick Shelduck

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Sunny November Waterfowl

As well as the afore mentioned wildfowl in earlier posts, Slimbridge and its surrounding reserve where abundant in a few other Wildfowl species. 5 or 6 Shelduck joined the masses of Wigeon on the tack piece. Along with 40-50 Greylag Geese, all very vocal as Sparrowhawks and Buzzards regularly flew past.

Shelduck

Shelduck

Shelduck

Greylag

Greylag

In smaller numbers, several Grey Heron stood sentry duty on the edges of flooded outcrops, Dead still in the bright morning sun. Tufted Duck & Pochard drifted close to the hides allowing the occasional close up photograph, along with a rather tatty looking drake Shoveler.

Grey Heron

Tufted Duck

Drake Pochard

Drake Pochard

Drake Shoveler

From the Holden Tower various species could be seen on the flooded shores of the River Severn, 70 strong flocks of Dunlin fed on the flooded grassland along with Canada Geese intermixed with a lone European White-fronted Goose. A small flock of Barnacle Geese also fed along the shoreline. A much closer Barny fed inside the Slimbridge grounds, enable a photo of these chunky geese.

Barnacle Goose

Barnacle Goose

Barnacle Goose

After a quick spot of lunch, we headed around to the Zeiss hide, stopping only briefly as there were dozens of screaming kids running through the hide! Much to my annoyance, a good hour or more was spent in the Van Der Bovenkamp hide, as supposedly a Bittern was in the tiny block of reed in front of it. Its fair to say no Bittern was spotted by me, much to my annoyance. Occasionally the huge mass of Golden Plover would take flight before settling back down to feed.

Golden Plover

To finish the trip off, we thought we would go for the pair! Having managed some stunning views of the Short-billed Dowitcher down at Lodmoor in September, I thought I would get a spot on the long staying Long-billed Dowitcher that had been at Slimbridge for a good few months.

The bird was present out on the South Lake along with 50 or so Black-tailed Godwits, but with the sun dipping rapidly the whole scene was just a lot of shadowy birds so no pictures unfortunately, but good to get the set in the bag, and round off a pretty good day!

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A Trip To The Midlands

A trip to The West Midlands this weekend, to see the Girlfriend. And explore what the Birmingham area has to offer wildlife wise. A planned visit to the newish RPSB reserve at Middleton Lakes on the way to Tamworth.

With weather that I can describe as Sub zero, we took the first Right hand turning following the RSPB makeshift signs, past the Aston Villa FC Training Facility through what can only be referred to as a disused gravel works for around 800 meters. Word of warning if you like having an intact car avoid this entrance and the huge potholes, carry on down the road another Mile and take the right hand turning to Middleton Hall, it will bring you straight out to the RSPB car park.

Enough with the words of wisdom, we headed off into the reserve hoping to see something in the freezing cold before the forcast snow swept our way. First bird of the day a Goldcrest flitting about in the bramble patch next to the Heronry boardwalk, the feeding station on the edge of the reed bed, teeming with small birds. Great Tit, Blue Tit, House Sparrow, Goldfinch, Chaffinch, Greenfinch & Robin all seen in numerous numbers. The occasional hoarse squawk of a Grey Heron drew our eyes to the trees, 6-7 or rising and then disappearing back into the woodland. 

Blue Tit

Great Tit

Robin

A wander down through the woodland are hoped to show a Lesser-spotted Woodpecker, but no such luck, a couple we passed did mention that they had seen it a couple of times earlier in the morning. A quick glance down the frozen canal and on into the main lakes part of the reserve. A landscape covered in ice, all of the lakes covered in a thick layer. A few birds concentrated in the odd pool which had escaped from the frosts grasp.

Mute Swans

I'd imagine the lakes are a fantastic walk in slightly better weather, with no hides as of yet, you can walk pretty close to the water all away around the outside of the reserve, the reeds offering enough shelter for the birds and enough gaps to look through. A fair few birds spotted on the water; Mute Swan, Mallard, Tufted Duck, Coot, Canada Goose, Grey Heron, Shelduck, Teal & a hovering Kestrel.

The bitter wind blowing got a little more bareable as we spotted a pair of Stonechat, the female teasing me with a close up view but moving just 35-40 yards in front of us along the path the male not quite as receptive  

as the female and staying hidden.

