We managed to spend an hour or so at Haden Hill this afternoon in the hope of Tina seeing the Goldcrest. But no luck, the Nuthatches had disappeared as well, it was a very dull and chilly afternoon, perhaps it was that. A very meagre list:
Mallard, Moorhen, Canada Goose, Blue Tit, Great Tit, Blackbird, Starling, Woodpigeon, Magpie, Bullfinch, Long Tailed Tit, Wren, Crow, Robin. We heard a Chiff Chaff and a Woodpecker but couldn't find them.
So we'll just have to try again when the weather is a bit brighter and warmer!
Saturday, 31 March 2012
Friday, 30 March 2012
Haden Hill 29/03
After being stuck in the house, I managed to get out at lunch time and have a walk through Haden Hill and and Corngreaves NR. The weather was fabulous and the bird song was amazing, but as always when walking through trees its finding them!
The pools are pretty empty now, all the Gulls have gone, so all that was on the lower pool were Mallards
and a couple of Canada Geese who have decided to nest. Not even a sign of a coot or moorhen!
So on past the pool and into Corngreaves..
First sighting were a few Nuthatches, quite high up but a decent view:
I watched them for a while then spotted one disappearing into one of the trees, so looks like a nest as he/she was constantly going in and out.
So after that carried on along the path by the river, lots of Blue and Great Tits about as well as the usual Magpies and Woodpigeons, however I did come across a pair of Stock Doves so that was a first for the year.
As I went further along a small bird flew across the path and landed in a bush about 10 feet away, so stopped and got the bins on him thinking it was a Blue Tit, but much to my delight it was a Goldcrest. (No photo missed him!) Now believe it or not this is a first, it's one of those birds that has eluded us. However I'm not adding it to the totals as Tina still hasn't seen it.. Them's the rules! (We might get time Saturday to get down there for an hour, but we have a busy weekend planned so who knows)
Just after this I heard a Robin singing his little heart out and he obligingly posed for a while:
 |
| Multi Tasking! Singing and Scratching! |
So headed on added Blackbird, Song Thrush, Jackdaw, Crow, Rook, nothing to exciting.
As I was coming up through the last part of the NR before back into the park spotted another 3 Nuthatches, then a Jay on the ground, trying to hide from me! But managed a photo:
Of course lots of butterflies about, none of whom would pose apart from this Peacock:
So that was it, walked back via the canal, where I did see the missing Coots and Moorhens (as well as more Mallard & Canada Geese) and one last Robin who wanted his photo taken (He told me!)
TTFN
Monday, 26 March 2012
Sandwell Valley 25/03
Well the weather was just to nice, so we had to pop out for a quick spin around the RSPB reserve at Sandwell Valley. We didn't stop long as we had other things to do. Again the weather was great and again the sunshine had brought loads of people out cycling and walking (wonder where they all are when its freezing and wet, like most sensible people tucked up by the fire.)
So what was to see:
Dunnock, Blue Tit, Great Tit, Cormorant, Carrion Crow, Magpie, Rook, Canada Goose, Gadwall, Goosander (2), Mallard, Mute Swan, Pochard, Shoveler (2), Teal, Tufted Duck, Wigeon, Lesser Black-backed Gull, Grey Heron, Robin, Oystercatcher (2), Woodpigeon, Lapwing, Coot, Moorhen, Redshank (1), Bullfinch and Starling.
The Redshank was the surprise we hadn't expected to see that, I have added a photo , not great quality as he was fairly distant from the hide and its hard to keep the camera still with my dodgy shoulder:
The pair of Oystercatchers were nice to see, they appear to be nesting on the island in front of the hide. The 30 or so Lapwings were giving good displays. They are one of my favourite birds (of many!) they always look magnificent and are a real pleasure to watch flying.
We were hoping to see the Snipe again, but with the influx of some of the other birds, they apparently have moved off the island into the marsh, so we will have to see if they are about still about at Upton.
So what was to see:
Dunnock, Blue Tit, Great Tit, Cormorant, Carrion Crow, Magpie, Rook, Canada Goose, Gadwall, Goosander (2), Mallard, Mute Swan, Pochard, Shoveler (2), Teal, Tufted Duck, Wigeon, Lesser Black-backed Gull, Grey Heron, Robin, Oystercatcher (2), Woodpigeon, Lapwing, Coot, Moorhen, Redshank (1), Bullfinch and Starling.
The Redshank was the surprise we hadn't expected to see that, I have added a photo , not great quality as he was fairly distant from the hide and its hard to keep the camera still with my dodgy shoulder:
Eymore Wood 24/03
We managed a quick trip down to Eymore on Saturday, this was the first time I had driven since my Skiing mishap, thankfully we have an automatic, so no gear changing.
The weather was glorious lots of people about, especially with noisy dogs, shouldn't be allowed when you are trying to find birds in the trees! Only joking. We hoped to see Goldcrests and of course always looking for our first English Crossbills, but drew a blank on both counts! We did see our first Chiffchaff of the year in the trees between the reservoir and the river, he was 'Chiff-Chaffing' beautifully! There were a pair of Great Crested Grebes on the first lake by the railway crossing, who displayed briefly, but the majority of the time they were diving.
Apart from those our full list:
Blue Tit, Coal Tit, Great Tit, Carrion Crow, Magpie, Canada Goose, Goosander, Mallard,
Tufted Duck, Great Crested Grebe, Lesser Black-backed Gull, Buzzard, Chiffchaff, Robin, Rock Dove, Woodpigeon, Coot, Goldfinch, Siskin, Blackbird and Pied Wagtail.
Oh and add some boats, steam engine and a frog or two!
The weather was glorious lots of people about, especially with noisy dogs, shouldn't be allowed when you are trying to find birds in the trees! Only joking. We hoped to see Goldcrests and of course always looking for our first English Crossbills, but drew a blank on both counts! We did see our first Chiffchaff of the year in the trees between the reservoir and the river, he was 'Chiff-Chaffing' beautifully! There were a pair of Great Crested Grebes on the first lake by the railway crossing, who displayed briefly, but the majority of the time they were diving.
