Goldeneye lifts the gloom

 Goldeneye

 Back of camera Goldeneye

 Song Thrush

 Nuthatch

 Greater Spotted Woodpecker

 Winter thrushes

 Water Rail through the gloom

 The pair of Worcester Peregrines

 Winter relections

 Upton Little Egret

 Coal Tit

 Shelduck

Pochards

The pits were besieged with fog and mist all weekend making birding very difficult. I undertook three seperate visits with varying levels of success.

Despite my best efforts on Saturday the fog was just too thick however I did find a Water Rail in front of reeds on the main pit before I headed up to Hillers to register a few year ticks with Treecreeper, Song Thrush & a very showy Nuthatch. It was a shame the light was so poor as the photos would have been much better. 

Sports taxi duty took me to Worcester on the afternoon where I called in at the cathedral to get a fleeting view of the Black Redstart and two very vocal Peregrines.

It was the same story on Sunday so I held back for an afternoon visit to the pits. I did call into Upton Warren for an hour but there was no escaping the murkiness. Hightlights included 6 Snipe, Little Egret, 5 Curlew, 5 Pochard & 32 Lapwing.

The pits were in slightly better light so I stopped at Hillers to find the Brambling in same location as last week before heading down to the main pit where a Great Blacked-Gull flew over which landed on Pophills (also seen my Mike Inskip). Only other birds of note were 7 Pochard & the Shelduck.

A switch of shifts on Monday and a window dry weather enabled an early trip on Monday. 3 Wigeon & a Green Sandpiper greeted me on Pophills before heading over the road passing a female Bullfinch & a flock of Long-tailed Tits.

After scanning the Teal flock I thought I'd go through the dabbling ducks and there to my surprise was a female Goldeneye, the first record since 2014. The Squire quickly landed behind me and we watched the bird for about 30 minutes before the rain started. The only downside was I'd forgot to put the memory card back in the camera so had to use camera's memory, then take a back of camera shoot. 

Other midweek sightings included a Yellow-legged Gull & a probable agents northern type of Herring Gull. Chris described the Gull as larger than usual Herring, yellow legged, darker than normal mantle, very heavy head with neck streaking. Interesting for sure.

Winter surprise at Upton Warren

Distant Goldeneye

Kingfisher

Curlew

Curlew

Secret hiding spot

Little Egret

Kingfisher

Upton Warren had a surprise visitor last week in the form of a male Goldeneye. I can't ever remember seeing one at Upton before, strange as you would have thought the Moors pool would be ideal in terms of depth, perhaps it's not wide enough. Bartley & Draycote are always the best local places to see them. 

Over 27,000 Goldeneyes winter in the UK however there is only 140 breeding pairs. It is encouraging to read that this number is increasing as the ducks are using nest boxes as excavated holes in trees are less available. It is thought less birds now travel to the UK each winter due to mixed winter in Europe.

I had to be content with a distant shot due to the suns position. In front of the hide a Kingfisher was looking for a late breakfast. It was great to see the bird move round the area trying his luck from different positions. It's a bird I never tire of seeing.

Other highlights included 8 Curlews taking advantage of the great work the work party has completed, a Little Egret, 105 Coot, Great Crested Grebe, Green Woodpecker, Grey & Pied Wagtail, 12 Pochard, 6 Shoveler and 80 Teal. 

Grey Phalaropes at stormy Farmoor

Grey Phalaropes

Grey Phalaropes

 Plenty of balls

 Nice comparison with Black-headed Gull

Goldeneye

Great Northern Diver

Great Northern Diver

Yet another very windy weekend for us in the Midlands so we headed down the M40 for an hour to Farmoor Reservoir. The £1 parking fee is nether here nor there but we fancied a good walk but on concrete rather than slugging through the mud in wellies.  Star attraction were two Grey Phalaropes that were putting on a real show for the local birders and photographers. Despite the 40 mph wind the birds were feeding really well and didn’t seem bothered about the audience or the waves. I crouched as low as possible to photograph the birds from the patch and was quite pleased with results given the limitation of the camera. Looking at the photos closely it seemed one bird was an adult whilst the other a first winter. 

