Moray Firth - Day 2

Chanonry Point

Dunlin

Dunlin

Turnstones

Pink-feet fly pass

Wheatear and Rock Pipit

Common Gull

Udale Bay Nature Reserve

Red-breasted Merganser

Red-breasted Merganser

Shag

Flock of Scaup

End of a great days birding

After an over indulgent breakfast, quite a common theme, we headed north to the Black Isle. The Black Isle is not an island, but a peninsula, surrounded on three sides by water – the Cromarty Firth to the north, the Beauly Firth to the south and the Moray Firth to the east.

Our first stop was Chanonry Point a beautiful setting by a light house. A Wheatear could be seen in the same scope view as a Rock Pipit giving us a great start whilst the jetty held Shags and Turnstones. A nice flock of Dunlin treated us to some super views before landing close by on the beach whilst out in the bay there was Red-throated Divers, Razorbill, Guillemots, Black Guillemots and a selection of gulls.

After crossing the bridge to Udale Bay Nature Reserve the tide come in pushing large numbers of waterfowl and wading birds. A small spit of land was simply covered with Oystercatchers, Knot, Wigeon, Lapwing, Bar-Tailed Godwits, Golden Plover, Grey Heron and three Pink-footed Geese. Out on the water there were no less than 7 Slavonian Grebes and a small flock of Red-breasted Merganser. In the stubble field behind our first Hooded Crow was on display. This was the first of many throughout the rest of the trip.

Heading round the coast we came across a flock of 200+ Scaup, an awesome sight whilst there were good numbers of Long-tailed Ducks. The male birds looked awesome in flight along the coast.

A pub lunch on the harbour allowed us to see a large flock of Kittiwakes fly past and 400+ Eider whilst two Rock Pipits flew around the parked cars. With the rest of the party tucking into lunch I located Harbour Porpoises just out of the harbour which were then past by a Great Northern Diver. We did try a late afternoon twitch for a Hoopee but it had moved on hours before but there was a Pale-bellied Brent Goose off shore.

On the evening Alan gave us and the other hotel guests a talk about their tour of Finland and Norway. Most definitely a place to visit in the future !

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.

Highland Twitch - Day 1

Ready to go

First view of the Highlands

Findhorn Valley

Stag with hinds

It's always been a long term goal to visit the Scottish Highlands so when Alan Davies from The Biggest Twitch announced they were running an Autumn trip I jumped at the opportunity. The Highlands offer a wealth of birds and wildlife not available anywhere else and Alan's expertise would be a perfect opportunity to maximise the visit to its true potential.

I met up with the mini bus in Frodsham on the M56 at 7am (after a 2 hour drive from Worcestershire) we then drove the six hours up to our accommodation the Grant Arms Hotel in Grantown-on-Spey. We made a couple of short stops along the way to stretch the legs and have some lunch. Alan's wife, Ruth, found us a superb place for lunch used by many locals and walkers on the edge of the Highlands. Tasty lunches and cakes proved a constant theme throughout the break, no doubt I will pay for this at the gym now back at home.

We picked up a distant Golden Eagle on the edge of the A9 however by the time we had set up our scopes the bird disappeared into the distance. 

After dropping off the luggage we met with the rest of the party of eight and set sail for our first visit to the Findhorn Valley famed for its breeding Golden Eagles. On this occasion though we were out of luck and had to settle for a number of Buzzards, Peregrine, Kestrel, Ravens and Siskin.

The highlight of the session was the roar of the Red Deer Stags which could be heard all round the valley as they looked after their hinds.

Autumn birding at Upton Warren

Upton Warren

Little Egret 

Snipe

With a big week ahead I took advantage of the good forecast and had a couple of hours at the Upton Warren Moors on Sunday. Leaving the car park I observed Meadow Pipits flying south whilst there was a selection of Long Tailed Tits, Dunnock, Blackcap and Robin.

Sitting in the east hide it was good to see three Little Egret still on the reserve. Two of them seemed to be happy with each other whilst the other needed to stay on his toes as his presence was not appreciated, this could be said for a new pairs of Swans that were trying to settle much to the disgust of the established pair.

Two adult Kingfishers and a juvenile could be seen at regular intervals whilst other notable sighting were a Pintail, 7 Wigeon, 4 Pochard, 2 Grey Herons, Lesser Black Backed Gulls, 10+ Snipe, 3 Cetis Warblers, 30+ Shovellor, Chiffchaff, Long Tailed Tit and 60+ Lapwing in the A38 field. 

