BTO Bird ID - Goshawk & Sparrowhawk

Owls and Kites in Cotswolds

Red Kite above Great Barrington

Always a great site

 Short-eared Owl

 Barn Owl

 Short-eared Owl

Double Trouble

After completing my airport drop off the serious good weather tempted me to head to the Cotswolds for a few hours of exploring. First stop was Great Barrington where I had a good search for a wintering Hen Harrier with no avail. The area was stunning and four Red Kites circled the fields. Other sightings included Kestrel, Buzzard and a Peregrine perched on the airfield mast.

I then made the short journey to Hawling to watch the fantastic Short-eared Owl's. They were already flying by the time I'd arrived so I opted to stay away from the crowds and watch from a small gap near the cross roads.

The decision paid dividends as the Owls started to hunt the edge of the long grass which enabled me to get a few record shots. The Owls even crossed over the roads on a number of occasions so you would wonder if the voles are now running low in the main field. The local Barn Owl then appeared and hunted right in front of me before battling with one of  the Short-ears for hunting rights. At one time the Barn Owl was in the grass only to be bombed by the Shortie. It was awesome viewing. 

Steady start at Salford Priors GP

Gravel Pit birding (Flock of Teal just above skyline)

Sparrowhawk (Steve Nash)

With a late morning airport run looming I had to restrict myself to a just a couple of hours down at the Gravel Pits on Sunday.

Viewing was difficult at times as fog seemed to come and go. A Sparrowhawk was hunting the migrant hill on the farm despite getting harassed by a couple of Magpies. I was quite hopeful a Goldeneye located midweek may be around but sadly no luck. The Green Woodpecker seemed very busy around the plantation as I looked for the Long-tailed Tits that still remained outstanding on the year list for the site. Jon reported he had flushed a Tawny Owl and a Woodcock but neither myself or Lee had the same luck.

The main pit contained the normal suspects however Teal number had increased to 112 and a count of 32 Cormorant was above average. As I edged along the main pit 3 Goosander (one Drake) circled looking to land but then opted to move on sadly. I had a total of 10 Jack Snipe and 25 Snipe throughout my walk and the main meadow had four Skylarks and Meadow Pipits which I watched closely through my scope. Only other notable sighting was the orchard were still full of Fieldfare and Redwing.

A good visit but gutted to have missed Tawny and Woodcock. I did thankfully see our local Barn Owl on the previous Monday evening after Lee had seen him hunting on the Sunday. I would really like to try and capture him on a good photograph but he doesn't seem to come out to hunt until its dark.

The Sparrowhawk photograph was sent to me some time ago by Racing Post photographer Steve Nash who I've known for a good many years. Thought it would be good to show it on the blog.

Earlswood Lakes Caspian Gull

Screenshot of Matt's Twitter feed

Saturday morning took me across a very cold Hereford to watch the youngest in Cross Country County Championships, rather him than me. Brrrrrr!

Once returning home I set off to Earlswood Lakes, about 15 minutes away, to catch up with a 2nd winter Caspian Gull. The Gull certainly didn't make it easy as I trekked around all three lakes on the look out. A couple of Goosander were the highlights and made up for the rather treacherous paths around the Windmill pool. 

Matt (@earlswoodbirds) text me I'd be better staking out both lakes from the causeway. As I headed back around I picked the Gull up swimming with the Black-headed Gulls. As typically happens two walkers flushed the group of gulls and despite my best efforts and then Matt's we couldn't relocate it. The bird has now also been reported at Upper Bittel so I wonder if its roosting there or perhaps at Bartley.

We did pick up nine Goosander flying over as we had a good rattle about this year Patchwork challenge. We came to the conclusion that I was just ahead of him at the end of January as I'd bagged a couple of 2 point birds. Scores should be out this week. Both of us have benefited from other birders now visiting our particular area's which is a great benefit as between us we have more chance of finding a superstar.

The Twitch - Birdwatching can be murder

I'm not a big fan of fiction I prefer to read of 'real life' but The Twitch - Birdwatching can be murder, certainly restored my faith as it was a genuinely funny read detailing the exploits of Edward Banger and his ambition to win the national bird race. 

There were plenty of laugh out loud moments in the book that should keep most people entertained and there are certainly a few moments I could relate to. There are also a couple of cringe moments which perhaps rules out it being read by younger readers.

At £9.99 great value for money, a good first novel by Kevin Parr. 

January Warwickshire Sightings

Draycote Drake Smew

Highlight: A juvenile Kumlien’s Gull was in the Draycote gull roost (13^th-17^th) and was also seen at Bubbenhall during the day.  

Brandon Marsh:  Sightings included five Shelduck, 30 Wigeon, three Goldeneye, Bittern, Little Egret, Water Rail, Dunlin, Jack Snipe, Woodcock , two Barn Owl, Marsh and Willow Tits, Cetti’s Warbler, Chiffchaff and a flock of 40 mixed Redpolls and Siskins.

