Montagu's magic

Woodland walk at Weeting Heath

Stone Curlews

 RSPB Titchwell

 

Little Tern

Cley

On Saturday I headed to Norfolk with Upton Warren birders, Mike, Jarrad and Craig as a spare seat was available. An awful forecast delayed our departure and scheduled route, so we headed straight to Weeting Heath. This small reserve duly delivered it's fantastic Stone Curlews who were very active unlike on my previous visit. Two chicks had been reported in recent days but I could not locate them. In total we observed 4 adult birds including three displaying. On the woodland walk which starts close to the west hide we all heard a recently arrived Stopped Flycatcher which we then located just above us. A superb start the day.

We then headed to North Norfolk's Choseley Barns via the Wolferton Triangle to see 8 Dotterels showing well in a crop field. The area is regarded as Norfolks best site for Corn Bunting but we only managed to locate one at a distance but we did finally see a Grey Partridge (Red Legged Partridge also present) which has been outstanding on my year list. A single Yellowhammer treated us to a couple of fly passes also. 

Then it was the five minute drive to RSPB Titchwell, probably the best nature reserve in England as you never fail to see some amazing birds. I would recommend the Cornish Pasties from the cafe as once again it hit the spot and recharged me for the walk down through the reserve to the beach. 

We got as far as the reed bed pool when two Garganey dropped out of the sky. The male was a real stunner and a target bird of the day. The only time I'd seen these ducks before was at a distance and sleeping so we got good views even though we had to stand on tip toes. Above us the recently arrived Swifts were so close you could have caught them. Yellow Wagtails flew over and a flock of late staying Brent Geese were present on the marsh land to the left of the path.

A Little Tern offered us some superb view as we moved closer to the beach. I managed to grab the above image using the camera I use for digiscoping. Photos were very difficult all day given how strong the wind was. 

Sea watching was very difficult with the swirling sand but there was good passage of Sandwich Terns, a couple of more Little Terns, Gannets, Common Scoter whilst Sanderling and Dunlin could be seen along the coast. Sadly no Eiders or Great Crested Grebes. Other sightings included March Harrier, Spoonbill, Oystercatcher, Avocets, Greenshank, Grey Plover, Pochard, Red Crested Pochard, Pintail, Turnstone, Oystercatcher. Whatever I write it doesn't do justice to a trip to Titchwell.

Next stop was a roadside viewpoint that Craig had researched as a good view for raptors. Within the first five minutes we observed Marsh Harriers displaying and Common Buzzards enjoying the thermals. We were just about to leave when one of the other birders on the other side road called "Male" in which we didn't need any second invitation to see the bird he found was a male Montagu's Harrier. What a bird, simply stunning. The bird really stood out against the greying skies and it was amazing to watch the birds powerful and elegant wingbeats giving an impression of total ease. I'd never seen a Montagu's before and he was a bird I will always remember.

Final stop was Cley Marshes however we dipped a pair of Temminck's Stints which had been flushed an hour before we arrived. Highlights were 5 Little Egrets, Spoonbill, Wheatear and two flight views of a Bearded Tit. A super days birding despite Mike reversing his car into me before heading off to home much to the amusement of Jarrad and Craig.

Tawny at Morton Bagot

 Morton Bagot Pools

Good Evening Mr Tawny

I popped over to Morton Bagot on Thursday evening hoping something special might have dropped into the Flash.  On the walk down to the Flash there were plenty of Yellowhammers in the hedgerows whilst a couple of Swallows and Swifts flew over.

I then bumped into local birder Richard Harbird and joined him on the walk. No superstars were at the Flash so we headed to the local stronghold for a family of Tawny Owls. At first glance it looked like the juveniles had fledged but thankfully we located one high up in the canopy. On the way back to the car a Lesser Whitethroat teased us with his call and brief views. 