The wind on the bottom corner of the Reservoir was so strong it made it difficult to walk straight however on reaching the far side and more cover it was more comfortable. We found six Goldeneye quite close trying to get some shelter and there was a huge count of Great Crested Grebes. A stunning Grey Wagtail darted around the end of the causeway as we continued our walk to the other side.

After a great deal of searching we found a Great Northern Diver centrally located however as we turned back towards the car the Diver drifted towards us enabling some fantastic views and a couple of images. I do love watching Divers and I’m really hoping I get to see some up in Scotland in May.

Strictly Draycote

 View from the feeder end of the water

A treble - Smew, Goldeneye and Great Crest Grebe

Close up of Smew

Draycote Water

A cold and clear forecast made me determined to make the most of Saturday morning with a couple of good hours birding at Draycote Water. The afternoon would be spent at the NIA (Barclaycard Arena) watching Strictly Come Dancing for the wife's birthday. 

The drive took around an hour and I duly paid my £2.50 parking fee. I headed straight down Farborough Bank where I located the wintering Drake Smew among the Goldeneyes and Tufted Ducks. A super looking duck and I managed to grab a couple of digiscoped images.

There had been a couple of White-fronted and Pink-footed Geese reported lately however there was no sign out on the water or in the fields behind. There were big numbers of Great Crested Grebes along the bank whilst the Pied Wagtails flew constantly backwards and forwards feeding on the rocks.

I then headed round to the far end where I caught up with a flock of around a dozen Tree Sparrow. They did seem to be rather on edge and were not hanging around to be digiscoped. Heading back around the waters edge there were 20 Goosander whilst my first Kingfisher of the year flew past out looking for an early lunch. 

Sadly no time to try out the coffee and cake in the visitor centre, next time perhaps. 

Christmas Birding at Salford Priors GP

 Pophills Field

Sunrise on 28th December 

Pophills Pit taken from hedgerow side

 Common Buzzard on Old Barn

 Scaup

 Kestrel

 Yellowhammer

Goldeneye

The Christmas break enabled me to head down to the Gravel Pits for a number of visits. Thankfully the weather was very good even though it was extremely cold. 

Chris & Jon had reported a pair of Shelduck, Caspian Gull whilst @babblingbirder spotted a Barn Owl on the 19th so I was keen to try and find this beauty.

On Christmas Eve I spent a good deal of time on the Pophills Pit side of the site where it was great to see the Yellowhammers at close quarters. There was a number of Sky Larks, Meadow Pipits, Fieldfare and Redwing.

On the main pit there was the second Scaup of the month. Other notable sightings included 5 Great Black-backed Gulls, 30 Gadwell, 2 Shoveller, Kestrel and a Grey Wagtail.

On the 27th I headed down for the last hour of day light and the hope of finding the Barn Owl. After scanning all the pits from the bridge I had a slow drive around the perimeter where I flushed the Owl and followed it down the lane before it went out of sight. Really pleasing to find this beauty. I will certainly be hoping to watch him hunting very soon.

An early start on the following morning was rewarded with beautiful sunshine and some new arrivals on the main pit. A female Goldeneye and 9 Wigeon had joined the Scaup who was with the normal Mallard, Teal, Tufted Ducks, Pochard, Little Grebe and the long staying Green Sandpiper.

The Little Owl was being hounded by a selection of birds so remained out of range of the camera. 7 Greylags flew over with 20 Lapwings.

Just above the road a Kestrel was hunting for an early breakfast whilst the Pophills Buzzard looked on with hope he might get the left overs. 

Sightings around the plantation included Green Woodpecker, Coal Tits, Long Tailed Tits, Great & Blue Tits, Mistle Thursh, Fielfare, Redwing and of course large number of Red-legged Partridges (which still give me a near heart attack every visit).

To the north of the pits I spotted my first site Jay which was a bonus and I also noted Jackdaws, House Sparrow and Collared Doves in the village.