Blue Tit, Coal Tit, Great Tit, Carrion Crow, Magpie, Canada Goose, Goosander, Mallard,
Tufted Duck, Great Crested Grebe, Lesser Black-backed Gull, Buzzard, Chiffchaff, Robin, Rock Dove, Woodpigeon, Coot, Goldfinch, Siskin, Blackbird and Pied Wagtail.
Oh and add some boats, steam engine and a frog or two!
Tuesday, 20 March 2012
There's Always a Sunnyside!
Well, we are back from Italy, I have been to Hospital and my shoulder isn't as bad as the Italian doctors made out. There are no broken bones "just" snapped ligaments which will heal given time. So back to work tomorrow.
Now for the Sunnyside.... As I was not able to ski on the last two days and my legs were intact I had arranged to go out and get the cable car up the mountain and meet Tina & Jo for lunch up the top. So I set out early with my mini bins and digital bridge camera for the 20 minute walk from the hotel up to the cable car. I had only been walking a few minutes when........
Yes after driving to Scotland to various 'guaranteed' Crossbill sites, visiting Eymore Woods etc. Purely by accident there they were. For two days on the trot, this is a photo from the second time. I even took Tina and Jo later on, on the Saturday and they were still about, but not as close. So if I hadn't done my shoulder, I wouldn't have got the Crossbills. Having said that I think I would swap the pain for no Crossbills!!
So what else: I have identified the mystery bird from my previous post, a Nutcracker, lifer no 1 for the trip.
The swift we saw was an ordinary swift as it was all black, Alpine have a white belly, I can only think this was passing through the Alps on its way north for Spring as we never saw any more swifts. The martins were House Martins as we saw these daily and got good sightings.
On the way home on Sunday, Tina spotted a crow with a yellow beak, so that must be an Alpine Chough. So lifer No 2.
Down in the Aosta Valley on the way to Turin Airport a Great White Egret was spotted in a field near the river.
Now its get my shoulder healed and sorted so we can spend some time in Somerset next month.
Now for the Sunnyside.... As I was not able to ski on the last two days and my legs were intact I had arranged to go out and get the cable car up the mountain and meet Tina & Jo for lunch up the top. So I set out early with my mini bins and digital bridge camera for the 20 minute walk from the hotel up to the cable car. I had only been walking a few minutes when........
So what else: I have identified the mystery bird from my previous post, a Nutcracker, lifer no 1 for the trip.
The swift we saw was an ordinary swift as it was all black, Alpine have a white belly, I can only think this was passing through the Alps on its way north for Spring as we never saw any more swifts. The martins were House Martins as we saw these daily and got good sightings.
On the way home on Sunday, Tina spotted a crow with a yellow beak, so that must be an Alpine Chough. So lifer No 2.
Down in the Aosta Valley on the way to Turin Airport a Great White Egret was spotted in a field near the river.
Now its get my shoulder healed and sorted so we can spend some time in Somerset next month.
Friday, 16 March 2012
Pila Italy
Well here I am sitting in the hotel with a broken clavicle! Happened on day 4, just a silly tumble but came down heavily on my left shoulder. Got a ride on a Police skidoo with blue lights and siren to the nearest cable car, not quite worth it but, a bit of fun out of something that is now really painful. The doc says I will have to have it pinned when I get back to the UK. So A&E on Monday.
On the birding front we are at 6000 feet so few birds around, although we can here plenty when we are on the chairlifts in trees around us. We did spot some Crested Tits on one of our runs, have also seen Raven, a wood pecker but couldn't identify it. Around the hotel, I am surprised to see Swift and Martins, considering the snow although the weather is fabulous with temperatures up at 14 in Pila.
I have seen a bird I can't identify, so if anyone can help, (left the field guide at home!) it was slightly larger than a blackbird, black, with a white rump and white tips on tail feathers.it was in the pines at about 7000 ft.
That'll do for now
On the birding front we are at 6000 feet so few birds around, although we can here plenty when we are on the chairlifts in trees around us. We did spot some Crested Tits on one of our runs, have also seen Raven, a wood pecker but couldn't identify it. Around the hotel, I am surprised to see Swift and Martins, considering the snow although the weather is fabulous with temperatures up at 14 in Pila.
I have seen a bird I can't identify, so if anyone can help, (left the field guide at home!) it was slightly larger than a blackbird, black, with a white rump and white tips on tail feathers.it was in the pines at about 7000 ft.
That'll do for now
Wednesday, 7 March 2012
Tufted Duck and Eurofighter Typhoon
Went for a walk again lunch time and in a moment of madness carried on all the way to Merry Hill and collected my lens from Jessops. Hurrah!
This entailed walking along the canal from Old Hill, through Netherton, past Netherton Reservoir, down the Through Saltwells LNR and out the otherside at Merry Hill. Was walking at a pace so didnt have much time to look around.
Huge numbers of Canada Geese along the route, these all seem to be pairing off and making lots of noise. Anyway picked my lens up and headed back, allowed myself a few moments at the reservoir to look for the Great Crested Grebe, couldn't see it any where, but was surprised by a solitary Tufted Duck amongst the Black Headed and Lesser Black Backed Gulls, then a thunderous roar as an RAF Eurofighter came in low from over Dudley. In addition to Birding I'm also a bit of an aeroplane nut! So was well pleased if somewhat puzzled as the Eurofighter hung around. I could hear it all the way home, circling Dudley! Actually whilst I was out yesterday, I could hear a low flying high performance jet, so I guess it was doing it yesterday as well.
Apart from that just the usual along the canal.
This entailed walking along the canal from Old Hill, through Netherton, past Netherton Reservoir, down the Through Saltwells LNR and out the otherside at Merry Hill. Was walking at a pace so didnt have much time to look around.
Huge numbers of Canada Geese along the route, these all seem to be pairing off and making lots of noise. Anyway picked my lens up and headed back, allowed myself a few moments at the reservoir to look for the Great Crested Grebe, couldn't see it any where, but was surprised by a solitary Tufted Duck amongst the Black Headed and Lesser Black Backed Gulls, then a thunderous roar as an RAF Eurofighter came in low from over Dudley. In addition to Birding I'm also a bit of an aeroplane nut! So was well pleased if somewhat puzzled as the Eurofighter hung around. I could hear it all the way home, circling Dudley! Actually whilst I was out yesterday, I could hear a low flying high performance jet, so I guess it was doing it yesterday as well.