Nightingales and Tawny Owls star on Bank Holiday weekend

 Sunrise at Upton Warrens Sailing Lake 

 Wyre Forest

 Afternoon birding at Edgbaston

A garden Jay

 Mute Swan on Sailing Lake (Upton Warren)

 Young Black Headed Gulls

 Avocets chicks on the ground at the Flashes

Dunlin passage increased through the week

With the cricket season picking up pace with every passing week a very early start is needed to get in some good birding time as well as cricketing umpiring, taxi service for lads and of course watching the mighty Warwickshire Bears.

First stop was Upton Warren to take part in the annual all dayer in which the reserve competes against other similar reserves. On a stunning morning, I started at the Flashes where the first two Avocet chicks had hatched and were being closely watched by their mother. Linnet, Goldfinch and Reed Bunting were all busy along the hedgerows. A single Common Sandpiper shared the scrapes for feeding along with a Dunlin, Little Ringed Plover and around 30 Avocets. The first young Black-headed Gulls were also on the ground. As I headed back along the path towards the Sailing Lake a very late Fieldfare (first ever on Upton all dayer) passed over. Once reaching the Moors Pool I headed to try and find a Redstart which decided to move on very quickly. The pool held its normal suspects including a pair of Common Terns. The warbler numbers had increased dramatically since my previous visit. After a raid of Rob’s delicious Lemon Drizzle, with a pair of Sparrowhawk’s soaring to the south I headed off to Evesham to umpire my afternoon appointment.

Evesham is a very pretty ground on the banks of the River Severn and I picked a number of new species for my umpiring year list including Greater Spotted Woodpecker, Greenfinch, House Sparrow and Kestrel that came to roost in a tree on the side of the ground.

On Sunday I headed down to the Highnam Woods  on the edge of Gloucester very early to try and see Nightingales which I had not seen before. Arriving at 5.50am I did not have to wait long before the first of at least six males were singing path side. The song was superb to listen to and certainly made the journey worth while.  These woods are closely managed by the RSPB and it was interesting to note when I walked into habitat that was unmanaged the bird song dramatically reduced. The views of the Nightingales was very fleeting and if any one wants a long view they would need to spend a lot of time there.  For any one heading that way its worth remembering the car park is closed most of the time due to antisocial behaviour after dark.

With the Bank Holiday weather looking rather glorious I paid the Wyre Forest a visit with the good lady wife nice and early. It was surprising how quiet it was as we only saw two cyclists, four birders and a runner. The Wyre was as normal full of stunning birds with highlights including Pied Flycatcher, Redstart, Wood Warbler and Yellow Wagtail. The surprise of the morning was a pair of juvenile Tawny Owls who looked most inquizatitive as we watched from a distance and a Kingfisher fly pass which I’d never seen in that part of the woodland river before.

Bonaparte's Gull kickstarts May

I all most fell off my chair at work on Thursday lunchtime when I saw a Bonapartes Gull had been reported at Marsh Lane, Warwickshire. Needless to say I was faster out the office door than a dog out the traps to make the 40 minute journey round the M5 and M42. However the postcode I had for the reserve was completely wrong and I must have spend a frustrated hour driving round in circles.

You can imagine my frustration when arriving the Warden informed me the bird had flown off site. I was determined to still enjoy the reserve so I headed down the paths after duly paying my £4 permit charge. 

While settling back enjoying the Common Terns I spotted the Bonaparte Gull on the far side of the Tern island. He then flew even closer allowing some great views. Whilst very much looking like a Black-headed Gull at first sight you could easily see the almost charcoal colour of the birds hood and black beak. I managed to watched the bird for about an hour before he took off to feed again but did not return. I'm sure there was plenty of birders trying to find the bird among their Black-headed Gull roosts later in the evening.

Life on a Thursday afternoon……………..superb.

Whimbrel at Grimley to round off April

Whimbrel at Grimley

April ended with a real flourish with some great birds in North Wales and I finished the month with an evening walk over at Grimley. 