There was a work party on a Flashes but with going away to Scotland I didn't want to risk a strain getting in the way. By the look of the forum photos they had done some great work clearing the silt close to the hide. 

Time to pack those bags ready for the Highlands.

Raptor Persecution continues

The shocking persecution of raptors still continues in the UK despite a pleasing increase in public pressure. Mark Avery has done a brilliant job raising the profile of the issue of Hen Harriers and the success of the new Hen Harrier day will grow and grow. Their new website can only help promote the issue. I'd urge all bloggers to add the link if you can.

With no Hen Harrier chicks raised in the UK in 2013 there looked to be better news this year until the RSPB reported two of the tagged Lancashire chicks had disappeared ! Whilst the cause could have been natural predation you would have to think these birds could have been illegally killed like so many before them with those who have a vested interest in grouse shooting. 

Scotland has some serious problems with raptor issues and on top of this it was very sad to read about the mass murder of Mountain Hares once again linked in Grouse moors. Fingers crossed the pressure starting to build will help wildlife in these areas. 

Off to Portland Bill

I’d never been to Portland Bill before so given I was an hour away I opted to take advantage of my location to go for an explore. I was quite surprised how big Portland was and I stopped at the viewpoint to have a look at where the 2012 Olympic sailing events took place. Once reaching the tip of Portland Bill I opted for an hours sea watching despite the wind not being favorable. Along the edge of cliffs there were many Alba Wagtails and Meadow Pipits whilst a honking Raven made his presence known. Out at sea I picked up a single Great Skua and two Balearic Shearwaters and a steady flow of Gannets. I never get tired of watching these monsters of the sea gliding and diving for fish.

I called in a the famous Observatory where a warm welcome awaited. The locals kindly offered me a refreshing cup of coffee and a sit down and marked my card to the lie of the land. The garden was certainly not dripping in birds however just to tease me a Wryneck was ringed the next day !

Other sightings included Blackcaps, Chiffchaffs and Goldcrests,  2 Whinchats, Common Sandpiper, Garden Warbler and Lesser Whitethroat.

I think weather conditions were against me on this visit but I will definatley return.

East Devon birding

Exmouth

New hide at Bowling Green Marsh (Topsham)

 Curlew Sandpiper

  Curlew Sandpiper with Redshanks

Black Hole Marsh - Axe Valley Wetlands

                                         Estuary - Axe Estuary Wetlands

 Greenshank

 Ruff

 Little Egret

 Wheatear

 Curlew

 Godwits

Sidmouth

With two days annual leave to use up before the end of September I was able to take up the offer to stay in Sidmouth, Devon with parents on the sea front. With a Wryneck reported the days previous on the cliffs above the town I headed there in more hope than expectation. A local photographer kindly showed me the place it had been showing however the clear night had proven to much of a draw for the bird as despite a hunt high and low the bird had gone. I did see a late Sandwich Tern pass below whilst Swallows were preparing for the long flight ahead. I then made the 15 minute drive to Bowling Green Marsh, Topsham where their new hide had been opened. A few of the locals were moaning about the glass on one side of the hide however it looked like a great facility for local wildlife watchers. The hide windows opened two ways which will benefit all when the hide gets busy. With high tide passed sightings were limited to 3 Ruff, a flock of Godwits, Grey Heron and Black-headed Gulls. Down at the estuary view point there was a Juvenile Curlew Sandpiper, 5 Greenshank, Redshanks and more Godwits. After a lunch time stop in Sidmouth I opted to Axe Estuary Marshes by Seaton. The Axe Estuary Wetlands is a nature reserves managed by East Devon District Council on the lower Axe. The District Council has a long term ambition to create a single nature reserve stretching from Seaton to Colyford, which will bring environmental, social and economic benefits to the area.  Currently the District Council owns three reserves on the Axe, Seaton Marshes, Colyford Common and Black Hole Marsh. These reserves are a rich mosaic of saltmarsh and freshwater grazing marsh, ponds, reedbed, ditches and saline lagoon. To park you needed to pass through the cemetery which was a first. The signage throughout the whole reserve was excellent. 

The water level was higher than expected however there was some great views of a close Ruff , Little Egret and Greenshank. I did pick up a resting Wheatear opposite the hide. Over at the Estuary a flock of returning Wigeon flew past whilst a large flock of Gulls were trying to get any food they could. A Redshank and Lapwing both fed close to the hide on the edge of the river. Other note sightings included Kingfisher and Curlew. 

Overall a superb reserve !