Weekend round up in Forest of Dean & Pits

 Forest view

 Drake Mandarin

 Mandarin pair

 Stonechat pair

 A few of Thrush flock at pits

 Stonechat

 Main pit views early

 Returning Oystercatcher

With the forecast slightly better than midweek suggested myself and Mrs D had an enjoyable morning around the Forest of Dean. Sightings were mixed but we enjoyed some good walking in a fantastic place. 

Cannop Ponds was host to 14 Manadrin, mostly drakes, a Marsh Tit, a flyover Goshawk, 2 Cormorant, 22 Greylag and a Great Spotted Woodpecker. Parkend was very quiet with not a single Hawfinch about. There was very little seen where the photographers usually sit so perhaps feeding elsewhere. 

We did note plenty of Chaffinch, Siskin, Sparrowhawk & Buzzards on our route but not a great deal else. The wind got up more each hour making it more difficult. 

I really enjoyed the pits on Sunday morning where our pair of Oystercatchers had returned. I hope they can find some suitable area to nest with the high water levels. The only other birds on the island were two forlawn Lapwing. Whilst watching a Snipe on the Old Workings lagoon the two wintering Stonechat appearing which was pleasing. It seems they have relocated to the central lagoon. 260 Linnet were flying around providing a real winter sight. Other sightings included a Grey Heron, 4 Shoveler, 14 Cormorant, 4 Mute Swan, Buzzard, Pied Wagtail, Jay, 1 BHG, 4 Herring & 1 LBBG. 

After lunch I made my second visit of the weekend to Studley Castle / Sewage works that I'm going to visit regulary during the year ahead. It offers a real range of habitats and is pleasurable to walk around unlike the pits. On this visit, I located a Cetti's Warbler in the reed bed which I was delighted with. This area is now being visited by Mark Clarke & Richard Harbird and I'll try and post sightings at regular intervals. 

Forest of Dean birding and bores

Mandarin

Cannop Pool

A real raptor day

 New Fancy View

Overgrown viewpoint

 Great Grey Shrike

Great Grey Shrike

 You looking at me

Nice with Chorizo

With the big freeze approaching fast you could certainly feel the easterly wind on Friday as I headed down to the Forest of Dean with fellow patch birder Chris Lane. I planned a circle of the forest giving us the best chance to see as many of local species as possible. 

First stop was Cannops Pools were the highlight was 36 Mandarin Ducks. I've had to work hard for these on occasions but this time we had no such worries as they were swimming around, resting on banks & also flying between the pools.

We didn't score with Crossbills at Parkend Church but did get stunning view of Goshawk emerging from the forest in front of us then circling giving us super views as two Greater Spotted Woodpeckers were drumming hard. Siskin were noted in most places during the morning. Two Hawfinches flew east behind the church and we saw another couple on the green when passing through.

It was then up to New Fancy View where there were a handful of birders looking for their year ticks. It was quiet for twenty minutes until I picked up two birds on the horizon of which one started to display to the pleasure of the audience of birders. Chris picked up a Peregrine & there were also Sparrowhawk & Common Buzzards.

I did warn Chris on the walk to Crabtree Hill I'd never seen this particular Great Grey Shrike on five previous visits and a number of photographers past us returning to the carpark with glum faces and telling us "no sign mate ".

There was no need to worry as the Butchers Bird perched up beautifully and stood out as we reached the brow of the hill. We watched him move around his terriotry and catching prey. The distant images I took do no justice to this stunning bird.

Back at the car park four Wild Boar were munching their way through any remaining grass looking to a late lunch. It was fabulous to see the boars at such close quarters but also a bit alarming that they appeared so tame. A morning of quality birding..............

Around Gloucester birding

Hawfinch

Yew Tree Brake

Dipper

Forest of Dean

Tack Piece

Scaup

Pintail

Two birding friends kindly offered me a couple hours round Gloucestershire as the one was trying to see 150 species in January. With nothing very far from the car and plenty of painkillers inside me it was nice to get out. 

Hawfinch was the first bird in the notebook as one sat up nicely at Parkend. We didn't have any luck up at the church for Crossbills so we headed to Wenchford Picnic Area where a Dipper was feeding just beneath us. At Cannop Ponds we saw a dozen Manadrin and three Goosander before heading to Yew Tree Brake where we finally saw a Crossbill. Whilst we did stop at New Fancy the weather wasn't very kind so chances to see a Goshawk were unlikely.