Apart from that just the usual along the canal.
Tuesday, 6 March 2012
Not much.....but......
As we were going up to visit family in Cheshire for a do on Sunday evening, we had toyed with the idea of going to Martin Mere, but when we saw the weather, we decided to give it a miss.
Oh and some good news! My 300mm lens is back and waiting to be collected from Jessops!
We arrived at our Nieces late afternoon for a cuppa before going out for a meal in Holmes Chapel. As the do was for our fellow birder and my sister in law Jo, we naturally got down to talking birds. Our niece (Jo's daughter, hope you are keeping up with this) then piped in about the starlings over Holmes Chapel in the evening and that we should see them on the way to the pub.
So when we set out there they were, this video is from my phone (which doesn't have much of a camera):
Today I managed to fit a 20 minute walk in at lunch just down to the canal and the Powke Lane POS, just to see what was about, the weather was glorious and the birds were in good voice. Nothing exciting but the singing was tremendous. Seen were:
Goldfinch, Bullfinch, Greenfinch, Blue Tit, Great Tit, Long Tailed Tit, Dunnock, Robin, Blackbird, House Sparrow, Magpie and Woodpigeon. Down at the canal, just 2 Canada Geese and some Black Headed Gulls whirling around. Not a Mallard, Coot or Moorhen to be seen!
But a big bonus was a vixen who walked calmly past me in the copse just at the end of our road, not more than 10 feet away, she wasn't bothered by me one bit!
But a big bonus was a vixen who walked calmly past me in the copse just at the end of our road, not more than 10 feet away, she wasn't bothered by me one bit!
Oh and some good news! My 300mm lens is back and waiting to be collected from Jessops!
Tuesday, 28 February 2012
Slimbridge WWT
We managed to fit in a visit to Slimbridge on Monday. This is a first time visit for us, passed it often but never had the time to stop, always on the way somewhere.
Anyway it was a dull day and didn't know what to expect really. I think we found the captive birds interesting, but probably just made us wish that we could go to their real homes and see them in the wild. It does get a bit confusing when there are so many of our own 'native' birds mixed up with them. Good never the less.
After getting our bearings we then made our way around the lakes then the hides. With regular coffee stops of course. 4 Flasks in my back pack today! 2 Coffee, 2 Hot Water.
We immediately got our first lifer. A Lesser Scaup amongst the Tufted ducks. I had seen from the Slimbridge web site that this was around but to see it in the first 5 minutes was a big bonus.
We started at the South Lake Observatory, worked around to Peng then up as far as Holden Tower stopping in all the hides along the way. By far the best for us on the day was the Martin Smith hide. From there we saw all the different Geese (I'll do a full list at the end). Plus we have never seen so many Wigeon and Pintail in one go magnificent. Then the highlights of the day for us. Right in front of the hide I spotted a Snipe busily foraging amongst the short reeds. Although we have seen Snipe before they have been pretty sedentary. This was one was very active and came out in the open a fair bit, plus the weather brightened up, so we had great close views of his fantastic colouring. Then a second one popped out. This was however trumped by our first ever Water Rail, (I know it's taken a long time, we have been to so many places and waited and waited for a Water Rail sighting and it's never happened, today I hadn't given it any thought and it just popped out!) who came bounding (if a Water rail can bound) out of one set of reeds, to run out in the open across the mud into another bunch of reeds. We only had a 20 second sighting, but it was out in the open and very close. It did pop its head out again for a few minutes but never came out fully again.
So we then did the rounds, over to the other hides (Zeiss, Kingfisher etc,) Then made our way back via Hogarth Hide for chucking out time. Hogarth hide was very good we picked up Redshank, Greenshank and Black Tailed Godwit, who all gave us a fine show.
So left the Centre at 5 and went back to the car, to have a cuppa with the last of our hot water. The Starlings then started to arrive, only about a thousand, but they gave us a great display and finished the day off well.
So our list for the day:
Barnacle Goose, Bewick's Swan, Blackbird, Black-headed Gull, Black-tailed Godwit, Blue Tit, Brent Goose, Canada Goose, Carrion Crow, Chaffinch, Coot, Cormorant, Curlew, Dunnock, Gadwall, Goldfinch, Great Black-backed Gull, Great Tit, Greenshank, Greylag Goose, House Sparrow, Jackdaw, Lapwing, Lesser Black-backed Gull, Lesser Scaup, Mallard, Moorhen, Mute Swan, Oystercatcher, Pheasant, Pintail, Pochard, Red-breasted Merganser, Redshank, Robin, Feral Pigeon, Rook, Shelduck, Shoveler, Snipe, Song Thrush, Starling, Teal, Tufted Duck, Water Rail, White-fronted Goose, Wigeon, Woodpigeon and Wren.
So this takes us to over 100 species and 9 new species for the year so far.
I have added a few photos, I only had a 55mm lens with me so no close ups! (And it was dull, yet again!)
This Pintail came reasonably close:
Mandarin:
Black Necked Swan:
Flamingo:
Anyway it was a dull day and didn't know what to expect really. I think we found the captive birds interesting, but probably just made us wish that we could go to their real homes and see them in the wild. It does get a bit confusing when there are so many of our own 'native' birds mixed up with them. Good never the less.
After getting our bearings we then made our way around the lakes then the hides. With regular coffee stops of course. 4 Flasks in my back pack today! 2 Coffee, 2 Hot Water.
We immediately got our first lifer. A Lesser Scaup amongst the Tufted ducks. I had seen from the Slimbridge web site that this was around but to see it in the first 5 minutes was a big bonus.
