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.