Slimbridge in the mist

White-fronted Geese

Mandarin

Wigeon

Teal

Bittern

Bewicks

Pintail

Slimbridge is always a good destination for a change of scenery & with nothing of note on patch I headed down the M5 for a few hours. The early access for members is a real benefit for those of us are early birds.

Species recorded included :- Pintail, Bewicks Swan, White-fronted Geese, Crane, Golden Plover, Ruff, Spotted Redshank, Redshank, Teal, Wigeon, Lapwing, Knot, Manadrin, Shelduck, Avocet & Bittern. 

Salford Priors GP (November)

Merlin

Boat on main pit !

Grey Wagtail

Redwing

Access to the pits continues to be difficult with dark mornings, early nights and an increased presence from contractors. Mark discovered one contactor in a dingy possibly checking depth levels for fishing.

The mid-month count was as follows:-

15 Mute Swan, 472 Greylag, 2 Canada Goose, 80 Mallard, 46 Tufted Duck, 3 Gadwall, 10 Little Grebe, 13 Cormorant, 20 Linnet,1 Jay, 1 Merlin, 4 Black-headed Gull, 3 Meadow Pipit, 1 Grey Wagtail, 1 Pied Wagtail, 60 Redwing, 240 Redwing, 2 Buzzard, 1 Great Spotted & 1 Green Woodpecker.

Additional sightings 1 Goosander (16/1), 1 female Blackcap, 4 Wigeon, 1 Grey Heron, 1 Stonechat (19/11).

 

Red-throated Diver on Upper Bittell

 Red-throated Diver

Kittiwake

 Red-throated Diver

 Red-throated Diver

Sunday morning sailing

The only time I can remember seeing a Red-throated Diver was in Penzance before sailing out to the Isles of Scilly, so a morning up at Upper Bittell was just the ticket.

The Squire picked me up and on route we called in at Tardebigge, no Hawfinches but lots of thrushes. Tardebigge is always a nice place to spend an hour among the Yew trees.

The weather was beautiful at Bittell, sailing boats out & plenty of birds to worth through. An annoying dog of another birder did prove an annoyance to everyone but he was blindly unaware as he spouted continual rubbish. We moved away to save our ears from more pain.

The Diver showed fantastically well for us. While it seemed to be feeding well, I'm not sure how the bird's actual health was. This bird was very happy among the large number of Great Crested Grebes. It seemed the population of Worcestershire grebes were present.

The Squire picked out the Bean Goose that had been hanging around for a number of months and a Kittiwake was a nice way to round off the morning. 

Alpine Accentor - From Scilly to Suffolk

 Apline Accentor (Cliff Smith) Photographed before the crowds arrived

Welcome to Slaughden

Pictures above (viewing from correct place, below viewing from private land)

Purple Sandpiper

Messy, Messy, Messy

As my plane landed at Land's End from the Isles of Scilly, I switched airplane mode off on my phone to get a stream of messages saying there was an Alpine Accentor in Suffolk. Without being harsh, it was a fancy Dunnock that clearly got pushed to Britain by the strong southerly winds. I thought I'd check in with Squire on my drive home and he revealed it would be going the next morning. I did have the day free so I agreed I'd go with with him once there was news confirming it was still there. The route was pretty simple but the last 35 minutes seemed very slow due to small lanes, as we edged closer to the coast.

The Alpine Accentor breeds in the south Mediterranean as far as Greece and can be found in mountain ranges. This was the 40th record in Britain and the first for 25 years.

A birder we passed on the walk along the sea wall warned us that the bird was being chased. That was a small warning of what had happened. The bird had been pushed away from the tower so much so, it had flown onto some private land owned by the National Trust. It was clearly marked NO PUBLIC ACCESS, so we got the best views we could from the fenced area. We both observed the bird a number of times distantly, as it moved to feed on the path, but we had to settle for scope views.

Suddenly photographers and then birders broke rank and went into the private land to walk behind bird, from one or two, the group built quickly to probably sixty. We wanted to stick to our principles, everyone wants a great view but sometimes it just doesn't work out. We just didn't want any part of this organised flush, the crowd got closer & closer flushing the bird even further away.

At that point we were done, we headed back towards the car where he had some nice views of Brent Geese & a Purple Sandpiper on the groynes. This was by far the worst twitch I'd ever been on. I felt embarrassed individuals that share the same interest would be so selfish. As it turned out the bird returned to the Tower to roost but flew off early the next morning. An Accentor was found on Blakeney Point a day later so perhaps the same bird. 