Dassett Hills District: Single Merlins were noted at Bishops Itchington and Wormleighton, but Lapwings were unusually scarce and Golden Plover almost absent from the area. Farnborough Park held 25 Wigeon and two Gadwall. Knightcote had 31 Snipe, three Barn Owls, two Willow Tits and 12 Tree Sparrows. Wormleighton Res had up to four Goosander, Woodcock, Willow Tit, 40 Tree Sparrows and 55 Yellowhammers. A mixed flock of 100 Chaffinches and 380 Linnets was at Hodnell.

Draycote Water: Sightings included a Pink-footed and two White-fronted Geese, six Shelduck, two Pintail, Red-crested Pochard, 49 Pochard, two Common Scoter, 41 Goldeneye, 37 Goosander, Smew, 270 Great Crested and 63 Little Grebes, five Little Egrets, Peregrine, Merlin, Water Rail, 50 Golden Plover, Barn Owl, Willow Tit, three Chiffchaffs and 33 Tree Sparrows. In addition to the Kumlien’s Gull, the roost contained a Mediterranean Gull, five Yellow-legged Gulls, at least four different Caspian Gulls, an Iceland Gull (5^th) and Glaucous Gull (15^th and 20^th).

Salford Priors GP: Records included 17 Gadwall, 95 Teal, 11 Pochard, 83 Tufted Duck, Scaup (to 4^th), 60 Golden Plover, 15 Jack Snipe, 34 Common Snipe, Common Sandpiper, Water Rail and up to 3000 Woodpigeons.

Tame Valley:  At Hams Hall ten Chiffchaffs were joined by two Siberian Chiffchaffs and a Green Sandpiper. Wishaw sightings included ten Grey Partridge, Merlin, 700 Golden Plover, 32 Skylark, 200 Fieldfare and five Corn Buntings. Shustoke reported Red-crested Pochard, Scaup, Common Sandpiper and Jack Snipe. Red-crested Pochards also visited Dosthill and Lea Marston. Kingsbury recorded 352 Shoveler, seven Goldeneye, two Goosander, 15 Little Egret, Yellow-Legged Gull, two Barn Owl, Jack Snipe and Stonechat.

Other sites: Earlswood Lakes hosted 22 Goosander, a Water Rail, Peregrine, two Great Black-backed Gulls and two Ravens. Morton Bagot held 25 Common and eight Jack Snipe, Barn Owl, two Stonechat, 17 Redpolls and 238 Linnets.

Charlecote reported Merlin, Peregrine, Green Sandpiper and two overwintering Stonechats. Lighthorne Quarry had Jack Snipe, 36 Common Snipe and Chiffchaff, with seven Goosander, Mediterranean Gull and Chiffchaff at Chesterton. A Jack Snipe was at Alvecote.

Neil Duggan, Matt Griffiths and Jon Bowley (07850 759 334 / 07815 675090)

Round and about

 View of Birmingham from top of Lickey Hills

 Lickey Hills

  Lickey Hills

 Treecreeper

 Long Tailed Tit

Lesser Redpoll

Salford Priors Patch Walk

All three days over last weekend were all spend within a few miles of home. An interview on Friday enabled me to have morning winter walk around the Lickey Hills. Despite a good hunt around I didn't manage to find any Brambling. It seems there has been a much reduced influx this winter. Sightings were restricted to mainly Coal Tit, Bullfinch, Chaffinch, Great & Blue Tits, Treecreeper, Redwing and a few Fieldfare.

On Saturday I met up with my Dad and we had a good walk around Foxlydiate Woods in Redditch. There were definitely signs of spring in the air as I witnessed a few birds carrying nest material. Stars of walk were four Goldcrest that were calling very loudly and were only an arm length away from the path. Always great birds to watch at close quarters.  I having a bit of garden challenge with my Dad and he informed me he had two Linnets on his feeders. Heading down for further investigation and a spot of lunch I found the birds were actually Lesser Redpoll. A great garden tick. As we ate we watched an endless line of garden birds including Great Tit, Blue Tit, Long Tailed Tit, Nuthatch, Robin, House Sparrow, Dunnock, Blackbird all visit the garden. 

I headed up to Morton Stanley Park at dusk to try and catch up with the local Tawny Owls. I was unable to locate them whilst there was sufficient light for a photo but I did locate two different birds of which one flew past me through the trees. 

Sunday brought a day for further cold and windy weather. I had intended to go and try to catch up with a pair of Long-eared Owls in Lincolnshire but given the strong winds I'd save it for another day. With the wind blowing I decided to do a bit of walking around the perimeter of the patch. The weather proved to dictate the limited sightings but I found a couple of new areas including another large pool and a potential area that look goods for Chats. Best finds were a long flock of Fieldfare in the orchards, 2 Jack Snipe, 12 Snipe, 95 Teal in the hidden pools and 2 Wigeon. However when the edge of the plantation I picked up a very fast and low flying raptor which I identified as a female Merlin. It was my first Merlin at the site although many have been recorded. I finished January with 65 species giving me 67 points. Long Tailed Tit is a major omission ! Overall I recorded 113 species. 

Local birder Lee Taylor reported the Barn Owl on Sunday evening so I headed down on Monday for a hunt around in the dark. I heard the Owl calling but couldn't locate him until he flew over my head by the Pophills pit. A good point in the bag for February.