(All images digiscoped as always)

Dawn at Loch Garten - Day 2

An early alarm call led us out through the ancient pine forests around the stunning Loch Garden. On the way we stopped at a couple of places hoping to find an elusive Capercaille. These birds are now deemed the hardest to find in the highlands by all the local guides however luck was on the side for both Peter and I who just happened to be looking at the right place at the right time. The views were just for a few seconds but clear enough you could see it was a large male. The Capercailles are really struggling to survive with populations plummeting to levels where they could be extinct within twenty years. Dogs running through the forest floor when chicks are on the ground is creating a major issue for the species.

Once arriving at the reserve the feeders were occupied with two Red Squirrels having breakfast. Good numbers of Coal Tit's were all taking their turn when the opportunity arose. A Crested Tit came in from our left and hung around above our heads before taking off. We knew that better opportunities would be coming to see these beauties.

From our view point at the side of the loch we observed a flock of Goosander, a Goldeneye and a flock of Pink-footed Geese flew over us.

A substantial breakfast awaited our return from the session before we set off for the rest of the day.

Gropper makes early return to Coney Meadow

Arrow Valley Lake

 
Goldeneye (Sheepwash)

 Goosander (Sheepwash)

Sunset at Coney Meadow

Starting work slightly later on Tuesday gave me a great chance to walk around Arrow Valley. The Grey Heron’s certainly didn’t seem to be as settled as they were last year. A couple of the nests looked in poor condition and it will be interesting to see how the next few weeks develop. The first Willow Warblers were noted along the east path with growing numbers of Chiffchaffs. A Greater Spotted Woodpecker flew over me and then sat up on a tree top allowing good viewing whilst the Nuthatch was in its usual place. Very few ducks on the lake, whilst Greylags out numbered the Canadian Geese. The Great Crested Grebe were at their normal levels.

At lunchtime I had a flying visit to Sheepwash where a female Goldeneye was gracing Sandwell’s Urban Park. Only other notable sighting were 4 female Goosander, Kingfisher and Lesser Redpoll.

After a recharge at home I drove over to Coney Meadow at Droitwich. Dave Walker had located a very early returning Grasshopper Warbler. At 7.39pm it started to reel about 15 feet in front of us. Whilst difficult to see at first the bird did sit in a channel we could see before becoming more elusive. We only managed glimpses in flight from this point despite how close the bird was.

Highly satisfied we headed up to the Church yard where a Tawny Owl was calling. Within a couple of minutes the Owl treated us to two flypasts inside the wood. Superb evening at Coney once again. This small area of Worcestershire has certainly been kind to me when visiting.

Early Gropper returns to Coney Meadows

Arrow Valley Lake

 Goldeneye (Sheepwash)

 Goosander (Sheepwash)

Coney Meadow

Starting work slightly later on Tuesday gave me a great chance to walk around Arrow Valley. The Grey Heron’s certainly didn’t seem to be as settled as they were last year. A couple of the nests looked in poor condition and it will be interesting to see how the next few weeks develop. The first Willow Warblers were noted along the east path with growing numbers of Chiffchaffs. A Greater Spotted Woodpecker flew over me and then sat up on a tree top allowing good viewing whilst the Nuthatch was in its usual place. Very few ducks on the lake, whilst Greylags out numbered the Canadian Geese. The Great Crested Grebe were at their normal levels.

At lunchtime I had a flying visit to Sheepwash where a female Goldeneye was gracing Sandwell’s Urban Park. Only other notable sighting were 4 female Goosander, Kingfisher and Lesser Redpoll.

After a recharge at home I drove over to Coney Meadow at Droitwich. Dave Walker had located a very early returning Grasshopper Warbler. At 7.39pm it started to reel about 15 feet in front of us. Whilst difficult to see at first the bird did sit in a channel we could see before becoming more elusive. We only managed glimpses in flight from this point despite how close the bird was.

Highly satisfied we headed up to the Church yard where a Tawny Owl was calling. Within a couple of minutes the Owl treated us to two flypasts inside the wood. Superb evening at Coney once again. This small area of Worcestershire has certainly been kind to me when visiting.