Sunday birding at Slimbridge

Glossy Ibis & Black-tailed Godwits

Shocking Kingfisher photo taken through glass

Mediterranean Gull

Great White Egret

Glossy Ibis

Avocet

Glossy Ibis

Black-tailed Godwit

After a week of seeing very little variation, we headed to Slimbridge on Sunday for a change of scenery. The early members access is really handy and it allows you to do the all the walkway hides with very few people about. Most of the species observed were what we expected however it was nice to feel a bit of warmth in the sun and have a good explore. The winter flocks of White-fronts & Bewick's had departed during the week. No coffee and cake to report on as we have given up on the cafe as the service is so bad. We did call into Frampton for a Little Gull but it didn't came very close.

A bank holiday Wryneck & Otmoor

                                           Wryneck (Borough Hill)

                                                   Redshank

                                               Spotted Redshank

                                                Drake Pochard  

                                                    Glossy Ibis

                                                  Marsh Harrier

                                                 Marsh Harrier

                                          Distant video footage

RSPB Otmoor was our chosen destination for bank holiday Monday hoping the hegdrows might give us a bit of cover from a cold wind. Otmoor isn't a place I've visited often and I tend to always side with Slimbridge for that type of days birding. We landed around 8am to find the car park, complete with singing Garden Warbler, almost full. 

The paths and the signage are excellent the only downside is having to walk back the same way you walked out. There was a number of first sightings of year for us including a Spotted Redshank, Glossy Ibis, Marsh Harrier & feral Barnacle Geese. The warblers around the reserve were in great voice, most teased the camera with posing and then diving for cover. A male Cuckoo feasted on a hoard of catterpillars it had found and the Lapwings displayed above us throughout our visit. Red Kites were circuling until we left Oxfordshire and diverted to Borough Hill in Northamptonshire where a Wryneck had been located. With a heavy storm approaching we manged to watch the fabulous Wryneck for about ten minutes before making a run for the car. The drive back was through some very heavy rain underlining how lucky we had been to make the most of the morning.

Pits and pieces

Oystercatchers

Scarce Chaser (female)

Small Tortoiseshell

Meadow Brown

Azure Common Blue Damselfly

Large Skipper

Common Blue

Black Tailed Skimmer

Emperor Dragonfly

Prymidal Orchid

Yellowhammer

Little Ringed Plover

Large Skipper

Glossy Ibis (Mark Clarke)

It's been feeling like July rather than the end of May this week. The best bird I saw was a Glossy Ibis that I called in to see on the way back from the Nightingales.

The pits have been very quiet. The parish council kindly distributed some correspondance to locals about the rights of way in the hope it might get a new dog walkers away from the ground nesting birds.

Our only bird at the pits that isn't regular was a Great Crested Grebe that seems to be coming and going. All other sightings remain the same, not even the easterly winds brought us anything. Surely a Turnstone, Sanderling or Black tern is due. Lets hope we can pass 104 this week.

A Glossy return to Upton

Glossy Ibis

Glossy Ibis

Reflections

Can't ever go to Upton with a photo of the Avocets

Sand Martin

Swallows

Over the last month I've done a number of double shifts at work so I decided to claim back time owed with a week off for spring migration. 

I started with a return trip to Upton Warren hoping to get some better views of the Glossy Ibis. Willow Warbler were in good voice as I edged along the path to the flashes. The Avocet were in the company of a Little Ringed Plover & boisterous Black-headed Gulls but no sign of the Ibis until it flew over us back into the crop field out of view.

Andy Pitt has tipped me off about a Grasshopper Warbler seen by the steps. With a fair amount of patience I caught it reel twice but neither time for very long. There was 100+ Swallows feeding on the Sailing Lake with around 20 Sand Martin. After taking a few shots I returned to the Flashes where the Glossy Ibis was showing excellently. Now that's more like it. I grabbed an excellent coffee & a rattle with Worcester based birder Lloyd Evans before heading to the pits  where there was definitely movement as there were 20 House Martin, 22 Swallow and 5 Sand Martin but still no waders or Wheatears.

Ibis & Scoter double at Upton Warren

Upton Warren provided me with two bonus visits this week with a Common Scoter on the Sunday and a Glossy Ibis on Wednesday. Neither bird was particularly close and the dull light made any image taking very difficult. 

The drake Scoter was discovered on Sunday from the cafeteria. Whilst the bird was always distant the scope views were good. Sadly the Sailing Clubs speed boat was flying round (with no point at all) scaring the bird on a number of occasions. I got my better shots after it had been flushed, landing nearer to the shore line.

Then I was back after work on Wednesday to see an immature Glossy Ibis, my first for Upton Warren, feeding in a wet field, viewed from archery field. The Ibis was only the third record for the reserve and my first in Worcestershire.

The best news of the day was that the Glossy Ibis was Mike Inskips 200th species on reserve, well done sir. A real gentleman of Worcestershire birding. 

South west birding (Part 2) - Fremington Lesser Yellowlegs

Just as I reached the Slimbridge car park the phone buzzed with a message "Lesser Yellowlegs North Devon". I quickly pondered the journey as it was only an hour from our Somerset weekend base. It was certainly a species I was keen to see but I've never been around to see one locally. The village of Fremington was duly punched into the Sat Nav and off I went. 

The journey whizzed past as the traffic flowed well for a Friday afternoon and I then pondered where the Quay was, would it be easy to find and the normal variables. No such worries were needed as the turning was signposted and at the first parking bay I noticed another birder….Bingo. Quickly grabbing the optics and camera the Lesser Yellowlegs was just 30 metres from the road feeding well with a group of Redshank. 

The only trouble was the single track road was very busy so I was unable to set my scope up properly with having to take it down every couple of minutes so I tried to take a few hand held shots as best as I could.

This North American wader are pretty much an annual visitor to the UK but it's a case of seeing one when you can. There was one in Essex for a couple of weeks but sightings reported were very distant, personally I'd rather wait for views like this. 

Just another three hundred yards up the road there was a Glossy Ibis showing well and the session finished with a Spotted Redshank on the way back the car. Needless to add the Coldplay playlist was on in the car to celebrate my 21st new species of the year. Top day.