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.

WRYNECK ! - Salford Priors GP (September)

Wryneck (F Peplow)

Wryneck

Wryneck

Peppers double at scene of the Wryneck

Whinchat

Common Buzzard

Weasal

Whinchat

Whinchat

Hobby

Common Redstart

Wigeon

Starling

An excellent September for us at Salford Priors. The clear highlight was Wryneck, which became our 208th species at the site. The Wryneck was found by Francis, who had a tremendous year of finding birds locally. Four of us managed to connect with the bird.

Francis was then on the main pit when a Whooper Swan flew in on 30th September. That was our 126th species of the year, now just six behind last year's total.

3/9 - West Midland All dayer 67 species

8/9 - Wryneck

9/9 - 4 Whinchat, 1 female Redstart

11/9 WeBS Count 28 Little Grebe, 24 Cormorant, 3 Grey Heron, 21 Mute Swan, 2 Greylag, 8 Canada Geese, 4 Wigeon, 14 Gadwall, 10 Teal, 270 Mallard, 1 Shoveler, 25 Tufted Duck, 50 Coot, 10 Lapwing, 1 Green Sandpiper, 1 Common Sandpiper, 2 Herring Gull with 20 Lesser Black-back, Kingfisher, 50 Swallow, trickle of mipits, Grey Wagtail, 1 Whinchat on hedge at back of main pit, Cettis Warbler, 2 Reed Warbler,  4 Lesser Whitethroat, 10 Blackcap, 45 Chiffchaff, Jay, 2 Ravens and 45 Goldfinches at Marsh Farm.

13/9 - 4 Stonechat

18/9 - 22 Little grebe, 10 Cormorant, 2 Grey Heron, 21 Mute Swan, 62 Greylag, 30 Canada geese, 7 Wigeon, 14 Gadwall, 1 Pochard, 6 Teal, 250+ Mallard, 2 Shoveler, 23 Tufted Duck, 55 Coot, 4 Swallow, 80 House Martin, 13 Meadow Pipit, Cettis warbler, 4 Lesser Whitethroat, 8 Blackcap, 12 Chiffchaff, 1 Jay, 3 Raven, 2 Buzzard, Kestrel & Red Kite.

19/9 Golden Plover over

23/9 31 Mute Swan, 15 Wigeon, 12 Gadwall, 2 Cetti's Warbler, 2 Water Rail, 40 Meadow Pipit, 6 Swallow, 4 House Martin, 6 Sand Martin, Little Egret.

24/9 Little Egret, 2 Stonechat, 4 Swallow, 10 Wigeon

28/9 Clouded Yellow butterfly, 4 Stonechat

29/9 Whooper Swan, 80 Meadow Pipt, Common Sandpiper, 2 Stonechat, Ringed Plover, 2 Water Rail, 15 Wigeon

30/0 Whooper Swan, Common Sandpiper, Whinchat

A bank holiday Wryneck & Otmoor

                                           Wryneck (Borough Hill)

                                                   Redshank

                                               Spotted Redshank

                                                Drake Pochard  

                                                    Glossy Ibis

                                                  Marsh Harrier

                                                 Marsh Harrier

                                          Distant video footage

RSPB Otmoor was our chosen destination for bank holiday Monday hoping the hegdrows might give us a bit of cover from a cold wind. Otmoor isn't a place I've visited often and I tend to always side with Slimbridge for that type of days birding. We landed around 8am to find the car park, complete with singing Garden Warbler, almost full. 

The paths and the signage are excellent the only downside is having to walk back the same way you walked out. There was a number of first sightings of year for us including a Spotted Redshank, Glossy Ibis, Marsh Harrier & feral Barnacle Geese. The warblers around the reserve were in great voice, most teased the camera with posing and then diving for cover. A male Cuckoo feasted on a hoard of catterpillars it had found and the Lapwings displayed above us throughout our visit. Red Kites were circuling until we left Oxfordshire and diverted to Borough Hill in Northamptonshire where a Wryneck had been located. With a heavy storm approaching we manged to watch the fabulous Wryneck for about ten minutes before making a run for the car. The drive back was through some very heavy rain underlining how lucky we had been to make the most of the morning.

Wryneck at RSPB Middleton Lakes

Wryneck - just wow

Hunting for ants

Stunning pattern along the bird's back

A good crowd late morning

An excellent start to the week when a Wryneck was found at RSPB Middleton Lakes. I'd only seen one previously so I decided it was well worth the 40 minute drive from home.  I had expected a bit of a bun fight but I was pleasantly surprised there were only 5/6 birders present and the bird was showing instantly from the west screen. I enjoyed watching the bird for about an hour before it was startled when someone stepped to the side of the screen. The bird took flight and was not seen again for a number of hours. I used this hint to explore the rest of the reserve when I noted 3 Little Egrets, 1 Great White Egret, 1 Common Sandpiper and a good number of warblers before returning back to the car. 

Many thanks to those who got the news out early, it made the experience much nicer in the cooler temperature.

Finally a………….Wryneck

Wryneck is a species I've never had any luck in catching up with. With being a Midland based birder opportunities are rare without a three hour drive to the east coast. So after grabbing a snack after my morning patch walk around the gravel pits and check of Rare Bird Alert a Wryneck had been spotted at RSPB Otmoor. I didn't need to consider the option to go for more than a minute given its only a 75 minute drive.

Walking up to the reported areas the news wasn't good and when reaching the path where the bird had been last seen I found around 15 frustrated birders and photographers. I did get a two second view as the bird crossed the patch in flight but patience was waning among the audience of which most decided to go leaving just three of us. 

Another thirty minutes of patience was rewarded with the bird showing really well on the path. The views were brief but as you can see I did manage to get a few digiscoped images that I was really pleased with.

The birds plumage was stunning with the mottling effect really catching the eye. For those who don't know these are part of the Woodpecker family and are migrants and just passing through the UK from their breeding grounds. The birds are around 16.5 cm in height and get their name from the ability to turn their head.  

It was great to meet fellow Twitterarti members RSPB's Kirsty Brannan and Gareth Blockley.