We started at the South Lake Observatory, worked around to Peng then up as far as Holden Tower stopping in all the hides along the way. By far the best for us on the day was the Martin Smith hide. From there we saw all the different Geese (I'll do a full list at the end). Plus we have never seen so many Wigeon and Pintail in one go magnificent. Then the highlights of the day for us. Right in front of the hide I spotted a Snipe busily foraging amongst the short reeds. Although we have seen Snipe before they have been pretty sedentary. This was one was very active and came out in the open a fair bit, plus the weather brightened up, so we had great close views of his fantastic colouring. Then a second one popped out. This was however trumped by our first ever Water Rail, (I know it's taken a long time, we have been to so many places and waited and waited for a Water Rail sighting and it's never happened, today I hadn't given it any thought and it just popped out!) who came bounding (if a Water rail can bound) out of one set of reeds, to run out in the open across the mud into another bunch of reeds. We only had a 20 second sighting, but it was out in the open and very close. It did pop its head out again for a few minutes but never came out fully again.
So we then did the rounds, over to the other hides (Zeiss, Kingfisher etc,) Then made our way back via Hogarth Hide for chucking out time. Hogarth hide was very good we picked up Redshank, Greenshank and Black Tailed Godwit, who all gave us a fine show.
So left the Centre at 5 and went back to the car, to have a cuppa with the last of our hot water. The Starlings then started to arrive, only about a thousand, but they gave us a great display and finished the day off well.
So our list for the day:
Barnacle Goose, Bewick's Swan, Blackbird, Black-headed Gull, Black-tailed Godwit, Blue Tit, Brent Goose, Canada Goose, Carrion Crow, Chaffinch, Coot, Cormorant, Curlew, Dunnock, Gadwall, Goldfinch, Great Black-backed Gull, Great Tit, Greenshank, Greylag Goose, House Sparrow, Jackdaw, Lapwing, Lesser Black-backed Gull, Lesser Scaup, Mallard, Moorhen, Mute Swan, Oystercatcher, Pheasant, Pintail, Pochard, Red-breasted Merganser, Redshank, Robin, Feral Pigeon, Rook, Shelduck, Shoveler, Snipe, Song Thrush, Starling, Teal, Tufted Duck, Water Rail, White-fronted Goose, Wigeon, Woodpigeon and Wren.
So this takes us to over 100 species and 9 new species for the year so far.
I have added a few photos, I only had a 55mm lens with me so no close ups! (And it was dull, yet again!)
This Pintail came reasonably close:
 |
And some captive birds:
Nene Geese:
Monday, 27 February 2012
A Non Birding weekend with Birds!
We went down to London on Saturday to visit our son who lives in Mile End. So not a birding trip at all.
However!
We went down the M40, with the hope of seeing Red Kites along the way, and did we! We lost count at 45. As the weather was so good, they were coming down low over the carriageway and we had some really good views. We stopped at the Oxford services and had a great display by one in particular. We just love the way they turn on a six pence (2.5p for those who only do decimal) Also clocked 10 Buzzards and 3 Kestrels en route.
On Sunday we went out for a late lunch and walked along the Canal at Victoria Park, Mile End. Couldn't help making a list: Mallard, Canada Geese, Greylag, Black Headed Gull, Moorhen, Coot, Magpie, Ferral Pigeon, Robin, Blackbird, Crow & House Sparrow
Late afternoon we set off home and decided to drop in at Rainham Marshes, we got there at 4:15, they close at 4:30 and shoo everyone out, so in 15 minutes just from the visitor centre
Goldfinch, Greenfinch, Chaffinch, Blue Tit, Great Tit, Robin, Magpie, Starling, Reed Bunting, Collared Dove, House Sparrow, Blackbird,
Shoveler, Wigeon, Teal, Mallard, Moorhen, Coot, Canada Geese, Mute Swan, Grey Heron,
Gulls in the distance of various types, much to far to identify
Was very disappointed they shut so early thought it would be 5pm at least! Oh well it's a long drive back so had a cup of tea and set off!
However!
We went down the M40, with the hope of seeing Red Kites along the way, and did we! We lost count at 45. As the weather was so good, they were coming down low over the carriageway and we had some really good views. We stopped at the Oxford services and had a great display by one in particular. We just love the way they turn on a six pence (2.5p for those who only do decimal) Also clocked 10 Buzzards and 3 Kestrels en route.
On Sunday we went out for a late lunch and walked along the Canal at Victoria Park, Mile End. Couldn't help making a list: Mallard, Canada Geese, Greylag, Black Headed Gull, Moorhen, Coot, Magpie, Ferral Pigeon, Robin, Blackbird, Crow & House Sparrow
Late afternoon we set off home and decided to drop in at Rainham Marshes, we got there at 4:15, they close at 4:30 and shoo everyone out, so in 15 minutes just from the visitor centre
Goldfinch, Greenfinch, Chaffinch, Blue Tit, Great Tit, Robin, Magpie, Starling, Reed Bunting, Collared Dove, House Sparrow, Blackbird,
Shoveler, Wigeon, Teal, Mallard, Moorhen, Coot, Canada Geese, Mute Swan, Grey Heron,
Gulls in the distance of various types, much to far to identify
Was very disappointed they shut so early thought it would be 5pm at least! Oh well it's a long drive back so had a cup of tea and set off!
Tuesday, 21 February 2012
Saltwells Nature Reserve
Well I have finally taken my lens in for repair, I was much quicker than expected so decided to have a wander around Saltwells on my way home. Now even though this is only 3 miles from home, I have never ever been before.
I was really surprised by the diversity of habitats, amazing. Having said that I heard lots but saw hardly anything. Mind you I was short of time so couldn't linger as I had to get back for a meeting. Then I managed to get lost and totally lose my bearings. Of course then there was no one about to ask. Finally a gentlemen of advanced years came past and I asked him how to get back to where I had left the car. I think he thought I was a bit daft, but to me the place seemed vast with paths everywhere, but once he'd put me straight I was OK.
Anyway did I see anything:
On the reservoir:
Black Headed Gull, Lesser Black Backed Gull, Coot, Moorhen & Great Crested Grebe
In the Woods:
Robin, Dunnock, Blackbird, Magpie, Woodpigeon, Crow, Great Tit & Mallard (in the Clay Pit)
I did hear a Chiffchaff, plus a few others, but couldn't stop to look.