A Whimbrel was feeding behind the willow trees on the east shore. The bird was first reported on Sunday so it was unusual that it had been hanging around. Three Common Tern graced the old bridge railings in the centre of the water whilst else where there was several Little Ringed Plover, good numbers of Sand Martins, Gadwell, Cormorant, Redshank and a several Lapwing including 3 recently fledged birds.

On the way back up the causeway towards the car a flock of hirundinidae passed over including my first Swift of the summer. I did call in at Holt on the way back but there was not really anything different.

At the close of the month my year list stood at 209 whilst on Birdtrack it 206 in 86 locations. 

Those birds in April who I've not managed to catch up with yet are Wood Sandpiper, Garganey,  Hobby and Swift. Whilst I'll be hoping to see Spotted Flycatcher and Nightingale in May.

Black Tern visit to Shustoke

 Black Tern

Shustoke Reservoir 

It was typical three Black Terns dropped into Upton Warren on Sunday when I was away in Wales so when I checked reports of a sighting at Shustoke Reservoir I decided to take a chance and make the journey to this Warwickshire site fairly close to the NEC.

As soon as I'd parked and set up the scope the Tern was flying out in front of me. Whilst the light was very poor for digiscoping I managed to get some good views just through the scope. These birds have a real natural beauty and a contrast between the black head and body and the slate grey wings. You can see the size of the bird on image three where you can see a Black-headed Gull behind the Tern. 

For those who don't know Black Terns are rare UK breeders and generally only seen on passage migration.

Biggest Twitch to Worlds End

Worlds End at dawn

 Black Grouse

  

 Worlds End

 Cuckoo

 Grey Wagtail

Nant Ffrancon

 Meadow Pipit

Wheatear

After a brilliant day with Alan Davies (The Biggest Twitch) previously I opted to take advantage of one of his trips to watch the Black Grouse lek in North Wales. 

I met Alan at 5am and we made the short journey up on to the top of the Moors. We arrived at the lek in darkness but the noise of the Grouse bubbling call was extremely loud - so loud you would estimate there were at least 30-40 birds however we counted 13 in total as the light lifted slowly. It was interesting to watch the jousting at close quarters. The dominant males in the middle of the lek appeared more interested in their own superiority and completely missed a rare appearance of a female bird on the edge of the lek. During the lek a Red Grouse and a Red-legged Partridge appeared, obviously to see what all the fuss was about. It was definitely a session of birding I will never forget, simply awesome.

As we drove to the other side of moor we saw another two Red Grouse fly across low and quickly whilst a Whinchat was calling loudly and sitting up wanting to get noticed.  Once parked up and refreshed with a Hot Chocolate (luxury birding, I know) we walked up through the moor for a higher view. At least another 15 Black Grouse could be picked out at various points whilst a great range of woodland birds were observed here and slightly further down the valley including Cuckoo, Tree Pipit, Redstart, Coal Tit, Dipper, Stonechat, Crossbill, Raven, Pied Flycatcher, Wood Warbler and Stock Dove.

After a rather hearty full welsh breakfast (whilst watching Goldfinch, Chaffinch and Buzzard) we headed through Betws y Coed and stopped off to watch Dippers and Grey Wagtail riverside. The birds offered superb views and were just happy carrying on their daily business.

Our final stop was the beautiful old glacial valley called Nant Ffrancon. As soon as we arrived numerous Wheatears were picked up and the call of Ring Ouzel rang round the valley. We watched a male and female Ouzel on the steep banks of the valley whilst a Raven was making it very difficult for Common Buzzard. In a area of small trees a returning Garden Warbler sang his heart out in the company of the Willow Warblers.

As we headed back round in a circle we picked up around 20 Sandwich Tern feeding off the sea front at Ross, no doubt they will be heading to Cemyln Bay on Anglesey.

This rounded off a brilliant day and I'd urge anyone to look up the Biggest Twitch. Alan and Ruth know every bit of North Wales and I enjoyed the fact I could take in the stunning scenery instead of concentrating on the driving.