Not quite time for the bunting

                                                     Cuckoo

                                                  Cuckoo

          Saturday cricket is back - Gussy sending this into church yard for six

                                                    Cuckoo

                                                    Wheatear

                                                     Wren

                                        Two Common Sandpipers

                          Large Red Damselfly - always the first to emerge

                                                 Yellow Wagtail

                               Main pit showing worrying willow growth

Well it's been an interesting couple of weeks at the pits with our year list rising from 97 to a very reasonable 107. Most of our additions were predictable however two certainly were not. Those additions as follows Reed & Sedge Warbler, Hobby, Common Whitethroat (18/4), Redstart (19/4 singing male), Cuckoo (22/4), Swift (24/4), Sandwich Tern (22/4) & LITTLE BUNTING (25/4).

I've been going to the pits most days and but some days I just need a change of routine and bird somewhere I can't normally go before work. So I had a lovely day in south Worcestershire which was somewhat ruined when I got a call from Jon saying there was a mega at the pits. Typical !

Details of Jons news :

A LITTLE BUNTING - an adult in summer plumage, was flushed from long grass at the back of the main pit towards the end (nearest the old works) - it flew into the hedge and began calling "tick...tick". Really MEGA view of it on top (the best I've had of this bird, including in China, as they are usually quite skulky). It then dropped down into the hedge and I followed it north for about 10m or so, as it flitted around warbler style within it. I lost it when it moved down on the other side of the hedge and out of view - so could be feeding on the grass track on that side. As no one else had arrived by 1015 (and my phone battery dead - sorry) I walked back along the path but no sign, but could still be in the field margin on the other side.

We organised a small team to meet at 3.30pm where we had a good search for 2 hours without luck. We were all disappointed.

Also at the pits on Sunday (from 0735 onwards): 7 pairs of Little Grebe now, 7 Cormorant, 2 Grey Heron, 17 Mute Swan and 2 nests, 13 Greylags, 20 Canada Geese, 3 pairs of Gadwall, 3 broods of Mallard out, 111 Tufted Duck, Sparrowhawk, 2 Kestrels, 1 very pale adult Peregrine flew NW, 1 Oystercatcher flew over, 2 pairs of Little Ringed Plover, 5 LBB Gull, 1 Herring Gull, 1 male Cuckoo (showing well on ground at main pit), 5 Swifts, 70 Sand Martins, 50 Swallows, 70 House Martins, 1 Meadow Pipit, 5 Yellow Wagtails, 2 male Wheatears, 2 singing Cetti's Warbler, 1 Grasshopper Warbler heard at main pit, 7 Sedge Warbler, 14 Reed Warbler, 1 Lesser Whitethroat, lots of Common Whitethroat, 2 Ravens, 1 Siskin flew north and all the usual stuff.

Scilly Season Day 1 – Yellow-billed Cuckoo MEGA

Penzance

On board & ready to go

Red-throated Diver

Summer plumage Red-throated Diver 

Mega twitch to St.Agnes

St.Agnes

Yellow-billed Cuckoo

Little Bunting

Yellow-billed Cuckoo

Afternoon twitchers

Black Redstart

The lure of six small islands off the south west of Cornwall was too much to resist this Autumn following an offer from Paul Freestone to join him & three friends for a weeks birding. 

An alarm call at 1.00am was the signal for start of my first ever trip to the Isles of Scilly. I traveled South with the Squire before teaming up with our organiser in Hayle.  Our trip would start a day earlier than originally planned due to Storm Brian hitting Britain & the islands on Saturday and no ferries would be running.

Thankfully I got a couple of hours sleep in the car & a tea stop at Exeter broke the journey up. A McDonalds breakfast lined the stomach before it was boarding time on the Scillionian from Penzance. A pair of Red-throated Divers including one in summer plumage was a stunning sight & not one I’d seen before, it was a sign of a few good days ahead.

A Sooty Shearwater (a lifer for the Squire) flew past in Cornish waters, also passing were a steady flow of Gannets & a few Guillemots.

Then there was a crescendo of pagers & phone alarms going off an hour into the crossing, YELLOW-BILLED CUCKOO – St Agnes. Wow, but could we get there. The early indication was that there would be no afternoon boats due to storm Brian. Within an hour (I was still gripping the seat, counting the minutes to get off) news was confirmed we could dump the bags & jump on a crossing to St Agnes.

Whilst the weather was deteriorating the crossing wasn’t that bad and the walk to the Cuckoo was only five minutes. When arriving there no birders, no bird !  Thankfully the exhausted bird had moved closer to the iris’s to take a bit of cover. The poor bird looked to be struggling & whilst it would have been great to see the bird feeding & flying this was never going to happen. Everyone was attentive to the fact it was in a islanders garden and duly took turns to see the bird on arrival (bar one knober).

After a pleasing view we carried on our walk to get to the reported Little Bunting. As per the reports the bunting was feeding very well out in the open. A much improved view from my previous views earlier in the year at Great Barford. A real little cracker.

Along the coastal path we bagged a Wheatear, 3 Black Redstarts, Common Redstart, 5 Rock Pipits & a fall of Song Thrushes.

Quite a first day………….

Great Barford Little Bunting

Little Bunting - look closely

Little Bunting

 Twitch hot spot

 Great Barford

Brave swimmers on the Ouse

 Wigeon

  Red-crested Pochard

  Red-crested Pochard

 Red-crested Pochard

Summer Leys NR

With very little movement of birds I opted to headed south east on Sunday to the village of Great Barford to try and add to my life list with a Little Bunting. Reports from Saturday on social media looked encouraging so I set out early and was pleased to find there was very little traffic on the roads. A road diversion cost me ten minutes at the end of the journey but I was quickly parked up by the church. Fully prepared with a flask & sandwiches expecting a steak-out I headed along the picturesque river patch to a patch of crop where seed was being put down for winter birds. Four birders on the scene reported early good views so I rubbed my hands in anticipations. There were up to around 50 birds containing Chaffinches, Goldfinches, Reed Buntings, Robins, two Red-legged Partridges and a single Brambling all feeding well and on occasions all diving for cover when any possible predator was picked up.

I was a little surprised when a fellow birder picked up the smart Little Bunting sat up fairly high allowing great views. As I worked through my own ID checklist the bird took off and didn’t return for about twenty minutes when this time it was feeding among the flock. Getting any sort of record shot was difficult and the scope views were very good indeed. The bird is a Iong way from it’s breeding grounds in the coniferous forests of the Taiga headed back down the river very pleased only to pass some brave individuals swimming in the river……brrrrrr.

Having time on my side I headed a different way home stopping at Summer Leys Nature Reserve where two drake Red-Crested Pochards were the local attraction. They are not a species I see very often so I spent some time watching them closely feeding on the weed below the water. The local Mute Swans occasionally pushed them further away from the bank when they manoeuvred themselves back to the area they were feeding after a short period. Other species recorded were a Great White Egret, 3 Little Egret, Wigeon, Cetis Warbler (my first of year) and two Red Kites which were hunting over the meadows.

A good morning jolly out and back early afternoon ready for the League Cup Final in which the Saints sadly got beat 3-2 despite being the better team over ninety minutes.