I was really surprised by the diversity of habitats, amazing. Having said that I heard lots but saw hardly anything. Mind you I was short of time so couldn't linger as I had to get back for a meeting. Then I managed to get lost and totally lose my bearings. Of course then there was no one about to ask. Finally a gentlemen of advanced years came past and I asked him how to get back to where I had left the car. I think he thought I was a bit daft, but to me the place seemed vast with paths everywhere, but once he'd put me straight I was OK.
Anyway did I see anything:
On the reservoir:
Black Headed Gull, Lesser Black Backed Gull, Coot, Moorhen & Great Crested Grebe
In the Woods:
Robin, Dunnock, Blackbird, Magpie, Woodpigeon, Crow, Great Tit & Mallard (in the Clay Pit)
I did hear a Chiffchaff, plus a few others, but couldn't stop to look.
Monday, 20 February 2012
Upton Warren 19/02/12
Made only our second trip to Upton on Sunday. The last time was in July last year.
We parked up in the sailing club, tried to buy a permit, but there was no one in the office at the club, so we wandered down towards the hides. We met a few people walking back the other way who told us that the main hide is being rebuilt and because of all the activity there is very little about. (Apparently this is nearly finished)
We carried on and as we were desperate for Coffee (as always) we decided to have seat in the second hide (Cuckoo). As suggested initially all we saw where Coot and Mallard. But then some Teal appeared. Then the trees to the left started bearing fruit!
Reed Bunting, Robin, Dunnock, Moorhen, Blue Tit, Long Tailed Tit and 4 fantastic courting Bullfinches! (Oh and a Rabbit!)
Then the Teal obliged, 3 Male and Female came right into the channel in front of us and the males started showing off. We have never seen Teal displaying before it was a treat.
Sorry no photo's even though the light was great, I haven't taken my 300 lens in for repair yet and I can't focus properly even manually, its to stiff)
We decided after coffee to leave the Flashes and head over to the pool. Had some good views of Redwing in the field behind the hide facing the masts. Nothing perched on the masts, hoped for something there but hey ho!
So parked up at the Pools car park and wandered over to the Lapwing Hide. We spent a good while there and were rewarded with:
Curlew (15), Snipe (5), Cormorant, Canada Geese, Greylag, Shelduck, Shoveler, Pochard, Teal, Mallard, Tufted Duck, Mute Swan, Black Headed Gull, Great Black Backed Gull, Lapwing, Grey Heron, Coot & Moorhen.
Round and about the hide:
Reed Bunting, Long Tailed Tit, Redwing, Blackbird, Song Thrush (Believe it or not this was our first for 2012), Blue Tit, Great Tit, Chaffinch, Magpie, Woodpigeon and Crow.
We are off to London this weekend to visit our son, so we might fit in a quick visit to Rainham Marshes, which isn't far from his. But nothing definite planned. Otherwise I have a busy week ahead so don't know if I will get out. A walk to Warrens Hall is due if I have time.
We parked up in the sailing club, tried to buy a permit, but there was no one in the office at the club, so we wandered down towards the hides. We met a few people walking back the other way who told us that the main hide is being rebuilt and because of all the activity there is very little about. (Apparently this is nearly finished)
We carried on and as we were desperate for Coffee (as always) we decided to have seat in the second hide (Cuckoo). As suggested initially all we saw where Coot and Mallard. But then some Teal appeared. Then the trees to the left started bearing fruit!
Reed Bunting, Robin, Dunnock, Moorhen, Blue Tit, Long Tailed Tit and 4 fantastic courting Bullfinches! (Oh and a Rabbit!)
Then the Teal obliged, 3 Male and Female came right into the channel in front of us and the males started showing off. We have never seen Teal displaying before it was a treat.
Sorry no photo's even though the light was great, I haven't taken my 300 lens in for repair yet and I can't focus properly even manually, its to stiff)
We decided after coffee to leave the Flashes and head over to the pool. Had some good views of Redwing in the field behind the hide facing the masts. Nothing perched on the masts, hoped for something there but hey ho!
So parked up at the Pools car park and wandered over to the Lapwing Hide. We spent a good while there and were rewarded with:
Curlew (15), Snipe (5), Cormorant, Canada Geese, Greylag, Shelduck, Shoveler, Pochard, Teal, Mallard, Tufted Duck, Mute Swan, Black Headed Gull, Great Black Backed Gull, Lapwing, Grey Heron, Coot & Moorhen.
Round and about the hide:
Reed Bunting, Long Tailed Tit, Redwing, Blackbird, Song Thrush (Believe it or not this was our first for 2012), Blue Tit, Great Tit, Chaffinch, Magpie, Woodpigeon and Crow.
We are off to London this weekend to visit our son, so we might fit in a quick visit to Rainham Marshes, which isn't far from his. But nothing definite planned. Otherwise I have a busy week ahead so don't know if I will get out. A walk to Warrens Hall is due if I have time.
Wednesday, 15 February 2012
Surprise in the Park!
Well decided to get out lunch time for some exercise and stretch my legs, So a brisk walk around Haden Hill was called for.
Into the park and nothing much to report, Wood Pigeon, Crow, Blackbird and Blue Tit, so I headed on my usual route down to the lower pool and could see the usual suspects their, Mute Swan, Mallard, Coot, Moorhen and Black Headed Gull, no sign of the Canada Geese today. We get a lot of duck hybrids on the pool, so was surprised when amongst the ducks something stood out. To my astonishment there was a female Goosander, definitely a first (for me) at Haden Hill. I wonder if anyone has recorded one there before.
I didn't have my Camera with me as I still need to take my 300mm lens in for repair and the weather is dull anyway. Never mind!
I continued around the park and added:
Chaffinch, Great Tit, Long Tailed Tit, Redwing, Goldfinch, Bullfinch, Buzzard, Magpie and Rook.
Dropped by the pool on my way circuit back and the Goosander was still there.
Just proves you never know!
Monday, 13 February 2012
Scotland The Full Story 5-11 February
Well back at work after a great week in Scotland, so time to make sense of it all.
