Slimbridge clear up

Bewick's Swans

Morning stretch to show who's boss

Pintail looking stunning in morning sun

Flushed waders

White-fronted Geese

Barnacles 

A very confident Robin

Bittern taken through glass

Another poor distance shot

I was well overdue a visit to Slimbridge and a bit of good weather gave me the encouragement I needed to head down the M5. The car park paid an instant dividend as there was a calling Redpoll and a flock of Long-tailed tits. The advantage of being a member is getting the privilege of entering from 8.15am through a side gate rather than having to wait until 9.45am when the main entrance opens. 

The Rushy pen was full of winter wildfowl including the brilliant Bewick's Swans, Pintails, Pochard and Teal all very close to the hide. The Bewick's are always a real pleasure to watch and it was interesting to see them engage with each other. 

From the Holden Tower I quickly recorded my first White-fronted (155) & Barnacle Geese of 2017 before I started searching for the recently reported Lapland Bunting. I teamed up with a local birder and early effort only resulted in Skylarks & Meadow Pipits before I found a bird worth investigating behind a scrape, partially hidden. Patience was needed until we were both happy with ID of a Lapland Bunting. Later on in the morning three Cranes landed on Dumbles & the Bewick's also appeared slowly after leaving the Rushy.  

The South Lake had the regular birds including four Ruff, 90 Black-tailed Godwits, two Oystercatchers,1000 Lapwing & a pair of Goldeneye. 

The Ziess hide was where all the action was happening as an adult male Goshawk was hunting the hedgerow towards the Kingfisher hide. In all my previous visits to Slimbridge I'd never seen this species before. From the same spot I recorded a Spotted Redshank, 300+ Dunlin, seven Ruff, Water Rail and a very cheeky Robin.

I did have a final treat when I found not one but two Bitterns on the reverse side of where the Goshawk launched its attack from. I did manage to get a couple of shots but the camera was only held hand through the hide windows as I didn't want to flush the birds.

Bewick's Swans visit Salford Priors

After a couple of mundane visits with very little change, Chris Lane discovered 3 Bewick's Swans on the main pit at around 11.30am on Thursday. Thankfully I managed to get down to take some record shots of the birds.

Originally we thought they may have been on their way to Slimbridge however I checked this with Slimbridge Research Assistant, Steve Heaven, who confirmed he didn't recognise any of the three birds. 

Bewick's Swans populations show to be in a huge decline.Those from arctic Russia have seen their population fall to just 18,000 from 29,000 between 1995 and 2010. Slimbridge are undertaking a research project to try and discover why this species are struggling so much. Part of this project is "Flight of the Swans" during which a member of the team is flying the same migration path as the Bewick's. You can follow the updates on this link.

The birds flew south after becoming unsettled by the flock of Greylags & Canada Geese who were themselves jumpy from the local shoot. The Bewick's became our 141st species of 2016 & only the second record at the site.

Other midweek sighting highlights included 2 Green Sandpipers, Adult Yellow-legged Gull, 10 Common Gull, 29 Lapwing and 5 Wigeon.

I visited twice over the weekend. On Saturday I met a photographer from Stratford called Mark Clarke who was visiting the site for the first time. A few flash pool has emerged close to the main bund, it will be interesting to see whether this becomes permenant or just caused by the midweek heavy rain.

There were huge numbers of Redwings & Fieldfares moving through on both days. The best bird was a Jack Snipe that was in the marshy area by the main pit bund. Other weekend counts included 17 Mute Swan, 18 Shoveler, 37 Gadwall, 5 Pochard, 49 Tufties, 85 Teal, 69 Lapwing, 3 Green Sandpiper, Green Woodpecker, 465 Canada geese, 220 Greylag, 18 Cormorant, 2 Raven, Kestrel, Buzzard, 2 Sparrowhawk 15 Goldcrest, 30 Long-tailed Tit, 2 Coal Tit and a Treecreeper, seen on both days. 

Many thanks to Jon & Chris for their sightings. 

Slimbridge outing for new camera

After spending many weeks debating buying a bridge camera, I finally opted for a Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ72 after taking on plenty of advice. After reading the manual I thought I'd try out it out at Slimbridge given the great viewing available. Whilst the light was far from ideal it was better than originally forecast. Counts for Bewick Swans & White-front remain low given the time of the year.