Female Stonechat

Female Stonechat

Male Stonechat

Running alongside the outside edge of the reserve is the River Tame, being the only large stretch of water untouched by the ice it proved abundant with Mallard & Teal. Two Great-crested Grebe also fished in the faster flowing water. Further up river a small group of Goldeneye flushed from the waters edge. And then the snow came, thick and fast, a pretty speedy walk back to the car and on to the M6 and M42 before the weather brought the British road network to a grinding halt. A pretty good visit to an RSPB reserve all in all, and we probably only saw less than a dozen other people.

I headed back down south this morning, before the freezing fog and additional forecast snow, making the journey in only 10 mins longer than clear weather conditions. A quick peep out of the kitchen window presenting plenty of action on the bird tables. All the usual suspects and a frequent visitor in the form of the Great-spotted Woodpecker, So I had a quick walk down the road watching big numbers of Chaffinch working up and down the hedgerow, and some rather large flocks of Corn Bunting with the odd Yellowhammer mixed in feeding on the odd patches untouched by the snow. More surprisingly loads of Fieldfare coming into the garden on the end of the main Apsley House, a tree still with remaining with fruit the attraction.

Fieldfare

Cock Sparrow 

Fieldfare

A Weekend's Wandering

Thick fog till lunchtime postponed my Sunday morning out, but it disappeared pretty rapidly to leave a rather warm golden autumnal afternoon! Accompanied by my glamourous binocular carrier Nat we headed off to the Hampshire Wildlife Trusts - Testwood Lakes Nature Reserve on the edge of Southampton. We were pretty lucky to find a parking space as it would seem half of Hampshire was out in force to walk their dogs around the Southern Water site. The smaller of the 2 lakes 'Little Testwood' in the "Normo's" (Normo's being Dog Walkers) area produced two pretty quick sightings. 2 Great Crested Grebes in Winter Plumage and a Kingfisher gliding from reed to reed along the waters edge. Still far to quick for me to get a picture!

HWT Testwood Lakes - Reserve Map

The larger 'Testwood Lake', I guess due to the invasion of Stick retrieving dogs was lacking any kind of activity mid afternoon, with just a few Black Headed Gulls floating in the middle. The one thing I do like about the Testwood site, is that the Pathways to the 2 Hides are all fenced off, and dog walkers are not allowed! These paths proved to be near on empty as we made our way to the Sand Martin hide, a few Blue Tits and Long Tailed Tits flitting about in the beach hedges besides the paths. With the hide empty and the sun starting to disappear behind the oncoming cloud over the scrapes, I was hoping that some kind of wading bird would be visible as an entry in the log book for 2pm said 3 Black-tailed Godwits - I couldn't see any and it was only 2.25pm, the only Birds visible were a few distant Common Teal.

The Heron Hide overlooking Meadow Lake prooved a little more fruitful, 80+ Lapwing emerging from the shallower water circling interwined with 40 or so Black Headed Gulls before landing again, in a cacophony of noise and calls.

Lapwing Flock

The muddy shoreline of the lake caught my eye producing more Common Teal, Mallard and 6 Shelduck mooching around on the edge of the water. The small island in the middle of the lake housed 12 Cormorant although others appeared along the far shoreline diving close to the fringing reed bed.

3 Little Egret present spaced evenly apart along the far shore where soon interrupted by the Arrival of a juvenile Grey Heron, other birds out on the water included Moorhen, Coot, Tufted Duck and a lone Pochard. A quick look at the watch meant we had to head back towards the Car park, gates being locked at 4pm, Which seemed a little early to end a dry Sunday afternoon! On the path back towards the Sand Martin Hide, the barrier fence that hides the path from the Meadow lake was a little lower, so we were able to peer over the top and snap off a few shots of some Teal sifting through the murky water.

Common Teal

The woodland path back to the main car park didn't show up any wildlife, although I did take a picture of this rather proud looking Fungi. Which I think is a Magpie Fungus but I am most probably wrong in identifying.

Magpie Fungus?

It's been impossible to get out at lunch time so far this week, with thick fog in the south reducing visibility to about 20 metres. and today doesnt look much better with the Carpark view from my Office window reduced to 5 or 6 cars back. So i've had to resort to reading Decembers edition of Bird Watching Magazine which really isn't quite the same!