After Spending Friday and Saturday night with our daughter who lives in Edinburgh. We carried on up to Braemar which was to be our base for the next 6 nights. There we were joined late Sunday afternoon by my Wife's sister (Jo) and partner (Jimmy) who have been mentioned in dispatches in previous blogs and who are our partners in crime when we go birding further afield.
So what did we get upto?
Monday 06/02
The first day Monday we had glorious sunshine but it was cold, so we headed to Glen Tanar near Aboyne, where there are some good walks and 'guaranteed' Crossbills, plus the chance of Capercallie. We got off to an excellent start, right by the A93 was a fishery at Tullich and sitting on his own with a host of Mallard was a single drake Goldeneye we viewed for a few minutes, then set off again.
After turning off onto a B road to get to Glen Tanar we were driving along the River Dee, when a single 'duck' was spotted on the river. So we stopped just in case.
We weren't sure at first, but as she swam closer we were able to confirm a female Common Scoter, a lifer for all 4 of us! Brilliant. When she had drifted away out of sight we carried on and had only gone about 400 yards when we saw two more 'ducks' on the river. Again we stopped, thinking they might be more Scoter and indeed they were, but not Common, 2 female Velvet! What were they doing there? Another Lifer! I was so excited that I missed the turn to Glen Tanar, so went on a bit further and found a turning at a bend in the river, so we stopped for a coffee. (This is a theme in all my blogs. Coffee stops are regular and essential!)
Whilst sipping our Coffees, we bagged a Dipper, Grey Heron and loads of Mallard, sadly no more Scoter!
We duly arrived at Glen Tanar and scanned the pine trees, but no Crossbill, we then decided to go for a walk along one of the shorter trails but not much about, just Tits, Chaffinch and a Buzzard.
So drew a blank with the Crossbills yet again!
We then drove to the Linn of Dee to see Red Deer and back on to the Glenshee Road, hunting for White Mountain Hare. At least both of these turned up! I'm beginning to think that Crossbills are made up and don't really exist!
Tuesday 07/02
Today we decided to drive over the Lecht for Snow Bunting andfor the spectacular scenery, then head down to Boat of Garten for Crested Tit and Red Squirrel, and anything else we can find along the way!
The Snow Bunting duly obliged, they can always be found to the left of the Ski School or on the Ski Centre Roof, sorry the pics aren't great!
En route a Red Grouse obliged us by sticking his head up:
Then a female:
We drove through Garten and went to the RSPB Osprey Center as we know that at this time of year we are pretty much guaranteed Crested Tits and no one else will be there!
So here's a few shots from Garten:
So success! No new species at Garten, but we just loved watching the Crested Tits and Red Squirrel (plus we have never seen so many Coal Tits in one go!
So back in the car, back across the Lecht and back to Braemar, this resulted in another couple of firsts for us. We have been up to Scotland many many times over the last few years and Black Grouse and Ptarmigan must go into hiding when we come up, but we must have caught them by surprise this time! We had a great Black Grouse sighting, 3 in one spot, but I couldn't get my Camera ready in time and ended up with a distant shot at dusk. The Ptarmigan was a Grey Speckled youngster, but a good distance away, so for the record a black grouse (No shot of the Ptarmigan)
Wednesday 08/02
A long trip today, up to Loch Strathbeg RSPB, north of Aberdeen. It seemed to take forever to get there and was bitterly cold with a fierce wind when we did. Thankfully the Visitor Centre was open and allowed us to relax a bit with a good view of a good part of the Loch before venturing out to the hides.
Because of the strong winds the smaller birds weren't about. No Buntings or Yellowhammers to be seen. The geese were all out foraging apart from a good gaggle of Brent in a field the opposite side of the Loch.
There are 3 hides at Strathbeg, one near the visitor centre but with a better view across the Loch and 2 more over the other side. These you have to drive to across the disused Crimond Airfield, that was interesting as you have to zig zag through obstacles to get to the RSPB car park. The wather had turned distinctly dull and horrible, photography was out, I took a few shots but because of the light and distance they are poor to say the least, but it was all worth it as from the second hide, just when we thought there wasn't much about that we hadn't seen from the visitor centre, 2 female Scaup swam into view from behind the reeds! There may have been a 3rd but we weren't sure. But anyway another Lifer!
The list for Strathbeg:
Blackbird, Blue Tit, Brent Goose, Buzzard, Carrion Crow, Chaffinch, Common Gull, Coot, Dunlin, Fieldfare, Goldeneye, Goosander, Great Black-backed Gull, Greenfinch, Grey Heron, Kestrel, Lapwing
Magpie, Mallard, Mute Swan, Pink-footed Goose (We waited until dusk for these to come flocking back), Red-breasted Merganser, Redshank, Robin, Feral Pigeon, Rook, Scaup, Shelduck, Starling, Teal, Tree Sparrow, Tufted Duck, Whooper Swan, Wigeon,
Woodpigeon.
Thursday 09/02
After the 5 hour round trip from yesterday a quiet day today, a short drive to Glen Muick for a circular walk to the Loch. This is really a birding site, but we did see Siskin there last year and hadn't seen any so far this year, so that would be a bonus. The main thing here is Red Deer. As it happens we didn't see any Siskin! The Warden said they haven't been around yet, but the Crossbills have been in her Garden regularly. But not today! So we saw plenty of Red Deer, Red & Black Grouse (typical don't see any then twice in 2 days, (not complaining though!), Treecreepers and then 4 Dippers on the same 400 meter stretch of river!
As you can see the cloud was low, but no wind, the loch was so still, not even a ripple:
This UFO did go past though, I couldn't find it in the Field Guide:
Looks like we were having fun:
Tina & Tom
Jo & Jimmy
On a more serious note I was doing a lens change here and dropped my 300mm lens, now the auto focus won't work and manual focus is possible but very stiff. Good job its insured.
He's not impressed and neither was I!
Posers:
Two more posers:
Dipper River: (River Muick)
Spot the dippers, there are two in this very misty photo:
Friday 10/02
We hadn't decided where to go today, the weather was again misty, low cloud, cold and damp. Lovely!