Isles of Scilly - Day 5 - Love a Firecrest !

Firecrest

Firecrest

Yet another stunning view

Old Town Church yard

My only cake & coffee breal of the week

Ring Ouzel

Black Redstart

Flight home over Cornwall

Bush Cricket

As it turned out, this would be my last full day as I needed to return home earlier than scheduled. The best bird reported on St Marys was an American Buff-bellied Pipit. I'd tried the area a few times on my walks but we tried again as a group. Whilst we were confident we heard it fly over, we just couldn't find it on the ground despite a lot of searching. We did find two Black Redstarts, 5 Skylark, 30 Meadow Pipt and a cracking male Ring Ouzel.

I decided to try again for the Firecrests at Careg Du Gardens. I love Firecrests and it varies year on year how many you see. The good news was I'd seen them the day before, so I knew I just needed to find the right spot and wait. Although it was windy, you could still hear them, making it fairly easy. Getting a couple of record shots did take a bit longer but I really enjoyed watching this stunning species at close quarters.

Many thanks to my housemates and all the other birders who made it an enjoyable break. 52 weeks to go.

Isles of Scilly - Day 4 - Red-rumped Swallow & Red-breasted Flycatcher

 

Red-rumped Swallow

Red-rumped Swallow

Red-rumped Swallow

Red-rumped Swallow

Red-breasted Flycatcher

Peninis Head Seawatch

A Red-rumped Swallow had been seen on the north of the island the previous evening but I just didn't have the energy for another eight mile round trip so I wandered along Porthcressa, adding Common Gull to trip list, before heading towards the harbour. Just I past the Police station I picked up what I thought was a late or could it be.....Yes it was the Red-rumped Swallow.

One of the locals appeared behind me, so I asked them to put it out on the radios as What's App was down. What a drama...well it was for a few birders. As I edged towards town, the bird appeared again over the Mermaid. It seemed to stay pretty loyal to this area for the rest of my trip.

I bumped into Paul by the dump clump when I had my first Yellow-browed Warbler quickly followed by a Red-breasted Flycatcher sitting out in the sun.

I saw 2 Firecrests just before the rain started, so I headed back to take cover for a late lunch. The rain relented, or so I thought, so I headed up for some sea watching. There was a steady flow of Gannets, 4 Manx Shearwater, 5 Great Shearwater and 2 Sooty Shearwater. For the record, I was drenched again. It's not always sunshine in the Isles of Scilly.

Isles of Scilly - Day 3 - St Agnes delights

Wryneck

Wryneck

Short-toed Lark

Clouded Yellow

Short-toed Lark

Short-toed Lark

Snow Bunting

Crew in action

Peregrine collection

Only place to finish a day of birding on St Agnes

Going to St Agnes, the most western island is always a special day. We have a painting of Bee-eaters flying around the lighthouse in our home kitchen so it's always great to do some birding there. Surprisingly, the island would be the choice of all of us for the day which was good.

A slow wander to Coastguards was the perfect start, stopping to enjoy the Chiffchaffs feeding in the sun by the Post Office. A couple of local birders stopped us at Coastguards and presented us with a boxed Peregrine Falcon which was under the weather and asked if we could take it back to the Wildlife Trust on St Marys later in the day.

Our first rarity of the day was a Short-toed Lark which we picked up in flight before seeing it land in a stubble field by the cafe. After some patience, the bird showed well for us as it fed on insects between the stubble. It was most definitely the best view I've ever had of the species.

Adam & Tim headed towards the downs whilst myself, Paul and Brad headed towards the Great Pool (only Great Black-backs) before edging slowly around the bay. The first sighting was a Clouded Yellow that I spotted and took a very quick photo before it took flight. This was quickly followed by a Wryneck that very much had it's own agenda and flew further around the bay. 

We were in a lovely spot so we dropped anchor to enjoy our sandwiches as if by magic the Snow Bunting, plainly marked flew on the rocks in front of us. 

There really wasn't a lot more to see despite our best efforts so we retreated to the Turks Head for a couple of pints and collect the Peregrine. The Peregrine however had got out of the box and needed some tender handling to get him back in safely.  The Peregrine was duly delivered. Fingers crossed he makes a full recovery.