Sightings included :- Peregrine, Buzzard, 1500 Golden Plover, 2400 Lapwing, 500 Dunlin, 90 Curlew, 190 Barnacle Goose,  350 Canada Goose, 11 Comon Crane, 64 White-fronted Goose, 150 Greylag, 600 Wigeon, 300 Teal, 80 Pintail, 40 Shoveler, 6 Ruff, 15 Redshank, 100 Black-tailed Godwit, 80 Shelduck, 80 Bewick Swans and Cetti's Warbler.

Ferruginous Duck opens New Year account

First view for 2015

Bewick Swans

Ferruginous Duck

Ferruginous Duck

 Little Egret under Holden Tower

Ruddy Shelduck

 Black Redstart

Black Redstart

As per most years I headed down to Slimbridge for the 1st January. It rarely disappoints and a good quality coffee and cake always seals the deal.

A couple of sharp and frosty nights had improved weather conditions for migration so there was around 180 Bewick Swans in the reserve or just outside. A single Whooper Swan was also viewable from Sloane Tower, a Slimbridge first for me.

Looking out in to the Rushy Pen there was an array of birds to watch including a large flock of Pintail that were very close outside the hide allowing terrific viewing.

I quickly popped my head in the Willow Hide to see if there was anything on the feeders to find a Water Rail skulking among the reeds. Sadly the light was to poor to get any sort of image.

The Holden Tower was full of birders on an organised walk but I managed to sneak into a space. A lot of the wading bird flocks had dispersed with the recent cold snap but there was still plenty to note. The male Peregrine sat on the bank waiting to make his move. 

Sightings from the Holden Tower included 4 Cranes, 800 Wigeon, 100+ Dunlin, 2 Little Egret, Redshanks, Lapwing, Teal 300 Golden Plover and 2 Little Stints that were great entertainment - very busy individuals.

I then headed across the reserve to the Asia Pen where I registered for first lifer for 2015 as a female Ferruginous Duck was still present. It was a bit odd watching a rare bird with absolutely no one else present. I had a couple of sessions watching the bird and she was definitely the star of the show. 

The Kingfisher and Ziess Hide didn't have anything of note other than a few pass finches and 50+ Carrions.

On the South Lake a female Ruddy Shelduck was just in front of the hide. Exact origin no one can be sure. Other sightings included 7 Ruff, Black-tailed Godwits, Lapwing, Cormorants, Shoveller, Pochard, Shelduck and Gadwall.

I hadn't been able to track the White-fronted Geese so Dave Painter one of wardens told be to look north from Sloane Tower as they were in a field there. There were around 140 White-fronts and a single Pink-footed Goose.

With it looking like it might stay dry for another hour or so I made the short journey south to Sharpness to see if I could catch up with the male Black Redstart. Literately as soon as I got out of the car I saw him take flight and then gave some great view for an hour before I headed back up the M5.

Bewick's Return

Entrance to Slimbridge

Bewick Swan Family

My arty attempt of Pintails

Curlew

White-fronted Geese

Wigeon

Teal

Common Crane (GCP)

Bewick close up

The superb book shop

After a great start to the day in Bristol I stopped in at Slimbridge to catch up with the returning Bewick Swans. It was nice to see them at close quarters in the Rushy pen but also out on the Dumbles with the thousands of other birds. I managed to count around 40 Bewicks include a good number of young birds.

There were two pairs of Cranes showing territorial behaviour and one pair fully chased off the second pair and lets hope they manage to breed again next year. 

From the Holden tower I picked up the Juvenile Marsh Harrier I observed on my last visit whilst other sightings included a Peregrine, 2 Buzzards, 500+ Dunlin, 1000 Golden Plover, 200 Barnacle Geese, 200 Lapwing, 50 White-fronted Geese and 2 Little Stints.

The Tack Piece was full of birds including 4 Crane, 20 Ruff, 50 Curlew, 200 Black-tailed Godwits, 200 Dunlin, 600 Wigeon, 40 Pintail, 200 Teal and 800 Lapwing.

After a good scan and sandwiches on the move I had a good trawl through their great range of books, avoiding drawing the debit card out !