We looked at the map the night before and found a reservoir (Blackwater) a Loch (Lintrathen) and an RSPB reserve (Kinnordy) all just to the east of the Spittle of Glenshee, so we thought we'd give it a whirl. After about half an hour we found the Reservoir it was frozen solid, not a bird in sight. So we drove on to the Nature Reserve at Loch Lintrathen again frozen solid, just 6 sad Mallard sitting on the ice. We did see a Great Spotted Woodpecker in the trees, but otherwise the place was like a graveyard!
So onto Loch of Kinnordy, this was a bit better, there was some open water in the middle and all the birds were congregating there, just visible through the murk!
We managed, Robin, Chaffinch, Great Tit, Blue Tit and Pheasant outside the hides, on the Loch:
Mute Swan, Mallard, Teal, Wigeon, 2 Goosander and a Drake Smew! (Bonus!)
You can see what the weather was like:
See if you can find the Smew, the Goosander is easy!
As it was so murky and cold Jo suggested after looking at the map, heading over to Montrose Basin. So in for a penny in for a pound, why not. So off we went.
We first went to the visitor centre to see whats what and from their we saw:
Tree Sparrow, House Sparrow, Goldfinch, Greenfinch, Blue Tit, Robin, Great Tit, Chaffinch, Siskin, and on the water, tons of Eider! So a couple of year ticks there.
We then drove around to the Old Mill Car Park and walked to the closer of the 2 hides (Wigeon Hide) that are accessible from there as it was getting late. The hide was aptly named, there must have been 2-300 hundred Wigeon on the shore, plus 200 Shelduck, 200 Teal, 100 Curlew, 50 Oystercatcher, 50 Lapwing, 2 Pintail, 12 Goldeneye, 1 Grey Heron, 20 Great Black Backed Gull, 100 Starling, a few Eider and a Buzzard doing his rounds.
This is certainly a place to go back to when the weather is better. There were 4 other hides around the basin, but we didn't have time to visit any others.
So back across the fields, where we flushed 4 Grey Partridge, then had 7 Roe Deer come out of nowhere and run across our path. Oh and a few Pied Wagtail around as well.
Saturday 11/02
Well time for the long drive home, but not without a stop on the way.......
We had booked in at the Argaty Red Kite Centre just off the A9 and was it worth it!!
We were treated to the most fantastic display, our guide Dean Bricknell www.deanbricknellphotography.com was brilliant, friendly, informative and helped me with my photography too!
Again the weather was poor, misty and dull, but I wacked the ISO up, put the camera in Shutter Priority manually focused on where the food was put out and fired away! So the shots are a bit grainy but it gives you the idea!
The Buzzard legs it as 2 Red Kites swoop in
Buzzard v Red Kite
Dive, Dive, Dive
And a short Video Clip:
Plus we heard those Bl@@dy Crossbills again but didn't see them.
Also at the centre:
Crow (plenty of those trying to dig in amongst the Kites), Raven, Blue Tit, Great Tit, Long Tailed Tit, Chaffinch, Robin, Pheasant & Dunnock
We did see a gruesome sight as we were leaving Agraty. The farm has a field of black pigs next to the track, not sure of the breed, as we were driving out we saw them catch a cock pheasant that had wandered into their patch and tear it to pieces and eat it!
So that's it our haul for the week: 72, including 6 Lifers and that brings us up to 95 for the year.
Our next major trip is the Somerset Levels in April, we are also going skiing somewhere in Europe in March, so we might pick up 1 or 2 things there. But otherwise back to our local patches for a while.
After Spending Friday and Saturday night with our daughter who lives in Edinburgh. We carried on up to Braemar which was to be our base for the next 6 nights. There we were joined late Sunday afternoon by my Wife's sister (Jo) and partner (Jimmy) who have been mentioned in dispatches in previous blogs and who are our partners in crime when we go birding further afield.
So what did we get upto?
Monday 06/02
The first day Monday we had glorious sunshine but it was cold, so we headed to Glen Tanar near Aboyne, where there are some good walks and 'guaranteed' Crossbills, plus the chance of Capercallie. We got off to an excellent start, right by the A93 was a fishery at Tullich and sitting on his own with a host of Mallard was a single drake Goldeneye we viewed for a few minutes, then set off again.
After turning off onto a B road to get to Glen Tanar we were driving along the River Dee, when a single 'duck' was spotted on the river. So we stopped just in case.
We weren't sure at first, but as she swam closer we were able to confirm a female Common Scoter, a lifer for all 4 of us! Brilliant. When she had drifted away out of sight we carried on and had only gone about 400 yards when we saw two more 'ducks' on the river. Again we stopped, thinking they might be more Scoter and indeed they were, but not Common, 2 female Velvet! What were they doing there? Another Lifer! I was so excited that I missed the turn to Glen Tanar, so went on a bit further and found a turning at a bend in the river, so we stopped for a coffee. (This is a theme in all my blogs. Coffee stops are regular and essential!)
Whilst sipping our Coffees, we bagged a Dipper, Grey Heron and loads of Mallard, sadly no more Scoter!
We duly arrived at Glen Tanar and scanned the pine trees, but no Crossbill, we then decided to go for a walk along one of the shorter trails but not much about, just Tits, Chaffinch and a Buzzard.
So drew a blank with the Crossbills yet again!
We then drove to the Linn of Dee to see Red Deer and back on to the Glenshee Road, hunting for White Mountain Hare. At least both of these turned up! I'm beginning to think that Crossbills are made up and don't really exist!
Tuesday 07/02
Today we decided to drive over the Lecht for Snow Bunting andfor the spectacular scenery, then head down to Boat of Garten for Crested Tit and Red Squirrel, and anything else we can find along the way!
The Snow Bunting duly obliged, they can always be found to the left of the Ski School or on the Ski Centre Roof, sorry the pics aren't great!
We drove through Garten and went to the RSPB Osprey Center as we know that at this time of year we are pretty much guaranteed Crested Tits and no one else will be there!