Our final stop was Slimbridge as the weather moved in. Our sightings from along the Holden pathway included large flocks of Dunlin, Golden Plover, Lapwing, Barnacle Geese, Black-tailed Godwit, Wigeon whilst other birds of note including a few year ticks three Avocet, 50 Pochard, 40 Redshank, 15 Curlew, 300 Pintail, 110 White-fronted Geese, 118 Bewick Swans and a Greater Scaup.

Many thanks to Pete Walkden for his fantastic images of Hawfinch & Dipper.

Hawfinch Hunt in Forest of Dean

Welcome to the Forest of Dean

Nagshead

Hawfinch

Mandarin

Mandarin

Crabtree Hill

An early start took me down the M5 on Saturday for a day in the Forest of Dean in Gloucestershire. I arrived at an undisclosed site at around 8.30am and didn't have to wait to long to catch a view of my first Hawfinch of 2015. Hawfinches are difficult to see if you don't do your research. I estimated I saw 7 in total but the best image I could get ways at a very long range. You can clearly see the birds powerful frame and huge beak. In the same area I also picked up a small number of Crossbills and Siskin.

Nagshead was very quiet in terms of people and it was good to hear the calls of so many birds including Song Thrush, Goldcrest, Long Tailed Tits and Chaffinches. A number of Greater Spotted Woodpeckers were also observed.

I then headed up to Cannop Ponds where I completed a long circular walk along the pond edges and through the forest. This area is great to catch up with Manadrin at close quarters who were joined on the ponds by five Greylags, Tufted Duck, Mute Swans, Moorhen, Coot, Mallard and Little Grebe. On the walk back I picked up a Marsh Tit which was a bonus for the year list.

Next stop was Crabtree Hill for a bit of a Shrike search. Sadly despite a really good look it seems the Shrike had moved on to a different area of clear-fell. Passing Woorgreens Lake a Lesser Black-backed Gull flushed 30 Snipe which took flight and flew in formation before landing again with a single Goosander within the same scope view.

Nightjar is star of the forest

Forest of Dean

 Grimley 

Common Tern

 Mute Swans

 Swift

 Common Terns

 Oystercatcher (top right)

After doing some research I headed to the Forest of Dean on Saturday to hopefully catch up with the elusive Nightjar. I had never seen one before so I arrived hopeful rather than confident.

As I headed up hill towards the clearing there was a rustle in the heathland followed by a grunt and then further movement and I could see my first Wild Boar. Five minutes further up the path I then came across a group of eight other Boars including young. The Wild Boar certainly divide local people looking at local websites due to the damage they can cause. The Forestry Commission are currently using thermal imaging to assess the local population. Estimates suggest numbers could have increased to 800. These beasts looked seriously mean and I was most happy when they headed off in the opposite direction.

When reaching the clearing the first Woodcock passed over calling which signalled the start of a costant flow for the rest of my walk. After setting up my scope two separate Nightjar started to churn. After about five minutes one took off and I must say it was a fantastic sight. When the birds stop churring, they are often in flight and two other sounds are frequently heard. The first is a rather soft 'coohwick' given as a single note and thought to be a contact call. The second is a slapping or hand-clapping sound caused as the birds clap their wings in flight. I managed to get this sound recording when the bird was perched in a tree above me. I did try and get some images but the light was to poor. 

As I headed back to the car a single Nightjar landed on the right of the path and whilst it was difficult you could see the mottled plumage. The bird seemed to fly and then return to the same spot and I wondered if the stones on the path were being eaten. 

There were good numbers of Tawny Owl around the Forest including young. Tawny Owls seem to have done really well this year in terms of breeding. 

After a late night I opted not to head out early but to call in at Grimley as I needed to undertake cricket taxi duties at near by Ombersley. First observation was the amount of young Gadwell that were on the Pits. There was at least seven broods with good numbers of chicks. Other notable breeding birds including Oystercatchers, Lapwing, Little Ringed Plover and Redshanks whilst there were large numbers of Mute Swans who seem to have taken a liking to sitting on the causeway.