So here's a few shots from Garten:
So back in the car, back across the Lecht and back to Braemar, this resulted in another couple of firsts for us. We have been up to Scotland many many times over the last few years and Black Grouse and Ptarmigan must go into hiding when we come up, but we must have caught them by surprise this time! We had a great Black Grouse sighting, 3 in one spot, but I couldn't get my Camera ready in time and ended up with a distant shot at dusk. The Ptarmigan was a Grey Speckled youngster, but a good distance away, so for the record a black grouse (No shot of the Ptarmigan)
A long trip today, up to Loch Strathbeg RSPB, north of Aberdeen. It seemed to take forever to get there and was bitterly cold with a fierce wind when we did. Thankfully the Visitor Centre was open and allowed us to relax a bit with a good view of a good part of the Loch before venturing out to the hides.
Because of the strong winds the smaller birds weren't about. No Buntings or Yellowhammers to be seen. The geese were all out foraging apart from a good gaggle of Brent in a field the opposite side of the Loch.
There are 3 hides at Strathbeg, one near the visitor centre but with a better view across the Loch and 2 more over the other side. These you have to drive to across the disused Crimond Airfield, that was interesting as you have to zig zag through obstacles to get to the RSPB car park. The wather had turned distinctly dull and horrible, photography was out, I took a few shots but because of the light and distance they are poor to say the least, but it was all worth it as from the second hide, just when we thought there wasn't much about that we hadn't seen from the visitor centre, 2 female Scaup swam into view from behind the reeds! There may have been a 3rd but we weren't sure. But anyway another Lifer!
The list for Strathbeg:
Blackbird, Blue Tit, Brent Goose, Buzzard, Carrion Crow, Chaffinch, Common Gull, Coot, Dunlin, Fieldfare, Goldeneye, Goosander, Great Black-backed Gull, Greenfinch, Grey Heron, Kestrel, Lapwing
Magpie, Mallard, Mute Swan, Pink-footed Goose (We waited until dusk for these to come flocking back), Red-breasted Merganser, Redshank, Robin, Feral Pigeon, Rook, Scaup, Shelduck, Starling, Teal, Tree Sparrow, Tufted Duck, Whooper Swan, Wigeon,
Woodpigeon.
Thursday 09/02
After the 5 hour round trip from yesterday a quiet day today, a short drive to Glen Muick for a circular walk to the Loch. This is really a birding site, but we did see Siskin there last year and hadn't seen any so far this year, so that would be a bonus. The main thing here is Red Deer. As it happens we didn't see any Siskin! The Warden said they haven't been around yet, but the Crossbills have been in her Garden regularly. But not today! So we saw plenty of Red Deer, Red & Black Grouse (typical don't see any then twice in 2 days, (not complaining though!), Treecreepers and then 4 Dippers on the same 400 meter stretch of river!
He's not impressed and neither was I!
Friday 10/02
We hadn't decided where to go today, the weather was again misty, low cloud, cold and damp. Lovely!
We looked at the map the night before and found a reservoir (Blackwater) a Loch (Lintrathen) and an RSPB reserve (Kinnordy) all just to the east of the Spittle of Glenshee, so we thought we'd give it a whirl. After about half an hour we found the Reservoir it was frozen solid, not a bird in sight. So we drove on to the Nature Reserve at Loch Lintrathen again frozen solid, just 6 sad Mallard sitting on the ice. We did see a Great Spotted Woodpecker in the trees, but otherwise the place was like a graveyard!
So onto Loch of Kinnordy, this was a bit better, there was some open water in the middle and all the birds were congregating there, just visible through the murk!
We managed, Robin, Chaffinch, Great Tit, Blue Tit and Pheasant outside the hides, on the Loch:
Mute Swan, Mallard, Teal, Wigeon, 2 Goosander and a Drake Smew! (Bonus!)
You can see what the weather was like:
See if you can find the Smew, the Goosander is easy!
As it was so murky and cold Jo suggested after looking at the map, heading over to Montrose Basin. So in for a penny in for a pound, why not. So off we went.
We first went to the visitor centre to see whats what and from their we saw:
Tree Sparrow, House Sparrow, Goldfinch, Greenfinch, Blue Tit, Robin, Great Tit, Chaffinch, Siskin, and on the water, tons of Eider! So a couple of year ticks there.
We then drove around to the Old Mill Car Park and walked to the closer of the 2 hides (Wigeon Hide) that are accessible from there as it was getting late. The hide was aptly named, there must have been 2-300 hundred Wigeon on the shore, plus 200 Shelduck, 200 Teal, 100 Curlew, 50 Oystercatcher, 50 Lapwing, 2 Pintail, 12 Goldeneye, 1 Grey Heron, 20 Great Black Backed Gull, 100 Starling, a few Eider and a Buzzard doing his rounds.
This is certainly a place to go back to when the weather is better. There were 4 other hides around the basin, but we didn't have time to visit any others.
So back across the fields, where we flushed 4 Grey Partridge, then had 7 Roe Deer come out of nowhere and run across our path. Oh and a few Pied Wagtail around as well.
Saturday 11/02
Well time for the long drive home, but not without a stop on the way.......
We had booked in at the Argaty Red Kite Centre just off the A9 and was it worth it!!
We were treated to the most fantastic display, our guide Dean Bricknell www.deanbricknellphotography.com was brilliant, friendly, informative and helped me with my photography too!
Again the weather was poor, misty and dull, but I wacked the ISO up, put the camera in Shutter Priority manually focused on where the food was put out and fired away! So the shots are a bit grainy but it gives you the idea!
Plus we heard those Bl@@dy Crossbills again but didn't see them.
Also at the centre:
Crow (plenty of those trying to dig in amongst the Kites), Raven, Blue Tit, Great Tit, Long Tailed Tit, Chaffinch, Robin, Pheasant & Dunnock
We did see a gruesome sight as we were leaving Agraty. The farm has a field of black pigs next to the track, not sure of the breed, as we were driving out we saw them catch a cock pheasant that had wandered into their patch and tear it to pieces and eat it!
So that's it our haul for the week: 72, including 6 Lifers and that brings us up to 95 for the year.
Our next major trip is the Somerset Levels in April, we are also going skiing somewhere in Europe in March, so we might pick up 1 or 2 things there. But otherwise back to our local patches for a while.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)